Walt Disney World Resort: A New World of Magic Awaits…

[KingMickey]

Does anyone have any suggestions or programs that are used to recommend creating park map buildouts?

 

[Half/CartoonHalf/Human]

Does anyone have any suggestions or programs that are used to recommend creating park map buildouts?

The only one I’m aware of is what park lore is using to make their maps and projects: ProCreate. Might want to point that out to you.

BTW, everything is fantastic, can’t wait for the rest!

 

[JokersWild]

Does anyone have any suggestions or programs that are used to recommend creating park map buildouts?

I’ve been using google drawings recently. It’s a little difficult to work with and pretty inflexible, but you can get pretty good maps out of it.

 

[Lord Fozzinator]

I wholeheartedly support ibisPaint X. It got me through most of my modern maps.

 

[KingMickey]

Our next land may be smaller in scale, but it works to create a great transition point between the dark jungles of Adventureland and the western Spanish-styled courtyards of Frontierland. The land also utilizes a lot of the expansion space that is cleared up by rerouting the railroad and relocating the parade route and its facilities from that side of the park. Not to mention, the park’s new incarnation of Pirates of the Caribbean is the anchoring piece of this land.

This is PIRATES COVE.

Leaving the jungles of Adventureland behind, we enter a Spanish-styled Caribbean harbor town that bustles with activity. At its center is a large lagoon where a few ships are docked with a jostle of shops and taverns that surround it, recurrently frequented by pirates and buccaneers. The town has become famous for being a pirate hideout, having once been a peaceful city now transformed into a haven for piracy. Otherwise known as Port Royal, the town is now known as “the richest and the wickedest city in the world”.

Heading into town, the shops and taverns are built maze-like with lantern lit stone-laid passages and corridors leading in-between. Tropical palms, fruit carts and barrels upon barrels of rum line the streets where there is space. A large rocky outcropping surrounds the cove and its village, seemingly encasing everything within, waterfalls and tropical plants flowing from its stone cliffs. The first building we come across in town is the PORT ROYAL PROVISIONS shop. The shop is made up of several different storefronts, with each room having a collection of sorts. One features ancient maps of the world’s seas that have been left behind, scattered across time from the ocean’s fiercest pirates. Another features artifacts and unearthed treasures on display. The final features “portraits” of the world’s most legendary pirates…which are WANTED signs for their capture - guests can even have one of themselves created. The provisional store provides goods for the weary villager, artifacts and treasures uncovered connected to the town’s history and its pirates…otherwise known as Pirates of the Caribbean merchandise.

Just next to the shop is EL PIRATA Y EL PERICO, a tavern that feels as if it was built out of the remnants of fallen pirate ships. The wood curves of the roof resemble the hull of a ship, the tavern’s structural beams look like ship masts and even the tables resemble the steering wheels of lost ships. The tavern features Caribbean-inspired dishes in a counter service dining setting. Some delicious dishes include Caribbean jerk chicken, arroz con pollo bowls, stuffed empanadas, tostones with shrimp and the location’s signature sweet caramelized plantains.

Just beyond the tavern, another shop is found by a cluster of tall palms. AVAST, A MAST! offers a wide selection of merchandise for the everyday pirate and their ships, such as telescopes, compasses, maps of the oceans, headgear and other treasures for purchase. The shop features an entire wall of miniature pirate ships in bottles on display and even offers guests the ability to create a miniature pirate ship model of their own design to be able to take home a swashbuckling souvenir.

Just off the scattered collection of town shops and alleys, a cantina is tucked away beneath the surrounding rocky outcropping. The structure features an outdoor patio near a set of waterfalls, tropical plants all around and the motif of mermaids, crabs and other undersea life carved into the wood throughout. This is CALYPSO CANTINA, the town’s bar which serves the best rum libations that the Caribbean has to offer. Come in and enjoy the local favorite selections of rums and mixed drinks or savor some of the light bites that the cantina has to offer, such as Caribbean conch fritters, grilled seafood skewers, spicy crab cakes and sweet coconut bread.



The space is utilized to tell the story of Calypso, the Goddess of the Seas. Along the walls are etched carvings that tell the story of how she fell in love with a human man by the name of Davy Jones. He agreed to set foot on dry land once every ten years while he collected souls from the sea, but when he returned, Calypso was nowhere to be found. Jones plotted with the Pirate Brethren to imprison Calypso in a human form and he ripped out his own heart, locking it away in a chest known from legend as the Dead Man’s Chest. He would return to the seas, only now, sailors feared him as a deadly captain that sailed the seas to collect the souls of the damned.

Legend has it that the sound of Davy Jones’ beating heart could be heard from beyond the wall carvings…

While there is seating both inside and on the tavern’s wrap-around porch, a reservation is required (I’m trying to keep Magic Kingdom relatively limited when it comes to alcohol, made available at select table service or reservation-required dining options).

The town’s scattered buildings are dotted around a central lagoon where ships are harbored. One of these ships is the Black Pearl itself, commandeered by none other than Captain Jack Sparrow, who routinely shows up by his ship for meetings with another pirate cohort or “frenemy”, usually Captain Barbossa or Pirate Redd.



While these pirates can frequently be seen around town, they are also included in a spectacle that takes place on the lagoon’s waters - EYE OF THE STORM, a pirate stunt show. In these daily performances, Captain Jack Sparrow, Barbossa and a league of pirates put on a swash-buckling performance, as the Black Pearl navigates around the lagoon in search of the town’s hidden treasure, as a series of stunts are performed.

The pirate hijinks come to a halt when one of the surrounding cove’s waterfalls stops, the village bridge rises and Davy Jones appears on the Flying Dutchman with his pirate crew from beyond, now circling the lagoon in unison with the Black Pearl! It makes for a jaw-dropping moment to see the ship emerge from beyond the waterfall and join the show on the lagoon. As one might have guessed, Davy Jones’ appearance is anything but cordial, as the evil captain and his crew wage war on the harbor town.

As the two ships circle each other, a whirlpool forms within the lagoon and the Trident of Poseidon appears from within, the secret treasure hidden away within the town’s waters and emerging from a seabed with other sunken treasures. The trident gives its owner the unstoppable power to rule and command over all of the seas. With the trident uncovered, the show kicks it into high gear, as cannon fire blasts between the two ships, pirate sword fights take to the streets and an intense battle ensues between Jack and Davy Jones on the deck and masts of the Flying Dutchman.

As the pirate battle rages on between the two groups, a bubbling vortex appears at the center of the lagoon and the mighty Kraken emerges from within! In the midst of the intense battle between the swirling ships, Jack lays claim of Poseidon’s trident and a blast sounds out, striking the Kraken and its sent reeling back beneath the waters. As Davy Jones is about to battle Jack for the trident, the ethereal voice of the Sea Goddess Calypso is heard in the wind across the lagoon, telling all that the sea will be ruled by no man, no pirate, no one. With trident in hand, Jack swings from the Dutchman and lands back on the seabed, returning to trident to its proper place, as it begins to disappear back beneath the water’s surface.

Calypso sends a strong wind to sweep the Flying Dutchman on the waters away from the cove, Davy Jones unable to stop her as he curses his lost love. He promises to return to the port town and claim the trident, so he may rule over the seas, before his ship disappears beyond the waterfall. With the battle subdued, peace is restored to the town, as much as it can be. At the conclusion of the show, Jack docks the Black Pearl back at port and speaks of the many pirate adventures to come and how this was the day they “almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow”, before diving into the lagoon and swimming to shore, leaving Barbossa and the pirate crew to make their way through the port for town interactions.

 

[KingMickey]

Traveling on the pathway around the lagoon opposite of the waterfall alcove that the Flying Dutchman disappeared beyond, guests will have stumbled across a palm-laden beach to find SHIPWRECK SHORE. This is an explore zone that is held within the shipwrecked galleon of several fallen ships that have been washed ashore in the aftermath. Tide pools feature shimmering shells and starfish that spit water when touched, water cannons can be ignited from the ship decks, there are slides, climbing nets and sunken ship playgrounds to explore and an entire splash pad of undersea life that springs with watery life from the seabed. It makes for a great place to relax, explore and cool off in the heat.

The beach shoreline leads around to the far side of the lagoon, leading towards another small section of town and a high-stone walled fortress that overlooks the cove. But first, on the edge of the beach, a series of dark caverns beckons guests to explore, their siren song luring those into its depths. This is DEAD MAN’S GROTTO, an explore zone that takes guests deep into the cavernous tunnels of the seaside cove.

The dark passages have many secrets to be uncovered, including the discovery of hidden treasures, a den of pirate skeletons that have befallen a terrible fate, an underwater tunnel of singing mermaids and a secret cove of clamshells and coral. The grotto’s dark tunnels all connect and eventually lead to the remnants of an undersea ship, sunk to the bottom of the seabed by the vicious Kraken, which is occasionally heard. While exploring the grottos, guests might even spot passing boats carrying riders through a cove seen through the cavern’s fissures, getting to see right into the Pirates of the Caribbean from this explore zone.



Back outside the caves, a wooden bridge passes before a large waterfall that spills into the lagoon and takes us into another collection of town buildings, built in the shadows of the tall fortress that watches over the cove. The first of these town buildings includes a shop called THE PARROT’S PERCH, where a parrot is set above the store’s entry and talks to those passing by. The store features more pirate-themed merchandise, with the interior of the store featuring perches planted along the ceiling, a few of them even featuring moving parrots themselves.

Next to the store is a village inn that is seemingly built into the cove stone beyond it. This is BLUE LAGOON, a signature table-service dining location that takes guests to dim-lit tropical sands beyond the cove, with a view of the Pirates of the Caribbean boats as they pass by! While indoors, the restaurant is designed to simulate a tranquil beach evening, with the salty scent of the water, the crashing waves of the nearby ocean and even a light breeze which rustles the palms and seaside plants.

The menu features delicious seafood selections with shrimp creole, tuna ceviche and island-style seafood soup being a few great starting choices. Flavorful and expertly-prepared entrees include Caribbean chicken, spicy shrimp paella, chili crab pasta, oven-baked mahi-mahi and Blue Lagoon’s signature filet mignon with lobster. Don’t skip out on dessert, either, as the restaurant offers sweet selections like mango-passion fruit cheesecake, chocolate coconut cream pie and sugar-glazed rum cake. The dining experience is charming, romantic and a perfect representation of the beauty of the Caribbean’s most exotic beaches.



Finally, we arrive at the crowning gem of Pirates Cove, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, a classic Disney Parks attraction since its Disneyland debut in 1967. It has seen many iterations throughout Disney’s castle parks, some even being re-inspired by the ever-popular Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. Shanghai has even seen a completely re-imagined, modern take on the attraction, with a new story and new technology woven together for an awe-inspiring experience. In the many forms Pirates of the Caribbean has taken in the decades since Imagineering put lightning in a bottle with its’ creation, it’s remained a classic, a favorite and one of Disney’s most world-renowned attractions.

I don’t need to dwell on my grievances towards WDW’s Pirates any further as I’ve done it in the previous Adventureland post, but I do think Florida’s version does deserve and should have always been so much more than what it is. And that’s exactly what I hope to bring with this new version. As mentioned before, this attraction’s large show building will be built in the expansion space behind Adventureland, with the rerouting of the train around the new Pirates building and the relocation of the parade facilities playing a major role in even getting Pirates Cove built. As the train passes from the jungles of Adventureland, it enters a dark cavern which is actually connected to the side of the Pirates show building. The train traverses through the cavern before the tunnel transitions into lantern-lit storefronts of the cove town on both sides of the track. Towards the end of the Pirates show building, these storefronts have display windows on the right which look into the ‘burning town’ scene, offering glimpses of the attraction from the train. From here, the boats continue forward into a dark cavern, where pirate skeletons, lost treasure and overgrown sea moss dot the stone floors. This cavern travels around the perimeter rock cliffs that surrounds Pirates Cove and is used to help hide the steam train from being visible from within the land itself, to avoid any theme inconsistencies. After exiting the tunnel, the steam train continues onwards towards the next land.

