Like anything, most design projects start with some serious thought and study. Here are some very rare views of some early attraction posters. Some turned out very similar to what you see, while others never went into production at all. And keep your eyes peeled for an amazing new attraction poster book due out in the spring of 2011!!
PEOPLEMOVER THRU THE SUPER SPEED TUNNEL
Disneyland c.1976 Jim Michaelson
BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD
Disneyland c. 1978 Jim Michaelson
HAUNTED MANSION
Disneyland, Walt Disney World c. 1981
Jim Michaelson
This elaborate redo for the Haunted Mansion was done in the famous "Window Frame" style popularized by WED graphic artist Jim Michaelson. He was the "father" of the second generation attraction poster. The Haunted mansion's "sister" attraction..........PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN had a revised poster created in 1982. WED was able to justify the cost of the new Pirates poster as Walt Disney World had no poster for their attraction, and Tokyo Disneyland would also be able to use the same artwork. The production of the revised Haunted Mansion was "dead-in-the-water" as the production costs for the elaborate re-do was predicted to be too expensive and time consuming. Also the new Pirates poster was well received at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland, however the director of Disneyland's decorating department said "It looked like a cereal box" and few were every displayed at Disneyland and the original 1967 poster for pirates stayed on display for years.
Disneyland c.1966
Disneyland c. 1955/56 Bjorn Aronson
TOM SAWYER ISLAND
Disneyland c. 1956 Sam McKim
JUNGLE RIVER
Disneyland, c. 1955/56 Sam McKim
WORLD BAZAAR
Tokyo Disneyland, c. 1982 Herbert Ryman
This is the first study for the all-new "land" World Bazaar. Tokyo's equivalent to Main Street USA. The final poster changed drastically, but Rudy Lord --a close friend of Herbert Ryman made sure the text remained the same.
Check back for MORE attraction poster concepts and stories on these great works of art
