In The Disneylands That Never Were author Shaun Finnie uncovers the attractions, hotels, restaurants/clubs, and real estate development projects conceived by Disney Imagineers but never built. The title is a bit misleading since he ultimately uncovers that NO good idea is ever discarded. In fact, Disney Imagineers have an archive for those ideas known internally as the 'The Morgue' that is several miles long.

The book is well-written (and in large print?) in a prose that is simple and direct. It's a fantastic compilation of facts, myths and interviews that has heretofore only been available in a multitude of sources to very serious Disney aficionados.

The image on the left is from Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real and is described by Shaun Finnie thusly:

Marc Davis was one of Walt Disney's original Nine Old Men, and is a Disney Legend. As an artist he was single handedly responsible for the design of so many of the iconic female Disney characters.

But one of Marc's most beautiful designs never came to fruition. The Enchanted Snow Palace would have taken guests out of the Californian sun and into a world of magic and wonder, an oasis of cool and calm in the middle of the heat and excitement of Disneyland. Set in a building that looked like it had been carved out of a natural glacier, a river of melting ice would have taken guests on a boat ride past all manner of natural creatures in a frozen wilderness.

The boat would then pass underneath a display of the magical Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis, and out of the 'real' world. Travellers would enter the realm of the Snow Queen...After being welcomed by the Queen's handmaidens the boat would eventually enter the throne room of the Snow Queen herself. She was to acknowledge the visitors with a wave of her beautiful pale hand, and as a parting gift she would cause snow to drift down upon them.

Having finished The Disneylands That Never Were in about a fortnight, I've started Mannheim's Walt Disney and the Quest for Community.

Labels: disney