By Brittany Bell

When guests are taking a walk down the crowded streets of Frontierland, they are transported back to a simpler time of the American West when cowboys and outlaws ruled the streets. Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain reign as the kings of the land, towering over the frontier streets. However, this land was originally slated to be much different than it is now. Join us today as we look at what was planned for the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland and the never-realized but absolutely remarkable Thunder Mesa and the Western River Expedition...

By Brittany Bell

Since its announcement at the 2015 D23 Expo, the highly anticipated Star Wars Land has created a buzz around Disney Parks. At Walt Disney World, the land will be a part of the complete overhaul of Hollywood Studios. This fitting environment of movies and movie magic makes for a seamless introduction of the land into the new story of Hollywood Studios. Over on the West Coast at the Disneyland Resort, though, Star Wars Land is replacing the area formerly known as Big Thunder Ranch. In a park inspired by timeless representations of worlds of adventure and fantasy, guests and fans are left wondering how Star Wars Land will fit into the overall theme of Disneyland. However, the area in which Star Wars Land will soon call home was actually supposed to be Discovery Bay—a land inspired by invention and discovery. In today's article, let's see how the original plans for Discovery Bay, the new plans for Star Wars Land, and how, in this context, Star Wars Land makes a little more sense…

By EPCOT Explorer

At WED Enterprises, the 1970s were marked with an unmistakable drive of creativity that produced some of the most well known and iconic Disney experiences that still are held dear, today. This was the decade of Walt Disney World’s opening and all of the efforts to bring the fledgling resort up to operational and thematic speed. This is also the heady decade in which Walt Disney Productions would finally act upon Walt Disney’s idea for an urban community of tomorrow and produce a theme park, EPCOT Center, out of those ideas and plans. Additionally, this is also the decade when Disney looked beyond America and saw potential in building magic kingdoms around the world. Tokyo Disneyland’s creative nexus came about during EPCOT’s formal creation as a unified theme park and would go on to be a thematic entity based in the best parts of her Floridian and Californian sisters. But what of Disneyland, the original Magic Kingdom? Disneyland, too, was also the product of the driving spirit of WED’s enterprise during the mid 1970s and although what was built was slightly less than all of the plans and ideas fostered for the park, the process is astounding and a hallmark of the breadth of WED’s vision and skill. Under closer observation, Tony Baxter was instrumental in the creation of Disneyland’s efforts to expand. Join us today as we look back at Tony Baxter's development and influence on Imagineering’s way forward in perfecting the art of the theme park experience...

By Keith Mahne

By Keith Mahne

The WDW Haunted Mansion and Tony Baxter are two Disney Icons. Today we'll see what happens when you put them both together. Watch and enjoy as Tony talks about Disney history and the attraction. Continue after the page break for your very own 48 minute personal tour of Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion featuring our favorite tour guide Tony Baxter...