When Walt Disney World builds something new, it is almost always expected to stand the test of time. Theme park attractions are expensive undertakings, with millions often spent simply doing the early work to design the attraction before construction ever begins. The idea is that the attraction will pay for itself over the course of decades. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work out.
While most attractions at Disney World are successful enough, there have been a few times when a lot of time and money gets put into something that ends up missing the mark so much that the resort has no choice but to spend even more money to replace it with something that is more popular. It’s happened before, just as it has now happened again.
Harmonious Barges
Closed In: 18 Months
For months leading into the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World, the lagoon at the center of Epcot was the home of some serious construction. Following the retirement of the long-running Illuminations: Reflections of Earth nighttime spectacular, which saw a massive floating globe enter the lagoon each night, gigantic stationary barges were being built to be the focal point of an all new show: Harmonious.
While a lot of people liked Harmonious as a show, it seemed nobody liked what it cost. People complained about the massive barges, that just sat in the water as a significant eyesore during the day. Universal Orlando's snarky Twitter account made fun of them. Considering this was a static installation, that must have cost millions, there was an expectation that they would be around for a long time to be used in future nighttime spectaculars. However, we now know that once Harmonious ends its run, the barges will be dismantled. They can’t possibly have been worth it.
Journey Into Your Imagination
Closed In: 2 Years
Journey Into Imagination was one of Epcot’s first attractions, and it introduced a pair of brand new original characters to the park, Dreamfinder and Figment. The ride-through attraction was full of simple animatronics, a catchy theme song from the Sherman Brothers and a lot of heart and, well, imagination. But all rides come due for a little rehab now and then, and so in the late ‘90s Journey Into Imagination was transformed into something surprisingly different.
The newly titled Journey Into Your Imagination didn't have Dreamfinder or Figment, but rather 100% more…Eric Idle? The ride was also significantly shorter. Figment had become incredibly popular, so him missing was a big deal. Fans voiced their displeasure with this one, pushing Disney World to redesign the ride yet a third time after only two years. The current version, Journey Into Imagination, With Figment, is still not as well liked as the original, but is seen as an improvement on what existed in the middle.
NBA Experience
Closed in: 2 Years (Operational 7 Months)
Not an attraction in a theme park, but nonetheless a major Disney investment that could not possibly have made that investment back, the NBA Experience took over the old DisneyQuest building at Disney Springs and was a ticketed interactive experience allowing guests to live out their own hoop dreams.
Opening in partnership with the NBA in the summer of 2019, it was unclear from the beginning just how much interest there ever was in an interactive basketball experience. However, if there had been interest, then the location certainly would have reopened in short order along with the rest of Walt Disney World following the global pandemic. Instead, the NBA Experience remained closed until, almost exactly two years after opening, it was confirmed that it would stay closed for good. The location was only really open to guests for a handful of months.
Discovery River Cruise
Closed In: 16 Months
When Disney’s Animal Kingdom first opened, it was already the most unique Disney theme park, but that meant that it was missing a lot of what people expected from Disney theme parks, like rides. Top attractions like Pandora: The World of Avatar and Expedition Everest wouldn’t exist for years, and some rides that were there weren’t exactly that exciting.
Discovery River Boats was a boat ride from one side of Disney's Animal Kingdom to the other. The problem was that’s essentially all it was. While there were a few unique things for guests to see on the trip, cost cutting reduced what was originally planned. it wasn’t a ride in the traditional Disney sense as it had no story to tell. The attraction got renamed more than once, and was even given a tie-in to Radio Disney in order to gain interest, but it didn’t work and the boat ride didn’t last even a year and a half before shutting down.
Extra-TERRORestrial: Alien Encounter
Closed In: 8 Years
Alien Encounter is something of a unique attraction on this list because while you have to ultimately call it a failure, it was, at the same time, a popular ride for many people. The attraction saw guests in a circular theater to witness alien technology, which in true Disney ride fashion, goes terribly wrong, resulting in a monstrous alien escaping into the dark to terrorize guests.
It was, without question, the most mature and scary attraction to ever open at Disney World, which was both its blessing and its curse. Older kids and adults tended to enjoy it, but it was deemed so scary that warnings were put out to prevent younger guests from going in, which didn’t always work, upsetting parents. The ride held on for a lot longer than the other attractions on this list, but Alien Encounter was clearly dead long before it actually closed. Stitch’s Great Escape, the attraction that replaced this one, and is generally considered one of the worst in the history of Disney World, lasted twice as long as Alien Encounter.
There are Disney World attractions like the Haunted Mansion and the Jungle Cruise, that have been at the resort since day one, over 50 years. That’s the sort of longevity that Disney World and Walt Disney Imagineering are clearly looking for when they put the work into a top tier new attraction. Most of the time, they achieve some degree of success. Every once in a while, however, things don’t work out.
In the end, that’s ok. Change is always inevitable at Disney World, we know that, even if it happens sooner than expected. In the end, no matter how much money is spent, it’s worth it to move on to the next thing and find the replacement that will be the success everybody wants to see.
