Progress City, U.S.A.

One of Imagineer Tim Delaney’s famous renderings for EPCOT’s The Living Seas pavilion

The last time we spoke of Imagineer Tim Delaney was last year, when he departed Walt Disney Imagineering after thirty-three years with the company. Fans mourned his loss to WDI, as Delaney was a well-known name who had worked on a number of prominent and well-received projects throughout his career. I was glad to discover, then, that Delaney had landed on his feet and founded his own design studio. His website, which debuted a few months ago, provides a nice summary of his career to date and – even better – gives us lots of his fantastic conceptual art to view!

So before you drop in to check out his portfolio, here are a few of his pieces that I found most interesting. Delaney’s “break-through” came in the late 1970s with his well known conceptual renderings for EPCOT’s The Living Seas.

Conceptual art for The Living Seas

This rendering shows elements from the show and attraction originally conceived for the pavilion; this spectacular attraction was sadly abandoned when sponsorship problems forced Disney to cut the budget. Delaney’s rendering for Seas were so evocative and exciting, that the actual pavilion wound up being something of a disappointment when it actually debuted in 1986. An engineering triumph, to be sure, but nowhere near as expansive as Delaney’s original imaginative concepts. But that’s not all that he worked on for EPCOT.

Rendering of Future World for EPCOT Center, circa 1978

This exciting rendering shows the Future World section of EPCOT Center as it was envisioned in 1978. I love the energy in that piece. Delaney also did some conceptual work for EPCOT’s never-built but long-lamented Space pavilion.

Rendering of the main simulator attraction for the unbuilt EPCOT Space pavilion

Other key projects that Delaney worked on at WDI included Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris and Tomorrowland at Hong Kong Disneyland. He developed concepts large and small, including the much-lauded Disney Parks and Resorts exhibit for last year’s D23 Expo.

Rendering of Disney Parks & Resorts Exhibit for the D23 Expo

But you know what we’re really interested in – the attractions that never made it off the drawing boards. The blue sky concepts. The sneak peeks of possible future attractions. Here are some of my favorites from Delaney’s site. First, the projects that never came to be. Delaney worked on several of these, including resort hotels…

Rendering of Disney’s White Mountains Lodge

This resort, which I believe is one of the various Disney regional resorts that had been considered, is called the White Mountains Lodge. According to Google, there are White Mountains in both Arizona and New Hampshire; the New England setting better fits the summer and wintertime views that Delaney envisions.

One of the most prominent projects that Delaney worked on before he left Disney was the famous pirate-themed expansion for Hong Kong Disneyland. This vast area would have been a “mini-land” addition to Adventureland, with several rides deriving their themes from Pirates of the Caribbean. The area would have possibly included a variation of the Haunted Mansion, and of course a new iteration of the famous Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. This version of Pirates would have been more thrilling than previous incarnations, though; with no plans to bring Splash Mountain to Hong Kong, the new version of Pirates would have incorporated elements of that flume attraction and ended with a massive drop. And I think it would have gone a little something like this…

Guests plunge from Skull Rock in this concept for Hong Kong’s flume-based Pirates of the Caribbean attraction

Sadly, Hong Kong officials nixed this expansion. It would have been nice…

Concept art for Hong Kong Disneyland pirate village, 2006

But Delaney’s site also gives us a glimpse of what the future might hold, with concept art from 2008 for Shanghai Disneyland – some of the first development art we’ve seen for the park. Here, Delaney shows a few of his concept for the park’s Main Street area:

Concepts for Shanghai Disneyland’s Main Street by Tim Delaney

While these concepts probably differ greatly from what we’ll actually see when the new park (codenamed “Project Bueno”) opens later this decade, they at least give us an idea of what is being considered. For one thing, many have questioned if the new park will be a traditional “kingdom” style design. While these designs are certainly different from previous Main Street areas, they do indicate that the park will have a somewhat similar layout with a town square, Main Street, and Center Street.

The top sketch shows a Hollywood-themed Main Street, with the various traditional Main Street amenities themed to appropriate Hollywood landmarks. The arch over Center Street indicates that it leads to the “Walt Disney Studios.”

