Disney in Williamsburg Va?

goalman43

goalman43

New Member
Original Poster
I dont know if this thread is in the right place, but I'd say about 15 years ago there was talk of Disney being interested in building some sort of property in Williamsburg, VA. I know that the locals had a hissy fit and basically prevented anything from happening. At the time I was not really into Disney and didnt pay much attention, but as I've become more and more a fan I'm curious about what great Disney idea was going to be less than an hour away from my house. If anyone has any insight please let me know.
 
CThaddeus

CThaddeus

New Member
Disney's America was the name, as I recall. I'll be honest, I'm glad they didn't build it. I had read that one of the ideas for an attraction was to simulate being a slave. While that might be fine from an EPCOT-ish educational standpoint, it just didn't sound like a whole lot of fun to me. I don't remember any of the other ideas, only that they were themed around the beginnings of the United States. One might have dealt with the Civil War, too.
 
goalman43

goalman43

New Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the info. Looks like it would have been great. Oh well, we can always hope. I know Virginia was also a possiblity when they were looking for property for WDW. I guess we might be in the back of their mind somewhere.
 
Lucky

Lucky

Well-Known Member
It was planned for near Manassas, VA (less than an hour west of D.C.) not Williamsburg (3 hours SE of D.C.). It certainly would have been competition for Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.

Anti-development people sunk the project, but the area has been heavily developed since then anyway, with the usual exciting suburbs and Wall-Marts.
 
Lucky

Lucky

Well-Known Member
Epcot was never very educational IMHO, and it's moved steadily toward entertainment and away from education over the years.

It would have been especially difficult for Disney to combine entertainment with education about American history at the planned VA park, with thousands of Civil War graves nearby.
 
goalman43

goalman43

New Member
Original Poster
interesting article. I was wrong on the Williamsburg part. My Dad doesnt live too far from the Piedmont area, and I can understand local concern. However, instead of a wonderful, well-run Disney complex, they now have the joys of Wal-Mart and fast food. Big win they got there. Oh well.
 
cdunbar

cdunbar

Active Member
I remember this being on one of those major network night time news shows, I wanna say it was Dateline. I do remember them interviewing Eisner and some local people. Eisner tried to show the interviewer all the things that this park would offer, and blah blah. I remember JHM doing an article about it
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2004/05/24/36.aspx
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2005/02/02/537.aspx
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2005/01/25/533.aspx
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2004/06/14/418.aspx

There might be more but thats what I could find for now...
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
goalman43 said:
I dont know if this thread is in the right place, but I'd say about 15 years ago there was talk of Disney being interested in building some sort of property in Williamsburg, VA. I know that the locals had a hissy fit and basically prevented anything from happening. At the time I was not really into Disney and didnt pay much attention, but as I've become more and more a fan I'm curious about what great Disney idea was going to be less than an hour away from my house. If anyone has any insight please let me know.
Click to expand...

It was nowhere near Williamsburg, VA. It was going to be in Haymarket, at the Intersection of I-66 and U.S. 15, About 65 miles west of DC.

Long story short, all the bad stuff the locals predicted came true - Overdevelopment, traffic and a degredation of historical sites around Manassas - Have come true, yet not theme park.
 
Lucky

Lucky

Well-Known Member
Disney's America was (and is) a great idea, but the site chosen was a colossal blunder, and the timing couldn't have been worse. The Ken Burns Civil War series had recently run on PBS, increasing awareness about how bloody the war was and generating support for preserving the battlefields.

There are plenty of better sites, including some more associated with the War of Independence, which happened longer ago, was a lot less bloody, and not viewed as a great national tragedy like the Civil War.

Outside Boston or Philadelphia moght work. Near Yorktown VA, site of George Washington's biggest victory, might seem logical, but there are 2 big problems with that: (1) Disney likes to blaze its own trails, and that area is already a mini-Orlando, with Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Great Wolf Lodge etc.; (2) Disney's focus on accurate detailed theming would have appeared ridiculous, with the real thing - Williamsburg's historic buildings - just a few miles away.
 
Lee

Lee

Adventurer
It was a good concept over all.
Find some art for it. Looks good, huh?
Now, check out DCA...looks strangely familiar.....:lookaroun
 
MickeyJman06

MickeyJman06

New Member
goalman43 said:
I dont know if this thread is in the right place, but I'd say about 15 years ago there was talk of Disney being interested in building some sort of property in Williamsburg, VA. I know that the locals had a hissy fit and basically prevented anything from happening. At the time I was not really into Disney and didnt pay much attention, but as I've become more and more a fan I'm curious about what great Disney idea was going to be less than an hour away from my house. If anyone has any insight please let me know.
Click to expand...
this is complete history
instead of FL, WDW was gonna be in virginia but they planned it around Busch area but disney refused to sell beer in the parks
and disney america is currently cancelled
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom