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91-410: The original version of the attraction opened on March 5, 1983, and was the creation of Tony Baxter and Steve Kirk. It began with the omnimover vehicles "floating" in the clouds and seeing the silhouette of a strange blimp mixed with a vacuum cleaner and hearing the humming and singing of its pilot. In the next scene, the riders come right next to this vessel and the pilot, a red-bearded man, dressed in

182-412: A laser light show in the manner of an orchestra conductor. The last of the rooms, Science, featured a large machine that Dreamfinder was operating that took a closer look at the workings of nature such as the growth of plants, the formation of crystals from minerals and looking into space. At the end, Dreamfinder told Figment and the audience that Imagination is the key to unlocking the hidden wonders of

273-508: A protest song of sorts, the " FCC Song ", in which he lambasts the U.S. FCC for fining him $ 5,000 for saying "fuck" on national radio. The song contains 14 uses of the word. In the same year, the musical comedy Spamalot debuted in Chicago; it opened in New York's Shubert Theatre on 14 February 2005. Idle wrote the lyrics and book for Spamalot , collaborating with John Du Prez on much of

364-631: A Beatles tribute band. In 1986, Idle provided the voice of Wreck-Gar, the leader of the Junkions (a race of robots built out of junk that can only speak in film catchphrases and advertising slogans) in The Transformers: The Movie . In 1987, he took part in the English National Opera production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado , in which he appeared in the role of

455-501: A Figment!" Both Dreamfinder and the dragon Figment (voiced by Billy Barty ) imagine things to fill the "idea bag". When the idea bag is full, Dreamfinder declares that the ideas need to be emptied in the "Dreamport" which, as he says, is "never far away when you use your imagination". Regarding the scene where Figment is introduced, Baxter said: If you're telling the story of Little Mermaid or Snow White, everyone already knows who they are, what they talk like, how they sing, etc. But in

546-517: A Python, happy to talk about Python, happy to revisit the group's glory days. Even though he has gone on to his own work – dozens of films, plays, TV shows, albums, books and screenplays – he is perhaps the most active standard-bearer for the group. It was Idle who toured extensively in 2000 and 2003, performing Python songs with a band and back-up singers. He went on the road with the Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python Tour , then with

637-558: A blue suit and top hat, introduces himself as the Dreamfinder (voiced by Chuck McCann ) and saying that he uses his vehicle (called the Dream Mobile or Dream Catcher by some fans) to collect dreams and ideas to create all sorts of new things. Soon, he creates a figment of his imagination : "two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, horns of a steer, but a lovable fellow! From head to tail, he's royal purple pigment, and there, voilà ! You've got

728-600: A competition in exchange that McCartney knows what the competition in question is so that he can avoid it. In addition, Idle did an unmasked performance of " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life " from Life of Brian . In February 2024, Idle made headlines in the UK after revealing that he was still working at the age of 80 for financial reasons. Idle has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His novels are Hello Sailor and The Road to Mars . In 1976, he produced

819-560: A constellation in the connection lab and at the end of the ride, where he is only heard, but is shooed off by Channing. Fans were mainly upset that the Dreamfinder, a popular character from the original ride, was not present in this version. Additionally, the ride path was drastically shortened due to budgetary issues. Because of this, the attraction closed on October 8, 2001, and again, went through another renovation. The overwhelmingly negative response to Journey into YOUR Imagination led to

910-598: A cyan sweater. ImageWorks: The What-If Labs is an interactive exhibit area located at the Imagination! pavilion on the western side of World Celebration at Epcot , a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida . The original Journey Into Imagination described ImageWorks as "the creative playground of the future". Before its 1998 closure, the attraction was originally named ImageWorks and

1001-506: A design for a Mary Poppins ride which was then shown to WED Enterprises through a connected friend. Impressed by Baxter's work, WED Enterprises invited him to a second tour of the company where they showed him the aspects of the position as well as concepts they were currently working on. Baxter left the tour that day with a new career in mind and as a result, switched his career path and transferred schools. After graduating from Santa Ana High School in 1965, he attended Cal Poly Pomona as

