“When the show was being developed in 1980, we knew that the passage of time would be a factor and that the story would be never-ending,” says senior vice president and executive show director Rick Rothschild, who was part of the team that created the original attraction in 1982. “We did the first update in 1992, which included a longer version of the song written for the film montage Golden Dreams to make room for the additional ten years of history. Now here we are, 15 years later and we didn’t want to add another verse to the song, so we remixed it and, with some clever editing, we repositioned the elements to present them earlier in the song, which gave us more time to present the history from the late ’60s to today.”

Golden Dreams is not so much a history lesson, but more of a refresher course in the diversity and endurance of the American spirit, illustrated by images of the “dreamers and doers” throughout history who exemplify it. This time, the team focused on the “spirit of giving” and the philanthropic side of Americans to broaden the perspective of what makes the spirit of America unique. But identifying which events and icons would resonate with the widest audience turned out to be a tough assignment for more than the Imagineers.

Which Story is History?

Hoping to get a fresh perspective on such a serious selection, the team contacted a noted historian from George Washington University, who recruited 13 graduate students from his American History department for a semester-long assignment to help with the Epcot enhancement.

“We provided a script, some background of the show and a version of the Golden Dreams sequence of the show,” says Rick. “Their assignment was to help us select up to 100 images and give us reasons they believed this person belonged in the montage. The result was a document that provided us with names and moments in time that they felt were worthy of consideration.”

Collating the college list with one independently generated within WDI, the team developed the final roster, gathered the images and worked out the best way to add them to the ages.

“Ultimately, we were able to incorporate about 115 images during the same song and still maintain the smooth, soaring pace that we always had,” says Rick.

“With the MTV generation, people are able to take in more imagery than they used to,” says digital media producer, director for Theme Park Productions Ken Horii. “So this format allowed us to fit a lot more in, and we think that really added to the film’s emotional impact.”

However, the team was highly aware that they needed to elicit the right kind of emotion, especially in treating such tragic events such as Sept. 11.

“The whole piece is about the American spirit and our resolve and our ability as Americans to bounce back from incredibly bad situations,” says Ken. “Yes, 9/11 happened, but we’re Americans and we come together during adversity. It was a moment in time when everyone felt as if we were one and I think that’s what we wanted to show.”

Technologically Timely

“The great special effect in this piece was the process in which it was done,” says Ken. “We’re using new technology to get closer to the original creative vision. We stepped up the existing images; manipulated new ones in much more subtle ways and created some amazing fireworks for the Statue of Liberty shot, and we added things that we always thought should have been there�like the image of Rosa Parks�because now we have the technology in-house to do that.”

“With the digital process, original film and low resolution video clips are brought in, cleaned up, stabilized, time stretched and composited all within the computer,” says digital media designer Michael Jackson. “A lot of the material we resurrected from the archives was originally 16 mm, which was bumped to 35 mm, which was projected onto 65 mm, so we took a lot of care in cleaning up the images to make them look perfectly smooth.”

Achieving that perfect combination between history and technology proved to be a truly delicate balancing act for the team, but, thanks to that perfect Imagineering balance of talent and innovation, the new Golden Dreams debuted this summer and The American Adventure is once again up-to-date and aging gracefully.

The Golden Ticket Awards are presented to the �Best of the Best� in the amusement industry calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today. Surveys were sent to a database of experienced and well-traveled amusement park fans around the world � in balanced geographical regions � asking them to rate the �bests� in 24 categories such as �amusement parks,� �roller coasters,� �shows,� �friendliest staff� and �water rides.� The 2007 winners are �

Best Amusement Park

Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Best Waterpark

Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas

Best Children�s Park

Legoland California, Carlsbad, Calif.

Best Marine Life Park

SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Fla.

Best Seaside Park

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Best Wooden Coaster

The Voyage at Holiday World, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Steel Coaster

Superman Ride of Steel

at Six Flags New England, Agawam, Mass.

Best Kids� Area

Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio

Friendliest Staff

Holiday World & Splashin� Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Cleanest Park

Holiday World & Splashin� Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Halloween Event

The Haunt at Knott�s Berry Farm, Buena Park, Calif.

