Despite the fact that there is so much at Disney World, and so much in the works, it’s kind of mind-boggling to know that there could have been even more!
Disney World is a place of big dreams and big plans, and sometimes some of those things just don’t work out, like certain attractions…
Since Disney is constantly innovating and evolving, adding new attractions and rides and dizzyingly immersive hotels on a seemingly constant basis, it makes sense that some grandiose ideas simply don’t come to fruition.
For every Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, there’s a Rhine River Cruise. Here are 8 Disney World attraction ideas that never happened:
Discovery Island
One infamous Disney World attraction that never saw the light of day is Discovery Island, an ambitious and immersive concept on Bay Lake that now looks like a dystopian scene from Jurassic Park.
Although it actually opened as a wildlife sanctuary in 1974, grander plans for more attractions on the island never materialized, and Discovery Island became nothing. It’s now an eerily abandoned crop of land, with much of the animals relocated to Animal Kingdom, leaving nothing to discover on Discovery Island.
Mt. Fuji Roller Coaster
What Expedition Everest is to Animal Kingdom, Mt. Fuji Roller Coaster *almost* was to EPCOT! That’s right, Disney once had huge plans for the Japan Pavilion that involved constructing a mountain and running a roller coaster on the inside and outside of it.
The reason it never happened is kinda shocking, since it has to do with a photo company (?!). Kodak was a Disney sponsor at the time, and they apparently didn’t want their rival company, Fujifilm, having any connection to the parks, even if just by a partial name. Alas, no Japanese mountains for us!
Rhine River Cruise
Another botched EPCOT attraction in the World Showcase was the Rhine River Cruise, a would-be ride in the Germany Pavilion that could have added a little more life to that area.
It would have been an immersive boat ride that journeyed down the Rhine, Tauber, Ruhr, and Isar Rivers, through the Black Forest, Oktoberfest, and to the Cologne Cathedral. But hey, at least you can go on an actual Rhine River cruise with Adventures by Disney!
The Enchanted Snow Palace
Kinda like Frozen Ever After if that ride opened in Magic Kingdom, the Enchanted Snow Palace was a proposed indoor boat ride inspired by the Snow Queen story (how very Elsa!), which would have taken place in Fantasyland.
Bedecked with makeshift Northern Lights, frost fairies, snow giants, and polar bears, this certainly would have been a dazzling addition, but it got sidetracked by a need for more thrill rides in Disneyland. Fortunately, we still have Frozen Ever After to scratch that snowy itch!
Shadowlands/Bald Mountain
Picture this: there was almost a new land in Magic Kingdom! Shadowlands coulda woulda opened behind Tomorrowland, and as the dark name implies, the theme would have been all about Disney Villains.
The marquis attraction here would have been Bald Mountain, an imposing peak inspired by the “Night on Bald Mountain” scene in Fantasia, wherein a roller coaster or log flume ride would whisk guests past Disney villains and the (presumably terrifying) Chernabog. Dear Disney, it’s not too late to revisit this whole idea, please!
Western River Expedition
It’s honestly mind-blowing to imagine a Magic Kingdom without Pirates of the Caribbean, but there was almost another boat ride existed instead! Western River Expedition was basically the pirates and Indians version of Pirates of the Caribbean, with a similar ride format, and a Wild West motif.
Instead of the Caribbean, the setting would have been the Mississippi River near the Jefferson National Memorial where Western Expansion began. Guests would have journeyed inside and around Thunder Mesa Mountain in Frontierland, encountering bison, stage coaches, musical shows, and robbers, as an animatronic owl named Hoot Gibson narrates. Sounds like a fun time, but we’re still relieved that Pirates of the Caribbean exists!
Toontown Transit
Considering the atmosphere at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is very Who Framed Roger Rabbit, especially back in its earliest days as MGM Studios, it makes total sense that a Roger Rabbit-themed attraction almost happened.
Indeed, Toontown Transit was a planned flight simulator attraction, aboard a toon bus named Gus, to be based on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While this was sadly not to be, we can at least experience a similarly fantastic animated attraction in the form of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway!
Beastly Kingdom
Perhaps the most notorious never-happened attraction in Disney World lore is Beastly Kingdom, a section of Animal Kingdom that would have been all about mythical creatures like dragons and unicorns. Basically, it would have been like Disney’s very own Wizarding World.
In the area that’s now Pandora, Beastly Kingdom was to incorporate rides like an interactive walk-through maze called Quest of the Unicorn, a musical boat ride called Fantasia Gardens, and the Dragon’s Tower, a roller coaster through a dangerous land taken over by dragons. On the downside, that all sounds amazing. On the plus side, where would we be without Flight of Passage?!
Clearly, Disney World has no shortage of larger-than-life ideas and ambition, and while many amazing ideas have become reality, some attractions simply never wind up happening!
Disney History: The Unbuilt Lands of Disney World
Which of these unbuilt attractions do you most wish was real? Let us know in the comments!
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Shadowlands and the Rhine River Cruise. We need the villains to get equal representation and Germany could use a little punch up of the excitement. It’s kinda bland for such a terrific country.
Definitely Shadowlands. It’s not too late, Disney! Spend some of that newly-earned Lightening Lane money!!
Shadowlands. We need a villains section