Walt Disney's Riverfront Square was a planned

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

that would have been the second Disney park, after

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

. The park was in development between 1963 and 1965.

History

After the construction of Disneyland,

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

publicly stated that he had no intentions of opening parks elsewhere. However, in March 1963, Disney met with the mayor of St. Louis to discuss plans for the construction of a new theme park in the riverfront area of St. Louis, which was undergoing a major redevelopment for the city's bicentennial. The park would have stood in the two city blocks north of

Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League ...

, which was under construction at the same time. Disney had

Imagineering ''Imagineering'' (from "imagination" and "engineering") is the implementation of creative ideas in practical form. The word was registered as a trademark of Disney Enterprises, Inc. in 1990, and forms part of the title of Disney's research and dev ...

draw up plans and design new attractions for the park. For several reasons, plans for the park fell through. Disney may have been insulted after August Busch Jr. publicly called him crazy for thinking his park would succeed without selling beer. By July 1965, Disney announced that plans for the park would not move forward, because of a dispute over the financing and ownership of the park, and Disney's desire to focus his attentions on

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for what would become the construction of

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Proposed plans

Riverfront Square was to be the second Disney park after Disneyland, and would have attractions and features that were present at Disneyland. The costs for the park were projected at $40 million, with a targeted attendance of 25,000 visitors per day. WDRFS

The entrance to the park would have been similar to Disneyland's

Main Street, U.S.A. Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...

, with one side of the street based on Old St. Louis, and the other based on Old

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Disney planned to utilize the

Audio-Animatronic Audio-Animatronics (also known as simply Animatronics, and sometimes shortened to AAs) is the registered trademark for a form of robotics animation created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequent ...

technology that had recently been developed by his company for the New York World's Fair. The top floor of the park would have housed a banquet hall, restaurant, lounge, and bar, overlooking the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

, in addition to having concession stands and shops throughout the park. Several classic Disneyland and Disney World attractions were originally conceived for the St. Louis park, including what would later become Pirates of the Caribbean, the

Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...

, and a "Western Riverboat" ride, whose design was later incorporated into

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a mine train roller coaster located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park in Paris. In Tokyo and Paris, the attraction is named Big Thunder Mountain. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is ...

. Other planned attractions included: * Lewis & Clark Adventure, a ride based on the travels of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

* A ride based on folk legend

Mike Fink Mike Fink (also spelled Miche Phinck)O'Neil, Paul. ''The Old West: The Rivermen''. Time-Life Books, New York. 1975 p. 71 (c. 1770/1780 – c. 1823), called "king of the keelboaters", was a semi-legendary brawler and river boatman who exempli ...

* A New Orleans Square based on the one currently located at Disneyland * The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, complete with the Blue Bayou restaurant * A ride based on folk legend Davy Crockett * An attraction based on the

Meramec Caverns Meramec Caverns is the collective name for a cavern system in the Ozarks, near Stanton, Missouri. The caverns were formed from the erosion of large limestone deposits over millions of years. Pre-Columbian Native American artifacts have been f ...

of Missouri * Two Circarama theaters, at least one of which would show a film about St. Louis * An aviary-type exhibit. * An explorable pirate ship * An

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

* Dark rides based on Peter Pan, Snow White, and Pinocchio which are now all found at Disneyland in California * A wishing well

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Disney's, Walt Riverfront Square Unbuilt Disney attractions America Davy Crockett

History

Proposed plans

See also

References