Can Roger Rabbit be found in the Disney theme parks still?

[Wonderlicious]

Judging from archive footage that I've seen, I understand that during the late 80s and early 90s, Roger Rabbit was seen in the Disney theme parks a lot. I have been to Walt Disney World in 1997 and Disneyland Paris in 2001 and 2004 and on these occasions, I've never seen him. I understand that the whole Katzenberg departure of Disney and co-foundation of Dreamworks left some friction between Disney and Spielberg and a number of planned Roger Rabbit stuff (such as a film sequel and possible theme park attractions) never surfaced. Can Roger still be found in the Disney theme parks? If the answer is no, I will cry.

[memnv]

I am sure he can be if your in the right spot at the right time

[Mr. Toad]

Havent seen him at DL since 96.

[AwallaceUNC]

There's an E-ticket Roger Rabbit attraction (well, maybe just D ticket) at Disneyland. As for the character walking around, I haven't seen that at any of the parks (or heard any reports of it) since the mid-'90s or so.

-Aaron

[memnv]

What is an E-Ticket or D-Ticket attraction

[Kram Nebuer]

I know Roger Rabbit used to be in Spectromagic. He was in the music section and had some spoken lines. I guess after the success of Aladdin, Disney decided to replace him with Genie.

I don't know if he's anywhere present in the park anymore aside from Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin in Disneyland which Aaron mentioned. The only place I did see him recently was on a birthday card Escapay got from his managers that they sent to our house in NJ. It had Mickey with Cinderella's Castle behind him, Figment with Spaceship Earth behind him, and for the Earful tower, they had Roger Rabbit. It was a very old card since Animal Kingdom was not included, so I suspect that Roger Rabbit will be absent from the parks for quite a while until Disney remembers they have him. In the Disneyland Fun Sing-a-long songs video/DVD he's present with the rest of the Fab 5 + Chip n Dale as if he were a regular always see around character like they are. Hopefully after watching the DVD, kids will ask about him and he'll make a return.

Disney is always trying to make people's wishes come true, even if it's not something that always happens. I read about how an old lady loved Happy and wanted to meet him. Sadly, the seven dwarfs (except for Dopey) are only seen in the parade. A cast member heard her story and arranged a special meeting for her to meet Happy. I guess if you are lucky and meet a cast member like this guy, someone will put on the old costume (which I'm sure they still have) and have a special meeting.

[Fidget1234]

i saw him ONCE at Disney Studios in 2001.

My guess is it was an entertainment cms last day at work & they get to choose what character they want to be that day as long as they can fit in the fur, even if it's one rarely seen.

havent heard/seen him around the parks since.

[Mr. Toad]

memnv - for those of us actually old enough I will explain.

Disneland once sold tickets seperately from admission. The tickets came in packs with if my memory is correct 5 A tickets, 4 B tickets, 3 C tickets, 2 D tickets and 1 E ticket. The E Tickets were the top of the line rides and would decrease so on.

Here is the listing from 1972 courtesy of www.yesterland.com
Personally I am wondering who would use a vaulable E ticket coupon on those smelly Pack Mules.

From the Disneyland Guide, Summer 1972:

A tickets coupon or 10¢

Main Street Horse Cars (Main Street)
Horseless Carriage (Main Street)
Omnibus (Main Street)
Fire Engine (Main Street)
King Arthur Carousel (Fantasyland)
Sleeping Beauty Castle (Fantasyland)

B tickets coupon or 25¢

Main Street Cinema (Main Street)
Motor Boat Cruise (Fantasyland)
Swiss Family Treehouse (Adventureland)
Casey Junior Circus Train (Fantasyland)
Alice in Wonderland (Fantasyland)

C tickets coupon or 40¢

Fantasyland Theater (Fantasyland)
Mad Tea Party (Fantasyland)
Autopias (Fantasyland, Tomorrowland)
Shooting Galleries (Fronierland, Adventureland)
Peter Pan Flight (Fantasyland)
Dumbo Flying Elephants (Fantasyland)
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (Fantasyland)
Snow White’s Adventures (Fantasyland)
Mike Fink Keel Boats (Frontierland)
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (Main Street)

