First up, Lee H. sends along a note and a photo, seeking some info about Disney's original plans for Epcot's Space pavilion:
Hey Jim,
First off, let me just say that I love the site. This is despite the fact that you tend to leave me hanging on some of your longer stories (remember Tower Tales?), but I'll let that slide.
The real reason I'm writing is to see if you can help me identify a photo. It was sent to me by an unknown source who is kind enough to drop me cool stuff from time to time. It is supposedly an old concept painting for a Space pavillion at Epcot. I've never seen this before and wondered if you could shed a little light on it for me. The photo is attached, and any info will be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance…
Lee
Lee,
Wow. It's been almost 20 years since I last saw this image. Yes, your unnamed source is correct. This is one of the very first paintings that was done for Epcot's long-in-the-planning Space pavilion. Back when the project was still in its blue sky phase.
Of course, the problem with looking at proposed Disney theme park attractions when they're still in their blue sky phase is that you have to be aware that you're looking at the bells-and-whistles version of that ride or show. When the Imagineers aren't afraid to toss in every possible idea that they have for that particular project. With the hope that Disney Company management will eventually allow them to keep a third to a half of what they've actually proposed.
So those enormous fire engine red gantries that you see bookending both sides of Epcot's space complex? They were strictly decorative. The Imagineers just threw the gantries into this Space concept painting because they looked cool. Given their enormous size, these show elements would have been prohibitively expensive to construct. Which is why they were the first thing to get cut as this project moved through WDI's development pipeline.
If I'm remembering correctly, this was the version of Epcot's Space pavilion that would have featured a simulated trip into space aboard a 21st Century version of the space shuttle. As WDW guests would have exited their shuttle, they would have found themselves standing on the deck of an authentic looking recreation of a space station.
If you'd like more information about what this particular version of Epcot's space attraction was supposed to have been like, Lee, then you should go check out a story that I originally wrote for MousePlanet back in October 2000. That article goes into an excruciating amount of detail about what the earlier incarnation of this proposed Future World addition was supposed to have been like.
If I'm remembering correctly, this is one of my MP pieces that eventually ended up being archived at LaughingPlace.com. So — if you really want to read the thing — head over there.
Thanks for sharing that Epcot Space pavilion concept painting with JHM readers, Lee. I know that they probably enjoyed seeing this art as much as I did. But — then again — maybe there are some people who got depressed by catching a glimpse of what might have been.
Speaking of people being depressed … Curious Yellowman wrote in this week to say that he was genuinely bummed out to hear about Jim Korkis' recent departure from JimHillMedia.com:
Dear Jim –
I am just so sorry to hear about Jim Korkis' decision to stop writing for JimHillMedia.com. I was enjoying all of those great stories that he had been doing for your site about comic book history. Now that the Other Jim is gone, do you think that JHM will continue to cover this area of the entertainment industry?
Curious Yellowman
Dear Curious Yellowman:
Well, let's start with the obvious here: There's just no way that we're going to be able to replace Jim Korkis. By that I mean: Jim was a guy who wrote extremely well, whose indepth knowledge of the comic book and the animation field verged on encyclopedic. People like that just don't pop up every day, Curious Yellowman.
So — if you're expecting JimHillMedia.com to be able to maintain that same level of excellent coverage — I'm afraid that isn't going to happen.
But that said, JHM is still going to try and keep an eye on the comic book field. To make you folks aware of various intriguing things that are going on in the industry.
Take, for example, Funnypages Press. Okay. I'd be the first to admit that this operation is a wee bit on the small side. With just three staffers so far. Well, the company may be small. But the guys behind Funnypages Press — Tom Bancroft, Rob Corley and Greg Hardin — are bigtime talents.
You hardcore Disneyana fans out there will undoubtedly recognize Tom Bancroft's name. After all, he's the guy who served as lead animator on Mushu for Walt Disney Pictures' Summer 1998 smash hit, "Mulan."
Well, Bancroft can do a lot more than draw diminutive dragons. He can also crank out a pretty funny comic book. What book am I talking about? "Opposites Forces." A comic that takes all of the clichés that you probably associate with super hero stories and sweetly turns them on their ear.