Now when thinking of a newly-built Pirates of the Caribbean for Magic Kingdom, it’s easy to want to push through limits of Imagineering and create a show-stopping take on a classic, especially after the likes of Shanghai’s stunning, modern interpretation of the attraction. But I think Pirates is a great example that shows the classics really can and do win and that not everything needs to be a technological, modern day E-ticket for it to be good. While it will be a new build, Florida’s will very much be a mix of the classic Pirates of the Caribbean that we know and love from its sister versions in California, Paris and Tokyo.

However, Florida’s new version has a few distinct differences that establishes as its own here in Magic Kingdom’s Pirates Cove.

The entrance to the attraction is located within the tall stone fortress of Fort Charles, a stronghold located on a bluff that overlooks the lagoon and harbor. The fort features grand parapets atop the stone walls and an arched Spanish bell tower. As it now serves as a fort for navy operations, the tall walls of the fort provide both a lookout and artillery to protect the harbor from unwanted threats sailing in from uncharted waters. A tall, weathered mast next to the fort’s entrance reads “Pirates of the Caribbean”, as guests step inside the stone walls and their plunderous adventure begins. The queue curves through the inside of the fort, passing around the stored equipment, cannons and gunpowder kegs used in warfare to protect the town. The next room takes us into the soldier barracks, where an armada of locked military weapons and provisions are stored. The rumbling conversations of fort soldiers could be heard coming from their chambers, as word breaks of an attack on the town and a fierce pirate ship heading towards the fort’s waters to engage in battle. Before the soldiers can say more, cannon fire sounds and the fort trembles as if struck, forcing the soldiers to their stations.

From there, the queue winds down into a dank prison block lit by flickering torches. We can see into the dark cells and even hear the laments of imprisoned pirates below, as an iron barred opening shows the outside waters lapping against the fort. The ocean flows with a fiery orange every time cannon fire sounds, the fort shaking with each strike. The pirate prisoners can make out the Wicked Wench approaching on the rough waters, a ship commandeered by a fierce pirate captain. It isn’t long before the prison cell block reaches the fort’s waterway, where boats are found to provide safe passage away from the pirate attack on the harbor town. We board our boat and our swash-buckling pirate adventure begins.

The boat sets off down the fort’s waterway, rounds a stone parapet and begins an upward ascent up a waterfall ramp, leading to the fortress’s rampart. As the boats climb their ascent, the sound of cannon blasts shake the fortress, as shadows of soldiers racing to battle are cast across the stone walls. The boats reach the top of the ramp and circle the fort’s rampart, lined with cannons and other battlements. From here, the boats view down into the vast sea and harbor before the fort and can see the threatening Wicked Wench fire blasts at the fort, its evil captain commandeering his crew to attack. The boat rounds under a stone arch leading back into the fort’s cold walls and passes by a series of prison cells. Groups of pirates locked in different cells try to coax and grab a nearby dog, happily wagging his tail with the prison keys in his mouth, just out of reach. The boats continue down the dark corridors, the wind howling, cannons blasting and the sounds of rushing water nearing. It’s isn’t long before the boat takes a brief drop from the fort’s waterway, evading the pirate’s mutiny on the town…for now.

The boats splash down into the fort’s coastline and drifts passed a nearby tropical seashore. It is here where passengers sail by the beaches of Blue Lagoon, with its tall palms, tropical plans and diners enjoying their meals along the coast. The serene night beach is a sought-after departure from the chaotic battle happening at the fort. The gentle sway of the palms trees, the lapping waters on the shore and the cascade of cove waterfalls add to the tranquility of the scene. It isn’t long before the boats find themselves drifting away from the beach, heading towards a dark cove. The air grows still and quiet, eerily so, as the tropical beach is left behind and we find ourselves in a murkier waters, overgrown with wild plants and capsized fishing boats, the boat heading towards the cove entrance.

The boat leads into the cavern and the tone of the attraction turns chilling and somber. The sound of ghastly specters of pirates past seems to echo off the cavern walls, silenced only by the sound of approaching rushing water. Then, there in the darkness of the cavern, we hear a faint voice whisper out:

“Ye come seekin’ adventure and salty old pirates, eh? Sure, you come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight—with both hands, if you please. There be squalls ahead! And Davy Jones waiting for them what don’t obey.”

From the darkness of the cave, we begin to see the remnants of fallen ships around us and there, above our watery route, a pirate skull on a tattered mast that we pass under. The skull continues its warning to us:

“Psst! Avast there! It be too late to alter course, mateys—and there be plunderin’ pirates lurkin’ in every cove, waitin’ to board. Sit closer together, and keep your ruddy hands inboard—that be the best way to repel boarders. And mark well me words, mateys: “Dead men tell no tales!”

With that, our boat dips into the darkness and down a larger waterfall with a great splash. We emerge in the caves of Dead Man’s Cove, where waterfalls flow from the rocky fissures of the passage and the cove’s sands are laden with the skeletal remains of the pirates that have met their untimely end here guarding their treasure. A hauntingly serene flute instrumental of “(Yo Ho) A Pirate’s Life for Me” hums throughout the grotto and an ethereal phrase echoes throughout the cavern, “Dead Men Tell No Tales!” The unusual tranquility of the passage is soon cut by the sound of clashing thunder, as the boats round the corner and find themselves approaching a shipwreck washed up on the edge of the cove. At the helm of the wreck is a skeletal pirate that still steers the destroyed ship even now from beyond the grave, lightning strikes and thunderous rain falling around the figure. The boats enter into a splintered opening in the side of the ship’s hull.

From here, the boats pass a series of vignette scenes within the destroyed ship, where the crew’s skeletal pirates have been frozen in time. We pass by the Crew’s Quarters where skeletal pirates are playing chess and drinking bottomless rum. We pass by the Captain’s Quarters, where the bony skeleton of the captain lies in bed, examining a worn treasure map with a magnifying glass and a haunted harpsichord plays the attraction’s famous theme. Next we pass by Plunderer’s Hideout, the underbelly of the shipwreck that pirates have converted into a makeshift tavern and safe-hold to use as a hiding spot seemingly having been abandoned on a whim. The room is lined with rum barrels that spew into the water, a chamber full of telescopes, swords, dangling twine and barrel tables lined with bottles of liquor and even nearby escape boats to flee from the secret hideout through the cove opening just ahead.

Just before the edge of the cove’s exit, we pass by a cavern brimming with treasures, high piles of gold doubloons and shimmering golden artifacts. The piles of treasure are safeguarded by a pirate sitting on top of one of the piles, but unlike the skeletons of the cove prior, this pirate is alive and snickering over the fortunes that have fallen into his lap. A grim voice echoes into the cavern:

“No fear have ye of evil curses, says you? Arrrgh... Properly warned ye be, says I. Who knows when that evil curse will strike the greedy beholders of this bewitched treasure?”

In an instant, the gold piles of treasure turn to heaps of tarnished ash and the pirate atop turns into a long-dead skeleton, showing all the cursed life and fate of those that would try to claim the bewitched treasure as their own. A cursed life.

“Perhaps ye knows too much... ye've seen the cursed treasure, you know where it be hidden. Now proceed at your own risk. These be the last 'friendly' words ye'll hear. Ye may not survive to pass this way again...”

Proceeding from the cove, the boats find themselves sailing along a mist-shrouded sea under a dark night sky and are thrust into the middle of the battle between the Wicked Wench and the Fort. It’s the same moment that the boats had seen from the fort’s rampart at the beginning of the attraction and I thought it would be a very neat idea to be able to see the same scene from two different perspectives. The pirate captain barks orders at his crew as they fire the ship’s guns and cannons towards the fort and into the water around the boats. Fort soldiers can be seen manning their own cannons and rifles and shouting threats at the invading pirates. The guests proceed through the fog-filled harbor, sailing a path through the onslaught of cannon fire coming from both sides of the boat, causing jets of water to shoot up nearby.

Passing through the town’s gates, the boats pass by the first of several detailed scenes that show the pirates invasion of the town. Guests pass by a courtyard outside of the ransacked home of the town’s mayor, where town magistrate Carlos, is tortured by being dunked into a well by a group of pirates that demand information on the whereabouts of the town’s treasure. A line of other villagers stand in line as bound prisoners, waiting for their turn to be questioned. Carlos’ proud wife occasionally peeks out from an upstairs window, “Don’t tell them, Carlos! Don’t be chicken!” before a pirate’s potshot at the window causes her to duck back inside.

Floating onward through the town, the boats arrive at an auction where drunken pirates are encouraged to bid on the town’s rare items that they’ve forced the townspeople to auction away for the pirates selfish gain. While the Auctioneer is trying to sell off the town’s items, the drunken pirates are more interested in gaining a dalliance with red-headed pirate Redd. Disgusted at the pirate crew.m, she brandishes a pistol and sends a warning shot out, striking a lamp post across the way, causing the drunken pirates to sit-up right and quiet, before the Auctioneer continues his bargaining. The boats pass under an arch and we pass into the next scene, where pirates are being chased in circles by the townspeople. Two pirates loot a chest while a man with a pitchfork chases after, a pirate steals a pie and a woman comes after him with a rolling pin and so on. In the midst of it all, a particularly pooped pirate lays next to a barrel of rum and ponders where the town’s treasure is located.



As the boats drift further into town, the pirates become more frantic and the mayhem increases, with the town having been set ablaze. Yet even as the town flickers with a fiery haze, the pirates have become too drunk to care as they sing “(Yo Ho) A Pirate’s Life for Me”, continuing their looting and terror on the town, while remaining unaware of the threat that their fire has caused. As the town flames burn brighter, the pirates grow tired as the rum takes its toll.

The boats pass under a stone archway and drift into a burning building, traveling through the midst of burning embers and flaming pillars. Ominous creaking echoes from above, as the buildings foundations have burnt and cracked, groaning and swaying under the pressure. A giant opening in the side of the building shows the burning town off in the distance, the dark smoke forming into an elusive skull in the sky. The boats turn around a corner and spot a locked up chamber of treasures and riches burning down in an intense blaze. The sought after riches inside are destroyed, turned to tarnished ash in the fit of flames - just like the cursed treasure in the cove from earlier, a befitting reminder of the cursed life pirates live. Their destruction of the town destroyed the treasure they were after, much as that cursed treasure would be the destruction of these pirates.

The boats round the corner and spot the fort’s coasts. Leaving the burning building behind and approaching the fort, guests spot none other than Captain Jack Sparrow on a dingy of a ship that is slowly sinking into the waters below. He greets the nearby passengers, wishes them safe travels in the cove and sings a refrain or two from the attraction’s catchy theme. With the boats pulling back into the fort, Jack bids them farewell plans sets off away from the fort to have his next pirate adventure. The boat pulls back into the fort’s unload and the guests depart, exiting through a series of battlement chambers containing cannons and powder kegs before emerging back outside and at the edge of the lagoon.

And that’s the park’s new version of Pirates! I wanted to keep it relatively classic, a rearrangement of some things here and there and sort of make it the best of Disneyland, Tokyo and Paris, while still providing its own distinctive Florida flair with the fort and the extension of coves and coasts that help fit it in with the surrounding land. This version also keeps the movie franchise tie-ins to a minimum. I know that this can be a rather somewhat controversial topic (and I don’t dislike the Pirates film references in the attraction, but the constant mentioning of “Captain Jack Sparrow” is a bit tedious), but since the surrounding land is laden with references to the Pirates film franchise, I figured the attraction itself could be free of it. The sole exception to that is the appearance of Jack in the finale, which is fine with me as it adds a nice sendoff to the attraction with a character that really represents the entire land as a whole, without needing the attraction’s story to involve him heavily. And Jack’s farewell singing to the tune of “(Yo Ho) A Pirate’s Life for Me” makes for a catchy parting!

