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The Society of Explorers and Adventurers also known as S.E.A. or SEA and erroneously as the Society for Explorers and Adventurers is a fictional organization that has become a central, unifying element in various Disney theme park attractions around the globe.

Description[]

S.E.A.

Four guiding concepts are represented on SEA's original Fortress Explorations crest as objects. The guiding concepts are a Galleon to represent Adventure , an Armillary Sphere for Romance, a Compass to depict Discovery and Innovation is represented as Artist Tools. These object are selected as the best ways to represent the original charter and mission statement, which simply read "We the Society of Explorers and Adventurers shall acquire knowledge through exploration".

A more detailed mission statement, seen at later S.E.A. facilities, reads:

The mission of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers is to collect, conserve, and curate valuable cultural and artistic artifacts from around the world and make them available to the public in an artistically pleasing and sensitive manner. It is furthermore the mission of the organization to equip and mount socio-cultural expeditions to discover, explore, chronicle and protect the artistic achievements of human society, past and present, exalted and forgotten.

History[]

Background[]

16th century[]

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The original crest for the Society

The Society of Explorers and Adventurers was established on August 12, 1538 at Porto Paradiso, Italy, home of the Fortress Explorations that serves as the club's headquarters. Established to carry on the great work of exploring and understanding the world during the Renaissance and Age of Exploration and years into the past, the society consists of scientists, explorers, researchers, artists, travellers and adventurers from around the world. The society made many, "Unofficial members" in the form of notable historic figures with the spirit of honorary member Leonardo Da Vinci even coming to haunt Fortress Explorations.

19th century[]

In the first-half of the 19th century, the society was run by Italian president Vitale Robustelli during a time of great change for the society. The S.E.A. began to expand internationally with local chapters being established by members such as Lord Henry Mystic and club-secretary Jason Chandler. In 1851, Vitale brought in the first female member of SEA in the form of one Camellia Falco.

At some point following 1851, the presidency of the Society changed from Vitale Robustelli to Jason Chandler for unknown reasons. In the June of 1882, Lord Henry Mystic travelled to Morocco where he and his pet monkey Albert became fond of middle-eastern fashion, namely the fez. At some point following this, the fez became a staple of S.E.A. membership. This however wouldn't seem to truly catch on until some point following 1899.

The S.E.A. continued their archaeological efforts to share the vast sum of humanity's knowledge and culture with the world. However there were a notable sum of members within the society who were known for unsavoury tactics such as Barnabas T. Bullion, Harrison Hightower III, Merriweather Adam Pleasure and even the likes of Jason and Chandler who supported the aforementioned members while partaking in similar crimes themselves. Certain members of the society were even involved in a group known as the Pillagers Brigade which specialized in brutal and amoral tactics in obtaining artifacts.

20th century[]

By the 1920s, the virtues of the S.E.A. appeared to have changed to being much more moral as many colonial crimes such as grave robbing were punished. One notable occurrence in 1927 had grave-robber Garrett Reed's membership redacted by Lord Henry Mystic. In this era, S.E.A. member Merriweather Adam Pleasure became discontent with the group's stuffiness and founded a splinter-faction known as the Adventurers Club. The Adventurers Club would hold close affiliations with the society and its members, most notably SEA member and aviator Jock Lindsey in the 1950s.

Development History[]

The Society of Explorers and Adventurers was created c. 2001 for the attraction Fortress Explorations in the theme-park Tokyo DisneySea. Initially the society's membership consisted of historic figures from the Hellenic period up unto the 17th century. The acronym S.E.A. played into the motif of Tokyo DisneySea frequently using the three letters due to it having multiple meanings as the park was located along the sea, SEA is an acronym in real-life for South-East Asia where the park was located, and the park was called DisneySea.

In 2013 S.E.A.'s characterization was altered with the attraction Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland where it had many Disney Park connections retconned and introduced into its 19th century history. This new characterization was inspired by the Adventurers Club, a fictitious group from the defunct Pleasure Island of Walt Disney World. Both the Adventurers Club and reimagining of S.E.A. were inspired by the historic Explorers Club, an American organization of exploration and innovation founded in 1904. Fortress Explorations later retconned the historic members of the Society into having been, "Honorary members" while Disney Parks attractions across the world began making connections to the society.

