In January, I hosted some friends from Iowa (Jerry, Henry, Diane, Emily, Jeff, Morgan, Cole, Amanda, Cassie F., Cassie M., Brittany and Sarah) and ran into a phenomenon that sometimes happens to me. Something that I thought still existed at Walt Disney World had disappeared.
Often it is something that quietly disappeared without any official announcement in the hope that guests would not notice. I certainly didn’t notice until I decided to point it out. Like many other guests, I had seen it and just assumed it was still there even though I hadn’t checked on it out for years.
Minnie Moo and Mickey Moo
I took my guests to the Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Fort Wilderness to show them the plaque commemorating a beloved Walt Disney World “cast member” who died when she was only 15 years old: Minnie Moo, the white cow with the black Mickey Mouse silhouette on her side.
The Disney Company did not release a notice of her death, because John McClintock, the Disney spokesman at the time, said “it was too sensitive” a subject. Just as Disney never officially revealed to guests that the 400-pound spotted grouper named Orson at Epcot’s Living Seas pavilion went to the big seafood buffet in the sky.
Minnie was so beloved that a plaque in her memory was installed in a room in the barn.
For those readers not familiar with Minnie Moo, who died in 2001, here is a brief reminder.
Mickey Moo, a white Holstein cow with a black Mickey Mouse head silhouette shape naturally occurring on her side, was housed in Big Thunder Ranch at Disneyland’s Frontierland in 1988. Mickey Moo was a part of Mickey’s 60th birthday celebration that year but became instantly a popular attraction for guests.
The unusual marking on the side of the cow was not quite as unusual as it was originally assumed. A Midwest farmer contacted the Disney Company with photos of his own cow that had the same type of Mickey Mouse silhouette head.
With Mickey Moo being so popular with guests, as well as constantly providing great publicity, the Disney Company instantly made arrangements with the farmer (that have never been disclosed) and sent up a semi truck to pick up the cow to bring to Walt Disney World.
Minnie Moo, the white Holstein with a similar black Mickey Mouse head silhouette, came to the Walt Disney World Resort from Edgerton, Minnesota, in 1990, living first at Grandma Duck’s Petting Farm in the Magic Kingdom.
Grandma Duck was a character created by Disney Legend Al Taliaferro for his Donald Duck comic strip. She was an old Midwestern widow who worked very hard on her farm and was averse to using most modern technology. She was also Donald Duck’s grandmother.
She appeared frequently as a supporting character in the Duck family Dell comic books and even had several one shot Dell comic books titled “Grandma Duck’s Farm Friends.”
Grandma Duck’s Petting Farm operated at Mickey’s Birthdayland/Mickey’s Starland from 1988-1996. In 1996, the area was transformed into The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wise Acres Farm.
With this change in the area, Minnie Moo and the other animals were moved to a Petting Farm at the Tri-Circle D Ranch (near the Pony Rides) in Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. Minnie Moo died in August 2001, at the age of 15, a little more than the average lifespan for a cow.
Like most other petting zoos of the time, there were pet food machines outside the corrals where, for a quarter, guests could get a handful of food to feed the animals.
However, for the protection of the guests and the animals, children were not allowed to walk into an area with the animals. The animals were sequestered in their pens and guests could stick their hands under or over the fences. Nearby was a big sink (with a step for kids) for guests to wash their hands.
The petting farm was officially closed early in 2005 with the animals relocated to Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Affection Section.
To debunk a Disney Urban Legend, there was only one Minnie Moo (and only one Mickey Moo). Many people claim that there were multiple Minnies over the years, but that is not true. When they died, the Disney Company did not contemplate replacing them.
It was estimated that millions of adults and children visited Minnie Moo, petted her, talked to her and took her photo. She was prominently used in publicity material, although she was occasionally confused with Mickey Moo.
A memorial plaque for Minnie Moo was placed on the wall on the right-hand side in the trophy room (now the Walt Disney Horse “museum” room) at the barn at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. Below it were photos of some of the animals at the petting zoo, including goats and “Chester” the pig that have also been removed.
“Minnie Moo brought much joy to both our guests and our Cast Members,” said Tom Hopkins, animal operations director for Animal Programs, at the time of her death of natural causes. “We will miss her greatly.”
The popularity of Mickey Moo and Minnie Moo sparked a short-lived frenzy where the Disney Company was inundated with offers of various animals that had a Mickey Mouse type marking on them, from pigs and dogs to even inanimate objects like potatoes.
In January 1991, Walt Disney World purchased an Iowa pig named Mickey from Tom and Teresa Reuter of Monticello that had three linked black spots that resembled the silhouette of Mickey Mouse’s head.
