The news this week that Walt Disney is set to open a brand new Disney theme park – its first in almost a decade – in the United Arab Emirates has thrilled theme park fans.
A host of old favourites and brand new attractions are set to fill the park, which will be sited on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and looks set to open in the early 2030s.
The park ‘will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati – an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment that is at the crossroads of the world,’ Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement on Wednesday.
It’ll be the 13th in the brand’s theme park portfolio, with the others in Florida, California, France, Hong Kong, Japan, and China.
The first glimpse of what the Abu Dhabi park might look like came via a digital artist’s impression, which showcased a centre-piece structure that appears to be in line with futuristic-looking Emirati architecture.
Disney’s ‘imagineers’ – the illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers behind each new ride – will now look closely at the brand’s most popular attractions before deciding which ones to recreate in the Middle East.
However, some Disney rides are better consigned to the theme park history book.
In the decades since the very first park, Disneyland, opened in Anaheim, California in 1955, there’s been some major hits when it comes to attractions… and some major misses.
Modern day fans of the parks might raise an eyebrow at some of the attractions that once got the green light but haven’t aged well…
The Walt Disney Company is planning to open a Disney theme park in United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi
REAL SKULLS AND SKELETONS AT PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
A little too authentic! When the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction arrived in Anaheim in 1967, rumours flew that real skulls were used by Disney Imagineers to create a realistic ambience (Pictured: The current Pirates of the Caribbean attraction)
The late 60s saw the arrival of Pirates of the Caribbean – still loved today thanks to the movie franchise – at Disney’s California park.
However, in a bid to make the attraction feel truly authentic, Disney’s imagineers apparently took a rather macabre approach, using real skeletons and skulls in the displays taken from a nearby medical facility.
Eventually, plastic replaced the remains but for those enjoying the ride in those early years, they would, it’s claimed, have come face-to-face with real bones.
TOKYO’S BLACK CAULDRON HORNED KING
Tokyo Disneyland once served up the Horned King, a key character in a Black Cauldron attraction – inspired by a Disney film of the same name…and it left many who visited baffled
Maybe it was lost in translation, but an attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1986, offered a rather sinister guided walk through the bowels of the Cinderella Castle, with Disney villains giving theme park-goers the heebie jeebies.
At the heart of it was the bizarre-sounding Black Cauldron’s Horned King, who was the final villain to greet guests.
The attraction was based on animated film Black Cauldron, also considered a big flop for Disney – but those who encountered the Horned King in Tokyo are unlikely to ever forget him.
DON’T HAVE NIGHTMARES: A VERY GRUESOME SAFARI STORYLINE
The Kilimanjaro Safaris are an 18-minute open-air safari tour through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve at Animal Kingdom…but the early 90s saw riders given a sombre poaching tale – resulting in the death of an elephant as they queued for the ride
Back in the 90s, Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s much loved Kilimanjaro Safaris ride – still hugely popular today – served up what was supposed to be an educational film about poaching, but left some guests feeling traumatised.
There was no happy ending in a tale of two elephants called Big Red and Little Red, which played out on screens both in the ride queue and also in the truck theme park goers would board – with Big Red dying at the hands of poachers.
It’s no surprise the film was eventually replaced with something just as educational, but less emotive.
THE STORMTROOPERS THAT BOOGIED TO MICHAEL JACKSON
Ready to party: The Hyperspace Hoopla took place for almost 20 years, thrilling plenty of Disney fans…but dancing Star Wars characters will go down as one of the more odd Disney festivals
For huge fans of the Stars Wars franchise, festival weekends dedicated entirely to the cast’s biggest character were a huge hit – but not always what fans might have expected. Starting in 1997, they ran on and off for almost 20 years, as reported by mickeyvisit.com.
One element, Hyperspace Hoopla, saw the franchise’s most famous characters involved in a dance-off with Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers throwing shapes to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
The avant garde dance events thrilled many – who wouldn’t want to see your favourite character busting some moves?
But time was eventually called on the erm, interesting, festivals, which stopped for good in 2015.
BEWARE THE FLYING KITETAILS
Back in 2021, the Discovery River Amphitheater at Walt Disney World announced a new attraction called Disney KiteTails as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.
While the premise was fun – with popular Disney characters including Baloo and Simba soaring the air, the reality, some reported wasn’t ideal, with the occasional mishap seeing the kites crash land into the stands.
After a year, the park called it quits and ditched the show, ensuring no more faceplants for Simba.
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