Last week marked an exciting milestone for fans of Walt Disney World’s past, as a former park character made his triumphant return to the Magic Kingdom. At an official D23 event, Disney announced the return of the Orange Bird to the Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland.
Imagineer Jason Grandt revealed the Orange Bird’s reappearance at the park on Tuesday to a group of D23 members. The Orange Bird was originally developed in 1971 by Disney with the Florida Citrus Commission to become an icon for both Walt Disney World and Florida’s citrus growers. Legendary Disney composers the Sherman Brothers even created a theme song for the character, who became a mainstay of the Magic Kingdom in the 1970s and 1980s. While the Orange Bird appeared in numerous advertisements all around Florida and the United States for Florida Citrus, his permanent home was at the Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland, where he could be found swinging from a branch of the sunshine tree, as well as greeting guests for many years as a walk-around character. However, the Orange Bird left the park in 1987 when Disney’s contract with the Florida Citrus Commission expired.
Now, the Orange Bird can be found at his rightful home at the Sunshine Tree Terrace once more, as Disney revealed the original figure has been returned to the pavilion. In addition, guests will be able to purchase special merchandise featuring the Orange Bird, including t-shirts, sippy cups, the above print (which can currently be seen on display underneath the Main Street train station), and even soon-to-be-released mouse ears. We’re so excited to see this special part of Walt Disney World history return to the park once again, and we can’t wait to see him for ourselves while enjoying a Citrus Swirl from the Sunshine Tree Terrace.
To learn more about the Orange Bird, check out this “Armchair Archivist” video on the character that was recently produced by D23:
Welcome back, Orange Bird!
