Top 5 Disney World Attractions that Were Never Built

There were numerous rides and shows of Disney parks that never left the drawing board. Some of them were fully designed with funding but not built, while others never made it past the concept-art stages of development.  


Here are 5 I wish Disney had seen through to completion for WDW: 

Original AK logo featured a dragon!

Beastly Kingdom - The original design for AK included a section called the Beastly Kingdom. It was a land devoted to creatures of legend and mythology, with an Evil side (featuring a dragon roller coaster) and a Good side (with unicorns etc). Due to budget constraints, Beastly Kingdom never came to fruition and the Camp Minnie-Mickey was built instead (so LAME!).  Give the Mt. Everest Yeti some mythological buddies to hang out with! 

Postcard for the never-built Venetian Resort

Disney's Venetian Resort (Deluxe) - The original resort opening was scheduled for Oct 1971. The Venetian would have been located between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Disney's Contemporary Resort near the water bridge. It was scrapped early on, replaced by plans for a Mediterranean Resort, which was also never built.  
Too bad! I love Venice and The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas is one of my favorites. You can never have enough wine, pasta and shopping. I like the idea of Goofy navigating a gondola around the Seven Seas Lagoon, too. 

Concept art for the Epcot Arab Pavilion

Arab Pavilion: Originally planned to be the largest Epcot Pavilion, the Arab Pavilion would feature a huge bazaar shopping area, animated boat ride and recreation of Persepolis. It reached the final stages of funding and approval until the Shah of Iran was overthrown and all financial support for the project was lost. 

Concept art for the Switzerland Pavilion - so cool!

Switzerland Pavilion: A Pavilion planned for Epcot's World Showcase. It would have brought a Matterhorn-bobsled type ride to Epcot. That would have been so awesome and such a difference to the Epcot landscape with the addition of a mountain! 

Concept art for the Mt. Fuji Roller Coaster for Japan

Japan Pavilion Roller Coaster: There were plans thrown around for a Mt. Fuji Coaster, Simulated Bullet Train Ride, and even a Godzilla themed attraction for the Japan Pavilion.  I love the Japan Pavilion, but also I really love roller coasters and thrill rides! The story is that Fuji Film was actually prepared to fully fund a mountain-coaster for Japan's Pavilion, but this sponsorship would have directly conflicted with Disney's contract with Kodak, so bureaucracy beat out artistic integrity and the plan was indefinitely shelved.


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"You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." - Walt Disney