The Disney Gallery Presents: Disney 100 Years of Wonder

It’s finally here! For the first time in forever (well, since 2019), there’s a new exhibit in the Disney Gallery inside the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland, The Disney Gallery Presents: Disney 100 Years of Wonder.

Replacing “Happy Haunts Materialize,” celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion, the new exhibit highlights an even more significant milestone – Disney’s 100th – and, in particular, spotlights Walt’s original vision for Disneyland as a place where his films could come to life in the real world.

Showcasing Disney films that became Disneyland Resort attractions and park experiences that later inspired Disney films, artwork created by original Disney animators is displayed alongside artwork conceived by original Disney Imagineers when they were recreating those stories in the park, who, as Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine points out, were sometimes the same people.

“We tried to look at the [Walt Disney Imagineering] art and then look at the studio art – but what’s interesting is that some of our same artists, like Marc Davis or John Hench or Claude Coats worked on both,” Irvine said.

She also told me she tried to choose things that “had a good relationship,” including one of Eyvind Earle’s drawings of the castle from the classic animated movie ”Sleeping Beauty” placed next to a rendering of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle to show that, even though they’re obviously not exactly the same, you can still see the connection and inspiration.

“There’s just so many fabulous things that guests never get to see,” Irvine said. “It was difficult to narrow it down, but I tried to think of ones that would be really interesting to the guests.”

Even after narrowing down the choices, the exhibit contains 135 pieces of art (for comparison, Irvine told me Disney Gallery exhibits usually have about 35 pieces). Represented by those 135 pieces are opening day attractions all the way up to some of the resort’s newest.

“What’s interesting about the new movies is many of them are based on the original attractions,” Irvine noted. “So, we’ve gone from film to attraction and back to film again.”

Which Disney movies and attractions are featured in The Disney Gallery Presents: Disney 100 Years of Wonder?

Sleeping Beauty Castle – Sleeping Beauty Castle (an opening day attraction) contains a rare example of an attraction that opened before the movie on which it’s based, as the castle’s walk-through attraction, which opened in 1957, contained scenes from the then still-in-production “Sleeping Beauty,” which didn’t premier until 1959.

Haunted Mansion – The mansion was built in 1963, but the attraction inside didn’t debut until 1969, and even though it wasn’t originally based on a movie, there have since been movies based on the ride.

Matterhorn Bobsleds – Disneyland’s iconic Matterhorn Mountain is a 1/100^th-scale version of the famous mountain in Switzerland, but it was still inspired by a Disney movie: “Third Man on the Mountain” (1959).

Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland and Rivers of America – Before Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disneyland had the Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland, which along with Rivers of America, drew inspiration from Disney nature documentaries called “The True-Life Adventures.”

Alice in Wonderland – The 1951 animated film inspired two Disneyland attractions: the Mad Tea Party (an opening day original), and Alice in Wonderland, which debuted in 1958. Both were reimagined in 1983 and 1984.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage – The original submarine attraction (and its eight subs) made its last journey through Tomorrowland Lagoon in 1998 but was reimagined in 2007 as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage with characters from “Finding Nemo” (2003) who were created by many of the same animators who worked on the Pixar film.

Snow White’s Enchanted Wish – On Disneyland’s opening day, there was no Snow White in the Snow White’s Adventures attraction based on Disney’s first full-length animated movie, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937). That’s because the guests were supposed to be Snow White and experience the ride from her point of view, but in 1983, the attraction finally added the beloved Disney princess and was renamed Snow White’s Scary Adventures. In 2022, the ride was reimagined again as Snow White’s Enchanted Wish.

Pinocchio’s Daring Journey – Even though it’s based on Disney’s second animated feature, “Pinocchio” (1940), the ride didn’t debut in Disneyland until 1983.

Storybook Land Canal Boats – The first version of the attraction – Canal Boats of the World – opened with Disneyland in 1955 and was intended to be a voyage past miniature cities and landmarks. Unfortunately, due to time and budget constraints, the ride opened with no miniature cities nor landmarks, but soon after, miniature settings from Disney animated movies, including “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” and “Cinderella” soon appeared along the river banks and have stood the test of time. Scenes from more modern movies like “Alladin” and “Frozen” have since joined them.

Casey Jr. Circus Train and Dumbo – When Disneyland opened in 1955, “Dumbo” was its most successful animated movie, so it’s no surprise the adorable elephant would earn two attractions; however, the original idea for the ride’s flying elephants wasn’t Dumbo himself, but instead, the pink elephants on parade. Lucky for Dumbo fans, Walt changed the plan, which is why the elephants are gray.

Peter Pan’s Flight – The 1953 animated movie “Peter Pan” features the characters flying (with the help of pixie dust), so the attraction features a unique ride system where vehicles are suspended from an overhead rail that allows guests to fly too.

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride – The opening day attraction inspired by “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” (1949) fulfills the dream of J. Thaddeus Toad to drive a motorcar.

The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure – “The Little Mermaid” mostly takes place under the sea, so it makes sense that the attraction based on the 1989 animated movie does too, a feat Imagineers accomplished through lighting, projections, and even a temperature change.

