What would Disneyland be like if Walt died at 100?

[Circarama]

Give some thought to this question: What would Disneyland (and The Walt Disney Company) be like if Walt Disney died at the age of 100 in 2001 instead of passing in 1966?
Try to project what you think Walt would have done that would be different from what it has become.
Please try to avoid turning this into another "Let's slam DCA thread"
When discussing Disneyland, I mean the area bounded by Harbor Blvd and the Disneyland Hotel, and Ball Road and Katella Ave.
Okay, you have your assignment. Think about it and report back with your insights.

[ksejr1]

Give some thought to this question: What would Disneyland (and The Walt Disney Company) be like if Walt Disney died at the age of 100 in 2001 instead of passing in 1966?
Try to project what you think Walt would have done that would be different from what it has become.
Please try to avoid turning this into another "Let's slam DCA thread"
When discussing Disneyland, I mean the area bounded by Harbor Blvd and the Disneyland Hotel, and Ball Road and Katella Ave.
Okay, you have your assignment. Think about it and report back with your insights.

I think things would just be better. DCA wouldnt be around because he didnt want something like that. Even if he did decide to make a 2nd park where DCA is now, he wouldnt charge us the same price as disneyland, he would be fair and charge less, as they should.

[Bacon]

The Submarines would still exist.

Why?

Without the need to regulate the temperature in the chamber under the Matterhorn storing his frozen head, the Submarine Lagoon would have been drained and tended to a decade ago. Unfortunately, the large body of water was necessary for cooling. Fortunately, advances in cryogenic storage over the last few years have made water-cooling methods obsolete. During the last major Matterhorn refurb, the cryo-chamber was retrofitted with a new cooling system and work on the lagoon was allowed to move forward.

[NemoZorro]

Of course we are assuming Walt was fully functioning as the man up until his death. Well, for one, creativity wouldn't have died down. I think we would have had a park the calibur of DisneySea here in the U.S. somewhere.

I think Disneyland would be different than it is now, probably more change than it has seen. However, this alternate reality different would be VERY good, with many new creative attractions.

I think the biggest changes would have occured in Florida. I don't think Epcot (the original idea) would have completely taken off, but Walt probably would have tried anyway. Not sure if the development on the Florida property would have been the same, but one thing is for sure. If Walt would have been presiding over it, again assuming that he was in control, it would have been more quality than it is now. Not that it is terrible, mind you, but IMO the company has made some bad decisions in that area.

More creative movies, less sequels. I think we would still have movie tie ins to rides and attractions, however.

[JiminyCricketFan]

I think that he would have turned his attention to the hotel experience. He was already thinking about the work and living experience in WDW and EPCOT. I think he would have made a new hotel at Disneyland that would have been an amusement park in itself.

I also think that he would have embraced computers and computer design to make his rides faster and exciting. He was a kid at heart remember!

Who knows what dreams he would have had fulfilled? He was creative and unique. People who knew him loved him even if he was a boss.

Somehow I believe that his spirit is still around watching what is going on. I am sure he wishes he could take a trip on Space Mountain with us!

[BigThunder]

Interesting to speculate on but very hard to predict. Walt Disney loved new ideas and new technologies. He had a very restless mind that was alway looking forward to the next project. I think he would have gotten E.P.C.O.T. built as originally planned - or at least something much closer to it than what WDW ended up with. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have anything like DCA. If Walt wanted to expand into the parkinglot I think he would have done it with the original Magic Kingdom and we might have a very different looking Disneyland today. He saw nothing as "set in stone" not even Disneyland's layout and new lands could have been added south of Main St. But I also think he would have rerouted the train to keep the berm on the outside edge of the park.

There would be far less cloning of attractions at the different parks and each one would be unique. I doubt if there would be any foriegn parks at all but we might have one somewhere in the Midwest or even Texas.

He would have been on the cutting edge of animation also. Disney studios would have been the first to embrace and expiriment with CGI and he would have attracted the most gifted people in the industry to work for him.

He also would have pushed forward with advances in AA and robotics and I think we might be far ahead of where we are now with those technologies if Walt had lived to carry the torch forward.

