Oceana

The centerpiece of DisneySea was to be Oceana, a giant-sized aquarium that would have served as a sphere of education and entertainment. It would even have had a tidal exchange with the ocean. That means that the tides would have risen and fallen so guests could see actual undersea nature from the inside of the structure. Here’s what Port Disney News had to say about it.

Within this oceanarium, guests will experience true-to-life recreations of marine habitats and ecological systems from around the globe. Visitors will be able to touch, smell, feel and hear the world of water. Overhead walkways and underwater portholes will provide both bird's-eye and crab's-eye views.

In Oceana, interactive displays and hands-on participation will encourage children and adults to learn about the ocean in ways that are fun, challenging, and informative. For example, guests can see for themselves how gills work, how fish communicate, and how coral build their fragile, complex reefs. Through special lenses, they may see through the eyes of an octopus, a lobster, a penguin, and a whale.

Future Research Center

The Future Research Center was going to be a very advanced research laboratory at the edge of DisneySea. Attendees of the park would get to speak with some of the top scientists in the field of oceanographic research. It would involve an advisory board made up of people in the area interested in marine science, giving people young and old a chance to (pardon the pun) get their feet wet in the field. They would have got to visit the lab, watch the experts do their jobs and get an overall sense of the future of our relationship with the two-thirds of the earth that aren’t land.

For the less studious visitors, the Future Research Center was also to have an adventure ride that simulated what it was like to be a deep sea diver/explorer.

Themed lands

Here’s what we know about themed areas intended for the abandoned California DisneySea project. One of them is probably never going to materialize, but Tokyo’s DisneySea recreated the other one with some changes.

Pirate Island

This seemed like the Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland, but taken to a whole new level. The schematics put together for Pirate Island were actually used by producers of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies to convince others of the potential for the series. It was clearly a convincing argument.

Heroes' Harbor

A land made up of high seas thrill rides involving mythic folklore connected to the oceans and the seas.

Mysterious Island

Mysterious Island, based on some classic Jules Verne novels, involved Nemo’s Lava Crusier, an advanced simulator-based attraction that would have involved adventures including an encounter with a giant squid.

Other attractions

• Exotic beaches of Venture Reefs
• Sunken ships and marine life
• Fleets of Fantasy, attractions themed based on storybook-like seafaring
• A “Shark Cage Encounter” with a name that explains itself. This is probably the single craziest idea that was had for DisneySea.
  

Programs for students

Ever concerned about education, Disney had a plan specifically for students. Full-day and half-day programs were discussed that would have given teachers a reason to send students to DisneySea on a field trip. Elements were to include multimedia presentations, tours and lectures for a number of schools in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.

Ocean Outreach Center

The Ocean Outreach Center was likened to the Teacher’s Center at Epcot, with a “library of the sea” that was to include computer terminals, reading rooms and research files.

The death of Port Disney

So how did such a great dream die? Money was obviously a factor, given the extravagant plans for California's DisneySea. This was especially an issue after the epic failure that was EuroDisney's opening years. Another factor was the opposition Disney faced from the California Coastal Commission and the Port of Long Beach, both of whom didn’t want Port Disney in Long Beach.

The single biggest hurdle was that the Coastal Commission wouldn’t let the Imagineers use the 250 acres of open coastal water it needed for its building plans. Because of that backlash from different sources and its financial woes, Disney turned away from its Port Disney plans. However, the idea for a DisneySea was too good to let go of completely. Read on to learn how it ultimately ended up halfway around the world...