Tony Baxter

Tony Baxter was interested in Disneyland since the day it opened, when he was 8 years old.{{Cite news|first=Arthur|last=Levine|title=Going along for the Ride with Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter|publisher=about.com|year=2008|location=about.com|url=http://themeparks.about.com/od/disneyparks/a/BaxterImagineer.htm/}} He first toured Imagineering before being hired at the parks. This was around the same time Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln came to Disneyland Park. Baxter watched the show and was instantly captivated with Disney engineering. He applied for a position at the parks selling popcorn and scooping ice cream, and moved on to attractions to gain Disney experience. At the time, Baxter was going to school at Cal Poly Pomona. For his senior project, he created a design for a Mary Poppins ride which was then shown to WED Enterprises through a connected friend. Impressed by Baxter's work, WED Enterprises invited him to a second tour of the company where they showed him the aspects of the position as well as concepts they were currently working on. Baxter left the tour that day with a new career in mind and as a result, switched his career path and transferred schools.

After graduating from Santa Ana High School in 1965, he attended Cal Poly Pomona as a landscape architecture major, but soon after transferred to California State University in Long Beach to study Theater Design. During this time, Baxter created a portfolio which included concepts of attractions for Disneyland as part of his senior project, which he had spent his entire last year of college constructing. Baxter graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 1969.

A partial list of the attractions Baxter has been responsible for:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in Disneyland park September 2, 1979, and was recreated a year later in Magic Kingdom. It was designed by both Tony Baxter and his mentor Claude Coats and was the first ride built in Disneyland without any input from Walt Disney. The land that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was built upon had previously been Walt Disney's original ride, Nature's Wonderland, which had lost popularity among guests. Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris got their versions in 1987 and 1992.

The remodeled Fantasyland opened at Disneyland in 1983 with Baxter's oversight. It included the redesign of all the architecture from a Renaissance theme to appear like a Bavarian village. It featured, among many changes, completely rebuilt versions of the Fantasyland dark rides, plus the addition of Pinocchio's Daring Journey. Under Baxter's supervision, the new Fantasyland featured many details and was the most technically advanced land in the park for the era.{{Cite news|first=Robert|last=Niles|title=Thank you, Tony Baxter|publisher=Theme Park Insider|year=2013|location=themeparkinsider.com|url=http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201302/3348/}}

Splash Mountain debuted at Disneyland in 1989. America Sings, another attraction at Disneyland, was slated to be closed due to poor attendance. Baxter incorporated the Audio-Animatronics figures from America Sings with his idea for a log flume attraction that would eventually be named Splash Mountain (based on the animated sequences from Disney's 1946 film Song of the South). In 2020, Disney announced that the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom versions of the attraction would be re-themed based on Disney's 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog, and that Baxter would contribute to this new version as a creative advisor.{{cite web |last1=MacDonald |first1=Brady |title=Disneyland and Disney World to remake Splash Mountain with 'Princess and the Frog' theme |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2020/06/25/disneyland-and-disney-world-to-remake-splash-mountain-with-princess-and-the-frog-theme/ |website=The Orange County Register |date=25 June 2020 |access-date=5 July 2020}} In 2022, it was announced that the new attraction will be called Tiana's Bayou Adventure with an opening set for "late 2024" at both parks.{{cite news|last=Becker|first=Emma|title=Disney Reveals Splash Mountain Will Be Transformed Into Tiana's Bayou Adventure by 2024|url=https://people.com/travel/disneys-splash-mountain-will-be-fully-transformed-into-tianas-bayou-adventure-by-2024/|work=People magazine|access-date=August 29, 2022|date=July 1, 2022}} The Magic Kingdom version of Splash Mountain closed in January 2023, while the Disneyland version closed in May 2023.{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Eve|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/america/theme-parks/2022/12/02/splash-mountain-tiana-bayou-adventure-closing-date/10807468002/|title=Disney World will close Splash Mountain in January for a new 'Princess and the Frog' adventure|website=usatoday.com|date=December 2, 2022|accessdate=May 31, 2023}}{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Eve|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/america/theme-parks/2023/04/12/disneyland-splash-mountain-closing-tiana-bayou-adventure/11649430002/|title=Disneyland's Splash Mountain closing date, new Tiana Bayou's Adventure details announced|website=usatoday.com|date=April 12, 2023|accessdate=May 31, 2023}} Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened in June 2024 at Magic Kingdom, and in November 2024 at Disneyland.{{cite news|last=Scott|first=Mike|url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/movies_tv/disney-reveals-tianas-bayou-adventure-opens-in-summer-2024/article_db473646-ca05-11ee-85fa-0349636628a7.html|title=Disney reveals opening date for New Orleans-inspired Tiana's Bayou Adventure|website=nola.com|date=February 13, 2024|accessdate=March 13, 2024}}{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Eve|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/theme-parks/2024/05/12/tiana-bayou-adventure-opening-disney-world/73663426007/|title=Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Splash Mountain's replacement, will open at Disney World in June|website=usatoday.com|date=May 12, 2024|accessdate=June 3, 2024}}{{cite news|last=Palm|first=Iman|url=https://ktla.com/news/theme-parks/disneyland/disneylands-critter-country-to-be-renamed-bayou-country/|title=Disneyland's Critter Country to be renamed Bayou Country|website=ktla.com|date=August 14, 2024|access-date=August 17, 2024}} Splash Mountain still exists in Tokyo Disneyland.{{cite news|last=Michaelsen|first=Shannen|url=https://wdwnt.com/2023/05/splash-mountain-tiana-signs-disneyland/|title=PHOTOS: Tiana's Bayou Adventure Signs on Construction Walls Around Splash Mountain in Disneyland|website=wdwnt.com|date=May 31, 2023|accessdate=July 19, 2023}}