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1092-472: A drama stage which gave guests the opportunity to put themselves in their own movie. The ImageWorks section of the Imagination pavilion opened five months before Journey Into Imagination, and it was a hit among guests. The ride closed on October 10, 1998, in order to begin a major renovation of the attraction. The second version of the attraction reopened on October 1, 1999, as Journey Into YOUR Imagination it

1183-610: A feature film for Paramount Pictures , with Nicholaw directing and Dan Jinks producing. In 2022, Idle competed in season eight of The Masked Singer as "Hedgehog". He did a cover of the Beatles ' " Love Me Do " with help from the USC Trojan Marching Band . When eliminated in the first episode alongside William Shatner as "Knight" and Chris Kirkpatrick as "Hummingbird", Idle mentioned to Nick Cannon that he had to get approval from Paul McCartney to do "Love Me Do" for

1274-580: A full-time job and bringing up a child, so when Idle was seven, she enrolled him in the Royal Wolverhampton School as a boarder . At that time the school was a charitable foundation dedicated to the education and maintenance of children who had lost one or both parents. Idle said: "It was a physically abusive , bullying , harsh environment for a kid to grow up in. I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at

1365-687: A landscape architecture major, but soon after transferred to California State University in Long Beach to study Theater Design. During this time, Baxter created a portfolio which included concepts of attractions for Disneyland as part of his senior project, which he had spent his entire last year of college constructing. Baxter graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 1969. A partial list of the attractions Baxter has been responsible for: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in Disneyland park September 2, 1979, and

1456-443: A pot of rainbows held by Figment. The Literature room was mostly focused on suspenseful tales and had Dreamfinder playing a massive organ with words coming out of it, words that turned into their meanings, a massive book featuring the raven from Edgar Allan Poe 's poem cawing menacingly and books of horrible monsters Figment tried to keep closed. The Performing Arts had Figment trying on costumes backstage while Dreamfinder conducted

1547-472: A ride like Imagination, you're not familiar with the characters going into it. This opening scene allows you to meet Dreamfinder, understand how he created Figment, and get to know Figment's personality, so at the end of those four minutes you know the characters. The omnimovers leave the side of the Dream Mobile and enter the Dreamport's storage room, which includes a massive contraption for sorting ideas. Also in

1638-623: A set on Top of the Pops in October 1991. The following month Idle, accompanied by opera singer Ann Howard , sang the song at the Royal Variety Performance . He recorded a special version for Mayo's own use on air ("Come on Simon, get another song on now; why don't you put on a nice Cliff Richard record?") and changed the line "life's a piece of shit" to "life's a piece of spit" in order to get daytime airplay on radio. In 2004, Idle recorded

1729-403: A sketch show on BBC2 with music by Neil Innes . RWT was 'Britain's smallest television network'. The name was a parody of London Weekend Television , the independent television franchise contractor that provided Londoners with their ITV services at weekends; Rutland had been England's smallest county, but had recently been 'abolished' in an administrative shake-up. To make the joke complete,

1820-506: A spin-off book to Rutland Weekend Television , titled The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book . In 1982, he wrote a West End farce Pass the Butler , starring Willie Rushton . During his Greedy Bastard Tour of 2003, he wrote the diaries that would be made into The Greedy Bastard Diary: A Comic Tour of America , published in February 2005. Idle also wrote the book and co-wrote the music and lyrics for

1911-412: Is a first cousin of Canadian conductor Peter Oundjian and Nigel Wray, former chairman of Saracens Rugby Club. David Bowie made Idle godfather to his son, film director Duncan Jones . Idle is an atheist , but does not like using the term and is quoted as saying "I don't like that word, it implies that there's a God not to believe in." In 2019, Idle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer . He

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2002-524: Is a songwriter with about 150 songs to his credit. He composed and performed many of Pythons' most famous comic pieces, including " Eric the Half-a-Bee ", " The Philosophers' Song ", " Galaxy Song ", " Penis Song " and, probably his most recognised hit, " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ", which was written for the closing scene of the Monty Python film Life of Brian , and sung from the crosses during

2093-505: Is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles . Idle studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge , and joined Cambridge University Footlights . He has received a Grammy Award as well as nominations for two Tony Awards . Idle reached stardom when he co-created and acted in

