- "Exploratio Continua!"
- —Credo
The Society of Explorers and Adventurers also known as S.E.A. is a fictional organization originating from the attraction Fortress Explorations at Tokyo DisneySea.
Description[]
The Society of Explorers and Adventurers was created as an aristocratic Italian secret-society. The original four keystones of the S.E.A. were based in virtues of Adventure, Romance, Discovery and Innovation. The group later expanded internationally and served as an invite-only society of aristocrats that collaborated resources for respective goals.
Bases[]
- Falls Estate: This was a mansion owned by British colonist Dr. Albert Falls within the vicinity of the Rivers of Adventure. The society had a secret meeting-hall hidden behind the library, triggered by pulling a copy of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1894). The estate seemingly stopped serving as a society base after the doctor disappeared in 1928.
- Fortress Explorations: This was a fortress along the Mediterranean Sea in Porto Paradiso, Italy. The fortress was the original headquarters for the society in the 16th century.
- Hotel Hightower: The Hotel Hightower was a popular hotel in New York City, owned by evil society member Harrison Hightower III. On the New Year's Eve of 1899, the hotel was abandoned due to the society's crimes catching up to Hightower and leaving the hotel haunted.
- Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar: This was a hangar at 1138 Seaten Avenue in the sleepy town of Disney Springs, Florida. The hangar was built by aviator member Jock Lindsey around 1948 and later turned into a bar.
- Mystic Point: Mystic Point was a colony in Papua New Guinea created and owned by British aristocratic colonizer, Lord Henry Mystic. Mystic took the land during the 19th century and used the point as a base of operations for himself and his contemporaries well into the 1930s.
Affiliated/subsidiary groups[]
- Adventurers Club: The Adventurers Club is a club of eccentric globetrotters. The Adventurers Club was built from Merriweather Adam Pleasure's disillusionment with the Society and unlike the S.E.A., it attempted to rehabilitate itself from its dark and amoral colonial origins. Up until 1944, their headquarters was the isle of Pleasure Island in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
- Big Thunder Mining Company: The Big Thunder Mining Company was a highly amoral business which stole and colonized the Big Thunder Mountain territory of Arizona in order to extort it of gold. The company was cruel to its workers and run by the gold-obsessed Barnabas T. Bullion.
- Hightower Industries: Hightower Industries was a company run by the Hightower family which included Harrison Hightower III, a wealthy and evil world-travelling thief and pillager.
- Jungle Navigation Company: The Jungle Navigation Company was created to transport cargo, messages and passengers throughout the different jungles of the world. Starting in 1931, the JNC also operated the, "Jungle Cruise" tours of these jungle rivers. The Jungle Navigation Company maintains a fleet of riverboats operated by a variety of skippers. The company has an infamous reputation for negligence, impotence and corruption.
- Pillagers Brigade: The Pillagers Brigade was a group which travelled the world to ransack other cultures and grave-rob. It is known to have included Harrison Hightower III and very likely included Merriweather Adam Pleasure.
- Royal Anthropological and Diverse Adventures Society: This was a misogynistic alliance of aristocratic colonists in the British Empire of which Dr. Albert Falls was a member.
Members[]
Official members[]
- Aya Kouame-Beauciel: A SEA member who was active in Côte d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast) during the 1930s. They are interested in astronomy and constructed astronomy towers in Los Angeles and New York City.
- Barnabas T. Bullion: The mining-tycoon owner of the Big Thunder Mining Company who exploited and colonized the Big Thunder region of Arizona during the late 19th century.
- Camellia Falco: A 19th century aviatrix and inventor who was the first female member of the society.
- Charlton J. Taboret: Charlton J. Taboret was a 19th century painter.
- Chef Tandaji: Chef Tandaji was a cook in the society.
- Captain Mary Oceaneer: Captain Mary Oceaneer was a woman sea-captain, archaeologist and oceonographer from the late 19th century to 1950s.
- Dr. Albert Falls: Dr. Albert Falls was a British colonizer who mapped the Rivers of Adventure and founded the Jungle Navigation Company before he disappeared in the year 1928.
- Dr. J.L. Baterista:
- Dr. Kon Chunosuke: Dr. Kon Chunosuke was a world-renowned Japanese entomologist in the 1930s. He is most notable for having been a survivor of the Kwango Kate's wreckage along the African veldt in 1938.
- Harrison Hightower III: Harrison Hightower III was an evil American businessman and globe-trotter who stole and grave-robbed across the world before being killed in 1899 by his stolen artifact, Shiriki Utundu.
