{April 3, 1995] In the March 27 edition of CNI News, we reported that the Walt Disney Company had produced and was airing a syndicated TV documentary entitled "Alien Encounters From New Tomorrowland." Our original report was based on impressions of several viewers. In this followup report, we quote directly from the script of the program. It is the opinion of CNI News that this documentary has made some of the most explicit claims regarding UFOs and alien encounter ever seen in a "fact-based" television program.
Introduced by Disney CEO Michael Eisner and hosted by well-known television actor Robert Urich, the program was intended partly to announce the lavish new "Alien Encounters" ride at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. But nearly the whole hour was devoted to basic information on UFOs and claims of alien contact, including substantial information on the government cover-up of UFO data.
Though several well-known UFO researchers such as Budd Hopkins and Kevin Randle were included in the program, most of the narration came from Urich. As a result, the show's extremely direct claims had the appearance of Disney's endorsement. It is not clear whether this was simply "Show Biz" or something more significant.
The program aired around the country between approximately February 15 and March 26. It tended to show up on independent channels at odd hours, and with little or no prior announcement. If the program was truly intended mainly as an advertisment for Disney World's new ride, the almost surreptitious nature of its presentation seems puzzling to CNI News.
Andy Thomas is credited with writing, producing and directing "Alien Encounters from New Tomorrowland." Thomas' credits include a wide range of investigative reports on topics ranging from terrorism to the Kennedy assassination. He received an Emmy nomination as the original producer of Fox Television's groundbreaking reality series "Cops."
Here are some direct quotes from the program, all spoken by Robert Urich:
INTRO sequence, over various UFO photos and film: "This is not swamp gas. It is not a flock of birds. This is an actual spacecraft from another world, piloted by alien intelligence, one sighting from tens of thousands made over the last fifty years on virtually every continent on the globe. Intelligent life from distant galaxies is now attempting to make open contact with the human race. And tonight, we'll show you the evidence...
"Alien ships seem to arrive in waves, and if the last few years are any indication, planet Earth is experiencing a tsunami of sightings... In the last few months of 1994 and lately in 1995, Gulf Breeze, Florida has been ground zero for alien encounters. Especially during the day, extraterrestrial craft have become common ornaments in the uneasy skies....You would think these alien sightings would be front-page news. So why have they received almost no national attention? The answer is simple. For governments determined to maintain their authority, extraterrestrial contact is pure dynamite....
"Why have aliens chosen to visit our small blue planet, hidden on the distant fringes of an insignificant star cluster? Well, we invited them here...Most alien activity on earth in this century seems to have been sparked by the single most profound technological achievement in human history...But what the world didn't know in 1945 was that the atomic bomb's brilliant burst of energy would also be mankind's cosmic calling card, announcing to the universe that a technological society had evolved on a small blue planet in the backwaters of the stars...So as the world celebrated the war's end in 1945, aliens who heard man's atomic trumpet were already charting their course toward earth, responding to our open invitation....
"More than one alien craft crashed and was recovered for secret U.S. military research. The most famous case took place in July of 1947 just outside the community of Roswell, New Mexico -- famous, because local officials openly admitted they had retrieved an alien ship before their commanders instructed them to keep the story confidential....This is the actual site where the Roswell saucer was discovered, along with the bodies of three extraterrestrial missionaries who didn't servive the collision. The debris and the dead were impounded and taken away for top secret study, while a classified investigative committee called the Majestic Twelve was organized by President Truman, and a government cover-up was initiated with a calculated disinformation campaign....
"Indications are that government, military and scientific leaders will soon release nearly a half-century of official documentation of ongoing alien encounters on earth. Perhaps they feel it would be too embarrassing NOT to reveal the truth, before the truth reveals itself....
"Every year, NASA routinely propels about two dozen astronauts into a low earth orbit aboard the space shuttle, a loud, lumbering, somewhat primitive rocket ship. But most Americans will likely explore outer space aboard crafts of alien origin. Statistics indicate a greater probability that you will experience extraterrestrial contact in the next five years than the chances that you will win a state lottery. But how do you prepare for such an extraordinary event?
"Here in the New Tomorrowland at Disney World, scientists and Disney engineers have brought to life a possible scenario that helps acclimate the public to their inevitable alien encounter...."
Final note: Scenes of the new Disney World ride emphasized the "extra-terror-estrial" quality of the experience, as both technology and alien life forms run amok. Overall, Disney's liberal use of terms such as "Sinister" and "Terrifying" seemed aimed at putting a decidedly negative spin on human-alien encounters.
Original file name: .CNI - Disney.Alien Doc
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