Today we’ll explore several high profile projects – from rides to lands to entire theme parks – that were officially announced… before quietly disappearing from the docket.
THEME PARK TOURIST’S IN-DEPTH COLLECTION LIBRARY: For years, Theme Park Tourist has been building collections of in-depth entries on some of the world’s most well-known rides and attractions. The secret attraction histories Disney and Universal don’t want you to know? They’re here in our full (and ever-expanding) collections of detailed explorations, yours to explore: Lost Legends, Disaster Files, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands.
MODERN MARVELS: Dinosaur: When Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, the park featured only one dark ride. And forget Peter Pan’s Flight… Countdown to Extinction was a wild, off-roading, terrifying journey through the steaming jungles in the last moments of the Cretaceous. Today, we’ll “dig deep” into this one-of-a-kind prehistoric adventure and explore its history… and future. So “let’s get in, grab the iguanodon, and get out before that asteroid hits!”
LOST LEGENDS: The Adventurers Club: In the history of Disney Parks, there’s simply nothing else quite like the Adventurers Club. With the menu of a bar, the experience of a walkthrough, the story of a dark ride, and the cult following of a film, this unique attraction blended the height of Disney’s storytelling and design with the excitement of a secret society. A haven of songs, stories, and special effects, this Lost Legend shaped Disney Parks… then disappeared.
LOST LEGENDS: Back to the Future – The Ride: When Universal first eyed the opportunity to bring a version of its famed Hollywood studio park to Florida in the mid-1980s, the idea of taking on Disney was simply too daunting… to become a contender in Disney’s own back yard would take an out-of-this-world E-Ticket ahead of (and in this case, also behind) its time. Headed up by Spielberg himself, this closed classic is the reason Universal Orlando exists! This is the full story…
LOST LEGENDS: Captain EO: Upon arriving at the tired Walt Disney Productions, Michael Eisner set out to reconfigure Disney’s theme parks into trendy, hip, must-visit destinations where everyone – even teenagers! – could find something to love. His hole-in-one? Incorporate the biggest star on the planet – the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. Like no other attraction on Earth, Captain EO set out to change the world… and changed Disney World along the way!
LOST LEGENDS: Body Wars: Prepare for an unbelievable journey through the incredible human machine! Today, we trace the in-depth story behind Epcot’s lost Wonders of Life and its would-be E-Ticket. How did a cutting-edge thrill ride go from a headliner to a walk-on in a matter of months? What became of the ruins within the Wonders of Life pavilion? Today, we miniaturize to the size of a cell for a rough and wild adventure that you’ll never forget…
LOST LEGENDS: Big Bad Wolf: For 25 years, the misty forests of Busch Gardens were terrorized by none other than the Big Bad Wolf. Trace the legend of this wild creature run amuck, brought to life as a wild, swinging family coaster through a terrorized Bavarian village that thrilled generations of park fans as we dive into the in-depth story behind this legendary coaster.
LOST LEGENDS: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Welcome aboard the Nautilus. Let’s dive deep into the unknown fathoms of the sea aboard Magic Kingdom’s lost underwater masterpiece dark ride, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage. See just why fans say this might’ve been the best ride Walt Disney World ever had.
Take a look back at Adventure Thru Inner Space, Disneyland’s first ever Omnimover dark ride. When Disneyland first opened in 1955, Tomorrowland was in something of an unfinished state. Although Walt Disney worked hard to add new attractions to the area, by 1967 it was time for a major overhaul. New Tomorrowland debuted that year,…
