- 6 weeks ago
From fiery volcanoes to mythical beasts, Disney World's cutting room floor is filled with incredible concepts that never saw the light of day. Join us as we explore the fascinating attractions that almost became reality at Disney's Orlando resort. We'll uncover abandoned plans across all four parks and reveal why these magical experiences remained just dreams.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hi there, can we come in?
00:01You got your tickets?
00:03Uh, well, matter of fact, I just remembered I left my wallet in my knapsack back in the swamp.
00:09Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we'll be diving into the projects that were abandoned by Disney World.
00:15Whether they were at the concept stage or well into production, we'll discuss exactly what could have been and why it never was.
00:22It is not what Walt Disney had in mind back in 1966.
00:26He envisioned a futuristic community, a real town.
00:30This is something else.
00:32Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is the mouse's largest theme park resort, spanning nearly 25,000 acres.
00:39Since it opened in 1971, the sprawling complex has been slowly populated with the latest innovations in Disney engineering.
00:46Every new themed land, attraction, resort, hotel, and restaurant added to the property begins as just an idea.
00:53But what happens to the ideas that don't come to fruition?
00:56We do a lot of mock-ups, making sure that every step of the way, we're trying to adhere with the core of the story as much as possible.
01:02Does it always work out great the first time?
01:03It never works out.
01:04Of course not, right?
01:05The first or second time.
01:06What's been left on the cutting room floor of Disney Imagineering, and what parts of Disney World were nearly completely different?
01:12He curated the vast stockpile of ideas that never got thrown away.
01:24Chapter 1. Hollywood Studios
01:26Hollywood Studios opened in 1989 and was the third theme park added to the property.
01:38Themed after, of course, Hollywood, this park brings the on-screen magic of the movies to life.
01:44Park-goers flock to Hollywood Studios for Galaxy's Edge, the immensely popular, highly-themed land based on the world of Star Wars.
01:51But long before they struck gold with Galaxy's Edge, Disney Imagineering had a few other projects in mind for this park.
01:57It fits the glamour of Hollywood at the time.
02:01It also...
02:01It just wasn't going to work.
02:02Where the Tower of Terror stands today was originally supposed to be the site of Mickey's Movie Land,
02:08a replica of the original Disney Studios that would have featured hands-on activities all about movie production.
02:13Here in this area, visitors to the park can watch the animation artists at work, and they're a dedicated lot.
02:21Likewise, the location of Rockin' Roller Coaster was originally earmarked for Roger Rabbit's Hollywood,
02:27a land inspired by who framed Roger Rabbit that would include three chaotic and wacky attractions featuring the film's famous tunes.
02:34Come on, Eddie, get in!
02:36It was just a couple of miles.
02:38I'll drive.
02:39But I want to drive.
02:40No, I'll drive. I'm the can.
02:43But the most disappointing of all discarded Hollywood Studios projects, to fans of Jim Henson at least,
02:48was the cancellation of Muppet Studios.
02:51Well, I guess that means no Walt Disney World today.
02:55Of the original plans for this themed area, only Muppet Vision 3D actually made it into Hollywood Studios.
03:01Originally, Disney had planned for the Muppets to have a much bigger footprint in the park,
03:06with their own spoofed version of the Great Movie Ride and two themed restaurants.
03:10And the Muppet Studios, with a Muppet Vision 3D movie and the Muppets Movie Ride.
03:16It'll be a backstage ride of explaining how movies are shot, and it's almost, but all the information is wrong.
03:23Unfortunately, the continuation of Muppet Studios came to a halt after Jim Henson's untimely passing in 1990.
03:30Muppet Vision 3D became one of the final Muppets projects Henson ever worked on,
03:35which is why many fans were upset by the news of the attraction's planned closure.
03:39We have time to go to the bathroom before the next show.
03:42We can't, you old fool.
03:43We're posted to the seas.
03:45The small existing Muppets Courtyard will be re-themed to a Monsters, Inc. land.
03:50But this isn't the end of the Muppets and Hollywood Studios.
