Are you ready for a crazy ride? When I found out about this Disney story I had no idea I’d fall so far down the rabbit hole researching all the different facets of it but I am so glad I have as there is so much to unpack!
Disney’s Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A) is an inter-park story that links together the back tales of a number of attractions. It was only a mater of time before Disney created a park specific story. Yes technically there are park specific tales that don’t originate from films or TV shows e.g. Duffy, Mickey Mouses’ bear but this story is by far less publicised and if you didn’t know it was there it would be easy to miss!
The origins of this complicated tale are just as complicated as the story itself but what is great about this story is that it sort of grew organically. To begin lets go back to the days of Downtown Disney’s Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World (WDW).
In one of my previous blogs I mentioned the Adventurer’s Club on Pleasure Island, opened 1989 (see my Adventureland inspired dinner blog). This was closed in 2008 and many of the props from the club found new homes across the Disney World (think global not just WDW). It is hard to know if the story of S.E.A would have spread as far as it has if the club in Downtown Disney wasn’t closed given many of these props are what has seen the story expand across the globe.
Let’s pause for a minute though and jump back to 2001, years prior to the club closing and the spread of the S.E.A story across multiple parks. Let’s also jump continents to Japan.
In 2001 when the Fortress Explorations attraction opened at Tokyo Disney Sea the story of S.E.A made its park debut. The original headquarters of the society are located within this walk-through attraction and even though the story made its debut here it would not be for another decade that it really took a foothold across the globe.
The Fortress Explorations is a walk-through attraction in the style of a medieval castle fortress located in the Mediterranean Harbour section of the park. The idea here is that you pick up a map for the “Leonardo Challenge” and then set out on a quest to explore the fortress and become a member of S.E.A. As the map below shows there are ten stations for guests to explore.
At this stage the story was contained to the Fortress however when Imagineers began work to bring the Tower of Terror to Tokyo they needed to find an alternative story to that found in the American parks as the whole “Twilight Zone” wasn’t a thing in Japan. What they came up with was the story of Harrison Hightower III, who conveniently was a member of S.E.A. Thus this was the first character from S.E.A to receive a back story.
In 2013 the story then began to spread around the world. When the Mystic Manor was opened at Hong Kong Disneyland (similar to the Haunted Mansion) the story of S.E.A was expanded with images of more members of the society included. Unlike the other incarnations of this attraction around the world there were cultural sensitives that Imagineers had to take into consideration so the “Haunted Mansion” as it is otherwise known developed into Mystic Manor and revolved around the tale of Lord Henry Mystic, a member of S.E.A.
As this was the first real expansion of the S.E.A story, Mystic Manor holds a number of pieces to the S.E.A puzzle. I’ll be writing a piece on the Haunted Mansion and Mystic Manor very soon so for now I won’t go into great detail but this was also one of the first times items from the now closed Adventurers Club were relocated to another attraction. It is also important to note that the backstory of Pleasure Island, which now no longer existed, was also re-imagined to fit into the S.E.A story. Chronologically though the presence of the Adventurers Club is sort of “the end” due to its time setting but keep reading and I’ll explain what I mean in a separate blog.
One of the most important S.E.A story items is found in Mystic Manor. It is an illustration of the society coming together in 1899. Many other blogs note this as being the founding members but that is hardly the case given the society was founded in 1538 (keep reading for more on that). Pictured Left to right are Harrison Hightower III, Professor R. Blauerhimmel, Lord Henry Mystic, Dr J.L. Baterista, Unknown, Unknown, Captain Mary Oceaneer and Charlton J. Taboret. Of those pictured we know the story of just four. Two others we know names and can work out a little bit of information but for two we don’t even know names. If you keep reading you’ll notice that we have three names from other attractions that we don’t have faces for so perhaps in time those names may marry with these two unnamed men.
The year 2013 was a busy one for the expansion of the S.E.A universe with the tale also extended to the USA. During refurbishment work on WDW’s Big Thunder Railroad Barnabas T. Bullion, a member of S.E.A was added to the backstory of the attraction along with another S.E.A member Jason Chandler who we find out was the society’s president.
In 2014 the story expanded even further, this time taking to the sea (pun intended) with the introduction of Captain Mary Oceaneer to the Disney Cruise Line. The kids club’s were named after her and were inspired by her lab.
