If you’ve been to Walt Disney World in the past five years, chances are good you’ve seen merchandise featuring a cute little Orange Bird. You may have even visited the Sunshine Tree Terrace and seen this adorable little character up close (and perhaps ordered a drink in a souvenir Orange Bird cup!) However, unlike other characters you’ll find around Walt Disney World, the Orange Bird has never appeared in a film, is not based on a classic fairy tale character, and isn’t featured in any attractions.
Though you wouldn’t know it by looking at him, the Orange Bird was conceived as a representation of a nearly 80 year partnership between the Walt Disney Company and the Florida Citrus Commission, a partnership that predates not only Walt Disney World, but Disneyland as well.
However, the Orange Bird was more than just a sponsorship icon, and went on to become a central figure of Walt Disney World’s early years, helping to put the Magic Kingdom on the map during its first decade of operation. However, the story of the Orange Bird is a complex one with plenty of twists and turns involving some marketing mis-steps, a disgraced beauty queen, a slow and painful exile from Walt Disney World, and finally, the Orange Bird’s triumphant return to his home.
So who exactly is the Orange Bird? And where did he come from? Well, like so many things at Walt Disney World, it was all started by a sponsorship…
The Florida Citrus Commission and the Walt Disney Company
In order to fully appreciate the origins of the Orange Bird, we have to go back to 1941, to the first partnership between the Walt Disney Company and Florida’s Natural Growers. This early deal was fairly simple, and allowed the cooperative to use the character of Donald Duck to sell orange juice. Though Donald Duck orange juice hasn’t been as prominent in recent years, this 75 year old agreement endures to this day, and is one of the longest American marketing partnerships in history.
Fast-forwarding nearly three decades from the start of this partnership, and the newly formed Florida Citrus Commission (which grew out of Florida’s Natural Growers), and the Walt Disney Company were looking to extend their collaboration. Construction was up on Disney’s Magic Kingdom and both parties saw the opening of this new theme park as an opportunity neither could ignore. A deal was struck in 1969 which saw the Florida Citrus Commission take on sponsorship of the Sunshine Pavilion, which housed the Tropical Serenade Show (now known as the Enchanted Tiki Room) as well as the Sunshine Tree Terrace snack location. The cost for such an expansive presence at Walt Disney World? A cool $3 Million (which translates to a nearly $20 Million investment in 2015).
In an effort to support the Florida Citrus Commission’s massive investment in Walt Disney World, the Walt Disney Company decided to create a new mascot the following year to help solidify the partnership between the two and provide a vehicle for joint promotion for the two entities. The official birthdate of the Orange Bird was in 1970, and this mascot was designed to be fairly simple. As the name implied, the bird would be orange, and have a head shaped like the citrus fruit he was meant to sell and green leaves for wings. However, though the design of the Orange Bird was pretty straightforward, he still needed a “gimmick”
And here’s where things get interesting. While other Disney characters like Mickey Mouse can talk and interact with others, the Orange Bird’s defining characteristic would be that he was unable to speak, squeak or even make the smallest sound. Instead, the Orange Bird could only communicate through Orange-tinted smoke, that would display his thoughts. Unsurprisingly, the Orange Bird thought a lot about oranges and the state of Florida, but he soon developed a catchphrase of sorts. Whenever something was pleasing to the Orange Bird, his thought-bubble would say ‘NICE!’ in all caps.
It didn’t take long to come up with the concept for the Orange Bird, and after all the character details were finalized this brand new mascot was immediately put to work. The above promotional image was taken while Walt Disney World was still under construction and shows the Orange Bird posing in front of what would eventually become the Sunshine pavilion at the Magic Kingdom….his future home.
However, the Orange Bird was never confined to just Walt Disney World, and soon began gracing billboards on the Florida stretch of I-95 as well as print advertisements in newspapers and magazines, working double duty not only as a promoter of Florida orange juice, but also as a spokesbird for the forthcoming Walt Disney World resort. Advertisements like the magazine ad below that promoted Walt Disney World and Florida Citrus Growers were an extremely common sight at citrus stands, grocery stores and other areas around Florida where citrus was sold.
