What Was The Disney Stop?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- When you think of Disney and Main Street, you probably think of the original classic Main Street USA in Disneyland, or perhaps the follow-up version in Orlando Florida. However did you know that for just under a year, on a little known project, we almost got a Disney Main Street in South Carolina?
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📔Sources
📰The Atlanta Constitution
“Disney to catch the mousebound” (Jan 24 1996)
📰The Orlando Sentinel
“Disney teams with AAA to provide multipurpose rest area for travelers” (Jan 25 1996)
“Disney, AAA encounter potholes while planning South Carolina rest stop” (Jul 11 1996)
📰The Palm Beach Post
“Themed tourist stop in S.C. will point way to Disney” (Jan 24 1996)
For their next collaboration, #TheDisneyStop, as it was going to be called, was planned to be over ten times larger than the Ocala stop at 46 acres. For comparison, that’s just under half the size of The Magic Kingdom. Disney chose the small town of Hardeeville, South Carolina for its location. Sitting off of exit 8 on I-95, The Disney Stop would be a five hour drive from Disney World, and just a 20 mile drive to Hilton Head Island. That second part was relevant because beyond just being a popular tourist destination in South Carolina, it’s also where Disney was planning to build their next DVC resort. Disney figured that this would be the perfect spot to grab the attention of tourists heading down I-95 to Florida as well as locals who might be heading to the island.
And with a $35 million dollar budget, Disney didn’t want just any old interstate rest stop. According to Tom Elrod, the President of Marketing and Entertainment at Walt Disney Attractions, The Disney Stop was going to offer a “level of entertainment that people expect out of Disney.” The complex would feature a travel center, obviously, a hotel with 550 rooms, a combined 2,000 dining seats spread across multiple restaurants, an auto service center, a kennel for travelers to keep and care for their pets, and between thirty to forty thousand square feet of retail shopping space. To top it all off, everything at The Disney Stop was going to be tied to a central Main Street that was going to be themed to a 1950s midwestern American town. So think less Main Street USA and more American Graffiti.
Disney themselves would own and operate very little of the center, however they’d overlook the design in order to standardize the look and feel of all the buildings there. They even began to reach out to prospective businesses to work with them on emulating their older looks from the 50s and 60s. If they weren’t around back then they were asked to instead emulate the style of design that was popular for the era.
Taking a slightly different approach for the advertising, the lead up along I-95 to The Disney Stop would trade in the subtle and authentic theming of the 1950s for large and bold Disney related props along the road, which were described to be “like those adorning the All-Star Resorts” in Walt Disney World.
As for the big picture, if all of this worked out, the plan was for AAA and Disney to collaborate on an entire chain of similar rest stops across the country.
The 90s were a wild time for Disney.
Sincerely Eccentric 😂
Lol it sure was!
That's Eisner for you!
I was born and raised in Hardeeville! LOL. It's surreal hearing my town's name.
As a resident of a "small town", I can say it ticks me off that the people of these small towns will sit around and complain that there are no jobs and income, but then they fight tooth and nail to keep jobs and income from coming in. This isn't the 1930's, 40's or 50's anymore. companies like Disney and Walmart are the best, and most the time only options to save the town, and I say that from experience. Our town was less than a year from being dead until they built a new Walmart 4 years ago. Sure we are considered a "Tourist town in the mountains" but with only a scenic train and the mountains, there was nothing. Now we are alive again. Yeah, traffic is heavier, and people are "strangers" (which is fine by me), but new small business are opening again, and income is coming in.
I get where you are coming from but as a South Carolina native in a small town I don't mind jobs coming in that are productive, but I'm against companies like Disney wanting to build something like the rest stop in the theme of a 50's/60's midwestern town, and in my eyes is disrespectful to the culture, and history of the area they were wanting to go into. Now had they been more tasteful, and stuck with a Southern charm theme without going over the top tacky, then sure.
Residents want good paying jobs. Not minimum wage jobs from multi billion dollar corporations that suck the $ out of the community. You know how many small businesses walmart destroys?
@@jimbertido2800 Walmart didn't destroy anything. Better start looking in the mirror and realized that the community did that.
@@jimbertido2800 Jim, Walmart has not destroyed any small business. Customers did. People tend to miss that.
