1986 - The House of the Future: Week 1

[DashHaber]

What about a medieval themed land where famous fairy tales come to life. Fantasyland is becoming more and more IP based so what if we took the more classic fairytales and put them into a main-street type land? Like a giant beanstalk coming out of a store or something.

That might hew too closely to Fantasyland. Not just the medieval look, but the fairy tale idea in general. Heck, some versions of Fantasyland have their own beanstalk already. That said, if we did go with a book/story theme, maybe we could incorporate some fairytale touches into an entry land that's like a mix of a Victorian town and a library.

 

[PerGron]

So I just woke up, but I had an idea. I know Tokyo has World Bazaar, but honestly (at least from the pics and videos I've seen) it just feels like another Main Street USA. What if we did a "World Bazaar" type thing but really leaned into the different cultures and architectures of the world. It could be like a mini-World Showcase, or maybe even do it like it's a big city with national districts "Little China, Italy, etc."

 

[Orange Cat]

Hello, everyone! Chicken Little has not kidnapped me, & I’m ready to toss my ideas into the thread. Kansas or Germany are both good with me, but I’ve pushed for it before & i‘ll push for it again, DisneyLand Canada. While the past/alternate timeline approach would limit certain things, I think those limits will just push us to be more creative. I like the literature, Germany, pier, progress city, & world bazaar approaches, however, if I somehow get my DisneyLand Canada wish to come true I think the opening land should reflect the fact that it’s in Canada.

 

[spacemt354]

One thing for Progress City, I'm sure at some point we will do a Tomorrowlans concept, we could possibly save it for that.

My one fear is that we're required to have a castle and im not sure how that would blend with 80s EPCOT vibes leading towards it

 

[DashHaber]

One thing for Progress City, I'm sure at some point we will do a Tomorrowlans concept, we could possibly save it for that.

My one fear is that we're required to have a castle and im not sure how that would blend with 80s EPCOT vibes leading towards it

That is actually a really good point. It wouldn't hurt to save the Progress City idea for Tomorrowland. That way, we can have a grounding theme that we can design Tomorrowland around.

 

[D Hulk]

My one fear is that we're required to have a castle and im not sure how that would blend with 80s EPCOT vibes leading towards it

Doesn’t the castle stand apart from 1900s America just as much though? Like the castle’s thematic point is always to stand in contrast, to be like a representation of the fantastical American Dream at the end of Main Street. If we keep the core American values of Main Street - even if we present them to a European audience as unattained optimistic ideals, which I’d say Progress City captures - then the castle keeps its purpose.

And regarding Tomorrowland vs Progress City. If we do an EPCOT-y Main Street, that forces Tomorrowand to hew more into sci-fi. Like Paris’ steampunk Discoveryland, though we might pick a different subgenre.

 

[D Hulk]

I suppose Castle and Hub are two other things we’re dealing with in this round.

Hub: Keep the classic traditional hub & spoke layout which really only Shanghai doesn’t do. Good area for parades & fireworks etc. Design around any crowd control issues those things create.

Castle: Always this is a big wide open choice. Pick a new princess? Or maybe do something different like, say, Fantasia Castle - that would be my choice. If we’re in Europe, how does ours stand apart from the local castles?

 

[NateD1226]

5 PAGES ALREADY?!

I just woke up after a crazy night with lots Netflix binge watching and an earthquake so I am pretty much half awake lol. But anyway, I have read all the ideas and I really like whats happening. I quoted a lot of things so let try and pin point my thoughts below

So excited for this!!!!

Some first thoughts...

• 1940s Seaside Pier. Like Paradise Pier done well and as an entrance land.
• 1950s/60s Beach Party theme. Like Beach Boys and Gidgit kinda style stuff.

I am sucker for all things 1920's-1940's theme so I really like these ideas.

- Hollywoodland: The Golden Age, can look to the DCA and DHS entrances for inspiration

This one might be my favorite so far as I love Hollywoodland in DCA. It would be able for us to expand on what has already been made and make a better land. Although, I don't know how it would work as main land

This is a tricky opening challenge since we don’t have a real world location to design for, and we don’t yet have an overall creative direction for the park or the resort. But I guess we’re coming up with all that here.

The original Main Street USA idea ties into Walt Disney’s early life & childhood.

DCA’s Buena Vista Street continues Walt’s life story with his 1920s arrival in Hollywood.

