D23 Imagineering Art

D23 is one of the best (or worst) endeavors ever pulled off by the Walt Disney Company. On the plus side, it's usually full of one of a kind Disney related events filled with- the down side- mostly B grade celebrities. On the plus side, it can also be home to some of the most enjoyable presentations that are guaranteed fan pleasers. Models of coming attractions and those from the past, artwork, Imagineers speaking about beloved and lost projects and more. 

Here on the D23 website is a large scale piece of concept art for Tokyo Disneyland and its re-imagined Tomorrowland, Sci-Fi City. The always wonderful Space Mountain appears in its hybrid Star Wars meets Discoveryland from Disneyland Paris form, the Rocket Rods zoom by, and the new crowd pleaser, The Flying Saucers, returns from the past to a settle in on a brand new continent.

My suggestion for finding great pieces: keep cruising by their website, and keep your eyes open on the official Disney Parks Blog too.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Tokyo Disneyland's Unbuilt Sci-Fi City

Some of you may have missed the gem included in my previous Disney post. You've had enough of Frozen? Well, me too, actually. So, here's the art and text hidden inside of that earlier post, with a few changes in order for it to make sense...

Tokyo Disney Resort is stunning, no doubt, and Tokyo Disneyland is meticulously maintained, yet there are areas that look tired even if well cared for. Why? Well, the older designs duplicated from Florida or Anaheim have run its course, leaving parts of the park to look dated. 

Tomorrowland is the worst of the bunch, and even the Japanese seem to have given up on a land of the future. Regardless of the quality of what has been added, the toons have arrived. Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek may be only the beginning.

Fantasyland is in equally poor shape, strapped with the look of Florida's Magic Kingdom circa 1971, prior to the beautiful to view but substance lacking New Fantasyland. Unfortunately, its a concrete kingdom save for a nice paint job on the castle to differentiate it from the others and a beautiful Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. Let me be the first to say- Having Dumbo just outside the Haunted Mansion is lazy design work. Word on the street is a New Fantasyland may be one of the things coming with that next big influx of cash.

The suits of the Oriental Land Company clearly understand the park needs upgrades badly to keep it fresh as the one next door. You can rest assured plans are on the table to do exactly that. I do wish they would dust off this project: Sci-Fi City, shown above. 

Imagineer Eddie Sotto, responsible for the beautiful rendition of Main Street U.S.A. in Disneyland Paris, turns the land of the future upside down, giving it a retro comic book feel. An amazing land of 40's space heroes and villains.  Space Mountain gets reimagined including a new piece of exterior track. Disneyland's beloved Flying Saucers return in a new form. Plus more. The entire project just gleams with a bright sheen.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Frozen at DisneySea..and more

Aside from the incredible and original Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland, the stunning Cars Land at California Adventure, and all that is to come to Shanghai Disneyland, it does seem as if the Tokyo Disney Resort consistently gets the best attractions to come out of Disney Imagineering. Maybe they will wow fans with all the additions and changes in Central Florida, but that remains to be seen... and hasn't been seen for at Walt Disney World for at least a decade.

The unbelievable Tokyo DisneySea is proof enough. You can take a glance at videos for Pooh's Hunny Hunt at the first international Magic Kingdom, track down a Journey to the Center of the Earth or check out the Hotel Mira Costa in all its glory to decide for yourself . Tokyo Disney Resort is currently where Disney creativity hits its peak- at least in this century!

Tower of Terror in Tokyo presents a great story even without

the Twilight Zone tie-in.

Everyone in the theme park blogsphere understands cloning popular attractions from one park to another is commonplace. Disney does it. Universal does it. Seems everyone does it. So when it came time to enhance Tokyo DisneySea with a version of The groundbreaking Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the Imagineers bravely gave the attraction a brand new story with a unique  exterior, spellbinding effects and a clever connection to the rest of the park. (What did the Tokyo budgeteers -a new breed of accountants unfortunately gaining momentum- do? Strap the attraction with the cheaper to built and easier to maintain version, the one found in California and Paris.) Yet, the new story is so good, it almost makes up for the accountants' error in judgment.

Let's look a little deeper. Can Disney Imagineers hit home runs by turning the very popular Pixar movies into headliner attractions? Absolutely- when they are given the funds and freedom to do so! To see these adventures, guests must travel to Tokyo since the American parks are left with smaller, less impressive attractions that what is found overseas. Notice a pattern? Here's Tokyo Disneyland's splashy Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek! Trust me, after viewing this video, you'll look at the Monsters ride at California Adventure in a whole new way.

Turning Pooh into a must see adventure.

But what can the Suits and Imagineers do with an older and less edgy property? Here's a great little video of Pooh's Hunny Hunt from Theme Park Review. Can a cute story without a roller coaster track or even a traditional thrill element be turned into an "E Ticket Plus" by today's crop of Imagineers? The answer is "yes" when a story is matched with great technology and the right finances to do the attraction concept justice. This is a Fantasyland Dark Ride elevated to the next level, even if the entrance design does seem relatively unimpressive. Certainly, its of a different scale than what you'll find in Critter Country at Disneyland.

