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.

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

Damn.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.    

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

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.

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