Though guests’ first experience with the Orange Bird was likely in one of these advertisements, this burgeoning mascot was able to move into his “forever home” in 1971 when the Sunshine Pavilion opened at Walt Disney World. Though his presence was small at first (the Orange Bird was simply a figure behind the counter of the Sunshine Tree Terrace), the popularity of the character rose to meteoric levels almost overnight.
The Orange Bird becomes a Walt Disney World star
Though much of the Orange Bird’s initial popularity can be attributed to the huge Orange Bird marketing campaign rollout in the years prior to Walt Disney World’s opening, by the time the park welcomed its first guests the Orange Bird was a bona fide star, especially among Florida locals who associated the character with their state culture and economy.
But even those visiting from afar were drawn to this character, often queueing around Adventureland for the chance to meet and take a picture with a walk-around version of the Orange Bird that was frequently on hand to meet guests around the Sunshine pavilion. Though the Orange Bird never had a dedicated meet and greet space, he would often stroll around his little corner of Adventureland, interacting with guests but never saying a word.
However, beyond the initial connections to Florida culture, another big part of the Orange Bird’s early fame in the 1970s was a hugely popular book and record set that featured songs about the Orange Bird that had been written by the legendary Sherman Brothers (and performed by singer and beauty pageant queen Anita Bryant). You can check out the story and songs below (but don’t blame us if these catchy tunes get stuck in your head!)
This record was a fixture at Walt Disney World and was even given out to some guests for free to help boost local citrus sales (and keep Walt Disney World visitors thinking orange thoughts)! You could say that this record was sort of a “viral hit” for its day, with many sharing these songs with friends and family after returning home from a Walt Disney World trip.
Because of the growing popularity not only of the Orange Bird character, but of singer Anita Bryant as well, an even bigger marketing campaign was rolled out in the mid-1970s that brought Bryant and the bird to television, print, and radio ads. You can check out one of the few surviving ads from the 1970s below:
However, though this duo proved fruitful (pun intended) for the Florida Citrus Commission, an ugly controversy reared its head in the later part of this decade that very nearly put an end the Orange Bird…
The Orange Bird loses its voice
Though Anita Bryant, the Sunshine pavilion and the Orange Bird worked well as a three-part marketing machine for nearly a decade, singer Anita Bryant found herself in hot water in 1977. During this year, Bryant became a vocal opponent of anti-discrimination legislation that was proposed in Miami, taking a very public stance against homosexuality and causing quite the public relations firestorm. Because of the controversial nature of Bryant’s opinions (and subsequent boycott of Florida orange juice by several groups in favor of the legislation) Bryant and the Florida Citrus Commission parted ways that same year.
While the Orange Bird wasn’t really a part of the boycott or controversy, the departure of Anita Bryant left this silent character without his “voice”. Sadly, this loss meant that Orange Bird fans saw a lot less of this little guy, as TV ads were immediately pulled from the air in response to the scandal, and the records that were formerly distributed at Walt Disney World were phased out and discontinued. Though many Walt Disney World fans would love nothing more than to see a re-release of the Orange Bird record (those six Sherman Brothers songs would certainly sound amazing with a remaster), because of the severed ties with Anita Bryant and the Florida Citrus Commission, it looks like such a dream is simply not possible, no matter how much we might wish for it.
The end of the sponsorship
Despite the Orange Bird’s massive setback in the late 1970s in 1981, the Florida Citrus Commission elected to still renew its contract with Walt Disney World for another five years, extending its sponsorship of both the Sunshine Tree Terrance as well as the Tropical Serenade attraction. Although the aforementioned departure of Anita Bryant effectively killed the Orange Bird on TV, he was still very present both in Walt Disney World (both behind the counter at the Sunshine Tree Terrace and as a walk around character) and at local citrus shops around the state.
