Disneyland Paris : Automata-mericana , The Main Street U.S.A Attraction That Never Was

Among all the attractions that never were for Disneyland Paris, one that i miss the most is the "Automata-mericana" concept that Imagineer Eddie Sotto envisioned for Main Street U.S.A.

The idea for this one goes way back to discussions with Herb Ryman in 1988. Imagineers wanted to call it Automata-mericana. As you know Walt Disney had loved miniatures, and Animatronics began with his fascination for French Automata. As you may recall too, he had an antique mechanical bird (which Eddie Sotto paid homage in Walt's Restaurant). There was a space available on Town Square East - under the Dentist where (Franklin Electric was originally) - and that space was considered for the added capacity program the year after DLP opening ( Les Mystères du Nautilus, Indiana Jones and more were part of that ). 

On an Imagineering research trip in 1988 Imagineers had visited a funny Automata museum in Covent Garden, London, ( called Mechanical Cabaret Theater, since gone ) and they were inspired by the displays and how much people enjoyed them. The exhibit displays were not antiques, but rather new designs and it gave to Eddie Sotto the idea that Imagineers could make their own and customize them. The prescription vending beheaded doctor, "Shrunken Ned" at Disneyland Adventureland was inspired by one of the automata display there. Imagineer Eddie Johnson worked with Eddie and he came up with a series of sketches for the animated displays, each portraying life on Main Street in a funny way. Eddie Sotto recall his drawing of the Main Street cinema for one. Among these was a Barber Shop, Fire Station and Market House too, each with the Main Street "citizens" doing funny things. 

For Eddie and the Imagineers the idea was to bridge the language barrier and show rather than explain the story of American life in that time period by using intricate display animation. Budget for the "added capacity program" unfortunately ate up all of the Main Street enhancements, except for an additional Steam Train - the Eureka. Eddie would still love to build this and think it would be a crowd pleaser in a quaint way. The sepia tone artwork was a sketch above is from Eddie Sotto.

The video below show some of the actual exhibits Imagineers saw back then, in London. Done in a Disney style with a Main Street Story, they would have been a great addition, with lots of humor.



This next video shows Disneyland Adventureland "Shrunken Ned" - Eddie Sotto play his voice.




 If DLP had the budget to do it it still will be possible to add this Automata-mericana attraction where Eddie Sotto wanted to build it, so let's hope that someone at DLP will remember this great concept and will decide to add it at DLP Main Street U.S.A!


The artwork on the top is among the 250 WDI renderings that you can find in the great Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality book. Until tomorrow evening you still can enjoy the $45 discount thanks to the Christmas special offer with a special price of 85 euros ( $108 )  - instead of 120€ ( $155 ) and 15€ only for shipping wherever you live on the planet! As usual you can send your payment with Paypal at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com  and send your order at the same email address. Bank transfers are also possible.
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One Disneyland Paris Collector Copy ( Including Shipping ) €100.00 EUR Two Disneyland Paris Collector Copies ( Including Shipping ) €185.00 EUR Three Disneyland Paris Collector Copies ( Including Shipping ) €270.00 EUR

Never seen the book before? No problem, you can discover ALL the book thanks to the video below!



Artwork: copyright Disney

WDW New Fantasyland Pete’s Silly Sideshow Artwork

Disney Parks has released a set of renderings for the new Pete’s Silly Sideshow at WDW New Fantasyland Storybook Circus. As they say on their blog "This new character greeting area has two entrances: One line leads to Minnie Magnifique (Minnie Mouse as a circus star) and Daisy Fortuna (Daisy Duck as a fortuneteller), while the other line leads to The Great Goofini (Goofy as a daredevil stunt pilot) and The Amazing Donaldo (Donald Duck as a snake charmer)".

So, basically, this Pete’s Silly Sideshow is a character location but the background decors look more fun than what they do for the Princesses meet and greet, so may be it will be fun. Note that not so long ago the renderings released by Disney Parks were in big size and good definition. Strangely, since a few days, all pictures and artworks are now released in small size and with a definition so low that they're not even sharp! As usual i tried to make them sharper and a little bit bigger too. Have a look at all this below!

















Artwork: copyright Disney

Why the Disneyland Paris Book is Great - Part One : The DLP That Never Was

As the Author of Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Reality, I had access to thousands of images and concept paintings from Imagineering. The book include 500 pictures of the park and 250 WDI renderings, all showing lands, rides, park shops and restaurants which WERE built at DLP, but what you may not know if you don't own the book yet is that it also include pictures of what WASN’T built but envisioned by DLP Imagineers, in two words the "Disneyland Paris that never was". In this article, I will tell you more about a less known angle of the book – and a very interesting one – the part of it which talks about the Disneyland Paris wasn’t built. And I think you’ll find that many of these ideas were really good and should have been built!

In the first image above – that you will find in the book’s first chapter – you’ll see a “winter” version concept showing the Fantasia Gardens, in front of the Disneyland Paris hotel located at the entrance of the park. Disneyland Paris imagineers have drawn a small frozen lake on which guests could have ice-skated.

