Mirror Disneyland: One Final Edition (Seriously)

[MANEATINGWREATH]

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack...

I've been working on Mirror Disneyland for so long now that I've done, I think three or four threads on the subject, and it would be walking and talking by now if it were a human child. Between insane life changes through the years and my overall OCD and perfectionism that have prevented me from getting this completed to my standards, this project has been so long now in the making that so many other wonderful threads and ideas have sprung to life in my absence. It's so incredible to see a thriving Armchair Imagineering forum still exists and still works as well as it does in 2024. I'm a veteran of the defunct Visions Fantastic as most of you know, so it warms my heart to see there is still a taste for this online world. There are mirror Disney Worlds, other mirror Disneylands, original dream resorts, open brainstorming threads for new resorts, it goes on and on. I hope that my work in some part played a part in getting some of your works off the ground through the years.

That said, and I really do mean it this time, I will not be returning to this project after this thread is complete. This thread is it, and I mean it this time, no take-backsies. I can only keep trying to finish this project so much and so often, and sometimes you just have to move on. I'm going to give my every effort to finish this entire project and finish it my way. I'm also going to do this in my own time. I can't guarantee the speed at which updates to the overview are made, so I ask for your continued patience!

With Walt Disney's original Disneyland as a basis for the entire project, I've taken the Park I grew up with (and once worked at) and have revisited it with a "what if" mindset.

“What if Walt Disney had the financial support needed to build Disneyland?

What if the Disneyland Resort had 5,000 acres instead of 500?

What if Disney and Universal combined creative forces instead of Disney and MGM?”

***

With Inspiration and Research from:
The Imagineering Story (2019), A Dream Called Walt Disney World (1981), DisneyChris.com, ThemeParkTourist.com, Widen Your World, Ideal Build-Out, Imagineer & Author Jason Surrell’s Collective Works, Maps of the Disney Parks by Kevin and Susan Neary, The Art of Disneyland by Jeff Kurti and Bruce Gordon, Disneyland World of Flowers by Morgan Evans, 101 Things You Never Knew About Disneyland by Kevin Yee and Jason Schultz, Disneyland: Then, Now, and Forever by Bruce Gordon and Tim O’Day, Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real, and Disneyland - The First Thirty Years​

The Happiest Legacy on Earth



“If we can borrow some of the concepts of Disneyland and Disney World and Epcot, then indeed the world can be a better place.” - Ray Bradbury​

​

It took magic of a sort to transform 5,000 acres of flat, windswept land in Anaheim, California into the Disneyland Resort that we know today. It’s hard to believe that at one time there was nothing there but rows and rows of orange and walnut trees.

​

When Disneyland opened, it was a 20-year dream come true for Walt Disney, its creator, chief architect and head “Imagineer.” Disneyland would become the single greatest entertainment achievement of the twentieth century - an escape from the cares of today into the nostalgia of the past, the excitement of the future and the wonderful realm of fantasy. In his spare time between films and other projects, Walt would dream and plan for his entirely new concept in family entertainment, a place where parents and their children could have fun together; something of a fairytale kingdom, a metropolis of the future, and a place for people to find, above all, happiness and knowledge. In creating Disneyland, Walt Disney sparked the world’s imagination and established a dream that we could all share - and still share.

“Disneyland really began when my two daughters were very young. Saturday was always ‘Daddy’s Day’ and I would take them to the merry-go-round and sit on a bench eating peanuts while they rode. And sitting there, alone, I felt that there should be something built, some kind of a family park where parents and children could have fun together.” - Walt Disney ​

​

Disneyland grew out of Walt Disney’s own feeling that an amusement park should offer more to the entire family. Here was no mere amusement park, here was a whole new concept in entertainment. As detailed in The Imagineering Story, “A spark of inspiration first revealed itself in Walt’s backyard railroad. The obsession soon grew beyond model trains. He toyed with the idea of a small playground across the street from his studio. But when the Burbank City Council feared a carnival atmosphere invading the city, they rejected the proposal and Walt stormed out.” What was then called “Mickey Mouse Park'' was relocated. Even with this rejection at hand, the ideas had already outgrown the land. Lillian Disney was skeptical; “Why would you want to get involved with an amusement park? They’re so dirty and not fun at all for grownups.” Walt rebutted, “Well, that’s exactly my point, mine isn’t going to be that way. Mine’s going to be a place that’s clean, where the whole family can do things together.”

But a family park without whips and shoot-the-chutes? All that money just for theming and landscaping? ​

​

Concept work began before funding was secured. Walt and his brother Roy knew from experience that bankers were not an easy audience. Walt and artist Herb Ryman spent a weekend creating the first true visualization of what we now recognize as Disneyland. The 43 x 70-inch aerial schematic would combine all the ideas that had been imagined thus far, a groundbreaking layout of five themed areas centered around a central hub like spokes in a wheel, easy to find, easy to enter. As Herb recalled, “Walt had unassailable confidence in his convictions. He believed in this thing. And when he looked at you, you got to believe it, too.” With this sketch and the Disney brothers' perseverance and stubborn belief in a good idea, Disneyland quickly won the support of the American film and amusement industry.

"It was never a problem to convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible," Walt recalled, "because dreams of this sort offer much collateral and great reward." Walt never had to sell his vacation home or borrow against his personal life insurance policies as he’d expected to do. Roy quickly found the money to support his younger brother’s ever growing dream. Armed with Herb’s now famous drawing, Roy pitched to the struggling ABC Network, the weekly, one-hour Disneyland which would bring the story of the Magic Kingdom into the homes of millions of American families. Walt captivated audiences. With financiers guessing fast return on their investments and offering their words of encouragement, in no time at all had the brothers secured the funds needed for the world’s first Magic Kingdom. Everyonewas on board, and Disneyland was a hit in the making.​

5,000 acres began their transformation into the “Vacation Kingdom of the World” on July 16, 1954. The Stanford Research Institute recommended Anaheim, California, 30 miles southeast from Los Angeles, for its climate and affordable land. The location also laid ahead of a rapidly growing urban development and the advent of the California freeways. Disneyland began with Disneyland, two golf courses, two resort hotels, a campground, and beaches at a man-made lagoon. When Walt Disney World duplicated this formula with more acreage and lakes years later, they spent $400 million. In 1955 it was $80 million. Rear Admiral Joe Fowler, brought in first to consult on the construction of the Mark Twain, was hired as construction boss for the whole project. He got it - all of it - done in under a year, and incredibly so.

​

“No one can design Disneyland for you. You have to do it by yourself,” an adviser told Walt. The creative demands placed on WED Enterprises (an acronym for Walter Elias Disney) would call on a blend of talents unequaled in the entertainment industry, and in order to find most of these talents, Walt turned to the field he knew best - motion pictures. In many cases, he selected the people he knew best, those already skilled in the Disney approach to family entertainment. All of the people who designed Disneyland worked first and foremost as filmmakers, and it shows - the design of Disneyland is one and the same with a cinematic wonderland. Each Imagineer applied the craft of filmmaking to the emerging concept of the theme park. The artists, sculptors, designers, architects, engineers, story tellers, special-effects experts and others at WED would be called “Renaissance people” by author Ray Bradbury. Walt Disney later called this original group Imagineers, a name he felt captured both imagination and engineering.

As one designer recalled, “When we began designing Disneyland, we looked at it just as we do a motion picture. We had to tell a story, or in this case a series of stories. In filmmaking, we develop a logical flow of events or scenes that will take our audience from point to point through a story.”

“If we were to ‘leapfrog’ from Scene One to Scene Three, leaving out Scene Two, it would be like sending the entire audience out to the lobby for popcorn in the middle of the film. When they came back, how could we expect them to understand what was happening? In filmmaking, although we can control the sequence of events, the viewer might walk in late and, through no fault of our own, miss Scene One and never catch up to the story. But in Disneyland, we had more control. We designed the entire Park so that a guest couldn’t miss Scene One or Two. From the moment he entered our ‘theater,’ that is, our front gate, Scene One would begin for him.”

​

“Walt set a standard early on with the Imagineers,” CEO Bob Iger said in an interview for The Imagineering Story. “There was a standard that surprised people, a standard that enabled people to come in expecting something and then giving them something even beyond that, beyond, really, their own imagination. So they left thinking, ‘Wow.’ Either ‘Only Disney could do that,’ or asking, ‘How did Disney do that?’”

As Disneyland’s design evolved, two important considerations were always in mind to maintain the theme of each area and to ensure easy access. For decades, county fairs and amusement parks had been a confusing amalgam of environmental design. Each show or pavilion competed for the visitor’s attention like billboards on a highway. Disneyland’s design was unprecedented. Rather than competing, five distinct areas would complement each other and contribute to the total Guest Experience. A timeless geometric pattern of radials led to a central hub, which made decisions easier and prevented people from feeling lost. You always know where you are. “Scene One'' is Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street, U.S.A.
"Main Street, U.S.A. is America at the Turn of the Century - the Crossroads of an Era. The Gas Lamp and Electric Lamp - the Horse-Drawn Car and the Auto Car. Main Street, U.S.A. is everyone's hometown... The Heartline of America."

Adventureland
“Here is Adventure, Here is Romance, Here is Mystery. Tropical Rivers - Silently flowing into the unknown. The Unbelievable Splendor of Exotic Flowers…the Eerie Sounds of the Jungle... With eyes that are always watching. This is Adventureland.”

Frontierland
"A Tribute to the Faith, Courage, and Ingenuity of the Pioneers. Here we Experience the story of Our Country's Past. The Colorful Drama of Frontier America in the Exciting Days of the Covered Wagon and the Stagecoach. The Advent of the Railroad...and the Romantic Riverboat."

Fantasyland
“Here is the world of imagination, hopes and dreams. In this timeless land of enchantment, the age of chivalry, magic and make-believe are reborn - and fairy tales come true. Fantasyland is dedicated to the young and the young-at-heart - to those who believe that when you wish upon a star, your dreams do come true.”

