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Newly released concept art for Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland expansion

In an unexpected turn, Disney Imagineers have released this second version of their concept art for Walt Disney World’s upcoming Fantasyland expansion. There are no massive changes from the last version, which was released at the D23 Expo in September. The new painting appears to take place later in the day, as the shadows are longer and the general palette darker. There are a few other small changes, though. See if you can spot the differences with the original image, which is shown below.

The main difference between the two renderings is in the depiction and clarity of the Little Mermaid and Cinderella show buildings. The rockwork around the Mermaid area is darker and better defined in the newly released artwork, and they’ve added the queue and entry area to the castle out front. Landscaping throughout the painting is better defined, especially in the area surrounding Belle’s village. Note that a circular planter in the original image is missing in the revised version.

Cinderella’s chateau is also more detailed in the new rendering, and you can actually make out the details of the show building behind it. It appears that the building will be fairly large, and will extend through several themed areas. There’s also a windmill on the reverse side of the building that can be better seen in the new image.

So, nothing earth-shattering but it’s the first glimpe we have of the project’s progress.

They might not have, but they also might want to talk to the people making their park maps. The always-revealing site WDSFans has posted the official 2010 map graphics for the Disneyland Paris Resort and the Walt Disney Studios park itself. And it has a secret for you:

Oh poor Walt Disney Studios – no one will ask it to the prom

Do you see it? Unless the Rowlingesqe strategy Disney is trying to use to hide major construction in plain sight of millions of people has worked, you might notice the as-yet-unannounced Toy Story Playland hiding in the barren wastes of the Walt Disney Studios park:

John Hench is sooooo mad at you right now

I continue to find this hilarious. First Bay Lake Tower, now this. At least that made sense – Disney was trying to unload all its unsold DVC stock before they announced a new resort. But why the secrecy here? To hoodwink the Hong Kong government into thinking their Toy Story Land is an original idea? Or to keep French farmers from burning tractors at the park’s gates when they find out that the park’s next much-needed attraction comes in the form of a trio of carny rides?

This isn’t the Da Vinci code, guys. We can see it on the map!

UPDATE: More information, pictures, and some amusing fan reactions can be found at Disney and More.

Although I’ve been too immersed in busyosity lately to post anything of significance, as I go about my peregrinations I’m constantly cycling through the mental list of stories that I intend to or need to write. These days, a lot of those stories have to do with overdue and obscure tales from the D23 Expo or Disneyland. As I was thinking this weekend about the list of projects that have been announced for the various Disney parks, it occurred to me that I don’t think I’ve publicly confessed my extreme wrongness about a recent story to which I reacted quite strongly.

When the Hong Kong Disneyland expansion plans were announced, I recoiled in horror at the sight of “Toy Story Land”, one of the new areas to be added to the undersized park. I blamed this on everyone from WDI to Rasulo to Lasseter to Iger, and in the wave of disappointment from the underwhelming plans I don’t think I skipped anyone’s house in my bout of pox-placing.

But in an unexpected twist that no one could have possibly foreseen, it looks like I was totally wrong on this one. Sure, Disney’s recent franchise-mania lies at the root of the problem; after all, the expansion was originally designed as the yet-unannounced “Toy Story Playland” for France’s Walt Disney Studios park. In the case of Hong Kong, though, it looks like the blame for this unsightly expansion lies right at the feet of the Hong Kong Government.

In only the latest instance of Disney coming to regret its unfortunate decision to enter the theme park business with the local Chinese government, Hong Kong officials apparently nixed several quality expansion plans presented to them by Disney Imagineers. As majority stakeholders in the park, the local government holds a great deal of sway in design decisions and have proven far more difficult to work with than Disney’s partners in Tokyo or Paris.

Hong Kong’s role in forcing WDI to resort to Toy Story Land became clear during my time at D23, and so I haven’t yet had a chance to recant my slurs. Imagineers I spoke to at D23 talked about this as diplomatically as possible, saying that they had come up with a number of initial ideas for the three expansion areas and whittled them down from there. At the suggestion of their local partners, it was said, they changed the plans to what we see today. As I say, it was all very diplomatically phrased but the implication was clear: the reason that Hong Kong is not getting it’s swanky new Pirates area or Glacier Bay is at the insistence of the local government.