Well, that’s a wrap on Pirates Cove! I hope you all enjoyed this segment. Let me know what you think of this new, smaller land. I think it provides a nice transition point between Adventureland and Frontierland, provides the park with some great beach/tropical settings and their cuisine and finally gives Florida a version of Pirates of the Caribbean that the Magic Kingdom deserves. Hope you all enjoyed it.

_______________

-PIRATES COVE-

ATTRACTIONS
1) Pirates of the Caribbean
2) Shipwreck Shore
3) Dead Man’s Grotto
4) Eye of the Storm

DINING
1) El Pirata y El Perico
2) Calypso Cantina
3) Blue Lagoon

SHOPPING
1) Port Royal Provisions
2) Avast, a Mast!
3) The Parrot’s Perch

 

[Half/CartoonHalf/Human]

Okay, man. You deserve a raise for all of this. I’M ABSOLUTELY LOVING THIS!!! Can’t wait for Frontierland!

 

[co10064]

Really loving this thread! The Adventureland coaster sounds amazing!

 

[KingMickey]

Our next land to explore of the Magic Kingdom is none other than the wild west saloons, sleepy old towns and majestic mountainous peaks of FRONTIERLAND.

Themed to the American frontier of the 19th century, Frontierland is the home of cowboys, bandits and pioneers, a music hall of singing bears, runaway trains passing through red rock buttes, folklores that turn out to be real, rushing western rivers and the California gold rushes of 1849. It all comes to life here along the Rivers of America in Frontierland.

As Walt Disney once said about Frontierland, “It is here that we experience the story of our country's past. The color, romance and drama of frontier America as it developed from wilderness trails to roads, riverboats, railroads and civilization. A tribute to the faith, courage and ingenuity of our hearty pioneers who blaze the trails and made this progress possible.”

Frontierland is one of my favorite areas of any castle-style park. There’s a majestic beauty and immersion to it. While the banks of the Rivers of America or the red rock peaks of Big Thunder may not be nature at its most authentic, Frontierland’s picturesque setting and attention to environment works so well to make even these man-made landmarks seem like genuine wonders from our wilderness and nature. It’s a beautiful part of our park that separates a castle park from just being an ordinary amusement park and that’s something I want to add even more of in this new Frontierland.

Now, while I say “New Frontierland”, truthfully not much is changing from what it is currently - something that I think is a testament to the strength of the land. Some tidying up here and there and a large attraction expansion, but nothing like how Adventureland saw a relative tonal shake-up to every area of the land. Which…leads me to a personal, hard choice and something that will probably be the most controversial move in this entire project. might as well just rip the band-aid off and get it over with. I’m removing Splash Mountain/Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, entirely. Like, as in the entire ride and its building.

I know that Splash Mountain, its’ transition into Tiana’s, the varying opinions on the matter - all of its controversial and I’ll honestly say I’m not really on any side. I don’t want this to become an opinion piece on the matter, so I’ll keep it relatively short and simple. I liked Splash Mountain, but I can also say that Song of the South’s depiction of characters and stereotypes was a problem. To that end, I can also say that while Splash Mountain practically existed as its own entity that shared little with the film’s problematic depictions of the film, there will always be that connection that makes it difficult

I can say that I really liked Splash Mountain, but none of it was for the plot or any relation to the theme. It was a fun, long ride with detailed scenes, catchy songs and was loaded with animatronics, made even better when they worked a percentage of the time. Which kind of takes me to the next point. The ride itself was fun - but even before they announced a Princess and the Frog overhaul, I felt like it was time to do something with the attraction. It felt like Splash Mountain could have existed as something else without the connection to Song of the South and it could have been just as good. So when they announced Tiana’s, I didn’t mind and was looking forward to it. And that’s sort of what I mean when I say I’m not on any side, Splash could have stayed, could have changed, could have become Tiana’s and I wouldn’t have minded either way.

However, having been on Tiana’s, it’s cute, it’s pretty, but it feels a bit lackluster and even worse, sterile to the point of being unimaginative and senseless. And I don’t even dislike Tiana’s, I just got another virtual queue for it today lol I just hate knowing that it should be so much more and a phenomenal film like Princess and the Frog deserves so much more. So, when thinking of what to do, I came to a conclusion - something needed to be done with Splash, but slapping Princess and the Frog on it wasn’t the answer and didn’t give the film or Frontierland the answer they deserved.

So, I have decided to completely redo this section of Frontierland. Gone are the mountain, the ride, the building and even the Railroad which once passed through. Keep in mind, with the removal of Splash Mountain and the re-routing of both the parade route, its infrastructure and the Railroad, it opens up another great amount of space adjacent to Pirates Cove that will provide Frontierland with not only a new, massive attraction, but some of that majestic charm and beauty of nature’s most striking environments…but we will get to that towards the end of the land’s segment, as we’ll start our trip through Frontierland closer to Liberty Square and make our way through the land by following the Rivers of America.

MK’s Frontierland has slowly become (and will continue to become) a strange mix of different things. It’s a lot of classic Frontierland, but now also the deep south bayous with Tiana’s, and eventually also…a national park-type section with the off road Cars attraction? Frontierland will seemingly adopt the exact issues that today’s Adventureland and Tomorrowland already face - too much where it doesn’t work and IPs that don’t seem to mesh well in a sensical way. The changes made in this plan are going to help keep maintain the land’s cohesive - an old Wild West town in the midst of the gold rush craze, with all the sights, allure, folklore and romance that the great frontier holds true to itself.

When we first step through the bypass from Frontierland, we find ourselves in a western town amidst the 1850s gold rush craze, as sleepy tunes on banjos and guitars are heard from the land’s saloons and outposts.

Upon stepping into the land from this point, to our immediate right we have THE DIAMOND HORSESHOE, a pristine western saloon offering counter service dining options, such as BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, hand-dipped corn dogs, braised brisket and pork chop skillets, all which are served with the location’s delicious cornbread and greens. The desserts are also mouth-watering, offering items like berry cobbler, cowboy campfire s’mores and delicious cinnamon apple crumble.

The dining restaurant offers floor seating in front of a stage, as well as second floor balcony seating, which provides a nice hidden place to relax and dine. Throughout the meal, an old Wurlitzer, a classic electronic piano, comes to life on the stage and starts playing old time tunes. In addition, the stage is routinely held by THE APPLESEED ACOUSTIC BAND, a crew of Wild West musicians that perform live renditions of classic such as “Home on the Range”, “Back in the Saddle Again” and “Riders in the Sky”. The group performs in both the Diamond Horseshoe, but they can also be spotted playing their tunes throughout Frontierland.

Heading along the banks of the Rivers of America to the left, guests enter into Frontierland’s sleepy town of Tumbleweed, a strip of scattered buildings in the old west. While built right along the river that surrounds the forested island right across the way, the red rock peaks of a vast mountain scape stretch across the vista at the end of the land, making for both a jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring moment to take in the sights from the small town quite a distance away. One of the first stops in town is the STAGE COACH SALOON. This spot used to be the former Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade, but has now become the town’s latest spot for passerby’s to stake claim on refreshments, marked by the parked stage coach wagon at the entrance of the saloon. While a modest space with bar stools lining an old wooden counter, the small pub offers a nice place to escape from the heat of the Old West. With a simple list of food items like hot honey chicken, loaded BBQ fries and crispy chicken tenders with a variety of flavorful sauces, the saloon’s most sought-after treat is its old-fashioned root beer with sweet cream served in a frosted glass. The saloon also offers other refreshments, such as ice cream floats and a variety of specialty sodas mixed with flavored syrups and sweet foam add-ins.

Just next to the Stage Coach Saloon is the FRONTIER TRADING POST, a sleepy little shop and the town’s general store and it looks it. The store has its stocked ledges filled with small farm implements, pantry goods like flour and sugar and wagon wheels for sale. Here one can get their fill of western wear, cowboy, bandit and sheriff gear, as well as a collection of Frontierland-specific merchandise. The wooden porches of the quiet shop also feature rocking chairs to take in the quaint settings of the western town just outside.

Just across the path from the shop’s porch is the entrance to THE COUNTRY BEAR MUSICAL JAMBOREE, an audio-animatronic stage show starring none other than the Country Bears themselves. Guests are welcomed into the ornate Grizzly Hall for a performance of classic Disney songs in different styles and genres of country music. Master of Ceremonies, Henry, kicks things off with performances from Liver Lips McGrowl, Trixie St. Claire, Big Al, the Five Bear Rugs and more for a knee-slapping, clapping good time. Hanging on the wall are Buff, Max and Melvin, animal heads that come to life during the performance, occasionally offering their own commentary and duets with the onstage cast.

Around the corner from Grizzly Hall is TUMBLEWEED TREATS & SUPPLY, a shop that is home to many confections, baked cookies and packaged candies. With commemorative boxed candies, pick and mix candy stations and gold-wrapped bars of chocolate, the shop acts as an old town confectionary, where the only thing beating out the gold rush crazy is one’s sweet tooth.

 

[KingMickey]

Next door to the candy shop is FUENTE DEL ORO RESTAURANT, which takes up the former large space of Pecos Bill’s. This remodeled counter service offers delicious dishes and a setting inspired by the flavors and styles of the Southwest and Mexico. The restaurant offers delicious entrees, such as build-your-own burritos and nachos, flavorful taco salad bowls, sizzling fajita platters and cheesy enchiladas. The counter service also offers delicious dessert offerings like Mexican dulche de leche-stuffed flautas and cinnamon churro rings served with marble chocolate drizzle sauce.

The transition of the restaurant from Pecos Bills to Fuente del Oro makes the space into a traditional Spanish-style hacienda, which works to create a wonderful transition into the Spanish-influenced architecture of the Pirates Cove town just across the way. Fuente del Oro translates to “Fountain of Gold”, a fitting name as the location’s central dining room is anchored by a fountain crafted with gold furnishings. The restaurant incorporates typical hacienda details into its architecture, like adobe walls and wooden beams that stick through the facade. The interior of the restaurant’s dining rooms with their props and set dressings are all inspired by the folk art of the Spanish southwest, creating an environment that is rich with color, culture and artwork. The outside of the restaurant features spacious patio seating along its exterior perimeter, leading all the way up to the Adventureland archway sign on the left. The exterior is laden with gardens of agave trees and barrel cactus plants located between the terrace covered dining areas.

Across from the entrance to Fuente del Oro Restaurant, a series of dockside bridges travel alongside the main thoroughfare of Frontierland, built over the Rivers of America and offering great vistas of the river, Frontierland and a majestic riverboat that occasionally passes by. These series of bridges lead way to a small cabin docked on the edge of the river, where rafts cross to and from a lush, forested island at the water’s center. Of course, these were the rafts that would take us to Tom Sawyer Island as we once knew it, the island drawing inspiration from one of Mark Twain’s novels about a boy growing up on the edge of the Mississippi River. I’d mentioned in a much earlier post that both the island and the Rivers of America are staying - and they are - but I’ve decided to adjust the island’s theme and base it off of the many legends and characters of America’s folklores. Sort of a nod to those fabled legendary characters of the great frontier that you might read about in school - and it feels like a very old school Disney Imagineering idea, as well.