Over the next few years the Halloween themed overlays of Hong Kong Disneyland and special attractions (if you think Americans go full out for Halloween then Hong Kong is next level) of the season introduced more to the S.E.A story.
At the D23 Expo in 2016 Disney Parks and Resorts President Bob Chapek noted that the story would continue to expand around the globe. Thus it seems the story is only going to keep growing and indeed it has!
So What is the Story?
On 12 August 1538 the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A) was founded in Italy (in Porto Paradiso which is actually located in Tokyo Disney sea’s Mediterranean Harbour – yes I know it is a head spinner!). The society’s mission as stated in the Fortress Explorations is the gathering of newfound knowledge.
The main point of this story is to provide backgrounds for some of the stand alone attractions and it is a great way to link the Disney universe in a subtle way. From what I’ve read, I’ve come to the conclusion that the name of the society came from its park namesake “Disney SEA” and the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A) is a play on this.
If you didn’t’ know this story existed, then it would be easy to miss it as it is told subtly and mainly through photographs and text in the various attractions. So where can you find portions of the story?
As I’ve never seen the story myself (or at least I didn’t know about it at the time) I’m reliant upon what others have shared but what I’ve also been able to do is create a passport that one day, when we can travel again, I’ll be able to use to track down all these references!
I don’t want to spoil the Easter Eggs for both myself and you so all I’m going to do in this next section is point you in the right direction rather than provide specifics on where to find these treasures.
One place that you’ll note is missing from the below list is Shanghai Disneyland. In Adventure Isle you’ll follow the steps of the League of Adventurers in Camp Discovery but this isn’t linked with S.E.A at this stage. Perhaps it will also evolve into an outpost like the Adventurers Club of Pleasure Island but at this stage there are no S.E.A references that I’ve come across in Shanghai.
Where to look for S.E.A in the parks:
| Park | Attraction | Significance |
| Tokyo Disney Sea | Fortress Explorations | Headquarters |
| Magellan’s Restaurant | Secret Meeting Room | |
| Tower of Terror | Owned by Harrison Hightower III, member | |
| Saorin’ Fantastic Flight | Owned by Camellia Falco, member Vitale Robustelli mentioned as former S.E.A president | |
| Hong Kong Disneyland | Mystic Manor | Owned by Lord Henry Mystic, member Home to lots of artefacts and photographs of members |
| Explorer’s Club Restaurant | Built by Lord Henry Mystic as an outpost | |
| Jungle Cruise Overlay | Disgraced Professor Reed, Former member | |
| Explorer’s Lodge Hotel | Adventurer’s Suite* | |
| Halloween Specials** | Introduction of new members | |
| Magic Kingdom (WDW) | Big Mountain Railroad | Owned by Barnabas T. Bullion, member Society President Jason Chandler noted |
| Skipper Canteen | Secret Meeting Room and founded by Dr Albert Falls*** | |
| Jungle Cruise | Dr Albert Falls, member, founder of the Jungle Cruise Navigation Co. | |
| Typhoon Lagoon (WDW) | Miss Adventure Falls | Captain Mary Oceaneer shipwrecked, member |
| EPCOT (WDW) | UK Pavillion | Library of S.E.A |
| Boardwalk (WDW) | Abracadabra Bar | Props suggest it may have been frequented by S.E.A members |
| Disney Springs (WDW) | Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar | Jock Lindsay is a member |
| Disneyland | Big Thunder Railroad | Same as WDW |
| Tropical Hideaway**** | Canoe Paddles of society members most recent expeditions | |
| Bengal BBQ | S.E.A Outpost***** | |
| Disneyland Paris | Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost | Unconfirmed Links****** |
| Cafe Hyperion | Captain Brieux, member, has docked his airship the Hyperion here | |
| Disney Cruise Line | Disney Magic and Wonder | The Oceaneer’s Lab is Captain Mary Oceaneer’s |
| Aulani | Aunty’s Beach House Kids Club | Letters between members |
*In 2014 the Hong Kong Halloween stage show for the season was the tale of Jonas Brisbane, an adventurer who wanted to join S.E.A. In the end he vanishes mysteriously so it seems unlikely he became a member. There does seem to be a theme of incorporating S.E.A into Hong Kong’s celebrations though.
