The Parts of History Disney Would Like You to Forget

Disney has a long history of creating theme parks that families love to visit. But, it’s no stranger to failure.

Throughout the years there have been a lot of huge successes that you can still find in the parks today, but there are also others that Disney would rather you forget about. And, that’s what we’re covering today!

These are the Parts of History Disney Would Like You to Forget

Disneyland Opening Day

We’re going to start off all the way at the beginning of Disney Park history — the opening day of Disneyland! The park officially opened its gates to guests on July 17th, 1955, but things didn’t go quite as planned.

Disney had sent out tickets to a certain number of guests that could visit on opening day. But, somehow forfeit tickets were passed around leading to a LOT of overcrowding in the park. And, crowds weren’t the only problem — the extreme heat during the day led to women’s heels sinking into the cement, and rushed construction leading up to opening day meant that there were still a lot of weeds in the banks of the canals.

Oh, and all of it was being filmed and streamed on TV, so everyone got a front-row seat to the disaster. But, luckily that didn’t stop the crowds from pouring into the parks in the days and weeks after.

Click here to learn more about Disneyland’s tumultuous opening day!

Disneyland Paris Opening Day

Disneyland’s opening day wasn’t the only one that Disney would prefer to forget. Euro Disney was one of the first international theme parks that Disney opened on April 12th, 1992. They had spent a lot of time creating a park that reflected European culture and knew that Disney in Europe was an even bigger deal than it was in the U.S.

But, when the park opened for the first time, there was a lackluster response from park-goers — only about 25,000 showed up to the park that is built to hold up to 60,000 guests.

Why did this happen? Well, Disney failed to account for European culture, and instead tailored the park towards a culture that really didn’t exist. Plus, most of the advertising leading up to the opening day was geared towards children rather than the parents who book (and pay for) the vacation.

Disney also didn’t account for many cultural practices around meals like a more traditional breakfast and lunch hour. Plus, Disney parks were still considered “dry parks” at the time and a lack of access to alcohol with meals didn’t align with European practices.

So, when an economic recession hit shortly after the park opened, the park continued towards turmoil, and eventually was close to filing bankruptcy.

Learn More About Why Disney Would Like You To Forget Disneyland Paris’ Opening Day Here!

Disney’s America

Back in the 1990s, new Disney CEO, Michael Eisner announced plans for a new theme park near Haymarket, Virginia called Disney’s America.

According to Collider, the park was set to include 9 lands (or “territories” as Disney called it) that covered the decades throughout American history including Presidents Square (1750 – 1800), Native America (1600 – 1810), Family Farm (1930 – 1945), and more. But, Disney found that gathering public support for the park was the major roadblock.

In the press conference announcing the plans for the park, Bob Weis described the park’s immersive experience and said “We want to make you a Civil War soldier. We want to make you feel what it was like to be a slave or what it was like to escape through the underground railroad.” And, soon after opposition groups started to gather support in Virginia.

After years of advocacy on Disney’s part (and from the opposition), Disney announced that they would not be moving forward with building the park.

Check out Five Disney Parks Ideas that Never Came to Be here!

Poop Themed Candy

Disney World has also had some moments in its past that might be better forgotten and that includes a treat that was made to look like…animal poop.

That’s right! Zuri’s Sweets Shop in Disney’s Animal Kingdom once sold candy called “Match the Species” Treats giving you a chance to sample “treats” from an Elephant, Giraffe, Cotton Top Tamarin, and Hippo.

And what was in these? Well, they were edible! The elephant treat was made with chocolate peanut butter fudge with sweet rolled oats and yellow coconut flakes, the Tamarin was made with pretzel pearls coated in chocolate peanut butter fudge with sweet rolled oats, the Giraffe poop was a rolled chocolate fudgy brownie and freshly made caramel, and the Hippo poop was a chocolate fudge caramel brownie with peanut butter and rolled oats.

Click here to read about The Five Most Bizarre Walt Disney World Snacks Ever!

Magical World of Barbie Show

And, there have also been a few shows that rightfully didn’t last too long in Disney World! Back in 1993, EPCOT was home to the Magical World of Barbie show that took place at the America Gardens Theatre.

Now, the show did last for two years at EPCOT, but when it first hit the stage it closed the next day for rewrites. The issues were resolved and it reopened the next month for guests to watch Barbie, Ken, and other Barbie dolls in the cast until it closed in 1995.

Click HERE for Five Franchises You Had No Idea Were Once Part of Disney Parks

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has had a few name changes over the years, and when it was called Disney MGM Studios, there was a show called Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in the park. It was based on and debuted on the same day that the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (which starred Jim Carrey) hit the theaters.

