Walt Disney World Celebrity Circus (1987)

This TV special aired on NBC over Thanksgiving weekend in 1987 and was only seen once. Tony Randall hosts this show that combined stars like Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell, Lisa Bonnet, Tim Conway, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and others with Walt Disney costumed characters and seasoned circus performers in this variety show atmosphere. Cirque de Soleil, clowns, animal acts, daredevils and other acts were seen around the Walt Disney World resort as a backdrop.

Walt Disney loved the circus and when Disneyland first opened there was a circus that was briefly part of the park. However, it was a bust and Walt concluded you can't hold a circus within a circus. Many of the accoutrements of the Disneyland Mickey Mouse Club Circus were used in Walt Disney's Toby Tyler to recoup the losses. The calliope from that circus is used at Walt Disney World to this day. Nevertheless, there were several of these Circus TV specials held in the Disney parks in the 1980's and 1990's.

Original airdate November 27, 1987

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.