The Weird Way That Every Disney Park Around the Globe Is Connected

The Adventurers Club was a nightclub at Disney World’s Pleasure Island with an elaborate backstory that involved the “founder” of Pleasure Island, Merriweather Pleasure. The story goes that Pleasure built the Adventurers Club to house the treasures and artifacts from his world travels. Part nightclub and part improv comedy show, live actors who played a band of (what else) adventurers mingled with guests, and some of the artifacts were actually puppets and animatronics that came to life. The club closed in 2008, but many credit the Adventurers Club as being the inspiration for a secret society of Disney characters that connects every Disney theme park, cruise ship, and resort.

When the Adventurers Club closed at Disney World, props from the club were scattered to Disney properties around the globe. Some made their way to Hong Kong Disneyland’s Mystic Point, a land set in a dense rainforest where S.E.A. member Lord Henry Mystic built Mystic Manor–a mansion and museum (and Hong Kong’s variation on the Haunted Mansion) where he could display his growing collection of art and artifacts. A group portrait of S.E.A.’s original members hangs in the queue for Mystic Manor, many of whom receive their own elaborate backstory in other Disney parks.

Tokyo DisneySea’s Tower of Terror is not themed to the Twilight Zone like the one in Disney World. In creating a unique storyline for the attraction, Disney Imagineers dreamt up a character named Harrison Hightower III, the Hotel Hightower’s proprietor who disappeared years’ prior after stealing a sacred African idol. Not only is Hightower the spitting image of famed Imagineer Joe Rohde (no, it isn’t a coincidence), he can be seen in the aforementioned S.E.A. portrait holding the very idol that caused his demise.

Also seen in Mystic Manor’s S.E.A. portrait is a seafaring explorer by the name of Mary Oceaneer. Legend has it that a rogue storm swept her ship and many artifacts to Typhoon Lagoon while she was on a diving excursion. The Miss Adventure Falls water slide at Disney World’s Typhoon Lagoon water park takes riders on a white-water journey through the wreckage and prominently features a variety of S.E.A. ephemera.

Disney parks in Florida, California, Tokyo, and Hong Kong have similar versions of the Jungle Cruise ride. At each, the cruises are chartered by the Jungle Navigation Company, a river trading company founded by S.E.A. member Dr. Albert Falls. When Dr. Falls died, he was succeeded by his granddaughter, Alberta Falls, who manages the company to this day.

The Jungle Cruise is set for an upcoming refurbishment that will further expand its connection with S.E.A. In a recent blog post, Disney shared that Alberta and Dr. Falls visited Hong Kong’s Mystic Point together. They also introduced a brand new member of S.E.A., Japanese entomologist, Dr. Kon Chunosuke.

The Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen restaurant opened at Disney World in 2015 under the guise of being a mess hall for the Jungle Cruise skippers, parlor for the Falls family, and secret meeting spot for S.E.A. References to S.E.A. are hidden throughout the restaurant, including a few that tie S.E.A. back to the Adventurers Club. WIthin the S.E.A. dining room, a club fez belonging to Adventurers Club founder Merriweather Pleasure on display in a glass case, suggesting Pleasure was a member of the organization.

The Tropical Hideaway is an eatery in Disneyland’s Adventureland area. The open-air dock overlooks the Jungle Cruise ride and one of the building’s exterior walls showcases a collection of colorful oars. If you look closely at these oars, you’ll find they are more than just decoration. Each one is emblazoned with the name of a member of S.E.A., including Merriweather Pleasure, further proof of his S.E.A. membership.