Best Landscaping – Amusement Park

Busch Gardens Europe, Williamsburg, Va.

Best Landscaping – Waterpark

Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas

Best Food

Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.

Best Shows

Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio

Best Outdoor Night Show Production

IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth

at Walt Disney World�s Epcot Center, Orlando, Fla.

Best Water Ride

Dudley Do-Right�s Ripsaw Falls

at Universal�s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best Waterpark Ride

Master Blaster at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort,

New Braunfels, Texas

Best Dark Ride

Amazing Adventures of Spiderman

at Universal�s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best New Ride of 2007 – Amusement Park

Maverick at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Best New Ride of 2007 – Waterpark

Bakuli at Holiday World & Splashin� Safari,

Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Carousel

Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort,

Elysburg, Penn.

Best Indoor Roller Coaster

Rock �n� Roller Coaster at Disney-MGM, Orlando, Fla.

Best Indoor Waterpark

World Waterpark, West Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

“This event honors all of us teachers by helping children dream,” Morgan said.

The Endeavour astronauts also answered questions from guests, and served as grand marshals of the afternoon parade.

The crew — commander Scott Kelly, pilot Charles Hobaugh and mission specialists Tracy Caldwell, Alvin Drew Jr., Richard Mastracchio, Morgan and Dave Williams — returned to Earth on Aug. 21.

While giving thanks to the astronauts, the day of celebration also is a savvy marketing strategy at a slow time in the tourism calendar, experts say.

“I think it’s more of a good public relations move for Disney,” said Rob Varley, executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism. “This is a way to honor the heroes. It could draw more people for Disney, but, in general, it’s a good move. We finally got our first teacher in space, and it ties in with Disney’s image.”

During the day, Morgan unveiled a new addition to the Mission: Space attraction at Epcot — a space-themed plaque featuring a quote from her, reading: “Reach for your dreams . . . the sky is no limit.”

Her plaque joins other messages there from such luminaries as Neil Armstrong, Galileo Galilei, Stephen Hawking, John F. Kennedy, Charles Lindbergh and Carl Sagan.

Morgan was teacher Christa McAuliffe’s backup for the 1986 Challenger mission, in which the shuttle exploded shortly after liftoff, killing the seven astronauts aboard.

Morgan’s quote is displayed beside one by McAuliffe at the Mission: Space attraction.

Following the plaque dedication and crew recognition ceremony, the astronauts took part in an education session with Orlando-area students at Epcot’s Base21 Siemens VIP Center.

Also on the astronauts’ schedule at Disney World were answering questions from Epcot guests at the Mission: Space attraction, then moving on to Magic Kingdom to take part in a procession down Main Street U.S.A., greeting guests and serving as honorary grand marshals of the afternoon parade.

If you are unlucky enough to be visiting Central Florida when a powerful storm arrives, be prepared to hunkerdown. Send someone out a day or two in advance to get some supplies as you might be stuck in your hotel room for 24-48 hours. A gallon of water per person, some glow sticks, and meals you can eat without cooking or refrigeration are good. Books and games to play would be good too. During the storm stay away from windows and don’t go outside. It may look safe, but its not.

Don’t fret too much about losing days in the parks. Over the past few years, the parks have been empty the day before and after the storm hits, so while you may lose a day, you get two days with the parks practically to yourself. Also, if you absolutely have to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom on your trip, make sure to visit before the storm hits. Due to the large amount of foilage and the extra care required for the animals, DAK is the slowest of the parks to reopen after a storm. Remember the cast members all endured the hurricane too. Some have come into work and left their families to deal with any clean up because a paycheck and health insurance is more important to them then repairing their home immediately. So enjoy the odd comradery that brings.

Disney World suffered a pretty much direct hit from a hurricane a few years ago and came out fine. Some of the hotels nearby, however, did not fare as well. So your mileage may vary depending on where you’re staying and where the storm hits.

If a named storm is on the way and you’ve scheduled your vacation for the exact same time should you reschedule? That’s a personal decision, but I think that as long as you’re prepared and stay safe indoors during the storm you don’t have much to worry about.