Incredicoaster and Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind – Paradise Pier in California Adventure – previously inspired by seaside amusement parks – was reimagined in 2018 as Pixar Pier to celebrate stories and characters from Pixar movies, including “The Incredibles” (2004) and “Inside Out” (2015).

Pirates of the Caribbean – “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003) was the first movie based on a Disney attraction, and the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise became so successful that characters from the movies – Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hector Barbossa – found their way into the attraction in 2006.

Indiana Jones Adventure – Inspired by archeologist Indiana Jones, the ride takes park guests on a brand new adventure alongside the movie’s popular action hero.

Star Tours – Star Tours opened in 1987 as the first attraction inspired by stories and characters from the Star Wars franchise and also the first attraction to feature stories and characters not originally part of Disney. The attraction was reimagined in 2011 as Star Tours – The Adventures Continues with stories from the Skywalker Saga. Since then, the attraction has been updated as new Star Wars stories are told.

Disneyland Lands Showcased in The Disney Gallery Presents: Disney 100 Years of Wonder

Tomorrowland – On Disneyland’s opening day, Tomorrowland featured attractions themed to space and space exploration, inspired by episodes of the Disneyland television series like “Man in Space” and “Man in Flight.” 60 years later, “Tomorrowland” hit the big screen in an action-adventure movie starring George Clooney.

Adventureland – Disney Imagineers looked to several films as inspiration for Adventureland and its attractions, including “Swiss Family Robinson” (1960) and a True-Life documentary called “The African Lion.” In the 1960s and again in 2021, The Jungle Cruise was reimagined with additional scenes, and also in 2021, the fan-favorite Disney attraction inspired a blockbuster movie (with a sequel on the way).

What’s next for Adventureland? Find out in our article below:

BREAKING NEWS: Disneyland’s NEW Adventureland Treehouse Revealed!

Cars Land – Initially, the land dedicated to cars was not going to be inspired by the Pixar movie, but by 1950s and 60s California car culture; however, when the animated film became a hit, the concept shifted from California to Carburetor County.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – When Disney and Lucasfilm joined forces in 2012, it was only a matter of time before a land entirely dedicated to Star Wars would be created at Disneyland, but rather than recreate a place that was already seen in a Star Wars movie, Imagineers created a new outpost on an original planet.

Avengers Campus – Instead of a single movie, Avengers Campus is inspired by an entire franchise – the Marvel Cinematic Universe – which opened in 2021 as a place where the characters and stories constantly evolve.

Maquettes and Props

The exhibit also features several of the maquettes used by Imagineers to design attraction audio-animatronics figures, plus the added bonus of the adorable Dumbo from the 2019 Tim Burton live-action movie.

Disneyland fans will also get to see a rare park treasure: The hag from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” who originally resided on Main Street U.S.A. and later in Fantasyland.

“This used to be on Main Street back in the 50s, but then it went into the warehouse,” Irvine explained. “We brought it back out when we built the villain shop in Fantasyland, but after we closed the shop, she went back into the warehouse. She rattles the chain and cackles – it’s really early animation – so I thought, ‘hey, let’s bring her back and put her next to the Snow White display.’”

The Animators Room

One special section of the exhibit is the animator’s room containing several notable Walt Disney Animation artifacts, including an example of the type of animator’s desks used in the studio’s Animation Building in Burbank, Calif. This display previously housed a miniature model of Disneyland.

Also on display is a scale model of a Multiplane Camera, which was invented by Disney studio staff members to create visual depth by filming through up to six layers of scenic backgrounds painted on glass. The multiplane camera was first used in “The Old Mill” (1937) and later in “Pinocchio” (1940), “Fantasia” (1940), and “Bambi” (1942).

Fun Fact: Full-sized original multi-plane cameras are on display at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank and in the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

Last but certainly not least is a special item from Irvine’s personal Disney history.

“My dad was an animator and worked on Disney feature films up to ‘101 Dalmatians,” Irvine told me. “A long time ago, he gave me, three little Dumbo animation drawings, and I’d kept them all these years in a little envelope, so I had them framed to put up in the [animator’s room], so his pieces are shown there too.”

Did You Know: Kim Irvine’s mom is Walt Disney Imagineer (and 2009 Disney Legend) Leota Toombs (aka Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion)? And did you know Kim plays the iconic medium for the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay?

Disneyland on TV

And, just days before Disneyland opened on July 17th, 1955, it was the subject of an episod on the “Disneyland” TV show. The spot which features Disneyland attractions being designed, constructed and tested is playing on a loop in a corner near the Lincoln theater. And it’s worth sitting down for a while to see horses being trained, the art of wagon wheel making being relearned, Imagineers testing the Peter Pan ride system in Burbank, and all sorts of rarely seen gems. 

More Disney100 Information

This new exhibit is just one part of what’s happening around Disneyland for the Disney100 Celebration. Get the full details for the year-long event in the article below:

UPDATES! Disneyland’s 100 Years of Wonder Celebration Details

Sharing is caring!