Tomorrowland
"A Vista into a World of Wondrous Ideas, Signifying Man's Achievements...a Step into the Future, with Predictions of Constructive Things to Come. Tomorrow Offers New Frontiers in Science, Adventure, and Ideals. The Atomic Age. The Challenge of Outer Space...and Hope for a Peaceful and Unified World."
​

Now, at 70, Disneyland has grown to include three additional destinations, each in tribute to the same ideals, dreams and “hard facts that have created America” that Walt had intended for Disneyland.

New Orleans Square
"At the Bend in the River, the 'Gay Paree' of the American Frontier. Here All Sizes and Shapes of Ships Sail - from the Majestic Sternwheeler ‘Mark Twain’ to the Mighty, Three-Masted Vessel ‘Columbia.’ At the Bend in the Mighty River, a New Orleans of Days Gone By."

Folktale Forest
"A Backwoods Refuge to the Great Heroes and Legends of the American Frontier. The myths of John Henry and Davy Crockett establish the romance and allure of the American West. Here is a Sleepy Backwoods Hamlet, a Tranquil Refuge to the Great American Myth and Folktale."

Liberty Street
"Here Stirs a New Nation Waiting to be Born. Thirteen Colonies have Banded Together to Declare Their Independence from the Bonds of Tyranny. It is a Time when Silversmiths Put Away Their Tools and March to the Drums of Revolution, a Time when Gentlemen Planters Leave Their Farms to Become Generals, a Time when Tradesmen Leave the Safety of Home to Become Heroes."

***​

“I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in Disneyland. I want them to feel like they’re in another world.” - Walt Disney

​

Bulldozers and other huge machines excavated and hauled well over a million tons of earth to build a “berm” and sculpt the mountains, valleys, rivers, and streams envisaged by Walt and the Imagineers. Landscapers followed the bulldozers, transforming the desolate scene into the assorted jungles, forests, gardens and lawns. First came the big trees, then the little; shrubs, vines, and the irrigation systems; at the last minute came the flowers and the grass, which were then unrolled into full-grown lawns. The 20-foot “berm” surrounding the Park saw to the visual exclusion of the outside world. Railroad tracks were laid on the berm to carry turn-of-the-century passenger trains on a grand-circle tour of the Park. One contractor recalled a moment of pride as water first flowed into the Rivers of America, followed by desperation as it quickly disappeared into the soil.​

Fantasy Lagoon, a 150-acre lake for beach trips and watersports, was situated far from the gates of Disneyland. Oil tycoon-turned film producer Jack Wrather majority owned and operated the original Disneyland Hotel from 1955 to 1988, then advertised as having an “Olympic Pool” and a “Top of the Park Lounge” with billboards advertising these attractions along the I-5 Freeway. The Marceline Hotel, named for Walt’s boyhood town, was Disney-owned and shared close real estate with a “Magic Kingdom Miniature Golf” and the much larger Golf Centre, gateway to the 18-hole Elias and Fantasy Lagoon Golf Courses which still exist today. 25-cents guaranteed all-day entry to the Disneyland Parking Lot. Holiday Land could hold up to 9,000 guests, designed as the ideal locale for company picnics, family reunions and the like, having its own baseball diamond and accommodations for horseshoes, volleyball, shuffleboard, and square dancing, a giant red and white-striped circus tent, and rows and rows of picnic tables. The Vacationland Recreational Vehicle Park would house RV’s, motor homes, tent trailers and more amidst a man-made forest in the finest recreational vehicle park in all Orange County. It even had an arcade with a billiard room.

In the geographic center and heart of the 5,000-acre property was Disneyland, isolated by its 20-foot berm and distance from the outside world.

​

The dream was becoming a reality. One by one, scenes of the Disneyland show were completed, and finally, Walt’s little idea - his bold new concept in family entertainment - was ready for its debut.

“I think that everyone here will one day be as proud to have been at this opening as the people who were there at the dedication of the Eiffel Tower,” actor Bob Cummings remarked, one of the many celebrities gathered for the Grand Opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955. Will Jones of the Minneapolis Tribune wrote, "If it's an amusement park, it's the gosh-darndest, most happily-inspired, most carefully-planned, most adventure-filled park ever conceived. No ride or concession in it is like anything in any other amusement park anywhere."

"To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."
- Walt Disney ​

​

It could have been a disaster. ABC organized the biggest live telecast in history. The number of celebrities and public figures on hand were endless, including host of the telecast, Art Linkletter. It was a premiere unlike anything the world had ever seen. This was Walt Disney's finest moment - a triumph for a man who had dared to dream and boldly reach out beyond his contemporaries.

At two o’clock that afternoon the gates opened. 10,000 special guests had been invited, but by day’s end, 33,000 people had arrived. Fortunately, it worked. No attractions broke down. Food and beverages were plentiful. Skeptics predicted July 17 to be a “Black Sunday” for Disney, the beginning of the end, but it wasn’t. In its first seven weeks, more than a million people passed through the turnstiles. Disneyland was an artistic and commercial triumph.

Disneyland would have to grow rapidly to meet demand, and as Walt went on to promise, "Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world." Disneyland has become an international symbol of happiness and inspiration, a living showplace of beauty and magic filled with the accomplishments, joys and hopes of the world. More than 600 million “children of all ages” have enjoyed Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom, including kings, queens, prime ministers and presidents. Through the years, Disney Imagineers have added new shows, attractions and themed lands, while improving original ones. Although the future holds the promise of even more dreams come true, the first 70 years at Disneyland marked an unforgettable era. The following is a written tour recapturing to the minute detail the history and magic of this alternate-reality.

***​

 

[cdunlap]

I am excited to see where this is going

 

[WaltWiz1901]

As am I! There's no doubt in my mind that Mirror Disneyland, with everything all ironed out, is going to be spectacular!

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Thank you, folks!

 

[spacemt354]

Very excited for this welcome back!

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

It Has Universal Appeal

“You know it’s a shame people come to Hollywood and find there’s nothing to see. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could come to Hollywood and see something?” - Walt Disney​

In the summer of 1990, Walt’s original dream of Disneyland was joined by the first of its two sister parks, Disney-Universal Studios. An all-new experience, here for the first time, Disney magic met the wonder of its chief competitor, Universal Pictures. This strange collaboration was a first for the business of themed entertainment, and covers today an astounding 300 acres, celebrating the romance of the golden age and the glamor of a Hollywood that never was. Designed with the history, function and fantasy of moviemaking in mind, the Park has a history as storied as Walt’s original Magic Kingdom.

​

Following the success of his earliest works, filmmaker Carl Laemmle opened Universal City Studios on March 15, 1915. Laemmle held fast to the idea of creating some sort of an attraction the public could enjoy when visiting Hollywood. His 230-acre backlot offered 25-cent tours of his established production facilities. Laemmle had opened his first nickelodeon in 1906, and later joined half a dozen other motion picture companies in founding Universal Pictures. Through the help of some 300 studio hands and actors in 1912, Laemmle and co. built and formed the unincorporated “city” for the public to observe film production in action. When “talking pictures” arrived, the not-so-quiet observers were shut out, and the tour closed. A young Walt Disney was one of the many visitors to the tour prior to its 1930 closure.

​

Laemmle sold his entertainment empire in 1936, and by 1964, the themed entertainment business had boomed. Disneyland knockoffs sprung up overnight. Each fought for their turn with Walt’s formula for success. Music Corporation of America (MCA) had acquired Universal Pictures. Studio accountants, including Buzz Price of the Stanford Research Institute, the man who’d selected the land for Disneyland a decade prior, settled on a revival of the old Studio Tour to increase declining profits and offer something to compete with Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom. Having the last real backlot from the days of silent cinema, Universal struck what they called gold. For $2.50, “glamor trams” designed by Disney Legend Harper Goff would bring visitors on a backlot tour past and through dressing rooms and film productions in progress, celebrity bungalows and historic sets, and later, staged events like a collapsing bridge, a flash flood, a visit to the Munster's house, and in 1976, the “JAWS Experience” where the 25-foot shark from the blockbuster film would launch a surprise attack on riders. The tour grew in popularity through the years, and by the time of its closure in 1981, a western stunt show and special effects demonstration had opened separate from the tour. MCA-Universal almost had what they had wanted most: a Disneyland of their own.

In the 1970s, the growing success of the Studio Tour brought executives to wishful looking into a Florida expansion. But before they could buy the land desired a short nine miles from Walt Disney World, disaster hit. The energy crisis of the ‘70s decimated the American tourism industry. Attendance declined during the 1979 oil crisis. Further complicating matters, frequent filming on the backlot would often reroute the trams and therefore miss the iconic stops and attractions marketed so prominently along freeway billboards and television commercials. The tour wasn’t enough to compete with Disneyland and the high price of gasoline. The tour was closed (again) on July 1, 1981. The dream of a Universal Studios Florida was shelved, though the idea had been shared with a certain executive at Paramount named Michael Eisner. Universal City again resumed exclusivity to film production.

​

Meanwhile, in Anaheim,

“I wanted something live, something that could grow, something I could keep plussing with ideas, you see? The park is that. Not only can I add things but even the trees will keep growing; the thing will get more beautiful every year. And as I find what the public likes—and when a picture's finished and I put it out—I find out what they like, or they don't like, and I have to apply that to some other thing; I can't change that picture, so that's why I wanted that park.” - Walt Disney​

Though Walt had purchased 5,000 acres of land for Disneyland, little more than 500 acres were in use for the better part of two decades, leaving the rest vacant farmland and forest. Walt long thought about what was next and where it could go in Anaheim. He toyed with the idea of “Progress City,” a “living showcase that more people will talk about and come to look at than any area in the world.” This early idea for Walt’s EPCOT would fall by the wayside when American industry at the time had little faith in a return investment on a Disney-run metropolis. Walt pitched his buried highways and mass transit solutions to no luck, and despite the tremendous and continued success of Disneyland, with new attractions like the under-construction Pirates of the Caribbean and the Mine Train Thru Nature’s Wonderland, investors were skeptical of Disneyland's continued success in California for decades to come. This left the notion of additional theme parks or amenities off the table - for now.

