Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966, five years before the first Walt Disney World theme park opened. Though he was involved in the earliest stages of planning for the park, he never lived to see the Florida Project become a working theme park. His brother, Roy O. Disney, made Walt’s dream a reality, but there are undoubtedly many things that might have been different with Walt’s unique touch.
Here’s a look at some of the things that might not be the same if the infamous younger Disney brother had a hand in things today.
1. Duplicate attractions
Walt had a favorite motto, “You can’t top pigs with pigs.” This was his response to the pressure to create a sequel to the Three Little Pigs bit from Silly Symphony. He insisted that he’d “rather be using that time doing something new and different.” He fervently believed that you couldn’t impress audiences by redoing anything that had already been done. Though he eventually relented in the case of the cartoon sequels, his instincts proved right and the sequels lacked much of the impact of the original.
In its earliest design phases, Walt Disney World had unique rides. Though there were similarities, each park’s highlights were intended to be original. Imagineers dreamed up a Sleeping Beauty ride in place of Snow White, and a Mary Poppins adventure to replace Disneyland’s Peter Pan. Roy Disney insisted on including classics in honor of Walt’s memory and his original creations, but Walt himself would likely have seen things differently.
Had he lived long enough to leave his own fingerprints on Walt Disney World, there would most certainly have been a slew of new and original creations, rather than the plethora of repeats seen in attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion that show up again and again around the world.
2. Attractions with non-fuctioning elements
It’s a sad fact that many Walt Disney World attractions feature elements that are rarely functional. There are many aspects that operate so rarely, guests consider it an exciting event to see them working. The charging carnotaurus in Dinosaur was non-operational for years. The charming mermaids in Pirates of the Caribbean worked for only a short time before the effect began to appear only sporadically. It’s not uncommon to notice missing sound effects on Space Mountain or munchkins that don’t move quite right in the Great Movie Ride.
Walt had a keen eye for detail and a tendency toward perfectionism. He said, “Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.” The state of many Disney attractions wouldn’t go unnoticed or unaddressed by the man behind the mouse.
3. A lack of focus for Tomorrowland
Walt couldn’t stand stagnation, and he was never slowed by practical matters like budgets or timelines. His biggest problem with the concept of Tomorrowland was, as he put it, that “Right when we do Tomorrowland, it will be out dated.” Explaining the concept for this area, he said, “The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.” To Walt, Tomorrowland would always be a living, evolving, thing that would change as rapidly as the times.
Sadly, Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland hasn’t held up to this ideal. The Carousel of Progress, rather than being innovative, is one of the oldest attractions in the park. The final scene, though updated, is far from futuristic, featuring technology that not only exists, but is much sleeker and more refined today. The area is dedicated more to movies like Lilo and Stitch, Toy Story, and Monsters, Inc. than it is to any innovative ideas about the future, falling short of its original goals.
4. Giving up when something doesn’t work right
Walt was never one to let details go or accept the idea that a thing couldn’t be done. One of his more famous quotes says it all. “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” He was also known to jovially say that “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” Attractions like Expedition Everest would certainly look different if they had Walt’s fingerprints on them.
The cawing bird that’s very clearly on a stick above the broken train tracks on the ride was originally conceived as a giant Yeti hand reaching over the edge of the mountain. Budget constraints nixed this feature as well as much of the exterior shaping that would have kept the mountain looking sharp at all angles. As it exists now, Everest has elements of the ride building visible from some spots.
The Yeti in Expedition Everest was another ongoing problem that was ultimately given up on. Early guests got to see the Yeti in all its glory, with a massive arm swooping down toward riders. Today, strobe lights conceal the non-moving figure. With his tenacious attitude, Walt surely would have insisted on a better resolution for the impressive audioanimatronic.
5. The Epcot theme park
Epcot was never designed to be a theme park. Originally an acronym, EPCOT was to stand for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt designed Epcot to serve as a working city. You can still see some of the original plans for the community onboard the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. The Progress City model is only a portion of the original that was once on display over the Carousel of Progress in Disneyland.
To Walt, EPCOT would be a real world embodiment of his ideas and ideals. The city would become a place of innovation, experimentation, and forward thinking. Features like hidden driveways would keep the neighborhoods pristine, while the futuristic airport would provide convenient travel well beyond the bounds of the productive city. After Walt’s death, the idea for EPCOT languished for over a decade. The EPCOT that did finally come to be was designed after the innovative ideas of the World’s Fair. Over the years, even this focus has fallen to the wayside and Epcot has departed from its original plans to become another attraction-filled theme park.
Though Walt would have long since passed by today, it’s intriguing to look at park operations through the eyes of the original dreamer whose creative fantasies brought it all to life.
