Fantasyland, Cars Land, Tomorrowland… Glacier Bay? If park icons are the heart of Disney Parks, themed lands are the bones and joints! One of the basic tennents of Disneyland that set it apart from the amusement piers of the era was its lands that recreated idealized time periods and places brought to life in agonizing detail, almost like stepping onto a film set. (And that’s no coincidence… Walt was careful to hire filmmakers, writers, and urban planners to design and build Disneyland, a process that continues today as Imagineering.)
But not every land makes it off the drawing board! Be it budgets, replacement ideas, or frustrated Imagineers, some lands simply don’t take off, despite fan outcry and passionate designers. Let’s take a look at eight of the coolest lands that Disney planned or even announced, only to change its mind and cancel at the last possible second.
1. Beastly Kingdom
© Disney
Proposed for: Disney’s Animal Kingdom
When Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, it was made up of five of the most extravagant lands in any theme park at the time, dripping with detail and stunning architecture. Then there was Camp Minnie-Mickey. The land – which contained two performance venues and huts in which to meet Disney characters – felt temporary, and it was. “Phase II” of Animal Kingdom’s construction was meant to replace Camp Minnie-Mickey with a land based on mythological creatures called Beastly Kingdom.
The land would’ve been divided into a “light” realm (with an elaborate Quest for the Unicorn walkthrough maze and a Fantasia Gardens boat ride) and a “dark” realm (a cold medieval village with a headlining dragon-themed indoor coaster). Fans (and Imagineers) very publicly rallied together for Beastly Kingdom to happen, but it never did. Frustrated Imagineers took their designs to nearby competitor Universal, who happily incorporated them into Islands of Adventure’s Lost Continent land. The story of how Disney “accidentally” designed Universal’s best lost land is the subject of its own in-depth feature, Possibilityland: Beastly Kingdom – a must-read for Disney Parks fans.
What Happened: The space once earmarked for Beastly Kingdom remained as Camp Minnie-Mickey for 15 years before folding to become Pandora – The World of Avatar in 2017.
2. Tomorrowland 2055
© Disney
Proposed for: Disneyland
Ever since the first one opened in 1955, Tomorrowland has suffered from one simple problem: tomorrow always becomes today. To remedy the issue, each Tomorrowland on Earth diverged into different ideological directions during massive renovations in the 1990s. In Florida, Tomorrowland became a silver, science-fiction spaceport. In France, Tomorrowland was reborn as a gold and copper seaport as envisioned by Europe’s visionary minds.
Alien Encounter would’ve been an element of Tomorrowland 2055. © Disney
The original Disneyland was just about ready for a New Tomorrowland, as well, and the plans for Tomorrowland 2055 were as ambitious as could be. The new land – an intergalactic alien spaceport – would’ve used a system of skywalks to connect mechanized buildings inhabited by alien attractions like Plectu’s Intergalactic Revue in the Carousel Theatre and a clone of Magic Kingdom’s Lost Legend: The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter in a futuristic building carved with Olympians.
What Happened: When Disneyland Paris failed to meet financial expectations, projects across the Parks division were slashed. The idea of an elaborate and expensive Tomorrowland became just one of the incredible projects Cancelled and Closed 25 Years Ago thanks to the French failure. Disneyland still needed a fresh, new Tomorrowland, but rather than the grand Possibilityland: Tomorrowland 2055, it recieved a land so hated, it’s the subject of its own in-depth Disaster File: New Tomorrowland ’98 and the Rocket Rods. While Disney has piecemeal improved the land since, it still lacks the cohesive style of other Tomorrowlands across the world even twenty years later!
3. Glacier Bay
© Disney
Proposed for: Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea
When Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, it was by far the smallest Disneyland-style park in the world, featuring only four lands on 55 acres, and barely enough attractions to fill an afternoon. There was no Big Thunder Mountain (or a Frontierland at all), no Haunted Mansion (nor a land to put it in), and no Small World… Fantasyland had only one dark ride (Winnie the Pooh) and Tomorrowland had only Space Mountain and Astro Orbitor. The park needed to expand, and badly. In an unprecedented move, Disney built three lands outside of the train tracks, connecting a new outer loop (view map) around the park: Grizzly Peak, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land.
The original plans, however, axed Toy Story Land and instead called for Grizzly Peak, Mystic Point, and Glacier Bay… Glacier Bay would’ve been an entirely indoor land themed to a frozen Antarctic research outpost complete with real falling snow. Not much is known about the land, but that the Hong Kong government (who co-financed the park and its expansion) insisted it wouldn’t work with an Asian audience. We also believe Glacier Bay would’ve included a dark ride through the frozen tundra and that the RC Racers coaster (currently part of Toy Story Land) would’ve remained, but as a skiing-themed ride. The land was also supposedly considered as an outdoor expansion to Tokyo DisneySea, Japan’s nautical themed park.