The cabin on the water’s edge now has rafts that provide access to TALL TALE ISLAND, a forested island at the heart of the Rivers of America, where you can explore, discover and enjoy the island at your leisure, uncovering the many great sights that pay homage to the folktale figures of America’s past. The island’s new theme has a slight connection to Disney’s somewhat forgotten animated anthology film, ‘American Legends’, a compilation of four animated shorts on Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, John Henry and The Brave Engineer. The island is befit with walking trails, barrel bridges, quaint streams and even secluded spots to enjoy a picnic or relaxing getaway from the rest of the park. The island operates daily, with rafts starting their travels an hour after the park opens and running until sunset.

Traversing these trails lead to several neat findings along the way. You can discover the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan’s log cabin amidst the overgrown trees within the island, a blue ox nearby as the legend’s loyal companion. You can find John Henry’s hammer and the hole that he drilled into one of the island’s hills, fashioning an explorable dark cavern of crystals and fissures. You can find Mike Fink’s keelboat docked in a hidden cove along the island, a nod to the park’s previous attraction. Traversing along the eastern section of the island, you’ll find DAVY CROCKETT’S EXPLORER CANOES, where guests are welcomed to sail around the Rivers of America with a skilled canoe guide on this self-sustained rowing canoe tour that offers great vantage points of Tall Tale Island and the surrounding beauty of the river. The canoe experience is only accessible from the island, so it makes for a nice side activity for those that decide to explore it.

On the southern point of the island, you’ll find a diner and seating rotunda built above the water. This is JOHNNY APPLESEED’S INN & ORCHARD, a quick service location that operates daily on the island and provides a simple menu that includes Johnny’s famous apples in every dish. Some of the light fare that the humble inn provides are cheddar and apple grilled cheese sandwiches, apple-stuffed pork roast and honey apple-baked brie bread bowls. The inn’s desserts are just as delicious, offering items like fried apple hand pies, cinnamon apple doughnuts and apple blackberry cobbler. Of course, the location also has its signature frosted apple cider, which is just as delicious as it is refreshing on those hot Florida days.

A bridge connects the two half of the islands together, with the upper section of the island featuring more walking trails, secluded forested spaces and waterside paths to explore. The paths round their way through the trees and make their way to Fort Pecos, based on none other than the folklore hero, cowboy Pecos Bill. This western fort is has scaleable parapets, wooden landings and block houses to explore, even including a stable where audio-animatronic horses, goats and cattle greet you. The fort also features a secret entrance to the northern caves that snake through the island undetected. Upon ventures down into these dark tunnels, fissures caverns and dripping stalagmites lead the way through the maze of passages. The caverns eventually open to a chamber of uncovered gold hidden deep within, really adding to the phrase, “there’s gold in them hills!” The cave of gold weaves through to the edge of the island and connects back to the a nearby walking trail overlooking a cove.

It is here where we discover more of the island’s secrets. While we’ve so far seen the influence that the heroes of America’s fables and folklore have made on the island, there’s other inhabitants that have taken refuge here - that of America’s folkloric, elusive creatures. In this cove alcove, guests can spot Chessie, a legendary sea monster rumored to live in the depths of the Chesapeake Bay, somewhat similar to the serpentine-like Lochness monster. The creature will occasionally emerge inside the cove alcove from beneath the river, before disappearing back into its depths to remain undetected. The second creature spotted is a statue of the Piasa hidden amongst the walkways. The creature originated from Native American drawings found along the Mississippi River and is a bird-like beast with horns, wings and a dragon’s tail. Finally, the caverns on the southern island are home to possibly North America’s most fabled folklorish creature - Bigfoot. Embarking into the dark caverns can be quite a spooky trip, especially with the sounds of what could be the creature right behind you. Shadows of the being are cast along the walls, even the rock work is designed to take the shape of the figure - and in the darkness of the cave - you won’t know if you actually saw the being or if it was all just a trick of the eye. There is no “scare” in the caverns, but the experience can be spooky and unnerving to say the least.

That’s about it for Tall Tale Island. I think it provides a nice re-theme to a central part of Frontierland and provides a chance to tie-in a lot of America’s legends and stories. By featuring heroes, figures and creatures from the country’s fables and folklore, it creates a nice themed place to take a break from the rest of the park and feels like a distinctly old school Imagineering move to base the island on a series of legends and American heroes. With that, we take a raft back to the mainland of Frontierland and we explore the last section of the land.

 

[KingMickey]

I mentioned earlier that the area of Splash Mountain/Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the adjoining Frontierland Railroad Station will be completely redone to accommodate a new addition and that takes us into our final part of the land. This Frontierland is split into three sections. We have the sleepy town of Tumbleweed, Tall Tale Island with the Rivers of America and the final section that I’d refer to as “the great frontier” with its glorious mountain landscapes, red rock buttes and canyons, sort of like a wild wildness beyond the town proper.

Arriving back on the island at the raft cabin, the path to the right would usually lead to a dead end where the canoe docks used to exist (back when they were originally an operating attraction at the park), but now the pathway continues across a new swing bridge that crosses over the water and continues onto the next set of lands built around the top bend of the Rivers of America. Directly before us is BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD, a runaway railroad that takes us on the wildest ride in the wilderness along the train’s tracks that take us through the jagged red rock mountains and mining tunnels of Big Thunder. Designed to use the sharp-edged mountains and bright colors of Monument Valley, Arizona, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has become one of Disney’s most iconic attractions designed by renowned Imagineer Tony Baxter. In the course of the runaway train ride, guests speed through bat-infested tunnels, the flash-flooded town of Tumbleweed and even passes through the rib cage of a T-Rex skeleton surrounded by spewing geysers. Florida’s version of the attraction will see some additional sprucing up by seeing the inclusions that Disneyland’s Big Thunder received back in its 2013 refurbishment, namely the dynamited tunnel on the third lift hill with its sparking fuses and artificial smoke explosions to add to an exciting conclusion of the attraction.

To the left of Big Thunder is where the elevated Railroad station and Splash Mountain’s queue and bathroom space once stood, but that is no more in this plan. Instead, the sharp rock mountains of Big Thunder continue through and are expanded into this spot, complete with a new Thunder Mountain playground area, something that was once featured here with Splash Mountain. Here is where we find LIL THUNDER MOUNTAIN MINE CARTS, a kiddie version of its predecessor attraction next door, meant to be a perfect first coaster for little ones. This attraction actually utilizes a reformatted Barnstormer ride track from Storybook Circus (spoiler alert: Storybook Circus is entirely no more in this plan, but more on that when the next land comes). Instead of simply demolishing the Barnstormer with the rest of Storybook Circus, it IS such a perfect first coaster for little ones, that I’ve decided to move it here into Frontierland and to have it borrow the theme of its larger sister attraction right next door. It makes for an excellent first kiddie coaster, expands the mountain range of Big Thunder and frankly, adds more theming and charm to the ride than the present day Barnstormer does, which is very much a slapstick barebones re-theme that matches the cheapness of the rest of Storybook Circus, but I digress. In this toddler-friendly version, guests board smaller mine carts and head up the smaller red rock cliffs of Lil Thunder Mountain. Upon reaching the top of the lift hill, the carts careen down the smaller mountain, passing by a waterfall, around a pile of excavated gold and concluding with a trip through a cavern of rainbow pools of water.

Located just off of the attraction is RED ROCK MERCANTILE, a mountainside outpost that has struck hard times after Tumbleweed’s flash flood from the nearby river, so they’ve taken to selling merchandise of the famous and legendary Big Thunder mountains to help keep themselves afloat. The exterior features weathered wood, vintage signage, and decorative accents reminiscent of a classic western outpost, tucked away in the midst of the jagged red cliffs.

And when I talk about the nearby river causing a flash flood, I’m not talking about the Rivers of America. As I mentioned earlier, Splash Mountain/Tiana’s removal will see the addition of a massive new E-ticket ride to take up that huge plot of land - and we’re traveling back to reopen some legendary Disney Imagineering plans to make it happen. As the final piece of Frontierland, the new attraction which replaces Splash/Tiana’s and acts as a new anchor for the land altogether is none other than THE GREAT WESTERN RIVER EXPEDITION.

As the story goes, the Western River Expedition was an attraction that was designed for Walt Disney World’s Frontierland by legendary Imagineer Marc Davis and was supposed to be the resort’s western-themed equivalent to the scope and detail of Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean. At the time of this attraction’s development, Pirates of the Caribbean was never considered for the Magic Kingdom with Disney Imagineering believing that the adventures of cowboys and bandits would be more exciting for the Florida park. However, it wasn’t until the Magic Kingdom opened and guests were left going “Where are the pirates?” that things decided to switch gears and Pirates would end up being quickly built without the length and detail put into Disneyland’s. With the hasty construction of Magic Kingdom’s Pirates, plans for the Western River Expedition were put on hold and an economic downturn in the 1970s caused the ride to be ultimately scrapped. Since then, the attraction would go on to become the inspiration of other Disney Park concepts like Splash Mountain and Paris’ Thunder Mesa, with Marc Davis’ ride concepts and models of the grand attraction surfacing over time, offering just a glimpse, a ‘what if?’, of what MK’s Frontierland would include if the experience had been built.

In this dream plan, there are no ‘what ifs’, as the attraction takes its place in the very heart of Frontierland, offering not only a major new attraction to the land, but the sight of the attraction’s mountainscape as it’s viewed from the town proper is both beautiful and striking. With the clearing of Splash and all the backstage infrastructure behind it, it leaves so much space for something monumentally huge, full of landscape and life. Think something in the scale of DCA’s Radiator Springs Racers - vast, sweeping natural mountain formations, with weaving rivers, drops down cascading waterfalls and plunges throughout. The rerouted Railroad even passes through along the mountain’s cliffs, even weaving through some show scenes, offering a breath-taking sight for both the guests on the train and those viewing the entire great frontier from standing before it. The large rock work rising up from the edge of Frontierland and visible from the town is such a cool thought to me, as if there’s a whole untamed frontier outside the sleepy town. There’s depth, it feels organic and, there’s just no other words for it than strikingly beautiful and unique. The attraction’s mountain peaks also work to bridge other areas of the park together - on the one end, cohesively blending in with the smooth, watery bluffs of Pirates Cove, and on the other, matching in with the red, jagged cliff-sides of the Thunder Mountain attractions, with the attraction’s mountainscape naturally fading in to fit with the environments on either end.

We’ve covered the details of the experience’s monumental look and placement in Frontierland, but let’s dive into the details of the attraction itself.

In this incarnation of the attraction, The Great Western River Expedition is an immersive flume ride that takes guests on a scenic journey through the legendary tales and times of the old American West. Guests make their way through the riverside cliffs, passing through an old train depot where the Railroad passes through. The path leads along the western river and into the hidden caverns and outcroppings of the rock face, before heading into a precariously constructed dam that is barely able to keep the stored water at bay, signs that the nearby town’s recent flash flood may have originated from this very place. The sounds of old banjos and rushing water fill the space, amidst the chatter of excited explorers. Guests board their wood- fashioned boats and embark, as they navigate through lush landscapes, rugged canyons, and adventurous encounters with animatronic characters like cowboys, bandits and the great frontier’s wildlife.



As the guests set off, the boat travels up the dam’s conveyor belt and sets off, sailing down a picturesque river between towering canon walls, a grand musical score echoing across the red rock walls as the guests travel “Down the Western River”, the attraction’s omnipresent theme song, composed by Christopher Willis, who’s other works include The Chronicles of Narnia, Marvel films and “Nothing Can Stop Us Now”, the theme song from Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The calm waters of the river work to create a serene moment, allowing the riders to take in the natural beauty all around. From the canyon rocks above, we are greeted by the town’s sheriff on his horse, as he greets us and wishes us well on our voyage down the western river.