5% of Disneyland’s visitors came from the East Coast, where 75% of the United States population lived. All the while, kitschy businesses and shoddy motels had sprung up around the border of the 5,000-acre site. This land had grown into a hive of restaurants, motels, and gas stations, each vying for passers-by to do anything but pass them by. With Disneyland knockoffs and competitors trickling in throughout the United States, Walt acted fast. Piece by piece, Walt and Roy secretly bought 27,000 acres of land in Central Florida, an in-house secret known as the “Florida Project,” which later became Walt Disney World. The story of (Mirror) Walt Disney World is another story for another time. Disneyland and its remaining real estate would one day expand and follow in its younger sister’s footsteps - in a big way.

Sadly, Walt would not live to see his Florida Project. He laid in his hospital bed and charted the design of what would become Walt Disney World among the ceiling tiles of his hospital room. When Roy would visit, Walt would explain the location of the Magic Kingdom and other ideas he was designing, including what he had called his "greatest gift to mankind": EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966. He was 65 years old.

In the “what would Walt have done” era of 1968 to 1984, Walt Disney Productions was plagued with box office disasters - and the $1.2 billion development cost for the theme park version of EPCOT. The stagnant studio struggled through the 1970s, facing debt and more than one hostile takeover attempt that ended with the installation of CEO Michael Eisner (from Paramount) and President Frank Wells (from Warner Bros.) in 1984. The new Walt and Roy, Eisner and Wells inherited a challenging time, but a challenging time that had seen the openings of Walt Disney World in 1971 and Tokyo Disneyland in 1982. Tokyo had laid the groundwork for a future overseas, and proved to Eisner that there was an audience for the Disney theme park. Disneyland, U.S.A. was no exception. It was time to go big and “come home” to Disneyland.

“You couldn’t walk through Theme Parks and not recognize that they lacked contemporary development. But when Frank and I walked down Main Street, for the first time, Frank turned to me and said, ‘There’s so much here. There’s so much we can do.’ You couldn’t walk through the theme park and not know the potential.” - Michael Eisner, The Imagineering Story ​

In three years, Eisner and Wells had doubled the budget on “plussing” the theme parks, during which time they premiered the 3D Captain EO, and raised ticket prices 30%. Attendance increased. Michael believed in differentiating the Parks from one another. With deepened pockets, Eisner and Wells set their sights on building the long-awaited second theme park in California and turning Walt Disney’s American original into a multi-day, multi-night model like the one EPCOT Center had created for Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World needed more hotels. Eisner and Wells built at least one thousand hotel rooms a year from 1985 to 1990, even continuing into the ‘90s and beyond. Former CEO Card Walker was against adding more hotels in the 1970s, but this new management begged to differ. Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village became the Walt Disney World Village in 1977, under Eisner and Wells, it became the Disney Village Marketplace and nightclub district of Pleasure Island (today Disney Springs), more reason for visitors to stay longer on Disney property. Attendance soared, growth continued. Disneyland was next.

​

Eisner announced his intention for a multi-billion-dollar investment into the creation of a beautiful and all-encompassing Disneyland Resort. The long-lonesome Disneyland Park in the geographic center and heart of the 5,000-acre property was landlocked by its 20-foot berm and distance from the outside world (the latter landlocked by urban overdevelopment). It would soon be joined by WESTCOT Center and new and refurbished hotels, a shopping, dining and entertainment district, and a state-of-the-art amphitheater. Disneyland had catered until then largely to single-day visitors and local residents, whereas Walt Disney World was the opposite. Disneyland had tried to maintain longer-stay vacations with two golf courses and Fantasy Lagoon since 1955, but nothing stuck. The additions that would make Disneyland into a resort would only benefit the surrounding commerce in Anaheim and see to its transformation into an eco-friendly, near-uniform cityscape. This would see the regulation of visible electric lines and uncontrolled urban development outside the 5,000-acre property, the elimination of the gaudy billboards and seedy motels, a complete and total redevelopment of the area. The showmanship of Disneyland and its conceptual WESTCOT would translate to the outside world and hold immersion from the get-go. The code-enforced signage and extensive landscaping would bring forth vision.

Suspiciously close to Walt’s vision for EPCOT, it would all be connected through the integration of buried roadways and hidden electrical lines inside the Disney property and a network of mass transit solutions: a PeopleMover and an extension of the existing Disneyland Monorail. Nearly all 5,000 acres could be traversed by foot, car, monorail, or PeopleMover with lush landscaping throughout to enhance the experience. In 1986 when construction began and funds had been allocated, a special district was formed with approval from the State of California, much like Walt Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District: The Anaheim Resort Recreational District. In addition to having the standard powers of an incorporated city, the district has immunity from any current or future county or state land-use laws, allowing free-reign construction and additions in the long run. New hotels and amenities arose. The Disneyland Resort was forming - finally. But what of WESTCOT?

In building the Disneyland Resort, everything but WESTCOT was prioritized. The $2 billion price tag for the Resort infrastructure and contents would balloon to a $5 billion price tag had WESTCOT broken ground. So, when the Disneyland Parking Lot disappeared in 1986, the sands it left for a second park were vacant. This space across from Disneyland needed investors, or at least a business partner for Disney if it were to become a theme park by its scheduled opening of “Summer 1990.” Slowly but surely, WESTCOT, a spiritual successor to EPCOT, which at the time was only four years old, was gradually downplayed and stripped from promotional materials. Still, a banner at the site across from Disneyland read “WESTCOT - Opening Summer 1990!” Statues of Mickey Mouse and Figment the imagination dragon held aloft the banner. New hotels and a shopping district began to open and form, but a new theme park? Not so much. Eisner needed options.

When he arrived in 1984, one of Eisner’s first orders of business was to bring Hollywood’s greatest entertainers into the Disney fold, something he proved doable with Captain EO. Born from a tour of WED arranged for Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator George Lucas, Captain EO was a collaboration between Disney, Lucas, Michael Jackson, and director Francis Ford Coppola, a breath of fresh air for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland and EPCOT’s Future World. When an attraction called Star Tours, a simulator journey through the world of his Star Wars, was brought to Lucas around this same time, the potential of that idea outgrew Tomorrowland and inspired something bigger.

Sid Sheinberg, President and CEO of MCA, had overseen three of Universal’s highest-grossing films: Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Back to the Future, a result of his ongoing partnership with director Steven Spielberg. When Lucas bragged to Spielberg that Universal could never create something like his in-development Star Tours at Disney, the friendly banter challenged Spielberg and Sheinberg to revisit the forgotten plans for Universal Studios Florida; or perhaps they’d reopen the Hollywood backlot with a fresh and Disney-inspired look. Eisner, having seen the plans for Universal Florida in the ‘70s at Paramount and always being the dedicated competitor, overheard what was being discussed at his chief competition and had none of it, especially if it meant direct rivalry to his $2 billion and counting Disneyland Resort. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” he said.

Eisner invited Sheinberg to visit the vacant WESTCOT site in late 1986 to show his rival studio head what his Imagineers had been up to. Here he laid out a bold and controversial idea that until that point only Frank Wells had any knowledge of. Later that month, he and Sheinberg, joined by Frank Wells, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg, shared a lost weekend in Aspen. No one seemed to know why this weekend trip was happening or why such titans of the entertainment industry were being so secretive and friendly with one another. By December, an agreement was finalized and an announcement was made: Disney and Universal would collaborate for the first time in history and create Disney-Universal Studios in Anaheim, California. Bye-bye, WESTCOT.

​

Disney and Universal shared the worldwide rights to use one another’s name when advertising the new Theme Park. While Disney owned 100% of the chosen real estate, both would split the profits down the middle. The construction and maintenance fees were split based on which IP belonged to who, so if a Disney-IP needed maintenance, Disney paid for it. Universal films and characters were not allowed outside the gates, nor would their songs fill the new esplanade that closely separated the two parks by an 800-ft walk across. Both MCA-Universal and Disney would not be allowed to build another “Studios Park” in the United States until the year 2020. Orlando-based concepts for a Disney*MGM Studios and Universal Studios Florida were shelved. Because of his history with the rival Warner Bros., Frank Wells secured the rights to the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters for the new Park for a Who Framed Roger Rabbit area, a film that was still two years from release in 1986. Spielberg and Lucas were hired to collaborate with WED in the incredible design process that was ahead.

When word got out that rival characters and films would have a presence at the Disneyland property, it caused a “small world war” among skeptics. News reports and headlines from the time recall public outcry at the creative merger. “Walt Disney Best Stay Frozen - Desecration & Disgust-neyland - Eisner’s Folley - abandon this idiotic plan! - Disney is turning their backs on their own creative library of characters and turning Disneyland into another marketing scheme - WESTCOT Dead on Arrival - It’s a Mall World After All.”
The Disney faithful believed that having King Kong, Bugs Bunny and Count Dracula across from the gates of Walt’s original vision detracted from the charm and nostalgia of what the Magic Kingdom had stood for and would instead be a salute to competing corporate values and late-stage capitalism. “We’re not turning Walt’s vision for Disneyland into a marketing pitch for Universal Pictures, MGM, or Warner Bros. Not even for our own films and products here at the Walt Disney Company,” Eisner assured in a press conference after ground had broken. “In fact, the opposite is true. We want our guests to enjoy a historic and unprecedented creative achievement brought forth from a peaceful unity between friendly foes in this competitive industry. We want this idea to resonate and hold true to the same magic and values that have kept Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland as the cultural titans of creative entertainment they have been for almost four decades now.”

On June 7, 1990, Disney-Universal Studios opened to an excited but cautiously optimistic public.

