The Never Built Western Land of Disneyland: Never Built Disneyland

Never Built Disneyland

As part of the proposed Discovery Bay expansion to Disneyland, two other additional lands were planned for Disneyland to expand the park, one being a never built Dumbo land, and the other land was to be inspired by western legends that would have brought a version of the Western River Expedition to the park.

This land was set to connect Bear Country with Discovery Bay. It would have served as a second Frontierland like section, featuring three dark rides and a few restaurants. It really was meant to serve as a transition area between the two areas, with the reported name being the Land of Legends.

It may seem strange that Disney was exploring a second land based on the old west considering they already had Frontierland, but much of that land was to be incorporated into the broader backstory of Discovery Bay. This would potentially have offered a more pure old west experience.

Not much is known about two of the dark rides, which were to be inspired by Ichabod Crane and Windwagon Smith, two classic Disney animated films.

This plan was one of many at about this time developed to desperately try to get some version of the Western River Expedition built. Many similar plans were created for the Magic Kingdom, trying to get Disney to greenlight the ride, and this brought the attraction to the west coast.

This attraction was slated to be a wester version of Pirates of the Caribbean, sometimes tied to Big Thunder Mountain, although this version would not have been. It isn't clear which of the many versions of the attraction would have been built, but it would have served as an interesting attraction right alongside Discovery Bay, straddling the land with two western rides.

This would have been a strange choice for Disneyland. Having a second western land in the park would have been a weird choice, and neither of the Disney film based rides is based on an animated film that continues to have a strong pop culture presence today. But it would have put something in what today exists as a quiet pathway of Disneyland.

Would you have liked to see this secondary Frontierland come to Disneyland? Be sure to check out the rest of Never Built Disneyland here. Also, make sure you come back next week when we explore the Museum of the Weird.