Collector’s Edition Giveaway Part 2
During my conversation with Warren Spector, creator of the new Wii video game Disney Epic Mickey, he mentioned the theme park attractions featured in the alternative world of Wasteland were mostly from Disneyland prior to 1967. Now Walt Disney World will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2011, and many attractions have come and gone since its opening in 1971. Therefore, if there is an alternative world of Wasteland for Disneyland, then there certainly should also be a Wasteland “Florida Project” for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his pals. Just for fun, let’s imagine there is a Wasteland “Florida Project” and begin to speculate on the attractions it might contain. With this post, the DIS Unplugged will give away 3 copies of the Disney Epic Mickey Collector’s Edition (all prizes provided by Disney Interactive Studios). Continue after the break to find out how to enter.
Image: Page from Disney Epic Mickey graphic novel courtesy of Disney Digicomics
Warren Spector mentioned one of the “lost attractions” currently found in Wasteland includes the Nautilus from the original Submarine Voyage at Disneyland. I loved the Submarine Voyage, and remember being transported to an undersea world when I rode it as a 6th grader in 1980. I knew I could peer out the porthole, look up, and see the top of the water, but I didn’t want to spoil the “magic.” I forced myself to look down, and totally immerse myself in this world of fish and giant clams. There was also a version of Submarine Voyage at Walt Disney World as Captain Nemo’s Nautilus prowled the Fantasyland lagoon in the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction. I remember squeezing into one of these Jules Verne-esque submarines when traveling to the Magic Kingdom on a high school band trip in 1984, but, alas, the Nautilus now resides in the Wasteland: “Florida Project.”
Many other attractions have been replaced in all four Disney theme parks over the past 40 years including (in no particular order): the Skyway, Timekeeper, Plaza Swan Boats, Horizons, Discovery River Boats, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Play It! Many of these attractions were ones I never experienced, and are now a part of the Wasteland: “Florida Project.” There are also parades and shows no longer at Walt Disney World that now entertain Oswald the Lucky Rabbit when he vacations in Bizarro Florida.
Image: Tapestry of Dreams Parade final float
Epcot had an evening parade called “Tapestry of Dreams” that we saw when we took our daughters to Walt Disney World for the first time in 2002. Part of the show contained large puppets (similar to the Lion King Broadway show) that interacted with parade watchers, and our daughters were enthralled by the sight. Tapestry of Dreams also had a cool interactive element. Throughout the day children worked on craft projects related to their hopes and dreams. In the evening, when the parade went by, children tossed their “dreams” into the nets of the DreamSeekers to ensure they came true.
Image: Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade
We also enjoyed the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade at Disney-MGM Studios (as it was then called). This was a whimsical motorcade of stylized automobiles that included a Star Wars Landspeeder car, Andy’s bed from Toy Story, and many other fun car floats. I can definitely imagine a steampunk version of Stars and Motor Cars entertaining Oswald and the other characters in our Wasteland: “Florida Project.”
So here’s where you come in, we need some more “blue sky” development of our East Coast Wasteland. To win one of the 3 copies of Disney Epic Mickey Collector’s Edition you need to leave a comment at the bottom of this article. This time, we want you to reminsce about the closed Walt Disney World attractions that are now in Florida’s Vacation Wasteland Kingdom. Log in with your DISboards username and password, leave a comment on this article, and share some of your memories of favorite long gone attractions. Now if only we could *poof* send Stitch’s Great Escape! to Wasteland and bring The Timekeeper back to the Magic Kingdom. Bye, bye, Stitch… Bye, bye, chili dog burps… Hello Timekeeper… Hello 9-Eye.
Again, you need to leave a comment at the bottom of this article. Comments in other places such as Facebook or Twitter will not be official contest entries. Comments will close on Monday, Dec. 6th. Keep following the blog, there will be one more chance to win a copy of the Disney Epic Mickey Collector’s Edition plus a special Grand Prize. Good luck to everyone who enters.
Comments
227 responses to “Disney Epic Mickey: Wasteland “Florida Project””
I would like to see the original Tiki Room back. My husband was waxing nostalgic for Mr.Toad on our last trip. Those are our Christmas wishes, along with Epic Mickey under the tree 😉
We just started visiting WDW so we do not miss a specific attraction yet but I can say that if they took away the stitch ride we would not be upset at all.