On the next image below – done by Disney legend Collin Campbell – you’ll see Imagineer Eddie Sotto’s design of the 1920′s Main Street concept. In this version, Main Street would have had an elevated tramway and the train station would have looked just like the one in the movie “Hello Dolly!”. The Emporium was to be behind the elevated train station so exiting guests would be let out into the upper floor of the store and trickle down. The Gas Station was to be where the Firehouse is currently located. And the reason why a Service Station was put into the project was because in the 1920′s the transition from horse-drawn streetcar to automobile had already been made and the automobile had won.



A year after Michael Eisner had declined this 1920′s design, he said to Eddie Sotto that he should have done the 1920′s idea anyway because it would have been understood better in Europe. But, by then it was unfortunately too late…

The painting below was created by Nina Rae Vaughn. Behind The Town Square East block of buildings, Eddie had envisioned a private restaurant for the sponsors of the park. This idea was first pioneered with Club 33 at Disneyland and this one had a secret entrance underneath the railroad station that would lead to a hidden terminal, and in that terminal there would have been an American-style streamlined locomotive train complete with dining cars, inspired by the famous “20th Century Limited”. Imagineers thought this could be the most unique private restaurant in Europe.



Disneyland Paris’ Sleeping Beauty Castle is acclaimed as one – if not THE – most beautiful castle of all Disney Magic Kingdoms, but did you know that others concepts were also envisioned? In the first one below, a remarkable Herb Ryman painting on which you’ll also see the elevated tramway on the right. Herb had designed a DLP castle close to the original one at Disneyland…



…On this next rendering by Tim Delaney you’ll see a very different castle concept, a futuristic one!



Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is a great DLP Adventureland roller coaster ride with an Indy theme, but some of the scenes envisioned by WDI Imagineers were unfortunately cancelled, like the great one below in which the train would have entered a tunnel through the mouth of a giant stone head!



Talking about this Indy temple, another rendering that you will find in the book, reveals that DLP Imagineers had envisioned not one but TWO temples, with two different coaster tracks. Look closer at the artwork below and you’ll see the second temple in the back.



In Fantasyland, Alice’s Curious Labyrinth is a Disneyland Paris exclusive, and guests must find their way through the maze to reach the Queen of Hearts castle. In which they can climb to the upper floor and have a unique view of DLP Fantasyland. But, what was also envisioned was to have a slide for young kids to go back to the “ground floor”, and children would have exited the slide by going through the mouth of the Queen of Hearts! Actually, the slide – without the head of the Queen of Hearts – was built and was operational for a few months after opening before being permanently closed because children were hurting themselves at the bottom of the slide.



DLP Discoveryland as well had others concepts than the one currently built. On this next artwork, you’ll see a very different Tomorrowland entrance than the one which currently exists.



But, of all the Discoveryland concepts that never were, the most spectacular would have been Discovery Mountain, a unique new version of Space Mountain! On the first artwork below you’ll see a great Tim Delaney painting showing Discovery Mountain at night. The transparent tube on the left would have been a direct access tunnel from Videopolis. If you visit DLP, you can still see on the upper floor of Videopolis, giant circular windows which are the same ones through which the transparent tubes would have linked Videopolis to Discovery Mountain.



Inside Discovery Mountain, guests would have found not only a unique Space Mountain ride but also the Nautilus submarine floating in a lagoon with a restaurant inside Captain Nemo’s Grand Salon, access to Star Tours, former Cinemagique attractions and also a “Journey to the Center of the Earth” attraction. The Journey to the Center of the Earth attraction would have been totally different than the one built at Tokyo Disney Sea. In fact, it was the first free fall ride designed by WDI, before the Tower of Terror concept! All of Discovery Mountain would have been a giant tribute to Jules Verne.



So, you see, in addition to hundreds of gorgeous pictures of the park, as well as WDI artwork and a great text, telling all the story of the making of the park, the Disneyland Paris book has even more to offer than you might have thought. All the renderings you've seen above are of course include in the Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality book, and if you don't own the book yet, you now understand why it is such a great book, as it not only tells you the story of the making of what actually exist in the park but also shows never seen before concepts of the DLP "that never was".

And, good news, as until August 30 i do a special summer offer on the book which not only include a 20% discount on the regular price but, also, each one who will place an order will receive a special gift - and it's a great one! Below, you can see a video showing the whole book and to know more about the book and how to order and send your payment please go HERE , or send me an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com , or use the Paypal one-click purchase button below, right under the video!

Artwork: copyright Disney

What's Next for Hong Kong Disneyland ? All About Mystic Manor, Opening Spring 2013 !

After Grizzly Gulch, what's next for Hong Kong Disneyland? Mystic Point and the highly awaited Mystic Manor attraction will be the next to open at HKDL in 2013. How will it be? What is the storyline of the Mystic Manor ride? In this great article posted previously you will find all the answers with WDI original artwork, and the good news is that the ride will be almost identical as it was unveiled at D23 Expo three years ago.