- Jason Chandler: Jason Chandler was secretary for the society in the 1850s and president by the 1880s. Chandler was an inventor who assisted Barnabas T. Bullion in colonizing the Big Thunder region.
- Jock Lindsey: Jock Lindsey was an aviator who often accompanied archaeologist Indiana Jones in his adventures. He ran a bar in the Florida town of Disney Springs.
- Lord Henry Mystic: Lord Henry Mystic was a British colonizer active from at-least the 1850s to the 1930s. He is most notable for having taken land in Papua New Guinea to turn into his personal colony of Mystic Point where he made his home and personal museum of Mystic Manor that contained over 7000 artifacts taken by Mystic from across the globe.
- Luana Teixeira: Luana Teixeira was a woman photographer considered a senior member of the society by the late 19th century.
- Merriweather Adam Pleasure:
- Prof. Garrett Reed:
- Prof. R. Blauerhimmel:
- Sango Sio:
- Vitale Robustelli:
Honorary members[]
- Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521):
- Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519):
- Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596):
- Christopher Columbus (1451-1506):
- Vasco da Gama (c.1460-1524):
- Tycho Brahe (1546-1601):
- Leif Erikson (c. 970 – c. 1020):
- Marco Polo (1254-1324):
- Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460):
- Ibn Battuta (1304-1368/1369):
- Pytheas (apr. 350 BC- apr. 285 BC):
Others[]
These are characters referenced alongside the society's ranks but who not explicitly stated as members.
- Albert the Monkey:
- Captain Brieux: Captain Brieux was a French inventor and aviator who in 1907 created the airship The Hyperion. Brieux also was a denizen of the steampunk futurist settlement of Discoveryland in Paris, France where he transported passengers about the Hyperion before mysteriously disappearing. He was known to have been at-least affiliated with S.E.A. as he and Jason Chandler created a map of the Mekong river together for the society from the Hyperion airship which was hung in the estate of Dr. Albert Falls.
- Frank Wolff: Frank Wolff created a map of the Rivers of Adventure for Dr. Albert Falls in 1911. By 1938, the map would have the crest for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers though following a modification by Alberta Falls.
- The logo on the map was upside-down to face skippers who would use it, possibly implying it was added on later by Alberta or another party.
- Madame Vidalia Onionski Zarkov: Madame Zarkov was a Romani magic-user who ran an establishment known as The Museum of the Weird during the early 1880s. She was a contact of Jason Chandler who urged Barnabas T. Bullion to cease his mining in Big Thunder Mountain and later became a member of the Adventurers Club.
- Mickey Mouse: Mickey Mouse is an anthropomorphic mouse born in 1928 who among other things worked as a sailor aboard the Steamboat Willie, a politician in Toontown and apprentice to sorcerer Yen Sid. He and his partner Minnie Mouse travelled the world as explorers and not only bore the marks of the society in their passports but had also travelled to Adventureland and Mystic Point.
- Minnie Mouse: Minnie Mouse is an anthropomorphic mouse born in 1928 who was the partner to Mickey Mouse. The two travelled the world together and were affiliated with the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.[1]
History[]
Background[]
Renaissance[]
The society was founded on the August 12 of 1538 in Porto Paradiso, Italy. It was founded to follow concepts of adventure, romance, discovery and innovation. The S.E.A.'s base was in the seaside Fortress Explorations which harboured their vessel The Renaissance. The society named many honorary members including the genocidal criminal Cristobal Colon, English privateer and colonizer Sir Francis Drake, and Prince Henry the Navigator who assisted in founding the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The fortress would also come to be haunted by the spirit of, "Honorary member" Leonardo da Vinci.
Expansion[]
In 1851, club president Vitale Robustelli named the first female member in the form of aviatrix Camellia Falco. Members Jason Chandler and Lord Henry Mystic would expand the society with Chandler coming to be elected club president. Other notable members of the Victorian era were the evil Harrison Hightower III and Barnabas T. Bullion whom were prominent members of the society. Bullion ran the evil Big Thunder Mining Company in Arizona on the stolen land of Big Thunder in the Western River Valley which Chandler and the society assisted him in.
In 1882, Lord Henry Mystic appropriated Moroccan wardrobe and made the fez a society staple. In 1889, he claimed land in Papua New Guinea where he built the colony of Mystic Point. In 1892, Dr. Albert Falls went on a 13-day voyage to map the mystical Rivers of Adventure where he, "Discovered" the feature of Schweitzer Falls in Africa that he named for himself. On the New Year's Eve of 1899, the society gathered in the Hotel Hightower to celebrate Harrison Hightower III having stole the religious idol Shiriki Utundu from the Congo, only for Hightower to be killed by the idol as punishment for his crimes.