As the boats venture further along the river, they encounter a group of cowboys on their horses, sharing tales of their dealings along the river, of the tumultuous dangers and bandits of the Wild West. The cowboys grant us safe passage, but warn us to keep a sharp eye, as the great frontier is beautiful, but unforgiving. From here, the vehicles round the towering cliffs and cone across a breath-taking sight hidden behind the exterior front-facing rock work - the boats traveling down a canyon surrounded by rushing waterfalls on both sides. It is a majestic and wondrous sight to behold and hidden away within the mountain makes it such a grand reveal. Just as we believe the river hosts a tranquil trip around the rocky canyon, the boats themselves dip down a waterfall in the attraction’s first sudden, but fun plunge. The boats recover from the cascade and find themselves floating around the back end of the canyon, traveling through a field of cactuses of all sorts that almost seem to be buzzing with life, buzzing and moving to the tune of the attraction’s theme.

The boats curve around a tower of precariously stacked rocks and find themselves sailing through a camp of cowboys, their tents and horses set to the side amidst the cactuses, wild plants and tumbleweed. A cowboy sits by a blazing campfire surrounded by the others, strumming on a guitar and singing the tune of the attraction’s theme song. The boats leave the campsite and pass by a natural lush prairie environment with buffalo, bison and prairie dogs, following suit with the previous scenes and bellowing, snorting and barking to the theme. The boats turn the corner to find a horse-drawn stage coach of silly saloon girls at the edge of a cliff above, having been cornered by a group of villainous bandits, with their own coach of pilfered goods, barrels of whisky and dynamite. As the boats pass, the bandits threats go squandered, as the rock cliffs beneath them falters and gives way, causing the men to fall from the cliffs and giving the saloon girls the chance to cart away on the mountain arch that the boats pass under. As the bandits fall, they warn us that we’ll meet again further down the river.

From here, the boats take another drop down into a dark cavern, full of dripping stalagmites and rushing waters. This is where the ride turns a bit turbulent, as the boat navigates through thrilling rapids and unexpected drops that heighten the excitement. The current takes the boats through the cavernous chambers hidden away within the canyon, the echoing sounds of wind whipping through over the rushing waters. The boats exit out of the cavern and continue into a rapids segment through the outside canyon rivers, with a series of consecutive small drops that pass by the stunning canyon rock work. Eventually, the rapids calm and the boats return to their serene sailing.

Rounding the canyon corner, a stage coach travels alongside the floating boat with the same silly saloon girls from before. They sing us their praises to the tune of the theme song and flirtatious bid us adieu as we continue on. However, the moment of serene reprieve is abruptly cut short, the tune and tone of the ride turning dramatic and intense, as the boats pass through the canyon with its cactuses and plants having been set ablaze, crackling with fire and burnt to a crisp, destroyed. The boats enter into an intimidating dark cavern, where the same threatening bandits from before appear again on their coach with their blazing torches, just as they promised to, They block our path to seek vengeance for squandering their earlier skirmish. In the midst of the approaching standoff, the bandits accidentally set their own stage coach ablaze, which wouldn’t be the worst thing…if it wasn’t loaded with whiskey and dynamite. Just as the bandits realize the severity of their mistake, the boats dip down into the attraction’s climactic thirty-five foot drop to the sound of a massive explosion that shakes the canyon.

The boats splash down and emerge into a rapids segment, where the canyon’s rocks tremble and falter and the guests take a few more consecutive small dips. In the midst of the waters, the boats stumble upon the bandits, now having been caught in the rushing rapids and struggling to remain afloat on the remnants of their destroyed coach, as they yell for help. The town sheriff observes the scene with a look of mixed contentment, amusement and aggravation. The rapids eventually calm and boats return to their gentle sailing down the river as it makes its way to the grand finale of the attraction.

The boats enter into a grand indoor show scene of an old western town, where all of the characters that we’ve met along our journey join together in a finale reprise of “Down the Western River”. The town’s sheriff, the group of cowboys on their horses, the silly saloon girls, the cowboy camp, the singing cactuses and frontier wildlife all come together, singing from the old town’s saloons, banks and street buildings. Even the bandits begrudgingly take part in the musical number, unenthusiastically singing locked away inside the town’s jailhouse. It makes for a grand finale that rivals that of the burning town from Pirates of the Caribbean and the graveyard scene from The Haunted Mansion and offers a perfect conclusion to an exciting adventure through the great frontier. At the conclusion of the ride, the boats sail back into their dock at the town’s dam and guests disembark, traveling through the caverns and exiting into the WESTERN RIVER DEPOT shop, an old riverside boathouse that sells goods and wares about the Great Western River itself, offering guests a chance to take a bit of their experience back home with them.



The Great Western River Expedition combines exhilarating excitement with rich storytelling and majestic scenery, making it an unforgettable journey that captures the spirit of the American frontier and gives Frontierland an attraction that it has always deserved. With its blend of adventure and humor, the attraction showcases the allure of exploration and the rich settings of the Wild West, making it a memorable journey for all ages and one of the park’s premiere attraction experiences.

And that’s the conclusion of Frontierland! I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think. (Totally open to criticism for removing Splash’s structure entirely, but I think the sweeping canyons and boat flume of the Western River are a worthy replacement). Next up are TWO new lands around the northern bend to the Rivers of America that expand the park and its berm outward and connect behind The Haunted Mansion and into Fantasyland. One of these lands is a smaller area with several attractions for little ones, while the other is a larger land with several of the park’s new premiere attractions.

Hope you enjoyed it!

_______________

-FRONTIERLAND-

ATTRACTIONS
1) The Country Bear Musical Jamboree
2) Tall Tale Island
3) Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
4) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
5) Lil Thunder Mountain Mine Carts
6) The Great Western River Expedition

DINING
1) The Diamond Horseshoe
2) Stage Coach Saloon
3) Fuente del Oro Restaurant
4) Johnny Appleseed’s Inn & Orchard

SHOPPING
1) Frontier Trading Post
2) Tumbleweed Treats & Supply
3) Red Rock Mercantile
4) Western River Depot

 

[Half/CartoonHalf/Human]

Was the railroad station relocated? I’m a little surprised it wasn’t mentioned in the walkthrough.

Nonetheless though, magnificent work! Can’t wait for the next land!

 

[KingMickey]

Was the railroad station relocated? I’m a little surprised it wasn’t mentioned in the walkthrough.

Nonetheless though, magnificent work! Can’t wait for the next land!

Yes, the train station is relocated, but the entire station itself is no longer in Frontierland and is being moved to one of the new lands. I believe I mentioned this towards the beginning of the land when speaking of Splash Mountain and how Splash’s building, the train station and the parade infrastructure leading into Frontierland is all being removed (with the train being rerouted coming from Pirates Cove and crossing through the Western River attraction, before continuing on to the next land.

 

[Half/CartoonHalf/Human]

Yes, the train station is relocated, but the entire station itself is no longer in Frontierland and is being moved to one of the new lands. I believe I mentioned this towards the beginning of the land when speaking of Splash Mountain and how Splash’s building, the train station and the parade infrastructure leading into Frontierland is all being removed (with the train being rerouted coming from Pirates Cove and crossing through the Western River attraction, before continuing on to the next land.

I might have skipped over or must have gotten confused while reading the posts. Thanks for the information though

 

[KingMickey]

Heading down the walkway between the Thunder Mountain attractions leads on a new swing bridge that crosses over the Rivers of America and takes us to two new land expansions ‘Beyond Big Thunder’. The new path travels alongside and eventually passes under the newly rerouted Railroad’s trestle bridge and reaching a fork in the path. The path to the left leads to the smaller of the two lands, which has its own corner of the park. The path to the right leads around the top of the Rivers of America traveling alongside the elevated Railroad, leading us to the new larger land that connects to Fantasyland. These new lands are both built past the Railroad’s tracks and work to create a new physical berm in the northwestern side of the park.

To start, we’ll head to left and enter the first, smaller of the two lands that has its own little corner of the park.

The Friendly Forest is a whimsical, immersive woodland glade designed for the young and the young at heart, where the forest comes to life with some of Disney’s most memorable friends that call the woods their home. Featuring the beloved characters and stories from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, The Fox and the Hound, The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood, this woodland combines playful attractions, interactive experiences and beautiful environments that create a new, vibrant forest glade that is perfect for little ones to play and enjoy with their families.

My intention for this area of the park is that I wanted a new land that was purposed towards families with little ones, where there’d be a collection of rides all close together that would be fun for the whole family. This land also gave me an opportunity to use characters from Disney stories that get little to no spotlight in the parks at all, like Bambi and the Fox and the Hound. In some ways, I saw this as somewhat of a successor to Mickey’s Toontown Fair/Storybook Circus, with my intention being to give Magic Kingdom its own Critter Country-esque corner of the park, laden with fun, simple attractions in an area where families could spend an hour or two of their day.

Not to skip ahead to some Fantasyland/Storybook Circus details, but I have to in order to make sense of some of the Friendly Forest experiences I’m bringing in. I mentioned in my previous Frontierland post that, with the relocation of the Barnstormer to Frontierland with its remodel into Lil Thunder Mountain Mine Carts, Storybook Circus would close and be converted into another land. That’s still the plan, with Dumbo also being relocated to a redone section of Fantasyland and the closure of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh for a new 100 Acre Wood experience to be located at the Friendly Forest and a new dark ride taking the old space in Fantasyland.

I’ve never personally been much of a fan of Toontown Fair, but moreso, Storybook Circus. While the area feels purposefully aimed towards kids and family-friendly (which is a good thing, I wouldn’t make another kid-centric land in the park if I felt otherwise), modern day Storybook Circus also feels very…cheap and underwhelming to me. At least with Toontown Fair, it was “Mickey’s land” where you could see Mickey and his friends, go on a well-themed Barnstormer and the entire area was altogether more charming and fun, even if it lacked the attractions, whimsy and wackiness that Disneyland’s Toontown does have.

I just don’t feel that way towards Storybook Circus. It feels like it was intentionally designed just for the sake of one attraction - Dumbo - and to have it contextually make sense in the land around it, so instead of even just making it its own land, they made Storybook Circus its own sub-land of Fantasyland, with its double Dumbo spinners, a hasty barebones re-do of Barnstormer (with a ‘Goofy as a stuntman’ theme) and a tent full of either merch, Character meet & greets or a place to sit and charge your phones. At one point or another, there was also plans for a ‘Pixie Hollow’ section of Fantasyland with a Tinker Belle attraction and meet and greets where the circus is now. Who’s to say if that would have been better and added more charm to the area? Either way, what Storybook Circus would end up being as this new kid-centric zone wasn’t exactly the rich with detail and purpose area of the park it could have been.

That’s my ultimate gripes with the area as it is - it feels too cheap, too focused on trying to make Dumbo “make sense” in a new sub-land that could have been anything, but I think a large part of this has to do with the setup of New Fantasyland. With that expansion now making specific “zones” for Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and The Little Mermaid, Dumbo had to have its own circus “zone”, as well. It just could have been better and felt worthwhile. Instead, it feels like an area of the park that needs another redo, which corner of the park has already seen several times between Mickey’s (*insert Birthdayland, Starland, Toontown Fair*) and now, Storybook Circus.

With that in mind, Storybook Circus will be removed, with Dumbo being relocated elsewhere in Fantasyland, Barnstormer being relocated and remodeled in Frontierland and The Friendly Forest being the new family-friendly area of the park located just ‘Beyond Big Thunder’. I’ve spent long enough talking about the what’s, where’s and why’s of this move, so let’s dive right into the land and what is has to offer.

