Disney's Unbuilt Mystery House

This piece of concept art isn't another variation of the exterior for Disneyland's Haunted Mansion nor is it an alternative for Paris' equally thrilling Phantom Manor. It's something totally unique. A brand new attraction, and it's one I'd never even heard of! 

FoxxFur over at the excellent Passport to Dreams Old & New provides all the details on this unbuilt attraction designed by Imagineer Marc Davis for a slice of land at Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness. Named Adventure House, it seems like a fun and inviting way to spend some time. Check out the great article and all the art here. Just one more piece of investigation from an incredible blog...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Fun in the Winter Sun at Blizzard Beach

River Country may have been the first of the Disney water parks, but it was really just a test for something bigger and better yet to come. 

Typhoon Lagoon came along in 1989 during the largest expansion ever in the history of Walt Disney World. It was joined by the Caribbean Beach Resort, the first moderate and the 3rd Florida theme park, the Disney-MGM Studios. With such incredible expansion, Walt Disney World was the place to be in the 90's. And the Imagineers wanted to make sure it stayed that way!

Come 1995, the third water park opened. Blizzard Beach was an instant hit. The concept of a snow resort turned water park was just too much fun, and it was hard to resist. The crowds kept growing, even as River Country was eventually left to rot.

What could be the theme for the next large expansion's water park? How about a Pirates of the Caribbean one? It was proposed sometime earlier this decade but has yet to come about. As they say, good ideas never die at Disney. Maybe it's time will come!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

River Country Makes a Splash

Long before the big expansion at Walt Disney World, the days of Disney-MGM Studios and Typhoon Lagoon, there was a gem of a little watering hole called River Country. By today's standards, it was a fairly simple place to hang out: rope swings, pools, a couple of water slides. Certainly nothing incredible, but it was a nice afternoon diversion for those folks staying at Fort Wilderness or those smart enough to leave the Magic Kingdom or Epcot for a break.  Look at the concept art from some unknown Imagineer. Makes a pretty enticing argument for bringing it back.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Here Comes the Sun?

Quite a bit of talk these last few days of how Disney Imagineering is going to transform Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island into the Hyperion Wharf. Sure, all that great concept art you see looks great, but something seems suspiciously shallow. It's the content, the substance, the heart. This redo of the island sounds much like a contemporary version of California Adventure's Paradise Pier and Walt Disney World's Boardwalk. With all the demo going on in California, should we expect the recently removed Sun Icon or even the soon to be removed replica of the Golden Gate bridge to relocate to Florida? Hopefully not.

Before we are quick to criticize the Walt Disney Company for rehashing elements from the past, let me point out it is exactly the same sort of things we can do in our own lives. We can view people we haven't met through the lens of previous positive or negative relationships we have with others who seem similar. We can dress up and change our outside without ever really doing the hard work to change inside. Even worse, we can just let some things in us never change, causing us to deteriorate until we fall apart. (Want your Disney analogy? Think River Country here.)

Just as any Disney project needs a person with a vision and a great architect to pull it off, we need one, too. The Great Visionary who created us has a plan for us that is always better and healthier and more amazing than what we could ever expect compared to what we will get when we design our own lives. All it really takes to start fresh is agreeing to put your life in His hands, admitting we've made a mess of our life and possibilities. One step of faith, one choice of really giving your life over to Jesus is all it takes to watch new plans unfold. Then the son comes in, and the hope begins.
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)