If you are a fan of Walt Disney World and ever visited Epcot in years past you will remember the audio animatronic show called Food Rocks!
You would enter the theater, sit back and be entertained by the Peach Boys, Pita Gabriel, Chubby Cheddar, and your host Füd Wrapper. These cartoon versions of foods sing classic tunes with lyrics reworked to convey nutritional messages about reading food labels, a healthy diet and eating in moderation was a blast.
The show was a 12-minute musical extravaganza that featured The Utensils, a collection of kitchen gadgets based on the band Queen; The Refrigerator Police, singing a parody of “Every Breath You Take”; The Sole of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a fish that strongly resembled Cher; a piano-playing pineapple based on Little Richard; Neil Moussaka, a musical eggplant inspired by Neil Sedaka; and The Get-To-The-Point Sisters, based on The Pointer Sisters, singing a new version of “Respect.” Not only was it a cheerleading educational show designed to inspire healthy nutritional habits but it also had a retro music feel that would cause adults to sit and grin when they heard the new twists on old songs.
Food Rocks opened on March 26, 1994, replacing the original Kitchen Kaberet. It closed for good January 3, 2004 to make way for the queue area of a new Epcot attraction Soarin’
Ah, but here is what you might not realize. According to some Disney Urban Explorers, Food Rocks! is gone but not completely. There is actually an abandoned stage from the audio-animatronics show that remains to this day. Located in the Land Pavilion, it is completely walled off and on the other side of the wall is the entrance for the ride Soarin’. When the new attraction was being built, it was easier just to leave the stage, hide it behind a wall, and create the new attraction around it.
That actually is one of the ways that remodels and refurbishment is done in theme parks. You might remember in my book, Unlocking the Kingdom, it featured the story of a never built attraction called Thunder Mesa… in the book, the story… and it is a factual story… is told of how when a wall was removed an entire display model of the never built attraction was found, with lights that still worked included in it. Walls had simply been built around it years before and most had forgotten it ever existed. The figurines found in this display became part of the story line for the fictional adventure set in the world of Disney.
Have you ever wondered what other hidden surprises might be found inside the Walt Disney World Resort? More than you can imagine.
Life tends to be full of surprises, just waiting to be discovered. Sometimes the best surprises are hidden in plain sight. Next time you visit Walt Disney World, take the time to see what you discover… usually it is there for a reason and there is a story behind it. Take a few moments and get to know the story…because once you know the story…you see things differently.
It works that way at Walt Disney World but it also works that way with people as well. Take some time to do the detective work to understand and listen to the story that others have to tell. You will learn something about them, about yourself, and who knows? You might discover something that changes the way you look at things.
Oh, and by the way… in the third installment of the Key to the Kingdom series entitled, Storming the Kingdom… get ready for a factional adventure where once again we discover some very real places…that you never knew existed or may have long forgotten inside the world of Walt Disney. It will be fun.
Storming the Kingdom (coming November 2014) is the latest installment in a series of books by author Jeff Dixon. The series has been called factual fiction or “faction”. Mystery, adventure and action combined with humor and parody help to create an amazing world where the reader gets to take the adventure of a lifetime. The Key to the Kingdom, Unlocking the Kingdom, and Storming the Kingdom are a pulse pounding E-Ticket Attraction (now that is a term that has rich background in Disney history doesn’t it?) like no other. Disney mystery, history, and fun all combine to make memories that will force the readers to explore the theme parks in brand new ways with their eyes wide open. http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Dixon/e/B00A1DJDNQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1