“We’re going to Disney World!” A well-known phrase no doubt uttered by thousands of families around the world this summer. But in this era of “reality” television, even a trip to the Magic Kingdom can blur the line between fact and fiction. For more than a decade, several sitcom families have left the cozy confines of their sets to play with Mickey and his friends. While most have headed south to Florida, one family, the Russos on NBC’s Blossom, decided to enjoy the magic in their own backyard of Southern California.
The Disney Company believes fully in the concept of synergy, so what better way to bring the new family together than to send some of the ABC family members to visit Disney?
It is no coincidence that most of the vacations took place on shows that aired on ABC or that the majority took their vacations in 1995/1996. On July 31, 1995 the Disney Company and Capital Cities/ABC announced a $19 billion merger, according to Dave Smith in Disney A to Z. The merger became official on February 9, 1996 and, along with ABC, Disney acquired, “nine VHF and one UHF TV stations, 11 AM and 10 FM radio stations, a percentage of ESPN, The History Channel, A&E Network and Lifetime,” in addition to a publishing group that it later sold.
Of the three pre-merger shows, both Blossom and The Golden Girls were produced by Disney-owned Touchstone; the third show, Full House, aired on ABC and might just have been a case of “let’s see what happens when we do this” between the network and the media giant. But, ABC’s relationship with Disney goes back to 1954 when the company needed a network to sponsor the creation of Disneyland the park, and in return created a hit TV show, Disneyland.
While many TV critics consider a vacation episode to be “jumping the shark” (a term coined after someone dared the Fonz on Happy Days to water ski over a shark; what some consider a publicity stunt for the show) I think they’re just good fun.
So, for your enjoyment, here’s a rundown of the pre, post and mid-merger vacations complete with show title, air date, attractions highlighted and, of course, Disney-inspired epiphany. Whether it’s jumping the shark, synergy gone awry or just good old Disney fun is up to you.
Part 2 of Sitcoms on Vacation.