They also took a brother piglet with similar markings.
“Both had Mickey, so we decided we had to take the family,” Disney spokeswoman at the time Pam Parks said.
Mickey Pig and Mickey Piglet joined Minnie Moo. As usual, no indication was given of how much money changed hands. Teresa Reuter did say she and her husband wouldn’t lose any money by not sending the six month pig to market, where it would have fetched about $130.
In 1998, Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened. It has the only petting zoo on property, Affection Section at Rafiki’s Planet Watch, and is located out back of the Conservation Station’s main building. Guests of all ages get to interact with goats, sheep, donkeys, cows, pigs, llamas and chickens in a fenced in area where the animals roam.
The animals do not rush little kids and knock them over like at most petting zoos because they are looking for food. That’s because guests do not feed the sheep and goats. However, guests are given brushes to brush them. They are very tame and love being brushed.
In addition, the area also includes an opportunity to see animals receive veterinary treatment and how handlers prepare meals for the animals.
The Pardoned Turkeys
Both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World petting zoos have been homes for presidential pardoned Thanksgiving turkeys.
The first officially pardoned Thanksgiving turkey was in 1989 on the first Thanksgiving in office of President George H.W. Bush, although informally some other Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys had been given stays of execution by earlier chief executives.
For instance, President John F. Kennedy casually spared a turkey on November 19, 1963, just days before his assassination and sent it back so it could continue to grow. However, it was not an official pardon.
Most people have assumed President Truman began the practice of pardoning the turkey, thanks to a photo of the president with a turkey. The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, has pointed out that “The poultry board gave [Truman] turkeys every year and we think they probably ended up on the dinner table.” There is no documentation that Truman ever pardoned any of the birds but that is the popular myth.
At some point, the birds who escaped a White House dinner were sent off to petting zoos and, beginning in 2005, they were sent to the Big Thunder Ranch at Disneyland. The first pardoned turkey (who like other turkeys were pardoned because they had not committed a crime) to be sent to Walt Disney World was in 2007.
On November 20, 2007 in a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, President George W. Bush pardoned both turkeys May and his backup Flower (Mayflower, get it?) and said they would be “flown to Disney World, where they will serve as honorary grand marshals for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. May they live the rest of their lives in blissful gobbling.”
In fact, the turkeys sent to petting zoos all outlived the average lifespan of a turkey.
Even though the petting zoo at Walt Disney World has been moved several times, the one at Disneyland Park can be found at the Big Thunder Ranch. Photo by Shoshana Lewin.
There are some major differences in care at Affection Section than at the previous Fort Wilderness Petting Farm. While Fort Wilderness does house horses, it is under the auspices of not only Disney Animal Programs but also entertainment and recreation so the guidelines are different.
Affection Section is responsible for “exotics” when it comes to animals, and it also has a reproduction program so there are stricter standards to be met by Animal Programs to get Association of Zoos and Animals approval.
The Disney Horses
There were two ponies that were born at the Tri-Circle D Ranch many years ago (Levi and Blaze), but they are considered “oops” babies. Disney was unaware the mares were pregnant when they were purchased. That is not an oversight that happens today.
The male horses are geldings. That aspect not only prevents breeding but also “mellows out” the horses to interact with guests.
Neither Tokyo Disneyland nor Hong Kong Disneyland has horse-drawn trolleys on Main Street, but Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Paris do, and have done so since their opening days, and they are all under the same management.
The Walt Disney World horses are bought on “approval” from the north when they are between 3- and 7-years old. In general, the horses are roughly 18-hands high (or approximately 72-inches tall, since a hand is approximately 4 inches) although there are some exceptions. Jacob the Clydesdale is easily 19 hands tall.
For the first 30 days, they are touched, brushed and fed, but not given any work to do and are not ridden. The whole process is to get them used to the environment like adjusting to the sounds of fireworks every night from the Magic Kingdom.
Next, they are teamed with a more experienced “buddy” for wagon rides.
Then, they usually do a carriage solo. This helps them get familiar with a trailer taking them to a location, like Disney’s Port Orleans Resort. In the location, there are fewer people and tighter paths so it is good training.
Then, they are brought by trailer (their safe space) to backstage at the Magic Kindgom to hear the sounds of the parade and get used to the costumed characters. Sometimes, they are incorporated into the parade before getting the role of pulling the trolley.
The trolley is so well balanced on the tracks that even fully loaded an average person could pull or push it. Draft horses can indeed easily pull up to three times what they weight. To make it even easier to pull, the tracks are greased.
One danger that most people don’t realize is that Main Street slowly inclines up to 6 feet from Town Square. If a horse doesn’t maintain a steady pace and suddenly comes to a dead stop in some locations, the possibility exists that the car might slide backward. In that case, people are removed from the car and cast members push it up the incline to get restarted.
Trolley horses start their day at 7 a.m. by getting fed and washed and then put individually into a trailer to be taken to the Magic Kingdom backstage area behind the trolley barn. In that area are also garages for the vintage motorized vehicles.
Cinderella’s Coach
Another use of the horses of the Tri-Circle-D is for pulling Cinderella’s pumpkin coach. By the way, the original elaborately decorated golden coach from the new Disney live action film Cinderella will be on display from February 1-April 11 on the Streets of America at Disney Hollywood Studios as a photo opportunity.
Of course, Walt Disney World has two Cinderella coaches that have been used for many years. There is a large, heavier one decorated with lights. There is also a smaller lightweight one with more glass that is used for weddings and is pulled by four white horses: Lady, Lacey, Lucy and Beauty.
That smaller coach was built in Burbank, California, in 1980. It first premiered at Walt Disney World in 1981 as part of the Tencennial parade and was later used in Easter and Christmas parades. It became the coach for Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings and can comfortably seat two people.
In 1995, the second larger coach was produced by Bennington Carriages who usually provided carriages for British royalty. It has cerulean blue cushions and clever little details like a sculpture of two birds atop the carriage and Susie the mouse hitching a ride along the back.
The vines that interweave along the top and sides of the coach have leaves embossed with gold. Of course, one of the distinctive differences from the smaller coach is that it can illuminate and seat up to four people. The coach is pulled by six horses and is usually accompanied by three coachmen.
I’ve written about the Tri-Circle-D Ranch before, but there is always something new to learn.
The Mini-Museum and the Dragon Calliope
For instance, just recently, Walt Disney World installed a repeating narration in the small Walt Disney Horses mini-museum to better help guests understand what they are seeing displayed. I would have preferred that instead of that narration constantly looping that Disney had installed a button to press to hear it because if you stand there for any length of time to carefully look at items, it can drive you crazy as it repeats and repeats and repeats.
One wall is dedicated to Walt with horses including Walt sitting on his polo pony as well as him sitting on the stagecoach built at the Disney Studio for Disneyland. Another wall is dedicated to the horses at Walt Disney World where you can see examples of both Cinderella coaches.
One mystery I am trying to solve is when and why the little miniature model of the Dragon Calliope was built. If you look closely at the harnesses for the horses, they feature the distinctive “Disneyland D” marking on them.
Of course, I know the Calliope originally came from Disneyland but why was this model built and where was it displayed there? As a frequent visitor to Disneyland in the 1970s, I never remember seeing it.
The Dragon Calliope came to Walt Disney World in 1981 for the Tencennial parade and remained to be used in parades and special events.
I am thankful the real full-sized Dragon Calliope is still here now for us to enjoy. It only takes two horses to maneuver it in or out of its enclosure but six to eight horses to pull it. Pressing the button near the enclosure, guests can hear the first few bars of the song “When You Wish Upon A Star” as played by the organ.
I was also told on my visit that the stagecoach that used to be displayed in front of Pioneer Hall and sometimes is exhibited in this same enclosure is safe and protected backstage from the harsh Florida weather.
I am currently researching more information on Owen Pope and his wife Dolly who were responsible for the Tri-Circle-D Ranch from 1971-1975 when they retired.
Owen was often called “Buddy” by his friends and family and apparently at one time he and his wife had a pet monkey named “Judy.”
Owen met Dolly in December 1929 and they were married on July 13, 1935. They made their living exhibiting horses and living out of their 30-foot van when in 1950, Walt caught one of their shows at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. Walt hired the Popes to get the horses ready for Disneyland.
Both Walt and Roy also used to talk to the Popes about what they had observed at different fairs where they performed and what types of shows people enjoyed so they could incorporate that information into Disneyland.
The Popes lived in their trailer at the Disney Studio in Burbank for two and a half years and built 10 stalls from the studio’s lumber supply for movie sets to house and train the original horses for Disneyland.
They also lived backstage in a small house at Disneyland for roughly a decade and a half beginning in July 1955 to supervise the Pony Farm before moving to Florida to manage the Tri-Circle-D Ranch.
The Tri-Circle-D Ranch is a true hidden treasure on Walt Disney World property but its out-of-the-way location seems to be a deterrent to some Disney fans discovering its many joys. There are many wonderful stories about the location still waiting to be uncovered.