The center sketch shows Main Street as a “Forest Village”, with a fantasy-based enchanted forest feel. The bottom sketch depicts a “Whimsy” Main Street, with various far-out designs more reminiscent of Downtown Disney. Interestingly, Center Street in this design provides a “view to Hyperion Theater.”

One of my favorite designs is this imposing suggestion for a new Space Mountain, from 2008:

Rendering of a new Space Mountain, possibly for Shanghai Disneyland

That’s just a taste of what Delaney has on his site; head over and check out the rest, including more fantastic work on projects both built and unbuilt. And a few things that are mysterious but simply very cool…

I’ve no idea if this design for a “new Nautilus” was for any specific project, but wouldn’t it have looked cool in Hong Kong’s unbuilt Glacier Bay?

Good luck to Tim in all his future projects!

Tonight, on a very special Imagineering After Dark…

“Relaxing for a moment on the huge model of EPCOT at WED Enterprises in Burbank, California, are vice-presidents Marty Sklar (left) and John Hench. WED “imagineers” are paid to tinker with the mechanics of fantasy in order to create the future according to Disney.”

Boom chicka wah wah…

“Hey baby, wanna tinker with the mechanics of fantasy?”

Those sly guys from Glendale… I think half the creative problems WDI faces today could be solved by more polyester and larger lapels.

Notes for EPCOT nerds: This is from 1980. Note the different design for The Seas (the earlier version had a large dome on the top) and all the extra add-ons to Communicore that would never be built. In World Showcase we have Mexico, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, France, and the U.K. – they’re all in the proper place and look pretty much exactly as they were built.

Now if only Yale Gracey had built a clapper that would make a disco ball come down from the ceiling and a Barry White album start playing.

And now, Mr. June – Claude Coates!

A conceptual rendering by Tim Delaney of Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris

Ominous news emerged last week that two long-time Imagineers had been dismissed from Walt Disney Imagineering. The departures of Executive Designer & Vice President Tim Delaney and head sculptor Valerie Edwards were the most shocking terminations in several years, and follow a period of seeming stability (however illusory it has been) at WDI.

The news of Delaney’s departure was perhaps most shocking to fans, to whom his name is well-known after years of high-profile projects. Edwards, though, has risen in public prominence since she was selected to succeed legendary Imagineer Blaine Gibson as head of the sculpture shop. Her work includes the recent sculpts of Captain Jack Sparrow and Barack Obama, and her reputation is that of a stickler for the highest quality. She had been with Disney for twenty-one years.

Delaney, who had been at WDI since 1976, served on a number of important projects from EPCOT Center’s The Living Seas to Disneyland Paris’s Discoveryland. On that project he served as show producer, helping craft one of the most fully visualized new lands of Disney’s modern era. He went on to help design California Adventure’s Paradise Pier and entrance plaza areas, which have been heavily criticized, but on those projects he was hamstrung by nonexistent budgets and poor choices from corporate managers. Placed in a similar situation with Hong Kong Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, he managed to create a visually pleasing area on a shoestring. Most recently, he had worked on the planned expansions for California Adventure, and tried to sell Parks & Resorts head Jay Rasulo on a roughly $750 million pirate-themed expansion for the Hong Kong park.

The unbuilt Pirates of the Caribbean expansion

I should be perfectly clear here. I know no one inside WDI, beyond the shake-hands-and-introduce-myself stage. I don’t know anything about the political situation inside WDI, aside from what I read from a dozen different anonymous nabobs online. The best I can do is try to determine the most legitimate sources, attempt to discern their biases and filter them as well as possible, and to look for trends and common threads that indicate what’s actually going on. Unless I state otherwise, anything I “know” is basically informed speculation.

There are other people, however, that do have contacts inside WDI. Among these folks is Lee MacDonald, publisher of Tales from the Laughing Place. So I thought it appropriate I reprint a comment of his that was posted originally in a thread on LaughingPlace and later on WDWMagic. I can neither confirm or deny anything he says, but I think it’s an interesting viewpoint from someone who knows Delaney personally:

It all happened very quickly but it is correct. I didn’t know Valerie at all but she was certainly worthy of being Blaine’s true successor. Her new Admiral Donald for the two new DCL ships is beautiful – probably the best Donald sculpt that I’ve ever seen.

