Theme Parks.

“Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” 1987

The July 4th, 1987 arrival of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad immediately provided Tokyo Disneyland’s Westernland with a needed boost of frontier energy and a people-eating E-Ticket. Modeled mainly after the Magic Kingdom iteration of this now-Disney classic coaster, the Tokyo version continues the trend of taking bits and pieces from both U.S. castle parks and making it their own. This Grand Opening Attraction Poster provides a great overview of the attraction and its modified layout.

“Denmark Pavilion” Rolly Crump, 1994

Although much of what TPA posts has involved concept art, maps, posters and the like, we can’t forget another integral aspect of theme park development: physical models. These to-scale miniature wonders help design teams figure out logistics, understand the spaces they’re working with, and provide a tangible look at their vision. Today’s piece, a proposed model of a Denmark pavilion in EPCOT’s World Showcase, comes direct from the source, legendary Imagineer Rolly Crump. Imagined for a 1995 debut, this petite addition to World Showcase would have recreated Tivoli Gardens, featured a carousel, a Ferris wheel, and a Lego-themed boat ride.

Rolly Crump

“Meet the World” 1980s

Amongst the many attractions that opened Tokyo Disneyland in 1983 was Meet the World, a multi-medium stage show that operated out of Tomorrowland. Meet the World focused on the history of Japan with specific emphasis on how the Japanese interacted with the rest of the world through the years. It featured numerous animatronics, show scenes, video sequences, and, like any great Disney attraction, an original Sherman Brothers theme song. Like the Carousel of Progress, Meet the World was presented in a rotating theater, though, for this attraction, the stages were built around the audience. Though it closed in 2002, it still lives on through its catchy theme song and original objective of welcoming others from around the world.

The 007 James Bond Action Spectacular.

“Discovery Island” 2003

Years before Disney made its grand entrance into the mainland Chinese market, Universal toyed with the idea of building a theme park in Shanghai. The following pieces, from Conceptual Design Group, show off what would have been the central retail/dining/entertainment structure that would anchor the park. Themed to King Kong, the structure would overlook a large lake, and purposely was designed to suggest an exotic locale, but not a specific location. The area was styled to be recognizable from all areas of the park, with elements from each land present in its design.

        Walt Disney always had a love for nature and the outdoors. Adventureland was originally going to be built on the other side of Main Street where Space Mountain is located now and was going to be called “True-Life Adventureland” based off of Disney’s award winning nature films. However, landscape artist Bill Evans decided that Adventureland should be located on the west side of Main Street to take advantage of a large cluster of eucalyptus trees already located there. With Adventureland came the Jungle Cruise. Walt wanted to have an attraction in which guests could see and learn about animals first hand. He originally wanted to have live animals roaming along the banks of the river but was however talked out of it due to the fact that the animals would probably be asleep most of the time and not put on a consistent show. Imagineers got to work to make Walt’s Jungle Cruise come to life. 

        Bill Evans was responsible for the task of creating a jungle on a low budget. His main trick was taking already existing orange trees and replanting them upside-down and growing vines on the exposed roots. While creating the ride, Imagineer Harper Goff took inspiration from the film “The African Queen”. The Jungle Cruise was the only attraction in Adventureland on opening day in 1955. Skippers took guests on a boat through the jungle while telling facts about animatronic animals. 

        When it first opened the Jungle Cruise had a very serious and educational tone to it. It wasn’t until 1963 when famous imagineer Marc Davis added his own humorous scenes that the attraction’s tone changed from serious to comedic. Since then the Jungle Cruise has been kept constantly updated and refurbished and Adventureland still remains to be “The wonderland of Nature’s own design. 

Walt Disney’s ORIGINAL Theme Park

Back in 1951, Walt Disney approached artist Harper Goff to create some illustrations for a small, ‘themed’ park he was considering building across the street from his animation studio in Burbank.

Poor Goff! No sooner did he start sketching than Walt began enthusiastically adding ideas for new rides and attractions to be included. It quickly became apparent that the size and scope of Walt’s proposed park was going to be far too large for the Burbank property. Fast-forward four years and countless concept art sketches and – voila! – Disneyland is opening its gates in sunny Anaheim.