How on Earth can you design a castle with water?
That is the question that I - and, I suspect, other Disney fans - have after watching the latest video from Walt Disney Imagineering. Called "Building Castles," the latest episode of "We Call It Imagineering" includes a brief tease for Disney's next theme park castle. That's the one that will be coming to Disney's new theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Late in the episode, Zach Riddley, who is now SVP Global Creative Strategy for Walt Disney Imagineering, says, "Abu Dhabi is a city on the water, and so we're really excited about being able to incorporate water for the first time in the design of one of our castles."
The obvious answer to the question of designing a castle with water would seem to be "with a moat," but Zach's statement that the Abu Dhabi design would be a "first time" use of water in a castle would rule out that as our answer. After all, water elements have surrounded Disney castles ever since the original Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. So let's take Zach at his word and infer that Disney will be incorporating water within the design of the castle structure itself.
This is not unheard of in architecture, of course. Perhaps the most famous example of the use of water within architectural design is Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater estate in Pennsylvania. That house is built partially over a waterfall, with outdoor terraces meant to evoke an extension of that waterfall. The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in California and similar other resort hotels get social media love from time to time for the boats that float through their lobbies and other waterways within resort buildings.
But we cannot consider Disney's use of water in its Abu Dhabi castle without acknowledging the biggest challenge that Disney will face in designing its Anu Dhabi theme park. That will be the need to house most - if not all - of the park indoors. Yas Island's other three theme parks are all indoors, save for roller coaster tracks that extend from the parks' interior. The heat and humidity in Abu Dhabi can make a summer in Orlando feel pleasant, so indoor construction will be a must for guest and cast comfort.
Disney's concept art for the Abu Dhabi park is vague, at best. But it does raise an interesting possibility.
What if Disney designed a castle that was entirely water? Think of a large fountain designed to create the shape of a castle - sort of like what Hersheypark did with its Kisses Fountain, but on a much larger scale. What Disney has shown in its concept art to date looks a lot more like a giant fountain than a physical structure, anyway. A fountain castle could provide an outdoor visual weenie drawing people toward the Yas Island Disney park, allowing it to extend beyond whatever height Disney and its partner Miral choose to build the park's buildings.
To me, that would be a cop-out. Disney fans want an actual castle in a castle park, and not just a visual impression of one. But I also think that it is fun that Disney is bringing fans along through the development of this new park by challenging us to think about questions such as "how do you incorporate water into the design of a Disney castle?"
If you want to skip ahead for the answer, well, you can't. We still do not have any official word from Disney or Miral on when this new park will open or what it, realistically, will look like.
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Ah yes, nothing says magic like a castle -shaped fountain. Because based off the description and concept art, that's exactly what we're gonna get.
I will give them credit for that video - it's pretty damn good.
But Yes they have used water several times so I was confused....?
China has a boat ride thru the castle also...
Looking closely at the concept art, it does look like there are a few geysers built into the crystalline structure that are shooting water. Perhaps "incorporating water" amounts to water spouts being built on the castle structure itself rather than moats or waterways that pass through it?
I wonder if instead of the generic "inspired by all the Disney princesses" we got with Castle of Magical Dreams & Enchanted Storybook Castle, perhaps Imagineering will take a page out of Sleeping Beauty Castle & Cinderella Castle and base the DAD castle on a specific IP? The structure looks mightily evocative of Elsa's ice palace...
Maybe they build a castle that is covered with fountains and you can't see the structure, only the water. Just like those failed fountains World Showcase Lagoon. Yeah that didn't work very well.
Do we have an idea of what lands/attractions there will be?
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"Abu Dhabi is a city on the water, and so we're really excited about being able to incorporate water for the first time in the design of one of our castles."
Has this Imagineer never visited Disneyland, which has an actual moat and working drawbridge to Sleeping Beauty's Castle? This, from the same Imagineer who led the EPCOT transformation that comically ripped one of the most iconic water features from what was the second most visited theme park on the planet?
Sure, I think incorporating some water features into a park that's in one of the most inhospitable climates on Earth is a smart move. Maybe some lightbulbs clicked on after they drained RoA at MK and saw how Frotierland and Liberty Square lost their natural air conditioning. However, do I think this castle is going to be some groundbreaking or innovative design? Nope.