5 Attractions That Never Were

In the long and storied history of the Magic Kingdom, many ideas have come and gone. And what ideas they were! Attractions, lands, new technologies, new experiences…Disney’s Imagineers are always innovating and always coming up with new ideas. But as is often the case when you’re brainstorming, some ideas inevitably get left on the drawing board for one reason or another. Here are five park concepts that never made it to fruition (though it’s fun imaging how amazing they would have been!). We’ll start not with an attraction, but for an entire land that has long passed into the mists of legend…

1. Beastly Kingdom

When Disney’s Animal Kingdom was first being developed, early plans included a land called Beastly Kingdom. This land would be home to mythical creatures, and you can still see a reference to it in the logo for the Animal Kingdom in the form of a dragon. Conceptual plans for the land began with a fork in the road. One way would have led to Dragon Tower, a thrilling roller coaster that would heavily inspire the eventual design of Expedition Everest. The adventure would have taken you through the ruins of an old castle on a bat-shaped suspended coaster, where bats would attempt to steal the treasure from the dragon. Dragon? Yup! The thrilling adventure would lead to a terrifying encounter with a massive Animatronic fire-breathing dragon, protecting his hoard of treasure as you hurtled by. This idea would eventually come full circle as the Yeti in Expedition Everest (who is about to get a much-anticipated makeover, more on that in the months ahead!).

2. The Quest for the Unicorn

The opposite path sent you to The Quest for the Unicorn, an attraction housed within an elaborate hedge maze. Here you would have banded with other Guests to find five golden idols scattered throughout the flowered labyrinth, ultimately revealing the Unicorn’s hiding spot. Beastly Kingdom never came to pass, of course, and instead, the mythical creatures concept torch was passed to Pandora and its inspirational message of conservation and harmony.

3. Mary Poppins

In the wake of the release of the Mary Poppins sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, a new attraction was announced for Epcot’s World Showcase. The attraction was to be located in the United Kingdom Pavilion. It would have taken you on a tour down Cherry Tree Lane, past Admiral Boom’s house, and into Number 17, home of the Banks family, where your adventure would have begun. Concept art was released, and while details remained scarce, Guests were excited about what they might see. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, the project was quietly put on hold, and Disney has since been non-committal about its fate (official word is that the project is simply postponed). We will just have to wait and see if the attraction comes to fruition, and in the meantime, we can only dream.

4. Japan Pavilion

Early plans for the Japan Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase included several attraction ideas. One was an indoor roller coaster attraction based on Japan’s Mount Fuji. The attraction would have been similar to Matterhorn Bobsleds from Disneyland and would have featured Godzilla attacking Guests as they raced through the mountain. It’s been rumored that Fujifilm wanted to sponsor the attraction in the early 1990s, but Kodak, a major Epcot sponsor, intervened to prevent this.

5. Meet the World

Another attraction planned for the Pavilion was a show called “Meet the World.” This theater presentation would have been an overview of Japanese history, combining Audio-Animatronics, live-action, and animated films. Guests would have been seated in a carousel theater that revolved around four stages, with each stage depicting a significant moment in Japanese history. The first stage would have shown the volcanic origin of this island nation and introduced the narrators: two Japanese children and a magical crane. The second stage would have seen the dispatch of Japan’s first emissaries to Imperial China and the arrival of Portuguese traders. The third scene would have depicted the artistic and intellectual development of the nation. It would have highlighted the conflict between the expansionists, who favored reaching out to other countries, and isolationists, who wished to remain separate from the rest of the world. The final stage would have shown a resolution of these arguments, demonstrating the rehabilitation of the nation and modern, caring citizens reaching out to other countries.

Join us next week as we take a look at five more attractions that never were (but would could have been!).