However, when the contract between the Florida Citrus Commission and Walt Disney World came up for renewal again in 1986, the Florida Citrus Commission changed its mind and opted not to renew their contract, for reasons that are still unknown. The end of the official sponsorship resulted in the expulsion of the Orange Bird from the Magic Kingdom with the walk-around character disappearing overnight and the little Orange Bird figure that had long served as the icon for the Sunshine Tree Terrace vanishing in the mid-90s during a routine refurbishment.
Though the Orange Bird continued to have a life outside of Walt Disney World, as citrus stands around Florida became more of a rarity (and the connection with Walt Disney World lost), this happy little icon slowly vanished from local Florida culture, with many only vaguely recalling its former glory.
Fortunately however, this was not the end of the story for this happy little bird…
The Orange Bird reappears in…Tokyo?
Though the Orange Bird was conceived as a character to help represent Florida’s citrus industry, after his disappearance following the 1986 dissolution of the contract with the Florida Citrus Commission, the next place the Orange Bird would find himself would be Tokyo Disneyland in the early 2000s.
Seemingly without any prompting, in 2004 the Orange Bird made his first international appearance as part of Tokyo Disneyland’s “Orange Day” celebrations. Locals fell hard for the cute little character, with merchandise of all shapes and sizes featuring the Orange Bird literally flying off store shelves (pun intended). Even though its doubtful that many guests at Tokyo Disneyland (if any at all) remembered the Orange Bird from the early days of Walt Disney World, the character’s immediate popularity in Japan helped put this little guy on the path to stage one of the biggest comebacks in Disney history…
The return of the Orange Bird to Walt Disney World
Due to a combination of local nostalgia and the character’s growing popularity overseas, the Orange Bird began making a soft return to Walt Disney World in 2009. During this year, a number of short-run limited edition merchandise items featuring the park’s former mascot were created as a way to “test the waters” and see if this little character still had appeal in his home market.
However, response to these items was huge, with many of the limited-run items selling out as soon as they hit shelves. Clearly, Walt Disney World was ready for the return of its original mascot, and the timing seemed just about right as the Orange Bird was just about to celebrate his 40th birthday
Though merchandise continued to trickle into Walt Disney World for the next few years, the Orange Bird’s return didn’t truly kick into high gear until 2012, when the iconic Orange Bird figure finally returned to his rightful place behind the counter of the Sunshine Tree Terrace, much to the delight of longtime fans.
It addition to resuming his usual post, the Orange Bird even got a bit of an upgrade as he also got a new plum spot on the Sunshine Tree Terrace signage as well and his own line of drink cups
Orange Bird Mania returns
Though the Orange Bird was certainly popular in the 1970s (and the 1980s, albeit to a lesser extent), this little mascot has enjoyed quite the second life at Walt Disney World since his full return in 2015, and can be found in plenty of areas beyond the Sunshine Tree Terrace. In fact, in recent weeks a new poster featuring the Orange Bird has moved into the front of the Magic Kingdom park, reminding guests to enjoy a refreshing Citrus Swirl ice cream treat!
However, even though the Orange Bird has returned to his rightful home in Adventureland, the area where this returning mascot has really made the biggest impact is, unsurprisingly, in merchandise. Though the Orange Bird can only be found in the Magic Kingdom, you can find Orange Bird goodies all over Walt Disney World, with pins, ear hats, dishes, glasses, t-shirts and even plushes featuring this formerly “lost” mascot filling stores at all four theme parks and even around the Downtown Disney shopping district. Though the Orange Bird had a nearly two-decade absence from Walt Disney World, it’s clear that this icon is back, and though he’s still quite tiny, his influence is bigger than ever.
Even though the Florida Citrus Commission never returned to sponsor any part of Walt Disney World, the legacy of the character that was born out of the partnership between these two entities has endured longer than either probably ever imagined it ever would.
While the tale of the Orange Bird does have quite a few twists and turns, his story is far from over, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for this quiet little bird who doesn’t make a peep, but can think orange thoughts!
