“The Art of the Walt Disney World Resort” is worth going out of your way for

Jim Hill

16 years ago

Over the years, I have heard a lot of stories from Disney
insiders that I’ve been lucky enough to interview. Like how Alice Davis once
told me that she knew that Mary Blair must be dealing with some horrific
personal problems. Given that – in the early 1970s – this Disney Legend’s
acclaimed sense of color & style suddenly seemed to slip away.

“I looked at the environmental studies that (Blair) had done
for Western River Expedition,” Davis remembered, “And I then told Marc that ‘Something
must be wrong with Mary. Her colors have all gone to mud.’ “

I’ve also talked with folks like Gary Goddard who spent
their formative years at Walt Disney Imagineering working on projects that
almost got built. Like that proposed replacement for Fort Wilderness’ “Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue” that Gary designed. Which was going to be …

“ … dinner theatre on an epic scale. The set was going to be
this full Western street. Where the stars would made their entrance by riding
on stage aboard this full-sized stagecoach pulled by six horses,” Goddard
explained. “And Card Walker just loved the concept for this show. He told me ‘This
is exactly what we should be doing at Walt Disney World.’ “

But – all too often – all you ever get are the stories. Not
any images that actually validate the tales that you’ve been told. Which is what’s so terrific about “The Art of
the Walt Disney World Resort” (Disney Editions, May 2009). Here – finally ! – thanks
to Jeff Kurtti & the late Bruce Gordon, are the sketches & concept
paintings that prove that so many of these stories that I’ve heard over the
years are true.

Take – for example – that really-for-real hotel for that
Dorothea Redmond designed for the Main Street U.S.A. area at WDW’s Magic
Kingdom. For years now, I’ve been told that
the real reason that the Town Square Exhibition Hall is so tall is because the
building that was originally supposed to have been built there had to be large
enough to prevent anyone standing on Main Street Street U.S.A. from seeing the
Contemporary Resort Hotel off in the distance.

And judging by this early Magic Kingdom map …

… the Main Street Hotel would have indeed been big enough to block out the
Contemporary. And its beautiful turn-of-the-century interior would have made rooms
at this WDW Resort highly sought after by Guests.

The history of the Walt Disney World Resort is loaded with
great what-ifs like this. Like – would Treasure Island have been far more popular
with WDW visitors if the Imagineers had actually gone ahead with their original
plan?

Which was to load up the formerly-known-as-Raz-Island with
elaborately themed recreations of scenes & settings from Disney’s 1950
live-action film, “Treasure Island.” Take – for example – Collin Campbell’s
concept for Ben Gunn’s cave depicted below.

I know, I know. A couple of the ideas that were mentioned in
today’s review (i.e. the epic scale western dinner theater show, a hotel near the
entrance of the Magic Kingdom & Ben Gunn’s Cave) did eventually get built
as part of the Euro Disney Resort. Which isn’t all that surprising. Given that
WDI is the place where good ideas never die.

Which – given that Walt Disney Pictures is now readying that
new 3D version of “A Christmas Carol” for release — one wonders if
Imagineering will now circle back on that idea it once had for a new attraction
for Epcot’s UK pavilion. Which was to
have been a ride-thru version of Charles Dickens‘ classic holiday tale.

The images featured in today’s article are just a handful of
the great sketches & concept paintings that can be found in “The Art of the
Walt Disney World Resort.” The only downside to this 160-page, oversized
hardcover is that it’s currently only for sale at the Disney theme parks.

But – then again – you were looking for an excuse to book
another trip to Orlando, weren’t you? So
go ahead. “The Art of the Walt Disney World Resort” is worth going out of your
way for.

Way, way, WAY far out of your way for.

Your thoughts?