Professor Wayne Szalinski is a major character from the Disney comedy film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Szalinski was central character in the DisneyQuest attraction, Virtual Jungle Cruise.
History[]
Background[]
Origins[]
Wayne Szalinski was a struggling inventor, presumably born around the 1950s. By the late 1980s, he had a wife named Diane with whom he had two children, the older being his daughter Amy while the younger was his son, Nick. Known inventions of his have included, "The Hands-Free Phone Helmet", "The Hands-Free Personal Grooming Helmet", and the, "Video Camera Helmet" (which was also hands-free).
The Shrinking Gun[]
In the attic of their house around 1989, Wayne struggled to create an electro-magnetic, "Shrinking Gun", only for his kids and the neighbours children to accidentally find the missing requirement when the neighbours' baseball fell in-between a laser component of the machine. When the kids went upstairs to retrieve the baseball, they was all shrunken by the Shrinking Gun device. Wayne and Diane searched through the house to find the kids and recover them to their normal size.
Imagination Institute[]
In the year 1990, Wayne's invention of the Shrinking Gun had him named, "Inventor of the Year" by the Imagination Institute and its chairman, Dr. Nigel Channing. Wayne and his family also prepared various of his inventions to display at this event including: the Hoverpod vehicle (which went out of control), a copy machine (which Nick used to duplicate mice which ran loose and terrorized the audience), and a Holo-Pet which scared off the mice by turning into a holographic lion.
While demonstrating the Shrinking Gun, the machine went out of control and accidentally hit the audience, shrinking them. After many dangerous encounters, the audience was able to be returned to their normal states as Wayne accepted his award; only for them to find out they accidentally enlarged the size of their dog, Quark. Following this, Wayne got an office within the Imagination Institute's headquarters, the Imagination! Pavilion in EPCOT.
The Jungle Cruise[]
At some point in time, Wayne invented a time-machine which he referred to as, "The Gizmo". Operating out of a jungle dock, Wayne would use the Gizmo to take guests on white-water rafting, "Jungle Cruise" tours of a prehistoric jungle. On one incident, he accidentally transported guests to the day the dinosaurs went extinct and lost his gizmo along the rivers, causing him to need to race to get it with guests and save them from the meteor impact which killed the dinosaurs; albeit bringing a velociraptor back with him.
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Virtual Jungle Cruise[]
Wayne is the central character in this attraction, using his time-machine to bring guests to the past only to lose his device. He could be seen struggling throughout the ride before bringing guests back. Wayne served a purpose similar to the Jungle Cruise's skippers, and was represented by a CGI model.
Other appearances[]
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience[]
Wayne was a major character in this attraction, receiving the Inventor of the Year award from the Imagination Institute and accidentally shrinking those involved.
Journey Into Imagination with Figment[]
A poster of Wayne appears in the queue, commemorating his victory as former Inventor of the Year. Wayne's office also appears within the Imagination! Pavilion, with glowing lights and lab-equipment visible inside.
Trivia[]
- Wayne wears a pith helmet in the Virtual Jungle Cruise.
- Wayne serves a similar purpose in the Virtual Jungle Cruise to Dr. Grant Seeker in the attraction DINOSAUR/Countdown to Extinction in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
- Fellow Journey Into Imagination characters Merlin Jones, the Dreamfinder and Figment have been referenced in Jungle Cruise properties.
- Various boats used by the Jungle Navigation Company appear behind Wayne at his docks in the Virtual Jungle Cruise, potentially hinting at a connection to the company.
![Image source[1]](/wiki/File:Vjc_intro_sm.jpg "Vjc intro sm.jpg (56 KB)")
