Before Hong Kong Disneyland Got It's Bear Hug

Howdy! Yep, those Runaway Mine Cars in Grizzly Gulch at Hong Kong Disneyland look putty snazzy! So does that up and coming Mystic Manor which will be open to the public in 2013. Those Disney Imagineers did some great work there!

You might know that these were unknown and unplanned additions when the park first opened. In fact, one of the original pieces of art made the park look entirely different than what guests found when it first opened. From the latest Disney  Imagineering book, here is an early concept for the park.

It looks small, but just click on it and see it full size. What will you see? A very interesting variety of attractions and a very different layout for the park's Fantasyland. The castle is at the back, but it is the rest of the park that looks just as unique!  Way back is a lagoon for an evening show to the east side of Main Street. An early version of World of Color from California Adventure? Maybe Fantasmic? There's also a big chunk of land for the Indiana Jones Adventure. Would this older plan or the newer one we are seeing have been a better competitor to Shanghai Disneyland? 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)