Concept Art: Buena Vista Street

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 paintings of the final product, and others bear no resemblance to what you see in the park. Let’s take a closer look.

 Source: LA Times

Anyone who has visited Buena Vista Street knows this building – Carthay Circle! The building and palm tree placement are pretty close to the final product, though the trees are way larger than in the park and the fountain is missing from the plaza’s flower bed.

The Red Car Trolley wires are also missing from the concept art – though they’re not super noticeable in real life compared to this photo.

 Source: Sun Sentinel

This is the entrance plaza to the land. The view of Carthay Circle, the Monorail bridge, and the tree placement are quite similar to the land’s final design. However, the five and dime building is much softer in color than in the concept art.

The entry plaza is one of the few places on Buena Vista Street with tree shade – and even that is pretty sparse!

 Source: Disney Parks Blog

This is the interior of Clarabelle’s Hand Scooped Ice Cream. The description of the image on Disney Parks Blog talks about the interior looking like an ice cream cone. This seems like the largest downgrade from concept to final product. I don’t even have a picture of the inside of this shop because there’s nothing to see. There’s no ice cream bar as pictured, and no ice cream cone color palette or textures. The waiting area on the right is pretty much it, and the ice cream bar area is missing – home to Fiddler, Fifer, & Practical Cafe instead.

Source: Coaster 101

This is a very early image of the entry plaza. You can see Buena Vista Street and the Trolley are still there, as is the gas station. But in this image, the trees are totally missing from the center flower bed, and all of the buildings are super whitewashed.

The final product is in fact much greener, with a good mix of colors and architectural styles from building to building.

 Source: Disney Parks Blog

This is the interior of Elias & Co., and it’s very close to the end result. In fact, in the upper left you can see the Elias & Co. Partygoers!

Looks like a swanky affair upstairs…unfortunately, we’re not invited.

 Source: Slash Film

And finally, this overhead image is a complete view of the entire land. I like this view because you can appreciate how much detail Imagineers fit into such a small land. Buena Vista Street is much shorter than its counterpart, Main Street USA, but it still packs a punch in its own right. To me, even the totally changed concept art elements still convey the most important part of the land: the energy. This space acts like a fully functioning 1920s neighborhood, with bright colors, cheerful music, and art deco details in every direction.