So mea culpa, all my pals in Burbank and Glendale. I’ve still got my gripes but I can’t put this one at your feet. To the Hong Kong government I say this: What in the world are you thinking? Let Disney be Disney. The Oriental Land Company understands this and that’s why Tokyo Disneyland is the paragon of modern Disney design. Don’t tell them what to do. Just give them the money and back away, and don’t pull out the veto pen unless you’re going to refuse something completely lame like… Toy Story Land.

So there you go. Wrongness confirmed. Join us next time on Jumping to Conclusions Like a Jackass Theater, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

I’m a pretty nice guy – really, I am. I consider myself fairly affable; I think being southern at least predisposes one to a general aspiration to pleasantness. I abhor confrontation. As much as I’d like to be Walt, I could never be Walt because I could never look someone in the eyes and tell them that their idea was terrible.

Thankfully, someone invented the internet.

Actually, even the pseudo-anonymity afforded by modern technology and the joy of sniping snidely at strangers from a remote vantage point isn’t bulletproof; I’m thinking about going to the D23 thing in September and would prefer having someone friendly sneak me into the Burbank studio or Flower Street to having random offended Imagineers dumping drinks on my head at the refreshment stand.

This is a lengthy way of saying that despite the fact that I don’t want to become branded an inveterate Internet crank or a boringly predictable naysayer, I’m still really irritated and just plain disappointed by the plans released today for the long-awaited Hong Kong Disneyland expansion. These plans have been in the works for four years – four years full of leaks, hints and predictions – and the final result of all the prolonged negotiations is hardly worth the tumult. This is the second big park-related unveiling of the Lasseter age (the first being the redesign of California Adventure), and it does little to inspire hope for future developments.

Desperately trying to look enthused: Hong Kong Chief Economist Helen Chan, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Rita Lau, Tourism Commissioner Margaret Fong and Deputy Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau Clement Leung unveil renderings for the planned expansions of Hong Kong Disneyland

The nuts and bolts of the deal have been covered by Reuters and others, but the deal, in short, is this: Disney will pay the full cost of the expansion, also converting some of their existing loans to the park into equity. Much of the trouble during negotiations centered around what this would mean to Hong Kong’s stake in the park; many Hong Kong citizens and politicians have objected to the terms of the original ownership deal, which saw Hong Kong investing roughly five times more than Disney in the new resort for only a 57 percent share of control.

As the imperative of park expansion became apparent, the Hong Kong government remained unwilling to send “good money after bad” and invest further in the resort. Disney, realizing the urgency of the situation, offered to foot the bill for expansion themselves. Hong Kong balked at this, because any additional investment by Disney in the park would only serve to dilute Hong Kong’s ownership percentage – which they thought was far too low in the first place. In the end, Disney has agreed to let Hong Kong convert some of its existing loans to the park into equity, and thus retain its majority stake. Hong Kong’s share of the park will decrease from 57 to 52 percent, while Disney’s will rise from 43 to 48 percent.

The expansion will take five years to be completed, and Hong Kong claims it will add 3,000 jobs. Expansion will include three new areas, increasing the park’s footprint by 23%. Interestingly, one of the conditions that the Hong Kong government forced into the deal requires Disney to release an annual report of park attendance and financial data.

But I’m not here to bitterly complain about equity stakes. What about the attractions?

Rendering from 2006 Disney Annual Report for planned Pirate-themed expansion area

Having waiting four years for these expansions, there has been plenty of time to speculate about what form they would take. For most of that time, the best-known rumor has been a planned pirate-themed addition to Adventureland. This “mini-land” would sit on the expansion pad across the railroad tracks from the rest of Adventureland, and would contain two or three new rides. The main E-ticket for the area would be the park’s version of Pirates of the Caribbean, which would be more thrilling than its stateside counterparts due to a flume-based finale more akin to that of Splash Mountain.

