Society of Explorers and Adventurers

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

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

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

### Pets

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

## Bases

Known meeting-places for the Society.

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

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.

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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### Jungle Cruise

#### 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*

## Connections

### 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. 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.

### 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.

### 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

1. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/03/jungle-cruise-adds-new-characters-mischievous-wildlife-and-skipper-humor-to-classic-attraction/
2. ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/2016/09/10/s6\_abracadabar/
3. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/news/even-more-s.e.a.references-inside-club-33
4. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/news/new-s.e.a.reference-found-in-hkdl-s-explorers-lodge
5. ↑ https://attractionsmagazine.com/story-behind-sea-disneys-society-of-explorers-and-adventurers/
6. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BeKke44FPhb/
7. ↑ https://jefflangedvd.com/2011/09/trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar-at-the-disneyland-hotel-tour-of-decorations-and-effects-photos-and-video/
8. ↑ https://www.disneytouristblog.com/trader-sams-backstory-details/