COMPARING EVERY SQUARE, COUNTRY, POINT, AND COVE

Foreword:

I know, the first thing one might think is:

‘Why?... There is nothing to compare, these lands are all different.’

Well, yes and no… The most obvious difference is that each park has its own - non-IP - original land. (With the exception of Critter Country that exists in 2 parks) But they share more similarities that seen at first sight: they all expand the theme of Adventureland or Frontierland, and the attractions and overall design are sometimes quite similar.

Both the likenesses and the differences make these lands interesting to compare.

 

 

1. DISNEYLAND

NEW ORLEANS SQUARE - OPENED: JULY 24, 1966

New Orleans Square was Disneyland’s first additional land, themed to the French Quarter of 19^th century New Orleans. This land reflects all the richness of the actual French Quarter, and Bourbon Steet in particular, quite accurately. It features a mix of the Spanish colonial style, notable in the decorated ironwork, and the bright colored Caribbean façades, including the balconies and galleries. This rather small land is juxta positioned between Adventureland and Frontierland. It opened in 1966 with no attraction whatsoever. Walt Disney himself was very fond of this land and its architecture and style.

©  Disney

Guests did not have to wait long for in 1967 Pirates of the Caribbean, one of Disney’s signature attractions, opened to the public. Its façade is based on the famous Cabildo in Spanish colonial style. An early conceptual painting by legendary artist Herb Ryman featured a much bigger replica of this building. The attraction was first envisioned as a walk-trough wax museum, but after the overwhelming success of Disney’s 1964 New York World's Fair participation, featuring the It’s a Small World boat ride and the audio-animatronics in the Carousel of Progress and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, it was decided that the Pirates attraction was going to be a boat ride including audio-animatronics. (All of Disney’s contributions to the World’s Fair were so popular they got a place in Disneyland afterwards.) This attraction is one of the last ones Walt himself oversaw and it is seen as one of his finest achievements. He died months before the opening.

Two years later the Haunted Mansion opened, a second signature attraction. Just like Pirates, this attraction too went through some changes. Imagineers opted to use the Omnimover system for this ride. Again, this system debuted in a prototype version at the New York World's Fair for Ford's Magic Skyway pavilion. The façade in classical revival style from the antebellum, was built years before the ride opened. It was based on a drawing by Disney artist Ken Anderson. It was largely inspired by the Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland. Although Ken Anderson proposed a ruined exterior at first, Walt insisted the outside to be neat and clean, only the interior was to be ’doomed’.

©  Disney 

Although New Orleans Square is a land unique to Disneyland, its 2 key attractions are duplicated in almost every other Disney park around the world. Still, the original versions in the unique French Quarter of Disneyland remain unbeatable. Adventureland in Tokyo features a small New Orleans Square section, including the Pirates ride. This area functions as a transition between World Bazaar and the rest of Adventureland. Early designs for Paris featured a full New Orleans Square, but these plans were scrapped.

©  Disney

Disney announced a re-theming of Splash Mountain (previously part of the adjacent Critter Country) to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, based on the movie The Princess and the Frog. Scheduled to open in 2024, this will fittingly make this attraction part of New Orleans Square. Recently, the French Market Restaurant was re-themed as Tiana’s Palace in preparation of the coming attraction. It is aptly themed as the restaurant as seen in the movie.

 

CRITTER COUNTRY - OPENED AS BEAR COUNTRY: MARCH 4, 1972

Country Bear Jamboree, a popular Frontierland attraction in Magic Kingdom, became the first attraction to be duplicated in Disneyland rather than the other way round. Bear Country, a unique little land themed as a Cascadia forest was created for it in the northwest corner of Frontierland. The attraction was called Country Bear Playhouse here and it featured 2 theatres, doubling Florida’s capacity. A second attraction, Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade, opened along with the land.

To make place for this new land the Indian Village, which was a part of Frontierland, was closed and the Indian War Canoes were renamed Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes. The new name still has a Western theme and stays more connected to Frontierland rather than to Critter Country.

