Every attraction at Walt Disney World, or any Disney park for that matter, began its life as a piece of concept art. Concept art serves as a visual representation of a project, prior to its construction, that captures the look and feel of an attraction before it then enters production. 

Some finished projects look almost identical to their initial concept art, while some differ slightly through various elements. For those who are interested in the behind-the-scenes of the Disney parks, concept art is particularly interesting as it can offer an insight into the initial plans that were conceptualized for these now-beloved attractions. It also allows you to play a ‘spot the difference’ game with the various changes that were made along the way. 

With this in mind, let's take a look at some concept art for four of Walt Disney World’s most popular attractions and see how they differ from the now-finished product. 

1.Haunted Mansion (Magic Kingdom)

Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is a fan-favorite for its all-around spooky vibes, but early concept art for this adored attraction sees a much eerier exterior for the mansion. If you look at the image above, you’ll notice the darkened brickwork gives more of a gothic feel, although there is something about the final design’s warm brickwork and the overall more inviting appearance that makes Haunted Mansion all the more spooky once you step inside. 

While the glass conservatory can be seen in the same position in both the concept and final design, the tower has been shifted from the left side of the building to the center. The exterior of Haunted Mansion that we see in the parks today certainly feels like a much more realized mansion design, but looking at this concept art it's interesting to imagine just how different this version of the mansion would look in Magic Kingdom should it have made it through to the final product. 

2. Tower of Terror (Disney's Hollywood Studios)

Standing tall in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, The Hollywood Tower Hotel almost looked a whole lot different. The early concept design, which you can see above, was first put together to reimagine the classic ‘drop ride’ attraction before the entire idea later evolved into the Tower of Terror as it is today. This concept art imagines a more sprawling footprint for the attraction, which is slightly more realistic in its hotel look thanks to the bulky front portion that leads into the tower-like building. 

While the final Tower of Terror design is still undoubtedly reminiscent of an actual Hollywood Hotel (while also capturing the mystery and wonder of a theme park attraction) this concept leans into that idea a little more. The tower in which the drops would take place looks entirely different when compared to the final product, which now proudly boasts the Hollywood Tower sign front and center, rather than it being off to the side such as within this concept. 

3. Expedition Everest (Disney's Animal Kingdom)

Disney’s Animal Kingdom lets you scale Mount Everest with a thrilling high-speed ride on Expedition Everest, therefore, much of the inspiration for this attraction came from the real-life Himalayan location. 

Looking at the concept art above, you can see that it imagined a ride that isn’t all that different from the final product. As Expedition Everest stands now, the mountain itself is the main focal point, although, with this design the surrounding buildings put Everest a little more in their shadow.

The mountain also seems to feature some form of waterfall, which riders would have passed behind in the lead-up to the ride’s big drop. Its funny to see how close we were to having another Disney attraction that featured the backside of water!

4. Kali River Rapids (Disney's Animal Kingdom)

Another Animal Kingdom favorite, Kali River Rapids is a river-raft ride that tends to leave its riders soaked upon exit. While Kali River Rapids sees riders surrounded by lush greenery as they glide along the icy depths, early concept art actually posed a unique alternative concept for the attraction. 

As seen above, early concept art for the attraction imagined a different boat layout, with riders sitting in rows as opposed to the final circular design of the ride’s rafts. The attraction also swaps the rainforest surroundings for real-life animals, as initial plans saw the ride pass an open-air Elephant enclosure. This concept art is likely to be from the earliest stages of the attraction when it was also planned to be called Tiger Rapids Run - a very interesting idea as it seems to mash Kilimanjaro Safaris and Kali River Rapids together into one attraction.

This concept is certainly different from the current ride-through, which focuses on the dangers of logging, though it could be the case that there were a number of logistical hurdles to cross with bringing this initial concept to life that led to this early design being scrapped. 

Which of these concepts do you think differs the most from its final design? Are there any designs that you wish had made their way through to the final project?