The other rumor, of more recent vintage, is that the park would at last receive its own version of Frontierland with a new mountain-based roller coaster. Other additions would include a voodoo-themed Haunted Mansion in Adventureland and a third new land, Toontown. So how did the rumors stack up?

We don’t need no steenkin’ hub and spoke: Your new Hong Kong Disneyland. Grizzly Trail, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land.

First I have to give credit to Alain Littaye, who not surprisingly has provided the best coverage of the new expansions so far. Hong Kong Disneyland’s own press site has yet to provide any sort of official release, but somehow Alain comes through every time. All the images here are his; as always, click any of the images in the article to enlarge.

Anyway, the attractions. It turns out that while some rumors proved true, the announcement still held some surprises. And, as I’ve subtly hinted above, it’s not all good. But, since I’m such a nice and pleasant guy, I’ll start off with the single strongest point in the new plan.

Rendering of Mystic Point: Mystic Manor and the Adventurer’s Club

Hong Kong Disneyland will finally get its own Haunted Mansion in a new mini-land called Mystic Point. While not located where most fans predicted it would be built, the Mystic Manor, as it will be called, embraces an aesthetic familiar to Disney fans. Its story, which is said to involve “an eccentric world traveler and adventurer and his collection of exotic international artifacts,” is similar to that of Tokyo DisneySea’s Tower of Terror. The entire area has that Edwardian feel of colonial adventure; one can assume that Joe Rohde is knee-deep in this one, or that he’ll at least make a cameo appearance in some fashion.

What’s interesting is that Mystic Manor will depart from tradition and incorporate a new ride system. Unlike like its predecessors’ Omnimovers, this haunted house will feature the advanced trackless ride technology that had previously only been seen at the Tokyo resort. This system will allow ride vehicles will move “freely” about the show building, giving Imagineers a new degree of freedom in the show’s design. The ride’s storyline is priceless – with no Master Gracey to be seen, instead we’re told that “strange things are afoot as an enchanted music box releases its magical powers, thanks to a mischievous monkey.” Monkeys. Golden. With a storyline focusing on magic, it’s certain that the ride will feature a high degree of visual and audio effects.

So that’s the good news. The bad news is that this attraction is forced out of Adventureland into a new “land,” which seems completely unnecessary. If the original Disneyland had followed the pattern of this new development, it would have had 20 separate, tiny lands with one attraction apiece. The other bad news is that the only other thing in this area, aside from a garden of optical illusions, is a restaurant called the Adventurer’s Club. Anger rising…

For those of you for whom Walt Disney World is not your home park, you might not be aware of the world-famous Adventurer’s Club, which was closed so tragically last year. It was rumored since that the artifacts and props within our Club would be crated up and shipped to Asia for use either in Hong Kong Disneyland or something intended for Shanghai. But here it is – a no doubt watered-down version of the Adventurer’s Club in Hong Kong. Adventurer’s Club In Name Only. I feel as if Jay Rasulo drove to my house, knocked on my door, pooped on my doorstep and drove away. I mean, if there’s any way they could better figure out how to spit in the eyes of their most devoted fans, I can hardly think of anything more symbolic – aside from building an exact replica of Horizons in Siberia, opening it for five hours, and then burning it to the ground.

Manifest Density: Your new, bite-sized Frontierland. Looks like the sewage line has ruptured at the saloon!

Another rumor that held true is that the park is finally going to get a Frontierland – it just won’t be called Frontierland. Instead, it’s yet another mini-land called Grizzly Trail. Occupying the expansion pad intended for Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s sort of a smash-up of various concepts at other parks; mostly, it resembles California Adventure’s Golden State area with a western mining town overlay.