I also think that the he would have driven the company very close to bankruptcy in pursuit of his ideas. Walt Disney was never in business to make money. He saw money as just a tool to help him create and have fun. What a refreshing attitude.

[Alchimedes]

I think that their would be a lot of changes that we would not even think of. I think that the park would have been ripped up six ways from sunday, and rides that we have become accustomed to would not exist. I also think that he would go to the brink of bankruptcy again just to make something happen that he wanted whether it would be technology, a huge project of his desire.

Obviously these assumptions are based on his previous record with where he wanted to go with his parks. As many people have said on here we can't honestly say what he thought, would do, etc.

I think that rides like Big Thunder or Splash possibly some of the Fantasyland rides might not exist, or be changed in such a way that we can't possibly comprehend.
I want to believe that if Walt were still alive, I think that some rides would cease to exist or be upgraded in ways we possibly can't imagine.

[Dirton]

He truly was a great man, a visionary in his own right. He completely changed how we look at the world. He really was a child at heart.

I think the company would have been just as successful if not more so because of his business sense. I don't think we would have saw the influx of mass produced merchandise like we have seen. Walt was always looking for people to experience something that could only dream about. It that respect I think that the Disney Company would have searched to update the movie experience. And Walt seemed to understand people’s fascination with stars and always made an effort to pull them to the parks. I also loved the fact that he saw Disneyland as a classy place, and not just another ordinary amusement park. In that I think we would have seen a greater development of dinning in the Magic Kingdom, and less of a fast food feel. Over all I think that Disneyland would be a very different place than it is now. And although the park as been adjusted to fit the publics more modern tastes I think Walt would be proud that people sit, while at work, and post on and internet board all day about how much they love Disneyland's past, present, and future!

[disneytim]

Sleeping Beauty Castle would drool a lot, the Matterhorn would be wrapped in a giant Depends and Mickey Mouse would wander out of the park, unable to remember where he lived.

[lafantasma]

No Disney cartoons rated PG.

[Druggas]

One word.......Better!

[Wotan]

If Walt had made it to 100...he was in pulmonary trouble for a long time before he died, so he would have been riding around the park more than he would have been walking. The park would be much more handicapped friendly in that you'd be going through the regular queues, instead of to the head of the line. One thing that DCA did right that wasn't even on the map when Disneyland was built.

Of course, Epcot would be something completely different.

I think animation probably would have gone CGI much earlier than it did. Walt loved gadgets and new technologies.

I think that the entire Fantasyland/IASW/Toontown area would look different; Walt would have integrated them in better, and made it so that Toontown was not the dead end that it is now, and arranged things better for traffic flow.

[lazyboy97O]

I honestly don't think there would be some lack of cloned rides. At least not if E.P.C.O.T. had gone as planned. If you watch the E.P.C.O.T. video and look at what is today Magic Kingdom the layout is identical to Disneyland's. So long as E.P.C.O.T. worked I think Walt would have had no troubles in letting Magic Kingdom simply be Disneyland East. But if E.P.C.O.T. proved to be a failure then I don't think I could comprehend what would become of Disney World.

In regards to forgein parks I could see them existing. However, I think Walt would have taken a different approach. I think the OLC would be absent still over Nara Dreamland. And that Disney would maintain complete controll over foreign parks.

[scorsese]

Well, for starters there would be absolutely none of these direct-to-video sequels. I agree that DCA probably wouldn't exist, and if it did, it'd be hell of a lot better themed. The original EPCOT plans would most likely go through to completion, but whether or not it would succeed is beyond me. Considering Walt's past successes, I'd expect his EPCOT to be a breakthrough. As for DL itself, I think it would be very, very different than it is now, with a much more complete Tommorowland and a huge emphasis on new technology incorporated into all of its attractions, and major renovations to the fantasyland classics, provided they were even still around. They'd already been renovated when Walt was around; he always said that when he rides something he's thinking about what is wrong with it and how it could be improved (you hear that POTC museum supporters?)

[Bacon]

If Walt had made it to 100...he was in pulmonary trouble for a long time before he died, so he would have been riding around the park more than he would have been walking.

Hmm, Walt in an ECV. Would he wear a pin vest or a lanyard?