What were the Differences between Magic Kingdom and Disneyland from 1971

SteamboatJoe

Well-Known Member
Here is the image Passports to Dreams has based off of images of the original model which can also be found online. So it was just the Big Thunder plot, although it would've also taken up some of the Splash Mountain site.

View attachment 463989

Like everyone else, I wish the WRE had been constructed. Big Thunder could've gone on the north side of the service canal and Splash Mountain on the north end of Rivers of America in MK's own Critter Country. This would've accommodated Winnie the Pooh thereby saving Mr. Toad at MK. A MK Critter Country could've also served as an eventual refuge for the CBJ. That would've allowed for a Woody's Round-Up show in the current CBJ space. I also would've advocated for a new riverboat dock in the MK Critter Country so it could launch from there. The current dock when then get its own Columbia-type ship which would actually fit the Liberty Square aesthetic. Doing all of this would've also allowed for re-routed and more visually pleasing railroad trip through this area.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Like everyone else, I wish the WRE had been constructed. Big Thunder could've gone on the north side of the service canal and Splash Mountain on the north end of Rivers of America in MK's own Critter Country. This would've accommodated Winnie the Pooh thereby saving Mr. Toad at MK. A MK Critter Country could've also served as an eventual refuge for the CBJ. That would've allowed for a Woody's Round-Up show in the current CBJ space. I also would've advocated for a new riverboat dock in the MK Critter Country so it could launch from there. The current dock when then get its own Columbia-type ship which would actually fit the Liberty Square aesthetic. Doing all of this would've also allowed for re-routed and more visually pleasing railroad trip through this area.
Western River Expedition was only one attraction that was part of the much larger Thunder Mesa complex. The whole thing also included a runaway mine train roller coaster and a log flume style ride. It was like having Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and more all in one giant complex. The runaway mine train coaster was being developed by Tony Baxter and he pitched it as a standalone attraction after Thunder Mesa was put on hold, a move that earned him Marc Davis' ire for the rest of his life.
 

SteamboatJoe

Well-Known Member
Western River Expedition was only one attraction that was part of the much larger Thunder Mesa complex. The whole thing also included a runaway mine train roller coaster and a log flume style ride. It was like having Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and more all in one giant complex. The runaway mine train coaster was being developed by Tony Baxter and he pitched it as a standalone attraction after Thunder Mesa was put on hold, a move that earned him Marc Davis' ire for the rest of his life.

I should've realized that. So my scenario would've only worked had it been watered down to just the river ride. The Davis pitch is obviously amazing but I wonder if it would've been problematic in terms of operations. An issue with one attraction could've possibly shut down all 3. Today's crowds would've also been a nightmare in that area.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
The Disneyland version had two separate theaters, as they wanted more capacity in Disneyland. Here is the Disneyland lobby with two sets of theater doors; blue doors to Theater 1, followed by red doors to Theater 2 further down the lobby. Close to showtime the hostess would announce which doors you should line up in front of. When the blue doors opened you basically walked straight into the theater, but when the red set of doors opened you made a hard right turn and walked down a hallway before turning left and into the second theater.

bearsvacation_lobby2001ah.jpg


At Disneyland with both theaters running, the doors to the 15 minute long show in a 300 seat theater opened every 10 minutes.

Ironically, the show was wildly popular with WDW audiences from the South and Midwest, and only mildly popular with Disneyland audiences from the West. On a Saturday night in 1972 folks in South Carolina would tune in to watch Hee-Haw, while folks in California would tune in to watch Laugh-In. Their entertainment choices on vacation were similar.

Like so many weird things done at WDW, they wedged the single theater up against the Tiki Room theater on the other side of the wall, effectively preventing them from expanding.

u7rllrufcct31.jpg


They should have built the two-theater mega capacity version at WDW and only built Disneyland's with one theater.

Tokyo Disneyland also has the two theater Jamboree, and it's more popular than DL's ever was.

