How Circus World Helped Shape Walt Disney World

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

My family went to Circus World in 1979.  The biggest thing I remember is riding the loop coaster over and over and over and over, often back-to-back because even then, the park was hardly busy.

 

What I didn't realize is that it was considered something of a real competitor to WDW in the early days and a lot of what we know now as "classic" Disney World rides and attractions came out of those early days.

 

Follow the link for the full article with photos...

 

Circus World: The Lost Florida Theme Park That Once Scared Disney

http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20150612/30349/circus-style-theme-park-scared-disney-world-and-baseball-style-park-followed

 

Some excerpts...

 

Disney was so worried about Circus World threatening its business that they went so far as to alter their PR messages to say that the upcoming Space Mountain would be 20 stories tall instead of 180 feet so they could one-up the promise of the elephant-shaped hotel...

 

That wasn’t all, though. To stave off the threat of Circus World and other burgeoning theme parks, Disney promised a lot of additions to their Orlando theme park. Most of them didn’t happen, but it definitely put more work on the plate of the Imagineers and adds a richer history to the line of Disney World attractions.

Disney’s response

After Circus World was announced (and rather overhyped) in September of 1972, Disney took swift action. Within a few months, executives held a press conference about a major expansion planned for Walt Disney World. They even promised that, combined with what Walt Disney World already had, the park would offer more attractions than SeaWorld and Circus World combined.

 

Here are projects that were promised but never delivered because it became clear that Circus World wasn’t fated to ever be a major rival to Walt Disney World.

 

A western town

Close to the Fort Wilderness camp store, this was meant to include shops, theaters, restaurants and more.

 

Lake Wilderness

A swimming hole with white water so that guests could ride on rafts.

 

Big Thunder Railway

A race down the tracks of a classic Wild West iron house roadway. This was meant to have sharp turns, desert wildlife, a beautiful valley to look at and teetering rocks. This was part of a much bigger plan for a Western River Expedition Disney was working on, but none of it ever came to pass.

 

Treasure Island

Treasure Island was the most complex of the planned additions to Walt Disney World in the wake of the perceived Circus World threat. When they were most worried Disney wanted to construct small lakes and waterfalls on an island in Bay Lake that you could find with the help of paths and trails. After this was completed, the Imagineers would have started building a number of attractions based on the 1950 film Treasure Island. Reportedly, planned features include the wreck of the ship the Hispaniola, a cave to explore and a place to eat inspired by the Benbow Inn from the movie. Personally, I most enjoy the idea they had for a peg-legged parrot that would have hosted the tour (Treasure Island did eventually open in Bay Lake, as a nature preserve/zoo that was later renamed Discovery Island).

 

The only major attraction that really came out of that press conference was a recreation of Pirates of the Caribbean for the Magic Kingdom. So, while its impact on Disney parks certainly wasn’t wide-reaching, Circus World did at least succeed in rattling the Mouse for a short period.

 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Cool.

Thanks for sharing.

[Travisma 1,317]

So I guess Disney just gave up after Circus World turned into Boardwalk and Baseball, and now they aren't worried about Universal since they haven't had anything new happen for quite a while except their lame Frozen celebration, and the Return of Frozen.

 

Of course they are building Avatar land, taking forever to build an attraction based on a semi lame movie that most younger kids probably never saw.

 

And lets not forget Frozen the RIde.  Again they are taking forever to get things planned and built.

 

I think Universal will have 2 new rides up and running before either of Disney's open.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Good article.  We also visited Circus World in the late 70s.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thanks for sharing the link, Mo.  It's a good article, but I think the author really is stretching in describing the attractions that he says were planned in response to Circus World.  Thunder Mesa, which was never built, was something that was discussed before the MK was ever built, and Walt himself had plans for what ultimately became Discovery Island.  Otherwise, it is a very interesting and informative article.  I didn't realize that AB owned the park when it was known as Boardwalk and Baseball before its demise.

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

Thanks for sharing the link, Mo.  It's a good article, but I think the author really is stretching in describing the attractions that he says were planned in response to Circus World.  Thunder Mesa, which was never built, was something that was discussed before the MK was ever built, and Walt himself had plans for what ultimately became Discovery Island.  Otherwise, it is a very interesting and informative article.  I didn't realize that AB owned the park when it was known as Boardwalk and Baseball before its demise.

 

TCD

AB owned/ran Cypress Gardens before it closed also.

 

Hmmm, do I see a pattern?

 

Well at least they are out of the Theme Park business, but I do miss the free beers at Busch Gardens!

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

I think Universal will have 2 new rides up and running before either of Disney's open.

 

Well they got up a new roller coaster, an entire Harry Potter land, Transformers (both of those last 2 with state of the art attractions), a train between the 2 parks (also a very cool attraction), and the expansion of the Simpsons area, in essentially the time it took to build the Mine Train so....

 

You have to hand it to UO - they don't fart around!

 

Thanks for sharing the link, Mo.  It's a good article, but I think the author really is stretching in describing the attractions that he says were planned in response to Circus World. 

 

I think you're probably right about that.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well at least they are out of the Theme Park business, but I do miss the free beers at Busch Gardens!

 

Me too.  You could also get free beer at Sea World, and it was conveniently located on the way too and from the kiddie area.

 

TCD

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

... I do miss the free beers at Busch Gardens!

 

Once upon a time when I was about 22, my family thought it would be a good idea to load my parents, grandparents, me and my 2 siblings (20 and 12) in a motorhome and drive it to FL.

 

If there hadn't already been a couple of sequels to the Vacation movies by then, we could have written one. Highlights of the trip included a dead starter in VA, and a blown tire in SC which took 3 tow trucks to fix and included my dad getting in a van with a window unit A/C and a recliner to go get help (no cell phones then) and us convinced he was never coming back.

 

I believe the one thing that saved us all from refusing to get back in that MH with each other for the trip home was the free beers at Busch Gardens.

 

:doublebeer: