Extinct Attractions - Adventureland Revue
Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, I’m coming to you with another Tokyo Disney Resort attraction because by the time you’re reading this, I’ll likely be there myself!
Next weekend, Star Wars Celebration begins near Tokyo, Japan - the second time that it’ll be in the area. Star Wars Celebrations have been held in four different countries around the world, not all of which have a Disney connection. In fact, the only Star Wars Celebrations held in the same city as a Disney Park have been the first three Disney Resorts - Anaheim, Orlando, and Tokyo. I’ve only ever been to one in Anaheim, way back in 2015, so I’m super excited to get to experience my next one just next week.
Via D23
While in Tokyo, I will take some time to visit the Tokyo Disney theme parks (of course), a dream I’ve had ever since the parks opened in 1983. Just kidding, I wasn’t even born then, but Tokyo Disneyland itself is now over 40 years old and has been hugely popular since day one. With that in mind, they spared no expense including shows and live entertainment in the park from day one.
With that in mind, the powers that be quickly realized that Adventureland needed a bit of love and decided to spruce it up. Adventureland at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom were both relatively small, without a ton of exhilarating activities, so they decided to shake things up at Tokyo Disneyland with a show called Adventureland Revue debuting in 1984 as the first show in its area.
The stage stood out right from the outset, with a few different levels (though the second level seemed largely underutilized throughout the show). Mickey and Minnie appeared up top at the beginning with some dancers emerging from the bottom. They were singing an original song in Japanese that featured some older styling of music, particularly with a very big band beat. To hit the theme right from the start, all of the characters were wearing safari outfits with Donald, Goofy and Pluto all appearing at the start, ready for adventure. The show lived up to its name with a true smorgasbord of scenes, none of which were tied together.
Via YouTube
The next scene in the show featured some monkeys coming out in aprons, which could only mean one thing, King Louie time. There were some walking trees that helped pave the way for him, while also distracting the monkeys, though King Louie’s dapper shirt and fun hat were probably more than enough for that. In a crazy turn of events, Donald then popped out, dressed as a lady, and proceeded to somewhat seduce King Louie? But it worked on all of the monkeys, with each of them falling head over heels for Donald.
Via YouTube
The third scene in the show featured some traders coming out to peddle their wares. But danger was out there with some thieves showing up to steal their loot. There was some dancing and swordplay around the stage, all of which had a slapstick feel, before Chip and Dale popped on stage with some turbans on their heads. They went back behind a rock outcropping where the lead thief had hidden something, which turned out to be a magic lamp. Chip and Dale proceeded to rub it (duh) and Goofy appeared with a poof of smoke, dressed as a Genie. Some craziness occurred around the stage before everyone disappeared into the treasure room.
The next scene featured some flamenco dancers to start things off before Mickey and Minnie did their best iteration of the tango. Interestingly, the song seemed to be about Minnie and Mickey themselves, but that became unimportant quickly once some matadors appeared on stage to do their version of the running bulls. Except the most important matador was Donald, with Pluto playing the role of the bull and hijinks ensued.
Via YouTube
The final scene felt like a giant party, or maybe just a part of Fantasy Island. It started out with Mickey and Pluto “swimming" around the stage, taking in the apparently docile crocodiles. Luckily, they survived because Goofy came out next fully decked out in a tourist outfit along with Minnie who was ready to go to luau herself. But things then got a bit wacky when ostriches emerged and the music became more like a ballet. There was even a hippo ballerina who gave Goofy a big kiss. What can I say, things got wild, but all of the characters got to get in their final appearance and the chance to appear on stage together.
Putting everything together, I thought the show was pretty fun, especially as an early show at a brand-new theme park. It got a touch repetitive, but I thought all of the outfit changes were super impressive, with most shows keeping characters in the same costume the whole time. There was no real story, but hey that’s what a revue is for. It was a true product of the 1980s, high energy and just fun.
Guests certainly enjoyed it, with Sebastian’s Caribbean Carnival replacing it in 1992. Those eight years are basically a lifetime in DIsney theme park show years, making Adventureland Revue a true winner.
Via Bored Panda
As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!