How do you keep finding these fascinating Disney facts? Just when I think you've covered it all, you surprise me with something new! ✌❤🌎
I've got myself asking the same question..
Sounds like Disney Springs everywhere. Interesting 👍🏼
Difference between you and other TH-camrs is your not lazy. You have no problem moving the camera 65 thousand times for the viewers and you also take pride in the videos you make. Keep up the good work sir!
Everyone knows that "South of the Border" is the true "Disney Stop"
rob if you see this please make a south of the border video!!
salbert LMAO You stole my thunder! SOB was the place to be for us when we used to ride from NY to SC or DW when I was a kid in the 70's
What is South of the Border?
@@W4RJ South of the Border is a large Mexican themed rest stop on the NC/SC border on interstate 95, famous its tackiness and lack of political correctness lol
@@W4RJ As playboymaxim said, it's a very tacky Mexican themed highway stop once you enter SC on i-95. I'll add on top of its tackiness, it kinda feels sketchy and unsafe to hang around in. I think people mostly stop there to buy fireworks.
I have never heard Ocala, FL pronounced the way you did.
Yeah me either and I've always lived in Florida. We say it differently for sure.
Yeah, it's weird. I live in Ocala and almost everyone says it a bit differently. :p
As a native Orlando'an we'd always feel out tourists based on their pronunciation of Wekiwa (Wekiva) Springs, Kissimmee, etc.... Never heard Ocala pronounced like this before... Honestly I thought Rob was local... *shrugs*
Oh cow luh
The L was way to present and there isn’t a U. Born and raised in fl and it gets weirder as we go. I heard wekiva for the first time a month ago for a classmate for another stated
As someone who used to live in Florence, SC, just 2 hours from Hardeeville, I would have loved this!
RIP Ocala Disney Welcome Center. We always stopped by there on the drive to our WDW vacations to get hyped up. We also listened to Disneyworld radio when we got close enough as well, but I guess that’s gone now too.
same here, my grandparents also used to live in Ocala so we always visited that store when we were down there haha
I miss both the Welcome Center and WDW radio. They were the appetizers before the main course of WDW itself. And, when you drove out of the World, you knew you had one last Disney stop. It eased the pain, helping you transition out of your vacation into the "real world."
One could also see that stop as a let down. "You mean it's Disney, but we're not at Disney World *_yet?"_* 😦
8 hours on the road a day for a couple days can make one pretty ancy. 😊
Taijifufu I always drive nonstop
Taijifufu atleast 18hrs a day
I usually pride myself on knowing Disney history, but your channel has certainly put me in my place. ;) Loved this video! I had no idea...
Neat to know! I had no idea. I love cool facts.
This would have killed South of the Boarder - which is kind of okay but also heartbreaking because South of the Boarder is so kitschy cool. I really wish they would have done it. Bucees in Texas just like South of the Boarder is a destination along the way. They should revisit this idea
As a South Carolina native of 37 years, NO, and HELL NO!! Tourist have already ruined the beauty of going to the beach for me since the 90's, and we don't need a mega corp, more, or less taking over our small towns that still hold a lot of charm, and old southern beauty with some fake midwestern town themed after the 50's, and 60's. Far as South of Border I find it a tackie mess, and if it burned too the ground I would not lose sleep over it.
Commodorefan64 you clearly under estimate how those annoying tourists help the local communities including the state. But go on with your “get off my lawn” mentality.
SOB killed itself.
Great historical work!! Well tied together... Can you do one on Disney America (if you haven’t already)? As a Virginian, I’ve often given that the “what if” treatment, complete with having visited the prospective site, the office bldg Disney used put plans together, etc... Would be glad to turnover my research if it helps!
In the 80’s, I remember HardeeVille as being a large rest area. A local restaurant, Hardee’s was there. Now they are the East Coast Carl Jr’s. Before Hardee’s, Stuckeys operated their themed rest areas along the Interstates. You had to walk through the gift shop to reach the bathrooms. Like a Disney ride in reverse.
Instead, maybe Disney should help plan and sponsor something tried and true like another Fort Wilderness? Locate it close to their original plan -- somewhere in the Carolinas, near I-95.
Cabins, RV hookups, restaurants, shops, a small lake with boating and fishing rentals, playgrounds, horseback riding, walking trails, campfire sing-a-longs, outdoor movies. AND, most importantly, Disney attention to detail and customer service!
Some motorists and RV'ers will stay the night, but most will just stop and relax for an hour or two.
Good idea, huh?
And if someone at Disney likes this idea and wants to get it green-lit in seconds, all they need to do is include a Disney Vacation Club Preview Center in the proposal! =]
Never knew of this project. Have you ever been to a Buc-cee's (people will sometimes wear shirts with their beaver logo). It's sort of a travel center. Imagine a massive truck stop, only for passenger vehicles and motorcycles only. No matter which location you go, it's ALWAYS busy! Lots of souvenirs of either the store, or the local area. The idea is that you'll get gas, use their super clean restrooms, get a bite to eat, snacks to go, and then continue your journey. I imagine that if Disney were to have implemented its "travel center," it would be like this, a rest stop. You showed video of a Stuckeys, imagine the Super Walmart of Stuckeys.
dang, I remember that Ocala rest stop. I was 5 years old and we'd been driving down to Florida for nearly 2 days. I was so excited I thought we'd finally arrived at Disney World
If we had learned anything from this channel it is that Disney is ambitious
I live on the very edge of Hardeeville and have stayed at the HHI Disney resort many times....yet, I've never heard about this. Very interesting! It kinda makes me sad that this never came to fruition. On a positive note...Hardeeville now has a Latitude Margaritaville community....so we're pretty excited about that!
I remember the Disney rest area in Ocala...I’d forgotten all about that!
Might be a stretch but i wonder if airlines played any part in this not getting off the ground. I know as a kid from new york driving down would be so much more bearable if every few hours there was a mini piece of disney to stop at.
You should do a video about the history of the presence of McDonalds and their food at Disney World
We used to get our Annual Passports renewed at the Disney Rest Stop in Ocala. We lived a little north of there, and, it was like, a block away from our favorite coffee stop and bookstore. Also, it was on Ocala's "Restaurant Row" which we patronized A LOT. Most of the time, it was an easy in, easy out proposition. When it closed, it was heartbreaking. Felt like an old friend had died.
Huh, never heard about this one. You are special Rob.
I wish Disney did more projects like this. I loved Disney quest because it was a slice of Disney for those who couldn't afford to go. Even a small rest stop store would he great to have nearby
I remember that store in Ocala! We used to go there when we visited my grandparents (who lived there) and get our tickets for Disney World! My siblings and I spent many many hours in that little theater they had...
This, Hard Rock Park, only half of Carowinds. Man, my state sucks at this stuff
This is interesting. Many, many years ago I heard the rumor that Disney planned to have a monorail system linking Los Angeles, and several other California coastal cities to the park in Anaheim. This is the next best thing I figure, but I appreciate that you pointed out how the thousands of ideas the Disney Entertainment Groups create, very few come to actual fruition.
Just stop at Hilton Head Island and don't go any further. Hilton Head was one of my most relaxing vacations ever.
You always have such awesome conclusions to your videos. With every idea that we see made a reality, there are many more that are only what ifs. Love it!
The Disney TH-cam community should compile a list of all of Eisner's unused ideas and concepts so we can see just how ambitious he really was.
I’ve only driven to WDW once from where I live in NJ, but a rest stop like this definitely would have warranted a stop. Never put the time in to see South of the Border.
Disney had some great ideas back in the 90’s and some not so good.
It appears all the ones that were crap they did and ones that were good, they didn’t lol
Thanks Rob.
Did you ever consider doing a video about the WDW information center that opened before the Magic Kingdom? Supposedly the building still exists on Hotel Plaza Boulevard??
Would have loved this. Maybe one day it will still happen. Then if it takes off, we can finally get that Disney Highspeed train going down I95 :D
Hey! Could you please make a video about what might have happened with Disney if Euro Disney went well? It seems like it was the hold up for a lot of cancelled projects back in the day.
Yay! More videos! Always enjoy ur videos, very informative and interesting :D
We used to stop at "South of the Border" back in the '50s and '60s before there was a WDW. My sister and I would always be on the lookout for the "Pedro Says" signs along the road. "You never sausage a place" and ""A million ways tequila peso at South of the Border" and "Mexican Weather Report: Chili today, hot tamale" along with the distance to SOTB. If you didn't stop you'd see a sign that said, "Hey - you missed it - make a U-turn" or something like that. Then another sign that said, "maybe you'll stop on the way back." It's a lot bigger now than it was then, but it's still kind of seedy. Still, it's a piece of "Americana" like the roadside diners and motels on the Lincoln Highway or Route 66. It probably would have been killed off by a Disney rest stop.