2184-657: Is connected to Medfield College, the setting of several live-action Disney films. The queue for the attraction passes the "offices" of Professor Brainard ( Fred MacMurray 's role in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), although the queue addressed the 1997 live-action remake when the role was played by Robin Williams ), Wayne Szalinski ( Rick Moranis in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids trilogy) and Dean Higgins ( Joe Flynn 's role in

2275-655: Is the former senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering and was responsible for creating designs and carrying out the construction of attractions all over the world. He announced his departure from his full-time position to become a part-time adviser on February 1, 2013. During his 47-year tenure with the company, he oversaw the construction of multiple contemporary Disney theme park attractions, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad , Star Tours , Splash Mountain , The Indiana Jones Adventure , and Journey Into Imagination , and served as

2366-541: The Dexter Riley films). The ride includes further references to The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes , with a glass-fronted computer room, including a sign on the door indicating "no tennis shoes allowed", as well as a Medfield College letter-man's jacket can also be seen inside the room. 28°22′22.29″N 81°33′5.06″W  /  28.3728583°N 81.5514056°W  / 28.3728583; -81.5514056 Tony Baxter Tony Wayne Baxter (born February 1, 1947)

2457-534: The Previous Record album. After the success of Python in the early 1970s, all six members pursued solo projects. Idle's first solo work was his own BBC Radio One show, Radio Five (pre-dating the real Radio Five station by 18 years). This ran for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and involved Idle performing sketches and links to records, playing nearly all the multi-tracked parts himself. On television, Idle created and wrote Rutland Weekend Television (RWT),

2548-598: The Footlights smoker , and that led to me discovering about and getting into the Footlights, which was great. Idle started at Cambridge only a year after future fellow-Pythons Graham Chapman and John Cleese . He became Footlights President in 1965 and was the first to allow women to join the club. He starred in the television comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set co-starring his future Python castmates Terry Jones and Michael Palin . Terry Gilliam provided animations for

2639-722: The Greedy Bastard Tour , which was documented extensively on the Python website he launched in 1996." Idle received good critical notices appearing in projects written and directed by others – such as Terry Gilliam 's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), alongside Robbie Coltrane in Nuns on the Run (1990) and in Casper (1995). He also played Ratty in Terry Jones' version of The Wind in

2730-457: The ImageWorks and the on-ride photo was shown on a screen next to the camera. The ride then exited into ImageWorks, which was meant to be a creative playground of the future. ImageWorks was an interactive playground located above the ride where guests could play with their imaginations. Those activities included interactive exhibits such as giant kaleidoscopes, pin-screens, a rainbow corridor, and

2821-906: The Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Idle contributed a cover of Buddy Holly 's " Raining in My Heart " for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly , released 6 September 2011. He also wrote and sang a variant of the "Galaxy Song" for Professor Brian Cox 's show Wonders of Life , as well as

Journey into Imagination with Figment - Misplaced Pages Continue

2912-571: The contemporary film certificates ) and stripped of his prefecture , though by that time he was head boy . Idle had already refused to be senior boy in the school cadet force, as he supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and had participated in the yearly Aldermaston March . He says there was little to do at the school, and boredom drove him to study hard and consequently win a place at Cambridge University . Idle attended Pembroke College, Cambridge , where he studied English . At Pembroke, he

3003-484: The sketch series Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) and the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983) with John Cleese , Michael Palin , Terry Gilliam , Terry Jones , and Graham Chapman . Known for his elaborate wordplay and musical numbers, Idle composed and performed many of the songs featured in Python projects, including " Always Look on

3094-604: The Audience! , which was an attraction at the Imagination Pavilion at Walt Disney World 's Epcot from 1994 until 2010 and at Disneyland from 1998 until 2010. The film also stars Rick Moranis and other members of the cast of the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids . In 1999, he reprised the role in the short-lived second incarnation of the Journey into Imagination ride at Epcot, replacing Figment and Dreamfinder as