So what's "Opposite Forces" about? It details the adventures of unlikely super heroes Marty Knopf, a schubby web page designer, and Alexis Hilltop, a pretty if somewhat perfectionist corporate lawyer. Marty and Alexis have recently acquired super strength, heat vision, super speed and x-ray vision because … well … it's kind of complicated. And comical.
You see, aliens from Planet Tenalp were determined to snuff out Captain Dynamo, Diamond City's resident super hero. So they trained a death ray on Captain Dynamo. Who has just been splattered with a pot full of hot matzo ball soup. Which Marty had just thrown out the window. And then …
Well, I don't want to spoil the whole story. Let's just say that Marty and Alexis are having quite a bit of trouble adjusting to their new abilities. But they'd better get their act together soon. For there's a brand new super villain in Diamond City. Someone whose bite looks like it would be decidedly worse than his bark.
Filled with beautiful line work as well as some really funny dialogue, "Opposite Forces" (to me, anyway) looks like a comic book series that would be well worth checking out. Though Issue # 1 & 2 of the Funnypages Press publication may be hard to come by — they were published back in 2002 — Issue # 3 of "Opposite Forces" should be hitting store shelves … right about now. So — if you'd like to try and get in on the fun now — drop by your local comic book emporium and pick up a copy today.
Or — if you'd prefer to get a peek at this new comic book series and its intriguing characters before you buy — head on over to the Funnypages Press webpage. Here, you can check out a few sample pages and admire Bancroft's fine line work. Or — better yet — click on "Rob's Weekly Doodle" and view some wickedly funny cartoons that take you behind-the-scenes at Walt Disney Feature Animation-Florida.
These are the sorts of comic book-related stories that we'll be doing here at JimHillMedia.com from now on, Curious Yellowman. Not the great indepth stuff that Jim Korkis used to crank out. But smaller, less ambitious pieces. Stories about new comic books or series that will have (surprise, surprise) some sort of connection to the Walt Disney Company.
My apologies if this is somewhat disappointing news. But, hey, life is full of little disappointments. Speaking of which, DisneyMax recently wrote in to ask:
Hey Jim,
I've got another Why For question for ya. I'm sure you've seen that old hand drawn sketch of Walt Disney World that was drawn by Walt himself. Well, on the sketch on the west side of the property, between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom in what is about the location of the AAA Car Center and Shades of Green, there is a large oval that says "Swamp Ride." What was this? I would assume there has to be a pretty good story behind this because it seems like it would have been a complete departure from the original "theme park" formula. It looks like it would have been a major attraction, OUTSIDE of a "theme park." Was this some well thought out plan? Or was Walt just brainstorming on a napkin?
Thanks,
DisneyMax
Ah yes. The swamp boat ride. To answer your question, DisneyMax: No, this wasn't just some idle doodle on Disney's part. For several years in the 1960s, Walt and his Imagineers did give some semi-serious thought to offering Disney World visitors the opportunity to view Central Florida wildlife up-close from inside an airboat.
The idea behind this particular project was that Disney could take that part of the Lake Buena Vista property that the corporation had agreed to leave pristine & undeveloped and turn it into something that would still make some money for the company. The plan was that Disney World would charge tourists $4 or $5 a head (Please keep in mind that the prices that I'm quoting here are the estimated admission costs for a WDW attraction that would have been up and running late in the early 1970s. Were Disney to open this same sort of attraction today, you'd probably have to throw a zero behind that $4 or $5. Anyway …) for an hour-long trip through the swamp. Where they'd (hopefully) get to see some mule deer, alligators and snowy white egrets in their natural surroundings.
So why didn't this project ultimately go forward? Well, as Walt Disney World's construction costs grew from an estimated $100 million to a budget-busting $400 million, a lot of Walt's dreams got moved to the back burner. That swamp boat ride? It was always something that the Imagineers were going to get back to. But — what with all the pressure Walt Disney Productions was under in the last 1970s to finally go forward with construction of Epcot, and then the building boom of the late 1980s / early 1990s (when the Mouse seemed to be adding a new resort to its Central Florida property every other year) — Walt's swamp boat ride never made it off the drawing board.
The last time that I heard anyone at WDI talking seriously about reviving the swamp boat project, DisneyMax, was back in the early 1990s. When the Imagineers were weighing their options when it came to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Given the high cost of the African and Asia enclosures, the team that was designing this new WDW theme park were looking for low-cost lands and attractions to add to DAK. So someone floated the idea of just putting WDW visitors in airboats and sending them out into the swamps to see real Central Florida animals in their natural surroundings.
