Fun Find Friday
April 8, 2011
Location: Future World East, Epcot
Ahh, the automobile! Man has always been inspired to
make it bigger and better throughout history. When it comes to
Disney vehicles though, one man stands above the rest. And no, it's
not you Bob Gurr. Sorry, but the man we are talking about is Goofy.
In 1943, Disney released a cartoon entitled "Victory
Vehicles," which helped Americans realize that they would need to
cut down on gasoline and car use. In order to come up with new
solutions, citizens (which all look remarkably similar to Goofy)
were asked to come up with ideas.
The short would go on to show vehicles such as the
Cat Chase Car, Jump Rope Car, Lasso Car, Golf Car, and a whole lot
more! Each had some sort of crazy gag attached to it. For instance,
the Cat Chase Car (as you can see in the picture below) had a cat
standing in front of Pluto, who was on a treadmill. Pluto chasing
after the cat would inspire the wheels of the car to move forward
resulting in a brand new mode of transportation!
I know, I know: Brent, what does this have to do
with Epcot? Well, when Test Track was built in place of World of
Motion (another Fun Find for another time), a new gift shop was
added to the exit, Inside Track. Within this store there used to be
a Kidcot Fun Stop that allowed smaller guests to learn about cars,
color, and have some fun while older members of their party took on
the life of a crash test dummy.
The backdrop of this area featured nine of the cars
featured in "Victory Vehicles." Luckily, when the Kidcot spot was
pulled from here, the display remained. Sure, there is a merchandise
display covering up part of the area, but you can still find all
nine of the infamous "Victory Vehicles" here! Not a bad way to
incorporate an obscure short cartoon into the parks!
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Find Friday