Epcot's Unbuilt Russia Pavilion Would Have Been Astounding

If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, those incredible first and second generation Disney Imagineers must really love Moscow! Their faithful but fanciful version of Russia's Red Square was once planned for EPCOT Center's cultural heart, World Showcase. 

There's much culture to celebrate!

While travel to the Russian Federation is not uncommon today, it is still considered an exotic destination even if much more available to tourists than ever before. Imagine in the early 90s, a new Russia pavilion at Epcot would have been adored from its opening days. The Imagineers plan for representing the country would have been as ambitious- if not more so- than what they accomplished with The American Adventure! Imagine a pavilion with two rides, a theater presentation that would have rivaled its American host, a museum, a restaurant or two, and a slew of shops, and plenty of entertainment. 

Thanks to a newly released video, Russia Pavilion EPCOT World Showcase Presentation (1992), by a group known as CowMissing, I now have a new and large selection of image captures to go with a few previous pieces of Imagineering concept art. 

The fireworks would have been in front,

but artistic license always wins out in concept art.

Placed between Germany and the area once set aside for Equitorial Africa, the new pavilion and its iconic architecture of St. Basil's cathedral would make a stunning addition to the other landmarks around the lovely and large World Showcase lagoon. 

The only fully walled World Showcase

pavilion- mostly.

Wisely, the Disney suits and the Imagineers chose to focus on the art, history, and culture of the country rather than on its politics. And what a beautifully rich culture it is!

The pavilion's centerpiece attraction, a theater presentation entitled Russia- The Bells of Change, would combine Audio-Animatronics, beautiful sets, live actors, and film to create a stunning and memorable presentation.

Imaginers hard at work!

Love the model!

As in the age of strange advertising gimmicks, let me say, "But wait! There's more!" In addition to the theater show, there would also be a dark ride through the beloved old tale of Ivan and the Magic Pike. The story tells of a boy who finds a magic pike that grants wishes. I loved the old EPCOT Center that focused on the real culture of the nations in World Showcase. I wish they go back that direction. 

Even if guests did neither of the attractions, just walking the showcase would be a very rich experience in the largest international pavilion in the park. Take a look at these pieces of art.

Shopping and dining is a large part of World Showcase, and Russia would have been no exception! Although I find the country's cuisine rather bland, it would be a nice option to have and round out the offerings.

Although the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 put an end to their plans, given the current state of world affairs and the political climate, I say it' will never happen. But once upon a time a long time ago, the Disney Company's very serious about the project! After reading about and see what was planned, you will certainly agree that it would have been a great addition. And let's be honest, Epcot certainly needs a new international pavilion to add some new excitement to the park.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Celebrate the U.S.A. at 250 Years at Walt Disney World

Today is American Independence Day. As we celebrate our 250th year , it is time to give thanks to the Lord who has blessed us as we have sought to honor Him. We've had it so good for so long. Yet, I do not think we honor Him as much anymore given the current broken state of distrust, corruption, and division in our politics and how we handle ourselves in the global community.

Yet, I think it's time to focus on our blessings once again. For our sakes as well as for the benefit of those around us. Thankfulness is a good thing!

As an independent tour guide, I travel all over the world. Believe me, there is no nation on the globe where its citizens are as free as we are in the United States of America! We're not perfect- not even close, but we can complain all we want about laws, our government, and our politicians. That's one of the greatest things about our country. We have a voice and we can use it freely. Others cannot do that. We have the wisdom of the founding fathers to thank for this, and we have the sacrifice of our military veterans to thank for keeping those liberties. 

Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! 

Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Psalm 144:15

Let's tie it all back to Disney, since this is a Disney theme park fan site. Imagineering great artist Herb Ryman created this gorgeous painting for the American Adventure.  Way back in 1979, EPCOT Center was finding its focus, and the Disney executives needed art such as this one to inspire corporations the world over to pour their funds in the new project. They also needed this kind of concept art to inspire travelers to send their hard earned cash to come to Walt Disney World when this second park made its debut. The park's Future World would draw them in as any world's fair might, but it would be World Showcase that would celebrate the cultures of other nations including the U.S.A.

Patriotism was not a new thing at Disney parks. It began with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland, but the Imagineers really expanded on the idea when it came to Florida's Magic Kingdom. 