“The World you have entered was created in a fantastic, unprecedented collaboration between The Walt Disney Company and MCA-Universal, and is dedicated to something we all love: Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will. A showbiz partnership for generations to come.” - Michael Eisner, June 7, 1990 ​

Today, creative success at a Disney Park is defined by immersiveness. In its time, Disney-Universal Studios was more so an amalgamation of immersion and generic backlot, allowing Imagineers to create a technicolor collage of fantasy realms interspersed by large sound stages housing attractions. Even still, like Disneyland before it, the themed areas of Disney-Universal Studios would complement each other and contribute to the total Guest Experience, even if a dull soundstage or two dotted the landscape.

The Studios Park opened with four “backlots”: Hollywood Boulevard - Manhattan Waterfront - Roger Rabbit’s Toontown - Production Backlot. The Studio Tour consumed much of the Park. The real Universal backlot, which was never closed to real film production, remained in Hollywood; the Anaheim Production Backlot was artificial, though some film projects were filmed here over the years.

The Disney-Universal Studios of today is a “Hollywood Fantasyland.” Today’s Imagineers have removed the “edutainment” from the formula and gone all in on the “Hollywood that never was” and the intricate, almost bombastic historical and modern fantasy that surrounds it; a celebration of film and the worlds it has created. It’s one big special effect.

​

With a gala fit for Hollywood, Disney-Universal Studios opened to great success. In celebration, Disneyland and Disney-Universal Studios remained open for a 60-hour marathon from June 7 at 10:00 AM to June 9 at 10:00 PM. After the marathon, parking lots were full by 10:00 AM and the 7:00 PM closing was soon stretched to midnight. Tickets sold out in advance, with the signature Great Movie Ride, Star Tours and Kongfrontation building queue lines of up to six hours! To give perspective into what Disney-Universal Studios looked like on Opening Day, here is an excerpt from an early promotional pamphlet and what attractions were highlighted:

"Located at the new Disneyland Resort, Disney-Universal Studios Theme Park recreates Hollywood's most shining moments and brightest myths on 300 entertainment-packed acres. Here, guests are immersed in every aspect of the movies - from the glitter of Hollywood Boulevard to the fascinating real life behind the scenes.

Housed inside a replica of the famed Chinese Theatre, The Great Movie Ride invites visitors to step into the movies themselves! Through the magic of Audio-Animatronics, visitors are swept into some of the world's most famous film scenes, from seeing Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ to the iconic visage of Boris Karloff as the imposing Creature in ‘Frankenstein.’

Weighing in at 13,000 pounds of howling, growling fury, leveling skyscrapers, swatting helicopters, the screen's most monstrous ape is on the rampage through Manhattan. So close you can smell his banana breath, he's got you right where he wants you - helplessly trapped in your tram, swaying high above the East River in Kongfrontation!

Your starbound bicycle rises into the wind and your pulse quickens as you race across the moon toward the edge of the galaxy. E.T. will capture your heart again in the E.T. Adventure. He's enlisted your help to save his home planet as you pedal away from the FBI, CIA, Army and Police, to a magical place beyond your imagination where enchanted creatures sing a delightful welcome and shower you with gratitude.

In all the universe there is no greater thrill than Star Tours, the ultimate attraction from the imaginations of George Lucas and Disney. The galaxy is safe for travel. C-3PO and R2-D2 now invite you to board the new Starspeeder 3000 for a leisurely flight to the Moon of Endor. But hold on tight, your rookie pilot Rex is still getting used to his programming."​

As the overall design and mission statement evolved, the Studio Tour downsized and disappeared altogether. The soundstage-housed attractions were closed for brand-new backlots, including Jurassic World, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and Super Nintendo World to name three of a large handful. While the Production Backlot closed long ago, the Manhattan Waterfront, Hollywood Boulevard, and Roger Rabbit’s Toontown remain, with the Great Movie Ride still standing. And yes, there are Mickey Mouse ears on the Universal Globe in the esplanade.

​

Disney-Universal Studios remains as an unusual remnant of the Eisner and Wells era - the Park that brought expansion to Disneyland and turned it into the Disneyland Resort we know today. It brought Universal back into the themed entertainment industry and remains a strong and relevant partnership in creative design and collaboration. The first 35 years of Disney-Universal Studios have been a landmark in family entertainment and fun, and one that can exclusively continue to evolve at the Disneyland Resort.

***​

Next time, we'll begin our physical tour of the Disneyland Resort, then visit Walt's original Disneyland. As for the third-gate mentioned in the first paragraph of this post, you'll have to stay tuned until the end of Disney-Universal Studios months and months from now. Until then - peace!

​

 

[DisneyFan32]

It Has Universal Appeal

“You know it’s a shame people come to Hollywood and find there’s nothing to see. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could come to Hollywood and see something?” - Walt Disney​

In the summer of 1990, Walt’s original dream of Disneyland was joined by the first of its two sister parks, Disney-Universal Studios. An all-new experience, here for the first time, Disney magic met the wonder of its chief competitor, Universal Pictures. This strange collaboration was a first for the business of themed entertainment, and covers today an astounding 300 acres, celebrating the romance of the golden age and the glamor of a Hollywood that never was. Designed with the history, function and fantasy of moviemaking in mind, the Park has a history as storied as Walt’s original Magic Kingdom.

​

Following the success of his earliest works, filmmaker Carl Laemmle opened Universal City Studios on March 15, 1915. Laemmle held fast to the idea of creating some sort of an attraction the public could enjoy when visiting Hollywood. His 230-acre backlot offered 25-cent tours of his established production facilities. Laemmle had opened his first nickelodeon in 1906, and later joined half a dozen other motion picture companies in founding Universal Pictures. Through the help of some 300 studio hands and actors in 1912, Laemmle and co. built and formed the unincorporated “city” for the public to observe film production in action. When “talking pictures” arrived, the not-so-quiet observers were shut out, and the tour closed. A young Walt Disney was one of the many visitors to the tour prior to its 1930 closure.

​

Laemmle sold his entertainment empire in 1936, and by 1964, the themed entertainment business had boomed. Disneyland knockoffs sprung up overnight. Each fought for their turn with Walt’s formula for success. Music Corporation of America (MCA) had acquired Universal Pictures. Studio accountants, including Buzz Price of the Stanford Research Institute, the man who’d selected the land for Disneyland a decade prior, settled on a revival of the old Studio Tour to increase declining profits and offer something to compete with Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom. Having the last real backlot from the days of silent cinema, Universal struck what they called gold. For $2.50, “glamor trams” designed by Disney Legend Harper Goff would bring visitors on a backlot tour past and through dressing rooms and film productions in progress, celebrity bungalows and historic sets, and later, staged events like a collapsing bridge, a flash flood, a visit to the Munster's house, and in 1976, the “JAWS Experience” where the 25-foot shark from the blockbuster film would launch a surprise attack on riders. The tour grew in popularity through the years, and by the time of its closure in 1981, a western stunt show and special effects demonstration had opened separate from the tour. MCA-Universal almost had what they had wanted most: a Disneyland of their own.

In the 1970s, the growing success of the Studio Tour brought executives to wishful looking into a Florida expansion. But before they could buy the land desired a short nine miles from Walt Disney World, disaster hit. The energy crisis of the ‘70s decimated the American tourism industry. Attendance declined during the 1979 oil crisis. Further complicating matters, frequent filming on the backlot would often reroute the trams and therefore miss the iconic stops and attractions marketed so prominently along freeway billboards and television commercials. The tour wasn’t enough to compete with Disneyland and the high price of gasoline. The tour was closed (again) on July 1, 1981. The dream of a Universal Studios Florida was shelved, though the idea had been shared with a certain executive at Paramount named Michael Eisner. Universal City again resumed exclusivity to film production.

​

Meanwhile, in Anaheim,

“I wanted something live, something that could grow, something I could keep plussing with ideas, you see? The park is that. Not only can I add things but even the trees will keep growing; the thing will get more beautiful every year. And as I find what the public likes—and when a picture's finished and I put it out—I find out what they like, or they don't like, and I have to apply that to some other thing; I can't change that picture, so that's why I wanted that park.” - Walt Disney​

Though Walt had purchased 5,000 acres of land for Disneyland, little more than 500 acres were in use for the better part of two decades, leaving the rest vacant farmland and forest. Walt long thought about what was next and where it could go in Anaheim. He toyed with the idea of “Progress City,” a “living showcase that more people will talk about and come to look at than any area in the world.” This early idea for Walt’s EPCOT would fall by the wayside when American industry at the time had little faith in a return investment on a Disney-run metropolis. Walt pitched his buried highways and mass transit solutions to no luck, and despite the tremendous and continued success of Disneyland, with new attractions like the under-construction Pirates of the Caribbean and the Mine Train Thru Nature’s Wonderland, investors were skeptical of Disneyland's continued success in California for decades to come. This left the notion of additional theme parks or amenities off the table - for now.

5% of Disneyland’s visitors came from the East Coast, where 75% of the United States population lived. All the while, kitschy businesses and shoddy motels had sprung up around the border of the 5,000-acre site. This land had grown into a hive of restaurants, motels, and gas stations, each vying for passers-by to do anything but pass them by. With Disneyland knockoffs and competitors trickling in throughout the United States, Walt acted fast. Piece by piece, Walt and Roy secretly bought 27,000 acres of land in Central Florida, an in-house secret known as the “Florida Project,” which later became Walt Disney World. The story of (Mirror) Walt Disney World is another story for another time. Disneyland and its remaining real estate would one day expand and follow in its younger sister’s footsteps - in a big way.

Sadly, Walt would not live to see his Florida Project. He laid in his hospital bed and charted the design of what would become Walt Disney World among the ceiling tiles of his hospital room. When Roy would visit, Walt would explain the location of the Magic Kingdom and other ideas he was designing, including what he had called his "greatest gift to mankind": EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966. He was 65 years old.

