The Gipsy Moth or Gypsy Moth refers to several airplanes from Pleasure Island's defunct Adventurers Club. It is sometimes referred to simply as the Moth as to avoid the racial slur used in the plane's name.
Description[]
The Moth is a name used for several airplanes which were used by aviator Hathaway Browne. One of these planes had the ID of AC5189.
History[]
Background[]
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the Moth was the name of several airplanes used by Adventurers Club member Hathaway Browne. Around 1938, an incarnation of this plane was crashed along the Nile river in the jungles near the African veldt of North Africa (near Chimp Country and Crocodile Country). A propeller from one of the plane's crashes would find its way into the possession of Trader Sam, a friend of Browne's.
In the 1940s, Browne used enchanted liquor from Sam's bar to serve as fuel for his plane. In the late July of 1942, Browne crashed the plane in Cleveland, Ohio.[1]
Development history[]
The moth is named for the real-life de Havilland DH.60 Moth which was a British biplane created in 1925. The name of this plane was highly racist, being named for slurs against Romani people and which is often affiliated with sneakiness and crime, stereotypes of Romani people perpetuated by white Europeans.
Ironically, the moth was integrated in the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise during a 2021 refurbishment which was supposedly aimed at removing racism from the attraction. This Moth was created by rebranding the downed Lockheed Electra 12A. This plane was created from the backside of an allegedly authentic prop from the film Casablanca which had its frontside used in the defunct Great Movie Ride.
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Jungle Cruise[]
A wrecked plane belonging to Hathaway Browne appears along the Rivers of Adventure.
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar[]
A propeller from the wrecked Moth is located on a wall in this bar.[2] Also in the bar are several photographs of Hathaway Browne and his planes.
Other appearances[]
Adventurers Club[]
The moth was referenced in this attraction.
Trivia[]
- The ID on Hathaway Browne's plane is, "AC5189" which is a reference to the Adventurers Club (AC) which 05/01/1989 is the date that the Adventurers Club opened in Walt Disney World.
- Skippers would sometimes reference being employed by the JNC after surviving the crash in Hathaway Browne's plane.