Here's a beautiful piece of concept art for the Magic Kingdom's brand new Liberty Square at Walt Disney World. I could almost do an entire blog piece on when reality is better than Imagineering art on this land alone! It is stunning in its beauty and design detail, making it my favorite land of all those in this eastern kingdom. Does the land hold my favorite attractions? No, not at all. But as the sum of all its parts, it's the closest Florida has to the elegance of Disneyland's New Orleans Square.

When plans for the Magic Kingdom finally came to the surface, the Imagineers included this tribute to the patriots of the past, those hard working, God-fearing men and women who sought freedom for all.  

With all the gorgeous details everywhere you look, it is a place of quiet dignity and peace. The stunningly sober Hall of Presidents reminds guests of the great sacrifices made by those who have gone before us. 

So, today, July 4th, let us thank God Almighty for shedding His Grace on us for 250 years!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Universal Kids Resort: Universal Creative Builds Its Own Disney California Adventure 1.0

What in the world is going on? How is it the brand new Universal Kids Resort theme park make Disney California Adventure 1.0 look like an Imagineering masterpiece? Universal Creative has hit home runs with Harry Potter attractions and just above every aspect of Epic Universe. As this photograph from the Attractions 360 vlog shows, the place is a wasteland of concrete and static figures. Bright colors alone do not a theme park make! Even if it's seven "themed" lands with about 30 rides or so- probably mostly off the shelf carnival ones- had potential, they certainly tossed it by the wayside in favor of an even wider cheap and edgy version of Anaheim's second Disney park at opening. Can they / will they correct course and end up with something high quality? It certainly does not look like it. You can be sure I will not be recommending this park to my sister who lives nearby.
 

The Amazing Disappearing Article That's Worth Reading Again: Disney CEO Fumbles Entry to China

Here's an article that appeared- and then was quickly removed- from the Huffington Post. A powerful piece that criticized Robert Iger and the Walt Disney Company's plan for their entry into the Chinese market, and its potential effect on Shanghai Disneyland. It must have angered him so much that Iger used his wife's influence to have it yanked. I hate that kind of corporate or governmental power play!  So, here it is below, courtesy Google.  Thanks to the WDWMagic Boards where the article was originally resurrected. What will happen to Disneyland Abu Dhabi? Will there be lessons learned from the past?

-------------

Sorry Mickey, they're just not that into you. Minnie, you either.

For that matter, you can take the whole stable -- the "Fab Five" of Walt Disney's animated creations -- and, despite a media machine that churns a very different story, China has largely been a land where the fabled wishes, dreams and magic of the Walt Disney Company and its brand have virtually no connection with the consumer. As valued as that consumer is in the economic theater of globalism, the iconic brand synonymous with America has little appeal and less traction among the newly seated audience in the Chinese mainland.

To its 'vanilla on toothpaste' helmsman, Robert A. "Bob" Iger, who has shown himself to be an able cobbler of assets but a less than visionary leader of the media colossus that is the Walt Disney Company, this troubling if known and growing headwind threatens to undermine the content-heavy but culturally aloof purveyor of demographically unshackled product. For in his zeal to expand its library of content, Bob Iger has drop-kicked the Disney moniker to enter new and expanding marketplaces only to position a product that runs well afar of the expectation of the Disney bounce.

In so doing, the once unrivaled status of the Disney brand has become a catch-all for entertainment and its associated byproducts that are increasingly a strange and sometimes conflicted ragbag of franchised acquisitions presented as some sort of media mélange for all ages and all palates. Or, as John Dreyer, the longtime and immediate past head of corporate communications for the Walt Disney Company, said upon the publication of the column Disney CEO Readies Magic Carpet for Exit, "Disney losing its Disney way."

With the company making its grandest play for a market that dwarfs all others, Disney has found itself adrift in a crisis of identity that breaches the foundation of the castle upon which an empire was built. For as turrets were raised, wings were added and a moat of meticulously positioned whimsy was filled in to expand the Disney footprint, something that looks decidedly more pedestrian than the fantastical inspiration for one of the world's most coveted brands has emerged.

Leverage has become the arch of entry into the Disney-verse, while the brand has been marginalized into a holding vehicle for assets that are worth more separately than that vested in the castle itself.

