3. Glacier Bay
Proposed for: Hong Kong Disneyland
When it would’ve opened: 2010s
When Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, it was by far the smallest Disneyland-style park in the world, featuring only four lands on 55 acres, and barely enough attractions to fill an afternoon. There was no Big Thunder Mountain (or a Frontierland at all), no Haunted Mansion (nor a land to put it in), and no Small World… Fantasyland had only one dark ride (Winnie the Pooh), and the park didn’t have one single “exclusive” ride.
The park needed to expand, and badly. In 2009, ground was broken on an unprecedented expansion that would built three new, original mini-lands outside of the park’s berm, creating an “outer loop” never seen before. Initially, those plans referred to Grizzly Gulch (a new age Frontierland, anchored by a Runaway Mine Carts coaster), Mystic Point (with the Modern Marvel: Mystic Manor as its centerpiece), and Glacier Bay, an entirely indoor, climage-controlled land themed to an Arctic research base.
While details are scarce, it’s believed that Glacier Bay would’ve included an anchoring family coaster through the frigid hills, a family flat ride themed around jet skiis (potentially a clone of DisneySea’s trackless Aquatopia), and a half-pipe sled-themed coaster. Only the latter seemed to have survived into Glacier Bay’s eventual replacement. The Hong Kong government (who co-financed the park and its expansion) insisted Glacier Bay wouldn’t connect with an Asian audience, so it was axed from the expansion.
What Happened: The land set aside for Glacier Bay in Hong Kong was instead used for Toy Story Land. Though a version of Glacier Bay was also considered for Tokyo DisneySea, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see Disney build a snow-themed land without 2013’s Frozen as its centerpiece, and in fact, if Glacier Bay had been built, it would probably have been reconfigured to honor Elsa and Anna by now.
4. Isla Tortuga
Proposed for: Hong Kong Disneyland
When it would’ve opened: 2010s
Another Disney classic missing from Hong Kong Disneyland’s initial lineup was Pirates of the Caribbean. The early-2010s expansion would’ve changed that, too, with the addition of a fourth land, located south of Grizzly Gulch alongside the park’s Adventureland. There, an entire new mini-land dedicates to the Pirates series would bring to life an entire Caribbean village of shipwrecked shores, isles for exploration, and more.
If the early concept art is to be believed, the land probably would’ve contained the signature dark ride, a village of shops and restaurants, and an “Adventure Island” walkthrough. Our friends at Disney and More also reported that the land would’ve included a “Splash Mountain” style dark ride including a waterfall splashdown, a pirate-themed haunted mansion, and perhaps a Fantasmic! style show on the water.
What Happened: To this day, Hong Kong Disneyland doesn’t feature the classic Pirates of the Caribbean ride (and likely never will given Imagineering’s current lean toward high-earning IPs). However, the Isla Tortuga plans almost certainly evolved into the Treasure Cove land that debuted at Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. Dedicated to the long-running Pirates of the Caribbean film series loosely based on the ride, the land contains explorable islands and shipwrecks, a retail and dining village, and a new-age version of the classic called Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Sunken Treasure.
5. Discovery Bay
Proposed for: Disneyland
When it would’ve opened: Late 1970s
Perhaps the most well loved never-built land in Imagineering’s portfolio, Discovery Bay was the pet project of famed Imagineer Tony Baxter. The land was intended to be built on the north of the Rivers of America, connected to Frontierland and expanding on the land’s westward-movement story. Discovery Bay would’ve been a sort of 19th century steampunk vision of San Francisco based on the work of Jules Verne – a golden port of zephyrs, hot air balloons, lighthouses, smoking chimneys, and a bay containing Captain Nemo’s Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Disneyland was so close to making Discovery Bay a reality, they built and presented a full-scale model of the land and released concept art, including The Fireworks Factory shooting gallery, a Tiki Room style animatronic show called Professor Marvel’s Gallery of Wonders, and an E-ticket dark ride based on The Island at the Top of the World. For all of the fantastic facts, check out our in-depth Possibilityland: Discovery Bay feature that dives into the must-see details of this would-be wonder.
Discovery Bay inspires awe and wonder for Disney fans because it seems so obvious; a classical, “science fantasy” land that fits not only in the park’s literary genre makeup, but along the Rivers of America… After all, taking the ship all the way around Tom Sawyer Island, you’d pass the the Old West (Frontierland), then the Jazz Age New Orleans, the Pacific Northwest (Critter Country), and finally the glimmering retro-future of San Francisco (Discovery Bay). In Walt’s tradition, it would’ve been a land celebrating progress, Americana, and worlds of fantasy.
What Happened: Discovery Bay was never built. In 2019 – after forty years of vacancy – the plot became Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – not exactly a part of the American story or a great fit for Disneyland, but at least it’s concealed behind elaborate rockwork wall that borders the shortened Rivers of America. While Discovery Bay would be a picture-perfect fit for Disney California Adventure, it seems unlikely given the park’s chosen focus on Marvel and Pixar rather than, you know, California.
The Discovery Bay concept didn’t entirely die, either. Though its DNA and its focus on Jules Verne adventures lives on across Disney Parks, the most obvious derivative is surely Disneyland Paris – also overseen by Baxter – which swapped the Americana-infused Tomorrowland with Discoveryland, a golden retrofuturistic, steampunk, Verne-inspired land anchored by the Lost Legend: Space Mountain – De la Terre à la Lune.