NOW AVAILABLE HERE.
These t-shirts and others are now available for purchase on Teepublic. Tell your friends!

Now let's use a.i. to generate some Fantasyland images. These fake Fantasyland environments are generated from one text prompt after another until they are just right.

Related post:
Welcome to our Tropical A.I. Hideaways

Welcome to our tropical a.i.-generated hideaways, you lucky people, you. The latest in almost-impossible-to-believe tech tools we can use for environment design is artificial intelligence-generated art. Here we have several Adventureland-inspired environments that never were. Thanks to the generative artificial intelligence program called Midjourney, we present these never-before-seen images.

Tropical Dining Environments 

Click or tap on each image below for full effect. 

Tropical Resort Environments

As mentioned above, these images have never been seen before. They were uniquely generated by Midjourney's software which follows various text prompts typed into the software by me. For example, a prompt might include, "photorealistic 1970s polynesian hotel lobby with tropical plants, tiki decor, and waterfalls" or "photorealistic tiki restaurant, props hanging from ceiling, 1960s". The software responds within seconds with four images that match the description.

Users can modify and resubmit searches if results aren't quite right. Other parameters can be entered and eventually you have some very nice imagery. For panoramic images, I used the "pan" featured in Midjourney, which allows images to get wider or taller, little by little, as commands are repeated and/or modified.

Does a.i. art combine multiple photos into one? No. It learns from millions of images on the web and builds images accordingly. Does it steal from photographers and illustrators? No, it does learn from their work, however. Is a.i. art technology good for photography, art, illustration, and other industries? That has been widely debated in recent months. No comments about that from us right now.

Tropical, Exotic Hideaways

As for the subject matter in this post, I went for mid-century exotic themed environments once common not only at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but throughout post-war America. The Walt Disney Company once mastered these themed environments with offerings such as Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, The World-Famous Jungle Cruise, the Polynesian Village Resort, Tahitian Terrace, and more recently, Trader Sam's tiki bars.

You can't ride Splash Mountain anymore and you definitely can't ride America Sings anymore, but you can enjoy your favorite critter band in the form of this high-quality sticker! And what a great gift for any true Disneyland or Walt Disney World fan.

Get this first 5-pack of stickers while they last! Also, the second set is now available.

Autopia

PeopleMover

Submarine Voyage

What if the Submarine Voyage narrative had a compete re-write and the attraction had a total thematic overhaul? One where instead of "Finding Nemo," we take a journey through "liquid  space" to Sea Castle Resort of EPCOT Center's Horizons fame? The attraction would take  guests on an adventure that explores the possibilities and realities of living and working underwater. Elements of the original Horizons would be augmented with the latest technologies and thinking about the habitation and lifestyle of underwater cities. The submarine ride vehicles themselves would also receive an extensive update to reflect the Sea Castle Resort design aesthetic.

Motor Boat Cruise

Wouldn't it be fun if a small waterway flowed through areas of Tomorrowland that allowed for a modern re-interpretation of the Motor Boat Cruise attraction? The boats would use the latest ride technology, could hold 4-6 passengers, and could be both self-driving and autonomous. The "Tomorrowland River" could weave through the revamped Autopia and PeopleMover tracks and could also go into some interesting show buildings of its own showing off the city of the future.

Monorail

Disneyland's original "highway in the sky" could receive a new station and track layout inside Tomorrowland that could bring it more front and center–showing off not only its continued transportation potential, but also its iconic status as a classic Disneyland attraction. What if there was a central transportation hub in the middle of Tomorrowland where both the PeopleMover and Monorail had stations? What if the Monorail went through its own share of tunnels and buildings, too? Or what if there was also an inverted-style Monorail, where the ride vehicles were smaller and suspended from the top?

Tomorrowland?

Related posts:

FUTURE MATTERS - Circle-Vision 360°
Tomorrowland '67 [Part 1]
A Look at the Progress City Model- Then and Now
Tiny Submarine Voyage + PeopleMover Model
THEN AND NOW: MK Tomorrowland [Part 1]

This new column will discuss attractions that were located in Tomorrowland in Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom park in Florida. It will also cover attractions that are or were located in the Future World section of Epcot park in Florida. It is written with the belief that the futuristic and optimistic ideals established for Tomorrowland and the original EPCOT Center are as relevant today as they were in past and are needed now more than ever.

Did you ever get to experience the Circle-Vision 360° theater in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in California or the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida? The circular, standing-room only theater had nine screens and nine film projectors. The patented process provided a one-of-a-kind film going experience and was a staple for years at most Magic Kingdom-style parks (you can still experience Circle-Vision 360° at the China and Canada pavilions at Epcot at Walt Disney World in Florida).

