Jeff Lange just returned from Walt Disney World. Where he got some killer shots of the work that’s being done at the Magic Kingdom in the area where “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” used to be located.
Photo by Jeff Lange
As you can see from this photo, there’s virtually nothing left of the “20K” show building now. That massive structure that used to house the polar ice cap, mermaids & serpents as well as the Lost City of Atlantis … Gone.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Disney’s clearly using some pretty heavy equipment to fill in the lagoon. To get this area ready for whatever it is that the Imagineers have planned next for this primo piece of Fantasyland real estate.
“And what might that be?,” you ask. Well — to be honest — WDI hasn’t quite decided yet. All that’s certain is that the Imagineers eventually want to build something truly spectacular here. Some sort of attraction that will really make Magic Kingdom visitors go “Wow!”
But that’s at least 5 to 10 years down the line. In the meantime, WDI plans to install a temporary attraction here over the next year or two. A placeholder, if you will. Something that’s quick & relatively inexpensive to build, but will still provide plenty of entertainment for people vacationing at WDW.
Based on what I’ve been hearing, what the Imagineers are most likely leaning toward installing here is a “Winnie the Pooh” themed meet-n-greet area. Something that would occupy the area directly across from Fantasyland’s “Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” ride. A one acre version of the 100 Acre Woods, if you would. Where Disney World visitors could go to get their picture taken with Pooh & pals.
Of course, every time the Imagineers hear the words “inexpensive” & “easy to install,” their teeth go on edge. Why for? Because the guys at WDI know that these placeholders have a nasty habit of becoming premanent attractions at the Disney theme parks.
Copyright 1988, the Walt Disney Company.
Don’t believe me? Then let’s talk about Mickey’s Birthdayland. That “new land” that was quickly thrown together at the Magic Kingdom in just 90 days back in the Spring of 1988. When someone within the Walt Disney Company thought: “Gee, wouldn’t it be great if there was someplace at Disney World where people could go to help Mickey celebrate his 60th birthday?”
Copyright 1988, the Walt Disney Company.
As most Disneyana fans will tell you, Mickey’s Birthdayland was never intended to be a permanent addition to the Magic Kingdom. That’s why this “new land” was made up of mostly temporary tent-like structures. It was only supposed to last for the year that the Disney Company would be celebrating Mickey’s 60th. Then the whole thing was to be torn down.
The only problem was the public just loved Mickey’s Birthdayland. They really got off on the idea of touring Mickey’s home as well as getting the chance to have a private audience with the old Mousetro. Which was why — rather than tear the place down as 1988 gave way to 1989 & 1990 — the Imagineers just changed the name of this quick-n-dirty addition to the Magic Kingdom ffrom Mickey’s Birthdayland to Mickey’s Starland in May of 1990.
Of course, that didn’t solve the problem of all these temporary structures back here behind Fantasyland. Which wound up having to last another five years before the Imagineers finally gave in and totally redesigned the place. Putting in permanent structures this time as well as giving this part of the Magic Kingdom another brand-new name: Mickey’s Toontown Fair.
Photo by Jeff Lange
The same thing happened over at the Disney-MGM Studio theme park with “The Voyage of the Little Mermaid” stage show. The Imagineers had originally thought that this show would be just like the one that proceeded it, “Here Come the Muppets.”
That Disney-MGM attraction had a relatively brief run of 17 months, May 1990 – September 1991. And that’s really what the Imagineers thought was going to happen with the “Voyage of the Little Mermaid.” That this stage show would only run for a year and a half, maybe two. And then the Imagineers would have to come up with a new show to fill Ariel’s shoes … fins … Whatever.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Well, the “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” opened in January of 1992. And now — some 12 years later — this Disney-MGM stage show is still going strong. This attraction continues to play to packed houses. Which — given that WDI only spent $5.5 million to create & construct this entire show — that seems like a pretty nice return on Disney’s relatively meager investment.
Photo by Jeff Lange
The same goes the “Beauty and the Beast” stage show at Disney-MGM. This attraction was also once considered a placeholder. A show that would just play at that theme park until Disney World visitors eventually lost their enthusiasm for the film that that particular pageant was based on.
Well, the studio theme park version of “Beauty & the Beast” began presenting performances back in November of 1991 and it hasn’t stopped yet. This Disney-MGM show was so successful in fact that it actually out-lasted its original venue, the “Theater of the Stars.” You know, that miniature verson of the Hollywood Bowl that used to sit right next to the Brown Derby?
Anyway … That Disney-MGM theater was actually closed in May of 1993 to make room for Sunset Boulevard. But “B & B” never ever lost a beat. Its talented cast just moved into the show’s brand new venue next to the Hollywood Tower Hotel and continued to belt out “Be Our Guest.” And those folks continue to sing that song today — some 13 years after “Beauty and the Beast” first opened at Disney-MGM.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Disney’s Animal Kingdom also has a popular stage show that was originally intended to just be a temporary attraction at that theme park: “The Festival of the Lion King.” In fact, to be perfectly honest here, that entire section of DAK where the “Lion King” is currently housed — Camp MinnieMickey — was originally supposed to be just a placeholder.
See, if the Imagineers had had their way … Two or three years after Animal Kingdom had opened, this whole side of this theme park would have been shuttered. And — in Camp MinnieMickey’s place — WDI would have built Beastly Kingdom. An entire “land” that would have celebrated mythical creatures like dragons & unicorns.
At least, that was the plan. But what the Imagineers hadn’t counted on was how much DAK visitors would come to love “The Festival of the Lion King” show. These WDW guests don’t really seem to care that many of the sets featured in this stage show are just recycled parade floats from Disneyland’s “Lion King Celebration” street pageant. Or that — for the first five years that “The Festival of the Lion King” was presented — that this 1000-seat venue didn’t even have air conditioning. (Why for? Because the “Festival of the Lion King” theater was built so quickly and on such a tight budget that Disney didn’t have any money left to build exterior walls for the venue.)
But now … According to guest surveys, “The Festival of the Lion King” is consistantly the most popular attraction in all of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This stage show even gets higher marks than Kilimanjaro Safari. Which perhaps explains why a clone of the “Festival of the Lion King” show is — even as we speak — being installed as the marquee attraction in the Adventureland section of Hong Kong Disneyland.
So you see what I’m saying here, folks? Do you now understand why the Imagineers get a little leery whenever they hear that something — like the Magic Kingdom’s proposed “Winnie the Pooh” themed meet-n-greet area — being described as being temporary. Just a placeholder.
After all, the guys at WDI know from experience that some of these placeholders wind up being permanent attractions at the Disney theme parks.
Your thoughts?