D tickets coupon or 70¢

Rocket Jets (Tomorrowland)
PeopleMover presented by Goodyear (Tomorrowland)
Flight to the Moon presented by McDonnell Douglas (Tomorrowland)
Storybookland Canal Boats (Fantasyland)
Skyway (Tomorrowland, Fantasyland)
Tom Sawyer Island Rafts (Frontierland)
Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes (Bear Country)
Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad (Main Street, New Orleans Square and Tomorrowland)
Columbia Sailing Ship (Frontierland)
Mark Twain Steamboat (Frontierland)

E tickets coupon or 85¢ (adults), 75¢ (children)

Mine Train Ride (Frontierland)
Pack Mules (Frontierland)
Jungle River Cruise (Adventureland)
Disneyland-Alweg Monorail Trains (Tomorrowland)
Matterhorn Bobsleds (Fantasyland)
It’s a Small World presented by Bank of America (Fantasyland)
Enchanted Tiki Room presented by United Airlines (Adventureland)
Submarine Voyage (Tomorrowland)
Pirates of the Caribbean (New Orleans Square)
Country Bear Jamboree (Bear Country)
Haunted Mansion (New Orleans Square)

[memnv]

Thanks Mr. Toad, I do remember seeing the tickets when I was a little kid, We had one in our photo albulm, Did not know what it meant though

[memnv]

Mr Toad that Yesterland web site is awesome...Thanks

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

With the exception of the Disneyland ride and other small appearances(you can see his picture, along with his wife, on the bathroom doors at the restrooms at Toon Town) I haven't seen Roger walking around the park since the 45th anniversary parade at Disneyland in 2000.

Like Wondi, I love that rabbit! C'mon Iger, let's try to befriend Spielberg so we can see more of him! He helped rebirth animation after all!

[AwallaceUNC]

But does Spielberg own him? It doesn't make sense to me that Spielberg got mad and just said "Sorry, Disney, I'm taking him back." Characters aren't just on loan to theme parks, and if Disney can still use the RR property in the theme parks (not to mention distribute the movie), I don't see why they couldn't have the character out if they wanted. Maybe they just decided not to ruffle Spiel's feathers. Or perhaps there's another reason (such as a basic lack of popularity).

-Aaron

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

But does Spielberg own him? It doesn't make sense to me that Spielberg got mad and just said "Sorry, Disney, I'm taking him back."

From what I understand, he doesn't, but his company, "Amblin" owns 50% of the character's rights. And while they'll allow Disney to release the DVD(a jam-packed one I might add) along with keeping the stuff already at the parks(pictures of the characters on the restroom doors, the dark ride etc.) they can't make another short, another movie, or even another theme park attraction without Spielberg's permission.

[AwallaceUNC]

From what I uderstand, he doesn't, but his company, "Amblin" owns 50% of the character's rights. And while they'll allow Disney to release the DVD(a jam-packed one I might add) along with keeping the stuff already at the parks(pictures of the characters on the restroom doors, the dark ride etc.) they can't make another short, another movie, or even another theme park attraction without Spielberg's permission.

Okay, that makes sense. But if the attractions and the pictures can stay on the grounds of having already been established, couldn't Roger the character continue roaming in the parks (and certainly remain part of already established entertainment and parades) on the same grounds?

-Aaron

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Okay, that makes sense. But if the attractions and the pictures can stay on the grounds of having already been established, couldn't Roger the character continue roaming in the parks (and certainly remain part of already established entertainment and parades) on the same grounds?

Yeah, they could, but does Disney really want advertise/celebrate the parks by using a character(s) they don't 100% own in parades and "meet-and-greet" areas? With his supposed departure from the park, the answer is no.

I guess it's not too big of a deal. Kids today are probably going to say "Mommy, who's that white rabbit walking next to Pluto and Donald"?

[Wonderlicious]

But does Spielberg own him? It doesn't make sense to me that Spielberg got mad and just said "Sorry, Disney, I'm taking him back." Characters aren't just on loan to theme parks, and if Disney can still use the RR property in the theme parks (not to mention distribute the movie), I don't see why they couldn't have the character out if they wanted. Maybe they just decided not to ruffle Spiel's feathers. Or perhaps there's another reason (such as a basic lack of popularity).

