WestCOT
Encyclopedia
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
in Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The park was intended to be a west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
version of EPCOT Center
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
, a park devoted to international science and knowledge at Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 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
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...
project, they built Disney's California Adventure on the planned site.
History
WestCOT was announced to the public in 1991. Planned for the former parking lot of DisneylandDisneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...
, resorts were intended to be built on WestCOT property, a groundbreaking move for a Disney resort, since WestCOT would be the first Disney theme park of its kind to have resorts actually on its property. This resort feature, however, was later implemented into the Hotel MiraCosta at Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo DisneySea
is a 176-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just outside Tokyo. It opened on September 4, 2001. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. Tokyo DisneySea attracted an estimated 12 million visitors in...
, and is considered to be a remnant of the original WestCOT plans.
The WestCOT project was scrapped in 1995. The primary reason was cost, with estimates hovering close to $3 billion, and the significant financial problems of the recently-opened EuroDisney Project
Disneyland Resort Paris
Disneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne....
, then-President Michael Eisner decided to look for a different option for the property. Other major problems included land values and the location of the park. The primary problem was that through the years residential areas built around the Disneyland area caused skyrocketing land prices (when Disneyland first opened, the land it sat on was fairly isolated and cheap); even if The Walt Disney Company had the financial power to buy the residential areas, it would have had to relocate thousands of citizens to other parts of the Orange County area. Other reasons included protests by residents claiming that the light pollution from the park was too much to bear at night. Eisner held a three-day executive retreat in Aspen, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
to come up with a new idea, and from that meeting of about 30 executives came the idea for a California-themed park. 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 had led Disney invest an additional $1.1 billion to overhaul the park (in addition to $100 million spent on changes since its initial opening).
WestCOT was planned as third theme park for the Euro Disney Resort (now Disneyland Paris). But the project was cancelled due to financial trouble of the French resort, with the second and the water park, Disney-MGM Studios Europe and Lava Lagoon.
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
Spaceship Earth (Disney)
Spaceship Earth is the iconic and symbolic structure of Epcot, a theme park that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort. One of the most recognizable structures at the Walt Disney World Resort, it is not only the centerpiece and main focal point of Epcot, but also the name of the attraction housed...
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
Adventure Thru Inner Space
Adventure Thru Inner Space, presented by Monsanto Company, was an attraction in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was the first attraction to utilize Disney's Omnimover system....
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
Powers of Ten
Powers of Ten is a 1968 American documentary short film written and directed by Charles and Ray Eames. The film depicts the relative scale of the Universe in factors of ten . The film is an adaptation of the book Cosmic View by Dutch educator Kees Boeke, and more recently is the basis of a new...
. Improved clones of Epcot attractions were also planned for Future World, including: Horizons, Journey Into Imagination
Journey Into Imagination
Journey Into Imagination With Figment is an attraction which is contained within The Imagination! Pavilion at the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World and opened on March 5, 1983. It has been through three incarnations over the years, two of them featuring Figment, a small purple dragon, as a...
, The Living Seas
The Living Seas
The Seas with Nemo & Friends is a pavilion in Future World at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. The attraction is themed as an underwater exploration base, with several exhibits devoted to oceanic study...
, Wonders of Life
Wonders of Life
The Wonders of Life pavilion was an attraction at Epcot at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The pavilion was devoted to health and body related attractions. It is located inside a golden colored dome between Mission: SPACE and the Universe of Energy...
, and The Land
The Land (Disney)
The Land is the name of a pavilion that sits on the western side of "Future World", one of two themed areas of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida USA. It opened on October 1, 1982 as part of the Phase I features for the grand opening of what was then...
.
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
The Timekeeper
The Timekeeper was a 1992 Circle-Vision 360° film that was presented at three Disney parks around the world. It was the first Circle-Vision show that was arranged and filmed with an actual plot and not just visions of landscapes, and the first to utilize Audio-Animatronics...
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.