Members[]

Official S.E.A. members
Image Character Description Attraction
Aya Kouame-Beauciel Aya was an astronomer in the early twentieth century. In 1938, she was in correspondance with the Adventureland Treehouse daughter and set her some lenses. Adventureland Treehouse
Barnabas T
Barnabas T. Bullion Barnabas T. Bullion was the owner of the Big Thunder Mining Company during the latter-half of the 19th century. He operated out of the town of Tumbleweed, Arizona and mined in Big Thunder Mountain despite its spirits being angered by his colonial presence. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Camellia falco
Camellia Falco Camellia Falco was a 19th century woman aviator, inventor and proprietor of the Museum of Fantastic Flight in Porto Paradiso. In 1851, Camellia would become the first woman indoctrinated into the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. She would die in 1875 and became a ghost who haunted her museum and hosted posthumous aviation tours aboard her Dream Flyers. Soarin'/Soaring: Fantastic Flight
Capt Mary Oceaneer
Captain Mary Oceaneer Captain Mary Oceaneer was a skilled treasure-hunter, early scuba-diver and treasure-hunter who joined the society by the late 19th century. C. 1955 she wound up being marooned in Placid Palms, Blustery Bay by a hurricane which had scattered her relics and treasures. Oceaneer Lab

Typhoon Lagoon/Miss Adventure Falls

Unnamed SEA member 2
Charlton J. Taboret Charlton J. Taboret was a professional painter who made portraits of the different adventurers of society members.
Chef Tandaji Chef Tandaji was a member of S.E.A during the early 20th century and is most notable for having been a chef who documented different recipes from locations such as Africa. Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen
Albert Falls Portrait
Doctor Albert Falls Doctor Albert Falls was an explorer during the late-19th and early 20th centuries. He would discover locations such as Schweitzer Falls on the Nile River and ancient buddhist ruins in the Lost Delta of Cambodia. Falls would found the Jungle Navigation Company which would peak in success decades later under the eye of his granddaughter Alberta Falls. Jungle Cruise
JL Baterista
Doctor J.L. Baterista Dr. J.L. Baterista was an explorer and adventurer within the society during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Jungle-cruise-concept-art-rhino-explorers-entomologist-2
Doctor Kon Chunosuke During the 1930s, Dr. Kon Chunosuke was a prominent Japanese entomologist experienced in collecting insects from around the world.[1] Jungle Cruise
Professor Reed
Garrett Reed Prof. Garrett Reed was an evil grave-robber and black-market salesman who was a member of the S.E.A. only to be forced out in 1927 due to his crimes. He died in the 1930s due to the curse of the Emerald Trinity jewels which he attempted to steal to gain immortality. Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity
Jason Chandler Jason Chandler was a skilled inventor who served as the president of the society during the latter half of the 19th century. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad


Discovery Bay

JockLindseyPortrait
Jock Lindsey Jock Lindsey was the aviator and accomplice of archaeologist Indiana Jones during the 1930s. Lindsey would later settle down in Disney Springs, Florida where he ran a bar which contained many artifacts from his adventures with Jones. Circa 1948 he was initiated into the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar
Harrison Hightower
Harrison Hightower III (1835-1899) Harrison Hightower III was a member of the wealthy Hightower family and owner of the Hotel Hightower in New York. Harrison was a colonial thief and grave robber who traversed the globe stealing artifacts for his collection. He died on the New Year's Eve of 1899 as a result of the trickster deity Shiriki Utundu which he had stolen the idol of. Tower of Terror
Lord Henry Mystic
Lord Henry Mystic Lord Henry Mystic was a member of the Society since the 1850s at the latest. He was a British noble who travelled the globe collecting artifacts for his personal collection which he would move to his mansion of Mystic Manor in Mystic Point, Papua New Guinea. Mystic Point/Mystic Manor
Screen Shot 2021-01-01 at 8.39

A photographer seen in the Skipper Canteen presumed to be Luana

Luana Teixeira Based on what little references exist for her, Luana is a photographer within S.E.A. during the latter end of the 19th century. Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen
Maestro-D'Elfman
Maestro D'Elfman Maestro D'Elfman was a maestro within the Society during the 19th century who had close affiliations with Lord Henry Mystic. He was seemingly absent from the society by 1899, the reasons for which is unknown.
Merriweather Adam Illustration
Merriweather Adam Pleasure Merriweather Adam Pleasure was an industrialist who in the early 20th century settled the colony of Pleasure Island in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. He was was a party-loving man who was known as, "The Grand Funmeister" in tribute to a spirit which brought him to the island. He disappeared off the face of the earth in the 1940s on an expedition with his family. Pleasure Island/Adventurers Club
Professor R
Professor R. Blauerhimmel Prof. R. Blaurhimmel was an aviator in the late-19th and early half of the 20th century. He had affiliations with Lord Henry Mystic and the Jungle Navigation Company. Bengal Barbecue
Sango Shio Sango Shio was a senior-member of S.E.A. during the late 19th-early 20th centuries. Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen
Vitale Robustelli
Vitale Robustelli Vitale Robustelli was the aged president of S.E.A. by the 1850s. He would initiate the first woman member of the society and also seemed to be president around the time of the society's overseas expansion.

