Why For: Don’t get Shanghaied by Disney theme park concept art

Jim Hill

14 years ago

MickeyFan238 sent me this e-mail earlier this week:

I just can't wait until Friday. How much do you think Disney
is going to reveal about the Shanghai park at this groundbreaking ceremony?

Concept art for Storybook Castle and some of the Fantasyland section of Shanghai
Disneyland. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

MickeyFan238 is – of course – referring to the
groundbreaking ceremony for the Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Which was held earlier today on those flatlands just outside of the Chuansha town of
Pudong New Area.

As for what Disney officials revealed at today's
groundbreaking ceremony about this $4.4 billion project … Well, given that the
Shanghai Disneyland Resort isn't actually supposed to open 'til 2016, you should anticipate that the finished theme park will differ in many
ways from the pieces of concept art that were released earlier today.

Concept art for the Magic Kingdom portion of the Shanghai Disneyland Resort, which —
according to Company's press releases — will be "… authentically Disney but
distinctly Chinese." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

That's typically what happens with all Disney theme parks
& resorts. The broad strokes of whatever project gets announced will basically
remain the same. But when it comes to the specifics, individual rides, shows
and attractions — or sometimes entire lands — will get dropped from the
roster as this project moves from its design & development phase through to
actual construction.

Don't believe me? Then I have two words for you: Beastly
Kingdomme …

… that section of Disney's Animal Kingdom which was to have
celebrated mythological creatures. Or – better yet – Hong Kong Disneyland's
Frontierland. Which – according to the press release that the Company released when
the HKDL project was officially announced back in November of 1999 — …

Frontierland is a walk right into the American Old West of
the 1880s. Here park guests explore a frontier outpost at Fort Comstock. They
might also take a frightfully funny trip through a haunted mansion, shoot the
rapids on a river raft ride, or experience for themselves just how tough it is
to be a bug in a one-of-a-kind show.

Though both of these "lands" were fully designed &
developed by WDI, they never quite made it off of the drawing board. Largely
because Disney management's vision for that particular project changed over
time.

Mind you, most of the time, the really big changes (at least
when it comes to the overall look & layout of a particular theme park) come
during the initial design & development phase. Take – for example – what
happened with Oriental Land (which is the name that the Tokyo Disneyland
project went by, at least as far as the folks at WED were concerned, in the
mid-1970s).

According to Walt Disney Productions' 1976 annual report,
Oriental Land …

(though) similar in concept to our American theme parks, it
would consist of six themed lands, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland,
Westernland, International Land and the World Bazaar – each emanating from a
central hub hightlighted by a Fantasyland castle.

Interior of the proposed International Land section at Oriental Land
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

The World Bazaar would be a climatized center for
international shopping and dining, offering a wide variety of entertainment. It
could operate independently of the other "lands," remaining open when other
areas of the theme park have been closed for the day.

As you can see by the above concept painting, the World
Bazaar (at least in this version of Orient Land) was to have been a fairly
sleek and modern affair. With its interior space heavily influenced by the look
and design of Walt Disney World's Contemporary Resort Hotel.

And given how modern its interior looked, the exterior of
World Bazaar had to look sleek and modern as well …

Herb Ryman's early concept painting for the exterior of the Oriental Land's International
Land show building. Image courtesy of Profiles in History and Van Eaton Galleries

… Well, sleek and modern-looking by mid-1970s standards,
that is.

Further development art by Herb Ryman for the International Land show building at
Oriental Land. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

By the way, the Imagineers did revisit that " … could
operate independently of the other "lands," remaining open when other areas of
the theme park have been closed for the day" concept while they were working on
Hong Kong Disneyland (Or as this project was known based in 1997, Disneyland
Asia). I recall that at least one version of the initial plans for this theme
park called for HKDL's Main Street, U.S.A. area to become – in essence – that
resort's Downtown Disney complex.

Back then, while the exterior facades along the "Street of
Dreams" were still supposed to be turn-of-the-century small-town-America
themed, the interiors were going to be quite different. Instead of the Emporium
and Carnation Café (you know, the usual assortment of shops & restaurants
that you find along Main Street, U.S.A.) picture trendy U.S. -based brands like
The Gap and Hard Rock Café.

More to the point, when the actual theme park portion of
Hong Kong Disneyland closed for the night, a long ornate steel gate barrierwas to have been rolled
across the top of the "Street of Dreams" just below the hub. Which would have
then allowed Guests to remain inside of HKDL's retail corridor for another four
or five hours to ship & dine after park close, while Hong Kong Disneyland's
maintenance staff was then free to work on the rest of this theme park.

That somewhat radically reinvention of Main Street, U.S.A.
eventually came off the drawing board for the Hong Kong Disneyland project. As
did the International Land section that the Imagineers initially proposed for
Oriental Land (Which – truth be told – was supposed to be filled with clones of
the rides, shows and attraction that WED was developing for World Showcase …

Herb Ryman at work on the 1975
version of WDW's World Showcase
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved

… back when this Epcot-inspired was supposed to be a
stand-alone theme park. Which would have then been built along the shores of
Seven Seas Lagoon near where the Tickets and Transportation Center is currently
located).

So I guess what I'm saying here, folks, is that while I'm
sure that we'll be hearing more about the exciting new rides, shows and
attraction that are being proposed for Shanghai Disneyland at some point … Just
because the Company issues a brochure …

… or releases some concept art …

… or a photograph of a highly detailed model ..

… That doesn't mean that this project will ever actually be
built. At least not in the way that it's originally presented to the public.

So just a word to the wise. Don't let yourself get Shanghaied by Disney theme park concept art. Because – just as Robert Burns put it in his 1785 poem, "To a Mouse" –

The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry
and leave us nothing but grief and pain for promised joy.

Your thoughts?

Image courtesy of Profiles in
History
& Van Eaton Galleries

FYI: One of the pieces of theme park art that was used to
illustrate today's article is actually an item that will be up for bid in the
auction that Profiles in History and Van Eaton Galleries will be holding on May 14th & 15th.
To learn more about this once-in-a-lifetime event, please click on this link.