DisneySea (California)

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DisneySea

Location	Port Disney, Long Beach, California, U.S.A.
Coordinates	33°44′48″N 118°11′06″W / 33.74667°N 118.18500°W / 33.74667; -118.18500Coordinates: 33°44′48″N 118°11′06″W / 33.74667°N 118.18500°W / 33.74667; -118.18500
Theme	Nautical
Owner	Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Status	Canceled

DisneySea

DisneySea was proposed for new fill on Queensway Bay at the mouth of the Los Angeles River.

DisneySea was a proposed amusement park designed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. It was planned to open as part of Port Disney, a proposed resort complex in Long Beach, California.^[1]

Plans for DisneySea were unveiled on July 31, 1990.^[1][2][3] Disney distributed a pamphlet detailing plans for the park to locals in September 1991, with a goal of educating attendees "...to gain firsthand experience of how the oceans affect human life as well as the life of the planet".^[4]

Plans for DisneySea ceased in December 1991,^[5] and the WestCOT plan was pursued on the site of the former Disneyland parking lot, now known as Disney California Adventure. Some of the concepts proposed for DisneySea were used for Tokyo DisneySea, which opened in 2001.

Oceana[]

A two-story aquarium, called Oceana, was intended to be the park's centre piece.^[1] Its purpose was educational, allowing guests to experience recreations of marine habitats through interactive displays.^[1]

Future Research Center[]

This centre was planned to feature interactive exhibits and a working laboratory within Oceana. Guests would be able to visit a functioning sea laboratory and observe the scientists at work.^[1] This was described as being similar to The Living Seas pavilion and The Land pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot.^[1] It was advertised in the park's Preliminary Master Plan (1990) as being created for educational purposes as guests would have an interactive learning experience.

Other educational facilities[]

The park also planned to offer other educational facilities:^[1]

Interactive Programs for Students of all Ages
A variety of full and half-day programs was designed for educational reasons. Field trips for the Los Angeles and Orange County area schools were proposed to assist teachers in educating their students on oceans. Ocean Outreach Center
Similar to the Teacher's Center in Walt Disney World's Epcot Center, an Ocean Outreach Center was aimed to inform visitors about the ocean. The Outreach Center planned to offer computer terminals, reading rooms and research files.

Other attractions[]

The park planned to include other attractions and aquatic-themed "lands". The Preliminary Master Plan (1990) provides insight into some of these attractions.

Mysterious Island[]

Mysterious Island was one of the themed lands, built around the idea of the lost City of Atlantis. It would have featured a Pirate Island and Nemo's Lava Cruiser attractions and rides. A revised version of Mysterious Island, including the planned volcano, was eventually built at Tokyo DisneySea.

Heroes' Harbor[]

Heroes' Harbor (later renamed to Hero's Harbor) was planned to explore the stories behind legendary and mythical adventurers such as Sinbad and Ulysses. The entrance was a going to be through Aqua-labyrinth, a maze whose walls were made of water.

Boardwalk and Fleets of Fantasy[]

A boardwalk would recreate a past Long Beach, reminiscent of The Pike. This would be built adjacent to Fleets of Fantasy, a harbour featuring rides and dining onboard historical replica ships. Elements of both were later incorporated as the American Waterfront land at Tokyo DisneySea, including the SS Columbia moored in the American Waterfront's New York Harbor, similar to how RMS Queen Mary would have been relocated as a focal element of DisneySea. Paradise Pier at Disney California Adventure also includes representative California beach/boardwalk amusement rides.

Venture Reefs[]

Other planned themed environments featured cultures with strong ties to the water and a shark-diving experience. At the time, these attractions did not have a name, but they were later collectively named Venture Reefs in the 1991 Port Disney News. These themed environments included a Grecian village, an Asian water market, a Caribbean lagoon. Shark Reef, an attraction at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon at Walt Disney World, also featured snorkeling and shark interactions at saltwater reefs.

Port Disney News (1991) updates[]

At the time of the publication of the Port Disney News (1991), Walt Disney Imagineering still had not finalized the list of green lighted lands. The updated descriptions for Venture Reefs (with no mention of the shark-diving experience), Fleets of Fantasy, Mysterious Island and Hero's Harbor were:

While plans for DisneySea are still evolving, Walt Disney Imagineering is planning attractions for visitors to enjoy the spirit of the sea with fun as the common denominator. For example, on the exotic beaches of Venture Reefs, guests will enjoy scenic beach vistas from the Caribbean, Polynesian, and the Pacific. They'll be entertained and invited to dine, shop, and take a dip in the ocean, where they'll find sunken ships and marine life "under the sea."

Fleets of Fantasy, adventurous attractions themed to storybook seafaring, would recapture the spirit and whimsy of turn-of-the-century amusement park rides. Mysterious Island and Hero's Harbor would feature "high seas" thrill rides incorporating thousands of years of mythic folklore relating to the ocean.

At the rim of the American continent and the Pacific Ocean, DisneySea will offer a unique entertainment experience — and a site of magic and wonder.

References[]

External links[]

• Younger, Cole (2008). "DisneySea". The Neverland Files. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
• Hill, Jim (3 February 2005). "A watered down version of "Why For" (blog)". Jim Hill Media. Archived from the original on 30 November 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
• Hill, Jim (7 February 2005). "What there would have been to see at Long Beach's DisneySea theme park (blog)". Jim Hill Media. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
• Crawford, Michael (29 April 2009). "Neverworlds Bicentennial Special — Port Disney (blog)". Progress City, U.S.A. Archived from the original on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
• Crawford, Michael (2015). "32: Port Disney". The Progress City Primer: Stories, Secrets, and Silliness from the Many Worlds of Walt Disney. Orlando, Florida: Progress City Press. pp. 267–284. ISBN 978-0-9862050-6-4. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
• Gennawey, Sam (9 May 2013). "SAMLAND: The Port Disney Story (blog)". MiceChat. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
• Gennawey, Sam (2013). "8: New Ideas: 1985–1996". The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream. The Unofficial Guides. ISBN 978-1-62809-012-3. Retrieved 15 September 2016.