The sole attraction, the Big Grizzly Mountain Coaster actually sounds much like I had predicted – “a combination of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Expedition Everest in a Grizzly Peak setting.” The ride sounds like a winner; Littaye’s press release says, “Guests careen backward down an incline that propels them through twists and turns, before a launch sequence “blasts” the mine train out of the mountain.” Again, much like Mystic Manor, the best part is the backstory:

The path along Grizzly Trail offers high-spirited frontier fun in an abandoned mining town called Grizzly Gulch, set amidst mountains and woods. The town was founded August 8, 1888 – the luckiest day of the luckiest month of the luckiest year – by prospectors looking to discover gold. Bears have now started causing havoc at the Big Grizzly Mountain Mining Company.

BEARS! I love how they just drop that in there at the end, all nonchalant. It’s like some Stephen Colbert fever dream. Much like the rumors predicted, the ride will feature life-sized animatronic bears menacing guests. So, the park now has monkeys and bears going for it – that’s nice.

The rest of the land is pretty much a wash – literally. Sadly WDI returns to one of the hoariest gags of recent years, the water play area. Says the blurb, “Guests visiting Grizzly Gulch are part of the action, experiencing hands-on water features, massive geysers and various leaking structures in the abandoned town.” Yippee. The one thing any good muggy, smoggy Hong Kong day is missing is intense chafing. When will Imagineers realize that this concept is a loser? Just this month at Disneyland we’ve seen the final traces of Cosmic Waves finally removed; this “walk around in a fountain” attraction proved such a mistake that it’s been turned off for years. Even if you like this sort of thing, this is the park’s second public bathing area attraction after Tomorrowland’s UFO Zone – did we need two?

And that’s it for Grizzly Trail. I realize that Disney had made no promises about this area, and that the final design is competing against my imaginary vision based on internet rumors, but it seems like such a letdown. The rumors of a large Frontierland based on the Pacific Northwest seemed so appealing and different; a “north woods” version of Expedition Everest and a raft ride – the idea is so much more exciting than this underwhelming combination of Radiator Springs and Tweetsie Railroad (minus the railroad, or attractions). Aside from the coaster, which should be excellent, it’s a wasted opportunity. Now, just to be bitchy, I’m going to post a rendering that was painted for Disneyland Paris’s Frontierland.

AIM HIGHER, WDI

This brings us to Toy Story Land. This is just unfortunate. Taking some of the physical space many thought destined for Frontierland, and the budget that most thought would go to creating a Toontown, this area will instead continue the poorly thought out new trend towards basing “lands” on single films or properties.

What if, in Disneyland, Walt had put in “Lady and the Tramp Land”? Or “101 Dalmatians Square”? Those films were big hits in Disneyland’s early years, and they’re still beloved and widely-viewed today. But wouldn’t they be seen today as strangely anachronistic? Wouldn’t new guests wonder why so much show space was being devoted to a single, older film? Chasing trends is a dangerous game and I think that eventually Toy Story Land and “Carsland” will come back to haunt WDI.

And Marketing said, “Let there be Toy Story Land”; and there was Toy Story Land. And Marketing looked down and saw that it was profitable.

This land is a direct copy of Toy Story Playland that’s currently under construction at Walt Disney Studios in Paris. It’s underwhelming there, and it’s underwhelming here. One also wonders the need of three off-the-shelf funfair rides for the kiddies when, compared to its counterparts, the park’s Fantasyland is still missing at the very least: Peter Pan’s Flight; Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride; dark rides for Alice, Snow White and Pinocchio; Storybook Land or Casey, Jr., etc. There are a slew of unbuilt Fantasyland possibilities as well, and of course the entire Toontown concept. This Toy Story area just seems to miss the mark, with kitchy rides that seem “beneath” a flagship park.

So that’s the new Hong Kong Disneyland. A couple of quality attractions, and a handful of items that continue to build upon worrying trends. Perhaps they would have been better served by using this money for a single, large expansion – say, a fully-formed Frontierland. The odd little chain of three tiny areas, two with one real attraction apiece, seems very un-Disneylike. Their layout also eschews the familiar, tried and true hub-and-spoke layout; note on the map above that guests must walk through all three lands to get from one end of the expansion to the other. It seems more like Universal’s Islands of Adventure than a Disney park, with guests promenading from one area to another through unrelated environments. It’s hard to imagine a sensory tickle powerful enough to cloak the slamming thematic dissonance of a desert/jungle/whimsical toyland transition.