Tim on the other hand has been a good friend for many years. I regard him as one of the two greatest conceptualists and show producers at WDI (the other is Tom Morris). A thirty-two year imagineer whose body of work is second-to-none.

People will associate Tim with his role as executive producer for Paradise Pier and the entrance at DCA but neither were his choice. Bob Weis’ team are spending nearly twice the amount of money on one attraction that Tim had for the entire Pier area ($350m versus $200m). No-one wanted the poisoned chalice of the entrance – Barry Braverman could not get a single creative lead to take it on. Tim did the best he could with the brief of the park being a postcard view of CA. His entrance cost less than the facade for the new Cathay Circle Theater – I kid you not.

Tim’s real legacy will be his incredible work on EPCOT CENTER and especially The Living Seas. He was told by numerous engineers that the tank couldn’t work but he endeavored to make it work. A lot of his touches were incorporated into Future World.

EuroDisneyland’s Discoveryland is the only Tomorrowland that works. It is a wonderful architectural edifice to a Tomorrow that Never Was. It is the only timeless incarnation of a Tomorrowland. Again he was told that an angled LIM was impossible – he made it work for the incredible Space Mountain (in my view the greatest roller coaster ever made). He was told that synchronized music would never work – he made it work.

Paradise Pier is awash with similar touches – a steel coaster to look and feel like a woodie. Some whimsical designs like the former main store there. Even the Sun Wheel with its swinging cars and the other off-the-shelf attractions have small touches that make the difference. There isn’t another Golden Zephyr out there – it is entirely unique. People might not like PP but he delivered on a ridiculously small budget. It isn’t the biggest failure of DCA. His land was given less than a quarter of the park’s budget and expected to deliver half the attraction count. Poor menu planning and a lack of executive leadership were not Tim’s fault.

His work on HKDL’s Tomorrowland again delivered the best possible version on a budget. He even stripped items like the giant Buzz and probe in the Space Mountain load area from DisneyQuest Chicago – he had nothing to work with. The park’s Autopia is a wonderfully quirky version with its fun noises to replace the diesel putt-putt.

Recently his work has been largely conceptual. Jay rejected his and Tom’s $750m HKDL PirateLand which was probably the greatest collection of concept art I’ve ever seen – it was breath-taking in its boldness. He pursued a project to improve queue line interaction which led to Epcot’s Soarin’ receiving the screen quiz. His work was instrumental in the evolution of the new MK Dumbo queue – it is the direct successor of his work. He also worked on a number of lodge concepts for the Disney Regional Resorts team – when Wing opted to retire and Don Goodman’s Real Estate Development team was moved to Nick Franklin’s NBD division the projects were largely snuffed out.

He was a wonderful mentor to a host of junior imagineers and he was a wonderfully creative partner. Seeing Tom Morris and Tim discuss projects was like watching kids in a sandbox. There are few people that truly understand what works in a Disney theme park.

He was largely responsible for the execution of the D23 Expo area for WDP&R – Tom Fitzgerald conceived the entrance but the rest was all executed by Dave Fisher and Tim Delaney. It worked because of them.

I’m still numb with shock. I just cannot fathom the logic behind this knuckle-headedness. It further reinforces my view that Bruce Vaughn is singularly the worst leader that WDI has ever had. He does nothing to protect the talent or nurture creative development. He is simply a hatchet man. At least his predecessors made projects happen. This is the problem with having a non-creative lead at WDI. Even Don Goodman’s reign didn’t breed the level of disharmony and sheer depression that currently grips WDI.

I know that Tim will enjoy his retirement – but it has come too early. Tim could have continued to contribute to WDI for many more years. His presence at 1401F will be missed by many of us that have had the privilege to know and work with him for so long. I regard him as one of the few executives to speak his mind and we shared very similar views of the current direction of WDP&R.

I hope that we are both proved wrong.