©  Disney

At the entrance of the land sits The Hungry Bear Restaurant. It has a great view over the Rivers of America and is visible from the adjacent Frontierland. Since the architecture and style of this restaurant, and the rest of the land are quite similar to Frontierland, it is not disturbing.

This small land remained quite empty in its early years. To solve this, Imagineer Tony Baxter was asked to create a big thrill-ride in the form of a flume ride. This became Splash Mountain that opened in 1989, based on the Disney film Song of the South, which is set in Georgia during the Reconstruction Era. The infamous movie is often criticized for its racist portrayal of the main character Uncle Remus. Fortunately, the ride focused on the animals featured in the film omitting the main character’s storyline. The land is cleverly renamed Critter Country to connect Splash Mountain to its surroundings, featuring all sorts of critters now and not just bears.

©  Disney

Even this hugely popular ride, creating a crowd-packed land, could not prevent the inevitable closure of the still unpopular Country Bear Playhouse in 2001. Two years later Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade closed too. Both attractions made way for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which opened in 2003.

Recently, Splash Mountain closed to become a part of New Orleans Square in the future. Without its signature attraction, Critter Country is now a forgotten corner of Disneyland. With The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh as main attraction, little is left of the ‘critter’ theme. On top of this, The Hungry Bear Restaurant and Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes are both easily mistaken for Frontierland. Only the future will tell whether Critter Country will be adapted once Splash Mountain reopens in New Orleans Square.

 

 

2. MAGIC KINGDOM

LIBERTY SQUARE - OPENED: OCTOBER 1, 1971

Liberty Square is a ‘sister’ land to Frontierland, also representing a part of the American history. This unique Magic Kingdom land is themed after the Thirteen British Colonies of Colonial America during the 18^th century. It was created as a replacement for New Orleans Square, and it stems from an early idea of a never conceived addition to Main Street in Disneyland named Liberty Street.

This is the only land of Magic Kingdom that never received an expansion or major update. It opened with a total of five attractions. Three of them are Frontierland attractions in Disneyland, namely: the Diamond Horseshoe Revue, the Mike Fink Keel Boats and the Riverboat, originally named Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat here. This boat was a copy of the Mark Twain Riverboat and sailed the rivers until 1980. From 1973 there was a second vessel named Richard F. Irvine Riverboat in use. She was renamed The Liberty Belle Riverboat in 1996 and is the only one still operating today. The Mike Fink Keel Boats closed in 2001 but one of them can still be spotted as a prop on the banks of Tom Sawyer Island.

©  Disney

From the hub, you enter Liberty Square over a bridge reminiscent of the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1775 the first battle of the Revolutionary War took place on this bridge. Once crossed, on the right hand side is a small quick service restaurant named after the book by Washington Irving: Sleepy Hollow. It is styled as the actual colonial cottage he lived in along the banks of the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York. Across from this restaurant is the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in colonial style.

Next to the shop stands the 100-year-old Liberty Tree as a living symbol of freedom reminiscent of the original tree in Boston. It contains 13 lanterns representing the original 13 American Colonies. Here also stands a replica of the Liberty Bell, cast from the original mold. Just around the corner is Liberty Tree Tavern, a restaurant in 18^th century Williamsburg style, where Thanksgiving is celebrated every day.

©  Disney

A little further towards Frontierland is the Diamond Horseshoe Revue. Although it was part of Liberty Square upon its opening, it is now considered a part of Frontierland. The saloon, and the buildings surrounding it, are reminiscent of 1840’s St. Louis. This Missouri town is the perfect transition between Frontierland and Liberty Square and shows just how interconnected these lands are.

North of the Liberty Bell is Liberty Square Market with The Hall of Presidents right next to it. This is one of the major attractions here, showcasing every US President in a unique Audio-Animatronic show. The building resembles Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. Further north is another major restaurant called Columbia Harbour House, modeled after a typical New England seaside tavern.

