A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: Treasures of the BoardWalk Inn

By Dave Shute

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

TREASURES OF THE BOARDWALK INN AND VILLAS

By Jim Korkis

Alix Beeny was the director of Parker Blake, a Denver, Colorado design company hired by Disney Imagineering division to help explore themes and find artifacts from the glory days of both Atlantic City and Coney Island to add authentic touches to the Boardwalk Inn and Villas.

Hippocampus Electrolier. Hanging directly above the miniature carousel is the Hippocampus Electrolier that supposedly is a one-of-a-kind original and not a reproduction.

The classical hippocampus comes from Greek mythology and is a sea monster with a horse’s forequarters and a fish’s tail, quite literally a seahorse. Poseidon was not only the god of the sea, but also earthquakes and horses. He was often accompanied by hippocampi who pulled his chariot.

Electrolier was the name for a chandelier powered by electric lights, rather than gas or candle, but the term never caught on in common usage. Reportedly, it was inventor Thomas Edison who coined the term.

The Hippocampus Electrolier Chandelier at the Boardwalk Inn weighs 3,000 pounds and is finished entirely in 22-karat gold leaf, hand-cut Austrian crystal, and custom-blown glass. Underneath there is a glass globe that used to be filled with sand and a time capsule to be opened on the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. The globe developed a leak (or fell and cracked depending upon who tells the story) and the sand and the time capsule were removed and are supposedly in safe keeping.

Nanny Chairs. Placed on either side of the fireplace are the scary “nanny chairs” that were originally found on 19th century European carrousels. They were intended for adults to rest upon while their children rode the moving animals. From this concept developed the more traditional “chariot” benches. It would have been inappropriate for female nannies to even ride side saddle on a carousel horse. These reproductions were cast from circa 1889 originals, hand painted and highlighted with gold leaf. In a moment of cleverness, the two Imagineers involved in the reproductions printed their names on the back of each chair: Todd and Paul.

Flip Flap Railway. In the lobby is a glass encased model of the Flip Flap Railway which was located in Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. (This park site was later bought and transformed into Coney Island’s Luna Park.)

Built in 1895, this early ride featured a 25-foot loop and was the world’s first inverted (upside down loop-the-loop) roller coaster. Because of its design (and no seatbelts), there were neck and back injuries among other discomforts.

Atlantic City had its own version of the Flip-Flap (sometimes called the Looping the Loop) on Young’s Pier from 1902-1912. So, once again, both Coney Island and Atlantic City shared similar attractions.

The Coney Flip-Flap produced 12 Gs, enough to knock riders out. To put this in comparison, Epcot’s Mission: Space produces about 2.5 Gs for 45 seconds. Even the high-flying aerobatics of the Blue Angels only produces 9-11 Gs maximum. It is my understanding that this model was produced by Imagineering using extensive resources.

Swan Ride. On a table in the middle of the room is an authentic two-headed “Swan Seat.” According to the nearby sign, it “is of European origin from the period of large-themed carousels dedicated to one species of animal, bird or fish. These grand rides had dispensed with rocking gondolas or spinning tubes in favor of these more fanciful creations. Giant baskets carried the passengers on a “Manege des Cochons” (ride of pigs). This swan seat originally hung from chairs and rocked on the carousel floor from the shifting weight of the children inside. Iron and tin with hand painting and gold leafing circa 1890.

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Thanks, Jim! There’s more on the BoardWalk Inn here, and come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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