The ironic part is that whenever I try a new list, I invariably leave something off, which causes much embarrassment here at the parkeology offices, and has led to the resignation of several key staff members.
A couple of years ago, my brother gave me a list topic as a sort of park trivia game, and I had a lot of fun trying to brainstorm answers that fit the criteria. Recently, I received a suggestion from Jon, one of our readers in the field, who had come up with a similar list. It struck me that this might be a fun exercise for all the other obsessive compulsives out there.
I call it the Dog List. Your challenge is to come up with as many animatronic dogs as you can within Walt Disney World’s four theme parks. The fun part here is that you must beat my score. I will not claim to have the definitive list, but I think between Jon, my brother, and myself, we came up with quite a few, including several obscure ones.
I’ll just concede this one. Courtesy of fine folks at flickr.
Any animatronic (i.e. robotic, mechanical, moving) dog is fair game. It must be a physical dog (no movies or pictures), and Walk-Around Goofy and Pluto do not count, even if their eyes blink in that lame castle show. Also, we debated this and decided that Stitch is not really a dog, in spite of being mistaken for one. You can count multiple occurrences of the same dog character, since those are technically separate animatronics.
So are you ready to try your luck? The number you must beat is: 18! (though I think there are more. Some dogs remain unconfirmed)
If you give up, you can see our list by clicking .
Magic Kingdom
Pirates of the Caribbean – The jail dog holding the keys.
Pirates of the Caribbean – There’s a dog standing up against the barrel whining at Jack Sparrow, as Jack spies on the Map Pirate.
Pirates of the Caribbean – In the burning village sequence, there’s a dog singing along with the Yo Ho trio next to the stable.
Haunted Mansion – The grave digger’s dog, trembling as you round the corner into the Graveyard
Haunted Mansion – Maybe the same dog, whining fearfully at the Mummy’s coffin
Haunted Mansion – There’s a ghost dog in the background (all bones). He’s the one howling through the whole scene.
Peter Pan’s Flight – Nana barks at you as you exit the nursery
Carousel of Progress – Rover appears in the first scene, at the turn of the century.
Carousel of Progress – Rover again, this time in the 20s.
Carousel of Progress – Rover, who appreciates Jim’s joke during Halloween
Carousel of Progress – Who else? Rover, celebrating Christmas with the family.
It’s a Small World – There’s a dog next to the boy with the boomerang (though this might be a wild dingo)
It’s a Small World – There’s at least one poodle near the Eiffel tower (first room)
Rivers of America – There’s a dog on the riverbank, watching the hopping fish.
Space Mountain – Don’t forget about the robotic dog in one of the post-show scenes as you ascend the speed ramp.
Living with the Land – A dog on the porch of the farmhouse, before you enter the greenhouses.
The American Adventure – There’s a dog on the country store porch, during the Great Depression
The Great Movie Ride – Toto appears with Dorothy on the road to Oz.
Unconfirmed Dogs
These are dogs that nag at the corners of my memory, but I might be imagining them…
Walt Disney World Railroad – Is there a dog in the Indian village, visible from the train?
Tom Sawyer Island – The stables at Fort Langhorn have horse, chickens, soldiers… Seems like there should be a dog too!
Spaceship Earth – I find it hard to believe there are no dogs here. My guess is either the cave-man scene, or maybe the family room scene as they watch the moon walk.
Maelstrom – There is possibly a dog in the Viking village, though I’m doubtful.
Splash Mountain – There’s definitely one in Tokyo, because I spent time looking at pictures, but I’m not sure if he’s in the Magic Kingdom version.
It’s a Small World – It would not surprise me if there are a half a dozen more dogs scattered throughout this ride.
Bonus prize if you can find a dog in Animal Kingdom. I can’t. Kind of funny that the only place with no dogs is the animal park.
And if you discover dogs that are not on our list, please feel free to list them in the comments! Our goal is nothing less than the definitive animatronic dog list on the entire Internet!
Sorry about that Daniel! I think when we migrated our blog from Blogger to WordPress, the original list was lost somehow. The ones I remember are:
1. It’s a Small World (with boomerang kid)
2. Walt Disney World Railroad (Indian village dog, Fishing dog)
3. Peter Pan’s Flight (Nana)
4. Tom Sawyer Island (in guardhouse)
5. Space Mountain (Robodog in queue)
6. Carousel of Progress (4 separate dogs)
7. Haunted Mansion (Caretaker’s dog, scrawny dog looking at mummy, howling ghost dog)
8. Pirates of the Caribbean (dog with pirate band, jail dog)
9. Great Movie Ride (Toto)
10. Spaceship Earth (Caveman dog)
11. Maelstrom (Viking dog)
I think that’s 18, but it feels like I’m missing a couple.
We vote no on the prairie dogs, though Jon did think of them. He also came up with Quark, who is a legit theme park dog, but does not appear in animatronic form.
“If you give up, you can see our list by clicking .”
By clicking what?? You could at least put some “Dream Builders, presented by Stanley” signs around that period.
Sorry about that Daniel! I think when we migrated our blog from Blogger to WordPress, the original list was lost somehow. The ones I remember are:
1. It’s a Small World (with boomerang kid)
2. Walt Disney World Railroad (Indian village dog, Fishing dog)
3. Peter Pan’s Flight (Nana)
4. Tom Sawyer Island (in guardhouse)
5. Space Mountain (Robodog in queue)
6. Carousel of Progress (4 separate dogs)
7. Haunted Mansion (Caretaker’s dog, scrawny dog looking at mummy, howling ghost dog)
8. Pirates of the Caribbean (dog with pirate band, jail dog)
9. Great Movie Ride (Toto)
10. Spaceship Earth (Caveman dog)
11. Maelstrom (Viking dog)
I think that’s 18, but it feels like I’m missing a couple.
I didn’t include past attractions, but I’m drawing a blank on the second Horizon dog. I remember the floating one…
Do past attractions count? Because if they do, there were at least two in Horizons.
Nana counts for sure!
How about Nana in Peter Pans Flight
We vote no on the prairie dogs, though Jon did think of them. He also came up with Quark, who is a legit theme park dog, but does not appear in animatronic form.
You crazy kids, always trying to cheat…
Would you count Quark’s nose/sniffing in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure at DHS?
Also, I don’t think the robotic dog exists any longer at the exit of Space Mountain after it was rehabbed.
Do the pop-up prairie *dogs* count?