Coco, Encanto, the Disney Villians, Moana, and Zootopia — all of these Disney movies or characters have been TEASED for expanded/re-themed areas in the Disney Parks as a reveal of some of Disney’s “Blue Sky” ideas. But what really are Blue Sky ideas and how often do they turn into reality?
Today we’re taking a little look at the Imagineering process, what “Blue Sky” ideas are, and just what the future could really hold for the Disney parks.
What is a Blue Sky Project?
According to the Disney Imagineering website, “Blue Sky” is part of their creative development process. At this stage, their focus is to look at something and say, “what could it be?”
Essentially, the Imagineers gather around an inspiration. Maybe they are looking to bring a Disney story to life. Maybe they have an idea for an attraction, a land, or a show in the park. Maybe they’ve got a thought in their heads about advancing a specific type of technology or looking at designing a new line of business.
Whatever direction they’re heading in, they start by doing a bit of research. Imagineers will connect with partners all around the Parks, Experiences, and Products division, as well as throughout the Walt Disney Company.
The Imagineers might also think about business needs to decide where a project could live one day. They’ll also think about the Disney guests and how a Disney project could one day inspire those guests.
If you really want an in-depth look at the Blue Sky process from some Imagineers themselves, you can check out the learning video they shared through Khan Academy. In it, they talk about how the Blue Sky phase is all about brainstorming ideas and dreaming about what could be.
The Imagineers in the video note how this is the time where they’ll sit around in a room and just throw ideas off of each other, no matter how “out there” they might be. They’ll make sketches to see what they like or don’t like, or might even work with models. Sticky notes, whiteboards, and more can help organize all the ideas being shared by different people and capture them in one space.
The general idea is to get those concepts from your head onto something tangible. At this phase, they try to capture what they want to see in that land, attraction, or other space. Then they decide what resonates with the Imagineers as a whole. The Blue Sky stage is important because it is a protected time/space where they can explore all directions the story could go (and no idea gets thrown away).
According to the Imagineers, one key to Blue Sky is that they ask “what if we…?” That can lead them down all kinds of creative paths!
In short, Blue Sky ideas are concepts that Disney’s team is working on, but they’re not finalized or confirmed. They are simply ideas, not yet things that are fully set in stone.
From the Blue Sky phase, the Imagineering process goes into the concept phase where they work on more specifics, and then they look at feasibility. Next, they get to the design phase, go to the production stage to figure out how to build the project they’re working on, and then get to installation and fitting the pieces together. From there, it’s off to opening day! And then back to Blue Sky for other ideas.
During the D23 Expo in 2022, Josh D’Amaro (President of the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Division) shared some Blue Sky ideas during the D23 Parks panel.
During the panel, Josh D’Amaro said that COVID-19 gave them time to really sit and think about some things and they would be picking up steam as they head to the future. He noted that the projects they discussed (which included a potential expansion in Magic Kingdom with Encanto, Coco, and/or Villains-themed lands, as well as a re-theme of DinoLand at Animal Kingdom into Zootopia and/or Moana-themed areas) were “way early in the creative process.”
But he wanted to make it clear that they’re not just daydreaming. He said it was important for everyone to know that these ideas are “very real” and that they’re having “very serious discussions” about them. Disney, however, took it upon itself to cushion a bit of that language. They described the ideas shared during the D23 Expo as “potential expansion opportunities” and creative “what if” ideas.
How Often Do They Come to Be?
If Blue Sky ideas are just early concepts, you might be wondering how often these actually come to be. What’s the likelihood that the “Blue Sky” ideas shared at the D23 Expo will become reality? Well, it all depends.
Much of Imagineering remains a mystery and there are likely lots of Blue Sky ideas hidden within the department that we do not and will never know about. But, let’s discuss the ones we have seen.
Sometimes They Work Out
Essentially, many (if not most) of the new things that we’ve seen in the Disney parks (at least lately) have likely gone through the Blue Sky part of the Imagineering process, making many of them successes from the Blue Sky standpoint.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is a great example of a recent Blue Sky project that came to life. According to StarWars.com, Walt Disney Imagineer Ann Morrow Johnson shared that the project is a “really fun one because it really did generate out of classic, blue-sky, Imagineers sitting around talking about what would be fun.”
Imagineers worked on ideas in thinking about what experiences guests might want to have in the Star Wars galaxy. According to Johnson, “this absolutely came out of a conversation about, ‘Don’t you just want to sleep on a starcruiser? How cool would it be if you got to live out a Star Wars story over multiple days?'”
There even used to be something available called the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar in Disney California Adventure Park. In this space, you could see models, concept art, and more for upcoming projects and see how Blue Sky ideas turn into reality.
Our friends over at AllEars actually have some great posts covering previous projects that appeared in the Blue Sky Cellar. At one point, the Cellar was full of posters and other details showing ideas for Cars Land.