3185-451: The Bright Side of Life ". After Monty Python's Flying Circus he created the sketch show Rutland Weekend Television (1975–1976), and hosted Saturday Night Live four times (1976–1979). He has also acted in films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Nuns on the Run (1990), Splitting Heirs (1993), Casper (1995), An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997), Ella Enchanted (2004), and Shrek

3276-831: The Frog , and that Baxter would contribute to this new version as a creative advisor. In 2022, it was announced that the new attraction will be called Tiana's Bayou Adventure with an opening set for "late 2024" at both parks. The Magic Kingdom version of Splash Mountain closed in January 2023, while the Disneyland version closed in May 2023. Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened in June 2024 at Magic Kingdom, and in November 2024 at Disneyland. Splash Mountain still exists in Tokyo Disneyland . Indiana Jones Adventure

3367-506: The Gravity lab, the riders enter an upside down house. For the finale, riders go through the Scanner again and find that their minds have been supercharged with ideas. The machine then "explodes" and the audience see a light show. Reception to Journey into YOUR Imagination was largely negative from guests and critics. Figment's appearances in the experience were reduced to cameos in the queue movies,

3458-556: The ImageWorks staircase area of the Imagination Pavilion reopened as a lounge for Disney Vacation Club members. The original ImageWorks is still believed to be intact as it has been walled off. The original Imageworks was located on the second floor of the pavilion. It was closed and partially dismantled during the 1998 renovation of the pavilion. Some of the original equipment remains in place, but guests are no longer able to enter

3549-532: The ImageWorks. A homage to the initial incarnation of this attraction can be found on an office door in the initial showroom under the name "Dean Finder", alluding to "Dreamfinder". Both the 1999 and 2002 versions were created by Tom Fitzgerald. The Kodak company ended its sponsorship of the pavilion in August 2010, after nearly 28 years. Starting with the 2020 holiday season, the Figment animatronics were updated with

3640-508: The Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko; a performance of it was taped by Thames Television for broadcast, directed by John Michael Phillips, and subsequently released on DVD by A&E. In 1989, he appeared in the U.S. comedy television series Nearly Departed , about a ghost who haunts the family inhabiting his former home; the series lasted for six episodes as a summer replacement series. "Idle has always, it seemed, been happy to have been

3731-504: The O2 Arena , London, between 1 and 20 July 2014. In December 2016, Idle was the writer and co-presenter of The Entire Universe , a "comedy and musical extravaganza with the help of Warwick Davis , Noel Fielding , Hannah Waddingham and Robin Ince , alongside a chorus of singers and dancers", broadcast by BBC Two. In 2020, it was announced that Idle would adapt his script for Spamalot into

Journey into Imagination with Figment - Misplaced Pages Continue

3822-511: The O2 arena , 20 July 2014. As Ko-Ko in the 1987 English National Opera production of The Mikado , Idle wrote his own 'Little List' on " As some day it may happen ". In 1989, Idle co-wrote and sang the theme tune to the popular British sitcom One Foot in the Grave and although the series became immensely popular, the song did poorly in the charts. However, when "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"

3913-705: The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie . In recent years, Idle has provided voice work for animation, such as in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut , in which he voiced Dr. Vosknocker. He has made four appearances on The Simpsons as documentarian Declan Desmond . Idle provided the voice of Merlin the magician in the DreamWorks animated film Shrek the Third (2007) with his former Python co-star John Cleese, who voiced King Harold . He has also narrated

4004-499: The Rutles. In 1978, the Rutles' mockumentary film All You Need Is Cash , a collaboration between Python members and Saturday Night Live , was aired on NBC television, written by Idle, with music by Innes. Idle appeared in the film as "Dirk McQuickly" (the Paul McCartney -styled character of the group), as well as the main commentator, while Innes appeared as "Ron Nasty" (the band's stand-in for John Lennon ). Actors appearing in

4095-564: The Third (2007). Idle made his Broadway debut with his adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) into a musical, Spamalot (2005), which was a critical and commercial success earning the Tony Award for Best Musical , and Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album . He also wrote Not the Messiah (2009). He performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony . Eric Idle

