The Happiest Place on Earth Book and Disneyland's Tomorrowland Concept Art

 Imagineer Herb Ryman is probably one of my favorite Disney artists when I consider concept art and others renderings. His work on EPCOT Center is stunningly sublime and also dazzling. But for the first blog post of August 2025, I wanted to highlight his incredible work for Disneyland, specifically Tomorrowland's Monorail and Submarine Voyage stations. 

It's a tribute to the creative thinkers of Walt's day that they would stack two such important attractions on top of each other. Making the most of limited space, after all, was a tradition at "Walt's park". Fantasyland used this design trick to their advantage, creating layers of charm upon charm. In Tomorrowland, the goal wasn't charm but it was to create "A World on the Move" long before the 1967 version so many theme park fans rightfully adore- and it succeeded tremendously. 

This image is from the incredible new book, "The Happiest Place on Earth" by Don Hahn and Christopher Merritt. If you think you know all there is to know about the creation of Disneyland and have seen most of the concept art for it, you couldn't be more wrong. Get this book and get it now!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

The Country Bears Introduce the Critter Country 500

Every once in awhile, someone suggests ripping out the Country Bear Jamboree from the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland. I hate that idea! It's a Florida Kingdom original, and it's one of the few musical Audio-Animatronic shows left. (Will they ever go back in style?) The other American version of the show got pulled out for Winnie the Pooh, leaving just a version of this humorous attraction in Tokyo Disneyland. 

How did it get pulled from California? Well, "The Happiest Place on Earth" had a big problem as its traffic patterns indicated that the once popular show seemed to have run its course. The country music fan base was just not as strong as in the South. Time for change had come for Imagineer Marc Davis' musical comedy.  

The Country Bears were to begin life here.

But the show- which began as an idea for Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort- had its fans. Fans in Imagineering, actually.

Many ideas were tossed about as they tried to come up with something fresh for those Hillbilly Bruins. A small flume type attraction was considered as well as a silly road race, shown above. (You can see more concept art for the race here.)

The great sounding "Critter Country 500", a fun road race for all ages was one of the ones with the best chance of making the cut. But it wasn't to be.  Even this rending by Christopher Merritt couldn't convince the suits. Pooh won out, taking his place at Disneyland.

(Oh yeah. Come back tomorrow for my trip report on Disney World After a Decade- Day Three at Epcot... then, the Magic Kingdom.)

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disneyland's Nature's Wonderland

In the long ago, Disneyland's Frontierland was home to the ultimate western atmospheric attraction: Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland.

Guests boarded old and creaky mine trains for a tour of the wild west. Encountering creatures large and small along the way, these stories of nature enthralled the youngest guests to the oldest visitors. Geyers, cacti, bubbling "paint pots" and cascading waterfalls created the perfect backdrop for this western America version of Adventureland's Jungle Cruise.

Eventually, guests longed for bigger thrills- and the success of Space Mountain paved the way for the beloved mine train ride to give way to Tony Baxter's project, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. So, seventeen years of a mild tour became the "Wildest Ride in the Wilderness".

In tribute, Imagineer Christopher Merritt created this gorgeous map detailing journeys no longer taken. (I left this image extremely large to enable a closer inspection.) Nowadays, Frontierland is a pale reminder of its past grandeur. However, Christopher Merritt's beautiful artwork is a stunning reminder of days gone by with attractions which had the personal touch of Walt Disney. Thank you, Mr. Merritt.

(Artwork copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disneyland's Road Race to Nowhere

"The Happiest Place on Earth" had a bit of a glaring problem. At least it was obvious to the suits watching the park and its traffic patterns. Marc Davis' sweet but amusing Country Bear Jamboree seemed to have run its course with park visitors. Numbers continued to decline.

The attraction occupied a big and beautiful wooded piece of real estate at Disneyland, just around the bend from the Haunted Mansion. It wasn't front and center as in the case of the attraction's location at Walt Disney World's Frontierland, but it was still a substantial chunk of the very small original kingdom. What to do?

Henry in his new role!

The Imagineers with a soft spot for the attraction began coming up with some new concepts to save the Hillbilly bruins. Among the considerations were a small flume type attraction and a silly roadrace. 

And the winner is... no one.

Ultimately, even the terrific "Critter Country 500" with its rending by Christopher Merritt, couldn't save the bears from a quick and out of place swap out with another little cub. With the show leaving Disneyland, it was the beginning of guests losing musical Audio-Animatronic shows. (See the article here.)

The singing bears were now only to be found in Tokyo Disneyland and at Florida's Magic Kingdom. Oh, Pooh!

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)