You can drive through it using Google Maps street view. It is literally south of the border - the NC/SC border is on one edge of the property. Rte 301 goes right through it, which was all there was in those days. I-95 hadn't been built yet, but when it was, it went very close to SOTB. I assume that they lobbied to get an exit there so they wouldn't be bypassed.
Hey rob I used to live in a town called Paris Texas Going back sometimes in the mid 80s All way up until the mid 90s There was rumors at Disney was going to do something in that town The rumors was open up a Theme park I don't know how true that was But I heard the city of Paris Texas didn't want to grow to a major city so they decided against it. It would be interesting if you can dig up something about that And make a video
You couldve been hearing about disneyland paris in france
living here in SC, i've always heard that one of the places considered for WDW was the area near the middle of SC on 95.
*Looks like I found something I can show to my friends*
Thank you for sharing, love your channel Rob😊
I lived in South Carolina and I also have visited the resort near there this video was great and keep going I learn a new thing about Disney every time
I wish this happened, I live so close to Hardiville ☹️
It's Ocala not Ocola......I know because I used to live there
Good for you
So in seattle, our seattle center (where the space needle is) had some history with disney. I would love to see a video about that.
That was a great episode Rob 👏👏👏
Rob, If you had to make Epcot a new land, What Would it be and why?
Great video! Coming from Ohio that may have been a welcome spot to stop.
That was going to be in my home state.
They've had some weird ideas over the years
My town is getting something cool it’s like a town inside a town but its supposed to be like the one in back to the future
I wanna go there!
This sounds like the same theory behind Disney Quest. The common thread is the Disney Store. The principle was that middle America is hungry for local Disney, and Eisner and Co. was going to deliver a saturation of Disney. Eisner saw that there was money to be made today, even if there was long term damage to the brand. Anyone remember the Cadillac Cimmeron? It was a Chevy with Cadillac badges, sold at premium prices. That was Eisner's plan in a nutshell. The Disney Store taught them that they could slap their lable on cheap products and triple the profits. Their assumption was that would work at all scales. When you look at the forward-thinking view of Disney's current executives against the profit-taking view of the late 90s and early 00s, the difference could not be more obvious.
Good research. I never heard of it!
2:14 - picture from universal Hollywood
“...in south carolina.”
me, eating cold pizza in my home in south carolina: fuckin why
"Ocawla" lol
1) You're saying Ocala wrong. It's O-cal-la 2) I live here and I remember when that reststop existed. We used to be able to buy passes and tickets there and I loved to walk around while my mom got our passes for the year.
Can we please have a story about the failed plans for a Disney property at National Harbor along the Md, DC, VA border. Ive seen comments about it here and there on your channel an of course I could just google it, but I like your style of documenting Disney facts.
BTW that property is now a HUGE MGM casino. Go figure.
I would've loved the Disney rest stops if they actually made that idea work. I can right now imagine what would happen if they placed a rest stop off of US 36 outside of Marceline Mo. ( Aka Walt's childhood home)
i think i remember seeing this as a kid on a road trip
Still waiting for Disney Rodeo Texas. (Basically Disney Land Texas. I made up the name x'D)
I live in SC
Ocala Say it like this O-cow-la
Can you do a follow-up video on the Ocala, Florida location?
2:13
But isn't mainstreet U.S.A. based off Fort Collins Colorado a mid-western city/town?
I wish then I would have gone there so much more because it’s about 12 hours away still long but not a lot of mouney
Interesting.... Never heard of anything like this before, but isn't the point of a rest stop just to use the restroom and pick up snacks in the vending machine and go on your way.
what is it with disney and their wacky late 90s misadventures. State fairs? Rest stops? Celebration, Florida?
Rob Nice job as always, You have my continued support. Do you ever shoot “B” roll while your at the parks, or do you search for it each week?