4186-568: The Willows (1996). However, his own creative projects – such as the film Splitting Heirs (1993), a comedy he wrote, starred in and executive-produced – were mostly unsuccessful with critics and audiences. In 1994, Idle appeared as Dr. Nigel Channing, chairman of the Imagination Institute and host of an 'Inventor of the Year' awards show in the three-dimensional film Honey, I Shrunk

4277-501: The audience's heads. In the second room, Illusion, there is a fish swimming in and out of its tank and an empty cage with a butterfly that seems to materialize as riders go by. In the third room, the Color lab, there are sounds of jungle animals and cities that cause two large light screens to change colors matching the sounds. In the next room, Connections lab, the room is covered with numerous stars that soon form into constellations. Finally, in

4368-465: The audiobook version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl . In late 2003, Idle began a performing tour of several American and Canadian cities entitled The Greedy Bastard Tour . The stage performances consisted largely of music from Monty Python episodes and films, along with some original post-Python material. In 2005, Idle released The Greedy Bastard Diary , a book detailing

4459-469: The back-up support of a partner. The other Pythons usually worked in teams and Cleese admitted that this was slightly unfair – when the Pythons voted on which sketches should appear in a show, "he (Idle) only got one vote". However, he also says that Idle was an independent person and worked best on his own. Idle himself admitted this was sometimes difficult: "You had to convince five others. And they were not

4550-493: The customer in the "Travel Agency" sketch who won't stop talking about his unpleasant experiences with holidays), and he would frequently spoof the unnatural language and speech patterns of television presenters. Idle is said to be the master of insincere characters, from the David Frost -esque Timmy Williams, to small-time crook Stig O'Tracy, who tries to deny the fact that organised crime master Dinsdale Piranha nailed his head to

4641-453: The executive producer of Disneyland Paris . Baxter was first hired at Disneyland Park in 1965 as an ice cream scooper on Main Street, U.S.A. at the age of 17. During his employment at the park, he held many different positions. He later caught the attention of WED Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering). During his first 24 years he built up his rank within the company until he

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4732-477: The expense of authority. Perfect training for Python." Idle has stated that the two things that made his life at school bearable were listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes and watching the local football team, Wolverhampton Wanderers . He disliked other sports, and would sneak out of school every Thursday afternoon to the local cinema. He was eventually caught watching the film BUtterfield 8 (rated as suitable for audiences of age 16 and over under

4823-444: The film included Saturday Night Live 's John Belushi , Bill Murray and Gilda Radner , as well as fellow Python Michael Palin , but also real musicians of the 1960s such as former Beatle George Harrison , as well as Mick Jagger and Paul Simon . Idle wrote and directed the Rutles comeback in 2008 for a live show Rutlemania! to celebrate the 30th anniversary. The performances took place in Los Angeles and New York City with

4914-529: The five human senses: Sound, Sight, Smell, Touch, and Taste. Dr. Nigel Channing of the Imagination Institute ( Eric Idle , from the previous incarnation) invites guests to the Institute's open house. Figment (voiced by Dave Goelz ) tags along, much to Channing's dismay, and causes mischief along the way. After seeing the chaos Figment has been causing, Channing stops the tour outside the Touch and Taste labs, abandoning

5005-500: The floor. The second-youngest member of the Pythons, Idle was closest in spirit to the teenagers who made up much of Python's fanbase. Python sketches dealing most with contemporary obsessions like pop music , sexual permissiveness and recreational drugs are usually Idle's work, often characterised by double entendre , sexual references, and other "naughty" subject matter – most famously demonstrated in " Nudge Nudge ". Idle originally wrote "Nudge, Nudge" for Ronnie Barker , but it

5096-519: The game's sequel , and composed and sang its theme song, "That's Death". In 1998, Idle appeared in the lead role in the poorly received film Burn Hollywood Burn . That same year, he also provided the voice of Devon, one of the heads of a two-headed dragon, with Don Rickles as the other head Cornwall, in the Warner Bros. animated film Quest for Camelot , and as Slyly, the albino Arctic fox in Rudolph