What Happened: The land set aside for Glacier Bay in Hong Kong was instead used for Toy Story Land. Obviously it was never built at DisneySea either (despite its presence in concept art proudly displayed in the resort’s Hotel MiraCosta), but pieces of its DNA will likely make their way into the recently-announced Frozen-themed Scandanavia land coming to the park in a few years.
4. Isla Tortuga
© Disney
Proposed for: Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland
Disney’s Hong Kong park didn’t have Pirates of the Caribbean either. The addition of a Pirates-themed land would’ve given the park its Pirates ride and a whole new land connected to Grizzly Peak. If the early concept art is to be believed, the land probably would’ve contained the signature dark ride, a village of shops and restaurants an “Adventure Island” walkthrough. Our friends at Disney and More also reported that the land would’ve included a “Splash Mountain” style dark ride including a waterfall splashdown, a pirate-themed haunted mansion, and perhaps a Fantasmic! style show on the water.
What Happened: Hong Kong Disneyland never got a Pirates of the Caribbean themed land, but not all is lost. Rumors consistently swirl that the park will get a traditional Pirates of the Caribbean dark ride (albeit in Adventureland). You’ve heard that good ideas never die at Disney, and that’s especially true here. A version of this lost pirates land was built in Shanghai Disneyland, where it’s known as Treasure Cove and attached more directly to the Pirates film franchise with a stunning, unbelievable, unprecedented, completely original dark ride we saw in our In-Depth: Shanghai Disneyland Walkthrough.
5. Discovery Bay
© Disney
Proposed for: Disneyland
Perhaps the most well loved never-built land at Disneyland, Discovery Bay was the pet project of famed Imagineer Tony Baxter. The land was intended to be built north of the Rivers of America, connected to Frontierland and expanding on the land’s westward-movement story. The land would’ve been a sort of 19th century steampunk vision of San Francisco based on the work of Jules Verne – a golden port of zephyrs, hot air balloons, lighthouses, smoking chimneys, and a bay containing Captain Nemo’s Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Disneyland was so close to making Discovery Bay a reality, they built and presented a full-scale model of the land and released concept art, including The Fireworks Factory shooting gallery, a Tiki Room style animatronic show called Professor Marvel’s Gallery of Wonders, and an E-ticket dark ride based on The Island at the Top of the World. Inside a lighthouse would be The Tower, a multi-sensory drop ride, and a walkthrough of the Nautilus submarine, submerged in the Rivers of America. For all of the fantastic facts, check out our in-depth Possibilityland: Discovery Bay feature that dives into the must-see details of this would-be wonder.
© Disney
Discovery Bay inspires awe and wonder for Disney fans because it seems so obvious – it’s a time and setting that the park doesn’t already have, and it just fits along the Rivers of America… Taking the ship all the way around Tom Sawyer Island, you’d pass the Pacific Northwest (critter country), the wrought-iron patios of Louisiana (New Orleans Square), the Old West (Frontierland), and then the glimmering retro-future of San Francisco (Discovery Bay). Plus, its location between Fantasyland and Frontierland is a perfect segue between the two. As Walt had hoped, Discovery Bay would’ve continued Disneyland’s mission of being rich with Americana, progressive futurism, and fantasy. Ah well.
What Happened: Discovery Bay was never built. For decades, every time Disney prepared to launch a new film franchise, insiders would begin to speculate that Imagineers had been tasked with drawing up plans to use the Discovery Bay plot as a new land based on the film. Recently, Oz The Great and Powerful and The Lone Ranger were rumored to be contenders. Ultimately, neither film was the success Disney had hoped, but perhaps it’s for the best. In 2019 – after forty years of vacancy – the plot will become Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a Wizarding-World-style immersive Star Wars land.
Image: Disney
As for what became of Discovery Bay, the ideas behind this uniquely fantastical retro-futuristic realm did come to life when its author, Tony Baxter, was put in charge of designing Disneyland Paris and opted to swap Tomorrowland entirely for Discoveryland. The end result was a gold-and-brass European literary retro-future purposefully opposed to the “tomorrows” brought to life elsewhere. We dove into the design of Discoveryland in our in-depth feature highlighting its magnum opus, Paris’s Lost Legend: Space Mountain – De la Terre a la Lune.
6. Big City USA
Image: Disney
Proposed for: Disneyland
Another land proposed for Disneyland was Big City USA. The land was supposed to have been outside of the park’s berm, accessible only by crossing under the railroad tracks north of Fantasyland. Big City USA (a sort of compliment to the small town of Main Street USA) would’ve recreated New York City in the early 20th century. There would’ve been an automat, a cafeteria, a deli, and a 3,000 seat theater (think California Adventure’s Hyperion where Frozen is presented).
