Monday, October 15, 2018

D&M Tribute to WED Imagineer Bruce Bushman Part Two: The Disneyland Alice in Wonderland Walk Through That Never Was


Here is the part two of D&M tribute to WED Imagineer Bruce Bushman who did a lot of concept artworks for Disneyland. Today we'll have a closer look to an Alice in Wonderland walk-through concept for Disneyland that was never built, though it may have been inspirational for Disneyland Paris Alice's Curious Labyrinth.

A map for this Alice walk-though was drawn, here it is. Click on it to enlarge the picture.



All the following renderings are from Bruce Bushman. The order of the scenes below match the scenes order number that Bruce had put on its artworks. One screen, the number "12", might be missing.

The two first scenes below shows the room with guests having their size reduced and the exit of the scene was at the end of the room. Some doors were supposed to open to nowhere.




The next scene is titled "over the waves" and guests had to walk on the two structures below to access the next scene after exiting the previous room with oversized objects.



Guests would have meet the first Alice in Wonderland famous character by walking on a rotating disc floor, to simulate i presume  the dance that happen around him in the animated classic. Note that the same character exist in DLP Alice's Curiosu Labyrinth but placed on the top of a roaring stone that guests are turning by themselves.


Next scene would have been an encounter with suspended Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.


In the next scene guests would have met the walrus and carpenter characters inside the little house and it was supposed to be a "day for night" scene with an "air balloon Moon rising".


The next scene was the one entering the white rabbit house with "crazy stairs inside leading to the top of the slide outside".  Note that there WAS at opening day in DLP Alice's Curious Labyrinth a slide from the top of the Queen of Heart castle which has been cancelled a few years later.


Next scene was walking through giant singing flowers.


Next scene was one with the caterpillar and this one is quite close to the one in DLP Alice's Labyrinth.


The next scenes shows giant trees with indication of different ways to go...


...As well as the next one, a scene in which "things would have fly over head" of the guests.


Guests would also have met in this forest of trees the Cheshire Cat, who would have appear and disappear...


Next scene was the "Mad Tea Party" scene and was supposed to be an animated one.


Next was supposed to be a "Hedge Maze" with scene of giant cars painting roses.



The next scene would have been a big one with the Queen of Heart and guests would have moved through a giant cards maze to access to the Queen of heart scenic.



Guests would have escaped the Queen of Heart by waking through these twin counter-rotating barrels in which you can see a whirlwind of cards printed inside, to simulate the final scene in the animate movie when Alice escapes.


This Alice in Wonderland walk-through for sure would have ben fun but Disney Imagineers ended to build the Disneyland beloved dark ride instead. And of course the Mad Hatter Tea Cups for which Bruce Bushman also did the concept-art below with the white rabbit and the mad hatter at the center and the tea cups turning around them.



Most of the renderings of this article were found in the excellent vintagedisneyalice website which posted them nearly ten years ago, more about Alice in Wonderland on the site HERE.

There is more coming about Bruce Bushman so stay tuned for the part three of D&M tribute to this great Imagineer!

Pictures: copyright Walt Disney Enterprises

1 comment:

Ananke said...

I think, on the last picture you did mix up the White Rabbit and the Marchhare ... ;)