5187-502: The host. Due to an outcry from Disney fans, the attraction was reworked in 2001, reintroducing Figment into the ride while also retaining Idle's role as Nigel Channing. Idle is also writer and star of the 3-D film Pirates – 4D for Busch Entertainment Corporation. In 1995, Idle appeared in Casper opposite Cathy Moriarty and voiced Rincewind the "Wizzard" in a computer adventure game based on Terry Pratchett 's Discworld novels. In 1996, he reprised his role as Rincewind for

5278-605: The inaugural Luminato arts festival in Toronto . Idle performed live during this 50-minute oratorio, along with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir . Du Prez was also present. Shannon Mercer, Jean Stilwell, Christopher Sieber , and Theodore Baerg sang the principal parts. The American premiere was at Caramoor ( Westchester County, New York ) on 1 July 2007. Soloists were

5369-414: The mass crucifixion . The song has since been covered by Harry Nilsson , Bruce Cockburn , Art Garfunkel , and Green Day . Idle, his fellow Pythons, and assorted family and friends performed the song at Graham Chapman 's memorial service. Idle performed the song at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on 12 August 2012 and as the farewell song of the last show of the Python's reunion at

5460-462: The most un-egotistical of writers, either." He occasionally wrote with Cleese. Idle's work in Python is often characterised by an obsession with language and communication: many of his characters have verbal peculiarities, such as the man who speaks in anagrams , the man who says words in the wrong order, and the butcher who alternates between rudeness and politeness every time he speaks. A number of his sketches involve extended monologues (for example

5551-439: The music. The original 2005 Broadway theatre production was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical , Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical ( Sara Ramirez ), and Best Direction of a Musical ( Mike Nichols ). In 2006 he wrote, produced and performed the song "Really Nice Day" for the movie The Wild . In June 2007, Not the Messiah , a comic oratorio by Idle and Du Prez. premiered at

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5642-444: The musical Monty Python's Spamalot , based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail . It premiered in Chicago before moving to Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004–05 season. Idle won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics . In a 2005 poll to find "The Comedians' Comedian" (UK), he was voted 21 in the top 50 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Idle

5733-409: The new ride simply replaced its predecessor, the Submarine Voyage . Baxter and his team were in charge of collaborating with Pixar to create the story-line and animation for the ride. Difficulty came however when Baxter was faced with the challenge of syncing the sound with the ride. Due to the fact that there were 20 windows on each side of the submarine, all featuring different aspects of the ride at

5824-464: The new theme for Cox's radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage . Idle has been married twice. His first marriage was in 1969 to actress Lyn Ashley , with whom he had one son before their divorce in 1975. He met Tania Kosevich, a former model, in 1977, and they married in 1981. They have an adult daughter. From 1995 they lived in a five-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot (650 m ) mansion in the Hollywood Hills , listing it for sale in February 2023. He

5915-406: The parks. This was around the same time Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln came to Disneyland Park. Baxter watched the show and was instantly captivated with Disney engineering. He applied for a position at the parks selling popcorn and scooping ice cream, and moved on to attractions to gain Disney experience. At the time, Baxter was going to school at Cal Poly Pomona. For his senior project, he created

6006-484: The programme went out on a weekday. Other regular performers were David Battley , Henry Woolf , Gwen Taylor and Terence Bayler . George Harrison made a guest appearance on one episode. A legacy of RWT was the creation, with Innes, of The Rutles , an affectionate parody of the Beatles . The band became a popular phenomenon, especially in the U.S. where Idle was appearing on Saturday Night Live  – fans would send in Beatles LPs with their sleeves altered to show

6097-482: The redesign of all the architecture from a Renaissance theme to appear like a Bavarian village. It featured, among many changes, completely rebuilt versions of the Fantasyland dark rides, plus the addition of Pinocchio's Daring Journey . Under Baxter's supervision, the new Fantasyland featured rich details and was the most technically advanced land in the park for the era. Splash Mountain debuted at Disneyland in 1989. America Sings , another attraction at Disneyland,

6188-414: The ride being shut down and renovated once again after only 2 years. The attraction opened for its third and current iteration on June 2, 2002, as Journey into Imagination with Figment . Figment returned with a larger role, appearing in every show scene and the classic song "One Little Spark" also returned with new verses, but the Dreamfinder was still absent. This time, the Institute has five labs based on

