TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
The Walt Disney Family Museum Proudly Presents: Walt Disney's NatureWalk, a Transformation of the San Francisco Botanical Gardens
Map by @TheOriginalTiki
Disclaimer: This concept is entirely fictional and does NOT represent any current or future plans from the actual Walt Disney Family Museum. I know that's kind of obvious, but I'm putting this here just to be safe since I used to work for them haha.
Located in the heart of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco's Botanical Garden has been delighting guests for generations upon generations. The 55 acre space hosts plant life from around the world in different themed biomes which take advantage of the uniquely foggy climate of the city by the bay.
In 2022, the Walt Disney Family Museum will partner with the gardens to transform the park into the Walt Disney Nature Walk. This will be a brand new public parkway which will transform the already immersive gardens into a fully themed space rivaling the immersion of the neighboring Japanese Tea Gardens.
Nature Walk will maintain a mix of iconic set-pieces like the Cloud Forest and Succulent Garden with brand new themed environment based on different eras of Walt Disney's life, blending together the already established "wonderland of nature's own design" with the over the top design philosophy that Walt prided himself in when designing Disneyland.
Backstory
The pandemic has hit San Francisco hard, and in response many museums and attractions are banding together to share their resources and build each other up. This was exactly the philosophy when the Botanical Gardens partnered with the Walt Disney Family Museum. With the museum being steps away from the Presidio Transit Mall, a convenient free shuttle was installed bringing guests from the the presidio district to the main parking complex of Golden Gate Park, about a block away from the Garden Walk entrance. The gardens remained opened year round as attractions and flourishes were installed, with construction taking place exclusively after park closing hours as to not interfere with the public space.
In June of 2022, Phase One of the Nature Walk opened to the public with all the added flourishes to the gardens as well as the Disney Family Farm transformation of the green house. October 2022 saw the opening of the Carolwood Railway. Finally in Spring of 2023 the Nature Walk was complete with the opening of the Rock Candy Mountain family coaster.
It's worth noting the the Walt Disney family runs the museum and has an agreement with the Disney company to use any Walt-era IP. This deal will be extended into NatureWalk.
As mentioned earlier, much of the gardens will remain the same with small added flourishes such as hidden Mickeys embedded into the walkways and tiny details on things like lanterns, benches, and waste bins. The restrooms will be completely overhauled and the Friendship Gate across the street from the Tea Gardens will be closed off in order to accommodate the railway track. The following will be the major expansions and points of interest, following a loosely chronological representation of Walt Disney's life and legacy.
1900s - The green house in the back corner of the park will be transformed into the Disney Family Farm. It is here where guests will be able to tour a brick by brick recreation of Walt's childhood home in Marceline, MI. Local street artists will be brought on board to make spectacular farm animal portraits in the patch of soil grown specfiically next to the barn (now housing the greenhouse plants) will bring Walt's childhood mud-drawings full circle into full blown works of art.
1920s - A full scale "Steamboat Willie" is docked at the man-made lake near the Friendship Gate and can be explored by guests of all ages. The area around the lake becomes the park's main picnic area and is dubbed "Timeless Lake". An animated Mickey Mouse AA stands proudly atop the tugboat enthusiastically whistling and steering. Statues of the other Fab Five can be seen tucked away in areas surrounding the lake. Minnie and Pluto having a picnic, Daisy and Donald in the middle of a wayward date, and Goofy selling popcorn. (To maintain the health of the plant-life, food and drink will be allowed in picnic areas but not sold within the park itself)
Man-made lake in its current form. Photo by @TheOriginalTiki
1930s -The South American and South African gardens are transformed into Silly Symphony Parkway. These gardens were chosen to be given the Silly Symphony theme because of the distinctively colorful plant-life found within. All the plants will not be touched, but additional foliage will be brought in to pad out the already impressive displays. Naturally, Flowers and Trees will take on a big presence in this garden pathway with several characterized AA trees with limited animation blending into the environment.
Example of the colorful plant life on display in the current gardens. Photo by @TheOriginalTiki
The Old Mill will also be a set piece located near the entrance to the parkway taking up a previously vacant patch of lawn. Inside the mill will be a small but immersive set-piece where guests can experience the famed storm that made the short such a harrowing piece of dialogue-free storytelling. Old school parlor tricks like Tiki Room rain windows and blowing fans/misters will make guests feel like they're truly there in this three minute walk-through experience.
