Disney's Never Built Vekoma Madhouse

Never Built Disney Attractions

A modern aspect of Imagineering is that various Imagineers commonly take to social media to discuss their upcoming or classic attractions, and revealing unique aspects of them. But a less common thing is when Imagineers share aspects of never-built Disney attractions they had a hand in.

Imagineer Jim Shull recently revealed that he had pitched that Disney should build what appears to be a Vekoma Madhouse at their parks.

We previously knew of one plan to bring a Madhouse to the Disney Parks, but this one was specified to involve an unspecified intellectual property, meaning it would not fit the canceled concept for the Tokyo Disney Sea madhouse.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of Vekoma Madhouse attractions, it is basically a type of theater attraction where the walls and seats move to simulate your spinning around the room and even going upside down without you actually moving more than a few degrees.

There are numerous examples of this attraction around the world. North American amusement park visitors might recognize it from the Houdini attraction at Six Flags New England and Six Flags Great Adventure. Other significant versions of this attraction include Villa Volta at Efteling, Hex at Alton Towers, and Haunted House Monster Party at Legoland Windsor.

While the concept for what IP this would have been based on is unknown, we can speculate a bit on what it might have been for.

One attraction it could have easily been considered for is the Mary Poppins attraction planned for Epcot. The ride system for this attraction was never confirmed, but it was known to be an inside attraction with at least the entrance being in the Banks house. This ride system could have fit in well with various scenes in either of the two films utilizing Mary Poppins magic for a fun experience.

Another possibility, especially as Marvel was mentioned in the Tweet, is for a Doctor Strange ride. A Doctor Strange ride has been rumored at least since before Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout, so this project could easily have been the source of some of those rumors. The ride system perfectly fits his world-bending magic and it would be a smaller scale ride, unlike anything Disney had ever built before.

Madhouse attractions are relatively uncommon attractions that with the proper theming can be world-class experiences. Hopefully, this concept resurfaces in one way or another in the near future.