As Mr. Iger said at the 2013 Fortune Global Forum held in Chengdu:

I think the first thing you have to do is you have to obviously be aware of what your most significant brand attributes are. What makes your brand your brand? Why is it great? You have to focus on quality and on those attributes that, again, created the value in the first place. You can't look to cut corners. You can't look to make something with your brand on it that's any cheaper simply because it's going into a market that may not be able to afford it the way another market may have. You can't compromise in that regard. So it starts with what I'll call quality and a respect for an allegiance to the very brand attributes that created the value in the first place.

Now, considering Shanghai Disney is preparing to make its 2016 debut as Disney's first foray into the renminbi rich Chinese mainland after a less than stellar arrival in the former British colony of Hong Kong in 2005, there are lessons aplenty to learn from that delayed embrace and the long stalled entry into the single largest consumer market on offer to the world -- the whole of China. 


Under Mr. Iger's stewarding, Disney has partnered with the Shanghai Shendi Group, an umbrella name placed on a panoply of government-owned companies created to facilitate Western investment as a massive anti-graft campaign is just now rattling Beijing and beyond, to introduce a Disney 'branded' park to those consumers. A flag in the ground for Disney. A flag that has been in the works since the prime of Michael Eisner's reign at Disney and one that nearly collapsed entirely by the summer of 2006.


Indeed, Mr. Iger had to leave the annual Herb Allen retreat for media moguls, tech tycoons and other scripters of society in Sun Valley for an unscheduled trip to Shanghai that day in 2006, scrambling to save face and leading to a denouement worthy of great scrutiny by any company -- especially those entities whose trade is in intellectual property -- wanting to enter China.

Or, as Dalian Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin, whose real estate and entertainment empire is building its North American headquarters adjacent to the Beverly Hilton at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, said on the same panel at the Fortune Global Forum:

[W]e have so many Western companies in China, but you cannot simply replicate the Western ideas and philosophies in China. They need to adapt to the Chinese realities... So for Fortune 500 companies in China it's very important, it's imperative for them to learn traditional culture in China and how is it interrelated with the modern business culture.

Curiously though, the world beyond the berm is told the 330 million or so Chinese within a three-hour trip to the site on the other side of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport cannot wait to queue up for a boat ride on "It's a small world"or whatever Disney is offering up for its reported $5.5 billion marker. As, no, there will apparently be no attraction of that name at Shanghai Disneyland.

Not in China. Not in a country where Mickey, Minne and the rest of the gang are barely known. In a country where Disney might as well be Smith or Jones or Johnson. Well, maybe not that last one as Johnson & Johnson is actually a reasonably well-known brand throughout China.

The Walt Disney Company has a history of stumbling if not outright tumbling in its efforts to export Disney's brand of Americana. For reference, look no further than Euro Disney -- now known as Disneyland Paris -- and Hong Kong Disneyland. Of the latter, it is worth note that Disney has been known to Hongkongers from the early days of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Yet, to this day, with a direct link by MTR line to points throughout Hong Kong, Disney is barely able to keep up with the brand devoid, geographically hemmed in and animal exhibit heavy Ocean Park in Aberdeen.

Over lunch earlier this month at Neptune's in the Grand Aquarium, Ocean Park Hong Kong CEO Tom Mehrmann, who began his career as a street sweeper at Knott's Berry Farm just up the road from Walt's original Disneyland, said, "Disney still has to explain to some of its guests exactly what a 'Disney Park' is. We don't have that problem."

To further illustrate this point, visit Disney's outpost on Lantau, a parcel of reclaimed land near Hong Kong International Airport, and you will notice a different Disney. Some call it 'Disney-lite'. Others refer to it as 'McKingdom'. Regardless, there is a definite feel of a diminished product -- of a diminished brand -- on stage for the public's consumption.

For, on a spit of land with an audience topping seven million attached by subway line having a familiarity and a kinship with the West, sits the real experiment of Disney's entry into the Chinese market. And there, on a recent day, at a performance of The Lion King in a theater designed for Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando dropped into the Walt Disney Company's first Disney branded park in China, the actors sought to lead the audience in a rendition of the hit tune from this classic of Disney's second golden age of animation: Hakuna Matata.

Hakuna Matata. 
What a wonderful phrase. 
Hakuna matata. 
Ain't no passing craze.
It means no worries. 
For the rest of your days. 
It's a problem free philosophy.
Hakuna matata.