Other Silly Symphony sight-gags like the houses of the Three Little Pigs, the graveyard from Dance of the Skeletons, a topiary sculpture of Ferdinand the Bull, and so much more. A walk through the Silly Symphony Parkway is sure to thrill and delight guests of all ages with timeless sights and sounds from an era of animation long since past.
1940s - Two of the garden's iconic Cloud Forests will be given Fantasia features. The cloud forest closest to the Friendship Gate at the highest point in the garden will be home to Bald Mountain, an impressive forced-perspective piece of man-made nature meant to seamlessly blend into the environment. Of course it wouldn't be Bald Mountain without a dramatic appearance from the Chernabog. An AA with limited movement (think the scale of a Fantasmic puppet) will emerge from the top of the mountain every 30 minutes for a three minute show. This AA will be the largest and most intimidating in the park and is sure to draw in fans of the film who have always wanted a more fulll scale representation of the iconic Disney villain.
The cloud forest closest to the Disney Family Farm, in one of the southern most tips of the park will be home to some very distinct Rite of Spring flourishes which will once again blend right into the environment. Fake rockwork will transform the area into the primordial wasteland from the classic segment, with statues of the T-Rex vs. Stegosaurus fight acting as a centerpiece.
1950s - The Australia and New Zealand gardens are a favorite of many, including myself. Located right near the Friendship Gate, this small walkway is right off the main path but immerses you with colorful and wild shaped trees that look straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. This is a perfect setting for Wonderland. Many elements from Alice's Labyrinth at Disneyland Paris will be brought over, but in keeping with the spirit of the rest of the park the nature will still take center stage.
Examples of how quirky the plant life in these gardens are. Photos by @TheOriginalTiki
1960s - If there's one area of the park that will be dramatically scaled back in order to provide the Disney Nature Walk with its signature "E-Ticket", it's the very open meadows which serve their purpose as a large scale public space but mess with the immersive flow of the rest of the side themed gardens and pathways. When wandering out from a themed garden back into the main concourse with the open lawns, it's hard not to be reminded the essentially the Botancial Gardens are more of a "public park" than a "themed space". That all changes with Rock Candy Mountain.
Rock Candy Mountain will serve as a monument to a Disneyland that never was. Utilizing a famous never-built concept, the attraction will take cues from Casey Jr's Circus Train but ramp up the thrill level to something more intense than said attraction but also more of a gateway coaster than Big Thunder.
Rock Candy Mountain will be built in a classic Silly Symphony artstyle and truly be made to look like a cartoon come to life. With vibrant gumdrop peaks, lollipop trees, and other candy concoctions, this will truly take on a new life of its own as the park's visual centerpiece. The attraction layout will be very similar to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, with a short coaster section followed by a dark ride section and ending in a slightly more thrilling coaster section. Much like Seven Dwarfs, the mountain will be constructed so that guests can walk all the way around it and get vantage points and photo ops from absolutely every angle.
The dark ride section will be much more simple than Seven Dwarfs and simply be a collection of sight-gags based on antrophamoric candy. Large scale gummy bears, chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Peeps, and many more will greet you in this short but oh so sweet indoor set-piece. You then travel up a 50 foot lifthill and careen down the side of the mountain on a thrilling trip back to the station. The trains will be designed to resemble mine carts but without the swinging action found on Seven Dwarfs.
Open lawn area is roughly the footprint for Rock Candy Mountain. Photo by @TheOriginalTiki
Finally to tie everything together, the Carolwood Railway features a round trip around the park with stops at the main entrance and the Friendship Gate (which has now been transformed into a second train station). The Railway will be VERY MUCH built in the style of Walt's home railroad, complete with winding train tracks through the gardens. The train tracks will be easily crossed by guests and come equipped with safe and reliable blockades which come down every time a train passes. This is sure to add an over the top sense of kinetic energy to the park as a whole and brings Walt's dream of a themed space entirely full circle.
Model of Walt Disney's backyard railroad found in a rotating exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum
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Well done, 