**This is next level detail but you do require a reservation for the room. From what I’ve seen there is a high possibility that there are S.E.A links but so far all I’ve been able to find across the internet is the logo embossed in both Minnie and Mickey’s passports. Does this mean they are members of S.E.A? For more on the suite visit: https://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/adventurers-suite/
***This place is full of story references including mention of Henry Mystic, Mary Oceaneer and Merriweather Adam Pleasure (the founder of Pleasure Island). One member who makes an appearance is Luana Teixeira but other than being the author of a number of photography books little else is known. Perhaps she will appear in an attraction sometime soon! Captain Brieux’s name is also featured in the Skipper Canteen and he has been linked to S.E.A through Paris’s Hyperion (see Paris links). Also mentioned is Captain Nemo, the Captain of the Nautilus and this is an interesting link so keep an eye out for my next S.E.A blog!
****When the Tropical Hideaway opened in December 2018 it was the first time that Camellia Falco was mentioned ahead of the opening of Tokyo’s Soarin’. Most of the confirmed members of S.E.A are noted here with two additional names that we are yet to see appear elsewhere in the Disney parks. See below for more on my theory here.
*****Also found here is a photograph from the film the African Queen that features Albert the Monkey. On the table in front of them is also a photograph of Albert Falls. Obviously this wasn’t seen in the film and has been photo-shopped in but it adds a story link all the same.
******Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost was originally the Explorer’s Club which was a sit-down restaurant based on the traditional Adventureland themed principles. Unfortunately it was not very popular and so within just a few years after the park opened it was converted to the quick service restaurant. A number of old prop items are also found scattered throughout the line for Indiana Jones. In theory this would be a great place to extend the story so maybe they will!
Unconfirmed, Unnamed and Honorary Members – Plus My Theory
At the Tropical Hideaway you’ll find canoe paddles which note the various members most recent expeditions (photo above). Interestingly one paddle appeared to have been removed from the wall with a shadow mark in its place. Was this from one of the disgraced members? Having said that when I looked a second time I think it was just a trick of the light but either way it is compelling storytelling and it allows the audience to take their own conclusions.
There are also two paddles with names we haven’t seen in any other attraction yet. These are Chef Tandaji and Sango Shio. Remember how I mentioned earlier two unidentified men in the Mystic Manor Portrait? Perhaps these are Chef Tandaji and Sango Shio. The dates associated with their expeditions are 1913 and 1910 so the dates could line up! I haven’t seen this theory anywhere else so maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree but it seems possible!
Pamelia Perkins was a regular at the Adventurers Club back in the Pleasure Island Days. She was Club President and a number of props related to her can be found across the Disney universe. She has not been confirmed as a member of S.E.A but she has interacted with them through these props so it is likely that she is.
If you look back to the Adventurers Club there are actually a few others who could potentially be members especially given the owner Merriweather Pleasure was a member. These include Hathaway Browne (aviator), Otis T. Wren (club treasurer and ichthyologist), Fletcher Hodges (club curator) and Samantha Sterling (explorer). Emil Bleehall is noted in some correspondence found in Aulani and also used to frequent the club so she is also a possibility.
Over in Paris Disneyland one of the husband’s of Melanie Ravenswood in the Phantom Manor is Captain Rowan D. Falls who could potentially be a relation of Albert Falls. This doesn’t make him a member of S.E.A but it is a likely link and Rowan was Captain of the Mark Twain Riverboat which is located near the Phantom Manor. This makes him an adventurous sort one would think!
Similarly one of the husbands of the Haunted Mansion’s Constance Hatchaway’s was named George Hightower. Is this a relative of Harrisson Hightower III?
There are also some honorary members of S.E.A. These are real-life famed explorers and adventurers including Sir Francis Drake, Leonardo Da Vinci, Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan. There are also some lesser known real-life honoraray members including Tycho Brahe and Vasco da Gama. I’ll look at these real-life figures in another blog as well.
So where does this leave us? Keep your eyes open for S.E.A references! If you’re a regular at the parks this is the perfect story to look for and even if you are not, it is exciting to know there is another story you can uncover on your next visit (this is the boat I’m in).
Before I switch into New Orleans Square themed blogs I’m going to take a final look at where S.E.A can be found in Adventureland around the world so keep an eye out for those blogs coming next! As after all where is the best place to find Adventurers than in Adventureland?!
My Disney World 
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