We were going to buy this game for our son for Christmas. Will wait to
see if we win first. We went to WDW last year on a make-a-wish trip. That
was his wish even though he had been there 5 times before and he put
another trip on his Christmas list for Santa for this Christmas. I think
we are going to have to take him there in May. Oh well, a parent’s gotta
do what a parent’s gotta do:) My wife and I have been going to Disneyland
since the 60’s when we were kids and lived out there.
I miss the “If you had wings” ride that is now Buzz Lightyear and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride oh and the original Figment ride 🙂
Picture this: Mickey starts by coming across the wreckage of something that looks like it crashed, but Mickey doesn’t recognize what it is, and suddenly you hear movement…he moves along the side of it and suddenly he sees a tail in the air, but only a shadow…it looks like a dragon! Then Mickey comes a bit closer, very carefully and sees horns…he stops, and hears a voice, it sounds like a friendly voice, suddenly a light falls from the ship and he sees the face of…Figment. He tells you he’s trying to find his creator, but hasn’t been able to find him. They were flying along in their Dreamcatcher airship and suddenly they saw blackness and he ended up in this wasteland. Mickey decides to help him and they start on a quest to go through the depths of a scary imagination and try to use the magical paintbrush to make things better and eventually, to use the power of both of their imaginations to bring back Dreamfinder! Figment has to explain to Mickey all about why the Dreamfinder was important to him and also describe him, in a loving way similar to how Dreamfinder first described Figment himself when was first created, “Not short and stocky, but tall and jolly, beard made of red, with a fancy hat on his head, although he’s dressed up pristine, he could warm your heart with a smile that gleams.” They continue the quest going through all of the interweaved thoughts of the imagination of the residents of the wasteland trying to find that one little spark that they could see was the Dreamfinder’s plea.
I actually miss the Mickey Mouse Revue. I liked seeing all of the audio-animatronic characters at the end and hearing them sing their particular song. It’s sad to think of them just stored away in a warehouse…Also missed is the original Tiki Room, Diamond Horseshoe Revue, and If You Had Wings!
I miss the old Pirates of the Caribbean. Also, to go with someone else’s idea of things that never came to be: The Little Mermaid ride they talk about on the special edition DVD.
I miss The Timekeeper. It was there the first time I went to Disney. When I went back this year it was gone. 🙁
While my first visit was 2005, I don’t have any memories of many of the attractions that would be a part of the “wasteland” but unfortunately now I will. We go back Fall 2011 and I am afraid Mickey and Minnie’s homes will be gone by then.
When I was little (about 6!) I remember some cable cars running from fantasy land. its such a shame they have gone that would be a fab way to see lots of the park high up.
The pictures made me miss some of the old WDW attractions; I’m 26 and have been fortunate enough to go at least 20 times. The ride I miss the most though is definitely the old Figment ride – they RUINED that one!! DH never went as a child but has been three times with me now and I talk about how great it was every time we pass the building. It makes me sad DH won’t get to experience it!!
I miss the old World Of Motion and Horizons. Test Track and Mission Space aren’t as good anywhere in my opinion
I was also a huge fan of the Skyway. I didn’t realize that it was gone until I went back in 2009 with my own children. While a lot of memories from my trips with my parents are muddled, I can distinctly remember being on the Skyway. I also feel badly that my family didn’t really explore Mickey’s Toon Town Fair a little more now that it is on it’s way to the Wasteland: “Florida Project.”
Oh… and how could I forget to mention the original “Journey Into Imagination” with the Dreamfinder! I agree with you heatherbelle614!
I miss the Kitchen Kaberet! My entire family had a love/hate relationship with it, but I can’t visit The Land without remembering how we would have our butter pecan ice cream, and then sit through the show. I could see Epic Mickey taking Kitchen Kaberet to the dark side. (-;
The wasteland to end all wastelands…River Country!!!! I remember going there on my first trip to Disney in 1978. I was 5 years old. Also, my most favorite ride ever, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. That was the best ride and while I do love Pooh, it just isn’t the same.
I didn’t get to WDW for my first trip until 2008. However, I would have loved to ride the Skyway – being able to see the Magic Kingdom from the air would be grand!
My first trip to WDW was in 1983 but I don’t remember much about rides that are now gone. Next trip wasn’t until 1998. I do miss Kitchen Kabaret. I remember that one from 1983. Thought it was cute. Also I miss the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. It was pretty scary! Also, when I go do Disneyland I miss the Carousel of Progress but then I can see it at MK at least. I do miss the Tapestry of Nations parade. Loved it! While I don’t miss the Skyway at WDW (I don’t think I ever rode it there) I do miss it at Disneyland.
