Disney's Unbuilt Second Gate: The Master Plan for Disney Seas California

Universal Orlando Expansion News

• 🏨 Universal filed permits to build a 4,000-room hotel on the former Wet N Wild site, indicating ambitious vertical expansion.
• ⚠️ This expansion raises transportation challenges due to its off-property location, requiring busing similar to existing hotels like Cabana Bay.
• ⚖️ The liability and insurance differences between transporting guests on-property versus public roads are a significant legal consideration for NBC Universal.

The "Queue-less" Jimmy Fallon Ride

• 🎢 A new interview discusses Universal's approach to eliminating traditional queues, exemplified by the Jimmy Fallon ride.
• 🎟️ This attraction will operate on a reservation system, similar to Disney's FastPass, with a tight 15-minute entry window.
• 🚶 The design allows guests to roam a themed area, like a "Tonight Show museum," before their ride time, drawing parallels to the Dumbo attraction's beeper system.
• 📊 This concept has significant implications for theme park flow and guest behavior, especially if implemented across multiple attractions.

Disney's "Disney Seas" Master Plan

• 🌊 The discussion revisits Disney's unbuilt second gate concept, "Disney Seas," planned for Long Beach in the Michael Eisner era.
• 🚢 The preliminary master plan, prepared in July 1990, envisioned an ocean-oriented theme park focused on understanding the sea.
• 🐠 Key concepts included Oceanana, a futuristic bubble complex with a large aquarium and research center, and Mysterious Island, featuring attractions based on Atlantis and Nemo.
• 🗺️ Other proposed areas included Hero Harbor with mythological sea adventures, Fleets of Fantasy with themed dining ships, and various themed shopping and dining environments.
• 🦈 The plan also considered water-based activities like surfing and shark cage diving, aiming to break down barriers between guests and the ocean.

Kim Murphy's Role and The Living Seas

• 👨‍🔬 Kim Murphy, a former SeaWorld and Disney Imagineer, was instrumental in developing the concept for The Living Seas pavilion at Epcot.
• 🏗️ Murphy's expertise in aquatic environments, including consulting on the film "The Deep," led him to manage the construction of The Living Seas, a massive undertaking involving a 5.7 million gallon tank.
• 🚢 He also played a key role in crisis management for Disney, particularly after an incident at Discovery Island, and later became VP of environmental policy.
• ⚓ Murphy was a strong advocate for the "Disney Seas" project, seeing it as a fulfillment of his lifelong dream to immerse guests in the ocean experience.

Challenges and Coastal Commission

• 💰 The construction of The Living Seas was a significant investment, with United Technologies sponsoring $90 million of its cost.
• 🚧 The "Disney Seas" project faced hurdles, notably the need for approval from the California Coastal Commission, which had legendary difficulties approving developments.
• ⚓ The Queen Mary in Long Beach, a potential site for the second gate, was reported to be in dire need of $289 million in repairs, with a risk of structural collapse within five years.
• 🚫 Ultimately, the "Disney Seas" project was dependent on Coastal Commission approval, which was a major obstacle to its realization.