One of the opening attractions to Disney’s California Adventure on February 8th, 2001, was Soarin’ Over California. The attraction has since rebranded to Soarin’ Around The World and is featured at multiple Disney parks worldwide, such as EPCOT, Tokyo DisneySea, and Shanghai Disneyland. It is considered one of Disney’s most immersive attractions.
In the 23 years of its operation, one of the most popular show elements is the pre-show video featuring comedian and actor Patrick Warburton. Warburton is best known to Disney fans as the voice of Kronk from the 2002 animated film The Emperor’s New Groove, among other voice work for various Disney productions such as Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Kim Possible.
But recently, instead of appearing on the monitors as usual, multiple guests were surprised when out stepped the real actor dressed in flight attendant garb and reciting lines from the well-known instruction video. Disney recorded the reactions of multiple guests and shared the experience on their Disney Parks YouTube Channel
While there are some obvious visual differences with it being over twenty years later, especially with him sporting a mustache, it was still a treat to see guests surprised to see the living legend in person. This is somewhat reminiscent of when Johnny Depp dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow and surprised guests on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
The surprise was seemingly made to tie into the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival as the logo appears at the end of the video.
Warburton commented on the appearance, saying: “Getting to surprise guests today was super fun, and it’s great to see the impact that this safety intro has made for the past 23 years and how people still love it. It was such a blast getting to be the Chief Flight Attendant for Soarin’ Over California once again.“
What do you think of this wonderful surprise? Do you wish that Disney did things like this more often? Let us know.
Source: KTLA
Pirates & Princesses (TM) (Stylized as PNP) is an independent, opinionated News and Information site focused on Travel, Entertainment, Fashion, the “Geek Girl” Lifestyle, and more. We focus heavily on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Orlando Resort, and other themed entertainment and travel destinations. Our news staff includes former theme park and entertainment industry employees, journalists and dedicated pop culture and theme park enthusiasts. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of this site, our affiliates or our sponsors.