We have the game for the kids for Christmas. I’m so looking forward to December 26th. No work, just playing.
As stated above, 20,000 Leagues MUST be in the “Florida Project”. This ride is my earliest memory of WDW way back in 1977.
WOW!! A wasteland project how interesting.
**E Tickets**
*The Original Enchanted Tiki Room, so much better than the one now “Under New Management My 27 yr old was 5 when he first went and we can still sing the original song “In the TIki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room”.
*River Country. My family and I enjoyed this tremendously since we almost always stay at the campground. I wrote to Disney and asked why it was closed a long time ago. They said that Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach were larger and more suited to WDW’s needs and people like it better. HAH!
*Timekeeper
*Who wants to be a Millionaire Play it! I was the next one to go in the hot seat but time ran out.
*Swan Boat Rides, they were beautiful
*The original King Stefan’s restaurant in the castle now Cinderella’s table
*20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
*Kitchen Kabaret
*The Wonders of Life Pavillion. Loved this, Body Wars and all the other things to do here.
*Mr. Toads Wild Ride, but if you look down when your honey pot first enters the ride you will see Mr. Toad handing the property deed to Owl
*Legend of the Lion King Puppet show.
*The Original Journey into Imagination
*The Original Living Seas, now just too much little kid stuff instead of the interesting science and ride that it was combined.
*Mickey’s Philharmonic with the Audio-Animatronic figures
*If You had Wings
*World of Motion
*Mission to Mars, then changed to Alien Encounters and now Stitch
*Horizons
*Honey I shrunk the Audience, the rats tails under the seat did me in.
*Discovery Island my son did a day encounter there at age 10
*The Main Street Movie and Penny Arcade
*Pleasure Island and the Adventurers Club with the up and down bar stools
*Motors Cars Parade
So many things have passed on.
I really loved the original Journey into Imagination with Dreamfinder and Figment. Maybe one day, they’ll fix this ride!
I miss 20,000 Leagues also! It was the first attraction I remember doing as a child on my first visit to WDW. I was amazed that we were on a submarine. Like others have said, I thought we were so deep never realizing we were right under the surface. It was so real to me. I was amazed and loved WDW from that moment forward.
Ok, I have thought about it and the one thing that instantly popped into my mind was Ice Station Cool. Don’t get me wrong, I like Cub Cool, but it is not as “cool” as the original concept. I loved walking through the chilly tunnel past the ice and snow to find a tasty beverage waiting for me at the end. Today’s incarnation has lost the theme and uniqueness that made it a truly “Cool” place to stop!!! Yeah, all the delicious beverages are there for sampling, but now it is just a stop rather than the experience as it once was.
I miss Horizons! I think it was one of the best rides ever produced at WDW, and I feel it’s a real shame that it’s gone. “Going through” the DNA strand projected on the omnimax screen always left me dizzy, but in a really good way. And then there was that orange smell as you passed by Mesa Verde’s orange grove. I know Soarin’ does it now, but Horizons did it first, leading the way in immersive storytelling through rides, and adding another stand-out element to an excellent production. The music was memorable, the story cohesive and interesting (and didn’t need to feature a current popular character to draw a crowd), and who doesn’t love a ride that allows you to choose your own ending? Plus, this is one of the few rides that was so beloved, there are still little nods to it in current attractions. Check out Mission Space to find a hidden Horizons symbol, or ride on the moving walkway at the end of Space Mountain, where a suitcase is heading to the aformentioned Mesa Verde. Sink hole or no sink hole, Horizons is one ride they absolutely should have kept.
That, and they should totally bring back the Wonders of Life pavillion and all the attractions within.
And Dreamfinder. Somebody find Dreamfinder.
River Country and Alien Encounters. River Country brings back memories of my first visit as a kid and Alien Encounters brings back the first memories for my first adult visit. After my first visit as husband and father I know have new “first” memories that include Buzz Light Year Ranger Spin and lots of Princesses!
I wish I could have experienced TimeKeepers before it was removed. I have heard so many great things about it, I am surprised it was taken out.
Can’t wait to get this game!
Call me crazy, but I miss the World of Motion. Actually, Horizons too. And the whole section over by Body Wars. Gee, what happened to Epcot?
I remember being 13, my first trip to Walt Disney World. I ‘braved’ 20,000 Leagues. I was very nervous about ‘going under water’, but was glad I did. I wish my kids could have experienced this ride, I KNOW all of them would have loved it as much as I did.