In the “what would Walt have done” era of 1968 to 1984, Walt Disney Productions was plagued with box office disasters - and the $1.2 billion development cost for the theme park version of EPCOT. The stagnant studio struggled through the 1970s, facing debt and more than one hostile takeover attempt that ended with the installation of CEO Michael Eisner (from Paramount) and President Frank Wells (from Warner Bros.) in 1984. The new Walt and Roy, Eisner and Wells inherited a challenging time, but a challenging time that had seen the openings of Walt Disney World in 1971 and Tokyo Disneyland in 1982. Tokyo had laid the groundwork for a future overseas, and proved to Eisner that there was an audience for the Disney theme park. Disneyland, U.S.A. was no exception. It was time to go big and “come home” to Disneyland.

“You couldn’t walk through Theme Parks and not recognize that they lacked contemporary development. But when Frank and I walked down Main Street, for the first time, Frank turned to me and said, ‘There’s so much here. There’s so much we can do.’ You couldn’t walk through the theme park and not know the potential.” - Michael Eisner, The Imagineering Story ​

In three years, Eisner and Wells had doubled the budget on “plussing” the theme parks, during which time they premiered the 3D Captain EO, and raised ticket prices 30%. Attendance increased. Michael believed in differentiating the Parks from one another. With deepened pockets, Eisner and Wells set their sights on building the long-awaited second theme park in California and turning Walt Disney’s American original into a multi-day, multi-night model like the one EPCOT Center had created for Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World needed more hotels. Eisner and Wells built at least one thousand hotel rooms a year from 1985 to 1990, even continuing into the ‘90s and beyond. Former CEO Card Walker was against adding more hotels in the 1970s, but this new management begged to differ. Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village became the Walt Disney World Village in 1977, under Eisner and Wells, it became the Disney Village Marketplace and nightclub district of Pleasure Island (today Disney Springs), more reason for visitors to stay longer on Disney property. Attendance soared, growth continued. Disneyland was next.

​

Eisner announced his intention for a multi-billion-dollar investment into the creation of a beautiful and all-encompassing Disneyland Resort. The long-lonesome Disneyland Park in the geographic center and heart of the 5,000-acre property was landlocked by its 20-foot berm and distance from the outside world (the latter landlocked by urban overdevelopment). It would soon be joined by WESTCOT Center and new and refurbished hotels, a shopping, dining and entertainment district, and a state-of-the-art amphitheater. Disneyland had catered until then largely to single-day visitors and local residents, whereas Walt Disney World was the opposite. Disneyland had tried to maintain longer-stay vacations with two golf courses and Fantasy Lagoon since 1955, but nothing stuck. The additions that would make Disneyland into a resort would only benefit the surrounding commerce in Anaheim and see to its transformation into an eco-friendly, near-uniform cityscape. This would see the regulation of visible electric lines and uncontrolled urban development outside the 5,000-acre property, the elimination of the gaudy billboards and seedy motels, a complete and total redevelopment of the area. The showmanship of Disneyland and its conceptual WESTCOT would translate to the outside world and hold immersion from the get-go. The code-enforced signage and extensive landscaping would bring forth vision.

Suspiciously close to Walt’s vision for EPCOT, it would all be connected through the integration of buried roadways and hidden electrical lines inside the Disney property and a network of mass transit solutions: a PeopleMover and an extension of the existing Disneyland Monorail. Nearly all 5,000 acres could be traversed by foot, car, monorail, or PeopleMover with lush landscaping throughout to enhance the experience. In 1986 when construction began and funds had been allocated, a special district was formed with approval from the State of California, much like Walt Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District: The Anaheim Resort Recreational District. In addition to having the standard powers of an incorporated city, the district has immunity from any current or future county or state land-use laws, allowing free-reign construction and additions in the long run. New hotels and amenities arose. The Disneyland Resort was forming - finally. But what of WESTCOT?

In building the Disneyland Resort, everything but WESTCOT was prioritized. The $2 billion price tag for the Resort infrastructure and contents would balloon to a $5 billion price tag had WESTCOT broken ground. So, when the Disneyland Parking Lot disappeared in 1986, the sands it left for a second park were vacant. This space across from Disneyland needed investors, or at least a business partner for Disney if it were to become a theme park by its scheduled opening of “Summer 1990.” Slowly but surely, WESTCOT, a spiritual successor to EPCOT, which at the time was only four years old, was gradually downplayed and stripped from promotional materials. Still, a banner at the site across from Disneyland read “WESTCOT - Opening Summer 1990!” Statues of Mickey Mouse and Figment the imagination dragon held aloft the banner. New hotels and a shopping district began to open and form, but a new theme park? Not so much. Eisner needed options.

When he arrived in 1984, one of Eisner’s first orders of business was to bring Hollywood’s greatest entertainers into the Disney fold, something he proved doable with Captain EO. Born from a tour of WED arranged for Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator George Lucas, Captain EO was a collaboration between Disney, Lucas, Michael Jackson, and director Francis Ford Coppola, a breath of fresh air for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland and EPCOT’s Future World. When an attraction called Star Tours, a simulator journey through the world of his Star Wars, was brought to Lucas around this same time, the potential of that idea outgrew Tomorrowland and inspired something bigger.

Sid Sheinberg, President and CEO of MCA, had overseen three of Universal’s highest-grossing films: Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Back to the Future, a result of his ongoing partnership with director Steven Spielberg. When Lucas bragged to Spielberg that Universal could never create something like his in-development Star Tours at Disney, the friendly banter challenged Spielberg and Sheinberg to revisit the forgotten plans for Universal Studios Florida; or perhaps they’d reopen the Hollywood backlot with a fresh and Disney-inspired look. Eisner, having seen the plans for Universal Florida in the ‘70s at Paramount and always being the dedicated competitor, overheard what was being discussed at his chief competition and had none of it, especially if it meant direct rivalry to his $2 billion and counting Disneyland Resort. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” he said.

Eisner invited Sheinberg to visit the vacant WESTCOT site in late 1986 to show his rival studio head what his Imagineers had been up to. Here he laid out a bold and controversial idea that until that point only Frank Wells had any knowledge of. Later that month, he and Sheinberg, joined by Frank Wells, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg, shared a lost weekend in Aspen. No one seemed to know why this weekend trip was happening or why such titans of the entertainment industry were being so secretive and friendly with one another. By December, an agreement was finalized and an announcement was made: Disney and Universal would collaborate for the first time in history and create Disney-Universal Studios in Anaheim, California. Bye-bye, WESTCOT.

​

Disney and Universal shared the worldwide rights to use one another’s name when advertising the new Theme Park. While Disney owned 100% of the chosen real estate, both would split the profits down the middle. The construction and maintenance fees were split based on which IP belonged to who, so if a Disney-IP needed maintenance, Disney paid for it. Universal films and characters were not allowed outside the gates, nor would their songs fill the new esplanade that closely separated the two parks by an 800-ft walk across. Both MCA-Universal and Disney would not be allowed to build another “Studios Park” in the United States until the year 2020. Orlando-based concepts for a Disney*MGM Studios and Universal Studios Florida were shelved. Because of his history with the rival Warner Bros., Frank Wells secured the rights to the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters for the new Park for a Who Framed Roger Rabbit area, a film that was still two years from release in 1986. Spielberg and Lucas were hired to collaborate with WED in the incredible design process that was ahead.

When word got out that rival characters and films would have a presence at the Disneyland property, it caused a “small world war” among skeptics. News reports and headlines from the time recall public outcry at the creative merger. “Walt Disney Best Stay Frozen - Desecration & Disgust-neyland - Eisner’s Folley - abandon this idiotic plan! - Disney is turning their backs on their own creative library of characters and turning Disneyland into another marketing scheme - WESTCOT Dead on Arrival - It’s a Mall World After All.”
The Disney faithful believed that having King Kong, Bugs Bunny and Count Dracula across from the gates of Walt’s original vision detracted from the charm and nostalgia of what the Magic Kingdom had stood for and would instead be a salute to competing corporate values and late-stage capitalism. “We’re not turning Walt’s vision for Disneyland into a marketing pitch for Universal Pictures, MGM, or Warner Bros. Not even for our own films and products here at the Walt Disney Company,” Eisner assured in a press conference after ground had broken. “In fact, the opposite is true. We want our guests to enjoy a historic and unprecedented creative achievement brought forth from a peaceful unity between friendly foes in this competitive industry. We want this idea to resonate and hold true to the same magic and values that have kept Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland as the cultural titans of creative entertainment they have been for almost four decades now.”

On June 7, 1990, Disney-Universal Studios opened to an excited but cautiously optimistic public.

“The World you have entered was created in a fantastic, unprecedented collaboration between The Walt Disney Company and MCA-Universal, and is dedicated to something we all love: Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will. A showbiz partnership for generations to come.” - Michael Eisner, June 7, 1990 ​

Today, creative success at a Disney Park is defined by immersiveness. In its time, Disney-Universal Studios was more so an amalgamation of immersion and generic backlot, allowing Imagineers to create a technicolor collage of fantasy realms interspersed by large sound stages housing attractions. Even still, like Disneyland before it, the themed areas of Disney-Universal Studios would complement each other and contribute to the total Guest Experience, even if a dull soundstage or two dotted the landscape.

The Studios Park opened with four “backlots”: Hollywood Boulevard - Manhattan Waterfront - Roger Rabbit’s Toontown - Production Backlot. The Studio Tour consumed much of the Park. The real Universal backlot, which was never closed to real film production, remained in Hollywood; the Anaheim Production Backlot was artificial, though some film projects were filmed here over the years.

The Disney-Universal Studios of today is a “Hollywood Fantasyland.” Today’s Imagineers have removed the “edutainment” from the formula and gone all in on the “Hollywood that never was” and the intricate, almost bombastic historical and modern fantasy that surrounds it; a celebration of film and the worlds it has created. It’s one big special effect.

