We all know and love Patrick, the flight attendant who gives us our safety spiel and criticizes our choice in headwear before we embark on our Soarin' adventure. It seems that there was a time when Imagineers had a very different actor in mind for the role. Cast your minds back to the year 2000, folks!
According to some tweets from Disney Imagineer Jim Clark, Disney's California Adventure (as it was originally named) was just two months from opening. Soarin' was always expected to be a huge draw, but the safety spiel was not yet recorded. Jim states that John Travolta was their first choice to take on the role of "Sandy," the Chief Flight Attendant. Unfortunately, Travolta was unavailable for the role.
Technically, Patrick Warburton is in the role of the flight attendant, who for a brief moment was named "Sandy." The flight attendant was originally just going to give a very simple safety spiel, but the role was expanded a bit after Warburton was cast.
— Jim Clark (@ImagineerJim) December 26, 2020
The Imagineers were taken by the performance of Patrick Warburton in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and the rest is history. Patrick had more fun with the role than they intended and they expanded his presentation into the presentation we see today. He jokes around with the other riders and even got to keep his name!
What do you think? Was Kronk the better choice for the role or should Disney have paid Travolta to quit whatever role he played in Swordfish to do the shot?
Let us know below or on Facebook or just shout it really loud. We'll probably hear.
Image courtesy of Disney