Adventureland[]
In 1908, Lord Mystic began letting outsiders into the colony to show off his collection of 7,000 artifacts and inventions taken from across the globe. On April 8, 1911, Dr. Albert Falls founded the colonial Jungle Navigation Company which used the Rivers of Adventure to aid in colonizing jungles across the world. Prior to 1919, member Merriweather Adam Pleasure became disaffected from the society and founded a splinter-faction known as the, "Adventurers Club" which was focussed more on fun and making amends for the society's colonial heritage.
In 1928, Falls mysteriously disappeared leaving his granddaughter Alberta Falls to run the Jungle Navigation Company. In 1929, member Professor Garrett Reed was caught grave robbing an Egyptian mummy leading to controversy and outrage. In the 20th century, the society became less and less of a secret society. Lord Henry Mystic subsequently had Reed's membership in the society revoked (though Mystic himself commit a near identical crime while stealing an Egyptian corpse to display in Mystic Point).
In 1932, Professor Garrett Reed sought after the mystical Emerald Trinity and was killed in the process. In 1938, member Dr. Kon Chunosuke travelled to Adventureland from Mystic Manor where he met Alberta Falls. Chunosuke became part of a V.I.P., "Jungle Cruise" which was lost along the African Veldt of North Africa where he was stranded with many other survivors.
Later members[]
Around the 1940s, aviator Jock Lindsey was made a member. Lindsey ran a base from a hangar in the sleepy town of Disney Springs, Florida which also hosted the Adventurers Club. In 1951, the Adventurers Club aided Jock in opening the hangar up into, "Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar". Around 1955, Captain Mary Oceaneer was excavating in the tropical Blustery Bay when a storm caught her ship and stranded her in the port of Placid Palms.
Development history[]
Creation & Changes[]
The Society of Explorers and Adventurers was originally created for Tokyo DisneySea's Fortress Exploration, being the organization of many historic explorers (who were later retconned into honorary membership). An incarnation of the society inspired by the Adventurers Club of the defunct Pleasure Island was later integrated into the Hong Kong Disneyland attraction Mystic Manor. This incarnation retconned evil Tower of Terror explorer character Harrison Hightower III into membership while portrayed a romanticized depiction of European colonialism.
On the integration of Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity, Andrew Sinclair-Harris spoke on having faced obstacles in integrating Reed due to a small group of imagineers in Glendale acting as, "Gate-keepers" for S.E.A..[2] Incidentally, California imagineer Kevin Lively has claimed that the Hong Kong Disneyland version of the Jungle Cruise (and Curse of the Emerald Trinity by affiiliation) are non-canonical (though it should be noted there is nothing within the text of the attractions itself to imply so).
In the 2021 refurbishment of the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise, many crates referencing the society and Mystic Manor were integrated into the Amazon River Base. These were quietly removed soon after with some speculating it being due to the propagandistic depiction of European colonialism affiliated with the society and Mystic Manor.
Controversy[]
The S.E.A. is controversial due to its romanticization of real-world colonialism and colonists. Many, "Honorary members" of the society were real-world mass-murderers, sex-offenders, genocidal colonizers and slave-traffickers. The iconography of the society's victorian-1930s state is also inspired by historic European colonists who commit similar crimes but were glamorized by works of fiction. Operations of S.E.A. members such as grave-robbing, land-theft, implied genocide, naming foreign landmarks after themselves, desecrating mummy remains, and effectively stealing Indigenous artifacts for western museums and personal collections are also all romanticized and condoned within the portrayal of the society.
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Club 33[]
The Tiki Takeover event contained several references to the Jungle Cruise and S.E.A..
Jungle Cruise[]
There are crates belonging to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers within the queue for this attraction in Disneyland though they were removed in the Magic Kingdom. In the Amazon River Base of the Magic Kingdom, there is a S.E.A. fez within an office and in the Disneyland boathouse is the fez of Dr. Albert Falls. Also in Alberta Falls' office is a post-card from Captain Mary Oceaneer representing the society, mentioning the failed search for Dr. Albert Falls and an expedition to investigate the Forbidden Mountain of Anandapur. In the African veldt scene, Dr. Kon Chunosuke can be seen wearing S.E.A. paraphernalia. Additionally, crates belonging to Hightower Industries are in the queue for both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom and Mystic Point are located within the queue for Disneyland. The society's logo is located in the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise on a map of the Rivers of Adventure, made by Frank Wolff and annotated by Alberta Falls. In Disneyland, is a box atop the outpost labelled with the SEA logo.[3]
Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity[]
One of the antagonists of this attraction was Professor Garrett Reed who died during the narrative of the ride. In the Daily Colonial Journal, Lord Henry Mystic was interviewed on the subject of Reed.