​

With a gala fit for Hollywood, Disney-Universal Studios opened to great success. In celebration, Disneyland and Disney-Universal Studios remained open for a 60-hour marathon from June 7 at 10:00 AM to June 9 at 10:00 PM. After the marathon, parking lots were full by 10:00 AM and the 7:00 PM closing was soon stretched to midnight. Tickets sold out in advance, with the signature Great Movie Ride, Star Tours and Kongfrontation building queue lines of up to six hours! To give perspective into what Disney-Universal Studios looked like on Opening Day, here is an excerpt from an early promotional pamphlet and what attractions were highlighted:

"Located at the new Disneyland Resort, Disney-Universal Studios Theme Park recreates Hollywood's most shining moments and brightest myths on 300 entertainment-packed acres. Here, guests are immersed in every aspect of the movies - from the glitter of Hollywood Boulevard to the fascinating real life behind the scenes.

Housed inside a replica of the famed Chinese Theatre, The Great Movie Ride invites visitors to step into the movies themselves! Through the magic of Audio-Animatronics, visitors are swept into some of the world's most famous film scenes, from seeing Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ to the iconic visage of Boris Karloff as the imposing Creature in ‘Frankenstein.’

Weighing in at 13,000 pounds of howling, growling fury, leveling skyscrapers, swatting helicopters, the screen's most monstrous ape is on the rampage through Manhattan. So close you can smell his banana breath, he's got you right where he wants you - helplessly trapped in your tram, swaying high above the East River in Kongfrontation!

Your starbound bicycle rises into the wind and your pulse quickens as you race across the moon toward the edge of the galaxy. E.T. will capture your heart again in the E.T. Adventure. He's enlisted your help to save his home planet as you pedal away from the FBI, CIA, Army and Police, to a magical place beyond your imagination where enchanted creatures sing a delightful welcome and shower you with gratitude.

In all the universe there is no greater thrill than Star Tours, the ultimate attraction from the imaginations of George Lucas and Disney. The galaxy is safe for travel. C-3PO and R2-D2 now invite you to board the new Starspeeder 3000 for a leisurely flight to the Moon of Endor. But hold on tight, your rookie pilot Rex is still getting used to his programming."​

As the overall design and mission statement evolved, the Studio Tour downsized and disappeared altogether. The soundstage-housed attractions were closed for brand-new backlots, including Jurassic World, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and Super Nintendo World to name three of a large handful. While the Production Backlot closed long ago, the Manhattan Waterfront, Hollywood Boulevard, and Roger Rabbit’s Toontown remain, with the Great Movie Ride still standing. And yes, there are Mickey Mouse ears on the Universal Globe in the esplanade.

​

Disney-Universal Studios remains as an unusual remnant of the Eisner and Wells era - the Park that brought expansion to Disneyland and turned it into the Disneyland Resort we know today. It brought Universal back into the themed entertainment industry and remains a strong and relevant partnership in creative design and collaboration. The first 35 years of Disney-Universal Studios have been a landmark in family entertainment and fun, and one that can exclusively continue to evolve at the Disneyland Resort.

***​

Next time, we'll begin our physical tour of the Disneyland Resort, then visit Walt's original Disneyland. As for the third-gate mentioned in the first paragraph of this post, you'll have to stay tuned until the end of Disney-Universal Studios months and months from now. Until then - peace!

​

This is going to be awesome project! @MANEATINGWREATH What month you'll gonna do Roger Rabbit's Toontown during your Disney-Universal Studios park?

 

[DisneyManOne]

I look forward to seeing how Disney-Universal Studios has evolved over the years! As much as I like imagining scenarios of how Disney and Universal could have evolved on their own, I really can't wait to see how a potential partnership would work out.

Here's hoping that some of the classic attractions -- Kongfrontation, JAWS, E.T. Adventure, Back to the Future -- will stay open this time around.

Also, I wonder why you'd go with Jurassic World and not Jurassic Park? I've heard that the Jurassic World overlay of Hollywood's Jurassic Park ride did not go over well, and is widely considered a massive downgrade; with less animatronics and more screens.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

I look forward to seeing how Disney-Universal Studios has evolved over the years! As much as I like imagining scenarios of how Disney and Universal could have evolved on their own, I really can't wait to see how a potential partnership would work out.

Here's hoping that some of the classic attractions -- Kongfrontation, JAWS, E.T. Adventure, Back to the Future -- will stay open this time around.

Also, I wonder why you'd go with Jurassic World and not Jurassic Park? I've heard that the Jurassic World overlay of Hollywood's Jurassic Park ride did not go over well, and is widely considered a massive downgrade; with less animatronics and more screens.

It got better when the park reopened. Plus the screen is only for the Mosaurus.

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

This is going to be awesome project! @MANEATINGWREATH What month you'll gonna do Roger Rabbit's Toontown during your Disney-Universal Studios park?

Not sure just yet, but I'll get to it when the time comes!

I look forward to seeing how Disney-Universal Studios has evolved over the years! As much as I like imagining scenarios of how Disney and Universal could have evolved on their own, I really can't wait to see how a potential partnership would work out.

Here's hoping that some of the classic attractions -- Kongfrontation, JAWS, E.T. Adventure, Back to the Future -- will stay open this time around.

Also, I wonder why you'd go with Jurassic World and not Jurassic Park? I've heard that the Jurassic World overlay of Hollywood's Jurassic Park ride did not go over well, and is widely considered a massive downgrade; with less animatronics and more screens.

The Jurassic World overlay is really good imho. I don't necessarily care for the Mosasaurus screen at the beginning, but the interior scenes are a vast improvement over what was there in the original. But who's to say I won't be doing something similar to this:

 

[Disney-Universal Fanboy]

It Has Universal Appeal

“You know it’s a shame people come to Hollywood and find there’s nothing to see. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could come to Hollywood and see something?” - Walt Disney​

In the summer of 1990, Walt’s original dream of Disneyland was joined by the first of its two sister parks, Disney-Universal Studios. An all-new experience, here for the first time, Disney magic met the wonder of its chief competitor, Universal Pictures. This strange collaboration was a first for the business of themed entertainment, and covers today an astounding 300 acres, celebrating the romance of the golden age and the glamor of a Hollywood that never was. Designed with the history, function and fantasy of moviemaking in mind, the Park has a history as storied as Walt’s original Magic Kingdom.

​

Following the success of his earliest works, filmmaker Carl Laemmle opened Universal City Studios on March 15, 1915. Laemmle held fast to the idea of creating some sort of an attraction the public could enjoy when visiting Hollywood. His 230-acre backlot offered 25-cent tours of his established production facilities. Laemmle had opened his first nickelodeon in 1906, and later joined half a dozen other motion picture companies in founding Universal Pictures. Through the help of some 300 studio hands and actors in 1912, Laemmle and co. built and formed the unincorporated “city” for the public to observe film production in action. When “talking pictures” arrived, the not-so-quiet observers were shut out, and the tour closed. A young Walt Disney was one of the many visitors to the tour prior to its 1930 closure.

​

Laemmle sold his entertainment empire in 1936, and by 1964, the themed entertainment business had boomed. Disneyland knockoffs sprung up overnight. Each fought for their turn with Walt’s formula for success. Music Corporation of America (MCA) had acquired Universal Pictures. Studio accountants, including Buzz Price of the Stanford Research Institute, the man who’d selected the land for Disneyland a decade prior, settled on a revival of the old Studio Tour to increase declining profits and offer something to compete with Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom. Having the last real backlot from the days of silent cinema, Universal struck what they called gold. For $2.50, “glamor trams” designed by Disney Legend Harper Goff would bring visitors on a backlot tour past and through dressing rooms and film productions in progress, celebrity bungalows and historic sets, and later, staged events like a collapsing bridge, a flash flood, a visit to the Munster's house, and in 1976, the “JAWS Experience” where the 25-foot shark from the blockbuster film would launch a surprise attack on riders. The tour grew in popularity through the years, and by the time of its closure in 1981, a western stunt show and special effects demonstration had opened separate from the tour. MCA-Universal almost had what they had wanted most: a Disneyland of their own.

In the 1970s, the growing success of the Studio Tour brought executives to wishful looking into a Florida expansion. But before they could buy the land desired a short nine miles from Walt Disney World, disaster hit. The energy crisis of the ‘70s decimated the American tourism industry. Attendance declined during the 1979 oil crisis. Further complicating matters, frequent filming on the backlot would often reroute the trams and therefore miss the iconic stops and attractions marketed so prominently along freeway billboards and television commercials. The tour wasn’t enough to compete with Disneyland and the high price of gasoline. The tour was closed (again) on July 1, 1981. The dream of a Universal Studios Florida was shelved, though the idea had been shared with a certain executive at Paramount named Michael Eisner. Universal City again resumed exclusivity to film production.

​

Meanwhile, in Anaheim,

“I wanted something live, something that could grow, something I could keep plussing with ideas, you see? The park is that. Not only can I add things but even the trees will keep growing; the thing will get more beautiful every year. And as I find what the public likes—and when a picture's finished and I put it out—I find out what they like, or they don't like, and I have to apply that to some other thing; I can't change that picture, so that's why I wanted that park.” - Walt Disney​

Though Walt had purchased 5,000 acres of land for Disneyland, little more than 500 acres were in use for the better part of two decades, leaving the rest vacant farmland and forest. Walt long thought about what was next and where it could go in Anaheim. He toyed with the idea of “Progress City,” a “living showcase that more people will talk about and come to look at than any area in the world.” This early idea for Walt’s EPCOT would fall by the wayside when American industry at the time had little faith in a return investment on a Disney-run metropolis. Walt pitched his buried highways and mass transit solutions to no luck, and despite the tremendous and continued success of Disneyland, with new attractions like the under-construction Pirates of the Caribbean and the Mine Train Thru Nature’s Wonderland, investors were skeptical of Disneyland's continued success in California for decades to come. This left the notion of additional theme parks or amenities off the table - for now.