Disneyland
In Disneyland, the attraction was originally called "Circarama." It was one of Disneyland's original attractions when the park first opened its gates in 1955. The original Circarama theater had 11 screens and projectors. The first Circarama film shown in the park was "A Tour of the West." An 11-camera version of "America the Beautiful" debuted in 1960. With the opening of the newly remodeled Tomorrowland in 1967, the format changed from 11 cameras/projectors/screens to nine cameras/projectors/screens and the attraction was renamed "Circle-Vision 360°." A new nine-camera version of "America the Beautiful" made its debut in 1967 and played in theater for many years (it's the one I first remember seeing at the park). (Another historical note of interest is that also in 1967, Walt Disney Productions produced a nine-camera Circle-Vision film called "Canada '67" that played at the Expo 67 world's fair held that year in Montreal, Canada--a precursor to the Circle-Vision film that opened in the Canada Pavilion in EPCOT Center in 1982.)

The attraction was renamed in the 1980s to "World Premiere Circle-Vision." Other films that have played in the theater included a remake of "America the Beautiful" called "American Journeys" (I remember that one, too), along with the "Wonders of China" film which still plays at Epcot's China pavilion today. The theater closed in 1997 to make way for the queue for the ill-fated Rocket Rods attraction, part of the 1998 Tomorrowland remodel. The space is now occupied by the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters laser gun omnimover attraction.

Magic Kingdom
At the Magic Kingdom, Circle-Vision 360° was also an opening day attraction in 1971 with the nine-camera version of "America the Beautiful" as its first film. "Magic Carpet 'Round the World" and "American Journeys" also played in the theater. When Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland received its current science fiction update in 1994, an English-language version of the Euro Disneyland/Disneyland Paris "Timekeeper" attraction showed up for a few years before being replaced with the current Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor attraction now occupying the theater space.

Why It Was Great
Circle-Vision was a wonderful part of the Tomorrowland experience for many reasons. First, cinema-in-the-round just felt futuristic in and of itself. I was in awe every time I walked into the dark, air-conditioned theater and saw the nine screens floating above me. It was as if the future was so big, it needed nine movie screens instead of just one. Then, when the movie started, it made you feel like you were right in the middle of all of the action. It was almost as if it were a precursor to today's virtual reality, yet even more so given the large screen size. The beautifully created and edited films transported you to a different place in an almost miraculous way. You really felt like you were driving in a car down Lombard Street in San Francisco. It seemed like you really were on a horse-drawn carriage driving through New England in the fall. And you felt optimistic about life and about the future after the experience was over. It truly was another classic Disneyland experience where parents and children could have fun together. I know that I have lots of happy memories watching Circle-Vision 360° with my mom and dad.

If I Were In Charge
Well, if it were up to me, I would bring the attraction back of course. For the theater at Disneyland, I'd evict/relocate Buzz Lightyear (as fun as his attraction is) and re-build the theater in its original location. In the Magic Kingdom, I'd also relocate the Monsters Inc. friends to Disney's Hollywood Studios (as clever and fun as that attraction is, too) and restore the theater to its rightful place.

The newly restored Circle-Vision theaters would have state-of-the-art digital projection and sound and would be flexible to allow for different films to play throughout the day. As far as films go, there is so much potential there. Here are some ones I've love to see:

Futuristic films. How fun would it be to have updated, 360° versions of Ward Kimball's brilliant animated shorts "Magic Highways U.S.A." or "Mars and Beyond" that were originally made for the "Disneyland" TV show? Or what about digital, 360° re-creations of the selectable finale films of EPCOT Center's Horizons attraction with visits to Brava Centauri, Mesa Verde, and Sea Castle?

Travel films. The travel themes from the original films could continue, including an updated version of "America the Beautiful"/"American Journeys." Digital versions of the China and Canada films from Epcot could also make appearances. Many other destinations from around the U.S.A. and the world could be added as well; the possibilities are limitless.

Animated films. You know what a big animation fan I am. Wouldn't it be fun to see specially crafted 360° animated films created by Walt Disney Animation Studios or Pixar Animation Studios? Or what about a 360° remake/update of "Mickey's Philharmagic"? (Not that I want to add more cartoons to Tomorrowland, but I still think it would be fun to watch an expertly animated film in 360°.)

Classic films. Of course, the previously made films would be digitally restored and shown on a regular basis in the theater, too.

