Why For aren’t more Disney World attractions cloned for Disneyland?

Jim Hill

13 years ago

Maddy Mouse wrote in to say:

I have kind of a weird question for you to answer. I notice that Walt Disney
World has lots of rides, shows and attractions that the Imagineers originally
designed for Disneyland. But when it comes to rides, shows and attractions that
the Imagineers originally designed for Disney World, most of those don’t seem to make
the trip back out west. Why is that?

Well, it’s not for lack of trying on the Imagineers’ part.
By that I mean, as recently as 1975, WDI was still trying to get a version of
the Hall of Presidents built at Disneyland …

… in that backstage area between Main Street, U.S.A. and
Tomorrowland.

It was also about this same time that the Imagineers were
attempting to take advantage of all the development work that they’ve already
done on EPCOT‘s World Showcase area and create an all-new “land” for that
Anaheim theme park, World Holiday Land.

According to the site plan that the Wizards of WED whipped
up, Guests were to have entered this previously-backstage-area by walking
through an effects-filled tunnel that began towards the back of New Orleans Square. Which would have then taken them down under
the train tracks for the Disneyland Railroad.

Once these Guests came up on the other side … Well, if they’d
gone left, these Disneyland visitors would have found themselves wandering
through a postage-stamp-sized version of Paris. Where these Guests would have
had the option of dining at a Buffetria-style sidewalk café or by grabbing a snack
at a counter service stand. They could also have caught a show in a huge
internationally-themed venue that was to have seated 3600 Disneyland visitors
per show.

Mind you, just around the corner from the Parisian part of
this new “land” was to have been the London section of World Holiday Land.
Where 2400 Guests-per-hour were supposed to have been able to travel through a
Medieval-themed attraction. Or if you were more of a travelogue fan, you could
have checked out the internationally-themed Circlevision 360 movie that the
Imagineers were going to screen in the “World Holiday Travel” theater every 20
minutes. Or grab some fish, chips and warm beer at an authentic recreation of
an Old English Pub.

Moving northward through World Holiday Land’s Netherland
section, Disneyland visitors would have encountered this new “land” ‘s
Scandinavian Folklore Adventure Ride / Show. Which was to have featured many of
the same mythical creatures & show elements that – some 13 years later –
were to have entertained Guests as they experienced “Maelstrom” at Epcot’s
Norway pavilion.

Continuing on a northward trek, World Holiday Land visitors
would have had the option of experiencing a ski thrill show (which was to have
entertained 2200 Disneyland Guests per hour) or enjoying some bratwurst &
beer by grabbing a table at this section’s Bavarian-themed sit-down restaurant.

And if these Disneyland visitors had continued moving to the
north, they would have eventually exited World Holiday Land and found themselves
entering Bear Country through a brand-new tree-lined portal. Which was to have
been built between the Mile Long Bar / arcade complex and Bear Country’s
infamously-large restroom structure.

And speaking of Bear Country … Back in the mid-1970s, the
Imagineers had plans to expand & enhance this part of Disneyland as well.

To be specific, they were looking to expand the Bear Country
mythology by building yet another attraction that starred Bears out in the
woods behind Country Bear Playhouse. This “Splash Mountain” precursor –
tentatively entitled the “Moonshine Express” – was a family-friendly flume ride
that was to have featured 3 drops. A 10-foot drop, an 8-foot drop and – for this
attraction’s finale – a 14-foot drop.

If all had gone according to plan, the “Moonshine Express”
was to have been a real people-eater. With 3600-people-per-hour traveling
through the backwoods of Bear Country and avoiding an overly-damp encounter
with those moonshine-making bruins.

And after Disneyland Guests finished splashing down this new
Bear Country flume, they could then dry off by wandering through a new
mountain-themed transitional area at this theme park. Where visitors could stop
off at a juice bar and/or admire some of the crafts that were for sale in
several artisans shops.

“So why weren’t all of these nifty rides, shows and attractions
added to Disneyland in the late 1970s / early 1980s?,” you ask. Well, in
regards to World Holiday Land … The Imagineers had so much trouble lining up
sponsors for all of the international pavilions that were initially proposed
for Epcot’s World Showcase section (WED had originally wanted to build pavilions
for 31 different countries around World Showcase Lagoon. By the time EPCOT
Center opened in October of 1982, that number had dwindled to 9) that the-then-management-team
at Walt Disney Productions kind of lost their enthusiasm for the idea of adding
a new internationally-themed “land” to Disneyland.

Which is kind of a shame. Since Walt himself tried to make
this happen back in 1957. You see, back for the Old Mousetro thought about
building Liberty Street and Edison Square out behind Main Street, U.S.A. , Walt
wanted to turn this backstage area into International Street …

… which features many of the very same concepts (i.e. the
twisty, turny little streets. How you could travel from Paris to London just by
turning a corner, etc.) that the Imagineers explored while they were developing
World Holiday Land.

As for why WED never built that “Moonshine Express” flume
ride … To be honest, by the mid-1970s, the Imagineers were already aware that
the Country Bear Jamboree show wasn’t as popular with Disneyland visitors as it
was with Walt Disney World Guests. Which is why – rather than throw good money
after bad and develop yet another attraction around Bear characters that
Southern Californians didn’t know & didn’t care about – the Imagineers
decided that Disneyland’s first flume ride should showcase well-established
Disney characters. Which is when Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear entered this
equation.

By the way … If you enjoy these sorts of seldom-told tales
of the Disney theme parks … Back in May, Len Testa of The Unofficial Guide and
yours truly walked around the Magic Kingdom with a digital recorder. Which
resulted in an audio podcast that’s chock full of behind-the-scenes stories about
the rides, shows and attractions that were built and/or are in the works for
that theme park.

If you’d like to check out “The Unofficial Guide’s Disney
Dish with Jim Hill,” head on over to iTunes right now and then download this brand-new
recording. All Len and I ask is that you please review this free audio podcast.
And if you like what you hear, please let us know. And maybe then Len & I
will eventually get around to walking through Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios
and Disney’s Animal Kingdom with a digital recording as well.

UPDATE: Okay. That’s a little scary. Len just sent me a note saying that “The Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish with Jim Hill” is the #1 new travel podcast on iTunes.Which I found a little hard to believe until Mr. Testa sent me this image capture off of hisiPhone.

Really? More people are interested in hearing Len & I burble about what’s possibly in the works for the Magic Kingdom then listening to TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras podcast? Again, that’s just kind of a scary concept.

Let me go now and try & wrap my head around this. In the meantime, please remember – if you have a
Disney-related question that you’d like to see answered in a future Why For
column – you can send those queries along to whyfor@jimhillmedia.com.

Have a great weekend, okay?