In early January 2018 The American Adventure closed for a month long refurbishment. Disney made no announcements on what if any major changes would be done before closing. However, on February 9th, just prior to the re-opening it was announced that it would “Add New American Icons” to the attraction. Although not announced in the article it was largely thought that it would be a time to remove two controversial figures from the ending montage, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.
It was also announced that the projection would be changed from 70mm film to all digital. For the most part the new projection looks amazing. It’s much brighter and sharper which give it a clean look. I did think it could be too bright for some scenes (a little distracting) of the projection but I think the overall look is worth it. There were also some new backgrounds such as the beautiful new New York City skyline at the end of the montage.
In the announcement it was also mentioned that a re-recording and new orchestration of the iconic, “Golden Dream” song which is heard at the end of the show during the montage.
Since the announcement of the re-recording of “Golden Dream” it had me a bit worried on how can such an iconic song be improved upon? It was already a masterpiece that was so patriotic and so moving. Unfortunately for the most part my concern for the re-recording was warranted. After hearing the new re-recording of “Golden Dream” in person I came away wondering why it was changed. It’s the orchestration that is the most jarring when compared to previous versions. Throughout the song there are apparent guitar and drum sounds which almost seem to ruin the moment. Especially during the Apollo 11 landing scene. Instead of a silence in music which gave anticipation of the landing we now hear the drums playing, which to me seems off. Overall the new song gives possibly a more modern sound to it but it’s not as moving and not as powerful as previous versions.
Peter Jennings being removed from the ending montage hurts a bit as his story after 9/11 was very memorable. The additions mostly try to bring in more current, more modern people that younger folks will recognize. The gold winning 2016 US Gymnastic Olympic team could remind you of the scandal which has come of light recently. Now that the projection is all digital I wonder if they’ll make more changes more often or if we’ll have to wait another 10 years for an update.
Here’s a list of some of the folks removed and added to The American Adventure ending montage.
Removed: Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Willie Nelson, Peter Jennings, Michelle Kwan, The Hoyt Family, Tony Hawk, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal
Added: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Madonna, Beyonce, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, John Williams, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Misty Copeland, LeBron James, Tatyana McFadden, U.S. gymnastics Olympic team from 2016
Overall it’s a nice update. If you’ve never seen the previous versions of the show then you’ll still walk away feeling very patriotic. The digital projections are amazing and the ending song is good. If you haven’t seen the show at all go see it, it’s truly one of the best Disney attractions ever made.
Showcase of Wishes is a Reporter for the Boardwalk Times.