Arms raised high in the air, cast members -- on stage and off -- encouraged the capacity crowd to sing the infectious chorus. With lyrics blasting through the speakers and flashing on screens in the theater, they sought a simple singalong to the catchy and commercial hit written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Unmoved, the audience sat stone-faced. Child and adult alike.

Considering most individuals reading this are likely humming the tune or hearing it play as part of the soundtrack of their lives, that speaks poorly of Disney's penetration into the far less foreign landscape of Hong Kong. As for Shanghai, Mr. Iger continued on at the conference in Chengdu:

We're a brand that is viewed as good for me and good for my family. There are values to the Disney brand and what it stands for that have interested people all over the world. But, it's very, very important that while we bring Disney to a market we make sure that in that market it feels like, for instance, China's Disney.

In leaving the park on that recent evening, the dressed by and for Disney MTR cars filled with tired visitors exposed to, saturated in, that which is the Disney Parks experience offered up in Hong Kong. Looking to the left, to the right, all around, not one visitor had that uniquely American rite of passage positioned upon their head. Mickey ears. Not one.

And, in the second largest market for its product and the largest consumer market on the planet, Disney's Frozen, the highest grossing animated film ever having delivered over $1.27 billion in ticket sales and the fifth-highest grossing film of all time, earned little more than $48 million. Less than four percent of its global box office.

Welcome to China, Bob.

Gary Snyder is a member of the Redstone family, whose company, National Amusements, owns Viacom and CBS, among other media assets. He is an advisor on Western media and culture to China.

Disney Film Travel Posters Hint at Future Park Attractions

Travel posters of places home to Disney movies' animated characters. What's not to love? As you'll see, there are some similarities to the original Disneyland attraction posters that everyone loves. At top is Atlantis, from Atlantis: The Lost Empire. The cool blues and greens and purples call out to me. Part of me wishes this was for an attraction based on the film. Real concept art for an attraction at Disneyland exists, and the new version of the Submarine Voyage was teased. You can see it all here. A guy can dream, right?

Ah, the islands! The next two here are for Moana and Peter Pan. Both very good movies, and the latter one is one of my all time Disney favorites. Makes for a great Fantasyland attraction or one at Tokyo Disneysea's new Fantasy Springs area. Will a Moana flume ride make it to the Magic Kingdom's Adventureland? Maybe one day. Those Imagineers are always up to something.

Zootopia's staying power has surprised me. Even though the first was a lot of fun, it was really the second movie that made me appreciate the franchise even more. Will I go to Shanghai Disneyland to see the park's land? Probably not, but it seems Disney California Adventure could get its own version if the rumors are true that this is what new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro wants. Goodbye Pandora West.

It could work in California Adventure- 

the park where theme goes out the window.

Big Hero 6 gives us San Fransokyo. While I think the film is great, the land doesn't seem as well done. There's no real attraction. I mean, as fun as it may be, a meet and greet with Baymax is just not enough. But again, this is Disney California Adventure where the bar gets lower and lower each time an addition is added. 

This is not a precursor to Villain's Land! But it very well could be as the underworld of Hades would make a compelling but very dark backdrop to all those bad guys. 

This next one could be a real life location in Italy! We've been to the Cinque Terra, the inspiration. And it is lovely by any definition. Luca is a clever film that enchants with its atmosphere. Its main characters Luca and Alberto are best friends, much like the Bible's David and Jonathan. You can read into their relationship however you want. I prefer what's really there in the film over what's not. 

Disney Adventure World in Paris is getting the world's first Lion King themed land. The old studios park needs something like this. Frozen is beautiful but the main attraction is not an "E Ticket" by any definition. The new park layout looks beautiful, however. 

Hopefully, this is part of a new and ongoing poster series!

Disney's Too Clever Not to Share Wine & Dine Marathon Logos

Who doesn't love the penguins from Mary Poppins? (Who doesn't love Mary Poppins is an even better question. Without a doubt, the sequence where they appear in the film is the highlight of the movie. But I digress...) The logos from the 2026 RunDisney Walt Disney World Marathon are just too good not to share!

Perhaps the Aristocats is your favorite instead? Well, here you go!

The Three Caballeros work well, too.

Is there anything to be Grumpy about? No, not really!
 

