- “"Pop", goes the Weasel!”
- ―The Weasel[src]
The Weasel is a character from the Disney Parks.
History[]
Background[]
The Weasel is a running gag character in the America Sings attraction. Often throughout the show, he would briefly interrupt the songs and say his catchphrase, "Pop Goes the Weasel" in certain scenes. At the end of the attraction, he then appears one last time saying, "Goodbye, goes the Weasel".
Development History[]
The Weasel was created in the former America Sings attraction which opened on June 29, 1974 at Disneyland where he would constantly appear as a running gag. He would occasionally blurt out his catchphrase, "Pop Goes the Weasel" (the song he is named after) as a running gag throughout the show. America Sings later closed on April 10, 1988 where the Weasel and the rest of the animatronics would be moved to Splash Mountain in order to retheme the former "America Sings" building to "Innoventions". Due to the success of the attraction at Disneyland, the Splash Mountain attraction was later constructed at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland respectively, still featuring the scene with weasels on it.
As of 2020, Splash Mountain is slated for closure in order to remove references to Song of the South, due to outdated cultural depictions from the film itself which the attraction is based on to make way for a Princess and the Frog-themed attraction. Therefore, it is unknown of what will replace the scene with the weasels in the rethemed version of the attractions at the California and Florida versions respectively. The Oriental Land Company, however, has not yet decided whether to completely retheme Tokyo's version of Splash Mountain version or not.
Appearances[]
America Sings[]
During the prologue sequence where Sam the Eagle and Ollie the Owl are talking to the audience about the United States and its history of songs, Ollie sings "Pop Goes the Weasel" where the Weasel pops up from two small doors on the top of the gazebo above them just before the scene loops to the attraction's first act. In the attraction's first act, the Weasel appears during the end of the "Down in the Valley" song after a fox sings his part. During the attraction's second act, the Weasel appears again after the Prospector sings the musical number "Who Shot the Hole in My Sombrero?" where he pops out of a TNT barrel just before looping to the Boothill Boys reciting their part.
During the attraction's third act, the Weasel appears again during the end of the songs "Bill Bailey" and "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" where he pops up out of a potted plant respectively just before the attraction loops to the fourth and final act. During Big Daddy's part, the Weasel pops out of the top of his piano where he surprises him just before looping to the "Hound Dog" musical number. Later during the conclusion, the Weasel pops up from two small doors on the top of the gazebo above Sam and Ollie appearing one last time before the attraction ends.
Splash Mountain[]
Several models used for the Weasel also appear during the "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place" sequence in the Disneyland version where they appear popping out in various holes. They are seen in the area where the Bird in a Gilded Cage and a fox are at where they are seen randomly popping out of various holes. The scene also appears in the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland version where multiple are seen popping out of the holes where they are seen happily whooping, followed by one who sneezes. The sneezing line can often be misinterpreted as "Go, F.S.U.", which stands for "Florida State University" as a nod to the university that the Imagineers attended in Florida.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Little Weasel peaking out from the top (Disneyland).jpg (1.31 MB)")
.png "Little Weasel peaking out from the top (Magic Kingdom).png (601 KB)")
.png "Little Weasel peaking out from the top (Tokyo Disneyland).png (532 KB)")