A bridge passes over a creek and leads the way into the picturesque grove that makes up The Friendly Forest. It’s like stepping into a storybook of those familiar, peaceful forests from Disney classics like Bambi or Pooh’s 100 Acre Wood. The forest is lush, tranquil and full of surrounded greenery, creating somewhat of its own little alcove in this corner of the park. In addition to the the tall trees, flower bushes and a steady creek that circles through the forest, rolling green hill “backdrops” completely surround the land and work to not only add an extra level of immersion within the forest, but also works to block out the sights of nearby Frontierland with its red rock peaks. It helps keep The Friendly Forest consistently immersive and ‘contained’ within itself with its tall trees and surrounding rolling green hills. The area is designed to highlight the vibrant greenery, tall oak trees and whimsical pathways that weave throughout. The paths cross over the creek bridges and through flower gardens in-between, all which work to create a warm, inviting and tranquil woodland that celebrates the friendship and the charming forest environments from these classic Disney stories.



As we enter, the creek we cross over winds through the grove and empties into a large pond near the forest’s edge, where the land’s first attraction is set. BAMBI’S FROLICKING FLOWERS is a charming water flat ride, where guests board ‘floating flowers’ that swirl on the water to the tune of ‘Little April Showers”. In the center of the pond, a grassy knoll landing where a lightly animated Bambi, Thumper and Flower are found, recreating the moment a butterfly lands on Bambi’s nose. The ride uses an automated trackless ride system - similar to Tokyo DisneySEA’s Aquatopia - that allows the flowers to ‘hover’ and swirl around the water spontaneously to the guests surprise. It’s a short and simple experience, but has a lot of charm and finally gives Bambi a nice presence within the parks. Alongside the pond, a large overgrown tree stump hosts THUMPER’S TREE TREATS, a stand that serves a selection of snacks and sweets, some of which include Bambi’s berry fruit or forest veggie cups, Thumper’s carrot cake, Flower’s pastry tarts filled with sweet cream cheese and an edible flower on top and the spot’s woodland trunk wrap, savory wraps made to resemble a tree trunk which are filled with roasted vegetables and a garlic and herb cheese spread.

Continuing down the path, the trail passes by a series of archery targets with arrows laid about the trees and flower beds. We have now entered Sherwood Forest in Nottingham, where our next attraction awaits. ROBIN HOOD’S SHERWOOD SWINGS is a wave swinger flat ride that takes guests above the forest trees of Nottingham. A large center tree sits with swings dangling from its branches, the tree’s trunk rising during the ride and lifting the swings off the ground. The backdrop of the attraction is Nottingham Castle, where Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham plot their schemes against Robin Hood and his band of merry men.

As the guests board their swings and rise up above the trees, they get a better view of the top turrets of Prince John’s castle, a animated figure of Robin Hood comes into view and can be seen waving to the guests, holding a sack of riches over his back, as he tells of his motives to “steal from the rich and give to the poor.” Another simple ride, but a tried and true favorite for little ones to ride with their families. Along the path leading from the ride’s exit, gold coins line the forest path and lead past the Sheriff of Nottingham’s cart of wares, which has also been pilfered by Robin Hood and his crew of merry men. The path of gold coins lead all the way to NOTTINGHAM’S MERRY MERCHANTS, one of the few stores that this small land has to offer. Set up in a medieval tent just off the side of the forest path, the store offers Nottingham’s finest wares and some of Robin Hood’s own inventory from his collection. The shop is scattered with the items that Robin and his men have taken from the castle, with glittering gold coins lining the tent. From the merry men’s toy bows and arrows to Prince John’s treasures, the shop is set up to host a variety of Robin Hood merchandise for local forest travelers. The outside of the shop with its medieval banners and stone walls is also used as a display space to host character meetings with the alternating cast of Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Little John and Prince John.

Continuing on from Sherwood Forest, we cross over another bridge that takes us over a creek and leads us to TODD & COPPER’S FOREST CHASE. Inspired by The Fox and the Hound, this flat ride attraction simulates a playful chase through a vibrant woodland, where guests board either Todd or Copper ‘vehicles’ that move about the ride space in a circular motion.

The entire ride takes place on one large disc, comprised of four smaller discs that each hold four vehicles, so not only are all four vehicles moving in synch on their own disc, but the entire ride is turning altogether on a larger platform that slowly turns during the duration of the ride. The Todd vehicles chase the Copper vehicles, which in turn, chase the Todd vehicles, mimicking the fun chases the two share together during their developing friendship from the animated feature. When observing the attraction, the forest clearing is full of life with the various forms of Todd and Copper chasing one another, circling under tree trunk bridges and rocky forest outcroppings. It’s another fun, non-height requirement experience that gives some spotlight to an underutilized Disney film.

Nearby the forest glade, another store named TALES WITH TAILS is located and operates as the land’s central store, providing merchandise for all of the woodland stories told within this forested, enchanting shop. The shop features a forest nook, featuring a collection of storybooks that feature Disney’s woodland characters, tree trunks full of stuffed plush animals, as well as a variety of other merchandise, apparel and accessories themed to the stories told in the Friendly Forest.

 

[KingMickey]

Leading from the forest clearing, the path heads towards an altogether different forest and we come upon a modest cottage within the woods, with a series of mystical, enchanting gardens making up a maze-like courtyard behind it. The sound of a small train’s chugging along its tracks could be heard amidst the magical chimes and sounds within the garden. This is MERLIN’S MAGICAL EXPRESS, a whimsical train ride inspired by ‘The Sword in the Stone’ that takes guests through the mystical woodland gardens around Merlin’s cottage and into the wizard’s home itself. The train ride would be on the same scale and length as Casey Jr. Circus Train in Disneyland’s Fantasyland and would feature a nice, casual ride around the gardens and woodlands, culminating in a grand finale inside of Merlin’s cottage.



Guests pass through a garden queue before entering into the side of Merlin’s house, where bookshelves are lined with spell books, brewing potions bubble, a globe spins on its own in the corner, a large chair sits at a table, a fresh, hot cup of tea there waiting to be enjoyed, even Merlin’s wise owl companion, Archimedes, stays perched from the wood beams of the house, interacting with the guests as they pass through. He speaks of Merlin’s latest wizarding experiment - a magical train that he’s crafted to give his guests a tour of his home. From here, guests are brought down to the outdoor station that Merlin has created, which overlooks the ponds, gardens and woodlands beyond. Guests board their vehicles and set off.

After the train disembarks around the cottage’s ivy porch, it passes by a figure of Merlin which welcomed the guests to his garden. With a flick of his wand and the incantation words of a silly magic spell, he brings his garden and home to magical life, magic sparks traveling through all the following scenes. The train travels through the whimsical garden with animal shrubs that come to life, moving past ponds with glowing rising fountains, flowers that bloom as you go by and even other forest critters peak out from the foliage to provide playful interactions with the guests. From there, the train travels through Archimedes’ outdoor aviary, where the owl is perched among the garden trees. Archimedes shares his witty remarks and wisecracks as the guests pass by. From here, the train travels into the wizard’s workshop, where bubbling potion beakers and floating spell books line the passage. The potions overflow and blow bubbles into the air and the spell books open to cast magical spells over and around the train.

In the final scene of the attraction, the train passes through Merlin’s study chamber - a room that has entirely come alive with magic. At the center of the room, Merlin stands on a raised platform next to his chamber table, grand chair and his magic bag, surrounded by bookshelves of spell books, a dancing fireplace, maps of the world, astronomy telescopes and star charts and tapestries that depict Merlin’s adventures in Camelot. As the train passes through, the entire room comes to life, as the furniture floats and sparkles, as the wizard dances and sings to a version of “Higitus Figutus” as he enchants the room and the entire study of furniture, springing everything to floating, magical life. The train proceeds back to its station where the guests disembark. Outside of his cottage, Merlin himself will occasionally appear to do character meetings and may sometimes even show up alongside King Arthur, himself.

Beyond Merlin’s Cottage, he’s put his spells to the test at WIZARD-BREWED POTIONS, a spell-binding beverage spot where magic meets refreshment. This whimsical stand offers a variety of enchanting drinks themed to Merlin’s very own potions, with the hut crowded with brewing, bubbling potion beakers and bottles that the drinks are served from. Some of the menu’s potion drinks include the Enchanted Berry Brew (a colorful blend of mixed berries, pomegranate juice and sparkling water, garnished with mint), the Camelot Citrus Sparkler (a tangy concoction of orange and lime juices with a hint of ginger and a citrus peel twist) and the location’s popular Merlin’s Magic Elixir (a sparkling blue lemonade potion, served with a mint leaf, lemon and shimmering edible glitter). Each of the drinks are served in potion bottles with fresh, colorful garnishes like that are sure to leave the guests feeling both refreshed and enchanted.

In the final bit of the land, we come across none other than the 100 Acre Woods, where Winnie the Pooh and friends call home. We cross over a babbling brook and find ourselves at the entrance to Pooh’s house, a charming, tree-based home with ‘hunny’ pots placed about. Here is where we find POOH’S STORYBOOK SEARCH, an amazing, new take on the classic ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh’ attraction, now utilizing a suspended dark ride system that takes us through an immersive, new story set in the 100 Acre Wood. Guests join Pooh as they fly through the different pages of the ‘Winnie the Pooh’ book, joined by Pooh’s friends as we float on a quest to find enough ‘hunny’ to satisfy ol’ Pooh Bear.

Guests wind through the queue and travel through the tree and flower-adorned forests and gardens surrounding Pooh’s house. We enter inside and pass by interactive elements like pots that shoot water and pictures from Pooh’s adventure that come to life as we move passed. We are taken through to the loading area, where guests board hunny pots that seat four, each suspended by bright, colorful balloons that float above (which works to hide the equipment that suspends the vehicle throughout the ride). With that, we set off on our adventure and our hunny pot begins to ‘float away’ as we depart. We turn the corner and find a floating Pooh Bear holding onto his own balloon, as he welcomes us on his quest for hunny, claiming we’ll have to search all over the 100 Acre Woods to find enough to satisfy him. With that, we fly out of a window and into a storybook page, as words and illustrations of Pooh’s adventures with his friends swirl around us.

Passing into another part of the 100 Acre Wood, we find ourselves on a particularly blustery day, where we experience the windy scene alongside Piglet, who’s trying to remain adrift on his own balloon. Empty hunny pots litter the ground of the open field as Gopher pops his head out from under them, a large tree in the middle with a house perched atop its branches. In this blustery field, Eeyore has set up his ever-relocating house, made up of fragilely placed sticks. As the guests float past his home, the sticks fall in on themselves, much to Eeyore’s sad, but expected dismay. A neat effect in this room is an audio-animatronic Pooh that flies alongside the guests as they make their way through the blustery day. We float around Owl’s house, as the bird shouts over the wind towards us, telling us that the strong winds must have blown the hunny to a different part of the 100 Acre Wood. We fly out of the blustery day and into another storybook page that takes us to a wooded meadow, where the entire grove seems to ‘bounce’ as the hunny pots float through. We see Tigger bouncing in the middle of the meadow, being the cause of the jumping, bouncing scenery. Pooh appears again alongside us and points to Kanga off in the meadow looking into a hunny pot, but to his dismay, Roo pops out of the hunny pot and explains that Tigger’s bouncing has bounced all of the hunny away from here!

We fly from one page into another and now find ourselves gliding into Rabbit’s vibrant garden of vegetables. As we pass by Rabbit’s home, we see Pooh has plugged up the hole leading into the house, being chastised by Rabbit. Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Gopher, Kanga, Roo and Rabbit all work together to try to yank Pooh free from being stuck, as the bear tries explaining that he got stuck looking for hunny! Rabbit explains that this is not a time for hunny, he needs his house unplugged! The hunny pots float into another storybook page, surrounded by words and book illustrations, as a loud ‘pop’ is heard and an image of Pooh is seen catapulting from one storybook page and landing into another, all of his friends flying through the air after him, landing into the same storybook page.


