Discovery Bay and Dumbo Circus: Disneyland’s Unbuilt Lands (Ep. 89)

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore two Disneyland lands that never made it off the drawing board: Dumbo Circus and Discovery Bay. Jim traces their roots in Walt’s Fantasyland plans and describes the attractions, restaurants, and transportation that would have connected these ambitious additions. The conversation also follows surviving ideas into later Disney parks and explains how movie performance and competing projects influenced what finally got built.

Original Air Date: October 15, 2015 (estimated)
Original Title: Fantasyland - Never Built Land

HIGHLIGHTS

• Walt’s storybook-village vision for Fantasyland and the budget compromises behind the 1955 tournament tents.
• Dumbo Circus plans, including an elevated Dumbo ride, a Pinocchio attraction, and Mickey’s proposed circus extravaganza.
• The Great Western Balloon Ascent and its connection between the two proposed lands.
• Discovery Bay’s Victorian waterfront, Chinatown, lighthouse, and gold-rush influences.
• The Hyperion airship and how The Island at the Top of the World affected the project’s prospects.
• Nemo’s Lava Cruiser, a Nautilus restaurant, and a time-travel boat ride using the Primeval World dinosaurs.
• Ideas that resurfaced in Discoveryland, Coral Reef, and other Disney locations.
• How the unbuilt projects connect to Disneyland’s eventual 1983 Fantasyland makeover.

For this episode’s full show notes, click here.
View transcript here.

HOSTS

• Jim Hill: X and Instagram @JimHillMedia | jimhillmedia.com
• Len Testa: Bluesky @lentesta.bsky.social | Instagram @len.testa | touringplans.com

FOLLOW

• Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews
• X and Instagram: @JimHillMedia
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SUPPORT

Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Produced by Aaron Adams

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Jim and Len explore Disneyland’s unbuilt Dumbo Circus and Discovery Bay, plus the ideas that resurfaced in later Disney attractions.

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