03:53The popular rock and roller coaster is due for an update.
03:56And its current stars, Aerosmith, are set to be replaced by none other than our favorite felted entertainers.
04:03Chapter 2. Animal Kingdom
04:05In the end, it all comes together to create a thrilling race against time.
04:09It's fast, it's a blast, and it's in the past.
04:11It's countdown to extinction.
04:13Themed after animal conservation and the wonders of our natural world,
04:17Animal Kingdom is the newest and largest theme park on Disney World property.
04:21At this park, guests can see and learn about exotic animals from around the world
04:26and visit adventure-filled attractions.
04:28Despite its focus on science, education, and conservation,
04:32Animal Kingdom was originally intended to be a bit more fantastical than it appeared on opening day.
04:43Introducing the most adventurous Walt Disney World theme park ever.
04:48Disney's Animal Kingdom.
04:50Beastly Kingdom was a planned section of the park focusing on the infamous beasts of myths and legends.
04:56Like many classic Disney stories, Beastly Kingdom was to be divided into good and evil.
05:00Plans for the good side included a maze attraction called Quest of the Unicorn
05:05and a musical boat ride based on Disney's Fantasia.
05:09The evil side would have been a bigger draw for thrill-seekers,
05:12who would have been pursued by a fire-breathing dragon on the roller coaster Dragon's Tower.
05:17The whole thing fits together as one big experience about adventure.
05:22About being someplace where you don't know what's going to happen.
05:25Although Beastly Kingdom was nowhere to be seen on opening day,
05:29it appeared that Disney hadn't abandoned the plans entirely yet.
05:33Even today, the silhouette of a dragon can be seen in the logo for Animal Kingdom,
05:37and there are several other nods to the mythological concept throughout the park.
05:42Chapter 3.
05:43Magic Kingdom.
05:44Disney's very first East Coast theme park, the Magic Kingdom,
05:48opened its doors in 1971 after much anticipation.
05:51This park closely resembled its West Coast counterpart, Disneyland,
05:55but park-goers quickly noticed one major exception.
05:59And the people there also said...
06:01Can't wait to go on Pirates of the Caribbean.
06:03Followed quickly by...
06:05Where is it?
06:09Disneyland's popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride had been omitted from the Magic Kingdom.
06:14Imagineers had assumed that Floridian park guests wouldn't be excited by pirates,
06:18given that pirates are already a well-known part of Florida's history and legends.
06:23Instead, they planned to build the Western River Expedition,
06:26a boat ride through the American West complete with cowboys, outlaws, and Native Americans.
06:31After opening day, and complaints about the lack of pirates,
06:34Disney scrapped their Western plans and hastily built a second Pirates of the Caribbean instead.
06:39And so, by popular demand, those Western River Expedition plans were set aside.
06:46And in their place went a Pirates of the Caribbean.
06:50Actually, kind of near the Caribbean.
06:52Floridians were just as happy to Yo-Ho-Ho as Californians, evidently.
06:56Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, a pirate's life for me.
07:00Decades later, another addition to Adventureland was in development.
07:04Themed after the criminally underrated film Atlantis The Lost Empire,
07:07Fire Mountain would have taken guests on an exciting trip through an actively erupting volcano.
07:13Plans for the coaster featured an innovative new track that would switch mid-ride
07:17from a traditional track to an inverted track that would give guests a realistic flying sensation.
07:23We'll travel in style.
07:27It's all been arranged. The whole ball of wax.
07:31Unfortunately, due to a downturn in tourism and Atlantis' poor box office performance,
07:36plans were halted for this expansion to the famed Disney Mountain Range,
07:40and the ride was canceled altogether.
07:42You didn't find anything?
07:43Nope. Just a lot of rocks. Fish.
07:47Chapter 4. Epcot.
07:49A circle of nations that celebrates both cultural differences and shared human values.
07:54Yet the circle is not complete,
07:56and the roll call of nations and cultures from around the world has only begun.
08:01Epcot, Disney World's second theme park, is split into two major sections.
