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July 1, 2020August 31, 2021

Western River Expedition: Magic Kingdom’s Unbuilt Imagineering Masterpiece

When Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the race to visit the Vacation Kingdom of the World was on. Guided by Walt Disney’s vision, designers had stocked Magic Kingdom with supersized, master-planned versions of the best rides and attractions in Disneyland’s lineup… except one. When Walt Disney World opened its gates, visitors were shocked to find Disneyland’s most revered ride – Pirates of the Caribbean – nowhere to be found. Worse yet, Disney had no plans to bring this beloved E-Ticket to Florida.

That’s because, in its place, they planned something even more epic… An entirely original, musical, animatronic-packed adventure through the Old West. Thanks to the Western River Expedition, Magic Kingdom is as renowned today for the rides that weren’t built as the ones that were. It’s perhaps the most enigmatic, epic lost project ever to hit Imagineering’s recycling bin.

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June 30, 2020January 17, 2021

WESTCOT: Inside The Abandoned Park Plans That Would’ve Changed Disneyland Forever

“To all who come to this place of possibility… welcome. Possibilityland is your land…” Or at least, it almost was! Over the years, we’ve taken astounding trips into our Possibilityland series to explore the could-be classics that have been dreamed of but never built…

Maybe you’ve ridden along with us through the Enchanted Snow Palace long before Elsa reigned, the wild Western River Expedition that would’ve been Magic Kingdom’s mainstay, or the perilous peaks of never-built Disney “mountains.” Along the way, we’ve visited entirely lost lands like the inventive Discovery Bay, the wacky Muppet Studios, or the “timeless tomorrow” of Tomorrowland 2055. We’ve even explored “alternate reality” versions of Disneyland Park, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot with their unbuilt attractions in-tact!

But today’s trip into Possibilityland may be the most epic yet: the true tale of the ambitious, alternate-reality, never-built Disneyland Resort and its lost theme park, WESTCOT Center. One of the most elaborate and expensive projects ever announced, Westcot was born and died all in the span of a decade, during which time this officially-greenlit project promised to transform Walt’s tiny, original Disneyland into a multi-day destination on par with its younger Floridian sister.

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June 30, 2020February 21, 2021

Possibility Pavilions: 8 Future World Attractions That Only Exist in an Alternate Reality EPCOT

What if? Almost any project that passes through Walt Disney Imagineering is shaped by that simple question, posed in a design phase called “Blue Sky.” In this early stage of Disney’s design process, Imagineers are encouraged to “forget the box;” to think beyond budgets or technologies and instead live up their titles and imagine.

And while some projects are eventually selected and pared down to more realistic, reasonable limits, others are simply left on the editing room floor never to be seen again… well, maybe not never…

Here at Park Lore, our Possibilityland series is all about touring through those never-built attractions, lands, and theme parks that exist only by way of concept art, abandoned ideas, and forgotten concepts. Already, we’ve stepped into the Magic Kingdom that never was, explored cancelled lands of mythical creatures, aliens, cowboys, Muppets, and inventors and even gone for a ride on Disney “mountains” that never came to be.

Today, we’ll take a pavilion-by-pavilion tour of the never-built projects that could’ve changed Epcot’s Future World forever. Would this “Possibility World” version of Epcot be better or worse than the park we know today? We’ll leave you to decide…

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June 30, 2020February 21, 2021

POSSIBILITY WORLD: A Tour Through the Lost E-Tickets Magic Kingdom Almost Had

“To all who come to this place of possibility: welcome. Possibility World is your world…” Or, it could’ve been!

That’s where our Possibilityland series comes in, chronicling the complete tales of “could-be classics” that simply never made it off the drawing board, like Beastly Kingdom, Discovery Bay, Tomorrowland 2055, and more.

Welcome to Possibility World – a whole new chapter in our walkthroughs of what could be. In Possibility World, we can find attractions, areas, and even full lands that simply never came to pass. Think of it like this: if one person had said “Yes!” instead of saying “No!” (or vice versa), this is what the most magical place on Earth could look like…

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June 30, 2020August 7, 2021

Tomorrowland 2055: The Path to Imagineering’s Never-Built “Timeless” Tomorrow

What will tomorrow bring? Since Disneyland’s opening day, Imagineers have been tasked with the impossible feat of creating the future. And more often than not, they’ve gotten it surprisingly right. The trouble is that “tomorrow” never stays that way for long. Throughout American history, our collective ideals of the future have shifted from bright, white, geometric landscapes of the Space Age to gritty, industrial, polluted wastelands and everything in between.