5% of Disneyland’s visitors came from the East Coast, where 75% of the United States population lived. All the while, kitschy businesses and shoddy motels had sprung up around the border of the 5,000-acre site. This land had grown into a hive of restaurants, motels, and gas stations, each vying for passers-by to do anything but pass them by. With Disneyland knockoffs and competitors trickling in throughout the United States, Walt acted fast. Piece by piece, Walt and Roy secretly bought 27,000 acres of land in Central Florida, an in-house secret known as the “Florida Project,” which later became Walt Disney World. The story of (Mirror) Walt Disney World is another story for another time. Disneyland and its remaining real estate would one day expand and follow in its younger sister’s footsteps - in a big way.

Sadly, Walt would not live to see his Florida Project. He laid in his hospital bed and charted the design of what would become Walt Disney World among the ceiling tiles of his hospital room. When Roy would visit, Walt would explain the location of the Magic Kingdom and other ideas he was designing, including what he had called his "greatest gift to mankind": EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966. He was 65 years old.

In the “what would Walt have done” era of 1968 to 1984, Walt Disney Productions was plagued with box office disasters - and the $1.2 billion development cost for the theme park version of EPCOT. The stagnant studio struggled through the 1970s, facing debt and more than one hostile takeover attempt that ended with the installation of CEO Michael Eisner (from Paramount) and President Frank Wells (from Warner Bros.) in 1984. The new Walt and Roy, Eisner and Wells inherited a challenging time, but a challenging time that had seen the openings of Walt Disney World in 1971 and Tokyo Disneyland in 1982. Tokyo had laid the groundwork for a future overseas, and proved to Eisner that there was an audience for the Disney theme park. Disneyland, U.S.A. was no exception. It was time to go big and “come home” to Disneyland.

“You couldn’t walk through Theme Parks and not recognize that they lacked contemporary development. But when Frank and I walked down Main Street, for the first time, Frank turned to me and said, ‘There’s so much here. There’s so much we can do.’ You couldn’t walk through the theme park and not know the potential.” - Michael Eisner, The Imagineering Story ​

In three years, Eisner and Wells had doubled the budget on “plussing” the theme parks, during which time they premiered the 3D Captain EO, and raised ticket prices 30%. Attendance increased. Michael believed in differentiating the Parks from one another. With deepened pockets, Eisner and Wells set their sights on building the long-awaited second theme park in California and turning Walt Disney’s American original into a multi-day, multi-night model like the one EPCOT Center had created for Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World needed more hotels. Eisner and Wells built at least one thousand hotel rooms a year from 1985 to 1990, even continuing into the ‘90s and beyond. Former CEO Card Walker was against adding more hotels in the 1970s, but this new management begged to differ. Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village became the Walt Disney World Village in 1977, under Eisner and Wells, it became the Disney Village Marketplace and nightclub district of Pleasure Island (today Disney Springs), more reason for visitors to stay longer on Disney property. Attendance soared, growth continued. Disneyland was next.

​

Eisner announced his intention for a multi-billion-dollar investment into the creation of a beautiful and all-encompassing Disneyland Resort. The long-lonesome Disneyland Park in the geographic center and heart of the 5,000-acre property was landlocked by its 20-foot berm and distance from the outside world (the latter landlocked by urban overdevelopment). It would soon be joined by WESTCOT Center and new and refurbished hotels, a shopping, dining and entertainment district, and a state-of-the-art amphitheater. Disneyland had catered until then largely to single-day visitors and local residents, whereas Walt Disney World was the opposite. Disneyland had tried to maintain longer-stay vacations with two golf courses and Fantasy Lagoon since 1955, but nothing stuck. The additions that would make Disneyland into a resort would only benefit the surrounding commerce in Anaheim and see to its transformation into an eco-friendly, near-uniform cityscape. This would see the regulation of visible electric lines and uncontrolled urban development outside the 5,000-acre property, the elimination of the gaudy billboards and seedy motels, a complete and total redevelopment of the area. The showmanship of Disneyland and its conceptual WESTCOT would translate to the outside world and hold immersion from the get-go. The code-enforced signage and extensive landscaping would bring forth vision.

Suspiciously close to Walt’s vision for EPCOT, it would all be connected through the integration of buried roadways and hidden electrical lines inside the Disney property and a network of mass transit solutions: a PeopleMover and an extension of the existing Disneyland Monorail. Nearly all 5,000 acres could be traversed by foot, car, monorail, or PeopleMover with lush landscaping throughout to enhance the experience. In 1986 when construction began and funds had been allocated, a special district was formed with approval from the State of California, much like Walt Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District: The Anaheim Resort Recreational District. In addition to having the standard powers of an incorporated city, the district has immunity from any current or future county or state land-use laws, allowing free-reign construction and additions in the long run. New hotels and amenities arose. The Disneyland Resort was forming - finally. But what of WESTCOT?

In building the Disneyland Resort, everything but WESTCOT was prioritized. The $2 billion price tag for the Resort infrastructure and contents would balloon to a $5 billion price tag had WESTCOT broken ground. So, when the Disneyland Parking Lot disappeared in 1986, the sands it left for a second park were vacant. This space across from Disneyland needed investors, or at least a business partner for Disney if it were to become a theme park by its scheduled opening of “Summer 1990.” Slowly but surely, WESTCOT, a spiritual successor to EPCOT, which at the time was only four years old, was gradually downplayed and stripped from promotional materials. Still, a banner at the site across from Disneyland read “WESTCOT - Opening Summer 1990!” Statues of Mickey Mouse and Figment the imagination dragon held aloft the banner. New hotels and a shopping district began to open and form, but a new theme park? Not so much. Eisner needed options.

When he arrived in 1984, one of Eisner’s first orders of business was to bring Hollywood’s greatest entertainers into the Disney fold, something he proved doable with Captain EO. Born from a tour of WED arranged for Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator George Lucas, Captain EO was a collaboration between Disney, Lucas, Michael Jackson, and director Francis Ford Coppola, a breath of fresh air for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland and EPCOT’s Future World. When an attraction called Star Tours, a simulator journey through the world of his Star Wars, was brought to Lucas around this same time, the potential of that idea outgrew Tomorrowland and inspired something bigger.

Sid Sheinberg, President and CEO of MCA, had overseen three of Universal’s highest-grossing films: Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Back to the Future, a result of his ongoing partnership with director Steven Spielberg. When Lucas bragged to Spielberg that Universal could never create something like his in-development Star Tours at Disney, the friendly banter challenged Spielberg and Sheinberg to revisit the forgotten plans for Universal Studios Florida; or perhaps they’d reopen the Hollywood backlot with a fresh and Disney-inspired look. Eisner, having seen the plans for Universal Florida in the ‘70s at Paramount and always being the dedicated competitor, overheard what was being discussed at his chief competition and had none of it, especially if it meant direct rivalry to his $2 billion and counting Disneyland Resort. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” he said.

Eisner invited Sheinberg to visit the vacant WESTCOT site in late 1986 to show his rival studio head what his Imagineers had been up to. Here he laid out a bold and controversial idea that until that point only Frank Wells had any knowledge of. Later that month, he and Sheinberg, joined by Frank Wells, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg, shared a lost weekend in Aspen. No one seemed to know why this weekend trip was happening or why such titans of the entertainment industry were being so secretive and friendly with one another. By December, an agreement was finalized and an announcement was made: Disney and Universal would collaborate for the first time in history and create Disney-Universal Studios in Anaheim, California. Bye-bye, WESTCOT.

​

Disney and Universal shared the worldwide rights to use one another’s name when advertising the new Theme Park. While Disney owned 100% of the chosen real estate, both would split the profits down the middle. The construction and maintenance fees were split based on which IP belonged to who, so if a Disney-IP needed maintenance, Disney paid for it. Universal films and characters were not allowed outside the gates, nor would their songs fill the new esplanade that closely separated the two parks by an 800-ft walk across. Both MCA-Universal and Disney would not be allowed to build another “Studios Park” in the United States until the year 2020. Orlando-based concepts for a Disney*MGM Studios and Universal Studios Florida were shelved. Because of his history with the rival Warner Bros., Frank Wells secured the rights to the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters for the new Park for a Who Framed Roger Rabbit area, a film that was still two years from release in 1986. Spielberg and Lucas were hired to collaborate with WED in the incredible design process that was ahead.

When word got out that rival characters and films would have a presence at the Disneyland property, it caused a “small world war” among skeptics. News reports and headlines from the time recall public outcry at the creative merger. “Walt Disney Best Stay Frozen - Desecration & Disgust-neyland - Eisner’s Folley - abandon this idiotic plan! - Disney is turning their backs on their own creative library of characters and turning Disneyland into another marketing scheme - WESTCOT Dead on Arrival - It’s a Mall World After All.”
The Disney faithful believed that having King Kong, Bugs Bunny and Count Dracula across from the gates of Walt’s original vision detracted from the charm and nostalgia of what the Magic Kingdom had stood for and would instead be a salute to competing corporate values and late-stage capitalism. “We’re not turning Walt’s vision for Disneyland into a marketing pitch for Universal Pictures, MGM, or Warner Bros. Not even for our own films and products here at the Walt Disney Company,” Eisner assured in a press conference after ground had broken. “In fact, the opposite is true. We want our guests to enjoy a historic and unprecedented creative achievement brought forth from a peaceful unity between friendly foes in this competitive industry. We want this idea to resonate and hold true to the same magic and values that have kept Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland as the cultural titans of creative entertainment they have been for almost four decades now.”

On June 7, 1990, Disney-Universal Studios opened to an excited but cautiously optimistic public.

“The World you have entered was created in a fantastic, unprecedented collaboration between The Walt Disney Company and MCA-Universal, and is dedicated to something we all love: Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will. A showbiz partnership for generations to come.” - Michael Eisner, June 7, 1990 ​

Today, creative success at a Disney Park is defined by immersiveness. In its time, Disney-Universal Studios was more so an amalgamation of immersion and generic backlot, allowing Imagineers to create a technicolor collage of fantasy realms interspersed by large sound stages housing attractions. Even still, like Disneyland before it, the themed areas of Disney-Universal Studios would complement each other and contribute to the total Guest Experience, even if a dull soundstage or two dotted the landscape.

