Six Degrees of Separation

Sure, last time I said that our next visit would include some trivia and you were thinking, “Hmmm, how many horses are there on the Carrousel in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom?” or “What is the total distance around Epcot’s World Showcase?” Nope; that’s not the type of trivia I had in mind.

I may even be reaching a bit on this one, but a few weeks ago I had a conversation with Len Testa, who along with Bob Sehlinger, had just finished working on the 2007 edition of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (Menasha Ridge Press). The book will have expanded coverage of vacation homes, a new chapter on Walt Disney World tours, a complete reevaluation of WDW Resorts using criteria most often mentioned by guests, updated dining reviews, and new touring plans for both Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot.

As always our conversation revolved around Walt Disney World but this particular discussion led to an interesting, entertaining approach to Walt Disney World.

I’m sure that at one time or another you have heard about the six degrees of separation theory. It holds that anyone on earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances with no more than five intermediaries. The celebrity mentioned most often with this theory is actor Kevin Bacon.

One day while in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland, Testa wondered if there was a way to apply this theory to the park’s attractions and Kevin Bacon. So upon his return from the park that evening, Testa went to work.

Armed with his Magic Kingdom Guide Map and his laptop, Testa set out to find just how, or even if, some of the attractions were so connected to Bacon. He concentrated on several of the more popular attractions and actually managed to dig up some interesting connections.

His first stop was in Adventureland and the Swiss Family Treehouse. This attraction is based on the 1960 Disney film that starred Sessue Hayakawa as Kuala the Pirate Chief:

1. Sessue Hayakawa was also in the 1959 film Green Mansions with Bill Saito.
2. Bill Saito was in The Perfect Weapon (1991) with Beau Starr.
3. Beau Starr was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

Do you get the picture?

Let’s look at what Testa discovered for Aladdin’s Magic Carpet. The attraction was spawned from Disney’s 1992 film Aladdin. Corey Burton provided some of the voices in the film.

1. Corey Burton was also in Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) with David Alan Grier.
2. Grier was in The Woodsman (2004) with Kevin Bacon.

Everyone knows The Enchanted Tiki Room. Disney veteran Wally Boag does the voice of Jose.

1. Wally Boag was in The Love Bug (1968) with Dick Warlock.
2. Warlock was in Quicksilver (1986) with the lovely Kevin Bacon.

A real popular attraction this year, Pirates of the Caribbean, provided a bit of a challenge. X. Atencio wrote the attraction’s signature tune “Yo Ho ? A Pirate’s Life for Me.”

1. X. Atencio also designed the nursery sequence in Mary Poppins, starring Dick Van Dyke.
2. Dick Van Dyke was in Curious George (2006) with Clint Howard.
3. Clint Howard was in My Dog Skip (2000) with, you guessed it, Kevin Bacon.

Splash Mountain has its roots in the 1946 Movie Song of the South.

1. James Baskett played Uncle Remus in the movie and was also in Revenge of the Zombies (1943) with John Carradine.
2. John Carradine was in Portnoy’s Complaint (1972) with Kevin Conway.
3. Kevin Conway was in Mystic River (2003) with our boy Kevin Bacon.

One of the songs played in the background music at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is from the 1975 movie The Apple Dumpling Gang. Bill Bixby played Russell Donovan in the film.

1. Bill Bixby was in Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) with Jack Lemmon.
2. Jack Lemmon was in JFK (1991) with Kevin Bacon.

When it comes to Tom Sawyer Island, Testa goes to the most recent Disney film adaptation: Tom and Huck (1995), starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

1. Jonathan Taylor Thomas was in Man of the House (1995) with Jim Smith.
2. Jim Smith was in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon

Tex Ritter is the voice of Big Al in Country Bear Jamboree.

1. Tex Ritter was in Nashville Rebel (1966) with Henny Youngman.
2. Henny Youngman was in Goodfellas (1990) with Beau Starr.
3. Beau Starr was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

The Liberty Belle Riverboat was originally named the Richard F. Irvine. The name changed in 1996.

1. Dick Irvine worked for many years in Hollywood as an art director on films. His earliest art director credit was for the 1939 film Winter Carnival, starring Ann Sheridan.
2. Ann Sheridan was in I Was a Male War Bride (1949) with Kenneth Tobey.
3. Kenneth Tobey was in Hero at Large (1980) with Kevin Bacon.

For the Hall of Presidents, Testa found that Theodore Roosevelt was in Womanhood, the Glory of the Nation (1917) with Walter McGrail.