Indiana Jones Adventure was revealed on March 4, 1995, and was worked on by over 400 Imagineers. Baxter was one of the main supervisors of the project and led his own team of 100. They were responsible for designing the half-mile-long track that was built over the previous Eeyore parking lot as well as the different concepts for each room in the ride.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was opened on June 11, 2007. The track for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage had previously existed as the new ride simply replaced its predecessor, the Submarine Voyage. Baxter and his team were in charge of collaborating with Pixar to create the story-line and animation for the ride. Difficulty came however when Baxter was faced with the challenge of syncing the sound with the ride. Due to the fact that there were 20 windows on each side of the submarine, all featuring different aspects of the ride at the same time, the sound had to keep in time with what was being portrayed, no matter where a guest would sit within the underwater vessel.

File:Tony Baxter and Jack Janzen, 2010.jpg (NFFC) event]]

Baxter has been awarded the Themed Entertainment Association's THEA award for lifetime achievement.{{Cite news|url=http://www.inparkmagazine.com/tony-baxter-retires-as-svp-disney-imagineering/|title = Tony Baxter Retires as SVP Disney Imagineering|newspaper = Inpark Magazine}}

In 2004, Baxter was the recipient of the DFC Disney Legend award from the Disneyana Fan Club.{{Cite web|url=https://disneyanafanclub.weebly.com/dfc-awards.html|title=DFC Awards}}

In August 2013, in a ceremony at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA, Baxter was inducted as a Disney Legend.{{Cite web|url=https://attractionsmagazine.com/steve-jobs-tony-baxter-among-2013-disney-legend-honorees-to-be-awarded-at-d23-expo/|title = Steve Jobs, Tony Baxter among 2013 Disney Legend honorees to be awarded at D23 Expo|date = 10 July 2013}}

A few months later, in November 2013, Baxter received the honor of having his name appear on Main Street, U.S.A. windows at Disneyland.{{Cite web|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/11/disney-legend-tony-baxter-honored-with-window-on-main-street-u-s-a-at-disneyland-park/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105031132/http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/11/disney-legend-tony-baxter-honored-with-window-on-main-street-u-s-a-at-disneyland-park/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2013|title = Disney Legend Tony Baxter Honored with Window on Main Street, U.S.A., at Disneyland Park}} The window, which can be found above the Main Street Magic Shop reads:Main Street Marvels – Tony Baxter, Inventor, Imagination is at the heart of our Creations {{Cite web|url=http://themeparkadventure.com/tony-baxter-disneyland-window-ceremony/|title=Tony Baxter Disneyland Window Ceremony|date=2 November 2013}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite news|first=Sarah|last=Tully|title=Top Disneyland ride creator steps down|publisher=Orange County Register|year=2013|location=Orange County|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/baxter-414210-disney-disneyland.html}}
• {{Cite news|author=Andy|title=Meet Imagineer Tony Baxter|year=2012|website=dlp.info|url=http://www.dlp.info/News/2012/03/meet-imagineer-tony-baxter/}}
• {{Cite news|first=Kevin|last=Cedino|title=Tony Baxter Interview|publisher=DVDizzy.com|year=2007|location=UltimateDisney.com|url=http://www.dvdizzy.com/tonybaxter-interview.html/}}
• {{Cite news|first=Arthur|last=Levine|title=Going along for the Ride with Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter|publisher=about.com|year=2008|location=about.com|url=http://themeparks.about.com/od/disneyparks/a/BaxterImagineer.htm}}
• {{Cite news|first=Robert|last=Niles|title=Thank you, Tony Baxter|publisher=Theme Park Insider|year=2013|location=themeparkinsider.com|url=http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201302/3348/}}
• [http://www.insidethemagic.net/2013/08/steve-jobs-tony-baxter-receive-highest-disney-honors-at-2013-d23-expo-in-most-emotional-moments/ insidethemagic.net]

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.wdwradio.com/2012/08/tony-baxter-interview-disney-trivia-contest-show-289-august-26-2012/ WDW Radio Disney podcast - Lou Mongello's Interview With Tony Baxter (August, 2012)]
• [http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID501030.asp LaughingPlace.com - Interview With Tony Baxter (June 2000)]
• [http://www.ultimatedisney.com/tonybaxter-interview.html UltimateDisney.com - Interview With Tony Baxter (December 2007)]

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Category:Amusement ride manufacturers

Category:California State University, Long Beach alumni

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