Imagineering is awesome. There I said it. They come up with some of the coolest things that have ever existed. But sometimes, their awesomeness is unfortunately constrained by stupid stuff like money and land and physics. However, their glorious (and sometimes…. let’s say… interesting) plans live on through drawings and renderings. Here they are, in their glorious form:
Disney’s America
This intended park from the 1990’s was one of three proposed and withdrawn projects submitted by Michael Eisner. Remember him? The one that nearly drove Disney so far into the ground that it was almost purchased by Comcast? Ew. The idea itself is pretty interesting: a theme park entirely dedicated to American history and culture, with themed areas centered around the most American things you can think of:
-Crossroads USA – The center of Disney’s America, a Civil War-era village
-Native America – A recreation of a Native American village with interactive experiences, exhibits, arts and crafts, and a whitewater river raft ride based on Lewis and Clark.
-Civil War Fort – A Civil War fort with an adjacent battlefield where Civil War re-enactments and water battles between the Monitor and the Merrimac ironclads
-We The People – A replica of the Ellis Island building with music, restaurants, and a live show.
-State Fair – A 1930s area with a live show about baseball and Coney Island themed rides.
-Family Farm – A recreation of an authentic farm.
-President’s Square – A celebration of the birth of democracy. (Think Hall of Presidents)
-Enterprise – A mock factory town with an attraction called Industrial Revolution (a roller coaster-type ride through a 19th-century landscape with heavy industry and blast furnaces).
-Victory Field – This section would be themed around the two World Wars, utilizing virtual reality to recreate an air field with a series of hangars containing attractions based on America’s military history. Concepts for what would have been the world’s first dueling inverted roller coasters, which would have been named Dogfighter, were drawn up, but were ultimately abandoned due to the projected cost of the attraction.
WestCOT
This Californian installation of Disney World’s Epcot would have expanded Disneyland as a two-park resort. However, high costs (hovering around $3 billion) and the not-so-great opening of Disneyland Paris forced the project to shutdown in 1995. The idea was conceived by Michael Eisner and 30 executives during a three-day retreat (not including Imagineers… ahem). The park would have basically included improved versions of Epcot attractions. While this would have been an interesting concept, I’m not sure how much we would’ve enjoyed a “better” version of Epcot. It seems a little too forced and unoriginal, but here are the proposed elements:
Note Epcot directly across from Disneyland. We are facing south from this perspective.
-A bigger Spaceship Earth called SpaceStation Earth (think Starkiller Base vs. Death Star) that would be gold instead of white
-Several of Epcot’s original attractions: Horizons, World of Motion, Journey Into Imagination, Universe of Energy, The Living Seas, Wonders of Life, and The Land.
-World Showcase: No more individual nationality pavilions. Rather, the countries would be grouped into mega-pavilions based on regions: The Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa
WestCOT’s Asia section
WestCOT’s Europe section
Port Disney
This property in Long Beach, California would featured a marine-themed theme park, a marina, a cruise ship port, a specialty retail and entertainment area, hotel accommodations, and the RMS Queen Mary and Spruce Goose. The theme park, DisneySea, would have been very different from Tokyo DisneySea and would have featured Oceana (the park’s centerpiece) and the Future Research Center (similar to The Living Seas at Epcot). Other park areas were never released to the public by Imagineering, as they were still in the development phase during the initial (and only) press release on the proposed park. Much like WestCOT and Disney’s America, the plans were cancelled due to the impending financial disaster of Disneyland Paris.
Epcot’s World Showcase Pavilions
SEVERAL nations have been proposed for inclusion in World Showcase over the years. Some were cancelled due to costs, some due to dissolution of the nation (looking at you, USSR). They include: Costa Rica, Equatorial Africa, Iran, Israel, Puerto Rico, the Soviet Union, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Soviet Union
Israel
Venezuela
Switzerland (yup, that’s a recreation of Disneyland’s Matterhorn in the background)
Beastly Kingdom
An original component of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, this section of the park would have been centered around fictional creatures. A dueling dragons rollercoaster was proposed, but when the project was scrapped and the disaster of Michael Eisner’s final years grew, several Imagineers left and pursued work at Universal Studios. The project idea was reborn for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (true story, bro). However, a dragon still appears in the park’s logo as a symbol of the land that was never built.
LOOK AT THE DRAGON! LOOK AT IT!!!
Disneyland
Several early elements from the 1950’s that were proposed for Disneyland went unbuilt in the park (although some migrated to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom). The infamous Rock Candy Mountain would have been included in Fantasyland and the original model of the attraction was built using real candy (needless to say, the model was thrown out pretty quickly after being finished). Liberty Street would have focused on colonial America, Edison Square would have shown the technological progress of the 19th century, and International Street would have recreated cultural elements of various nations. Liberty Street was reborn as Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square, elements of Edison Square influenced the Carousel of Progress attraction, and International Street was expanded into World Showcase at Epcot.
Rock Candy Mountain
A park map showing the soon-to-come Edison Square and Liberty Street
A model of International Street on display at the 2013 D23 Expo
A sign announcing the construction and opening date of International Street
And that’s it for this installment of Passion of the Parks! There’s another brief blog post about UPCOMING DISNEY ATTRACTIONS, so take a look!
Hailee Strom says
DisneySea seems like it would have been absolutely MARVELOUS! The other ideas quite frankly pale in comparison to the concept behind it.
However, I must admit I may be a bit biased. Considering my fanaticism for all things related to the ocean and marine life, its no wonder I was giddy at the thought of DisneySea.
I hope to read more about cancelled plans for Disney’s Parks in the future!