Marc’s Masterpieces
Perhaps one of the most well-known (and well-studied) never-built Disney Parks attractions, Thunder Mesa was a massive, interconnected complex of attractions earmarked for Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland. The enormous attraction was intended to be built in a “Phase II” expansion of the park soon after its 1971 opening, and was even included on souvenir guide maps at opening.
Throughout the cavernous complex along the Rivers of America, Thunder Mesa would’ve included a mining town and restaurant, a log flume through natural scenes (set on top of the enormous showbuilding), a runaway mine train roller coaster darting through rock canyons, and then, a dark ride so legendary, we sailed through it scene-by-scene in Possibilityland: Western River Expedition.
The Western River Expedition was literally meant to be Magic Kingdom’s complement to Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean – an epic, enormously-scaled dark ride with guests floating through massive scenes populated by dozens and dozens of Audio-Animatronics.
As you’d expect from Marc given his portfolio, the Western River Expedition would’ve been masterfully designed with sensational set-ups, hilarious gags, iconic characters, and memorable scenes. Playing with light, color, sound, and Audio Animatronics, this blazing red and sunset blue dark ride through the American West was planned to be the anchor attraction of Magic Kingdom.
And though the land was set aside to make it happen, shifting priorities in the ’70s (and a massive guest demand for “the pirate ride”) meant that Marc was reassigned to fast-track a budget-built version of Pirates of the Caribbean for Magic Kingdom. Still, it wouldn’t be Marc’s last attempt to do something truly ambitious and original…
Enchanted Snow Palace
Abandoning the fiery southwest in favor of a glistening, icy blue, Marc’s other big project in the 1970s is the subject of our story today: the Enchanted Snow Palace. Significantly less is known about this frozen boat ride once planned for Fantasyland, though the character design and concept art Marc developed gives us some insight into the experience.
First, we know that Marc planned for this attraction to debut at Disneyland, just north of Fantasyland (on the plot of land currently home to the Fantasyland Theater). There, guests would be surprised to find a sudden and dramatic upheaval of ice, as if a crystalline glacier had plowed through the park to create a towering, glassy sculpture.
Once inside, they’d find themselves in a glowing snowflake cavern, walking along icy ridges above a tranquil Arctic river of ice chunks. Naturally, our cruise through the Enchanted Snow Palace is truly a river ride like Pirates or “it’s a small world,” with guests sailing down the frigid waters en route to the source of the wintery magic: the Snow Queen herself.
Imagine the icy beauty of this attraction and its sunrise scenery striking walls of ice and mountains of snow. Sure, we’d sail past timber wolves on snow-covered hills, howling at the aurora borealis; pass playful walruses spraying us with water…
The musical Snowballs will be a constant during the journey, singing and humming along to a score composed by beloved and incomparable Disney songwriter Buddy Baker. Even if you don’t recognize Baker’s name, you know his work; he’s the composer behind many of Disney’s film scores through the ’70s and ’80s, as well as the composer behind the music of “Grim, Grinning Ghosts,” the Lost Legend: “If You Had Wings,” and even the score to Tokyo’s Modern Marvel: Journey to the Center of the Earth.
(Baker was also the music genius behind the original scores of Future World and World Showcase, including “The American Adventure” and “Impressions de France,” plus the Lost Legends: World of Motion and Universe of Energy.)
The musical Snowballs would then be put on their best display in a clever gag. Each would be standing on a floating chunk of ice in the water right alongside guests! As the pillars of ice rice and fall like floating ice cubes in a glass of water, the Snowballs would remain still, their legs merely telescoping up and down to keep them at the same level!
The musical Snowballs would then be put on their best display in a clever gag. Each would be standing on a floating chunk of ice in the water right alongside guests! As the pillars of ice rice and fall like floating ice cubes in a glass of water, the Snowballs would remain still, their legs merely telescoping up and down to keep them at the same level!
In one of the attraction’s more cleverly kinetic scenes, guests would watch as the bumbling Snowballs fly out of a cave, seemingly floating for a moment before sliding down an icy hill, twisting and tumbling. On a neaby hill, skating animals of all kinds would slip and slide down an enbankment.
In classicly-Marc-Davis scenes, we might’ve sailed past penguins and seagulls in all manner of laugh-out-loud setup
Growing closer and closer to the source of the Palace’s magic, the ice forms would begin to take on more carved and ornate shapes, forming chandeliers, arches, and spires against the blue sky. Doubtless a symptom of the Queen’s magic, guests would even sail past an orchestra of Audio Animatronics penguins (long live Muppet*Vision!) being conducted by a seal.
With the atmosphere growing grander and grander, and snowy owls beginning to gather and roost, our destination must be ahead.
Sailing onward, guests would suddenly drift in a looming, icy cavern. Within, towering ice giants would use their snowy clubs to haphazardly swat at frost fairies. But this crystal cavern is truly home to our grand finale: a face-to-face encounter with the beautiful and beguiling Snow Queen herself.
A number of peices of concept art exist for different “moods” that this encounter might inspire, like the Passholder-exclusive, rare concept art of the ethereal and eerie, Queen flanked by defensive owls above. Other concepts show a much gentler and welcoming Queen sitting astride a polar unicorn or, in a fan-favorite…
… the graceful and ageless Icicle Princess dancing as if on water. What we do know is that, in any case, the ride’s beautiful and climactic musical finale would see guests showered in real snow conjured by the Audio Animatronic queen.
While the Enchanted Snow Palace may not have the leftover evidence nor the fan following of Marc’s other never-built magnum opus, this poetic and mystifying journey down a melting river would likely be a classic today… if it had been built. Why did plans for the Enchanted Snow Palace melt? And would Disney ever crack the case of the Snow Queen?
Stalled
Ultimately, neither the Western River Expedition or the Enchanted Snow Palace got the green light. Why? Frankly, because after Walt Disney’s death in 1966, the tempo at WED Enterprises changed significantly. In the simplest terms, ambitious, radical, and expensive projects were largely sidelined through the ’70s, and without Walt at the helm, the executives and designers left over weren’t entirely sure what they should do next.
Somewhat sadly, it seems that Marc was designing attractions hoping to achieve the heights of Disney’s 1960 masterpieces… something executives simply weren’t interested in pursuing.
Meanwhile, the modernization of the steel roller coaster (and its spread throughout the country) meant that Disney saw a place to pivot: low-cost thrill rides. Space Mountain proved that roller coasters could play a role in keeping Disney Parks fresh. That’s why the Western River Expedition wasn’t built, but its simplest derivative – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, designed by his protege Tony Baxter – was.
Marc Davis allegedly held out hope that at least one of his two masterpiece attractions would eventually be built – whether in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, or Paris – but ultimately, EPCOT Center, and then the “Ride the Movies” whims of Michael Eisner filled up the late-70s and ’80s. That’s why the Enchanted Snow Palace and Western River Expedition exist only in Possibilityland. Of course, that does not mean that the story of the Snow Queen was finished… And eventually, Andersen’s legend would come to life in an attraction!