©  Disney 

Finally, in the most northern point of the land is the Haunted Mansion, the most famous attraction of Liberty Square. The ride is a bit longer than the Disneyland counterpart, but furthermore quite similar. The façade on the other hand is completely different. Its style is described as Dutch Gothic Revival, like the residences found in the Hudson River Valley. The no longer existing Gothic styled Rathbone Estate in Kenwood, New York shows a clear resemblance, but in basic form only, for all the typical Gothic features, like the decorated turrets, the pointy arches, and the lancet windows are left out. In fact, the mansion’s architectural style is English Tudor, with the Charlecote Park House in Warwickshire, England as reference. I believe it is described as ‘Dutch Gothic’ only because it sounds so much more mysterious than ‘English Tudor’. For the brickwork stretcher bond is used although English Cross bond is seen on the original artwork. This would have been a logical choice given the time period. Lastly, some fantasy elements are added, like the bat weathervane, the coffins decorating the main doorway and the Chess pieces on top of the mansion*. Marc Davis, one of the key artists on the project was a chess lover and he was known for his great sense of humor. He added the chess playing pirates on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride too.

*In his book: ‘The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering a Disney Classic’, J. Surrell writes that these are not chess pieces, and that the resemblance is a mere coincidence since this kind of ornamentation is typical for the style. I’m not sure what exactly he means by that for typical Gothic or Tudor styled ornamentations are easily recognizable and quite different from these ‘chess’ pieces.

 

 

3. TOKYO DISNEYLAND

CRITTER COUNTRY - OPENED: OCTOBER 1, 1992

Critter Country was created to bring Splash Mountain to Tokyo Disneyland. This is the smallest land of the park, but very well themed. In Disneyland’s counterpart, the old Bear Country is omnipresent, but this is not the case here. Every attraction and restaurant share a similar ‘critter’ theme, using the characters from Song of the South, and adding original characters in the same style creating a cohesive little fantasy world.

©  Disney

Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes are renamed Beaver Brothers Explores Canoes, fitting the overall theme here much better than in Disneyland. This land also features two restaurants: Grandma Sara's Kitchen and Rackety's Raccoon Saloon, both consistently themed with original characters elaborating the ‘Splash Mountain Theme’ if you will.

So far, a re-theming to The Princess and the Frog is not announced for Tokyo’s Splash Mountain. This will probably not happen any time soon because this land is actually a cute little fantasy environment, far away from the unknown story and issues of the film. Re-theming it seems superfluous.

 

 

DISNEYLAND PARIS

Disneyland Paris is the only park without a unique land. Although Discoveryland only exists in Paris, it is a replacement for Tomorrowland, and is quite comparable to it (see separate comparison).

 

 

5. HONG KONG DISNEYLAND

MYSTIC POINT - OPENED: MAY 17, 2013

As part of its massive expansion program Mystic Point was built as Hong Kong Disneyland’s 7^th themed land after Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch were added in 2011 and 2012 respectively. This land is set in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and has 2 attractions only: Garden of Wonders and Mystic Manor. According to the backstory of the land, this is the house of British world traveler Lord Henry Mystic, member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.

©  Disney

The eclectic architecture of Mystic Manor is basically late 19^th century Queen Anne style, with representations of both Russian and Mughal styles. One tower has an onion dome as seen on the Saint Basil's Cathedral of Moscow, and another tower is styled like a Mughal Minaret. The inspiration for the manor is fascinating and many sources are cited. Imagineer Joe Lanzisero, who worked on the attraction said it was initially inspired by Tokyo’s Tower of Terror attraction in a similar style, and he said the design was largely based on the Carson Mansion in California. Imagineer Pat Burke claims that Glendale Sanitarium was the inspiration. The Farragut Club House in Chicago was presented, among other Victorian houses, as inspirational during an early presentation of Mystic Manor. Finally, architect Chistopher DiMattei, co-author of the book Architectural Ragtime about the works of architect George F. Barber said it was a stylized copy of one of the drawings in the book.