Recent months have been fairly exciting for Disney park fans. Maintenance has improved at the parks, although this is not saying much considering the poor condition that Walt Disney World has found itself in over the last decade. Mega-projects are on the way for parks in Hong Kong, Anaheim and Orlando. Disney is talking the talk, engaging with fans at successful events like the D23 Expo, and things have generally been looking up.

I fear, though, that there’s a degree of hype at work that is blinding us with an avalanche of pixie dust. Instead of stabilizing and building the creative ranks at WDI, as we all hoped would happen with Iger arrived and allowed John Lasseter to take a creative role in the company, the attrition continues as long-time talent is dismissed. This serves two roles; first, it eliminates the higher salaries that veteran Imagineers command. Second, it removes the inconvenience of highly-placed and popular designers that are constantly pushing for higher budgets and better-quality projects. I doubt it’s a coincidence that these events follow a period when Delaney had been pushing Rasulo for the high-budget Pirates land, or that it has been widely repeated that Valerie Edwards had been pushing for a higher quality of output from her department.

I reiterate that I don’t know anyone on the inside, or have any particular insight into the dynamics of WDI. But more and more it appears that Iger has truly given Rasulo free reign to run things as tight-fistedly as he wants, and that current Imagineering head Bruce Vaughn is playing along. I’ve heard good many things about Vaughn and his work at R&D, but the slow decimation of the creative side of WDI does not reflect well upon his tenure.

Of course, the ultimate issue is something that long-time Disney watchers have feared for many years now. There are many within and without Disney, acolytes of the soulless corporatism that has overrun the company, that would love to eliminate WDI as an active developer of new content. Instead, creative personnel would be dismissed and only a small core of administrators would remain to outsource new attractions and enhancements to third-party vendors. Disney would no longer have to pay its high-dollar talent, or provide benefits and other expenses. They would instead farm projects out to outside firms, most likely composed of the very same personnel they fired, and save a few bucks by forcing these design houses to underbid each other for work.

I fear that this is the active goal of Bob Iger and Jay Rasulo. I also hope that I’m wrong, but the blinkered mindset that springs from America’s business schools today would say otherwise. When Imagineers as talented and prominent as Tim Delaney and Valerie Edwards can be dismissed, who will be next? Think of all the talent that’s already gone – Eddie Sotto, the Kirk brothers – and think of who is left. There is widespread mumbling out there, which I can only hope is baseless bluster, that no less than Tony Baxter will depart when his contract ends next year. While that would be such a high-profile departure and would raise the ire of even casual fans, at this point even something once-unthinkable like that seems possible.

We’re seeing the elimination of the last generation of Imagineers who worked directly in Walt’s wake under the tutelage of the original giants of Imagineering. These are the people that took up the mantle, and who created the attractions that made us all fans. It seems that they’re being picked off one by one, in favor of people who will better “play the game” and raise less objections to the constantly lowered standards enforced by upper management.

I hope I’m wrong, but we all need to pay attention and be aware of the situation.

Rendering of EPCOT Center, 1980 (Click to Enlarge)

Things have changed a bit since our last visit to early EPCOT; the park is now looking a lot more like the version we later would come to love. Horizons has arrived, but it’s still known as Future Probe. Spaceship Earth and Communicore have lost their golden glow, and Communicore is shown with a few additions that were never constructed (its southeast corner, most noticeably). The most visible difference in Future World, though, is the giant dome over The Living Seas. This pavilion was still in its conceptual stage due to its lack of a sponsor, and would be downsized considerably before its 1986 opening.

It’s hard to tell much about World Showcase due to the small size of the original rendering, but it looks to be in pretty much its final form. The major difference here is Equatorial Africa, which was still planned for its space between China and Germany. It also looks like the large Victorian Music Hall is still depicted behind the United Kingdom.

Here’s a weird one. From an internal Imagineering newsletter in 1981:

I wonder if they ever found it? I wonder what this “essential set-piece” was – “The Seas” still had no sponsor at this point and wouldn’t open for five more years. At the time this notice was written, the pavilion was intended to be far grander than its final format; its original design included a effects-heavy dark ride incorporating the ancient god Poseidon and the myths of the sea.