Jim Hill
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Note: All speculation and rumors about the past decisions and future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

Disneyland fans are all abuzz about Buzz.

Lightyear, that is.

Rumors abound that a West Coast version of that Walt Disney World favorite - "Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin" - may be in the works. According to sources familiar with what the folks in WDI's Disneyland Design Studio are currently working on, the Anaheim theme park could have its very own ride-through shooting gallery up and running by as early as 2003.

Of course, in order to keep the construction costs of this proposed Tomorrowland addition down, the Imagineers are hoping that they'll be able to do the design work and figure fabrication for both the Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland's "Buzz Lightyear" rides at the same time. Killing two Zurgs at the same time, if you will.

Well, that's a wonderful idea. Provided - of course - that the Mouse can actually pull it off. But the history of Walt Disney Imagineering is littered with shows and attractions that were supposed to be installed in two different theme parks at the same time - only to have these carefully crafted, cost effective plans get tripped up by one reason or another.

Take - for example - "Meet the World." Those Disneyana fans who have been lucky enough to visit Tokyo Disneyland may recall this multi-media extravaganza - where two typical school children are taken by a talking crane on a magical journey through the history of Japan.

Those who have seen this TDL show will tell you that it is somewhat reminiscent of the "Carousel of Progress" in that A) this ambitious if historically ambiguous attraction is staged in a theater-go-round building and B) "Meet the World" features a bouncy theme song written by the Sherman Brothers. Skillfully mixing film footage of live actors, highly stylized animation as well as audio animatronics, this show gives guests the Cliff Notes version of how Japan dealt with those who live beyond its shores.

If all had gone according to plan, as of April 1983, there would have actually been two "Meet the World" shows entertaining Disney theme park guests on opposite sides of the globe. The Tokyo Disneyland version, you already know about. But how about the proposed WDW version of the attraction? The one that was supposed to have been staged in a theater in back of the Japanese Pavilion at Epcot Center's World Showcase? Did you ever hear about that?

Don't believe me? The next time you're in Orlando, drop by Epcot and walk around World Showcase Lagoon until you reach Japan. Please note the large feudal-looking palace located to the back of the pavilion. In particular, pay attention to the massive palace entrance back there that seemingly goes to nowhere. You know, that giant archway-like thingy between the Bijutsu-Kan Gallery and the Mitsukoshi Department Store? WDW guests were supposed to walked through this giant opening on their way to the "Meet the World" theater, which was to have been located in a show building that would have been built behind this World Showcase pavilion's gallery space and retail area.

How close did Walt Disney World allegedly come to getting its very own version of the "Meet the World" show? So close that the concrete construction pad for the Japanese Pavilion's theater-go-round building had reportedly already been poured out back when the attraction was abruptly canceled. I've also been told that the Walt Disney Company had already lined up a major Japanese corporation to underwrite the cost of construction when the Mouse pulled the plug on the project.

What happened? Why did Disney management suddenly change its mind about building a version of the "Meet the World" show at Disney World? The Mouse House executives were said to be very concerned about the way this proposed World Showcase attraction sort of overlooked World War II.

You have to understand that - in order to sell the concept of the "Meet the World" show to the Oriental Land Company Ltd. (The folks who actually own and operate TDL) - the Imagineers had to tread lightly around events that occurred in the Pacific Theater between 1937 - 1945. So no real mention is ever made during the show about Japan's tremendously aggressive behavior during this dark time in that nation's history.

TDL's "Meet the World" jumps so quickly from the problems Japan faced in the past to the challenge of the nation's future that World War II kind of just gets lost in the shuffle. Which - according to the folks in charge of the Oriental Land Company - was just fine with them, thank you.

That obviously wasn't the case with these Disney corporate executives. These guys worried that if this very same version of the "Meet the World" show were presented in Florida (the home of hundreds of thousands of WW II veterans), it could be a public relations nightmare for their new theme park. After all, these retirees were the very same folks who regularly stopped by WDW Guest Relations to complain about how President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "A Day That Will Live in Infamy" speech suddenly gets drowned out by swelling dramatic music in Epcot's "American Adventure" attraction. So how would these people react if Disney were to install - right next door to World Showcase's American Pavilion - a show that glossed over Japan's behavior during World War II? They'd have rioted in the streets.