What are your favorite memories about Circle-Vision 360° and your thoughts about a potential future for the format? Let us know.

BONUS FEATURE:

Here's a little behind-the-scenes look at the upper level (3rd level) of Magic Kingdom's Circle-Vision 360° theater. These photos were taken sometime during The Timekeeper's final operating months in late 2005 or early 2006 at a Cast Member merchandise event. 

Related Posts:

Tomorrowland '67 [Part 1]
"As Long as There Is Imagination Left in the World": Putting the Phrase to Better Use
Expo 67
THEN AND NOW: Disneyland [Part 1]
THEN AND NOW: Epcot World Showcase [Part 2]
Seven Dwarfs, Hold Up!

Another INCREDIBLE scale model by Matt Camisa! We first saw Matt's artistry when he shared his working Splash Mountain model with us. Check out this tribute model of a piece Disney California Adventure's Grizzly River Run.

Outstanding work, Matt!

Follow this and other stunning projects on Matt's Twitter account here. 

Related posts:

Working Splash Mountain Model
Swiss Family Treehouse Model
"it's a small small world" [ PART 1 ]
Mechanizing a Miniature Main Street Electrical Parade
Tiny Jungle Cruise Model
The Wonders of Nature's Wonderland [ PART 3 ]

It's referred to as "The Disneyland of Walt's Imagination". It's the Walt Disney Family Museum's million-dollar masterpiece scale model representing many things built or conceptualized in Walt Disney's lifetime. And it's magnificent.

The 14-foot diameter hand-crafted model is among the most elaborate and detailed scale models in the theme park industry. On a recent visit to the WDFM in San Francisco, I spent hours looking at this and could hardly pull myself away.

It's a version of Disneyland that exists in no particular time period. To my knowledge, nothing here represents anything that originated after Walt Disney died in 1966. I guess if you were to assign a time period, it could be 1950s-1970s. 

Small and interesting details can be found throughout. Here, just beyond the castle gate, we see miniature figures of Walt and oldest daughter, Diane, entering Fantasyland.

Cute little ticket and souvenir booths everywhere.

Skull Rock! Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship!

The Fantasyland portion of the model gives us a good idea of what Fantasyland was before the big 1983 "New Fantasyland" makeover.

Mechanized larger-scale "it's a small world" figures rotate on the model. 

Look closely at the Skyway buckets entering the Matterhorn from Fantasyland and you'll notice they're the old Skyway vehicles (1956-1967). Now look at the Skyway buckets entering the Matterhorn from Tomorrowland and you'll see they're the upgraded 1967 vehicles. Nice touch.

It's Tomorrowland 1967 with some pre-1967 elements mixed in!

Some things removed prior to the 1967 "New Tomorrowland" seen here are the Moonliner (rocket), Monsanto House of the Future, and the World Clock.

And look at that. It's a representation of what eventually became Space Mountain. It's design was inspired by concept art like this and this. At one time the futuristic roller coaster concept was called Space Port and some concepts included ride track(s) on the exterior of the building as well as in the interior. 

Even though Walt died before the public opening of "New Tomorrowland" in 1967, he experienced some of the "new" attractions in one way or another. He, of course, rode Carousel of Progress at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.

BONUS: Check out these mysterious details about an old Carousel of Progress RIDE concept.

He also rode a Disneyland PeopleMover on an off-site test track. 

Now these (very cool!) little Flying Saucers also predated all the Tomorrowland 1967 stuff. Their location was later occupied by the Space Mountain complex (1977), but don't they look nice next to each other?? If only.

Remember when there were TWO Autopias not that long ago? (Yeah, there were THREE at one time but that was long long ago). Until 1999, there was Tomorrowland Autopia and there was it's almost identical sister attraction, Fantasyland Autopia (previously called Junior Autopia). Tracks were later reworked and combined into the Autopia we have today. Fantasyland Autopia loaded near the Matterhorn, as we see here, and for a brief period of time it was transformed into the Rescue Rangers Raceway (yeah, I know) as part of the Disney Afternoon Avenue.

Oh, and look. Some Motor Boat Cruise motor boats or "The Autopia on Water", as some called it. Much of the Motor Boat Cruise dock is still there. Go visit it while you still can.

In Part 2, we'll explore the West side of the park.

Major kudos to the model makers and consultants like Tony Baxter. 

