Disney's America from Wagi and citytrader! Finally released!!!

Bench Two of Disney's America is not very large, in fact it only covers two lands, but they are very impressive lands indeed!

The bulk of the work on this bench was done by Wagi. I think I created the one popcorn cart in the corner! Seriously, this bench will hopefully transport you back in time to the amazing World's Fair of Saint Louis in 1904! Still considered one of the greatest World's Fairs of all time, and it actually turned a profit!

The Disney Imagineers worked tirelessly to recreate the essence of the Fair. Guests start their journey by crossing the river into the fairgrounds;





They then arrive at a reproduction of the Pike, a mile long cavalcade of wonder and whimsy, where you could witness Creation, go to the Afterlife, travel by balloon to the North Pole, follow a river through the Tyrolean Alps, or travel by rail through the wilds of Siberia.

Here are a few attractions painstakingly recreated for Disney's America;

Ride through Siberia by train;



Dive into the depths of the ocean on the Submarine Ride;



Meet Jim Key, the educated horse. His promoters claimed that the horse could read and write, make change with money, do arithmetic for "numbers below thirty," and cite Bible passages "where the horse is mentioned."



More of the Pike next time!

I love the grand arches of the Siberian Railway. Also the multi-faceted arched doorway (exit?) to the right.
The Educated Horse sounds like something P.T. Barnum would have on display, right alongside the Fiji Mermaid. Except Barnum was already gone by 1904. Still, I'm sure that horses clomping their hoofs to indicate numbers, etc. had been around for quite a while, and at numerous fairs and exhibitions. Funny how the horses seemed to know only the things that their owners knew.

Actually most of The Pike was Rich's work in this section, I just filled in a few spots!

While this is not a 'totally faithful recreation' of the buildings of the 1904 Fair, hopefully we've been able to create something in the same style. 

This was a fun, yet challenging, part of the park to create...

I love the grand arches of the Siberian Railway. Also the multi-faceted arched doorway (exit?) to the right.
The Educated Horse sounds like something P.T. Barnum would have on display, right alongside the Fiji Mermaid. Except Barnum was already gone by 1904. Still, I'm sure that horses clomping their hoofs to indicate numbers, etc. had been around for quite a while, and at numerous fairs and exhibitions. Funny how the horses seemed to know only the things that their owners knew.

Thanks! Actually, that doorway is only the in-game Morrocan doorway, but it works beautifully there.

Jim Key really was a wonder. There are some excellent articles out there about him and his trainer William Key, and a movie is planned with Morgan Freeman starring. it is said that President William McKinley saw Beautiful Jim Key perform at an exposition in Tennessee and declared, “This is the most astonishing and entertaining exhibition I have ever witnessed.” The horse did a lot more than stomp his foot. He picked out letters on a board to spell out words, and answered math questions the same way. So even if he was trained to do it, he was pretty smart to remember it all.

Continuing down the Pike!
Hereafter was a ride through Heaven and Hell;



Next to the Hereafter was the Wireless Telegraph tower that broadcast all the way to Pittsburgh!



The Battle Abbey had large tableaus of great military battles throughout history. It was one of the only attractions that lost money during the fair;



The large two level Popcorn Hall;

Continuing past the Pike, Embassy Row comes into view. Countries from all over the world came to Saint Louis to exibit.

The building of the Kingdom of Siam;



This structure houses the Netherlands and it's beautiful tulip beds;



One of the larger exibits was the German Pavilion, with a recreation of the Alps, Biergarten, Restaurant, and lovely scenery;









Tired feet? Try riding one of those new fangled Autobuses, guaranteed to get you around the park at six miles an hour!

That autobus looks quite relaxing 

The Tyrolean area looks great! Very inviting, with interesting and picturesque architecture. I love all the mountainside wildflowers. I'm guessing that the Alps are a flat cutout? Probably some of Wagi's work?

this park is looking great

Thanks guys!

Yes, JB, the Alps are cutouts. They will be showing up elsewhere in the park! They also act as wonderful view blocks!

Filming a commercial for Disney's America;



The Grand Carousel is one of the highlights of the St. Louis World's Fair!



Here's another great shot of the Biergarten!



The Cascades spill out from under the Festival Hall down into the lagoon;

Yep, the Alps are indeed cutouts.  Surprisingly similar to what they used at the actual fair in 1904!





And yes, they are available in the Workshop...

The Autobus is modeled on one they actually had at the fair...well, as close as I could make it anyways...



I didn't try to replicate too many actual fair buildings, they were huge and very ornate, but hopefully you'll get a feel for the real thing on a smaller scale...



Also used a number of buildings from the Workshop, either whole (like the Siam Pavilion or Grand Carousel building), or parts of (like the rotundas on the sides of the central arch...).

Looks like the Alps come in two different flavors: Winter and Summer. The real photos of the fair with the Alpine background look really great. From the photos, you'd never guess that they were flats. I wonder if the illusion worked as well for the fair goers? I'm also wondering why the Autobus was so high off the ground; sight seeing? Maybe it pulled up alongside a platform to make loading and unloading easier.

I'm also wondering why the Autobus was so high off the ground; sight seeing? Maybe it pulled up alongside a platform to make loading and unloading easier.

Interesting idea. I'll see if we can squeeze in a station with a step up. Thanks JB!

Great observation JB!

I'm guessing (and it's only a guess...) that one of the reasons for the height is because it looks like the engine is underneath the floor straddling the rear axle?  I've only seen this photo of it, so not sure...

Old photos are really creepy

Old photos are really creepy

Or perhaps the big long skirts women wore made it hard to bend down and in? I know they weren't hoop skirts, but they were pretty cumbersome.