6279-418: The room there are numerous objects including boxed applause, a plasma ball, and a birdcage of musical notes. After leaving the storage room, the ride continued through several rooms representing Art, Literature, the Performing Arts and Science. The Art room was mostly white colored, and had a large painting Dreamfinder was making using a large fiber optic paint brush, a carousel with giant carousel animals and

6370-420: The same as in the Toronto performance, but the accompanying chorus was made up of members of New York City's Collegiate Chorale. The show was revised and expanded for a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2007, including two sell-out nights at the Sydney Opera House . A tour during the summer of 2008 included performances with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts ,

6461-415: The same time, the sound had to keep in time with what was being portrayed, no matter where a guest would sit within the underwater vessel. Baxter has been awarded the Themed Entertainment Association's THEA award for lifetime achievement. In 2004, Baxter was the recipient of the DFC Disney Legend award from the Disneyana Fan Club . In August 2013, in a ceremony at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA , Baxter

6552-448: The scanner and saying that the riders have no imagination. Then Channing decides to send riders through the numerous labs throughout the Institute including Sound, Illusion, Color, Gravity and Connections. In the first room, Sound, the room starts out in total silence and complete darkness. Slowly, one can hear the sounds of cricket chirping, distant city noises, and an approaching train that comes closer and closer until it seems to pass over

6643-575: The second floor. This Imageworks incarnation is located on the first floor of the pavilion, outside of the ride exit. The area is directly adjacent to the pavilion's gift shop. It was known as the Kodak "What If?" Labs from 1999 to 2010 while Kodak was a sponsor for the exhibit. The Kodak name has since been dropped. " One Little Spark " is a song written by the Sherman Brothers for the original Journey Into Imagination attraction. The original version of

6734-414: The show. The show's cast included comic actors David Jason and Denise Coffey . Idle also appeared as guest in some episodes of the television series At Last the 1948 Show , which featured Cleese and Chapman in its principal cast. Idle wrote for Python mostly by himself, at his own pace, although he sometimes found it difficult in having to present material to the others and make it seem funny without

6825-455: The song (1983–1998) was performed by audio-animatronic characters, Dreamfinder (voiced by Chuck McCann ) and his creation Figment (voiced by Billy Barty ). The 2002 version is performed by Dr. Nigel Channing ( Eric Idle ) with Figment (voiced by Dave Goelz ). The 2002 revamp of the Journey into Imagination attraction includes several visual elements suggesting that the "Imagination Institute"

6916-619: The things the cast and crew encountered during the three-month tour. In 2004, Idle created Spamalot , a musical comedy based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail . The medieval production tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they journey on their quest for the Holy Grail . Spamalot features a book and lyrics by Idle, music by Idle and John Du Prez , direction by Mike Nichols , and choreography by Casey Nicholaw . Idle's play What About Dick?

7007-422: The tour. Figment takes the riders to his own open house, which he literally turns upside down with his carefree mind. Channing soon learns from Figment that Imagination should be set free ("If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!") and the riders go into the finale with numerous Figments in various situations while Figment and Channing (Channing is seen as the moon) sing "One Little Spark" together while riders disembark for

7098-417: The world. The ride then entered the final show scene. As the riders' pictures were taken, they saw Figment surrounded by several movie screens of him being a scientist, a mountain climber, a pirate, a superhero, a tap dancer, a ship captain, a cowboy and an athlete. Dreamfinder, who is behind a movie camera, gave the riders one last inspiring message and told them to use their newly found sparks of imagination in

7189-470: Was adopted as a football chant in the late 1980s, Idle's then neighbour Gary Lineker suggested Idle re-record and release the popular track. With help from BBC Radio 1 breakfast show host Simon Mayo , who gave the song regular airplay and also used the chorus within a jingle, it became a hit, some 12 years after the song's original appearance in Life of Brian , reaching number 3 in the UK charts and landing Idle

7280-1025: Was born on 29 March 1943 in Harton Hospital , in South Shields . His mother, Norah Barron Sanderson, was a nurse, and his father, Ernest Idle, served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, only to be killed in a road accident while hitchhiking home for Christmas in December 1945. Idle said his mother "disappeared for a while into depression" and consequently he was brought up by his grandmother in Swinton, Lancashire . Idle spent part of his childhood in Wallasey in Cheshire , and attended St George's Primary School. His mother had difficulty coping with