During the show, the character Ace Ventura would make the dramatic climb from the roof down to the stage, and would then be interviewed about his detective work, time in Africa, and more giving hilarious answers. The actors were pretty entertaining and channeled Carrey’s energy well but the show only lasted a few months between 1995 to 1996.

What’s Left of Disney-MGM Studios 30 Years Later? Click Here to Find Out!

DisneyQuest in Chicago

Most Disney fans will likely remember the giant indoor virtual gaming location, DisneyQuest, that once was in Disney Springs. But, Disney’s original plans for the attraction included MANY locations throughout the U.S. and one was actually constructed (and opened) in Chicago.

It opened in Chicago in 1999 in North Bridge but closed only 2 years later in 2001 because of low attendance numbers. Yes, it was making money, but just not enough for Disney to keep it.

At the time, construction had already started on another location in Philadelphia, but that was stopped in 2001 and the entire DisneyQuest project was abandoned by Disney leaving only the one in Disney Springs open

Learn More About The History Behind DisneyQuest and its Defunct Expansion Here!

New Resorts That Just…Never Happened

And, there are a lot of resorts that were announced to be coming to Disney World but just never became a reality.

These date all the way back to the 1960s when Disney had planned to construct THREE different hotels around Bay Lake — Disney’s Asian Resort (which would have mimicked Thai architecture), Disney’s Persian Resort (that would replicate Middle Eastern architecture), and Disney’s Venetian Resort (which would have been themed after Venice Italy).

Plans for these three resorts were abandoned after the 1970s energy crisis hit and they later landed on building the three monorail resorts that we know today.

But, that’s not all! Disney also had drawn up plans for a new hotel called Disney’s Grande Venezia Resort that would sit on the Seven Seas Lagoon and rival Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in luxury and price. And, more recently (in 2018) Disney shared plans to create Reflections — A Disney Lakeside Lodge at the old site of River Country Water Park.

Disney’s Grande Venezia Resort was allegedly abandoned because the building site would not be conducive for the structure and Disney has not yet commented on Reflections, though rumors have since circulated that the project has been scrapped.

Click Here to Learn More About The Unbuilt Resort Hotels of Walt Disney World!

Talking Mickey Mouse

One of the best parts of going to Disney World for many fans is getting to meet their favorite characters, and back in 2013, you could actually talk to Mickey Mouse!

This was when Mickey’s Meet and Greet location at Town Square Theater in Magic Kingdom was updated making it possible for the mouse to actually talk with guests! He would say hi, do a magic trick, and then send guests on their way, which was exciting to some and rather creepy to others.

But, in 2018, Mickey went silent and never went back to talking. It’s not clear why Disney took away Mickey’s voice, but it could be because of technical issues, cost, and even some of the confusion it caused for guests when they learned that other characters in the parks don’t talk.

Learn More About The Talking Mickey Meet & Greet Here!

The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management)

Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room is one of the original Magic Kingdom attractions, but back in 1998, it reopened with a new update and was renamed to The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management).

The new show included many of the same props and elements, but there were two new characters added — Zazu from The Lion King and Lago Iago from Aladdin. And, it ran for a pretty long time in the park up until 2011 when a fire damaged the attraction (the cause of the fire is still unknown), causing Disney to bring back the old version of the show.

Learn More About the History of Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room Here!

Animatronics That Didn’t Age Well

When you’re visiting Disney World, you’re sure to stumble upon a lot of animatronics as you explore all of the attractions in the parks. But, there have been a few times in Disney history that some scenes and animatronics just didn’t age very well.

The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in Magic Kingdom included a scene with a “Wench Sale” where women were being auctioned off. And, it wasn’t until 2018 when Disney closed the attraction for refurbishment and transitioned the scene to a more appropriate one where they’re auctioning off loot.

The attraction in Disneyland has also received a few updates throughout the years and once included a scene with a woman hiding in a barrel from a man who had taken her petticoat. It never made it over to the Disney World ride and was replaced in 1997 with a cat and then later updated to include Jack Sparrow in 2006.

Check Out The Evolution of Pirates of the Caribbean: From Walkthrough Attraction to a Blockbuster Film Franchise

So, did you remember any of these moments in Disney history? Of course, there are quite a few more to cover — you can check out some of the Disney park rides that were based on movies that nobody ever asked for in our video below!

And, be sure to stay tuned for more Disney history and trivia!

Click HERE to Check Out Why Disney’s Most Futuristic Land is Its Most Outdated

Do you remember any of these things from Disney’s history? Let us know in the comments!

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