So many to choose from! Let’s see; I’m thinking I’d need to do at least a 2 day trip to see them all. In the MK I especially want to ride Mr. Toad and 20,000 Leagues again, and see the Tiki room without the screaming “new management”. Lunch at the Diamond Horseshoe because when DD was 9 we took her there and her dad got picked to be part of the show. Priceless memory, that one. Head over to River Country to swim in the afternoon. Dinner at Papeete Bay or maybe even the Top of the World, then definitely over to the Adventurers Club for a nightcap. The next day would be for Epcot. I’d spend an awful lot of time in the Pavillion Whose Name May Not Be Spoken. I always especially liked Cranium Command! Maybe a quick bite for lunch in the earlier version of Sunshine Seasons. Original version of Spaceship Earth. World of Motion. Even the original version of Universe of Energy. Clamshell ride through the aquarium at The Living Seas where you could actually see the real fish, not just ride through a Nemo cartoon. Dreamfinder & Figment. And in the middle of the afternoon, go up to the Rose & Crown: when we were at WDW in 1991, the Rose & Crown offered a true sit-down English Tea. The restaurant closed for several hours between lunch & dinner, and served one seating of high tea that was truely a hidden gem.
I am thinking a Captain EO would be awesome. They could make it one of the battle scenes as well. It would really tie in with the “old school” WDW, the fact it was brought back for a limited time and just be a fun time with the epic mickey paint concept really fitting into the EO story line!!
I wish there was something else at Stitch’s Great Escape. I never understood the draw for the Adventurers Club either.
I do miss Horizons. It was the best attraction in Epcot. The World of Motion was also a good ride. Test Track is so one dimensional. Go fast for about a minute. Yawn.
Hopefully the Imagineers will create something new that will bring back what we love about the parks: Something fun for the whole family.
I would love a 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea level against the squid. A battle between those two would be epic!
I miss If you had wings in at MK…sponsored by Eastern Airlines…”the wings of man”!
I miss the Skyway, 20,000 Leagues, and the Swan Boats.
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I miss the Adventurer’s Club, time keeper, and alien emcounter.
Disney Epic Mickey: Wasteland “Florida Project”
My son & husband both asked for the Epic Mickey game for Christmas but I don’t know if the whole family can wait that long!
What about a completly forgotten “land” at WDW? I think of it as their first expirement into running a zoo of sorts.
Discovery Island! 11 acres of lush tropical plants and vegeteation. Its been long forgotten and has been abandoned since 1999 when all the animals were transferred to their more permanent home in Animal Kingdom. The Imagineers kept the name of Discovery Island when these creatures were incorperated.
In its first 6 years of operation it was known as Treasure Island. It used to have the sailing ship beached on it the,”Hispaniola”. I wonder if its still there?
I think this would be an awesome forgotten realm for an East coast version of the game! Think of all the possibilities and secrets 11 acres of trails, buildings, and even a sailing ship could hold!
I would say the food rocks I miss, Horizon was nice also when it was around
How about a cross between the skyway and ToT? I know that ToT is outside the parameters of the game, but just think — a skyway ride that suddenly drops 13 stories!
Sounds like a fun game. I think my 11yo dd would like it.
I miss the Lights of Winter at Epcot at Christmas….such a shame that they’ve been removed and no attempt at replacement.
Definitely the Tapestry of Dreams Parade. I only got to see it once and it was when I was very young but it was great!
Wow, lots of comments…lol I wonder why 🙂 Can’t wait to check this game out, hopefully I get it for xmas.
I miss the original Journey into Imagination with Dreamfinder. I miss Horizons, I would always rush to push the button at the end before anyone else in my car when I was a kid. I miss Body Wars.
I have only been going since 2005 so I missed a lot of the attractions that you all know. One thing that has left that our family really misses is Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade at Disney-MGM Studios. My grandsons just loved it. I really enjoyed the antics of the characters while waiting for the parade to begin.
Personally I favor Mr Toad’s wild ride for the Wasteland “Florida Project”. I Know it’s still around at some of the other Disney park locations but there is just something about Mr. Toad that SCREAMS Epic Mickey! Mr. Toad and his journeys exemplify chaos with no real resolution in the end other than a sputtering Dragon and an exit to the ride. Mickey is brave enough to not play by the rules…. let’s see how he teams up with Mr. Toad!
~ Marlton Mom