Also, Country Bears in Japanese is something everyone should see!
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
I should've realized that. So my scenario would've only worked had it been watered down to just the river ride. The Davis pitch is obviously amazing but I wonder if it would've been problematic in terms of operations. An issue with one attraction could've possibly shut down all 3. Today's crowds would've also been a nightmare in that area.
You don’t see large chunks of the Magic Kingdom getting shut down despite the use of shared facilities. The problems in Pandora seem to be unique to its design.
 

SteamboatJoe

Well-Known Member
You don’t see large chunks of the Magic Kingdom getting shut down despite the use of shared facilities. The problems in Pandora seem to be unique to its design.

True but what if the problem was with the track or route itself; a portion near one or both of the other routes. I suppose we will never know.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
True but what if the problem was with the track or route itself; a portion near one or both of the other routes. I suppose we will never know.
You mean like a structural problem with the track? While Disney has had a structural failure on a ride, it is not a common occurrence. Disneyland has/had a few intertwined attractions largely without issue.
 

1HAPPYGHOSTHOST

Well-Known Member
While there are a handful of individual attractions that have differences between the two parks, the biggest difference is the master planning effort that went into MK. While DL is known for its details and charm, MK and all of WDW Phase 1 focused on the layout, infrastructure, and operations to a degree that the company hasn't really considered since. People throughout the contry even today often remark that Disney should run various local utilities, transit, and services, which is testament to just how groundbreaking a lot of the planning-level decisions were.

While the individual elements may be too many to count, some of the more famous ones are DACS (Digital Animation Control System, the centralized computerized show controls), entirely sub-grade utilities and infrastructure, the Utilidors, pneumatic waste disposal, and the arrival sequence from the Transportation and Ticket Center across/around Bay Lake to the park entrance.


This was actually an intentional decision made early in the park planning. All of the park's original AA-heavy attractions were built in pairs, to facilitate consolidated infrastructure and maintenance. Country Bear Jamboree shared a building with Tropical Serenade, Hall of Presidents shared a building with Mickey Mouse Review, and Haunted Mansion and it's a small world were paired together. This allowed shared communications duct banks from the DACS room to the individual facilities, along with shared storage facilities for routine maintenance. In a clever move, each of these pairs was split between two lands, to make their proximity less obvious.

Attractions with less complex figures (Jungle Cruise, Fantasyland dark rides, etc.) or fewer AAs (Flight to the Moon) were scattered around to help balance things out. When Pirates of the Caribbean, Carousel of Progress, and Splash Mountain were added after park opening, they were unable to share infrastructure due to the piecemeal build-out. When the resort transitioned from magnetic tape storage to compact disc in the 80's and 90's, the centralized DACs system was abandoned, since the media had gotten small enough that it could be managed within each individual facility.

Similarly, several of the park's largest restaurants were paired together, sharing walls and kitchen facilities between the Adventureland Veranda and Diamond Horseshoe, Liberty Tree Tavern and Columbia Harbor House, and Pecos Bill and (when Caribbean Plaza was added in 1973) El Pirata Y El Perico.



Interestingly, one of the biggest differences between DL and MK today was actually a similarity at one point. While DL's parade route now ends at it's a small world, it originally turned left at the castle, snaked along Rivers of America, and exited the park near the Frontierland train station. Documentation of this is tough to find, as the park's parades were more infrequent and had considerably smaller floats than the daily rolling barges we see today (which require a much larger route), but as best I can tell the change occurred some time in the second half of the 1960's, around the time New Orleans Square and Small World Mall were added. While it had likely already switched prior to MK's opening, the similarity was there during the park's planning stages

Here are some cards from Wonderland walking through the Frontierland gate
4-26-65I.jpg


This one is a little harder to make out, but the sign on the right side appears to be for Aunt Jemima's Kitchen, which was in the building that is currently home to the Riverbelle Terrace
1959-parade-adventureland.jpg
i remember the parades at disneyland starting at it's a small world and working its way down main street and going back stage from there.
 

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