The adjacent Explorer’s Club Restaurant is similar in style and resembles the Winchester Mystery House in California with a tower like the tower of the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. The restaurant has 5 separate rooms, all decorated in the style of the country it represents: China, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Russia.

©  Disney

The attraction is a replacement for the Haunted Mansion attraction, found in all previous parks. A typical Haunted Mansion attraction, featuring ghosts, was scrapped due to cultural reasons. Mystic Manor is a unique attraction with a trackless ride system and impressive special effects. This ride, the restaurant, and the Garden of Wonders, featuring a collection of mysterious artefacts, all share the same backstory. This helps the immersive experience of this small but quite brilliant land featuring one of Disney’s best attractions (Mystic Manor is claimed reason enough to visit Hong Kong Disneyland). Since it is set in the jungle, this land could have easily been a part of Adventureland thematically, but there is no direct passage between both lands.

 

 

6. SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND

TREASURE COVE - OPENED: JUNE 16, 2016

Treasure Cove is Disney’s first and only pirate-themed land. Logically, the classic Pirates of the Caribbean ride was a good basis. The Imagineers did not just copy it, they invented a new experience instead, based on the film franchise. It is called: Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure. A technically upscaled version of the previous ride and one the most stunning rides ever. It is the main attraction of the land, which is beautifully themed as an actual Caribbean Island during the Spanish Rule. This island is an elaborate version of the similar Caribbean Island section at Disneyland Paris. Less fantasy like but more cinematographic. Like the imposing façade of the attraction, based on actual fortresses found in Havana like Castillo San Salvador de la Punta and Castillo del Morro.

The land also features an attraction called Siren’s Revenge, similar to Captain Hook’s ship in Paris, but with more to explore and designed as a Spanish ship here. It also has a playground called Shipwreck Shore, again like found in Paris, but more interactive.

©  Disney

A bit further in the land sits El Teatro Fandango. A theatre in Spanish colonial style like buildings found in Havana. Inside plays the exclusive Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular. The entrance of the queue line is themed as a Spanish colonial pavilion. There is a little street called Calle 42 connecting the Pirates attraction to this theatre and it is nicely themed as an actual pirate town as seen in the films. The colors of this street are a bit more whimsical here, making it less authentic.

Finally, there are the Explorer Canoes, a pirate-themed version of the classic Davy Crockett's Canoes, sailing the lake that separates Treasure Cove from Adventure Isle. Although the landing dock is closer to Adventure Isle, this attraction is considered part of Treasure Cove.

©  Disney

This detailed land is Disney Imagineering at its best, there is a story holding everything together and it is accurately themed to create an immersive feeling of being in another world in another time. The same goes for Adventure Isle, making these two lands a very interesting alternative to the classic Adventureland-Frontierland combination found in the other parks.

(click image to enlarge)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Disneyland’s New Orleans Square is simply beautiful. The architecture is spot on and on top of that, its attractions are among Disney’s best. Critter Country, on the other hand, is a bit of a forgotten corner at the moment.

Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square features equally beautiful architecture and great attractions. Its connection to Frontierland works well.

Critter Country in Tokyo is quite lovely and largely preferrable to Disneyland’s, featuring a consistent overall design.

The unique Mystic Manor is one of Hong Kong’s signature attractions, the land is beautifully designed, but quite small though.

Shanghai’s Treasure Cove is every pirate fan’s dream come true. The land is fun and entertaining and features one of Disney’s most innovative rides to date.

 

BEST OF ALL 5 LANDS: TREASURE COVE at Shanghai Disneyland (but New Orleans Square in Anaheim, Liberty Square in Florida, Critter Country in Tokyo, and Mystic Point in Hong Kong are all worthy of an honorable mention)