1. Walter McGrail was in Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc (1941) with Wally Rose.
2. Wally Rose was in Murder in the First (1995) with Kevin Bacon.

Let’s take a walk over to The Haunted Mansion. The “Grim Grinning Ghosts” song is sung by Thurl Ravenscroft.

1. Thurl Ravenscroft was in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) with Clint Howard.
2. Clint Howard was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon.

Peter Pan’s Flight was a bit of a challenge. Testa was up for it. He points out that animator/cartoonist Ub Iwerks was credited with “special processes” for the 1953 film Peter Pan.

1. Ub Iwerks was in Alice’s Wonderland (1923) with Walt Disney.
2. Walt Disney was in The Reluctant Dragon (1941) with Jeff Corey.
3. Jeff Corey was in Beethoven’s 2nd (1993) with Maury Chaykin.
4. Maury Chaykin was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

When it comes to “it’s a small world,” Testa focuses on Disney artist Mary Blair. Blair designed the overall look and feel of the original attraction for the 1964 World’s Fair.

1. Mary Blair was in Saludos Amigos (1942) with Frank Thomas.
2. Frank Thomas was in The Iron Giant (1999) with Harry Connick, Jr.
3. Harry Connick, Jr. was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon.

Everyone always comes out of Mickey’s PhilharMagic and says, “Why isn’t it called “Donald’s PhilharMagic?” It’s a valid argument. Lots of Donald’s dialog was edited in from older sound bites from when Clarence Nash did Donald.

1. Clarence Nash was in The Reluctant Dragon (1941) with Jeff Corey.
2. Jeff Corey was in Beethoven’s 2nd (1993) with Maury Chaykin.
3. Maury Chaykin was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

We get into a little bit of a stretch with Snow White’s Scary Adventures. I’ll let you make the call on this one. Testa points out that for the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Marion Darlington is credited with “Bird Sounds and Warbling Voices.”

1. Marion Darlington was in Pinocchio (1940) with Don Brodie.
2. Don Brodie was in Murphy’s Law (1986) with David Hayman.
3. David Hayman was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

Does that work for you? OK, now here’s an even bigger stretch. Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel was discovered in Olympic Park in Maplewood, New Jersey in 1967.

1. Maplewood is where early film star Teresa Wright (1918-2005) grew up.
2. Teresa Wright was in Somewhere in Time (1980) with JoBe Cerny.
3. JoBe Cerny was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon.

Dumbo of course is based from the 1941 movie which featured the Hall Johnson Choir as “Crows (singing voice).” Hall Johnson (1888 ? 1970) was a Georgia native and respected choral director.

1. According to the Georgia Encyclopedia, Johnson formed the choir in 1925 to preserve the integrity of the Negro spiritual as it had been performed during the era of slavery. The choir appeared in many films, among them Way Down South (1939) with Don Brodie.
2. Don Brodie was in Murphy’s Law (1986) with David Hayman.
3. David Hayman was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

The stretching continues with Ariel’s Grotto. Former Miss America Leanza Cornett used to play Ariel at Disney-MGM Studios.

1. Leanza Cornett was in The Lords of Los Angeles (1999) with Lisa Ann Hadley.
2. Lisa Ann Hadley was in Dead Above Ground (2002) with Reagan Gomez-Preston.
3. Reagan Gomez-Preston was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

For The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Testa notes that Paul Winchell is the voice of Tigger in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) with Clint Howard.

• Clint Howard was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon.

The Mad Tea Party is based on the 1951 Alice in Wonderland cartoon. Disney’s first adaptation of the novel was in 1923 with the short-lived action film Alice’s Wonderland. Virginia Davis played Alice in the 1923 film.

1. Virginia Davis was in The Harvey Girls (1946) with Angela Lansbury.
2. Angela Lansbury was in Nanny McPhee (2005) with Colin Firth.
3. Colin Firth was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon.

To help with his research, Testa used the Oracle of Bacon at Virginia (link) Web site, along with IMDb, the Internet Movie Database (link).

He knows that Tomorrowland is waiting and he will get to it, unless of course you get to it first. If you do please send me your findings and I’ll share them in a future article.

Next Time

In the upcoming Year of a Million Dreams we’ll see the empowerment of cast members around the world. These Disney employees often go unappreciated. In the meantime, there is a new Web site on the horizon that will focus on showing appreciation for cast members and the magical memories they help create. When we next meet we’ll look at this soon to be launched Web site.

Class dismissed.