The Studios Park opened with four “backlots”: Hollywood Boulevard - Manhattan Waterfront - Roger Rabbit’s Toontown - Production Backlot. The Studio Tour consumed much of the Park. The real Universal backlot, which was never closed to real film production, remained in Hollywood; the Anaheim Production Backlot was artificial, though some film projects were filmed here over the years.

The Disney-Universal Studios of today is a “Hollywood Fantasyland.” Today’s Imagineers have removed the “edutainment” from the formula and gone all in on the “Hollywood that never was” and the intricate, almost bombastic historical and modern fantasy that surrounds it; a celebration of film and the worlds it has created. It’s one big special effect.

​

With a gala fit for Hollywood, Disney-Universal Studios opened to great success. In celebration, Disneyland and Disney-Universal Studios remained open for a 60-hour marathon from June 7 at 10:00 AM to June 9 at 10:00 PM. After the marathon, parking lots were full by 10:00 AM and the 7:00 PM closing was soon stretched to midnight. Tickets sold out in advance, with the signature Great Movie Ride, Star Tours and Kongfrontation building queue lines of up to six hours! To give perspective into what Disney-Universal Studios looked like on Opening Day, here is an excerpt from an early promotional pamphlet and what attractions were highlighted:

"Located at the new Disneyland Resort, Disney-Universal Studios Theme Park recreates Hollywood's most shining moments and brightest myths on 300 entertainment-packed acres. Here, guests are immersed in every aspect of the movies - from the glitter of Hollywood Boulevard to the fascinating real life behind the scenes.

Housed inside a replica of the famed Chinese Theatre, The Great Movie Ride invites visitors to step into the movies themselves! Through the magic of Audio-Animatronics, visitors are swept into some of the world's most famous film scenes, from seeing Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ to the iconic visage of Boris Karloff as the imposing Creature in ‘Frankenstein.’

Weighing in at 13,000 pounds of howling, growling fury, leveling skyscrapers, swatting helicopters, the screen's most monstrous ape is on the rampage through Manhattan. So close you can smell his banana breath, he's got you right where he wants you - helplessly trapped in your tram, swaying high above the East River in Kongfrontation!

Your starbound bicycle rises into the wind and your pulse quickens as you race across the moon toward the edge of the galaxy. E.T. will capture your heart again in the E.T. Adventure. He's enlisted your help to save his home planet as you pedal away from the FBI, CIA, Army and Police, to a magical place beyond your imagination where enchanted creatures sing a delightful welcome and shower you with gratitude.

In all the universe there is no greater thrill than Star Tours, the ultimate attraction from the imaginations of George Lucas and Disney. The galaxy is safe for travel. C-3PO and R2-D2 now invite you to board the new Starspeeder 3000 for a leisurely flight to the Moon of Endor. But hold on tight, your rookie pilot Rex is still getting used to his programming."​

As the overall design and mission statement evolved, the Studio Tour downsized and disappeared altogether. The soundstage-housed attractions were closed for brand-new backlots, including Jurassic World, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and Super Nintendo World to name three of a large handful. While the Production Backlot closed long ago, the Manhattan Waterfront, Hollywood Boulevard, and Roger Rabbit’s Toontown remain, with the Great Movie Ride still standing. And yes, there are Mickey Mouse ears on the Universal Globe in the esplanade.

​

Disney-Universal Studios remains as an unusual remnant of the Eisner and Wells era - the Park that brought expansion to Disneyland and turned it into the Disneyland Resort we know today. It brought Universal back into the themed entertainment industry and remains a strong and relevant partnership in creative design and collaboration. The first 35 years of Disney-Universal Studios have been a landmark in family entertainment and fun, and one that can exclusively continue to evolve at the Disneyland Resort.

***​

Next time, we'll begin our physical tour of the Disneyland Resort, then visit Walt's original Disneyland. As for the third-gate mentioned in the first paragraph of this post, you'll have to stay tuned until the end of Disney-Universal Studios months and months from now. Until then - peace!

​

Wow @MANEATINGWREATH! That’s amazing! Still happy to hear WESTCOT was considered and the 3rd gate will be amazing! (Hoping for Port Disney)! I do have some questions tho:

• Does Universal Studios hollywood still open here, because if DUS is built, it would make USH a little redundant.
• Do some recent Universal rides like Revenge of the mummy, terminator 2 3D, Backdraft, Twister, Earthquake, etc. still get built in this mirror timeline?
• Also, from your first DUS, springfield and avengers campus Were listed. Did they both fall by the wayside?
• The last thing is does universal not steal oswald the lucky rabbit here? Do they encourage Walt to make his own studios due to his hard work and Disney and Uni becomes friends instead of rivals here?

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Wow @MANEATINGWREATH! That’s amazing! Still happy to hear WESTCOT was considered and the 3rd gate will be amazing! (Hoping for Port Disney)! I do have some questions tho:

• Does Universal Studios hollywood still open here, because if DUS is built, it would make USH a little redundant.
• Do some recent Universal rides like Revenge of the mummy, terminator 2 3D, Backdraft, Twister, Earthquake, etc. still get built in this mirror timeline?
• Also, from your first DUS, springfield and avengers campus Were listed. Did they both fall by the wayside?
• The last thing is does universal not steal oswald the lucky rabbit here? Do they encourage Walt to make his own studios due to his hard work and Disney and Uni becomes friends instead of rivals here?

- No, the Studio Tour never reopened, so USH never existed as we know it today. Only Disney-Universal.
- Revenge of the Mummy for sure (without replacing Kongfrontation or ET), haven't decided on the others yet!
- Springfield and Avengers Campus are still happening, I just reworded the writing in this version.
- Hadn't thought about Oswald just yet! Oswald's Filling Station will exist, so it could be a neat crossover idea between the two companies. Will think about that some more.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Just a thought. Will Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway still happen?

 

[Disney-Universal Fanboy]

@MANEATINGWREATH before we begin or W.Alternate tour, I have a few more questions:

• If Liberty Street is built, does Edison Square happen too?
• Could Rolly Crumps Museum of The Werid happen? I would suggest it being built as a restaurant for mansion to be like pirates
• If NOS is 5 acres instead of 3, I think a princess and the frog attraction should go inbetween pirates and mansion behind the train station
• Keep splash here, as TBA would fit Folktale Forest as a hole
• Since Galaxys edge is built next door to DUS, does a new land replace it, or does Discovery Bay get built?
• I Real Life, Dumbos Circusland was canned when Discovery Bay was too, what is the ultimate reason why it was built and DB isn’t?
• What replaces The fantasyland theater in Our timeline? Dumbo or the Frozen ever after?
• Same regarding Toontown as the question above
• And lastly, since Small world and mr Lincoln are still here from the 64-65 worlds fair, I think Carousel of progress and Ford Magic skyway should still remain and stick around here

Now I will shut up - The grasshopper from a bugs life

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

All your questions and more will be answered in due time.

Next walk-through will be posted within the next day or two!

 

[HomeImagineer]

If i ever made a master plan of what Disney-Universal Studios would look like in Disneyland, then my guess for that could be the same size as either Universal Studios Florida or Japan but here at Disneyland.

 

[Disney-Universal Fanboy]

If i ever made a master plan of what Disney-Universal Studios would look like in Disneyland, then my guess for that could be the same size as either Universal Studios Florida or Japan but here at Disneyland.

@HomeImagineer I think DUS is roughly the same size has DCA but with a few exceptions.

 

[DisneyManOne]

Out of curiosity, I have a question: So far, you've said that Mirror Disneyland Resort is 5,000 acres and Disney-Universal Studios takes up 300 of those acres. How many acres is Disneyland Park?

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

To clear up any confusion, real-life DLR is roughly 500 acres (not including any future plans they have for expansion with Disneyland Forward), and Mirror DLR is 5,000. This is logistically impossible in our real world when considering the size of Anaheim, but nevertheless, it doesn't matter in this universe. Let's imagine Anaheim is much bigger than it really is.

Disney-Universal will be 300 acres, 5 acres less than Epcot IRL, and Disneyland I'm aiming for 150, versus real-life's 85 acres for DL and 72 acres for DCA. This is to alleviate DL's infamously narrow passageways and crowd control issues. Since 150 is even larger than WDW's Magic Kingdom, you'd assume that in this universe MK is even bigger. But that's not my territory.

Sorry for the delay on the next post. Have some things to do today, and I keep getting new ideas to include in the next portion of our tour regarding hotels and the Boardwalk District. Previous readers to older drafts will recognize some changes to Fantasy Lagoon and its surrounding areas. I'm looking for the next update to come Friday or Saturday.

 

[Disney-Universal Fanboy]

To clear up any confusion, real-life DLR is roughly 500 acres (not including any future plans they have for expansion with Disneyland Forward), and Mirror DLR is 5,000. This is logistically impossible in our real world when considering the size of Anaheim, but nevertheless, it doesn't matter in this universe. Let's imagine Anaheim is much bigger than it really is.

Disney-Universal will be 300 acres, 5 acres less than Epcot IRL, and Disneyland I'm aiming for 150, versus real-life's 85 acres for DL and 72 acres for DCA. This is to alleviate DL's infamously narrow passageways and crowd control issues. Since 150 is even larger than WDW's Magic Kingdom, you'd assume that in this universe MK is even bigger. But that's not my territory.

Sorry for the delay on the next post. Have some things to do today, and I keep getting new ideas to include in the next portion of our tour regarding hotels and the Boardwalk District. Previous readers to older drafts will recognize some changes to Fantasy Lagoon and its surrounding areas. I'm looking for the next update to come Friday or Saturday.

Take your Time @MANEATINGWREATH and you will deliver, And hope to a fantastic walkthrough!!!