Donald Duck

**Donald Duck** is a major cartoon Disney character. He first appeared in the 1934 *Silly Symphonies* short *The Wise Little Hen*.

## History

Donald Fauntleroy Duck is an anthropomorphic white Peking duck and inhabitant of Toontown, a colony for similar cartoony creatures which is accessible from Anaheim, California. He was the son of Quackmore Duck and Hortense McDuck, an heiress from the wealthy Scottish McDuck clan.

Donald had some history with the U.S. navy where he served as a sailor, wearing his navy garb for most of his life following. He would have close friends in the form of Panchito Pistoles and José Carioca, two Latin-American anthropomorphic birds who he formed the group, "The Three Caballeros" group. Following the disappearance of his sister Della, Donald was left to raise her three hatchling children Huey, Dewey and Louie. Reluctantly this resulted in Donald having to often rely on the assistance of his uncle Scrooge McDuck, the wealthiest duck in the world.

Donald is probably best known for being in the ensemble of Mickey Mouse in-which he was Mickey's best-friend alongside the dog known as, "Goofy". In this friend-group, Donald dated a fellow duck named Daisy Duck.

## Appearances and allusions

As with other characters in Mickey Mouse's friend group, Donald has occasionally been seen in merchandising related to SEA attractions usually as just a riding guest though merch related to Fortress Explorations has depicted him as an Age of Exploration-era sailor.

### Cretaceous Trail

There are notes for the Wilderness Explorers left by Donald, Huey, Dewey and Louie on this trail about paleontological history. It details the four tracking down different duck-billed dinosaurs, including Bubba the Cave Duck from Ducktales.

### Disney Explorers Lodge

One of the luggage cases in this resort belongs to Donald Duck and is filled with adventuring equipment.

### Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail

The silhouettes of Donald and Daisy Duck appear on a poster advertising the Main Street Cinema.

### Haunted Mansion

The face armchair in the Haunted Mansion is frequently identified as possessing a, "**Hidden Donald**" with its face being said to resemble that of Donald Duck. The concept for this chair originates from the unbuilt *Museum of the Weird* attraction where it would have been animate and talked to guests.

### It's a Small World

Donald appears in the Latin-American tableau of Disneyland's It's a Small World along with Jose and Panchito as the Three Caballeros.

### Jungle Cruise

The figureheads of the three Pygmy war-canoes outside *Boats & Baits and Bites* in the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise are made to resemble the heads of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Similarly, a headhunter mask is also located in the Mekong boathouse resembles the head of Donald Duck.

#### Jungle Cruise Adventure Game

On the fishing card, there are fishing-baits with colours and patterns made to resemble Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald Duck.

### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

On the shelves of Trader Sam's bar is a stuffed animal version of Donald Duck. It is located next to a spyglass which Sam obtained from the historic pirate Blackbeard and his fictional daughter Angelica Teach from Pirates of the Caribbean. Additionally, there is a wooden, "Tiki" carving of Donald Duck on the same shelf.

### The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management

Donald was mentioned during the pre-show of this attraction where the Hollywood agent bird Morris mentioned being close to signing a contract with the duck.

## Connections

### Disney Springs

A board in the marketplace of Disney Springs mentions airline routes connecting to Duckburg (the Duck/McDuck family's home from Ducktales), Toontown (Donald's typical home), and Progress City (a pseudonym for EPCOT).

### Dinosaur (Countdown to Extinction)

Donald hosts the show Donald's Dino Bash set in Disney's Animal Kingdom's DinoLand, U.S.A.. The show is centred around how birds are the ancestors of dinosaurs and features a species of dinosaur intended to represent Donald's literal prehistoric ancestor as mascot.

### Indiana Jones

In the Great Movie Ride, Mickey and Donald were shown to be represented as hieroglyphs in the Well of Souls which was excavated by Indiana Jones and Sallah to find the Ark of the Covenant.

### Tower of Terror

In the Magic of Disney Animation, posters inside of Minnie Mouse's dressing room show Donald as being featured in a film called, "The Bride of Frankenollie". The screen-writer of this film is one Harrison Hightower IV, a relative of Hotel Hightower's owner Harrison Hightower III.

## Trivia

* In the Explorers Lodge, Mickey and Minnie's birth-years are the years of their first appearance. If this applies to Donald as-well it would mean he was born on the June 9th of 1934, making him 6 years younger than Mickey.
* It is possible that this influx of duck related artwork is connected to the large number of mallards which canonically inhabit the jungles where the Jungle Navigation Company operates in the Jungle Cruise.
* The film *The Three Caballeros* (1944) was inspired by Walt Disney's travels to South America in 1941. This travel is also referenced in the Enchanted Tiki Bar where it is explained that Sam assisted Walt in giving him a tour of the continent.
* The Tiki Bar's Donald Duck tiki was provided by Kevin Kidney, a bar-owner and former Jungle Cruise skipper who has a fictitious counterpart within the bar in the form of Cap'n Kevin.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.comicscube.com/2014/01/what-happened-to-della-duck.html?epik=dj0yJnU9V1VUaUdkWWVVbWNCZ01pbmhRaHBIcC1Wa2JtaWo5T2YmcD0wJm49T0tybWg0QnNqUUk3dEY4STBQLTdKZyZ0PUFBQUFBR0FWcnow
2. ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2016/05/last-sighting-of-duck-billed-creatures.html
3. ↑ https://allears.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Print-Posters-Christmas-Tree-Trail-2019.jpg
4. ↑ https://www.disneydining.com/8-facts-secrets-jungle-cruise-magic-kingdom/
5. ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2011/09/25/detailed-look-at-trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar-disneyland-hotel-from-august-2011/2/
6. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CNX7BafApHd/
7. ↑ https://www.wdwradio.com/2007/09/the-enchanted-tiki-room-under-new-management/
8. ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2017/10/gate-change.html
9. ↑ https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/animalkingdom/ak-dino-donalds-dino-bash.htm
10. ↑ http://www.giftsfromthepirates.com/2013/12/gifts-from-pirates-in-orlando-disney.html
11. ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2011/09/25/detailed-look-at-trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar-disneyland-hotel-from-august-2011/4/
12. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bht93FSDvDG/