The pots pass into a dark and cloudy room, where the Hundred Acre Wood is caught in the middle of a rainstorm. Instead of now ‘floating’ by air, the movement of the vehicle suddenly changes as if it’s now ‘floating’ in a steady stream. Here, Pooh and his friends find themselves in a new predicament but more important than looking for hunny, the big waterfall that the waters lead up to! Eeyore complains about the wind and now the rain, as the rest of their friends scramble after Pooh, who is stuck in a hunny pot that’s floating downstream towards the waterfall! The group of friends are too late for both Pooh Bear and us, as we find ourselves slowly dipping down the waterfall right after him, a loud splash being heard! As we travel through the dark cove at the bottom of the waterfall, we come across Pooh asleep on the rocks. The room darkens and Pooh magically floats away from his body and into the air, an effect achieved using the Pepper’s ghost illusion. We follow Pooh’s figure through the darkened room - until we find ourselves in his dream world overrun by Heffalumps and Woozles!

In this strange, bizarre room, the Heffalumps and Woozles haunt this zany, psychedelic room, taking the form of hunny pots, dancing with each other, quickly changing shape and color, one Heffalump even blasts a ring of smoke from its nose at the guests after a Woozle lights a spark on its head! A Heffalump plays a harm made of hunny, the sweet gold flowing from a swirling pool that Pooh has found himself trapped swirling in the middle of! As if mocking both Pooh and us as we head towards the trapped Pooh Bear, Heffalumps taking the form of balloons hold up Woozle hunny pots, slowly and menacingly honing in on both Pooh Bear and us! We find ourselves traveling through a twisty room of Heffalumps, Woozles, hunny pots, storybook words and illustrations and of course, Pooh Bear himself. The room turns dark and, just as we think we’ve been lost to this colorful dreamland of Heffalumps and Woozles, we hear Pooh’s friends echo to us telling him to wake up!

We emerge from the dark void and now find ourselves floating through a bright, cheerful 100 Acre Wood, where all of our friends have gathered in celebration. Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Gopher, Kanga and Roo all float from their own balloons through the trees, with gifts for Pooh that they found while he was asleep - flowing pots of Pooh’s favorite snack, hunny! They bid the passing guests farewell and a happy return to the 100 Acre Wood any time they’d like! In a final moment for the attraction, the guests arrive back at Pooh’s house, where Pooh finds himself surrounded by towering piles and pots of overflowing hunny, his face beaming as he playfully dips his hand into the pot before him and waves to the guests, wishing them goodbye and a sweet thank you for their help.

At the exit of the attraction is POOH CORNER, a shop dedicated to all things Winnie the Pooh. Amidst this cottage haven in the 100 Acre Wood, storybook pages are placed amongst the shop, depicting scenes from the attraction that the guests just experienced. The shop is full of plushes, toys, clothing and themed merchandise for Pooh and all of his friends. Of course, pots flowing with hunny are perched up in the shop’s wooden beams. The outside of the shop is covered in picturesque walls of ivy and stacked pots of hunny pots that scale the walls. It’s in this outside area where characters like Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore make appearances and rotate throughout the day.

Just outside, the land’s flowing stream takes us to our last addition, the Friendly Forest’s counter service location - RABBIT’S GARDEN GRILL. Inspired by Rabbit’s bountiful garden in the 100 Acre Wood, this charming eatery offers fresh, wholesome meals in a whimsical, but casual dining location. In a rustic tea house with wooden accents and colorful flowers, guests dine under a canopy of greenery with 100 Acre Wood artwork adorning the walls, coming to life as Pooh and friends pass through and interact with the dining guests. The space also features a wonderful outdoor dining terrace with picnic-style tables that offer guests the chance to take in the sights of the 100 Acre Wood. Some of the menu’s offerings include a variety of garden-fresh salads, grilled vegetable sandwiches, Pooh’s honey grilled chicken wrap, a signature honey lemonade beverage and the location’s dessert, the Hunny Pot Sundae, a delightful treat of vanilla ice cream with honey drizzle and crushed graham crackers, served in a miniature hunny pot ice cream bowl.

That’s the conclusion of The Friendly Forest! I think it does a great job at being a new, kid-focused land that offers some great experiences for the whole family and clears up space in other parts of the Magic Kingdom to provide for new experiences. With a new, charming Pooh dark ride, an indoor/outdoor train ride, and three flat ride attractions that see very little modern-day Disney love, in addition to the well-themed dining options, shops and character greeting spots, The Friendly Forest creates a nice little corner of the park where a family could spend quite a bit of time and enjoy the stories of some of their favorite forest friends.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! We took care of one of two new back to back lands, but our next land will be one of the largest and most immersive lands in the park!
_______________

-THE FRIENDLY FOREST-

ATTRACTIONS
1) Bambi’s Frolicking Flowers
2) Robin Hood’s Sherwood Swings
3) Todd & Copper’s Forest Chase
4) Merlin’s Magical Express
5) Pooh’s Storybook Search

DINING
1) Thumper’s Tree Treats
2) Wizard-Brewed Potions
3) Rabbit’s Garden Grill

SHOPPING
1) Nottingham’s Merry Merchants
2) Tales With Tails
3) Pooh Corner

 

[KingMickey]

Leading back out of The Friendly Forest, we exit the wooded glade and cross over the bridge that leads us back to the fork in the road between the two expansion plots stemming “Beyond Big Thunder”. We now head down the path on the right, traveling alongside the northern banks of the Rivers of America and the rerouted railroad. As we travel along the forested path, we soon discover that the Rivers have now expanded into an open bay and the Railroad becomes a focal point of our next new land.

Discovery Bay is a vibrant, immersive land that is designed to transport guests into the imaginative realms and stories of Jules Verne. With a rich blend of steampunk aesthetics, captivating environments and a coastal ambiance, the area features intricate architecture, bustling marketplaces and thrilling and wondrous attractions. Discovery Bay is divided into three distinct zones: the Town, the Captain’s Bay, and the Cliffs of Mount Prometheus. Each area is carefully crafted with intricate details and engaging experiences that evoke the spirit of combined adventure, innovation and wonder - core concepts found in the amazing stories of Jules Verne. As we begin our adventure through this new land, the air hums with the sounds of clockwork machinery, the scent of the ocean mingles with rich, earthy aromas, and every corner reveals new surprises waiting to be discovered in Discovery Bay.

As we continue along the Rivers of America, we pass under the elevated Railroad and first enter into the land by passing through a town of shops, inns and steampunk-styled landmarks. The port town is characterized by Victorian architecture, featuring ornate details, brass accents, copper fixtures and colorful stained glass windows that capture light in an array of color. Each structure features unique architectural flourishes - domed roofs, arched windows and ornate balconies - all working together to create an amazing, detailed town unlike one seen before in a castle-style park. Cobblestone streets are lined with gas-lit lamps and the air is filled with the sounds of ticking clockwork mechanisms and distant steam whistles. The atmosphere is bustling and offers a great vantage point of the area’s kinetic energy - the steam train roaring through the center of town, a nearby floating dirigible airship suspended in a cliffside hangar, the Riverboat sailing past on the distant Rivers of America that expands into the town’s bay, floating hot air balloons above the town buildings, even a Nautilus submersible traveling along the bay. It’s a great and impressive moment to view all these moving transports in addition to moving ‘parts’, the moving gizmos, gears and clockwork built into the steampunk town itself.

The gateway to the land and the town is marked by a grand, towering clock tower - with intricate moving clockwork mechanisms moving within - that houses the DISCOVERY BAY RAILROAD STATION and stands tall over the town square. As mentioned before, the Frontierland Railroad Station has been removed, so in this new version of the park, the train leaves from Main Street station, passes through the jungles of Adventureland and the waterfall canyons of the Great Western River Expedition in Frontierland, before passing through the forests beyond that lead to this station. The Magic Kingdom will still have three stations in the park with them now located in a Y-shape, Main Street in the south, Discovery Bay in the northwest and the present train station where it sits in the northeast. The station includes a waiting area adorned with steampunk-inspired murals depicting various far-off adventures, travel posters and model trains. The train whistles melodically as it departs from Discovery Bay, promising excitement and discovery.



From off the station, one of the first experiences housed in an inventors tavern is PROFESSOR MARVEL’S GALLERY OF WONDERS - a 12 minute-long audio-animatronic stage show, where guests watch Professor Marvel unveil his new and incredible inventions. This show is like a reverse take on the Carousel of Progress, where the theater seats rotate on a large turntable to display three different sections of the same room full of the professor’s inventions - making the entire theater a working invention itself with the turntable system. The theater’s entrance is framed by ornate gears and cogs and inside, guests find themselves in a dimly lit room filled with curious artifacts and peculiar contraptions. As the show begins, Professor Marvel—a charismatic, animatronic figure—reveals his astonishing inventions, captivating the audience with humor and wonder, working to capture the essence of innovation and imagination.

Near the exit of the theater is the WONDER WORKSHOP, a store dedicated to unique and imaginative gadgets, toys, and gifts, encouraging guests to unleash their inner inventor. Nearby in town just off the shop is also the INVENTORS INN, a cozy quick-service snack window location offering a selection of themed snacks and beverages. Guests can enjoy light snacks inspired by the stories of Verne, such as “High-Powered Popcorn” and “Steampunk Skewers”. The Inn’s decor features sketches of famous inventions and artifacts in a setting that offers these quick bites.

Leading ahead, the skyline of the town is dotted with small hot air balloons that mark the entrance to our next attraction. The cobblestone streets lead to AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, a hot air balloon flight simulator, somewhat in the same vein as Soarin’. This attraction welcomes guests into a Victorian flight hangar, complete with aircrafts and flight craft innovations on display suspended from the ceiling. Inside the two alternating main attraction rooms, guests board a free-roaming large central platform that is attached to the visible underside of a hot air balloon with a flame roaring within. When the experience begins, the platform rises along with the hot air balloon into a 360 degree screen that completely immerses the guests in the sights around them, simulating a hot air balloon flight. As the journey embarks, the platform gently rises and lowers in tune with the projected landscapes that the guests find themselves immersed within. Departing from the flight hangar in Discovery Bay, the guests find themselves traversing the stunning landscapes that evoke the beauty of the world - from the pyramids of Egypt and the green hills of England to the icy peaks of the Himalayas and the vast gorges of the Grand Canyon. Wind effects and gentle scents, such as spices and fresh flowers, further enhance the experience and there’s even slight mists as the balloon flies close to oceans and waterfalls, immersing guests in this epic adventure. The attraction concludes with a triumphant finale, where guests are greeted with fireworks lighting up the sky, celebrating their journey as the hot air balloon descends back down into the town hangar. While very similar in concept to Soarin’ Around the World, the idea of a Jules Verne-inspired balloon flight experience was too good to pass up, but I also have plans for Epcot’s Soarin’ to differentiate it as a new, third iteration of the attraction.

Next to the hangar is THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, a specialty store features a carefully curated selection of apparel, accessories and collectibles inspired by the steampunk aesthetic and adventurous themes in Verne’s stories. Guests can browse stylish hats, intricate jewelry and exclusive merchandise that lets guests bring a piece of Discovery Bay home with them. The town square also includes CLOCKWORKS, a quick-service eatery that features a menu of hearty sandwiches, savory stews and pastries in dining hall seemingly built into an oversized clock contraption. The interior of the hall features dark wooden accents, exposed moving gears and clock mechanisms, brass accents and tables that are adorned with maps and made from gear and clock pieces. Victorian-era music and the sounds of ticking clocks and whirring machinery lend to the idea that the restaurant is built into the remnants of a large, legendary clock. The quick service also features a large outdoor balcony that overlooks the bay and forest with a myriad of churning, circling clock gears above the patio. Some of the menu’s items include Airship Puffs - flaky pastries stuffed with pork, vegetables and spices, Explorers Stew - a hearty vegetable and meat stew served with rustic bread, Clockworks Curry - a rich and aromatic curry dish and desserts like the Time Traveler’s Torte - a delicious layered chocolate cake designed to look like a clock face.