Skipper Canteen[]
One of the dining-areas in this restaurant is themed to being a former meeting-hall for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, hidden behind the library of the Falls estate and accessed by a copy of the Jungle Book. In the entrance area are the fez hats belonging to a variety of S.E.A. members and within the hall itself are maps made by Captain Mary Oceaneer and Jason Chandler with help from Captain Brieux. Also within this chamber are certificates for Falls', "Discovery" of Schweitzer Falls and the Shir Lee Temple signed by senior S.E.A. members along with a portrait showing Dr. Falls and Luana Taxeira at said temple.
Within the library are books written by a variety of Disney characters including several members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. In the lost & found of the mess hall is a toolbox belonging to Jock Lindsey (though he likely was not yet a member of S.E.A.). The menus also contain allusions to the 1899 New Year's Eve at the Hotel Hightower and Dr. Albert Falls.
Tropical Hideaway[]
The Tropical Hideaway contains a wall adorned with oars of different society members, commemorating their different river-expeditions. These include:
- C. Falco, Zambezi River, 1831
- B.T. Bullion, Colorado River, 1870
- J. Chandler, Elaho River, 1882
- H. Mystic, Ganges River, 1874
- S. Shio, Amazon River, 1910
- H. Hightower, Yangtze River, 1872
- Dr. J.L. Baterista, Congo River, 1906
- Dr. A. Falls, Mbei River, 1903
- Prof. R. Blauerhimmel, Ucayali River, 1904
- M. Oceaneer, Orinoco River, 1899
- M.A. Pleasure, Kissimmee River, 1900
- Chef Tandaji, Irawaddy River, 1913
Other connections[]
Adventureland Treehouse[]
There is a flag with the SEA crest hanging from part of the treehouse. Daughter's study also has books with the SEA crest on their covers including, "Society of Explorers and Adventurers Guide to Prospective Members Revival Edition" updated for the year 1936, and "Who's Who Among The Society of Explorers and Adventurers: A Compendium of Membership Vol. IV". Inside, there is a letter to her from Aya Kouame-Beauciel which mentions them and Dr. Kon Chunosuke sending the family's daughter a telescope lens.
Adventure Trading Company[]
Lord Henry Mystic and Dr. Albert Falls were both mentioned in The Daily Gnus with Lord Mystic having also been identified as a member of the Adventure Trading Company. The Daily Gnus also mentioned Mystic Point and referenced someone named, "Jacque" selling baby snakes, a potential typo of Jock (Jock Lindsey).
Horrors of the Amazon[]
This show revolved around former skipper Jonas Brisbane, a man who wishes to gain membership into S.E.A. by showing off rare creatures he poached from the Amazon and the corpse of a witch-doctor which he desecrated and even partially cannibalized.
Jock Lindsey's Hangar bar[]
Jock Lindsey was the aviator to Indiana Jones. His bar identifies him as having travelled to Schweitzer Falls and also contains an indirect allusion to Chief Nah-mee.
Pirates of the Caribbean[]
Captain Mary Oceaneer collected several artifacts from the Pirates of the Caribbean mythos.
Trader Sam's[]
The society is not directly referenced in these bars though many of its members are, both directly and indirectly tied to the backstory of Trader Sam. Skip Dockmonkey mentions Sam travelled to Mystic Point studying mixology, Sam's alleged grandfather Billamongawonga having been Harrison Hightower III's, "Right hand man", and Sam as having been aboard the shrimping vessel Miss Tilly during the hurricane which marooned Captain Mary Oceaneer. Trader Sam also has a bronze bust of Dr. Albert Falls and mentions the drink, "Schweitzer Falls" as having been the doctor's favourite beverage. Sam is additionally shown to be close with the Adventurers Club, have been friends with the club's, "Original member" Theodore Roosevelt, and has a photograph of club founder Merriweather Adam Pleasure's wife Isabella. Items related to Dr. Kon Chunosuke were also later added to Sam's connection.
Trivia[]
- It is possible that the Royal Anthropological and Diverse Adventures Society from the Jungle Cruise (2021) which included Dr. Albert Falls was inspired by the S.E.A. and is in some way affiliated with them.
Gallery[]