All the while, technologies and culture and imagination were changing, and Disney Imagineers spent most of their time playing catch-up. By the 1990s, designers were tired of the constant chase for tomorrow, and of the perpetual and never-ending updates needed to keep Disney Parks’ Tomorrowlands current. They had an idea: that each and every Disney Parks resort would get a New Tomorrowland. These New Tomorrowlands would be romanticized and built-out and – most importantly – timeless. They’d never need updated again.

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June 29, 2020February 21, 2021

Peaks of Possibilityland: 10 Never-Built Disney “Mountains” from Around the Globe

If there’s one thing Disney Parks thrillseekers know to look for, it’s a mountain peak. After all, since Disneyland’s first decade, the connection between Disney and its mountainous thrills has become second nature. In fact, we took an in-depth look at Disney’s best “E-Ticket” peaks in their own Countdown: Peaks of Imagineering, summiting the twelve best Disney Parks mountains across the globe and how their headlining thrill rides stack up. What do you think we ranked as the top three “mountain” rides in the world? That special feature is a good place to start if you haven’t already…

Because today’s look is somewhat different. For years, our Possibilityland series has explored the incredible archives of Imagineering to dive deep into never-built masterpieces that could’ve been hits… We’re talking about the shuttered Muppet Studios once planned for the Disney-MGM Studios, a gritty New Tomorrowland 2055 once planned for Disneyland, and so many more. But this feature is special… Seriously…

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June 29, 2020February 21, 2021

Muppet Studios: The Wacky Tale of Disney World’s Most Muppetational Never-Built Land

“It’s time to play the music! It’s time to light the lights! It’s time to meet the Muppets at Walt Disney World tonight!” At least, it could’ve been…

Today, our Possibilityland series turns to the Disney-MGM Studios as it existed upon its opening in 1989 – underbuilt and not quite ready for show time – and the pet project of then-CEO Michael Eisner that would’ve plussed the park with an entire themed land around the timeless and evergreen cast of Jim Henson’s inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational creations… In the early 1990s, Disney-MGM Studios was due to get its first large-scale expansion: Muppet Studios.

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June 28, 2020August 31, 2021

The Enchanted Snow Palace: Inside Imagineering’s Icy Quest for “The Snow Queen”

Once upon a time, in a faraway land – farther even than the farthest kingdoms of the North – a queen born with the touch of winter’s breath reigned over a palace as frigid as permafrost and as fragile as blown glass…

Like so many of our trips into what almost was, you may think you know the prologue, but our story may not be quite what you expect… Long before Elsa, another icy princess nearly reigned over Fantasyland in a one-of-a-kind attraction once envisioned for Disneyland. The Enchanted Snow Palace would’ve sent guests on a watery voyage through a musical wonderland of joyful scenes, fantastic creatures, and a finale encounter the Snow Queen herself… Of course, it was never built.

That makes it a perfect fit for Possibilityland – our growing collection of in-depth legends behind the could-be classics that were planned… but never premiered. From an entire theme park dedicated to the hard truths of America; a Californian EPCOT that would’ve redefined Disneyland; an unbuilt backlot of Muppet moviemaking; a sci-fi Tomorrowland that never was; and even complete walkthroughs of “alternate reality” Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios with their never-built E-Tickets in-tact…

En route to the icy realms of fantasy, we’ll dig into Disney’s seventy-year quest to melt the icy antagonist of “The Snow Queen” and trace animators’ on-again, off-again attempts to turn this Scandanavian legend into a workable character in films… and theme park rides!

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June 28, 2020March 16, 2021

DISNEY’S AMERICA: Eisner’s Announced-Then-Abandoned Patriotic “Living History” Park

Though it’s easy to forget today, when Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt’s opening day speech called for it to be“dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America…”

It’s no accident that Walt’s biggest projects within Disneyland – including the park’s original themed lands – told a piece of the story of America, from our frontier past to our Space Age tomorrow; from the comforts of home on Main Street to the pop culture exoticism of what “adventure” meant to Americans in Walt’s time.

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June 25, 2020July 9, 2024

Superstar Limo: The Short Life and D-List Death of Disney’s Infamous “Worst Ride Ever”

Ready to peel out on a high-speed race through Hollywood? Or perhaps you’d prefer a journey through the cinematic classics that shaped generations in an epic dark ride? Maybe instead you’d like a laugh-out-loud, comical dark ride through the entertainment industry? There are dozens of intriguing and incredible ways to build a ride around the concept of Hollywood.

No matter what you’re looking for from a Disney dark ride, you aren’t likely to find it in Superstar Limo. Often regarded as the worst dark ride Disney has ever created, this short-lived monstrosity spent more time in development than it spent open for guests! Irreverent, unfunny, instantly dated, and creatively starved, Superstar Limo was more than just a one-off accident; it was the anchor of an entire creative concept that nearly killed Disney’s California Adventure.

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