The American Adventure — Attraction in Bay Lake

This largely overlooked show is possibly the most technologically advanced attraction at Disney World. While it may bore some with its Americana or that it is a rare example of a Disney 3 wall stage show (admittedly more common in Epcot), it never oversells its message or content. You would barely know this attraction exists if you didn't read the tiny sign out front.

If you enjoy attractions like the Hall of Presidents and the Carousel of Progress, and have a basic expectation of what a US theme park vision of US history might look like, you will probably like this show. Not to say it's similar in any of those regards - not only is this show is fully acted by more advanced animatronics, the figures themselves are attached to massive moving set pieces that appear and disappear beneath the stage like magic. I know of no show, theme park or otherwise, more impressive in terms of technological stage craft.

This is a show about the US; some will dispute the content. Though it does reflect on the US's more historic mistakes, more so than you might assume a Disney World attraction would, these dark point in US history are not the main focus of the show. Come to think of it, I really can't think of any theme park show worldwide that focuses on atrocities committed by a nation, US or not. "The dawn of your people is the sunset of mine," is a fairly morbid line for an amusement park show. A bit more context - the US pavilion is in a park which celebrates the achievements of all other hosted nations without bringing their faults into focus on any level.

Even with a patriotic focus being presumed by most, many - especially children and international visitors - will be bored or even offended of a display of... gulp... pride. We know... we're to be hated and our culture is fair game for worldwide misappropriation. Although... Given that Disney World is an international symbol of American excess and the US is seen as unworthy of celebration; I do wonder how so many of the negative reviewers came upon this show in the first place. I'm to assume it's actually quite easy to accidentally find yourself in Disney World's second most famous park or in the US at all from locations abroad, even as it's quite a difficult luxury to swing for most US families.

Haters will hate.

The content of the show is anchored by Benjamin Franklin's time and Mark Twain's time, save for a short touch on the Mayflower journey. Honestly the Mayflower journey is a poor fit in this show, not only as the next scene occurs nearly a hundred years later, but also considering Mark Twain was seemingly not a fan of the glorification of the Plymouth Rock story.

As both Twain and Franklin are internationally famous, I think the average person is aware that their comingling isn't historically accurate - that these people didn't exist at the same time. Twain's involvement is there to pose a point / counterpoint assessment of the US's founding fathers, and to narratively escort Franklin to scenes outside of his time (such as The Centennial Exposition and the Statue of Liberty). Historians won't like these inaccuracies.

Besides Franklin, the show features two other founding fathers - Thomas Jefferson - to briefly dis Congress's lack of focus and Franklin personally for being lazy - and George Washington at Vally Forge - whose soldiers talk trash about him and Congress. I'm pretty sure everyone who interacts with Franklin calls him out for something, though many jabs seem to be aimed at the general pedestal placement of the founding fathers collectively. So nationalists won't be too happy with the content either. If a good balance is when two extremes are angry at the outcome, then most will find this show to be fair within the context of patriotism and shows for kids at Disney World.

I'm not a huge fan of the content, obviously not for the same reasons other reviewers feel this way; not stemming from a deep-seated unchecked hatred towards an entire nation of people. Story-wise, it's a bit of a bore. The show is amazing though, and...

At one point, I decided to watch every show-type pavilion attraction in World Showcase, and I dreaded watching the America one. I so expected this to be stupid, or at least unbearably corny. And you know what? I did not give Disney enough credit. This show isn't too dark or particularly political, but it does not sugar coat the fact that the story behind how we got here is not all something to be proud of. It mentions slavery, it mentions the Great Depression, it mentions the part where a bunch of Native Americans were forced west. If you walk away from this with anything, it's that if America is great, that greatness is not inherent, and instead extremely fragile.

Considering that all the other exhibits have a habit of glossing over the negative aspects of their respective countries, it's refreshing that whoever made this show understood they had to do more than tell patrons pat themselves on the back. Especially because while I'm sure the impetus for doing it this way was an anticipation of people like me who have the news and simply wouldn't have bought it otherwise, for every one of me there are probably three other tourists who didn't want to hear the least bit of criticism about their home, so it was a risk to do the show the way they have. Okay, eventually the show does break out into the sappy crescendo and nonsensical lyrical platitudes, but it's Disney. Expecting them to never go there is a little like asking a tiger not to have stripes; the sheer fact that the terrible corny song only comes at the very end still says to me that they were trying REALLY hard to restrain themselves. It's Disney World's take on patriotism; take a moment to consider how badly that could have turned out, and you'll understand all the appreciation for what we actually got.

That's not enough to warrant a five star rating though. No, the five stars is because the animatronics are a real spectacle. Disney always has had their robots as the ace in the hole for any attraction, but this is another example of some real wizardry with replicating motion, with plenty of moments that will take you a second to figure out how they did that. We see Benjamin Franklin walk up some stairs, and while I'm sure it's just a groove in the steps and some clever angling, it sure looks like that animatron's feet are actually pushing against the steps to propel itself. Throw in some well-replicated facial models and some convincing voice actors reading the best quotes of influential historical figures, and you might not feel like you're watching real people, per se, but there's easily enough technological marvels to distract from the uncanny valley.

I see this show almost every time I go to Epcot now, and this is definitely a book you shouldn't judge...

I have been a frequent visitor to Epcot since I first went there in 1984.one of the most frequently overlooked attractions is right there in the American adventure.come inside and catch a live performance of the liberty singers.note the very patriotic period dress of both the ladies and the men.the ladies with rustling petticoats,pretty hats and full length arm gloves,all of many designs and colors.the men with tuxedos,hats,gloves,vests,top coats.i marvel at how those long ago folks dressed,and enjoy looking at their period clothes!!now,they don't the same songs every time,but I have heard each one of these songs sung at least on two or three occasions.the songs are,1-suwanne river,2-oh,Susanna,3-camptown races,4-god bless America,5-my country tis of thee,6-grand old flag,7-this land is your land,8-america(oh beautiful),9-star spangled banner,10-ive been working on the railroad,11-give me your tired,your poor.as I listened I realized I knew all the words to each of those songs--we used to sing them all in grade school in the 1960s when I was a child.they had me foot stomping,hand clapping and singing along,and I noticed a lot of other seniors doing the same.what a way to raise our voices in some beautiful ballads and songs of a patriotic vein.come and partake of this part of the American adventure like I have enjoyed some 20 or more times.it is a real upper in this day of covid and...