Rare Look at Disneyland's Tomorrowland 2055

The Potter and Potter auction on line mentioned by Alain Littaye at the Disney and More blog yields some pretty fantastic pieces of concept art if you dig into its 31 pages. Above is a piece by Imagineer Dan Gooze for the proposed revision to Walt's kingdom, found on the auction site. Dan is also known for his very famous piece of Indiana Jones Adventure art. (Please note that other pieces below are not from that same site.)

Having been fascinated by the Land of the Future, I remained very interested into what it would become, particularly when the iconic and very stunning Tomorrowland 1967 would begin to change. A visit to the park several decades later would bring something unexpected...

The year was 1990, and I was exploring Disneyland one afternoon with my sweet young family. What a great day already! We decided to walk over to Tomorrowland to take in the Autopia and let the kiddos try their hands behind the wheel for the first time. Heading straight into the land, the carousel theater was ahead, but as we got closer, something looked different.

Next to it, once home of the famous Carousel of Progress and patriotic America Sings, was a billboard for a new attraction called Plectu's Intergalactic Revue. For some strange reason I wouldn't understand until much later, I snapped this photo of the concept art... and held on to it for many years.

Back in 2008, when I began the Insights blog, I knew Disney fans would find this piece of unbuilt history of interest. Boy, was I right! Within days of first posting it in March of that year, my humble photograph showed on on blogs and websites all over the world. And it's still be reposted to this day. Glad I took the photo!

The model for the new Carousel building.

Photographer unknown.

As I explored around the web myself, I discovered I was not the only one fascinated by Tomorrowland and especially the unbuilt 2055 version. I cannot tell you who did the artwork for the piece I photographed. I do not know to this day.  There was more concept art for this project floating around and more chem year after year. 

A different park, a different look?

Or was this for Disneyland as well?

Anyway, back to the plans. Much like the two shows before it- expertly designed by Imagineer Marc Davis- Plectu's was to be an Audio-Animatronic comedy musical show and a core but small part of a new alien infested Tomorrowland dubbed Tomorrowland 2055. 

The less friendly Alien Encounter.

In fact, the Magic Kingdom in Florida's beloved (or reviled) Alien Encounter was also planned for the redesign. (And is it just me, or does the top of the building look much like the centerpiece that replaced the Rockets Jets high in the sky in the 1998 version of the Land of the Future?)

Florida's Tomorrowland changed from this...

...to this.

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom did get Alien Encounter and some new experiences, but not Plectu's. The fantasy inspired future was well received overall but lost steam over time, as most Tomorrowlands seem to do. (Read about it here.)

Disneyland's redo in 1998.

One of the Plectu characters.

Back to California. Around this time, CEO Michael Eisner and the suits took a very long, hard look at which attractions that were crowd pleasers (and people eaters) and which were not. As a result,  musical talking bears, tikis, and even Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters in Audio-Animatronic form were no longer a big draw. (Expanded history here.) 

Thanks to Mike Cozart from the Tomorrowland67 Lounge for this 2055 piece.

The plans were scrapped. Perhaps not a bad decision as theme park demographics were changing. So, Plectu's and the whole of Tomorrowland 2055 became a piece of Disney lore and history. Its art was delegated to table top books and blog articles. Disneyland's futuristic land remained mostly untouched until 1998 when Imagineer Tony Baxter tried the best he could with a limited budget to reimagine the future. In came the short lived Rocket Rods and some new aesthetics with a few Florida retreads. 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Top photo copyright Mark Taft.)