Here's Monstro

Friday's post on the Fantasyland that never was wasn't an April Fool's joke. In it, I looked at abandoned projects from the Imagineers: from the first concepts for Disneyland's Fantasyland all the way out to ones we hear more about today. (You can see it here.) Yet it seemed the joke was on me as I could only find the overview of the land concept art and not the Monstro the whale specific piece I just knew I had placed somewhere! Guess that's what I should come to expect when I have hundreds upon hundreds of scans and photos!
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Fantasyland to Discovery Bay to Western River Expedition to Beastly Kingdom

Abandoned Disney Imagineering projects began from the very onset of the designs for the park. Here in an early rendering for Fantasyland, you can see a Monstro the Whale water flume attraction that was never built. Inspired by Walt Disney's film masterpiece, Pinocchio, guests would be shot out of the whale's mouth. Sort of a kid friendly, no height restriction version of Splash Mountain. Along with Rock Candy Mountain, these two rides began fan obsession with attractions that never made it past the drawing boards. 

Decades later, I am still smitten by projects lost in the shuffle. And I'm not alone! Walt Disney World's unconstructed behemoth, Western River Expedition is still discussed and dreamed about- even if for Disneyland Paris! Master Imagineer Tony Baxter still fields questions about Disneyland's planned but unbuilt Discovery Bay (a fully built model was even displayed at the park!) and website discussion boards remain abuzz debating and longing for Animal Kingdom's Beastly Kingdom by Joe Rohde and team. Then there's a whole slew of new countries never seen for Epcot, Dick Tracy's Crime Stoppers for Disney's Hollywood Studios, and on and on...

This blogsite provides many pieces of art for these concepts and more. Along with many others, I'm only adding fuel to this fire. As much fun as it is, the Disney company themselves may be playing the cruelest April Fool's Day trick of all by letting us in on the plans- but I wouldn't have it any other way!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)