Lots of this can eventually be remedied, though. With the huge expansion plot next to Grizzly Trail, there’s more than enough space to expand this cul-de-sac into an official land. It would needs its own outlet to the park’s hub to make sense from a layout standpoint, but perhaps they could shave off the bottom-most section of Adventureland to allow an orderly transition. In this event, it would make more sense to cede the area now marked for Toy Story Land to Adventureland, to allow for future expansion and the inevitable addition of Pirates of the Caribbean. Mystic Point could then serve as the New Orleans Square, of sorts, to this park’s Adventureland, and it would not really matter that it only has one attraction. Toy Story Land should be relocated to less prime real estate, preferably somewhere out in Penny Bay. Whatever they do, they shouldn’t hem themselves in and they mustn’t keep adding tiny single-attraction lands in no apparent order.

The final, and most bizarre, element of this story comes from a small factoid that was in not only the press release, but most of the media coverage so far as well. To quote the Hong Kong government site:

The three new themed areas are “Grizzly Trail”, “Mystic Point” and “Toy Story Land”. They will feature 30 new attractions – including thrill rides – bringing the total to over 100.

In what universe? Now I realize that modern P.R. involves a level of ballyhoo just a hair short of P.T. Barnum, but this crosses into the realm of borderline psychosis and flat-out baldface lies.

Now, I think it would be awesome if these areas wound up having 30 new attractions, but I think that might be slightly overstating it as, if I count correctly in the available descriptions, I can only find seven. And that’s being very generous and counting the “playing in a fountain” attraction as well as the “garden full of optical illusions.” If there are 23 attractions yet to be announced, I really think they’ve buried the lede.

It’s also hilariously comic to claim that the park will now have 100 attractions. I’ll let you peruse Wikipedia’s list of the park’s attractions, which itself is very generous in bestowing the title “attraction”, to see if you can find the missing forty or so attractions they claim are in the park now.

It’s a mixed bag, for sure, and it’s not all bad – two groundbreaking E-tickets are nothing to sneeze at, to say the very least. But I expected more from the new leadership, and I’ve yet to see much evidence of it. Hong Kong Disneyland will see many, many expansions in the future; let’s hope that they’re laying the groundwork now for eventual success.

Yesterday, Disney went live with their new webpage for Toy Story Mania!, the new attraction for Disney-MGM Studios and California Adventure (where it will be known as Toy Story Midway Mania). The page (pictured above) is still rather sparse, but features a few pieces of concept art and behind the scenes images (through the ViewMaster on the left) and a short video blurb by Imagineer Tom “Walking, Talking Press Release” Fitzgerald (via the videocamera on the right).

The attraction, an interactive dark ride set to open next year, seems to be a combination of two earlier concepts. It’s partially a next-generation Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, but instead of dimensional sets and laser guns the ride will use computer animation and stereoscopic 3-D effects to simulate a shooting gallery environment. As can be seen in the pictures on the site, the “spring action shooters” that are attached to the ride vehicles seem quite similar to the cannons in the Pirates of the Caribbean shooting game at DisneyQuest. Toy Story Mania! thus seems to combine the VR technology of the Pirates attraction with Buzz Lightyear’s omnimover system.

In the ride, guests will pull back the spring on the shooters attached to their vehicles, launching a virtual projectile at a series of targets themed to different environments and characters from the Toy Story films. Guests will wear 3-D glasses, giving a depth of field to the shooting galleries and adding realism. One of the more interesting aspects of the attraction is that the computers running the show will change the difficulty level for each individual rider based on their skill, thus changing the show every time you ride it.

So load your shooters, take a double dose of your A.D.D. medicine and head on over to Disney’s site for a preview. Be sure and enjoy Fitzgerald talking about “the classic carnival games that we all know and love”… whatever, dude. The L.A. Times has also posted a short article about the attraction.