Pets[]

Several S.E.A. members had pets which had some inclusion in the ranks of the society.

Pets
Image Character Description Attraction
Albert Infobox Image
Albert Albert was a monkey which was adopted by Lord Henry Mystic in 1909 during an expedition to Papua New Guinea. He would serve as Lord Mystic's loyal pet and closest companion, even being given his own fez for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Mystic Manor
Screen Shot 2020-10-24 at 3.17
Aletta Aletta was the pet falcon of Camellia Falco, being seemingly supernatural as it belonged to her father Cellino Falco and continued to live past Camellia's demise. It still served as Camellia's companion and pet posthumously, assisting in her Dream Flyer tours. Soarin'/Soaring: Fantastic Flight
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Duncan Duncan was a turquoise macaw which was the pet of Captain Mary Oceaneer during her 20th century expeditions and subsequent marooning in Typhoon Lagoon. Duncan lived with Mary in the wreckage of the M.S. Salty IV outside the rapids of Miss Adventure Falls during this time, assisting her in salvaging her lost goods. Typhoon Lagoon/Miss Adventure Falls
Reggie
Reggie Reggie was the beloved pet boa constrictor of Jock Lindsey during the 1930s. Lindsey would name a steamboat and alcoholic beverage at his bar after the snake. Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar
Salty Midnight Snack
Salty Salty was a small green parrot which was the pet of Captain Mary Oceaneer during her voyages in the 19th century and 1900s. Decades later, Mary would name some of her ships after the bird. Oceaneer Lab
Scooter Pleasure Peacock - D-Street (04-10)
Scooter The beloved pet peacock of the Pleasure family which was taken in around 1931 and died prior to 1937. Adventurers Club


D-Street

Honorary Members[]

Honorary members
Image Name Description Attraction
Unknown
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) Due to colonial-myths regarding Colombo (or "Christopher Columbus")'s journeys to the Americas he was named as one of S.E.A.'s honorary members to represent their ideals of, "Discovery". Fortress Explorations


World of Motion

220px-Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan Magellan's
Ibn Battuta Fortress Explorations
The landing of Vikings on America
Leif Erikson Leif Eriksson was a Nordic explorer from Iceland who is best known for having the first known European to have set foot in North America (having done so approximately 500 years before Christopher Columbus did so and also having done so without committing mass genocide). He also established an early settlement in Vinland. Fortress Explorations
LeonardodaVinci
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was a 15th/16th century Italian painter, inventor, architect, sculptor, scientist, anatomist, and engineer. He is probably best known for portraits like the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper and for his illustrations which were centuries ahead of the time in regards of studying the human body and creating mechanical devices, or for the controversy he held with the Catholic Church due to his studies of science challenging their religious beliefs and for Da Vinci's bisexuality.  Leonardo died at the chateaux Clos Lucé on the 2 May of 1519 at the age of 67, it is believed that he died of a stroke. As tribute to the genius, the S.E.A. would declare Leonardo as being an honorary member of the society and his ghost would come to haunt the fortress. Fortress Explorations


World of Motion


The Timekeeper

Marco-polo-gettyimages-168967170
Marco Polo Fortress Explorations
Henry the Navigator1
Prince Henry the Navigator Fortress Explorations
Pythéas
Pytheas of Massalia Pytheas was a Hellenic geographer who made voyages throughout Northern Europe and made some of the earliest known writings of the continent. Fortress Explorations
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake Fortress Explorations
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe Fortress Explorations
Lisboa-Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga-Retrato dito de Vasco da Gama-20140917
Vasco de Gama Fortress Explorations

Affiliate groups[]

