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Disneyana Convention: 1997
(Convention Theme for '97: Disney VILLAINS!)
I must admit, Disney Villains are popular
as of late, though I'm not 100 percent sure as to why. I'm more for the
heroes and princesses, of course, but...whatever. To be candid I knew very
well that this year's convention theme, Disney Villains, would be a major
draw. Yet I was a tad bit bittersweet, you know? On the one hand my hopes
were fulfilled with a lot of Haunted Mansion style memorabilia (my
favorite ride). Yet if you understand the complications here: how can you
make a convention involving "villains"...fun? You'd be
surprised. In many ways, this was one of the most well-thought-out
conventions to date.
As always, the "freebies" given
for registering were totally cool, and set the mood
nicely. Each Disneyana I've attended has included a free statuette
"clock", which this year was none other
than Tick-Tock, the crocodile from Peter Pan; what a nice idea! Logo
merchandise (event-themed items sold only to registered conventioneers)
was equally well thought out, including this cool villains
"watch" which was encased in a book with a claw seemingly
scratching its cover; cool! As you'd expect this watch-and-case sold out quickly;
that monster hand on the front of the case was pretty unique. Other
affordable logo items included pins, T-shirts, and so on, all with that
villains edge.
Theme Night was held in MGM studios.
Since I'm typing this review some years after the fact, it must be said
that 1997 was long before such things as the "Rockin' Roller
Coaster" or "Tower of Terror." Then again; hey, MGM studios was
entirely open to us (not just a part of it!), which still included every
other ride, attraction, and locale of the park. 
There was a minor drizzle of rain that
forced some of the initial outdoor festivities indoors for a short while, though the night was still
a blast. Free food was at its best, including a taco/Mexican food table
that allowed you to make your own tacos/etc. to your liking. Mind you,
more "standard" fare was available as well, but being a fan of
Mexican food I was really impressed they went as far as to include a taco
table. Not that this was the only selection: chicken and beef ke-bobs were the biggest hit, as was the
pasta serving table. This isn't even getting into how theme night began
this cool scavenger hunt of sorts, and the storyline of the convention,
which was inspired...
The evolving convention "story," as
begun on Theme Night (for starters), was that
Mickey disappeared via an evil spell! The evil Maleficent (from Sleeping
Beauty) decided she and her fellow villains were sick of not
being invited to these conventions. They first thought their
"forgotten" invitations were a mere post office oversight,
though no more!  They're taking over!
While Theme night allowed food and rides all night, it also offered the
option of participating in a scavenger hunt, looking for trivia clues of
where Mickey disappeared. Each "team" was given a packet of
questions to solve, including extreme close-ups of areas within the
park (the circular chest plate of C3PO in Star Tours, for example), or
trivia questions (how many Munchkins are within the Wizard of Oz
scene, on The
Great Movie Ride?). This was an amusing addition to that year's convention,
though there was only one "team" of winners (darn). Still, it
shows how far the folks behind the convention went to make this one
special. A scavenger hunt on theme night was a nice touch...even if, at
the risk of sounding greedy, it would've been nice to get a small
"pin" just for participating ;-).
This convention
was also historical for future Disneyana conventions, in that it
introduced the convention's "mascot," Disney Anna. Miss
Anna is a lot like the amalgam of every over-zealous Disney Fan
you ever met, though in a very favorable light. The actress cast for the
role played her part well (particularly when up against the enjoyably hammed-up performance of evil sorceress, Maleficent), and would appear in conventions in later years.
By the morning,  the theme of "Villains taking over the
Convention" was given a fun twist. Decorations were all changed! All banners, statues, posters, and everything
else looked like a villain had "vandalized" it in a cartoon-like
way. Villain decorations were also brought out, which were often very
elaborate. Among the
most impressive was a two-story-high statue of Hades from the
then-brand-new animated feature, Hercules. Even colored lighting
was added, with a "mist" fog effect, creating a very eerie (yet
fun!) look to the convention hall on all the following days.
 As for the Limited Edition items, the main must-have (for me) was a
miniature of the Haunted Mansion itself. I'm not a major fan of miniature
cottages and castles, though a miniature of my fave ride is something
else! How totally cool is a miniature of Disney's Haunted Mansion? You could even look
into a window at its side, and see a miniaturized version of "Madame
Leota's" crystal ball room. Cool! Oh, yes, there were other
Limited Edition items as well:
animated cells and statuettes, including many, many items based on
Fantasia characters, which the artists seemed to focus on this year. Those items included numerous Sorcerer Mickey
statues, and the popular Fantasia demon, Chernobog. Some Auction items
went against the theme, however, including (shown here) a spectacular yet
very fragile (and very costly) Cinderella's Castle, made in crystal!
Sadly, I had to miss the final banquet night,
due to an unforeseen illness. However, from what I heard, it was a real
howl...pun not intended. First of all; it was a masquerade ball, where
costumes were not only allowed, but encouraged. Don't worry; anyone who
could not afford to buy a costume (or just didn't know) could go in formal
attire, and enough people went as such to make such people not feel
"left out." Those who went in costume, however, participated in
a contest for Best Costume! Such finalists ranged from the three fairies in
Sleeping Beauty, to the 101 Dalmatians (well, the original 15, anyway,
plus Cruella and her two henchmen!), and many of the Princesses and
Princes. Even a "Darth Vader" was present (because of Star
Tours). The party guests ate a typically excellent,
surf-and-turf meal, saw an intriguing stage show, and then danced on a
small dance floor.
In case you were wondering about that
costume contest. Judges in the costume competition included classic Disney Villain
voice
talent, including Pat Caroll (Ursula, The Little Mermaid. Finalists were brought on stage, to
act out a scene from the film their costumes represented. The Dalmatian Puppies (one of which was a
relative of mine) came onto the stage, and totally hammed it up as if they
were being chased by Cruella. The judges liked them best, and gave them
each their own copy of the prize; limited edition sericels of the eeriest of Disney villains, Chernobog,
from Fantasia (coooool). This isn't to say everyone else left empty
handed. This is Disneyana, after all! All guests were given this year's
"parting gift": a pewter miniature of the
Sleeping Beauty dragon, protecting the magic mirror from Snow
White (a fitting amalgam of the biggest Villains at the Convention). I
still see this parting gift get a hefty penny on eBay, whenever anyone is
willing to part with one.
In
the end, it was one of the better Disneyana Convention years. I'm not a
diehard fan of "villains," though, so I wouldn't want them to
make this theme too frequent. On the other hand, I got to purchase that Haunted Mansion miniature, which will be on by
bookcase shelf for many years. There's also that cool ongoing storyline,
and how all of Disney/MGM Studios (not just "part" of the park)
was open during theme night. Even so; I really love the theme they chose for
next year even more. See you there.
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed product, are created by Techtite,
copyright 2000; all rights reserved. Pictures are scanned from
promotional material and vacation video pertaining to this
attraction. They are discrete thumbnails, used only for the purpose of
review, and by no means represent any affiliation with Techtite and the distributors of that attraction. For further "legalese"
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