Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:53:36 GMT

Well Vernon, you see they sent some Imagineers over to Sea World with a sketchpad and came up with all these ideas ... But kudos, your email received unprecedented attention. People have begged Jim to finish stories for literally years. You ask a question - BAM - 24 hr service ! Use the power wisely, Vernon.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:39:56 GMT

Great article. I almost wish I didn't learn about the project, now I know what I'm missing out on.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:15:10 GMT

Damn.

That could've been a really, really cool place.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:37:35 GMT

Now THIS is the type of article that keeps bringing me back to this site. I love this stuff!

What I wouldn't give for a Shark Cage Encounter! That would be awesome.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:50:22 GMT

Agreed. Articles and concept art on never built, blue sky or future attractions are the reason why I check this site out. Would love to see concept art, if any exists, of the proposed Fire Mountain or Forbidden Mountain coasters once proposed for MK.

Thanks for posting this story, Jim.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:25:03 GMT

Hmm - I wonder how much of this was real or was blue-sky for the sake of blue-sky. Given the issue with Anaheim city council, and the whole notion of "really, we are doing a third gate" pressure - how much of the Port-Sea project was real and how much was it to pressure anaheim to allow for resort expansion? I know - it's somewhere in the middle - but did Eisner REALLY want to do this or was it just an exercise.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:18:08 GMT

I'm actually glad this park was not built. As exciting as it sounds, I think it would have been an environmental disaster. Not that Long Beach doesn't already have big environmental problems, but building and maintaining a project of this size would have been environmentally dumb.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:40:07 GMT

They have a shark encounter exactly like the one in the concept art at Seaworld Orlando. It's a pay extra thing.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:24:50 GMT

Jim, why don't you round up all the stories you have on these 'never-built' parks and attractions, all all the artwork you can find, and make it available in book form? It's one that I'd have on my coffeetable for sure!

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 04:13:55 GMT

Jim, you kill me every time I read one of these "parks that never were" articles - I know that there's got to be more about this you haven't told us about yet, and I can't wait until you do.

I'd love to know the answer to olegc's question myself - how serious was Disney about building PD, really? My own suspicion is that Michael was shining Long Beach and WDI on in the hope of getting a better deal out of Anaheim, but I've never seen anything definitive on this.

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:26:53 GMT

Have to say Jim that this was by far one of your greatest stories yet , thanks for sharing them.

The next is not subject related but dear to my heart,

Is there any possible way you could one day devote an article on

Disney's cancelled Aida Movie, still sad about that!

Why for is it that for every good thing that comes out of the House of Mouse ten bad things usually follow.

Is nothing sacred anymore, must it all revolve around money

(I know little naive, but stil, someone out there in management must still have some heart!)

Thanks again

Reinier, The Netherlands

re: Why For didn't the Walt Disney Company go forward with construction of the Port Disney project ?

Jim Hill — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:21:39 GMT

Ahhh BUT wasn't the involvement of DISNEY in running the Queen Mary hotel ship at the LB port the beginning of it all???? And once they were not approved for the rest of the prodject that you discussed, then they slowly got out of the hotel/ship. ..remembering.. That the Ghost Tour that they ran and I Saw with other disney nuts !.... was so good. You might want to write about that walk thru on the ship.

michelene disney nut in tampa fl.

Looking back on the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot project -- Part I

Jim Hill — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:09:12 GMT

JHM guest writer Todd James Pierce kicks off a brand-new series for JHM. Which discusses that 40-acre entertainment district that the Walt Disney Company once wanted to build right in the heart of beautiful downtown Burbank