Just off of the exterior gizmos and gears of Clockworks is the last bit of the town to be explored, THE FIREWORKS FACTORY. This interactive experience is housed inside of a lively, steampunk-inspired warehouse built alongside the bay. The interior is a vibrant tapestry of colors, filled with moving parts, gears, and playful contraptions. Guests are invited to step into the role of pyrotechnicians, using interactive buttons and levers to launch virtual fireworks into a simulated night sky. The factory is filled with the sounds of fizzing fuses and the crackle of fireworks as guests create dazzling displays. As the pyros launch, the atmosphere is charged with excitement, culminating in a grand finale where guests’ creations light up the factory in a mesmerizing spectacle.

 

[KingMickey]

The town square opens into the next segment of the land, the Captain’s Bay. This next area is a waterfront with sleek, futuristic docks and nautical vessels that churn through the bay. The air is filled with the salty scent of the ocean mixed with the steam from the churning industrial vehicles. The rocky cliffs of Mount Prometheus slope down towards the bay, a watery cove to explore on one of the bay’s many submersibles. The sound of lapping waves mingles with the call of seagulls, as guests can stroll along the waterfront or relax in areas to enjoy the sights and sounds of this vibrant hub. Built right along the bay is AQUATOPIA, a recreation of the fun attraction that debuted in Tokyo’s DisneySEA. Aquatopia is a whimsical trackless water ride where guests board roaming hydro-hovers and traverse through a dynamic water arena, navigating around floating islands, misty waterfalls, and bubbling geysers that shoot water jets. Each journey around the bay is unique, as the boats navigate randomly through the landscape, ensuring a fresh experience every time. While the attraction may be a small addition to the land, it’s a nice detour and fun experience that helps fill out the rest of the area.

Discovery Bay also sees the return of an original 1971 Magic Kingdom attraction with a newly imagined rendition of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. Similar to the attraction’s 1971 form where guests would board submarines that resembled Captain Nemo’s Nautilus, in this version, guests enter the captain’s Control Base and board submersible vehicles similar to the ones seen in Tokyo DisneySEA. In this guided voyage, the underwater submersibles travel past a sea of animatronic sea creatures, glowing, bioluminescent coral reefs, uncover shipwrecks and explore the tranquil depths of the bay.

Throughout the voyage, the submarine is remotely controlled by Captain Nemo and his crew from the control base - that is, until an encounter with a mighty squid causes the vessel to take a detour into an even deeper underwater world, uncharted by Nemo and his crew. It is here where guests discover mysterious, ancient underwater ruins built upside down into the bottom of Discovery Bay. While the attraction’s design incorporates portholes and wide windows to view out into the underwater abyss, the ride itself is not actually traveling underwater, but utilizes water, bubbles and added motion effects to simulate the feeling that guests are in an moving underwater vehicle. In the finale of the attraction, the guests witness an exhilarating moment by narrowly escaping the massive squid creature and return to Nemo’s Control Base, where they disembark their underwater submersibles.

The last part of the harbor also features the land’s table service dining location, CAPTAIN NEMO’S NAUTILUS GALLEY. This restaurant is designed to resemble the interior of the Nautilus, Captain Nemo’s famous submarine, where guests take hydro-elevators down beneath the water and enter into the galley. There, guests can enjoy a seafood-inspired menu while viewing the underwater surroundings from large portholes and submersible windows - you might even see underwater life like turtles, fish and a giant squid swim by. Some of the menu includes Calamari Fritti, a Coral Reef Salad and Lobster Bisque for appetizers, Pan-Seared Scallops, Seafood Linguine and Creamy Vegetable Risotto for entrees and dessert includes a Chocolate Sea Salt Tart and Frozen Sea Foam - a frozen coconut and lime sorbet served in an edible confectionary seashell. This dining experience will be a memorable addition to the Magic Kingdom and offers diners a dive to the depths for a fantastic culinary adventure. Alongside the restaurant entrance is NAUTILUS TREASURES, a gift shop where the wonders of the deep sea come to life. This themed shop offers a variety of unique souvenirs and merchandise inspired by "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," perfect for ocean enthusiasts and adventurers alike. This is the spot for all nautical apparel, nautilus models and maritime merchandise.

 

[KingMickey]

We now arrive in the final section of Discovery Bay - the Cliffs of Mount Prometheus - the active volcano from Jules Verne’s ‘The Mysterious Island’, which also happens to be the setting for and contain the land’s two major attractions. Mount Prometheus rises majestically above the land, evoking a sense of adventure, mystery and giving the Magic Kingdom a new mountainous peak as a part of the park’s skyline. The volcanic rock formations are sparse with plants and life, as streams of lava seemingly flow down the mountain and geysers erupt with smoke from within. There’s the smell of burning in the air and you can practically feel the heat from unseen, moving magma. The volcano erupts every hour, sending fire and smoke high into the sky as Mount Prometheus roars. Winding pathways lead guests to the attractions nestled within the cliffs, each promising thrilling adventures that tap into the spirit of exploration.

Our first attraction is found by a large airship - The Hyperion - suspended from a hangar bay built into the side of the mountain. The stunning steampunk vessel is adorned with intricate details, impressive machinery and periodic revving and movement of the airship make it seem like it could take flight at any moment. The stunning Hyperion marks the entrance to VOYAGE TO THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND.

This attraction is a suspended dark ride, where guests board their own miniature steampunk airships and take a slow-moving flight through the surreal landscapes of the mysterious island hidden away within Mount Prometheus. As guests tour and glide through the lush landscapes, they encounter vibrant flora, otherworldly animatronic creatures and breathtaking scenery inspired by Verne’s most fantastical tale. I’ve imagined that this attraction is one of those “no storyline” storyline attractions - it has a proper setting as the island from Verne’s novel, but this is really one of those attractions that are made for you to sit back, relax and take in the beauty of it all while passing through secret caverns of glowing crystals, beautiful, bioluminescent flora, a waterfall grotto and encounters with unnatural, otherworldly wildlife. It’s a majestic ride through a beautiful, almost ethereal, tranquil setting that, much like other aspects of the land, finds itself hidden away within Discovery Bay. The exit of the attraction leads to BON VOYAGE! TRADERS, a shop that is filled with sketches of imaginary creatures and gadgets that seem to defy the laws of physics. The store offers a variety of souvenirs, nautical gear, and steampunk gadgets. Inside, guests can find models of the various transportation inventions found throughout Discovery Bay, maps of fantastical realms and themed apparel.

Finally we’re taken to the land’s headlining attraction inside of Mount Prometheus, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, an iconic, thrilling dark ride that takes guests on an expedition deep beneath the Earth’s surface. This attraction will be a similar take to its original counterpart in Tokyo’s DisneySEA with the same high-speed slot car ride system but will include a layout that differentiates it in Florida’s version. While I think so much of a park like DisneySEA is so fantastic that it could be cloned elsewhere, I still want any new iteration of an existing attraction to feel different and not a direct copy/paste job, especially when Disney has tackled Jules Verne’s stories inspiring their parks in DisneySEA and Paris’ Discoveryland.

As guests enter the attraction, they pass through the winding caverns and passages that takes them deeper into the Mysterious Island. The queue winds through impressive rock formations, flowing magma caverns and lost ancient ruins, before heading into Captain Nemo’s secret base headquarters within the volcano. The queue winds through a geological lab where we learn about the scientific expedition at hand, before the guests reaches a series of elevator shafts - “Terravators” - as a part of the preshow experience. The guests board these elevators and “travel” deeper into the volcano to the facility’s base station hundreds of feet below. The feeling of the floor moving beneath their feet and the scattered wind across the elevator heightens the sensation that the guests are quickly descending. Guests exit the elevator and enter the base station, where huge steam-powered pumps source fresh air from the surface and massive spring pillars hold the rock ceiling up to prevent cave-ins. Guests then board their industrial, steam-powered mine vehicles and embark through pre-drilled tunnels leading into the heart of the Earth.

The vehicle starts off and takes guests through a series of stunning caverns, featuring bioluminescent plants, unusual creatures and mystical, glowing crystals. The vehicles then emerge in a giant mushroom forest, which is inhabited by unusual insect and amphibian-like life forms. The forest leads way to a secluded watery grove, where even more glowing crystals and beautiful, unnatural plant life flourish and bring the cavern to life with color and movement. The landscapes within the caverns and subterranean forests are rich with details, everything is unnatural and intense and otherworldly and serene all at once.

Before the vehicles can proceed further, a sudden earthquake causes a cave-in of the tunnel ahead, forcing the vehicle to quickly accelerate down a side path lined with egg-like sacks left behind by an unknown creature. The vehicles emerge in a subterranean sea and are almost struck by lightning from the electrified glass clouds that emerge from the surroundings. Riders are then forced into the very fiery heart of the active volcano, as they come face-to-face with a giant, tyrannical centipede-like lava monster animatronic. The ferocious being has claimed the core of the Earth as its home and is not fond of any visitors, as it roars and thrashes about. It’s an intense and striking moment.

Before the creature can attack, an eruption within the volcano causes the vehicles to blast off and speed through the crumbling caverns at 45 mph, riding the wave of the volcanic eruption to race back to the surface. The mining vehicles make their way back to an unloading area at a surface-level facility base and walk through a series of exit pathways that show off an amazing vantage point of an erupting Mount Prometheus.

The last bit of information on Discovery Bay is how the opposite end of the land connects back to the park. The way I’ve intended it, you enter into the town by Frontierland and The Friendly Forest, the harbor is built around the top of the Rivers of America and then Mount Prometheus is built beyond, with the volcano cliffs running off into a large cavern that makes its way around and hides the Haunted Mansion show building connecting into Fantasyland by the Tangled restrooms (and new Tangled area) to offer a ‘water dam cavern’ transition, like the one seen from the film. Coincidentally, the Railroad also leaves its elegant station in Discovery Bay and proceeds into a dark cavern built into Mount Prometheus and continues through a large cavern diorama that travels along the back of Fantasyland…but what’s inside will be revealed later.

Thats it for Discovery Bay! I think this new land is a great tribute to the adventurous spirit of Jules Verne’s stories and works to create a distinctive land that works to fit well with classic castle park lands like Adventureland and Tomorrowland. Discovery Bag works to blend Verne’s storytelling with exploration and a cool steampunk design to offer great new additions to the Magic Kingdom and making the most of the expansion space to the northwest of the Rivers of America. With a roster of great attractions, reimagined classics and a land full of aesthetically impressive details, Discovery Bay brings Verne’s stories to life and brings guests right into the middle of the adventure.

_______________

-DISCOVERY BAY-

ATTRACTIONS
1) Professor Marvel’s Gallery of Wonders
2) Around the World in 80 Days
3) The Fireworks Factory
4) Aquatopia
5) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
6) Voyage to the Mysterious Island
7) Journey to the Center of the Earth

DINING
1) Inventor’s Inn
2) Clockworks
3) Captain Nemo’s Nautilus Galley

SHOPPING
1) Wonder Workshop
2) The Merchant of Venice
3) Nautilus Treasures
4) Bon Voyage! Traders

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. With the past two new lands completed, we’re going to head back to the familiar parts of Magic Kingdom with a *slightly* revamped Liberty Square, an *entirely* revamped Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and a new segue land in-between. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[DisneyManOne]

Discovery Bay was absolutely incredible! I really like how you focused more on the Jules Verne side of things, rather than following the original Gold Rush San Francisco layout. And the way you described all the clever effects and unique designs was incredible, too!