Affiliate groups
Image Group Description Appearances
Adventurers Club Logo
Adventurers Club The Adventurers Club was a splinter-faction of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers founded by Merriweather Adam Pleasure due to his dissatisfaction with the stuffiness of the society. It based itself out of Pleasure Island in Lake Buena Vista and was founded around the early 20th century. Adventurers Club
Big Thunder Mining Co.
Big Thunder Mining Company The Big Thunder Mining Company was founded in Thunder Mesa, Arizona in 1847 by the evil Henry Ravenswood. The company made its money by exploiting gold from Big Thunder Mountain and following Henry's death in the earthquake of 1860, Barnabas T. Bullion would become the company's new owner. Following 1880, the company would also utilize technology acquired from S.E.A.'s president Jason Chandler. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
JNC Logo
Jungle Navigation Company The Jungle Navigation Company was founded in 1911 by Dr. Albert Falls as a means of transporting cargo, messages and passengers throughout several jungles across the globe. The company would reach particular success in the 1930s through the leadership of Albert's granddaughter Alberta Falls who began the Jungle Cruise tourist service and also oriented the company's services towards Hollywood filmmakers and archaeologists visiting the Temple of the Forbidden Eye in Cambodia. Jungle Cruise
Pillagers Brigade The Pillagers Brigade was a brotherhood of colonial thieves in the 19th century and ancestor of the Adventurers Club. It included the likes of Harrison Hightower III and quite possibly Merriweather Adam Pleasure as a portrait with him identified amongst their ranks was hung in the Adventurers Club. Aunty's Beach House/Aulani

Bases[]

Known meeting-places for the Society.
Image Name Description Appearances
IMG 7949-1024x768
Falls Estate The Falls Estate was a victorian manor which was home to the Falls family. The estate held a secret meeting-chamber for the society run by Dr. Albert Falls. The room is accessed from a passageway hidden behind the Falls family library via a secret door activated via pulling a copy of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.


In 1938 the estate was turned into the, "Skipper Canteen" restaurant with the secret meeting room being used as a not secret dining area.

Skipper Canteen


Jungle Cruise Adventure Game

Fortress Explorations
Fortress Explorations Built at Explorers' Landing in the Italian seaport of Porto Paradiso, Fortress Explorations is the original headquarters of the Society. Serving as a hub of activity in the midst of the Renaissance and Age of Exploration, S.E.A. was established on August 12, 1538 and quickly dedicated itself to exploring and understanding the world. Fortress Explorations
Hotel Hightower
Hotel Hightower Hotel Hightower is a hotel found at One Park Avenue, New York City, NY, 10016. It is 14 stories tall and was constructed in the 19th century for SEA member Harrison Hightower III. The hotel served as a place of assembly for the society, presumably on the 5th floor which was listed as the, "Explorers Club Meeting Hall". The last known meeting in the hotel was in 1899 as on the New Year's Eve of that year Harrison Hightower III was spirited away by the god Shiriki Utundu with the hotel being left cursed and haunted. Tower of Terror
Renaissance Ship
The Renaissance Fortress Explorations
TropicalHideaway
Tropical Hideaway The Tropical Hideaway was a restaurant located nearby a bazaar in the Polynesian isles. The Jungle Navigation Company ran a dockside nearby the hideaway which itself was located nearby the Enchanted Tiki Room. Notably, the Hideaway held a collection of paddles commemorating different S.E.A. river expedition.

The restaurant is known to have been active some point between the 1930s and 1950s but it is unknown if it was also active during the river expeditions or if they were simply moved there afterwards. If it was open for all of the river expeditions then it would have been active since 1831 when she went on the voyage or 1851 when she joined the society.

Tropical Hideaway


Jungle Cruise

Appearances and allusions[]

AbracadaBar[]

A SEA Membership Fez can be seen within the bar, suggesting the lost magician could have been a member.[2]

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad[]

In the queue for the Magic Kingdom's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a letter addressed to Barnabas T. Bullion from Jason Chandler, identifying him as the president (and erroneously as the founder) of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.

Club 33[]

During Club 33's Tiki Takeover event, a crate with the S.E.A. logo was placed outside of the exclusive club along with other Jungle paraphernalia. The menu for this event made reference to several Jungle Cruise and Indiana Jones characters, including SEA members Dr. Albert Falls and Dr. Kon Chunosuke. One of the listed airlines in the menu was, "S.E.A. Global Charters Pacific Lines" being used by Sneh Falls to travel to India in 1937.[3]

Disney Explorers Lodge[]

The passports of Mickey and Minnie Mouse in this resort have stamps from the S.E.A. in addition to Adventureland, Mystic Manor, and the Squirt Gardens.[4]

Mediterranean Harbour[]

Fortress Explorations[]

Magellan's[]

Soaring: Fantastic Flight[]

Miss Adventure Falls[]

The crest for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers adorns the entrance to this attraction.

Mystic Point[]

Mystic Manor[]

Several portraits portraying different members of the Society decorate the interior queue of this attraction. Included is a portrait of the 1899 meeting of the S.E.A. before Harrison Hightower III was killed by Shiriki Utundu.