Tokyo Disneyland in all its variations of quality.

There's the other side of the coin as well. Tokyo Disneyland is meticulously maintained, yet there are areas that look tired even if well cared for. Why? Well, the older designs duplicated from Florida or Anaheim have run its course, leaving parts of the park to look dated. Take a look at the video tour of the kingdom (above). Tomorrowland is the worst of the bunch, and even the Japanese seem to have given up on a land of the future. Regardless of the quality of what has been added, the toons have arrived. 

Fantasyland is in equally poor shape, strapped with the look of Florida's Magic Kingdom circa 1971, prior to the beautiful to view but substance lacking New Fantasyland. Unfortunately, its a concrete kingdom save for a nice paint job on the castle to differentiate it from the others and a beautiful Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. Let me be the first to say- Having Dumbo just outside the Haunted Mansion is lazy design work. Word on the street is a New Fantasyland may be one of the things coming with that next big influx of cash.

The suits of the Oriental Land Company clearly understand the park needs upgrades badly to keep it fresh as the one next door. You can rest assured plans are on the table to do exactly that. I do wish they would dust off this project: Sci-Fi City. Here's the concept art for the beautiful redo of Tomorrowland:

Never built Sci-Fi City to replace Tomorrowland.

Imagineer Eddie Sotto, responsible for the beautiful rendition of Main Street U.S.A. in Disneyland Paris, turns the land of the future upside down, giving it a retro comic book feel. A land of 40s space heroes and villains.  Space Mountain gets reimagined including a new piece of exterior track. Disneyland's beloved Flying Saucers return in a new form. Plus more. The entire project just gleams with a bright sheen.

Disney Sea from the air. Lots of room for Frozen to show up!

The second Tokyo park is not being overlooked. As the suits have chosen to pour billions of dollars into their two parks and the resort at large in the next decade. (Yes, billions). 

Here's DisneySea from the air. Mermaid Lagoon is at the left top with the park entrance to the right. If the estimated $500 million plans are approved, you can count on Frozen's land of Arendelle to become the next port built. Perhaps it will go right across from the American Waterfront. The South American themed Lost River Delta would separate Ariel's kingdom from Elsa's, giving guests a chance to explore ancient ruins with Indiana Jones in between princess focused attractions.

If the suits in Japan go all in, I can see Imagineers creating an Arendelle that may favorably compare in substance to the Pirate themed land being built in Shanghai Disneyland. Can't you just picture a Norwegian style village on the shore with Elsa's first  magnificent castle (below) forming an entry point to a Frozen adventure or two? 

Princess dining and more inside.

Without a doubt Frozen has joined the Disney canon of classic animated films. It's popular worldwide and absolutely a cultural phenomena in Japan. The guests have embraced Mermaid Lagoon as the first Disney land dedicated to one movie property. They will definitely take the newest addition to heart, especially when the port will contain a state of the art attraction using a brand new technology to tell the story. Add to it a few more smaller scale attractions, unique shopping and dining. Another theme park smash. Conversely, we lucky Americans are getting a cheap Maelstrom remodel in Florida to represent one of Disney's most popular and profitable franchises... and in a park where its does not belong.

For now, I am waiting to be wowed in Florida. It's been almost six years since my last trip to Walt Disney World, and at the rate in which Disney builds new attractions, it will at least be another 5 or so years before I finally book another trip. Maybe I'll go to Tokyo instead. And maybe you should too.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

From Laughingstock to Increased Stock?

The transformation of Paradise Pier continues. As the Imagineers begin to reshape California Adventure into a park worthy of the Disney name, the challenges they face are numerous. How to do this and stay within budget? How to transform the park into one more people wish to visit? How to redeem the park from a history that includes being the laughingstock of the industry- one played for laughs by the Simpsons?

The task is far more monumental and the implications deeper than Disney will admit. At risk is the reputation of the Disneyland Resort, not Disneyland park. And the money that should flow from the expansion.

Walt's Kingdom will always be a sentimental favorite. But can the Imagineers transform California Adventure into a park that allows the resort to hold its own with its younger American cousin? A revamped park is a must for Disney's investment to really pay off. Future plans include adding more hotels and hotel rooms, an expanded Downtown Disney, and an eventual third park. Without the "blessing of size" and sitting in the middle of an unattractive city, Disney has to work very hard to convince travelers outside of California to spend their hard earned money here. California Adventure 2.0 must persuade the public that the suits are serious about making the Golden State resort one that truly shines. It's their last chance- and there will be no other. Fooled once, maybe. Fooled twice, never.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Sci-Fi City for Tokyo?

With the new Monsters Inc. attraction ready to go in Tokyo, it seems the attention has been turned on the rest of the Japanese Tomorrowland as well. The image above is one of very few of a new Tomorrowland that was proposed a few years back. Looks to be a blend of what was actually built in Florida and what transpired in California. Hmmm- come to think of it, isn't most of Tokyo Disneyland that kind of mix? Should be interesting to see what happens next. Stay tuned!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)