The Untold Story of Cancelled Disney World Attractions
The Untold Story of Cancelled Disney World Attractions
Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be diving into the projects that were abandoned by Disney World. Whether they were at the concept stage or well into production, we’ll discuss exactly what could have been and why it never was.
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, is the Mouse’s largest theme park resort, spanning nearly 25,000 acres. Since it opened in 1971, the sprawling complex has been slowly populated with the latest innovations in Disney engineering. Every new themed land, attraction, resort hotel, and restaurant added to the property begins as just an idea, but what happens to the ideas that don’t come to fruition? What’s been left on the cutting room floor of Disney Imagineering, and what parts of Disney World were nearly completely different?
Chapter 1: Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios opened in 1989 and was the third theme park added to the property. Themed after, of course, Hollywood, this park brings the on-screen magic of the movies to life. Parkgoers flock to Hollywood Studios for Galaxy’s Edge, the immensely popular, highly themed land based on the world of “Star Wars.” But long before they struck gold with Galaxy’s Edge, Disney Imagineering had a few other projects in mind for this park.
Where the Tower of Terror stands today was originally supposed to be the site of Mickey’s Movieland, a replica of the original Disney Studios that would have featured hands-on activities all about movie production. Likewise, the location of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was originally earmarked for Roger Rabbit’s Hollywood, a land inspired by “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” that would include three chaotic and wacky attractions featuring the film’s famous toons.
But the most disappointing of all discarded Hollywood Studios projects, to fans of Jim Henson at least, was the cancellation of Muppet Studios. Of the original plans for this themed area, only “Muppet*Vision 3D” actually made it into Hollywood Studios. Originally, Disney had planned for the Muppets to have a much bigger footprint in the park, with their own spoofed version of “The Great Movie Ride” and two themed restaurants. Unfortunately, the continuation of Muppet Studios came to a halt after Jim Henson’s untimely passing in 1990. “Muppet*Vision 3D” became one of the final Muppets projects Henson ever worked on, which is why many fans were upset by the news of the attraction’s planned closure.
The small existing Muppets Courtyard will be rethemed to a “Monsters, Inc.” land, but this isn’t the end of the Muppets in Hollywood Studios. The popular Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is due for an update, and its current stars, Aerosmith, are set to be replaced by none other than our favorite felted entertainers.
Chapter 2: Animal Kingdom
Themed after animal conservation and the wonders of our natural world, Animal Kingdom is the newest and largest theme park on Disney World property. At this park, guests can see and learn about exotic animals from around the world and visit adventure-filled attractions. Despite its focus on science, education, and conservation, Animal Kingdom was originally intended to be a bit more fantastical than it appeared on opening day.
Beastly Kingdom was a planned section of the park focusing on the infamous beasts of myths and legends. Like many classic Disney stories, Beastly Kingdom was to be divided into “good” and “evil.” Plans for the “good” side included a maze attraction called “Quest of the Unicorn” and a musical boat ride based on Disney’s “Fantasia.” The “evil” side would have been a bigger draw for thrill seekers, who would have been pursued by a fire-breathing dragon on the roller coaster “Dragon’s Tower.”
Although Beastly Kingdom was nowhere to be seen on opening day, it appeared that Disney hadn’t abandoned the plans entirely yet. Even today, the silhouette of a dragon can be seen in the logo for Animal Kingdom, and there are several other nods to the mythological concept throughout the park.
Chapter 3: Magic Kingdom
Disney’s very first East Coast theme park, the Magic Kingdom, opened its doors in 1971 after much anticipation. This park closely resembled its West Coast counterpart, Disneyland, but park goers quickly noticed one major exception.
Disneyland’s popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride had been omitted from the Magic Kingdom. Imagineers had assumed that Floridian park guests wouldn’t be excited by pirates, given that pirates are already a well-known part of Florida’s history and legends. Instead, they planned to build the “Western River Expedition,” a boat ride through the American West complete with cowboys, outlaws, and Native Americans.
After opening day, complaints about the lack of pirates, Disney scrapped their Western plans and hastily built a second “Pirates of the Caribbean” instead. Floridians were just as happy to “Yo Ho Ho” as Californians, evidently.
Decades later, another addition to Adventureland was in development. Themed after the criminally underrated film “Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” Fire Mountain would have taken guests on an exciting trip through an actively erupting volcano. Plans for the coaster featured an innovative new track that would switch, mid-ride, from a traditional track to an inverted track that would give guests a realistic flying sensation. Unfortunately, due to a downturn in tourism and “Atlantis’s” poor box office performance, plans were halted for this expansion to the famed Disney mountain range, and the ride was cancelled altogether.
Chapter 4: Epcot
Epcot, Disney World’s second theme park, is split into two major sections. Future World highlights science and education, while World Showcase explores diverse cultures from around the world. Both have a significant focus on education, which has earned Epcot a reputation for being one of the less thrilling parks.
In the 2000s, Disney wanted to change this perception by injecting a little excitement into its iconic ride, Spaceship Earth. The planned redesign was called “Time Racers,” an indoor roller coaster taking guests on an exciting time travel adventure. However, due to structural limitations within the ride building, this project was abandoned, and the classic ride remains to this day.
On the other side of the park, World Showcase has seen many planned country pavilions cancelled, some well into development. Since these pavilions are directly sponsored by the countries, political roadblocks are often the cause for their cancellations.
Plans for a Spain Pavilion with a dark ride and restaurant featuring tapas, paella, and other Spanish dishes ended up fizzling out after changes within the Spanish government.
Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Disney was mocking up a replica of Moscow’s Red Square for its Russia Pavilion, which also would have included a Russian folklore-themed dark ride and a theater show. Given the longstanding tensions between the United States and Russia, this project seemed ill-fated from the beginning, and the idea was eventually scrapped.
Further along in the development process was the planned Israel Pavilion in the 1980s. Israel had already agreed to help fund and design the pavilion, even ready to donate archeological artifacts to the theme park. However, Disney was concerned about the potential security risks of featuring such a controversial state, and ultimately pulled the plug on the project.
Walt Disney World is constantly innovating its attractions, always looking for the next cutting-edge experience in theme park entertainment. Though this property has the privilege of plenty of land to expand on, other limiting factors mean Disney must still be choosy with the projects they pursue. This means that once a project is cancelled, it’s pretty unlikely to be picked up again.
Though these planned attractions will most likely never see the light of day, Disney currently has many new and exciting expansions planned for Walt Disney World. Animal Kingdom is set to receive a Tropical Americas-themed land with “Encanto” and “Indiana Jones” rides. A massive expansion to the Magic Kingdom themed after Disney’s infamous villains is in the works as well. Though all their ideas might not come to fruition, Disney’s Imagineers have proven time and time again that they definitely know what they’re doing.
Was Disney right to drop these ideas, or do you think they were on to something good? Let us know in the comments!
