Celebrities With Roles in Disney Park Attractions

Have you ever been watching a Disney Park ride preshow and been surprised to find a familiar face acting in a very crucial role or taking the lead in an elaborate backstory? Or perhaps you’ve recognized a distinguishable celebrity voice providing a well-versed narrative to accompany a specific attraction.

It’s common for Disney to employ some of the most famous actors to take on starring or supporting roles in feature films and even big-name television specials. Some even consider it the ultimate rite of passage to transition from “famous movie actors” to “famous Disney actors,” specifically. But working for Disney Entertainment isn’t only about acting in film and television. For instance, we all know of the ever-growing list of famous actors who have provided the voices of Disney Characters whilst never appearing on the screen directly. But there are also instances where celebrities have taken on other miscellaneous bit parts related to Disney Park attractions. These are the times when famous people have filled roles as notable Disney theme park Characters in certain attractions or even provided a Character voice or delivered a crucial voiceover. From old famous actors to contemporary favorites, we at Inside the Magic are looking at a couple of well-known celebrities who have served in Disney Park roles through the years.

David Danipour

While not the most widely recognized actor, David Danipour has appeared in several television series and movies. But it’s his stint as Dr. Stevens in the preshow for Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Park that’s one of his best-known performances to date.

Eric Idle

This versatile English actor, well-known for his comedic stylings and musical talents, has a pretty impressive resume, to say the least. He’s appeared in multiple films and other works throughout the years, including two Disney World attractions, both under the guise of Dr. Nigel Channing.

While lesser known to most Disney fans today, Dr. Channing previously appeared in the now-discontinued Honey, I Shrunk the Audience attraction to present the Inventor of the Year Award to Wayne Szalinski. But it’s his more prominent and still-current role in the Journey into Imagination with Figment attraction that he is best known for.

Patrick Warburton

This distinctively deep-voiced actor has appeared in many television shows through the years, including Seinfeld, The Tick, and others. But the role many of us know him best by is that of the flight attendant (also named Patrick) in the pre-boarding video for Soarin’. An attraction based in both Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim and EPCOT in Orlando, his video footage was used in the original Soarin’ Over California as well as the current Soarin’ Around the World version. On a less widely known note, he also voiced droid G2-4T in the queue for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at both Disneyland Park and Hollywood Studios.

Flight attendant Patrick from Soarin' — Credit: ITM

Gary Sinise

Actor Gary Sinise is no stranger to space missions, having appeared in such films as Apollo 13 and Mission to Mars. And it was the latter-mentioned role that pegged him as the perfect actor to portray Capcom for Disney World’s Mission: SPACE attraction. He served in the role up until 2017, when the attraction was redone to create two very separate missions for the Green Team and the Orange Team. From then on, actress Gina Torres, best known for her role in the science fiction series Firefly got into the act.

Mark Silverman (In Lieu of Rod Serling)

Appropriately enough, Disney’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride features footage of the show’s original host, Rod Serling. But what many do not realize is that the attraction’s narrative is an entirely original incarnation that was never before showcased in any of the original Twilight Zone episodes. Furthermore, Serling had already passed by the time this preshow was created. So then, how did Disney do it? They hired Serling’s identical voice twin Mark Silverman to narrate the lines. Disney then dubbed archival footage used in previous Twilight Zone openings. Chosen by Serling’s widow specifically for his amazing mastery of her husband’s voice, Silverman has since provided Serling’s voice for other projects. As for his alternate work in Disney Parks, he also voiced Friend Owl in various Bambi projects and lent his voice to the Magic Kingdom’s A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas.

Rod Serling alongside voice portrayer Mark Silverman — Credit: Walden Ponders

Bill Nye

This highly recognizable scientist has appeared in various Disney projects and throughout Disney World Parks, specifically. Over at Animal Kingdom Park, you’ll find him serving as narrator in the museum portion of the DINOSAUR attraction. However, his more prominent role emerged in the now-defunct Ellen’s Universe of Energy attraction at EPCOT. The latter also featured many other celebrities also, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Alex Trebek, Johnny Gilbert, and Ellen DeGeneres, of course.

Wallace Langham

Once you get past the museum, the preshow for the aforementioned DINOSAUR attraction has a couple of stars as well. Leading the narrative is American actor Wallace Langham, who has appeared in a number of television and film roles throughout the years. His role in DINOSAUR is that of Dr. Grant, who attempts to send the attraction’s riders back to prehistoric times to retrieve a live Iguanadon.

Phylicia Rashad

Another star you may recognize from the DINOSAUR preshow is none other than Phylicia Rashad, who is best known for her portrayal as Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show between 1984 and 1992. In the preshow she acts as Dr. Helen Marsh, head of the Dino Institute.

Paul Rubens

This versatile actor is known for many roles, including his highly popular portrayal of Pee-wee Herman. For Disney Entertainment, some may also know him for his work in the film Flight of the Navigator from 1986. But his Disney Parks claim to fame is his voicing of Captain REX from the first version of Star Tours. Today Captain REX can be found at Oga’s Cantina.

Tim Curry

This English actor has been linked to multiple well-known Disney films over the decades. But one of his more obscure roles with the Company comes as his stint in voicing the Simulated Intelligence Robotics (S.I.R) X-S robot that was featured in the preshow for Magic Kingdom Park’s former ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter attraction between 1995 and 2003.

Robin Williams

Iconic actor Robin Williams is another Disney great, with his most famous voice role being that of the Genie from Disney’s Aladdin 1992. But what many fans of today don’t realize is that he also voiced the character of the Timekeeper in a now-defunct attraction of the same name. It was a Circle-Vision 360-degree film in Tomorrowland of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park between 1994 and 2006. It also featured the voice talents of actress Rhea Perlman. Actor Jeremy Irons, who voiced Scar from The Lion King (1994), can also be seen in the film portraying Jules Verne.

Judi Dench

Spaceship Earth has had many notable narrators over the years. One of the most iconic, though, is Dame Judi Dench, the present presenter, who has been in the role since 2008. She took over for Jeremy Irons, who we previously highlighted as having a pretty well-versed history with Disney in other ways, too. Irons served as the ride’s narrator from 1994 to 2007. Preceding him was Walter Cronkite from 1986 to 1994, and Vic Perrin before him from 1982 to 1986.

There are, of course, many other famous folks who have been integral in various Disney Park attractions over the years. Did we miss anyone important you feel should make the list? Let us know in the comments.

Celebrities With Roles in Disney Park Attractions - Inside the Magic

Did You Notice These Celebrities in Disney Attractions?