The land would also have expanded behind Fantasyland all the way to the Rivers of America, along which a turn-of-the-century Victorian boardwalk would’ve been constructed complete with paddleboats, a Ferris wheel, and a waterside roller coaster. The land’s E-ticket, though, would’ve seen guests descend into the New York “subway” where a time-machine style ride would send them back to the era of the dinosaurs. Now this was all in development in the 1970s, so if you’re thinking along the lines of Animal Kingdom’s DINOSAUR, scale it back. Still, Big City USA would’ve been an interesting area to visit.
What Happened: Big City USA was in the pipeline just as Imagineers got focused on Tokyo Disneyland and Epcot, and it simply fell out of view. The land was eventually used for Mickey’s Toontown. Almost all elements of it survived in one form or another, though…
The dinosaur dark ride obviously got a second lease on life (albeit in a 21st century form) as DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The rest of the “city” elements including the theater were transplanted to Tokyo DisneySea as American Waterfront, home to the uniquely Twilight-Zone-free Modern Marvel: Tower of Terror. And the Victorian amusement pier with its Ferris wheel and waterfront roller coaster became the heart of Disney California Adventure as Paradise Pier. A happy ending for all!
7. Liberty Street and Edison Square
© Disney
Proposed for: Disneyland
Main Street USA famously recalls an idealized version of Walt’s hometown at the turn of the century, just as he was growing up. Official plans for the park showed the addition of many other accessory streets branching off from Main Street, including Chinatown, International Street, and – most famously – Liberty Street. A departure from Main Street’s 1900s setting, Liberty Street would’ve been set in the late 1700s just as America declared its independence from Great Britain. Liberty Street would’ve included an ambitious Hall of Presidents full of animatronic leaders.
© Disney
Meanwhile, another branch from Main Street would lead to Edison Square. A perfect transition between Main Street and Tomorrowland, Edison Square would’ve showcased a town powered by Edison’s inventions and the ingenuity of the American spirit. It would even include a walk-through show where guests would explore the changing American home through the decades, watching the American family as it evolved through progress alongside our electronic host, Wilbur K. Watt.
What Happened: Unfortunately, neither expansion of Main Street ever happened. Liberty Street served as inspiration for Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square land, and plans for a Hall of Presidents came to fruition there (while Disneyland still has Mr. Lincoln, all alone in the Main Street opera house). Edison Square was cancelled, but we stepped along its streets in our exploration of the attraction it inspired – the Modern Marvel: Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.
Part of the land that would’ve become Edison Square and Liberty Street was used with the addition of Space Mountain of 1977. And let’s face it – while those two boulevards would’ve been incredible, Space Mountain is not a bad replacement.
8. Lost Expedition
© Disney
Proposed for: Disneyland
The Lost Expedition was planned for Disneyland in the 1980s and 1990s as a way to bring George Lucas’ Indiana Jones franchise into the park. The ambitious and stunning plans would’ve have Disney construct an entire indoor land seemingly inside of an ancient temple complex.
Lost Expedition would’ve included an out of control mine-cart roller coaster over lava pits and an Enhanced Motion Vehicle (EMV) dark ride through a cursed temple. As well, the Jungle Cruise would be absorbed into the new sub-land, becoming part of the Indiana Jones setting and story and cruising into the temple along lava pits to glimpse the interior of the mega-attractions. The Disneyland Railroad, too, would pass through the giant building. You can read our in-depth feature on the Lost Expedition for all the information we’ve got (including blueprints)!
What Happened: Lost Expedition never came together. At least, not in one place. Disneyland got the EMV dark ride Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, which is an astounding and incredible ride in its own right. In Paris, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril brought the mine-cart coaster to life. Somehow, Tokyo DisneySea ended up with copies of both and placed them right next to each other, but the coaster there isn’t branded as an Indiana Jones ride. As well, Jungle Cruise was drawn into the Indiana Jones Adventure setting. In fact, all of Disneyland’s Adventureland is united in story and style. That’s why, when Indy opened, Jungle Cruise was re-cast as a tourist trap with rusted boats and tattered canvas roofs.
Even if Lost Expedition never got built in its entirety, it inspired some great attractions and shows just how big Disney can think. That’s a great legacy to leave.
What It All Means
Many of these projects are impressive and elaborate, and would certainly incite a lot of disappointment in fans that they never came to fruition. But remember, they say that good ideas never die at Disney, and we can already see how that’s true in a few of these examples, which have come to life in new ways and different places. Still, which of these proposed lands would you most like to see brought to life at your home park?
