Back the 1990s, Michael Eisner, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company had the idea to turn Disneyland into a full-one multi day destination, this project was Very ambitious, and it had one of the most EXPENSIVE projects Disent would have ever built:
That concept was WESTCOT, something similar to EPCOT at Walt Disney World, WESTCOT was to feature multiple countries of the Earth’s 7 main continents like The Americas, Europe, Asia and more, but the project was without criticism, as many residents in Anaheim didn’t like the overall concept of WESTCOT, as they though it would be too attracting for those not visiting Disneyland, at the same time, Euro Disneyland (Now know as Disneyland Paris) had just opened and was a HUGE failure, and it lost so much money that most of the projects Disney were working on during the time were all scaled back or downright cancelled, and that was the case for WESTCOT. But the concept for a second gate for Anaheim continued, and after many days of Eisner decussing it with multiple imagineers, a second gate was finalized.
As for what WAS built where WESTCOT was planned, Disney’s California Adventure opened on February 8th, 2001. Unlike WESTCOT, DCA focused around the Golden State of California, and it had 4 areas, with one having 6 districts or neighborhoods:
The first was Sunshine Plaza, which was to represent entering a postcard, and the Icon from the entrance was The Sun Icon, which was to reflect the Californian sun, but unfortunately didn’t. Next, the cheapest area of the park was Hollywood Pictures Backlot, which featured the cringy Hyperion show Steps In Time and The Worst Dark ride Disney Ever Built, Superstar Limo.
Next up in the Parks Lineup was its biggest land, The Golden State, which had 6 districts or neighborhoods: Condor Flats featured the only successful ride in the Park, Soarin’ over California. Grizzly Peak, listed by Mount Grizzly had the only Water Ride in the park, Grizzly River Run, but had the Grand California Hotel and Spa connected to it alongside the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail playground. Bountiful Valley Farm educated visitors about California Farming while Pacific Wharf was basically the Food Court for the park. If you wanted to Drink in Disney, The Golden Vine Winery was your place to go, it also had Seasons Of The Vine, which taught visitors about winegrowing. Finally, The Bay Area was the smallest out of the 6 districts and had the show featuring Whoopi Goldburg called Golden Dreams, which was about Californian History.
Finally, Paradise Pier had the Most rides in the parks attraction lineup, including California Screamin’ which had the only inversion in the entire Disneyland Resort. But most of the rides in Paradise Pier were off-the-shelf fairground rides, such as The Sun Wheel, King Tritons Carousel of The Sea, Maliboomer, Orange Stinger,and Mulholland Madness.
Reception to DCA was negative, with many complaining that DCA was “Too California, Not Enough Disney.” This was a problem, because without the charm of Disney in a park of their own, the attendance would crash and burn, so Imagineers set off on a journey to fix DCA.
On June 15th, 2012, The park was rededicated. in the expansion, Sunshine Plaza was removed and replaced by Buena Vista Street, a recreation of 1920s California when Walt Disney arrived there. Hollywoodland closed Superstar Limo just a year after opening and replaced it with Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley To The Rescue! in 2006 which retold the story of the first film, also added in 2004 was The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror, a clone of the ride from Orlando and Paris. Bountiful Valley Farm got a New Neighbor in 2002, particularly, ”a bug’s land” based around the 1998 Pixar Film and included 4 kiddie rides to add family friendliness to the Park, next door was Cars Land, based around the 2006 Pixar film, the land recreated Radiator Springs and had Radiator Springs Racers, which Many consider to be the ride that saved DCA. Pacific Wharf, Grizzly Peak and Condor Flats all stayed the same, Paradise Pier got plenty of changes throughout the renovation, including Toy Story Midway Mania!, Silly Symphony Swings, Goofy’s Sky School and The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.
After the Opening of DCA 2.0, the park got crowds that were only going to Disneyland were now going to DCA, and the renovation was a success! To this day, DCA is one of the most favorite Disney Parks in the world and many come to DCA to experience the Thrils it offers.
But what if DCA never happened? What if WESTCOT was built? What if multiple scrapped concepts for Disneyland’s second gate were built instead of DCA? This thread will be the answer, as I will show you all the concepts THAT we could have gotten instead of DCA, so without further ado, let’s start Dreaming Up possibilities!!!
That concept was WESTCOT, something similar to EPCOT at Walt Disney World, WESTCOT was to feature multiple countries of the Earth’s 7 main continents like The Americas, Europe, Asia and more, but the project was without criticism, as many residents in Anaheim didn’t like the overall concept of WESTCOT, as they though it would be too attracting for those not visiting Disneyland, at the same time, Euro Disneyland (Now know as Disneyland Paris) had just opened and was a HUGE failure, and it lost so much money that most of the projects Disney were working on during the time were all scaled back or downright cancelled, and that was the case for WESTCOT. But the concept for a second gate for Anaheim continued, and after many days of Eisner decussing it with multiple imagineers, a second gate was finalized.