There were posters and concept art on display for rides like Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Radiator Springs Racers. Not all of it made it into the land in exactly the way it was depicted in the concept art, but much of it did get built and ultimately show the success of a Blue Sky idea made reality.
At another point, the Cellar was home to concept art and more surrounding the changes being made to Disney California Adventure. According to the AllEars post, at the time they visited, the Cast Member even explained the idea behind a Blue Sky concept and noted that not everything shown within the space would necessarily come to the park.
At that time, there was concept art in the cellar and details about the Silly Symphony Swings, World of Color, the Little Mermaid ride that would ultimately be built in the park, and more. Not all of these were built in Disney California Adventure Park just as they were displayed in the concept art, but many of them did come to fruition. Another mark in the “success” column for Blue Sky ideas.
We’ve also seen a lot of big concept art shared in the past (not unlike the ones shared at D23 for those Encanto, Coco, and other lands) for projects like New Fantasyland…
…and Pandora: The World of Avatar.
It’s unclear just how the Blue Sky process played into the creation of these lands but it seems likely that they were considered Blue Sky ideas or went through the Blue Sky stage at one point or another. Though they again may not have been built exactly as depicted in the concept art, many of the things depicted did become reality.
It shows the success that Disney can have when an idea goes from just words on a page or concept art to a full-blown ride or land. But…things don’t always work out.
Sometimes They Don’t
There have been plenty of ideas for the Disney parks that never got to become real. These ideas likely were considered Blue Sky ideas at one point or went through the Blue Sky portion of the Imagineering process.
Beastly Kingdom is a prime example. This was a land that was originally designed to be placed in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It would have had encounters with dragons and unicorns, and much more. But sadly budget woes halted its creation and the idea never became a full reality. (This is where Pandora: The World of Avatar sits now).
Other rides that never came to be include a Nightmare Before Christmas Ride that would have been quite spooky, a Mt. Fuji Roller Coaster for the Japan pavilion in EPCOT, and a Rhine River Cruise for the Germany pavilion in EPCOT.
Our friends at AllEars have details on even more rides that were never built, like a Fire Mountain for Magic Kingdom and Geyser Mountain. Again, it’s likely that these were all Blue Sky projects at one point or another, or at least got put through a bit of the Blue Sky stage. But sadly they never made it to the parks.
A similar situation happened with the giant theater that was announced for Main Street, U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom. Though we saw concept art for that, it ultimately ended up quietly disappearing from conversations about future park additions.
Click here to read about 14 times Disney promised us stuff that didn’t happen!
Some Are Up in the Air
Some projects are a little more up in the air. The Mary Poppins attraction previously announced for EPCOT has been put “on hold” and the Spaceship Earth refurbishment has also been postponed.
It’s possible that we’ll never see these become reality, but it’s also possible that they’ll pop up at some point in the future. As Imagineers have noted, no idea gets thrown away!
We’re also pending updates on the new film for EPCOT’s China pavilion that had been previously announced. And Disney shared some concept art of what could come to Disneyland in the future if its Disneyland Forward efforts are successful. We’ll have to see what becomes of those things in the next few years.
Sometimes They Are Built but End up Being Different
Finally, some ideas may end up being built in the parks, but they sometimes take on a VERY different form than what the original concept art showed. Take, for example, the Festival pavilion that was set to come to EPCOT. In its original iteration, it was set to be a big building with all kinds of unique things inside and a beautiful space on top for fireworks viewing.
It seems plans for this building may have changed though. Disney has only discussed that World Celebration will have a Festival “area” and later revealed that there would be a new spot called CommuniCore Hall that would bring EPCOT festivals to the center of the park. CommuniCore Hall would be built for festival programming and be able to hold a wide variety of experiences.
It hasn’t been explicitly confirmed but it seems like this is likely the new iteration of the Festival pavilion we once saw.
Over at Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure, Disney has announced that a new attraction with King Thanos is in the works. Previously, another attraction for Avengers Campus had been announced, and Disney hasn’t yet clarified if this will be replacing that, is a new version of that, or is a separate ride altogether.
In other words, things change. Sometimes attractions that have gone through Disney’s Blue Sky portion of the Imagineering process and beyond get updated — sometimes in little ways, othertimes in big ways.
So, what will become of the Coco, Encanto, Villains, Moana, and Zootopia-themed areas teased for Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom? We’ll have to wait and see. These ideas could follow the path of other Blue Sky ideas that have ultimately become a reality. Or they might never get built. Another possibility is that they’ll reach the parks but in slightly (or totally) different form.
Only time will tell what the future holds for these concepts, and you can bet we’ll be on the lookout for any and all updates.
Click here to dive DEEP into the concept art for these spaces and uncover the secrets within!
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