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A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: Seashore Sweets



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.

SEASHORE SWEETS (AND FLYING FISH CAFE)

By Jim Korkis

To accommodate the new AbracadaBar on the BoardWalk, an old fashioned ice cream and candy shop called Seashore Sweets was closed February 1, 2016. The shop was especially known for offering hand-scooped ice cream.

The framed newspaper on the wall in the AbracadaBar has a small article in the lower right hand corner that does not talk about magicians but about the Sweet Sisters. This is just another clever touch by Imagineers to reference what was in the location previously. Here is that full back story that the article is alluding to in its coverage.

jim-korkis-on-seashore-sweets-from-yourfirstvisit-net

Seashore Sweets had a main story related to the Miss America Pageant that was celebrated throughout in this location and a smaller tangent story about a well-known candy associated with Atlantic City.

Atlantic City is where saltwater taffy was created in 1883 when a clever businessman named David Bradley sold some taffy that had a hint of salt water when his shop was flooded by ocean water.

A hint of salt water is not an ingredient in salt water taffy today. Of course, salt water taffy could be purchased in the shop, usually with Goofy’s face on the bag.

The main storyline was that two sisters, known as the “Sweet Sisters”, who competed in the early Miss America pageant decided to stay in the area and opened the shop. Their picture is on the outside sign and the motto of the store is “Confections served with Affection” (look for the heart shapes in the letter “O” in that sign).

Atlantic City was famous for the Miss America pageant that began in the 1920s and lasted for 85 years on the Boardwalk before relocating to Las Vegas in 2007. It returned to Atlantic City in 2013.

Leanza Cornett, who was Miss America 1993, was the first actress to play a live-action version of Ariel, the title character from The Little Mermaid, at the Voyage of The Little Mermaid show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in 1991.

There were many authentic artifacts like souvenir programs and tickets inside the store including in a transparent case on the right hand side of the entrance with a trophy, crown, regal cape and scepter used in an actual Miss America pageant.

Up above near the ceiling were framed photos of all the Miss America winners from 1921 through 2007 (when it stopped being held in Atlantic City).

In the earliest days, the women were not just judged in a swimsuit competition (called the Bathers’ Revue) but also as part of the Rolling Chair Parade, referenced in that newspaper article on the wall.

Framed posters and memorabilia could be found in every area of the small shop. A souvenir program from the 1942 pageant would have cost twenty-five cents that year but is worth many times that price today.

The inspiration for the name Flying Fish Café next door most likely came from a classic Coney Island roller coaster called the Flying Turns. One of the ride vehicles on that coaster was called the Flying Fish.

The interior of the restaurant was originally a colorful homage to Coney Island. The back of the booths resembled the curving lifts and drops of a roller coaster. On the back wall was a huge depiction of a back-lit Ferris wheel.

Fish did, in fact, fly overhead in pairs on a version of the famous parachute ride that was a decades-long favorite at Steeplechase Park at Coney Island. In fact one of the first images on the wall mural is of people riding the eight wooden horses on a steel track at Steeplechase.

On the cloud painted ceiling, the stars changed colors every few minutes.

The entire interior, including the addition of an open on-stage kitchen, has been recently redesigned. The new design includes images of flying fish in a chandelier of glass, the kitchen tiles and the upholstery. The restaurant also has references to the classic boardwalk with carnival art, vintage carnival games and more.

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Thanks, Jim! 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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