As for what WAS built where WESTCOT was planned, Disney’s California Adventure opened on February 8th, 2001. Unlike WESTCOT, DCA focused around the Golden State of California, and it had 4 areas, with one having 6 districts or neighborhoods:
The first was Sunshine Plaza, which was to represent entering a postcard, and the Icon from the entrance was The Sun Icon, which was to reflect the Californian sun, but unfortunately didn’t. Next, the cheapest area of the park was Hollywood Pictures Backlot, which featured the cringy Hyperion show Steps In Time and The Worst Dark ride Disney Ever Built, Superstar Limo.
Next up in the Parks Lineup was its biggest land, The Golden State, which had 6 districts or neighborhoods: Condor Flats featured the only successful ride in the Park, Soarin’ over California. Grizzly Peak, listed by Mount Grizzly had the only Water Ride in the park, Grizzly River Run, but had the Grand California Hotel and Spa connected to it alongside the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail playground. Bountiful Valley Farm educated visitors about California Farming while Pacific Wharf was basically the Food Court for the park. If you wanted to Drink in Disney, The Golden Vine Winery was your place to go, it also had Seasons Of The Vine, which taught visitors about winegrowing. Finally, The Bay Area was the smallest out of the 6 districts and had the show featuring Whoopi Goldburg called Golden Dreams, which was about Californian History.
Reception to DCA was negative, with many complaining that DCA was “Too California, Not Enough Disney.” This was a problem, because without the charm of Disney in a park of their own, the attendance would crash and burn, so Imagineers set off on a journey to fix DCA.
On June 15th, 2012, The park was rededicated. in the expansion, Sunshine Plaza was removed and replaced by Buena Vista Street, a recreation of 1920s California when Walt Disney arrived there. Hollywoodland closed Superstar Limo just a year after opening and replaced it with Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley To The Rescue! in 2006 which retold the story of the first film, also added in 2004 was The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror, a clone of the ride from Orlando and Paris. Bountiful Valley Farm got a New Neighbor in 2002, particularly, ”a bug’s land” based around the 1998 Pixar Film and included 4 kiddie rides to add family friendliness to the Park, next door was Cars Land, based around the 2006 Pixar film, the land recreated Radiator Springs and had Radiator Springs Racers, which Many consider to be the ride that saved DCA. Pacific Wharf, Grizzly Peak and Condor Flats all stayed the same, Paradise Pier got plenty of changes throughout the renovation, including Toy Story Midway Mania!, Silly Symphony Swings, Goofy’s Sky School and The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.
After the Opening of DCA 2.0, the park got crowds that were only going to Disneyland were now going to DCA, and the renovation was a success! To this day, DCA is one of the most favorite Disney Parks in the world and many come to DCA to experience the Thrils it offers.
But what if DCA never happened? What if WESTCOT was built? What if multiple scrapped concepts for Disneyland’s second gate were built instead of DCA? This thread will be the answer, as I will show you all the concepts THAT we could have gotten instead of DCA, so without further ado, let’s start Dreaming Up possibilities!!!
Inspired by @HomeImagineer
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Canada (Haida Totem Poles and Haida Art painted on Plank Houses and The Raven Tales Potlatch, a Mystery Lodge show held in a Kwakiutl “big house” exploring Pacific Northwest Native American Raven Tales from the Kwakiutl, Tlingit, Nootka, Salish, and Haida nations.)
United States (Explorable Lakota village, New England Waterfront Shopping Area, Pocahontas Island interactive walkthroughs/canoe ride, Cliff Pueblo Maze, French Quarter Shopping Street, and Ghost Ship and Mysterious Manor walkthroughs in New England Waterfront. Pocahontas and John Smith meet guests on Pocahontas Island.)
Central America (FIESTA Cultural Experience, Day Of The Dead Market, Tenochtitlan guided interactive experience, Panama Canal boat ride, Costa Rica greenhouse, Casa Mexicana Hotel, Guatemala clothing shop, and Mayan Coast Water Park. Panchito meets guests in a Mission near FIESTA.)
Cuba (Cuban Nature walkthrough animal/plant exhibit and Old Havana shopping street.)
Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican folk band on a stage themed to the fort in San Juan)
Brazil (Amazon Rainforest trail, Reptile Room reptile exhibit, Amazon River boat ride, and Samba City walkthrough. Jose Carioca meets guests near Samba City.)
Peru (Explorable Machu Picchu replica with interactive elements and zipline over the Nazca Lines)
Scandinavia (Swedish Winter Market, Tivoli Gardens walkthrough, Akershus Castle restaurant, Norse Mythology/Trolls walkthrough inside of a giant Ash tree, Sami village, and Iceland boat ride)
Ireland (An Irish Pub and Irish Legends walkthrough within an Irish castle)
UK (Victorian London shops and restaurants near a Hampton Court walkthrough with maze, a replica of the Globe Theatre holding a dark ride based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and a Midsummer Night’s Forest walkthrough. Peter Pan, the Mad Hatter, Alice, Winnie, Tigger, Piglet, and Merlin meet guests near Hampton Court)
France (Paris Shops and Cafes, Notre Dame walkthrough telling the story of Quasimodo, Versailles Palace restaurant, and Provence fields walkthrough. Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Frollo, Phoebus, Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, the Stepsisters, Toulouse, Marie, Berlioz, Belle, and Gaston meet guests near Notre Dame.)