Pretty Rare Piece of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Concept Art

I love all the new Disney coasters like Epcot's great Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind,  Disney Hollywood Studios sweet little Slinky Dog Dash, and Disney Animal Kingdom's  much older Expedition: Everest, but I always go back to the castle parks' classic Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as the one I can't resist! The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness has staying power! My favorite one is at Disneyland Paris, with its lets go under the river beginning, but the U.S. parks have pretty great versions as well.

Imagineer Ed French created this piece of concept art back in 1980. He expertly captured the sun washed rock work of the main peak in the background and the ride's train in a whole new way then seen in most other renderings. 

There's something else unique about Ed French. He's very involved in an organization trying to better the world. Check out Ethnos360!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Coco Boat Ride Area Expanded for Disney California Adventure

Disney CEO in the making Josh D'Amaro spoke about the Coco boat attraction for Disney California Adventure as one that would take its inspiration from Disneyland's classic Pirates of the Caribbean. That's a great piece of marketing fluff! What part of this could actually be real? We know there's severe space limitations in California, but Fantasyland is filled with them, and look how beautiful that area is!

So, what are those great Disney Imagineers actually up to? What will they build? 

Imagine if you will an entire land dedicated to the part of California that was influenced by the beautiful culture of Mexico. Its art, its architecture, its food, its music. Now imagine it all as an area of expansion for Disney California Adventure. It could be the equivalent of New Orleans Square in Disneyland.

What do I wish they would build? An indoor restaurant and an Epcot-ish mini Mexico pavilion with perpetual nighttime.  

Directly above is the official concept art for the Coco expansion. At the very top of this post is a piece I created with the help of several AI engines. One of the major differences between the two is my inclusion of a restaurant on the banks of the lagoon's boat ride. Think classic  Blue Bayou in California's New Orleans Square or even the San Angel Restaurante at Epcot's Mexico pavilion. The Gran Fiesta Tour may be the attraction there, but the true calling card draw is the waterside dining under a beautiful moonlit sky. Something like this will probably not happen as space is severely limited back in that corner of the park. But I wish it would. Don't you?

 

But let's imagine even more! How about making the Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta area into an extension of the Coco themed area? At the very top of this article is the new Los Amigos Plaza Restaurante. The elaborate courtyard is shown above.

Last but not least, let's re-Imagine Goofy's Sky Skool as The Three Caballeros Sky School, adding to attractions themed to this expanded land in the park. The new colors of the flight tower and the beautiful new arch lend a bit of flare to the surroundings. As far the ride itself, it's time to enclose a part of it and add in the three friends in Audio-Animatronic form. Donald Duck, and friends Panchito and Jose Carioca could sing and serenade us away from danger. Or so we think! It could be a total upgrade from what's there now and without too much work.

The little sister park next to Walt Disney's original castle park needs something this spectacular and this charming! The suits seem to have lost their way when it comes to making this park feel richly cohesive. Cars Land is a no contest smash, but the rest of the additions since have seriously been lacking, at least in my opinion. Not one single addition since 2012 has become a must-see for me, even though I love the film Big Hero 6. Will a Coco attraction do the trick to make me come back? Yes, maybe, but the ride and expansion had better be good! And an indoor restaurant will certainly affect my opinion on it, and a fully rethemed area would only make it better!

(Official concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

New Year, New Beginnings

A fresh year! A chance to start again and reimagine our future! I just love the hope that a new year brings and the opportunity to refocus and begin again. Let yesterday's failures fall behind you. Join with me on the beginning to a new path, a new life, a different way of seeing yourself, others, and God. He is for you! His love is so deep that he sent Jesus to the earth to redeem us from our broken state and offer us eternal life if we follow Him. As good as that is in itself, our God also promises to be with us each step of the way giving us the strength we need to live out our lives in a way that honors Him and blesses us.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

                                              Hebrews 12:1-2

We don't have to do this on our own! In fact, God goes before us. 

Let me encourage you further with some great words from Oswald Chambers on how God sees our past, our present, and our future. This is from the book My Utmost For His Highest, taken from the entry for December 31:

"You shall not go out with haste,

. . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard" —Isaiah 52:12

Security from Yesterday. “. . . God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

Security for Tomorrow. “. . . the Lord will go before you . . . .” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.

Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste . . . .” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.