-Aaron

Actually, Aaron, part of the thing that made me wonder if Disney had taken Roger out of regular circulation as a character was due to Disney-Spielberg relations. You may already know this, but I believe that since Katzenberg and Spielberg (along with David Geffen) founded Dreamworks in 1994, Spielberg has not been all that fond of Eisner and has sadly not allowed much new Roger Rabbit stuff out as a weapon. As a matter of fact, a few years back, there was supposedly an unofficial rule at Disney Imagineering to do with not pitching Roger Rabbit stuff in the Disney theme parks according to Jim Hill replying to a Who Framed Roger Rabbit fan asking if a RR ride at Disney World was in the works...

I have found -- when it comes to the Mouse -- that it's wise never to say never. After all, Disneyland didn't get its "Pinocchio's Daring Journey" ride 'til May 1983. And that was 43 years after Disney's animated version of Carlo Collodi's classic tale first appeared in theaters. So -- if you're really a hard core Roger Rabbit fan, Michael -- it's probably best to take the long view here. To understand that some real patience may be in order.

After all, the copyright on the Roger Rabbit characters is co-owned by two different corporations: The Walt Disney Company and Amblin Entertainment. This means that -- before any new Roger Rabbit project (be it a new movie, a video game, a ceramic statue or collectible pin) can officially go into production -- that both sets of owners have to agree on how Roger & Co. are to used used. And given that Disney's CEO Michael Eisner and Amblin's chief honcho Steven Spielberg haven't seen eye to eye about anything since Spielberg joined forces with former-Disney-Studio-head Jeffrey Katzenberg in October 1994 to form Dreamworks SKG ... well, Michael. Can you see now why some real patience may be in order?

Now don't lose all hope, pal. Perhaps after Michael Eisner finally steps down from his all-powerful position as head of the Walt Disney Company, MAYBE then Steven Spielberg will look more favorably on allowing some more Roger Rabbit projects to go into productions. And -- were that to happen -- well, maybe then MGM would finally get that new Roger Rabbit ride that you were asking about.

But -- for now -- all of those Roger Rabbit characters (I.E. Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit, Baby Herman, Benny the Cab et al) are in the deep freeze. How deep in the deep freeze? For over 5 years now, WDI management has been telling the Imagineers to "... not even bother pitching any Roger Rabbit-themed rides, shows and attractions for the parks. After all, Spielberg's not through with screwing with Eisner yet. Steven's never going to allow any new Roger Rabbit projects to go through. Not as along as Michael's in charge of Disney."

I know that sounds like a really grim prognosis, Michael. But the upside is ... Michael Eisner's not always going to be charge of the Walt Disney Company forever. In fact, I've heard talk recently that Eisner could be out of a job as early as the Fall of 2006. (JHM will be doing some in-depth reporting about this matter next Tuesday. So be sure to drop by JHM on September 2nd. When we'll be discussing the Post-Eisner Era. Anyway ...)

So hang in there, Michael. 25, 30 years from now ... who knows? You may finally get that Roger Rabbit ride at Disney-MGM after all. So patience, pal, patience.

I mean, think about how long the Pinocchio fans had to wait for THEIR ride, okay?

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... 8/326.aspx

Of course, since Eisner is out now, perhaps Iger's Disney will be able to turn things around when it comes to Roger and the gang.

[Kram Nebuer]

I guess it's not too big of a deal. Kids today are probably going to say "Mommy, who's that white rabbit walking next to Pluto and Donald"?

Yeah, that's true. It's bad enough that people don't understand Brer Fox and Brer Bear are more than just "the fox" or "bear." Though that's rather understandable considering Song of the South the movie hasn't been (legally) in the US since the 1980s.

Now that I think about it, I think there have been some Disney pins with Roger Rabbit and company.

[reyquila]

I saw him once on Epcot in '92.

PS. EPCOT stands for Every Parent Comes Out Tired.

[Fidget1234]

I saw him once on Epcot in '92.

PS. EPCOT stands for Every Parent Comes Out Tired.

'

it stands for Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday! (as what we used to say when working for the mouse-payday was always a good day)

[Mr. Bungle]

The Disney Auctions site always has loads of Roger Rabbit stuff, too.