I was just looking over the JHM reader poll that we ran back in December. And one of the more consistent comments that popped in that poll was “Could you please do more stories about the Tokyo Disney Resort?”
Well, ask and ye shall receive.
Of course, this being JHM and all … We can’t just talk about rides, shows and attractions that are actually operating at that resort today. Oh no. This site has a reputation for talking about stuff that almost gets built. Rides that were proposed for a particular theme park but ultimately never made it off the drawing board.
So — with that in mind — I thought that I might talk about a trio of attractions that were initially proposed for Tokyo DisneySea back in October of 2000. These three were all slated to be built in the American Waterfront section at that theme park as part of WDI’s first expansion plan for TDS. And — if everything had actually gone according to plan — this trio would have been open for business by the fall of 2004.
“So what sort of attractions were the Imagineers initially thinking about adding to Tokyo DisneySea?,” you ask. Well, keep in mind that these three were supposed to be built inside that theme park’s American Waterfront area. That part of TDS that celebrates post-Victorian America. In particular what life was like in New York City in the early 1900s. And what better way would there have been to see NYC of that era than by climbing aboard an old fashioned roadster and taking a ride through “Manhattan Motor Mania”?
“Manhattan Motor Mania” was not going to be your typical dark ride. TDS guests were intially supposed to have queued up inside a “RoadKing 6” factory, where they would have watched these early autos being built as they moved along the assembly line. Once the guests got to the end of the queue, they were supposed to climb aboard one of the “RoadKing 6” as it rolled off the assembly line, then take the vehicle for a test drive through the city.
Of course, this trip through NYC of the early 1990s would have taken TDS guests through many colorful immigrant neighborhoods. And — in the tradition of “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” — your roadster would eventually have gone careening out of control and crashed through the doors of an Irish pub, an Italian fruitstand, a French restaurant, a Danish pastery shop as well as a Chinese fireworks factory. And — of course — hilarity would ensue.
Copyright 2000 Disney Enterprises
One of the more intriguing gags featured in “Manhattan Motor Mania” was that there was going to be this little newsboy who’d repeatedly pop up in the attraction. And — each time he appeared in the show — the newsboy would be hawking a paper with a headline that trumpeted the damage that your “RoadKing 6” had just done. So — as you rolled out of the French restaurant — you’d hear: “Extra! Extra! Erratic drivers flatten French Cuisine.”
Speaking of “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” … This TDS attraction was actually supposed to be patterned after the WDW version of this classic dark ride. Which means that there were supposed to have been two entirely different tracks in “Manhattan Motor Mania.” Which were supposed to have taken riders through two very different neighborhoods in “Little Old New York.”
Mind you, “Manhattan Motor Mania” wasn’t the only driving-based attraction that the Imagineers initially hoped to add to TDS’s American Waterfront area. In addition to this “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” knock-off, WDI also wanted to fold a “Wild Mouse” ride (I.E. Something similar to DCA’s “Mulholland Madness“) into this theme park.
Of course, the Imagineers wanted to build something that was much more elaborate than that bare-bones Paradise Pier attraction at Tokyo DisneySea. Which is why they decided to move this “Wild Mouse” indoors and create the “Cops & Robbers Chase.”
This proposed TDS addition actually had a pretty intriguing gimmick. Guests were to have enter an old fashioned police station. And — once they reached the booking desk that was at the heart of the “Cops & Robbers Chase” queue — these Tokyo DisneySea visitors would have separated into two groups: the cops and the robbers.
The “cops” would have been sent through a separate police station-themed portion of the queue before they were loaded into squad cars. Whereas the “robbers” … They were to have been herded into cells. Until a sudden jailbreak allowed them to make their way to getaway cars.
Now that both the “cops” and the “robbers” are equipped with wheels, a wild chase through a crazy construction zone ensues. With riders constantly avoiding near collisions with heavy pieces of equipment that are rolling through the construction site.
Of course, what with this being a proposed expansion of TDS’s “American Waterfront” area … Well, one might hope that WDI was actually planning on adding a ride or show to the waterfront. Rather than just concentrate their efforts on the fake inner city section of this theme park.
Well, had everything gone according to plan, the Imagineers wanted to build a bold new attraction right inside the S.S. Columbia itself: The “Showcase of Nautical Marvels.”
This particular attraction would have been a Disney-ified version of that classic old amusement park attraction, the “Haunted Swing.” In that guests enter a room and sit on a platform that pivots between the walls of the structure. The ride is then put in motion. And the “Haunted Swing” appears to rotate back and forth until it finally spins 360 degrees. Giving the rider the illusion that they have actually been turned upside down.
Anyway … As for the TDS version of this classic theme park attraction … Well, why don’t I let you read the official Walt Disney Imagineering description of this proposed “American Waterfront” addition?
The enticement of luxurious transatlantic ocean travel forms the story for the S.S. Columbia Showcase of Nautical Marvels, an all-new attraction located in the nautical icon of American Waterfront.
Beginning in an enclosed foyer and continuing through a queue area “gallery,” Guests view a series of witty paintings that tantalize prospective passengers to book passage on the “maiden” voyage of the S.S. Columbia. The Guests are promised that to do so would ensure that they experience the safest, fastest, and, above all, the most comfortable Atlantic crossing heretofore available.
Of all the latest in nautical comfort technology featured in the sales gallery, the grandest of all are the dual “Gryroscopically-Stabilized Self-Leveling Anti-Turbulence Lounges.” It is this very technology that the Guest is going to experience firsthand by participating in an actual “demonstration.”
Each of these two lounges carries 40 Guests and, guided by a gyroscope that “controls” the self-leveling action, promises a safe, relaxing experience free of the usual personal discomforts of an ocean voyage.
Copyright 2000 Disney Enterprises
Guests recieve a surprise when the gyroscope seemingly runs amok and their cabin begins spinning, at times to 360 degrees in either direction. When the cabin subfloor appears to move overhead and the ceiling and the skylight disappear, Guests hold on to their wits and hope that the promised “comfort” kicks in — and quickly.
That sounds like a thrilling addition to Tokyo DisneySea, don’t you think? To my way of thinking, “Manhattan Motor Mania,” the “Cops & Robbers Chase” ride as well as the “S.S. Columbia Showcase of Nautical Marvels” all sound like winners. So why — in the end — did the Oriental Land Company (I.E. the corporation that actually owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort) opt not to add any of these proposed attractions to TDS?
To be honest, in the wake of less-than-impressive attendance levels at Tokyo DisneySea during that theme park’s second year of operation, OLC execs reportedly felt that something bigger & more exciting was in order. Which is why they supposedly opted to go with a brand-new version of that old Disney-MGM favorite, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Mind you, this doesn’t mean that “Manhattan Motor Mania,” the “Cops & Robbers Chase” ride and/or the “S.S. Columbia Showcase of Nautical Marvels” won’t ever make it off of the drawing board. After all, no good idea ever dies at WDI.
In fact, I rcently heard that the Imagineers have been toying with reviving either the “Manhattan Motor Mania” or the “Cops & Robbers Chase” concept and then using this proposed attraction as a possible new way to bring the Muppets back into the Disney theme parks … But that’s a story for another time.
Your thoughts?