08:06Future World highlights science and education,
08:09while World Showcase explores diverse cultures from around the world.
08:13Both have a significant focus on education,
08:16which has earned Epcot a reputation for being one of the less thrilling parks.
08:20And every country on this list,
08:22an impressive showcase of culture, food, and global harmony.
08:27These are kind of heady topics.
08:29In the 2000s, Disney wanted to change this perception
08:32by injecting a little excitement into its iconic ride, Spaceship Earth.
08:37Spaceship Earth alone was just one part of a monumental construction project,
08:44one that had been talked about for years.
08:46The planned redesign was called Time Racers,
08:49an indoor roller coaster taking guests on an exciting time travel adventure.
08:54However, due to structural limitations within the ride building,
08:57this project was abandoned, and the classic ride remains to this day.
09:01On the other side of the park,
09:03World Showcase has seen many planned country pavilions canceled,
09:06some well into development.
09:09Epcot Center, Walt Disney promised, will never be completed.
09:13New attractions and additional countries will continue to be added.
09:18Since these pavilions are directly sponsored by the countries,
09:21political roadblocks are often the cause for their cancellations.
09:24Epcot Center's World Showcase will soon welcome two new countries,
09:28the one most requested, the Soviet Union,
09:31and Switzerland, with its thrilling Matterhorn Mountain bobsled ride.
09:35Plans for a Spain pavilion with a dark ride
09:37and restaurant featuring tapas, paella, and other Spanish dishes,
09:41ended up fizzling out after changes within the Spanish government.
09:44Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union,
09:47Disney was mocking up a replica of Moscow's Red Square for its Russia pavilion,
09:51which also would have included a Russian folklore-themed dark ride and a theater show.
09:56The main attraction of the pavilion will be an 800-seat theater
09:59presenting a show entitled Russia, the Bells of Change.
10:04Given the long-standing tensions between the United States and Russia,
10:08this project seemed ill-fated from the beginning,
10:11and the idea was eventually scrapped.
10:13Further along in the development process was the planned Israel pavilion in the 1980s.
10:18Israel had already agreed to help fund and design the pavilion,
10:22even ready to donate archaeological artifacts to the theme park.
10:25However, Disney was concerned about the potential security risks
10:28of featuring such a controversial state,
10:30and ultimately pulled the plug on the project.
10:33Walt Disney World is constantly innovating its attractions,
10:36always looking for the next cutting-edge experience in theme park entertainment.
10:40If it sounds plausible to me, it sounds possible.
10:44I try to go with them on the experiment, because you'll never know what'll happen.
10:47Though this property has the privilege of plenty of land to expand on,
10:50other limiting factors mean Disney must still be choosy with the projects they pursue.
10:55This means that once a project is cancelled, it's pretty unlikely to be picked up again.
11:00There's really no secret about our approach.
11:03We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, doing new things, because we're curious.
11:09Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
11:12and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
11:16You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
11:20If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
11:25Though these planned attractions will most likely never see the light of day,
11:29Disney currently has many new and exciting expansions planned for Walt Disney World.
11:33Also known as a hollow time.
11:36So I can walk in any direction.
11:38A number of people can be on that floor, and they will never bump into each other.
11:41Animal Kingdom is set to receive a tropical Americas-themed land with Encanto and Indiana Jones rides.
11:47A massive expansion to the Magic Kingdom, themed after Disney's infamous villains, is in the works as well.
11:53Though while their ideas might not come to fruition,
11:56Disney's Imagineers have proven time and time again that they definitely know what they're doing.
12:02We were kind of given license to begin pushing the envelope a little bit more,
12:05to make things not just very good or good enough, but to make things excellent.
12:10Was Disney right to drop these ideas?
12:12Or do you think they were on to something good?
12:14Let us know in the comments.
12:16Let me talk to Mickey.
12:18Come on, give me the phone.
Recommended
8:58
13:17
12:08
4:19
0:32
8:55
10:23
1:30
0:48
Be the first to comment