Thanks! When it comes to the contemporary b-roll, I shoot all of that myself whenever I take a trip down. I probably look like a weirdo because I'll find myself recording 10 second shots of everything from garbage cans and bathroom signs, but the benefit is I get a growing library of footage that will (hopefully) one day cover every topic I can imagine.
Wait but what happened to the Ocala stop. They already had that built, if I'm remembering correctly. But what became of it? Did it close? Is it still open?
If the Disney stop would have been anything like Broadway at the beach in myrtle beach SC then itd have been a big hit!BWATB is like DTD but honestly a lot better. That's my two cent
Does that rest stop in Ocala still exist? I go up that way a lot.
Brilliant idea, DisneyCo. You know what people look for in South Carolina? Something that will remind them of Ohio.
We almost had Disney lot lizards.
Maybe money was limited back then but Disney needs to put a hard stop on joint ventures.
Would something like that work out in today's time? I wonder...
ooo love your videos
I wonder if the popular South of the Border tourist spot north of this had any impact on the decisions made?
I'm familiar with the area just by driving the stretch of road. It seems the tourist trap there is too much of a coincidence to not be related to the Disney Stop concept.
@@hewhohasnoidentity4377 As a South Carolina native you are right South of the Border is indeed a tourist trap of the worst kind I try to avoid at all cost if I must go that way up to North Carolina to see family. I can remember as a kid stopping at South of the Border in the early 90's and at the checkout they had buckets full of flavored, and glow in the dark condoms for sale, and this was back when poker palaces where legal here, but they would have busloads of people from North Carolina just sitting there in row after row of electronic poker machines. If that place ever burns down I know I won't be heartbroken that's for sure.
Nicholas Kaiser actually it’s not. South of the Border has been around since before Disney World
@@Tryingtohaveityall Maybe it's changed in the past few years, but I've always remembered it as a stupid old school tourist trap.
Commodorefan64 it is. It’s old like 1950s old. It’s kind of scuzzy but so over the top it’s kinda cool. I have not been there in MANY years but i always looked forward to stopping there.
I think there should be more interesting rest stops. It would encourage people to road trip more
Also it would have been illegal. Federal law prohibits any private commercial enterprise from operating on inters highways besides ones that were grandfathered in.
This was right off the exit, so it wouldn't have been operating on the actual highway the way the typical rest stops do.
Maybe they decided it would oversaturate the brand and people wouldn't want to spend the money to go to Disney World / land if they could go to one of the rest stops on the cheap?
Disney loves to plan yet hates to follow thru.
Good thing the travel stops don’t happen...very few people travel by car to Disney with the advent of low air fairs!
what song do you use in your background ?
he’s highkey cute
Great video!!! :)
OMG I was the first comment and like!! TH-cam finnaly sent out the notifications
Sad, 😔
The follow up version?? When somebody says main st USA I think of the Main st trolly dancers they have at the Magic Kingdom and no I don't think of Disneyland...
Rob, you were close but it’s pronounced ( O-cow-la)
Notice how all of Disney’s failed projects, especially those not within Disney property lines, start with Disney didn’t want to run or own it BUT.....
No, don't do this! You're gonna brake my heart!
Wish they had done it. South of the Border is a dive.
that's putting it nicely, it's the kind of place I can remember as a kid seeing buckets of condoms for sale at the front counter, and rows upon rows of video poker machines(they were legal till the late 90's) with bus loads of people from North Carolina sitting there playing them for hours. Now days I try to avoid that place much as possible if I have to drive that way to North Carolina to see family. Far as the Disney rest stop NO, and HELL NO!! with the concept they wanted, I feel it disrespectful trying to build a fake flashy 50's/60's midwestern town in the heart of the south.
Maybe the Disney Stop happened in the Fallout 76 universe...
Was that 1996 or 1969 btw? The footage seems to point to the earlier date.
1996. Unfortunately since the project didn't get that far into development, there wasn't even so much as public concept art. So in situations where there's no relevant b-roll (which is rare, but happens occasionally) I usually fall back on cheesy 50s/60s public domain educational films.
This looks like another idea that never came to be
Well Hardeeville is doing just fine... oh wait 34% are below the poverty line and avg. household income is $36k. Good call, Carolinians!
Is the Ocala stop still there ?
Unfortunately no. It closed, I believe, in 2003 or around then.
So...basically it was going to be a very obnoxious Bucc-ee's.