That said, you may have heard some months ago rumors of major changes in the Mystic Manor ride, including that the trackless vehicle system was cancelled, but apparently it still will be part of the ride. If we except the "toonified" style for Henry and Albert, the ride two main characters, some of the figures have also changed their appearance, such as the Lava God in the Tribal Room which apparently had some changes to don't look too "human". But as i've said the ride system is still there and is now in place and all the works could be finished next fall. The opening date of the ride is still scheduled for spring 2013.

Soooo, Mystic Point will be the last of the three new lands to open at HKDL and when Mystic Manor will open it will be probably an "instant classic" attraction. Before i go further i want to warn you that there will be major spoilers all along the article. If you don't want to know anything about the storyline, this is definitely not the right article! Also, click on each pictures to see them in big and explore details.

In the story line that WDI Imagineers imagined, the Manor owner is an explorer called Lord Henry Mystic, a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. If you remember well, Harrison Hightower III, the owner of the Hightower building at Tokyo Disney Sea - i.e the Tower of Terror - was also part of the same society. At HKDL action is supposed to be in 1908 and Lord Mystic is still alive and exploring the world. He is inviting us to this remote outpost in the Jungle. Mystic has a friendly companion, a monkey called Albert.



In the first scene above Henry Mystic will appear and warn us that a new artifact - a box - that he just bring back from one of his expeditions is supposedly enchanted and must be open very carefully.

We will then enter the loading room and board in the attraction vehicles which, let's remember it, are not omnimovers like in the Haunted Mansion and will be able to move in any directions or even spin.



Albert the monkey is intrigued by the box and will try to open it. And when he does, just like the box of "Pandora", the forces inside the box will be unleashed. A mysterious smoke will get out of it and will start to take over the different rooms. All the artifacts that guests will see in all the rooms will suddenly and magically come to life.



Inside the next room - the Music room - music instruments will start to come to life. I won't be surprised if we find in this room some Haunted Mansion effects - remember the piano who play by itself in the doors corridor?



The Greco-Roman Mediterranean room will be the next one, and statues or paintings will suddenly be alive. Here too, Imagineers can use improved Haunted Mansion effects, and we should probably have audio-animatronics for the "live" statues.



In the next room, the "Nordic Chamber" , expect a cold temperature when the Vikings will come alive!



Scene seven, "The Armory", should be more frightening with suits of armors coming alive - hi again to another Haunted Mansion effect - arms trying to chop towards us and even canons will blast at us, allowing the Imagineers to take advantage of the spin motion of the ride vehicle that will spin away like if we've been hit for real. When i look at the blast effect in the rendering it reminds me the "ring of smoke" effect used in the Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull attraction at Tokyo Disney Sea, and i won't be surprised if they use the same effect for the canon blast.



Egyptian Mummy lovers should be delight with the next room - the Egyptian room - where we can expect mummies coming alive and interesting special effects on the Egyptians bas-reliefs.



The next scene is called "The Tribal Room" and there is two renderings for it. The first one below is not only a dramatic scene with the "lava" statue but is also interesting on other points. If you look at the left of the artwork you will see a Tiki room tribute with not only Tikis masks but also a Tiki drummer , exactly the same one that we can see in the Disneyland beloved attraction. If you look at the right part of the artwork you'll see other tribal masks who obviously are throwing darts. i bet you that Imagineers will use the same effect used in Indiana Jones Adventure when you go through the "dart" room, just before the scene with the huge rolling ball.



The second rendering seems to confirm what i've just said - but Albert the monkey have more difficulties to escape the darts and arrows...



In scene 10 - the Chinese room - a monkey king statue which stands in its center will come alive and create a turbulent vortex, like a tornado. Four vehicles will join together and, due to the tornado wind effect, will begin to spin in an amazing choreography. At this point Albert the monkey understand that if he doesn't stop all this hell he will be in trouble forever...



In the final scene Albert will try desperately to close the enchanted box. Of course, at the last second he will succeed and bring everything back down to normal. Right after that, Lord Henry Mystic will pop up and say "Hi everybody, i hope you enjoyed your trip, i'm sure there was no problem with any of the artifacts and that everything is fine. Please come back and visit again when you're in the neighborhood!".



Looks like an instant classic attraction, doesn't it? Personally, i can't wait for its opening which unfortunately seems to be schedule for 2013.



Let's have a look at other Mystic Manor artwork and model pictures beginning by the ride vehicle design researchs.









































Let's end with two more pictures with the "big" model of Mystic Manor.





The story line of the attraction as described above is coming from an Imagineer video interview that you can see on Youtube HERE. The technical aspects are my own speculations.

For those of you who love WDI artwork i remind you that the Disneyland Paris "From Sketch to Reality book" which will tell you all about the creation of DLP include 250 WDI Artwork (!) and 500 pictures of the park on 320 pages. Have a look at the video below which will show you the whole book!

The book is still available either in its english or french edition and you can still enjoy a 20% discount special offer and the book is now available with an immediate shipping! Reviews from all those who have already received the book are "over the top" so, place your order now for a gorgeous collector's edition copy while the special offer on this wonderful book is still available! To know more about the book and how to order and send your payment please go HERE or use the Paypal one-click purchase button below.

Pictures: copyright Andy Castro

All artwork: copyright Disney - Disney Enterprises.