Back to the Louisiana Purchase Exibition of 1904 as imagined by the Disney team!

The Pennsylvania State Exibition building;


A classic Cignet ride;


The imposing Palace of Fine Arts;


The Magic Whirlpool ride;


More of this ride soon!

Wow. Lots of impressive structures here! Especially the Palace of Fine Arts and the huge serpentine arch above the Magic Whirlpool ride. Um, what was the Magic Whirlpool ride, anyway?

Um, what was the Magic Whirlpool ride, anyway?

To be honest, there is not a ton of information on the interior. You went through a whirlpool and then saw various tableaus crypticly named things like "demons kindergarten", "bridge of sighs", and "dance of the phosphorescent phantoms", most probably painted backgronds with lighting effects.

But here at Disney's America, Wagi has created a homage to the classic film Fantasia!



The eerie entrance area!



All Aboard!





A dark and scary graveyard!



That mountain looks familiar;





Who is that on top of the mountain?!?





Thank goodness we escaped from there! Wait, do I hear water?



Look out!



Buckets and buckets everywhere!



The final area of Embassy row we will look at is the Japan pavillion, located right on Lake America.
No captions needed here!













Next up, one of the quieter corners of Disney's America!

Nice. I always wanted to do a Fantasmic water/boat ride in one of my parks. Water fountain, lasers, fireworks, projection screens. Etc. Basically a boat ride through the story of the show.

Love the Fantasia theming. I can picture Centaurs galloping around in those idyllic, colorful landscapes. And there's Chernabog staring down at us malevolently. Do the colorful columns represent the abstract "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" segment? They remind me of organ pipes. Really neat to see the enchanted brooms sloshing water everywhere. Which brings up an interesting paradox: Mickey was in Disney's Fantasia, yet he wouldn't be 'born' until 1928. This Exposition is set in 1904... hmm.

The Japan Pavillion is wonderful, with highly detailed landscaping. I love the iconic shot of the arched bridge reflected in the water.

Which brings up an interesting paradox: Mickey was in Disney's Fantasia, yet he wouldn't be 'born' until 1928. This Exposition is set in 1904... hmm.

I guess old Doc Brown visited St Louis as well as the 1849 Gold Rush!!! 

Which brings up an interesting paradox: Mickey was in Disney's Fantasia, yet he wouldn't be 'born' until 1928. This Exposition is set in 1904... hmm.

I use the same excuse as to why Mr Toad's Wild Ride, which was set in the early 1900's, or Mickey's Philharmagic, set in the current time, exist in a Medieval Fantasyland themed to the 1500's or so.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

The Japan Pavillion is wonderful, with highly detailed landscaping. I love the iconic shot of the arched bridge reflected in the water.

Thanks JB!

The bench Rich has the Japan Pavilion close to the edge of what appears on that bench, where in reality (PC reality anyways...) more of the park exists just past it.  Here's a screen that shows a glimpse of how it flows together into the next area...



And this from the opposite direction.  You can see the lakeside path that leads past The Pike area of the fair and connects with the Colonial areas in the background...



The fairgrounds is actually quite large around the central lagoon...



These night-time shots show the size...



In this last screen you can see a glimpse of several historical vignettes at far right that can be viewed from the parks steam trains...much like the diorama's found at Disneyland (but without a roof...)

The foliage in the first screenshot is beautiful. Sensory overload! The daytime fairgrounds shot truly looks like a (early 20th century) World's Fair. You've captured all the stately grandeur that was on display in those bygone fairs.

The foliage in the first screenshot is beautiful. Sensory overload! The daytime fairgrounds shot truly looks like a (early 20th century) World's Fair. You've captured all the stately grandeur that was on display in those bygone fairs.

Thanks!

Wagi mentioned the vignettes; They are great!

Driving of the Golden Spike;


Votes for women;


And no caption needed for this iconic scene;

The railroad scene reminds me of the diorama in the movie "Night at the Museum", where the little figures come to life.

The Suffragettes look surprisingly true-to-life. A well thought-out scene that tells the story at a glance.

"And no caption needed for this iconic scene". Ah yes. The erection of the scaffolding to begin construction on the Empire State Building. An iconic moment, indeed.

The Suffragettes look surprisingly true-to-life. A well thought-out scene that tells the story at a glance.

Thanks!  Those are based on the ideas for the figures Fisherman originally did, I just narrowed the skirts to match the style during this time period and added hats, signs and banners.

"And no caption needed for this iconic scene". Ah yes. The erection of the scaffolding to begin construction on the Empire State Building. An iconic moment, indeed.

Huh?  Here I thought this was the placement of the cornerstone of the Great Pyramid, but either would seem 'iconic' in Citytrader's memory I guess...

The last part of Disney's America Bench 2 is a segway between the 1904 and the 1939World's Fairs.

Representing the Depression era in American history, welcome to Leesburg, a typical rural community in the 1930's;



Small town life is well represented in the bucolic area complete with livestock, a small main street, even a barn dance!















A small boat dock connects to Lake America;



The township's park is prepping for the big July 4th picnic;



Remembering the fallen;



At the edge of this small town is the state highway, and pass beneath the bridge, and guess where you wind up?





Cool night shot!!!



Bench will be released very soon!

The Woolworth's façade looks very nostalgic; Everytown America. Them's mighty big apples on that tree! And tomatoes the size of basketballs in the cart! I wanna know what kind of fertilizer that farmer uses.
The last couple of shots is like seeing Emerald City at the end of the yellow brick road.