The only problem was … the large, flat 500 acre parcel that the Imagineers had chosen as DAK's construction site was at least a half mile or so away from the nearest swamp. So — in order to finally bring Walt's doodle to life — WDI would have had to build a brand new Florida swamp right on site. Which would have involved moving tons of sandy soil. Which really would have negated any possible savings that the Imagineers would have theoretically seen by theming an Animal Kingdom exhibit/attraction around Central Florida's own wildlife.
But still good ideas never die at WDI. So who knows, DisneyMax? Maybe a few years further on down the line, as the Imagineers are looking for somewhat affordable attractions to add to Disney World, maybe someone will unearth a copy of that cocktail napkin that Walt supposed scribbled his initial ideas for his Central Florida resort.
Of course — given how admission prices continue to rise at WDW — I would imagine that when Disney World's swamp boat ride finally does open, you can anticipate paying $60 to $80 for the privilege of viewing an alligator from an airboat. Which (you'll have to admit) is a pretty hefty jump from the $4 or $5 that the Mouse was initially thinking of charging WDW visitors.
And — finally — Nick C. wrote in to ask why JHM almost never provides any coverage about what goes on at Disneyland Paris:
Dear Jim,
As a French "Disney addict" (even if I don't like to call myself like that!), I notice that you never give (or rarely) any information or news concerning the Paris resort, especially during those days where we talk a lot about the WDS expansion as the main goal for our new boss!! Many things have been told but nobody really knows the truth when it comes to Disney!! To that end, I contact you in order to know what things have been said about Paris in the Sates and what is really gonna happen in the future!!
I thank you in advance,
Nick C.
Dear Nick C.
You're right. JimHillMedia.com hasn't really done all that good a job when it comes to covering the Disneyland Paris resort. By that I mean: the site (as of right now) only has one European-based reporter, Andrea Monti AKA Mickeyfantasmic. Who actually does a very nice job with his columns. (After all, Andrea has delivered more than a few scoops for JHM.) But — due to his extremely busy schedule — Monti had never been able to deliver as many DLP-based columns as he or we would like.
So — over the next few weeks — JimHillMedia.com will be attempting to ramp up its Disneyland Paris coverage. Christopher W. will soon be heading over to France to cover DLP's first ever Gay Day festivities. And Eric C. is visiting that resort right now, where he'll be assembling information for an in-depth article about WDS's very best attraction, Cinemagique.
JHM is also looking into recruiting a few new writers to help cover the theme parks at Disneyland Paris as well as the Tokyo Disneyland Resort. So if you know anyone out there who might be interested in a gig like that, be sure and let us know, okay?
Why is JHM interested in increasing its DLP coverage. Because we recently learned — thanks to a mole in Celebration, FL. — that WDI is seriously gearing up its efforts to improve the Walt Disney Studios. The Imagineers have even formed a WDS steering committee, which meets once a month to actively look for ways to turn that troubled theme park around.
So — since WDI is now paying closer attention to WDS — I felt that the least that JHM could do is start paying closer attention the Walt Disney Studio theme park as well.
That's pretty much it for this week, folks … oops … almost forgot.
If you're a theme park history buff and live in the New England area, you might want to consider driving down to Wakefield, MA. this coming weekend. Why for? Because — as part of that town's annual Homecoming event — the Friends of Pleasure Island will be presenting a lakeside display of photos and artifacts from that long defunct theme park on Saturday. And on Sunday the group will actually be offering tours of the former site of the park.
Given Pleasure Island's intriguing ties to Disneyland (I.E. construction of both of these theme parks was supervised by C.V. Wood, the man who also built Freedomland as well as Six Flags Over Texas), taking a trip to Wakefield, MA might be a pretty entertaining way for a Disneyana fan to spend an afternoon. So if you'd like to take part in Sunday's tours (which will be presented at 8 and 10 a.m.), just pay a visit to the Friends of Pleasure Island website and then drop a line to Kory Hellmer to let her know that you'd like to sign up for the tour. Ms. Hellmer will then get back to you via e-mail regarding where to meet, etc.
Okay. Now that's really it for this week. Have a great weekend, okay? And — hopefully — I'll see some of you down in Wakefield come Sunday.
jrh