Golden Dreams
On February 7, 2001 Disney officially dedicated Golden Dreams at Disney’s California Adventure with a ceremony emceed by Disney President Robert A. Iger. Also in attendance were Whoopi Goldberg, the star of Golden Dreams and singer Rene Goldsberry who performed Just One Dream live with gospel groups from throughout Southern California.
Annnoucer: Ladies and Gentlemen, Please welcome the president and chief operating officer of Walt Disney Chairman Robert A Iger.
Iger: Thank you very much. On behalf of all of us at the Walt Disney Company I am proud to welcome you to Disney’s California Adventure and to our new Golden Dreams attraction. When we at Disney first began to talk about a new park here in Anaheim, one overall theme quickly surfaced, California. And of course when you think about California what immediately comes to mind is the California dream. There is a special kind of magic that goes hand in hand with that dream and the goal of our talented Imagineers was to immerse our guests in a series of compelling stories, evocative places, and fantastic adventures all specially designed to bring the golden state to life. But the story of California is truly epic in its scope from the gold rush to the building of the railroad, to the rise of Hollywood as the entertainment capital of the world.
Iger: But you can’t tell an epic story entirely through architecture and attractions. And so our Imagineers concluded that the best way to depict the epic story of California in all of its grandeur was with an epic film called Golden Dreams. The Golden Dreams attraction serves as the central historical icon. It is the heart of Disney’s California Adventure. It is a cinematic re-creation of some of the memorable events that forged California of the dreamers that dared to dream the golden dreams that not only shaped our destiny but made this great state what it is today. The film spans more than a dozen different time periods of California history from the earliest Native Americans to present day. Many of the characters you will meet are based on real people and their true stories spoken in their own words. These words were beautifully brought to life on the screen by Oscar nominated director Agnieszka Holland. Of course, being a Disney production, rest assured there’s also a little bit of magic thrown in as well.
So it is now my great pleasure to introduce a very special guest star who plays Califia, the Queen of California, in Golden Dreams. Ladies and Gentlemen please welcome our good friend and an amazing talent, Whoopi Goldberg.
Whoopi: Hi, well it’s, you know. (just smiles and nods as the crowd laughs) It’s kind of amazing you have to admit. The great thing about this is I’m actually quite proud of it. There’s a lot of things I’ve done that, you know, (smirks and shakes her head) you just don’t want to see them again. It’s kind of fortuitous that the way that I will sort of be remembered when I’m long gone will be through the eyes of the Imagineers and the people who built this wonderful thing and had this idea and thought, ‘oh, let’s get Whoopi to play California’. Along with Sister Act I kind of owe a lot to the folks at Disney, you know, ‘cause two nice heads, one forever, one we hope. It’s a great thing and I can tell you with no jive that I’m as proud of this as I am of anything that I’ve done.
(pointing at the mural) Now I know that doesn’t look like me but that is how I would look if I was like a princess. So you’ll see a very different me. But I’m very pleased to be here and honored you all are here. Hope you have a great time. This is a big deal. At least it is a huge deal for me. So thank you. (looks at Iger) Thank you. Thank everybody.
Iger: On behalf of the entire Walt Disney Company we thank you for playing such a larger than life character in Golden Dreams. You are larger than life. Actually you are a Disney princess the way I see it. When I say larger than life I really mean it, for there are two enormous statues of Whoopi inside this attraction that I’m sure you will get to see because they all magically come to life. So Whoopi, if I can present this to you. This is the original artist’s maquette that was used by our talented Imagineers to create the statue of you in California Adventure. This is for our appreciation for your work in Golden Dreams. (applause)
Iger: As I mentioned earlier, Golden Dreams celebrates the dreamers and the dreams of California. But there is one dream we all have in common, just one dream for a better life. In fact, that is the title of the theme song for Golden Dreams, which was conceived by Grammy award winning producer Walter Afanasieff and lyricist John Bettis. Ladies and Gentlemen, Just One Dream.
The voices backing up Goldberry (106 in all) were from the following churches:
- Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Huntington Beach, CA
- Bloomington Church of the Nazarene, Bloomington, CA
- Cal State Fullerton University Singers, Fullerton, CA
- Community United Methodist Church, Huntington Beach, CA
- Garden Grove Church of the Nazarene, Garden Grove, CA
- Southern California Children’s Chorus, Newport Beach, CA
- St. Denis Church, Diamond Bar, CA
