Armchair Imagineering: International Land

At Disneyland Park in Anaheim, the borders of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are occupied by a series of attractions that don’t quite fit. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, the Matterhorn, “it’s a small world”…these iconic rides were installed in their locations to take advantage of available space, or because they belonged there once, but by now the surrounding area or the ride itself has evolved in such a way as to take it out of theme. What do cartoon fish have to do with the future or even science-fiction? The growling Yeti notwithstanding, the Matterhorn Bobsleds are more contemporary than fantastic. The whimsy of “it’s a small world” seems perfectly suited to the childlike wonder of Fantasyland, but the theme of international peace and multiculturalism belongs, one would hope, firmly in the real world.

In addition, there is a large swatch of land between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland that suffers from underutilization—formerly the site of the Fantasyland Autopia and Motor Boat Cruise (neither of which was very appropriate to Fantasyland either), it currently provides extended track for the remaining Autopia in Tomorrowland…yet another ride that doesn’t do justice to the imagery of its land. It’s almost like this part of the park is rebelling against the adjacent areas and crying out for a theme of its own. Hence the proposal contained herein: International Land, where the world itself comes to Disneyland.

A “nations of the world” area has been proposed at Disneyland before in the form of International Street, which would have been adjacent to Main Street, USA. That project was cancelled and later resurfaced, bigger and better, as the World Showcase portion of Epcot. Obviously there is nowhere near enough space in Disneyland to replicate the World Showcase or any significant fraction thereof. Even if there were, mere replication of existing attractions in another park would be a poor use of this concept. Instead, let’s use what we already have as a starting point when planning International Land.

As you might already have guessed, the three attractions mentioned in the opening paragraph—Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, the Matterhorn, and “it’s a small world”—would be reassigned from Tomorrowland and Fantasyland to the new International Land, defining its boundaries. These three attractions already support the proposed theme very well in their current forms and would be essentially unchanged. Note also that Switzerland and Australia—the countries featured by the Matterhorn and subs, respectively—do not have pavilions in Epcot’s World Showcase. This gives us a solid direction for the area—put a primary focus on countries that, for whatever reason, were not included in Florida, making International Land unique.

New attractions devised for International Land needn’t be large or elaborate—with one D and two E Tickets already in existence for it to inherit, it really only needs shopping, dining, and one or two smaller attractions to fill it out. Due to its location and integration with existing park infrastructure, its geography would be more like New Orleans Square than any of the “big four” lands—rather than a main walkway leading to its interior with attractions facing onto it, it would have its major attractions highly visible on its edges and accessible almost directly from other lands, with a network of smaller walkways running through it, encouraging exploration and providing a greater density of “doorways” than would otherwise be possible. These doorways would mostly consist of shops and eateries, and with the entire world to draw on, the possibilities for menus and merchandise are almost endless.

Under these restrictions of space and layout, International Land wouldn’t use the World Showcase’s format of large separated pavilions covering single nations. Instead, it would be more like the ethnic neighborhoods of New York City, with different influences rubbing shoulders with each other and blending together at the margins. A single music loop for the area would be created and would consist of instrumental music in a variety of cultural styles, including “fusion” pieces that blend two or more such styles. Food options would be just as varied, and again, the focus would be on countries that do not appear in the World Showcase—rather than obvious choices such as Mexican, Italian, or Chinese cuisine, International Land eateries would offer menus inspired by such countries as Thailand, Greece, Armenia, and Poland.

As for merchandise…while a preponderance of generic Disney souvenirs is perhaps inevitable in the current marketing climate, the presence of authentic multicultural items would be necessary to the feel of the area. To satisfy Management’s demand for the former while leaving ample space for the latter, each shop would be dedicated to a particular type of merchandise rather than a particular nation or region. Possibilities include:

• A clothing store featuring caftans and sarongs as well as Mickey Mouse tee-shirts.
• A bookstore emphasizing travel guides and cultural art books, with another shelf or two for the Disney storybooks and Imagineering retrospectives.
• An arts and crafts store with handicrafts from around the world (authentic and fair-trade!) alongside the licensed character knickknacks.
• A cookery shop with ethnic cookbooks and imported spices as well as Disney-themed tea blends and pasta shapes.

Of course the standard pin shop, hat shop, etc. would have to be present, but as in most areas of the park, they would be designed and decorated in accordance with the overall theme.

Live entertainment would also be a must. One fixture would be an outdoor stage with room for a standing audience, upon which periodic demonstrations of folk dancing (in native costume) would be performed. These demonstrations would be short—no more than twenty minutes at a time or so—and varied, with two or three different countries rotating throughout each day. A large spinning globe on the stage would allow the troupe to point out where each dance originates, for quick and simple educational value. Simpler dances could even involve participation by adventurous guests—imagine going to Disneyland and coming home having learned an authentic folk dance!

Would all this be a gamble on Disney’s part? Of course it would. But it’s the sort of chance that needs to be taken. For years now, the park has been steadily moving in the direction of homogenization and familiarity—no new rides or shows unless based on a successful movie, increasingly generic merchandise in the shops, etc.—at the expense of imagination and exploration. I can’t help but think that policy will hurt them in the long run. Why should people come to Disneyland (and pay Disneyland’s prices) when the bulk of the offerings simply duplicate things they can find cheaper elsewhere? My concept of International Land would take things in exactly the opposite direction—away from the familiar and the uniform, toward the new and the diverse. Yes, it would have three well-known rides as tentpoles, but like the cozy and comforting Main Street, USA at Disneyland’s entrance, these would only be gateways to the more exotic surprises farther in.

It’s time for “what’s new at Disneyland” to actually be new again.

It’s time for International Land.