WestCOT
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WestCOT was a planned theme park that was to have been built by The Walt Disney Company in Anaheim, California, United States. The park was intended to be a west coast version of EPCOT Center, a park devoted to international science and knowledge at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and was to have been built adjacent to Disneyland, on the site of the latter's original parking lot.
Disney announced the WestCOT project in 1991 as the centerpiece of a project to replicate Walt Disney World's multi-park, multi-hotel business model in Anaheim. However, due to financial constraints, Disney canceled the project in 1993. In 2001, as part of the Disneyland Resort project, they built Disney's California Adventure on the planned site.
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[edit] History
In 1991, Disney announced that it would build WestCOT on the site of Disneyland's parking lot.[1] WestCOT was to be themed around a utopian vision of the future, similar to EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort, and was to contain resort hotels within the park, which would have been a first for a Disney theme park.
Several issues arose that hindered the project and ultimately led to its cancellation. The project required a significant land acquisition; however, residential areas built around Disneyland over the years caused land prices to skyrocket, and even if Disney had the financial power to buy the land required, it would have had to relocate thousands of residents. Other issues included residents' claims that the light pollution from the park was too much to bear at night, and that the replica of Spaceship Earth shown in the concept drawings would have become an eyesore.
With estimates hovering close to $3 billion, and the company's significant financial problems with the recently-opened Disneyland Resort Paris, Disney scrapped the project in 1995.[1] CEO Michael Eisner held a three-day executive retreat in Aspen, Colorado to come up with a new idea, and from that meeting of about 30 executives came the idea for a California-themed park.[1] That project became Disney's California Adventure, which opened in 2001 on the property that WestCOT was to occupy. While Disney's California Adventure initially cost $650 million to build, problems with attendance and interest led Disney to spend an additional $1.1 billion to overhaul the park from 2007–2012, in addition to $100 million already spent on changes since its initial opening.[1]
The idea of building a resort hotel within a theme park was later implemented with the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, which opened in 2001.
[edit] Features
A shuttle system was planned to transport guests from the parking lot to the center of WestCOT, which would have been dubbed the "Center Court."
In Future World, a replica of Spaceship Earth from the Walt Disney World Resort would have been built at WestCOT, although it would have been known as SpaceStation Earth instead. However, when Anaheim residents said they'd see the giant structure from "their backyard", (with SpaceStation Earth planned to be 300 feet tall instead of Spaceship Earth's 180 feet), plans were made instead for a giant white spire to be at the center of Future World.
An attraction similar to Adventure Thru Inner Space would have been cloned to WestCOT, but it would have been known as Cosmic Journeys, and not only would it have "shrunk" guests to see what being inside an atom is like, the ride would have also "grown" guests to see the entire universe, in a way reminiscent of the landmark film Powers of Ten. Improved clones of Epcot attractions were also planned for Future World, including: Horizons, Journey Into Imagination, The Living Seas, Wonders of Life, and The Land.
World Showcase would have been cloned to WestCOT as well, but countries would have been grouped by regions, not individual nations. The first pavilion that guests would see upon entering WestCOT’S World Showcase would be the Americas Pavilion, with an area representing early 20th century USA at the park's entrance. In this way the theming of Walt’s original Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland would be continued, as the two parks’ gateways would have been facing each other across a central plaza. The American Adventure that guests to Epcot were acquainted with would be here also, albeit in an updated form. The Americas Corner would continue with a Native American Spirit Lodge show in the Canadian section, and an indoor Mexican area which would have included a fiesta show and restaurant. Another spirit show, this time featuring the Inca and Aztec cultures, would round out the Americas section.
One of the centerpiece attractions would have been called World Cruise, which was intended to be a boat cruise around WestCOT's planned version of Epcot's World Showcase. Audio animatronics scenes depicting many of the events shown at Epcot, like Leonardo da Vinci working on the Mona Lisa, the burning of Rome, Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel etc. would be seen on the ride and the stories begun by them would be continued in the shows. After the show finished the idea was that guests could either get on the next boat to continue The World cruise, or leave the show area to explore the rest of the World Showcase on foot.
A clone of the attraction The Timekeeper was planned to be built in the European section.
In Asia Ride the Dragon, a steel rollercoaster running through the Dragon’s Teeth Mountains that would have had cars designed like the Chinese lion-dragons seen in festival dances. At the point where the coaster would be at its highest, therefore enabling riders to see out of the park, the moving cars would be engulfed in billowing red and gold silks to hide the outside world. For smaller children there would be a carousel in this area, but instead of the more usual horses, the riders would be seated on mythical Asian animals. Architecturally the Asian Corner of the World would be composed of Japanese and Chinese elements – of course the famous Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall of China would be here - and a white marble Indian palace which was to house the dining and entertainment sections of this particular Corner of the World.
The Africa Corner would feature a white water river raft ride down the fictional Congobezi River, as well as an exhibit on basic farming culture. And of course there would be outdoors entertainment in the form of African drummers. There were also designs to build a grand Egyptian Palace. This latter was planned for the park’s first expansion.
There would have been a new hotel inspired by the Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Walt Disney World according to the concept picture.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Merissa Marr, Disney's $1 Billion Adventure (Page B1), The Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2007.