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar[]

Sometime before the opening of the Bar, Jock Lindsay had been induction into the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, and uses the club as a gathering place for his fellow members and the society's 20th century crest adorns menus within the bar.[5]

Jungle Cruise[]

Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity[]

Skipper Canteen[]

In this restaurant is a dining area made from a meeting hall for the Society of Explorers of Adventurers which was located within the estate of the Falls family. Within the S.E.A. meeting room are a painting of Dr. Albert Falls's discovery of the sunken temple and maps of Mythological Creatures produced by S.E.A. members. One of the maps shows legendary beasts of the Mediterranean and amongst the illustrations are the sea-serpent from World of Motion (listed as "Kimballum Horriblus" in tribute to imagineer Ward Kimball) and the Nautilus engaged in combat with a giant squid. Another map has several illustrations of the Hyperion airship from The Island at the Top of the World.

The library for the Skipper Canteen also possesses books written by different members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Amongst these books are the likes of:

  • A Manor of Fact, Primates as Shipmates, and Treasures of the Manor by Lord Henry Mystic.
  • FUZNEWI PDMWH CHF JD U by Albert the Monkey.
  • Another New Year by Merriweather Adam Pleasure.
  • MINE!, Treasures of the Animal Kingdom, and Everest Expedition: Search for the Yeti by Harrison Hightower III.
  • Parrots as Pets and Charting Course by Mary Oceaneer.
  • Traditional Native Holiday Décor by Professor R. Blauerhimmel.
  • Discovery of the South Seas by S. Shio.

Tropical Hideaway[]

A wall of paddles commemorating different society members can be found hung on the wall with plaques containing the SEA crest and the details of commemoration. The plaques read as:

  • 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

Oceaneer Lab[]

Connections[]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea[]

Adventurers Club[]

Expedition Everest[]

Harrison Hightower III once attempted to track down the Yeti (presumably of the Forbidden Mountain) in a book titled Expedition Everest.

Haunted Mansion[]

One of the owners of the Haunted Mansion was George Hightower, a man who was murdered by his wife Constance Hatchaway. George's surname indicates that he was a relative of Harrison Hightower III. Many objects and elements from the mansion are also seen or paralleled in Mystic Manor and Mystic is mentioned in the book Tales from the Haunted Mansion by his rival Colonel Bartholomew Tusk.

Raiders of the Lost Ark[]

Jock Lindsey is a character originating from this film who was close with Indiana Jones. Jones was also a rival of Garrett Reed, having competed with him for the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol from the film. Characters and entities from the Indiana Jones franchise are also frequently affiliated with the Jungle Cruise.

Jungle Cruise[]

Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar[]

Trader Sam's alleged grandfather Billamongawonga AKA Trader Bill was a close affiliate and advisor to Harrison Hightower III. A portrait of Trader Bill was hung in the Hotel Hightower and later sent to Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar by the New York Preservation Society. Sam was also close with the Adventurers Club since its early days and has a photograph of Isabella Pleasure, the late-wife of Merriweather Adam Pleasure.[6] In the bar is also a bronze bust of Dr. Albert Falls and a letter from the crew of the Miss Tilly which identifies him as having been present in the hurricane that marooned Captain Oceaneer. [7][8]

Phantom Manor[]

The Big Thunder Mining Company was originally founded by Henry Ravenswood, the Phantom of Ravenswood Manor. Additionally one of Mélanie Ravenswood's suitors was Captain Rowan D. Falls, the captain of the Mark Twain Riverboat who is theorized to be a relative or ancestor of the Falls family.

Pirates of the Caribbean[]

Captain Mary Oceaneer was a lover of pirates and the golden age of piracy. Amongst her excavated goods were the Dead Man's Chest and crates identifying her as performed excavations in Shipwreck Cove from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Additionally the honorary S.E.A. member Sir Francis Drake is a historic pirate of the Caribbean who is featured in Pirates of the Caribbean spin-off materials, having obtained a treasure sought after by Captain Jack Sparrow.

Raging Spirits[]

Tower of Terror[]

Typhoon Lagoon[]

Typhoon Lagoon's infamous hurricane not only terraformed its land but also stranded Mary Oceaneer within the park's setting of Placid Palms.

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room[]

The SEA base of the Tropical Hideaway is adjacent to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room which is shown to be a patron of the Jungle Navigation Company.

Trivia[]

  • It is possible Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar implicates certain Adventurers Club members as becoming members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers by the 1940s/1950s. This is because the Hangar Bar's description indicates that Jock used his Disney Springs property to host members of the S.E.A., however no officially known members of S.E.A. are referenced in the bar outside of Lindsey. There are however multiple references to the Adventurers Club having attended the bar meaning it is possible that some of their members joined S.E.A. by Jock's time.

References[]

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