I propose we look to Walt’s later years for inspiration. We could try to create the utopian Americana which Walt envisioned for his Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow...because what is the real EPCOT but a futuristic version of Epcot?

Or we could do a different era of nostalgic Americana, like say mid-century 1950s small town

The whole Epcot Progress City Style being described isn't my favorite idea as it seems a little too risky and doesn't really set up good gateways to other lands.

Another idea would be to lean into the alternate history (I love making new timelines!). A big part of why Euro Disneyland didn't work originally is that France didn't want it. That park's opening wasn't too far off from 1986. We could do EuroDisney right by picking another country. Possibly Germany with a Duckburg inspired Main street to tie into their love of the comics.

Ok, little late to the game, but here is my pitch:
Who says we need to do American? We've got an entire world of cultures to choose from. Let's do something exotic!

I thinking about a German town, with the main castle being based off of the one in the film Snow White plus influence from real-life castles from the country.

I really like the idea of a Germany park. It really seems like it could be a great base of an amazing park.


Overall these ideas are amazing and I can't wait to see what we come up with.

 

[goofyyukyuk]

Doesn’t the castle stand apart from 1900s America just as much though? Like the castle’s thematic point is always to stand in contrast, to be like a representation of the fantastical American Dream at the end of Main Street. If we keep the core American values of Main Street - even if we present them to a European audience as unattained optimistic ideals, which I’d say Progress City captures - then the castle keeps its purpose.

And regarding Tomorrowland vs Progress City. If we do an EPCOT-y Main Street, that forces Tomorrowand to hew more into sci-fi. Like Paris’ steampunk Discoveryland, though we might pick a different subgenre.

The difference is how obvious the theming would be... with MSUSA, even though you know what the theme is, it’s much less obvious and much less forceful if that makes sense. There’s not really a way to do a subtle futuristic land so if we choose to do a more forceful opening land, it’s going to definitely set the tone for the entire park.

 

[spacemt354]

Doesn’t the castle stand apart from 1900s America just as much though? Like the castle’s thematic point is always to stand in contrast, to be like a representation of the fantastical American Dream at the end of Main Street. If we keep the core American values of Main Street - even if we present them to a European audience as unattained optimistic ideals, which I’d say Progress City captures - then the castle keeps its purpose.

And regarding Tomorrowland vs Progress City. If we do an EPCOT-y Main Street, that forces Tomorrowand to hew more into sci-fi. Like Paris’ steampunk Discoveryland, though we might pick a different subgenre.

According to legend (aka past debates on the forum) Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella castles are inspired by real world designs rather than fairy tale castle design, so theyre supposed to represent a civic center in a Victorian town setting.

I wasnt on board with that, but the more I think of it, the more it makes sense.

In theory we could also have that at the end of Progress City

 

[DashHaber]

I suppose Castle and Hub are two other things we’re dealing with in this round.

Hub: Keep the classic traditional hub & spoke layout which really only Shanghai doesn’t do. Good area for parades & fireworks etc. Design around any crowd control issues those things create.

Castle: Always this is a big wide open choice. Pick a new princess? Or maybe do something different like, say, Fantasia Castle - that would be my choice. If we’re in Europe, how does ours stand apart from the local castles?

Oh, yeah. Let's definitely keep the Hub. The Hub really is such a helpful design element.

I'm fond of the idea of choosing a new princess for the castle. Of course, I also feel like it should be a situation where the castle is one that has its own distinctive look from its source film. Thus, my two votes there would either be Belle or Rapunzel.

That said, an original castle could be pretty interesting. What were you thinking with for Fantasia Castle?

Doesn’t the castle stand apart from 1900s America just as much though? Like the castle’s thematic point is always to stand in contrast, to be like a representation of the fantastical American Dream at the end of Main Street. If we keep the core American values of Main Street - even if we present them to a European audience as unattained optimistic ideals, which I’d say Progress City captures - then the castle keeps its purpose.

And regarding Tomorrowland vs Progress City. If we do an EPCOT-y Main Street, that forces Tomorrowand to hew more into sci-fi. Like Paris’ steampunk Discoveryland, though we might pick a different subgenre.

I feel like a bigger thing also is that, no matter what the Castle rests at the far end of, that it should feel like its own land. Main Street USA has a very distinctive feel that separates it from the other lands. If we did Progress City as the entry land along with having Tomorrowland, it would just feel like two sci-fi areas to guests.

 

[PerGron]

So my biggest issue with a German park is the same issue as France or Canada or even Japan, and that's the cold weather. Snow and cold weather impacts how much stuff we can have outside. Obviously, to do a park in Australia or Brazil would be overdone (and I feel the same way about Canada), so I raise a new location completely.

What if we did a park in South Africa. Africa doesn't have any Disney parks representation, and while it can get cold there, it's not as cold as in northern Europe

 

[spacemt354]

I suppose Castle and Hub are two other things we’re dealing with in this round.

Hub: Keep the classic traditional hub & spoke layout which really only Shanghai doesn’t do. Good area for parades & fireworks etc. Design around any crowd control issues those things create.

Castle: Always this is a big wide open choice. Pick a new princess? Or maybe do something different like, say, Fantasia Castle - that would be my choice. If we’re in Europe, how does ours stand apart from the local castles?

Whatever theme we pick for the entrance land should correlate with the design of the castle

If we go real world (progress city, Hollywood land, Boardwalk, etc) then it should be designed after real castles

If we go fantasy (library setting, European stories) then it can take a more fantastical approach

 

[spacemt354]

So my biggest issue with a German park is the same issue as France or Canada or even Japan, and that's the cold weather. Snow and cold weather impacts how much stuff we can have outside. Obviously, to do a park in Australia or Brazil would be overdone (and I feel the same way about Canada), so I raise a new location completely.

What if we did a park in South Africa. Africa doesn't have any Disney parks representation, and while it can get cold there, it's not as cold as in northern Europe

Johannesburg, South Africa was a location I had in season 17 of sywtbai. Researched it a bunch it would be a great location

 

[spacemt354]

I think some visuals will help us as we decide - here are some possibilities for our options so far. I tried to pick images with a tall structure (ie Castle) in the background if possible

Gothic/Library Setting

Spanish Revival Setting

Hollywoodland

Progress City (perhaps a solid choice if we went with a northern locale (Canada, Germany, etc)

Bostonian/New England seaside setting

Boardwalk setting 1920s-30s

 

[Orange Cat]

What if we did a park in South Africa

YES!!!

 

[NateD1226]

Gothic/Library Setting

Spanish Revival Setting

Hollywoodland

Progress City (perhaps a solid choice if we went with a northern locale (Canada, Germany, etc)

These four visuals stand out to me the most out of the 6. The Gothic/Library looks very aesthetically appealing and I think we could really play around with the idea of the castle and street look. Spanish Revival looks a little too bold for a Disney park (if that makes sense lol) but it does look nice. Hollywoodland would be very simple but I think really effective as a base of the park. Progress City was one I didn't really think would work at first but I'm starting to lean to the other side. I'm not really sure how a castle would look and how the transition to the other lands would feel, but it does look very nice. As for the last 2 options they are very fun, but I just don't see them standing out as much.

 

[spacemt354]

These four visuals stand out to me the most out of the 6. The Gothic/Library looks very aesthetically appealing and I think we could really play around with the idea of the castle and street look. Spanish Revival looks a little too bold for a Disney park (if that makes sense lol) but it does look nice. Hollywoodland would be very simple but I think really effective as a base of the park. Progress City was one I didn't really think would work at first but I'm starting to lean to the other side. I'm not really sure how a castle would look and how the transition to the other lands would feel, but it does look very nice. As for the last 2 options they are very fun, but I just don't see them standing out as much.

Really thinking about it now - if we did have Progress City, I'd make it indoors. Same way in Tokyo the castle reveal is cut off, that would avoid the odd placemaking the Castle at the end of Progress City when we'd be expecting the Progress City Hotel model.

What that could enable, is like DLP, to have the hotel at the front entrance and have the monorail or peoplemover go around the park, instead of the train, and have the train saved for an Adventureland/Frontierland type roundabout

 

[Orange Cat]

I’m leaning towards “literature land”.

 

[spacemt354]

If Progress City was the option, @D Hindley mentioned going more sci-fi for Tomorrowland.

To avoid two futuristic lands, perhaps you could make it a sci-fi literature land, akin to Discoveryland but more broadly accompanying sci-fi authors of the past. That would keep the literature concept in play if we didn't end up using it for the entrance

But at this point I don't have a favorite, my favorite is whatever enables the majority of us to participate