Germany (Bavarian castle restaurant near a Bavarian shopping village and Rhine River Cruise boat ride. Snow White, the Prince, the 7 Dwarves, and the Wicked Queen meet guests at the castle.)
Russia (Russian Ballet show, Red Square shopping area, St. Basil's Cathedral, and Hermitage Palace restaurant)
Italy (Venice area with Venetian Hotel, canals, shops, and restaurants with a Pompeii walkthrough and a Marco Polo walkthrough that ends in the Asian Garden. Gepetto, Pinocchio, Stromboli, Longfellow, and Gideon meet guests in the Venetian square.)
Greece (Greek Temple walkthrough and Santorini shopping village. Hercules and Meg meet guests near the temple.)
Spain (Moorish/Antonio Gaudi styled shopping and dining street with a walkthrough based on the Alhambra and a Flamenco dance show that educates guests about the Cale Romani culture)
Morocco (Moroccan Souk, restaurant with interactive dance show, and Casbah walkthrough.)
Egypt (Temple Of Thoth, Great Pyramid, Sphinx, and Forbidden Tomb Walkthroughs and Nile River Cruise boat ride.)
Subsaharan Africa (Treehouse observation deck on a fake Baobab tree, walkthrough Zimbabwean ruins, Mozambican Butterfly Sanctuary, Malagasy Lemur Exhibit, replica of the Great Mosque Of Djenne holding a Dogon Dance Show, Ethiopian Street Market, Asante Gold Exhibit in an Asante palace, an interactive West African dance show, African Lodge Hotel, Mount Kilimanjaro replica, Maasai Village, and South African Desert Cave Walkthrough. Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, and Rafiki meet guests near Mount Kilimanjaro.)
Turkey (Istanbul Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia walkthrough, Cappadocia Cave Dwelling walkthrough, and Ottoman Palace restaurant)
Israel (Rivers Of Eden boat ride, Dead Sea Caves walkthrough based on the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Old Jerusalem marketplace)
Iraq (Babylon area with a Ziggurat holding an Epic Of Gilgamesh walkthrough, Babylonian Marketplace, and Hanging Gardens restaurant)
Jordan (Petra replica holding an interactive Last Crusade themed walkthrough attraction taking guests through the story of the film as if they were a main character who followed Indy the whole way. Indiana Jones meets guests near Petra.)
Saudi Arabia (Arabian Oryx exhibit, Arabian Hotel, and Souq al-Saudi marketplace. Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, and Jafar meet guests in the Souq)
Asian Garden and Bhutan Spa Complex (Peaceful corner of park where guests can experience the Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tibetan cultures in a garden setting or relax within facade only replicas of Bhutan's Punakha Dzong and Paro Taktsang with an interior filled with relaxing spaces with spa rooms and relaxing music playing. Guests can also walk a replica of The Great Wall Of China to view a map of China, with cities labeled, made entirely of flowers or view a Chinese Folk Dance Show, featuring Yang Ge, a Sichuan Opera face changer, and the Mongolian Bowl Dance, in a traditional Chinese theatre, visit a museum of Tibetan history in a replica of the Dalai Lama’s palace in Lhasa, take a Junk Ship ride down Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, or explore the creatures of Korean mythology in a Korean palace. Mulan, Mushu, Li Sheng, and Shan Yu meet guests on the Great Wall.)
Japan (Edo period shopping street where guests can buy traditional Japanese food and objects along with a viewing of a show in a Bunraku puppet theater.)
Nepal (Mount Everest Museum within a replica Everest near a Himalayan shopping village)
India (Mughal Palace Restaurant with influences from Jaipur and Taj Mahal, Hindu Temple Gopuram holding Garuda and Naga walkthrough, and Indian Street Market. Baloo and King Louis meet guests at the Hindu Temple Gopuram)
Sri Lanka (Teahouse serving Sri Lankan teas)
Thailand (Floating Market selling common ingredients in Thai cuisine, Bangkok shopping street, and Asian Hotel)
Cambodia (Khmer ruins walkthrough based on Angkor Wat near a Khmer shopping village)
The Spice Islands (Wayang Kulit puppet show, Borneo Rainforest animal exhibit, Indonesia Boat Ride, and Borobudur Temple Walkthrough)
The Philippines (Restaurant where guests can try Filipino desserts built in the Colonial architectural style of The Philippines)
Australia (Spirits of Uluru Walkthrough and Dreamtime walkthrough. The mice from The Rescuers meet guests near Uluru.)
New Zealand (Māori Village with shops, restaurants, and attractions, including walkthroughs and boat rides)
The Islands (French Polynesia coral reef exhibit and island boat ride, Palau jellyfish exhibit, Micronesian Ruins walkthrough, Samoan village, New Caledonia forest walkthrough, Polynesian Hotel, and Papua New Guinea tribal mask museum)
Antarctica (Penguin Boat Ride)