Related posts:

Disneyland 1955 Model Close-ups
Mechanizing a Miniature Main Street Electrical Parade
Big Thunder Mountain Model
Buena Vista Street Model
Working Splash Mountain Model
"it's a small small world" [ PART 1 ]
The Wonders of Nature's Wonderland [ PART 3 ]

"TOMORROWLAND: A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man's achievements... a step into the future with predictions of constructive things to come. Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure and ideals... the challenge of outer space, and the hope of a peaceful and unified world."
–Walt Disney

Now available! This colorful 11"x17" print represents Walt Disney's vision for Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was designed by our very own Mitch, a former Disney artist.

“We discovered the idea for the New York World’s Fair WEDway PeopleMover system while on a business trip to the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Walt and I were invited to visit the mill where Ford made steel for car bodies. We saw a device for handling steel ingots, masses of glowing red-hot metal. The ingots were moved around on tracks powered by rollers from one area to another while being transformed into sheet steel for making cars. Walt asked, 'Do you think we could put some kind of seat on that type of conveyor, or some kind of arrangement for people to ride on…do you think this thing would handle it?' I said, “Sure, look at the weight carried here. I bet that Roger Broggie would know how to do it.” –Imagineer John Hench

"The solution for both the Ford cars at the Fair and ultimately the WEDway PeopleMover was to embed electric motors powering urethane wheels along a track every few feet with masonite on the bottom of the vehicles (silent with a great grip). Although the vehicles themselves do not have motors, the urethane wheels spinning below make contact with the masonite mounted on the bottom and push them along.The speed of the vehicles could vary determined by how fast the rubber wheels were spinning. The EPCOT film claims one of the benefits of this technology is, 'No single car can ever break down and cause a rush hour traffic jam.' Even if one of the motors breaks, it would not stop the system, as the other motors would pick up the slack. –Imagineer John Hench

Many of you may remember the somewhat uncomfortable ride experience of Disneyland's PeopleMover. The wheels embedded in the track effectively propelled the PeopleMover cars along but they also created a series small bumps. The later Walt Disney World version with its (wheeless) Linear Synchronous Motors embedded in track allowed for a much more smooth glide through the land of tomorrow.  

We've partnered again with WEDWay Radio's The Imperial Shirt Co. This project will bring us shirts and prints from all our favorite theme park podcasts and sites.

You can (and should!) listen to the WEDWay Radio Podcast and WEDWay NOW! hosted by Matt and Nate Parrish here. 

Orders made by September 13th will be shipped in mid September.  All other orders will be shipped in October.

Frame not included.

Shipped in a tube via USPS.

Sale ends September 30th.

Related posts:

SOUVENIR: Tomorrowland T-Shirt
Tomorrowland '67 [Part 1]
Tomorrowland '67 [Part 2]
Tomorrowland '67 [Part 3]
Tomorrowland '67 [Part 4]
Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain Construction
Tiny Submarine Voyage + PeopleMover Model

New in our Souvenir Store! Quality screen-printed t-shirts featuring Disneyland's Tomorrowland of the good ol' days. This design celebrates the kinetic motion, the progressive spirit, and the fun of Tomorrowland. On sale July 1st - August 15th only.

Here's a small peek into the desing process, right here in a small corner of ImagineeringDisney.com HQ.

 
We've partnered with WEDWay Radio's new project, The Imperial Shirt Co. This new project will bring us shirts from all our favorite shows and sites within the Disney fan community

You should all absolutely be listening to the WEDWay Radio Podcast and WEDWay NOW! hosted by Matt and Nate Parrish, if you aren't already. They are top-notch Disney history listening experiences.

On sale July 1st - August 15th only.

This offer has ended but check back for future apparel.  

Related posts:

SOUVENIR: Felt Pennants
Tomorrowland '67 [Part 1]
Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain Construction
Tiny Submarine Voyage + PeopleMover Model
National Geographic Aug '63 [Part 1]

We bring you an update on Sam Towler's incredible Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland model.

"This is a stand-by basis project without a deadline, so it tends to hit the back-burner a lot due to other things with higher priorities. But whenever I can, I'll give an update when there is something worth talking about. All of my updates since day one are here, which include photos, videos, and plenty of rambling notes and descriptions." –Sam, NRWW.blogspot.com

Isn't it wonderful??

For more info on Disneyland's extinct Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, visit [PART 1].
For more additional photos of this scale model, visit [PART 2] or visit Sam's site. 

Related posts:

The Wonders of Nature's Wonderland [ PART 1 ]
The Wonders of Nature's Wonderland [ PART 2 ]
Working Splash Mountain Model
Mechanizing a Miniature Main Street Electrical Parade
Marc Davis and His Early Days at WED
Hop Aboard Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland
Big Thunder Mountain Model