The very first land visitors ever encounter when crossing into the happiest place on earth is quite a pressure-filled position. Main Street USA has to instantaneously transport you from everyday life into the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. As you can imagine, that means Imagineers put tremendous care into designing this important land. Through […] Read more…
When you look back at concept art for the original Disneyland areas, many look radically different from the final product, even on opening day. But an exception to this rule might just be Adventureland. While not every concept image is a precise match, you can absolutely see the core themes or spirit or whatever you […] Read more…
You know the old adage, “underpromise, overdeliver”? Well, I unfortunately think Avengers Campus is a really good example of doing the exact opposite. I was looking through concept art for this pretty new land, and was amazed at some of the big differences between what we saw then and what we see now. It’s not […] Read more…
In the early years of Disneyland, Tomorrowland was probably the most malleable land. What I mean by that is it was clearly (and by Walt’s own admission) not done when it opened. A lot of the attractions were intentionally temporary due to both financial constraints and time constraints for park opening, and everyone knew that […] Read more…
Sometimes it’s really tricky to find concept art imagery for the oldest of Disneyland’s spaces, but I had no trouble tracking down some amazing images for Fantasyland. While it’s remarkable to see how closely they resemble the final product in many cases, I think the most fun part of looking at concept art is seeing […] Read more…
When designing an out-of-this-world land, Imagineers have to have out-of-this-world imaginations, with concept art to match. But as I was looking through Galaxy’s Edge concept art, I was amazed to discover that most of it is remarkably close to the final product, especially compared to other lands at the resort. While sometimes scale is a little […] Read more…
California Adventure 1.0 was a little confusing. There were big, clearly defined lands, like Paradise Pier and Sunshine Plaza. And then there were weird, little lands that were sometimes referred to as their own thing, and sometimes referred to as part of the larger “Golden State” region. Golden State was the most “California” part of […] Read more…
Pixar Pier is one of those instances where Disneyland didn’t exactly design from the ground up. Instead, Paradise Pier broke apart, with the boardwalk area getting some new coloring and details – but the bones were there. That’s largely why so much of the concept art is remarkably accurate compared to most imagery we see […] Read more…
With the reopening of Mickey’s Toontown just days away, I thought it would be fun to look back at the concept art that shaped Disneyland’s wild child land. This redesign gives us two different eras of concept art to look through: the original, leading up to the grand opening in 1993, and the updated, teasing […] Read more…
Critter Country is an interesting case at the Disneyland Resort. This “new” land wasn’t really new; it was a moderate re-theming of an existing space. So when searching for concept art, you’ll find a mix of Bear Country and Critter Country. And that makes sense, because many of the structural elements present in Critter Country […] Read more…
If you’ve seen my previous posts on concept art, you know that design evolves over time. These images are not meant to be blueprints – they convey the look and feel of a land rather than exact imagery. In that spirit, Buena Vista Street‘s concept art is quite the mixed bag. Some images could be […] Read more…
Sometimes, finding concept art for Disneyland spaces can be really tricky, especially when they were designed more than 60 years ago. But other times, the art is so plentiful that it can feel overwhelming! And then…there’s Cars Land. Honestly, the best concept art for this space is the movie Cars itself. Imagineers really went as close […] Read more…
Concept art is never an exact architectural plan for a land. Instead, it’s more like a stylized vision board conveying the land’s story, major elements, etc. Concept art brings the written and technical ideas to life in a visual way. I love looking through concept art to see how a land’s ideas eventually translate into […] Read more…
If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any amount of time, you know New Orleans Square is my absolute favorite land at the resort. I love exploring the different streets, listening for the sounds coming from the windows and admiring all the little details. And when you take a look at the land’s […] Read more…