As we approach the 100th anniversary of what is now known as the Walt Disney Animation Studios, we have already celebrated some Disney Parks attractions that are based on or inspired by stories from the iconic animation house.
Today, we’re gonna take a look at some stories we WISH we could see represented at the Disney Parks, as well as some ideas of how those stories could take shape in the park settings. Immediately, I want to point out that these are all armchair imagineering ideas from our staff. These are in no way official plans of what’s coming to Disney Parks, nor is it any kind of speculation about future projects.
The Great Mouse Detective
One of the more overlooked stories in the Disney Animation pantheon is that of Basil of Baker Street The Great Mouse Detective. As our own Mike Mack has pointed out, the Disney Destinations are missing something that is quite popular in the themed entertainment industry right now – the Escape Room. So had the brilliant idea of bringing the mystery of Miss Flangerhanger’s missing father to the parks in an Escape Room format.
In the film, Basil, a Sherlock Holmes-esque mouse in London, is sought out to help a young child, Olivia Flavasham, who’s master toymaker father has gone missing. With the help of his aide, Dr. Dawson, Basil embarks on the greatest case of his career, and ends up pitting his wits against his old adversary, Professor Ratigan, who wants to become the `supreme ruler of all mousedom'. Such an experience would fit brilliantly in EPCOT.
Currently, that park is taking on the task of injecting intellectual property (IP) wherever it can, and the UK Pavilion in the park’s World Showcase, despite the number of Disney Films that take place in the UK, has no major IP presence. The park did recently announce a Mary Poppins-themed experience coming to the area, but by all accounts, that project seems to have been shelved or cancelled.
While escape rooms are limited in capacity, there is plenty of room to build new structures, or even incorporate the World Showplace footprint to have numerous rooms available for guests to enjoy. Personally, I’d likely demand that they get Bill Hader to provide the voice of Ratigan, considering his legendary impression of Vincent Price, who originated the villainous role.
Meet The Robinsons
Our own Kyle Burbank suggested the idea of incorporating Meet The Robinsons into Tomorrowland at the parks. While he didn’t mention any single kind of experience, it seems that he liked the idea of just taking on the aesthetic of the future as seen in the film. A single scene that features Wilbur and Lewis flying through the future lends credit to the idea, as you even see peoplemover-esque vehicles moving throughout and a reference to the already existing Tomorrowlands in the parks (though a pre-mid-90s version), and a marquee that says “Todayland.”
The Tomorrowland of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom seems like a likely candidate for this kind of look (complete with functioning Peoplemover) as the land there seems to be lost. The new TRON Lightcycle / Run has a bright curved canopy that feels like it could be in the Meet The Robinsons universe, they would just have to take that aesthetic and blend it through the rest of the land.
Even with the new structural look, other attractions that already exist could remain in the land and still fit into the future look borrowed from the film. But yes, a new attraction would also be welcome, especially if it has some kind of flying encounter with DORI5 and the Bowler Hat Guy.
Robin Hood
Walt Disney Imagineering loves interactive shooting rides for some reason. Dating back to the late 80’s when development on an interactive dark ride themed to Dick Tracy was in development. Others will even argue that the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade is the first of these kinds of attractions. The idea reached a peak with the development of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and its various incarnations globally, which gave to the rise of other interactive video game-esque attractions like Toy Story Midway Mania, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure.
A dear friend suggested that, why don’t the parks take a more retro look at the idea, and make an interactive attraction based on Robin Hood. After all, the film features animals in archery contests and fun chase sequences that are filled with whimsy and fun, it could translate well into a great interactive family attraction. Because of the all animal cast, it could have fit well in a land like Camp Minnie-Mickey at Disney’s Animal Kingdom….but alas. The medieval setting of the film makes it an ideal candidate for Fantasylands at the castle parks, or even the aforementioned UK Pavilion at EPCOT. Either way, we know what that queue music would be.
101 Dalmatians
Using the same idea of an interactive attraction in the UK Pavilion at EPCOT, you can take that idea and incorporate it with 101 Dalmatians as well. However, this one wouldn’t necessarily be a shooter, but rather something akin to Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek! At Tokyo Disneyland.
That attraction sees guests on a hunt throughout the Monsters Inc. facility as Mike and Sulley try to find Boo. Armed with flashlights, the passengers scour scenes throughout the attraction, hitting targets that reveal monsters and various effects throughout the space.
A Dalmatians-based experience could be quite similar, where you try to find all the missing puppies throughout the attraction, perhaps while Cruella and her goons, Jasper and Horace, are doing the same.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is ripe for interpretation in a parks setting, especially given not only the time in which the story took place on the surface, but the exotic and otherworldly feel that Imagineers and designers are currently in love with working on. The idea of Atlantis as a whole land complete with multiple attractions, shops, and restaurants (the current template design teams seem to be working with) based around this story would be fantastic.
Disney has already designed such an exotic world and installed it at Disney’s Animal Kingdom with Pandora: The World of Avatar. As such, I’m using that model of what they have created and using it as the bar for what they could do with Atlantis. Not only would you have the calm and peaceful boat ride taking you through the environment, similar to the scenes with Milo and Kida exploring, but I would also break the mold a bit and inject a similar climbing and adventure trail to Shanghai Disneyland’s Camp Discovery.
Of course, there would have to be the big signature marquee attraction, which I would again use the template of Flight of Passage. While I am notoriously against screen based attractions, if I must then I must, and would use the same ride system. This time, in lieu of linking with an Avatar, riders would use the flying vehicles of the lost empire and use the crystal (merchandise could also sell these) to fire them up and take place in the climactic battle between Roarke and the team.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is so ready to be inserted into a Disney Park that it almost was. Disneyland’s Submarine Voyage was very close to having that attraction replaced with an Atlantis-based experience that sounds like it would have been equal parts classic subs and the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter in terms of fright.
The attraction was even officially acknowledged in a bonus feature on more recent home releases of Pixar’s Finding Nemo that celebrates the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction. The feature tells the story of how it ended up at Disneyland, even mentioning the terrifying encounter that passengers aboard the Atlantis attraction would have had with the Leviathan, as seen in the film.
As for Walt Disney World, they too almost got an Atlantis-based experience, this time in Adventureland. The area would have been a subland – think Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama, supposedly themed to a camp built by Preston Whitmore, who was opening Atlantis to the public. More can be found in Cole’s article about this and other unbuilt mountain attractions in his post here.
If nothing else, it would serve as the setting for a really great water park, am I right?