7371-575: Was given a staged reading at two public performances at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood on 10–11 November 2007. The cast included Idle, Billy Connolly , Tim Curry , Eddie Izzard , Jane Leeves , Emily Mortimer , Jim Piddock and Tracey Ullman . The play returned on 26–29 April 2012 in the Orpheum Theatre , most of the cast returning with the exception of Emily Mortimer, who

7462-492: Was given the position as senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering. His projects include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland , Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris , and remodeling Fantasyland and Tomorrowland in Disneyland. Tony Baxter was interested in Disneyland since the day it opened, when he was 8 years old. He first toured Imagineering before being hired at

7553-521: Was inducted as a Disney Legend . A few months later, in November 2013, Baxter received the honor of having his name appear on Main Street, U.S.A. windows at Disneyland . The window, which can be found above the Main Street Magic Shop reads: Main Street Marvels – Tony Baxter, Inventor, Imagination is at the heart of our Creations Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943)

7644-462: Was invited to join the prestigious Cambridge University Footlights Club by the president of the Footlights Club, Tim Brooke-Taylor , and Footlights Club member Bill Oddie . I'd never heard of the Footlights when I got there, but we had a tradition of college smoking-concerts, and I sent in some sketches parodying a play that had just been done. Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie auditioned me for

7735-480: Was located in the upstairs area of the Imagination! pavilion. The What-If Labs saw the addition of new interactive musical and digital exhibits. In 1999, the attraction reopened at the exit of Journey into Imagination with Figment. Kodak originally sponsored The What-If Labs, before ending its sponsorship in 2010. As of early 2012, sponsorship of the area was assumed by ColorVision, a company that operates green-screen photo kiosks in many major theme parks. In June 2016

7826-594: Was recreated a year later in Magic Kingdom . It was designed by both Tony Baxter and his mentor Claude Coats and was the first ride built in Disneyland without any input from Walt Disney . The land that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was built upon had previously been Walt Disney's original ride, Nature's Wonderland, which had lost popularity among guests. Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris got their versions in 1987 and 1992. The remodeled Fantasyland opened at Disneyland in 1983 with Baxter's oversight. It included

7917-433: Was rejected because there was 'no joke in the words'. A talented guitarist, Idle composed many of the group's most famous musical numbers, most notably " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ", the closing number of Life of Brian , which has grown to become a Python signature tune. He was responsible for the " Galaxy Song " from The Meaning of Life and " Eric the Half-a-Bee ", a whimsical tune that first appeared on

8008-544: Was replaced by Sophie Winkleman . Russell Brand also joined the cast. The play was made available for digital download on 13 November 2012. Idle performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in London on 12 August, singing " Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ". He was the creator and director of the live show Monty Python Live (mostly) – One down, Five to go which took place at

8099-662: Was retitled and featured an updated theme based on the 3D attraction Honey, I Shrunk the Audience , which opened five years earlier in 1994. Now guests would take a tour of the Imagination Institute and be test subjects for the new invention, the Imagination Scanner. Dr. Nigel Channing (played by Eric Idle reprising his role from Honey, I Shrunk The Audience ) hosted this version. Also present were Philip Brainard from Flubber and Dean Higgins (from Dexter Riley films) The ride began with guests going through

8190-462: Was revealed on March 4, 1995, and was worked on by over 400 Imagineers. Baxter was one of the main supervisors of the project and led his own team of 100. They were responsible for designing the half-mile-long track that was built over the previous Eeyore parking lot as well as the different concepts for each room in the ride. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was opened on June 11, 2007. The track for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage had previously existed as

8281-566: Was slated to be closed due to poor attendance. Baxter incorporated the Audio-Animatronics figures from America Sings with his idea for a log flume attraction that would eventually be named Splash Mountain (based on the animated sequences from Disney's 1946 film Song of the South ). In 2020, Disney announced that the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom versions of the attraction would be re-themed based on Disney 's 2009 animated film The Princess and

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