There are a lot of things that come to mind when people think about Disney theme parks — meeting Mickey Mouse, trying a turkey leg, riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, watching the fireworks, and things like that. Disney theme parks are magical places where guests can travel to places like Neverland, Africa, the golden age of Hollywood, and even space!But would you ever think of a Disney theme park as a place where guests would experience life during the Civil War, and even “make you feel what it was like to be a slave”?Credit: DisneyRelated: Disney’s First New Major Florida Park in 27 Years: Here’s What We KnowWell, Disney almost made a theme park like that a reality.In a recent podcast episode of Today, Explained, historian Jacqui Shine explained the thought process behind then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner’s belief that a Disney theme park dedicated to America’s history could be successful.According to Ms. Shine, the history of Disney’s America began with Michael Eisner and his announcement of the “Disney decade,” a bold initiative to expand Disney theme parks and resorts. The announcement came shortly after what is known as the “Disney Renaissance,” a period of wildly successful Disney movies, including The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994).Credit: DisneyRelated: The Disney Renaissance: How a 10-Year Era Took Disney Fandom to the Next LevelUnfortunately, Mr. Eisner’s plans for a Disney global expansion did not go as planned. Upon opening, Euro Disney (now Disneyland Paris) was a complete flop and lost a billion dollars in its first year.Because of that, Mr. Eisner and Disney decided to focus on smaller local parks, which took them to Colonial Williamsburg. The area already had a successful theme park — Busch Gardens Williamsburg — which led Mr. Eisner and former Disney President Frank Wells to develop the idea for Disney’s America.Disney’s America would be a history-themed theme park, and would also be located in Virginia in an attempt to capitalize on tourism in the D.C. area. And in a truly interesting twist, the theme park would not feature any of Disney’s iconic characters, like Mickey Mouse.Credit: Jim Hill/DisneyRelated: 10 Disney Park Projects That Were Unfortunately CanceledDisney’s original plans for the theme park were to feature The Muppets, who would have told the story of immigrants.In a report from Vox:Disney’s America, the doomed amusement park, would have contained the story of immigration told through the Muppets’ musical-comedy stylings. It would have had sections dedicated to the Industrial Revolution, Native America, and the Civil War. It would, as Disney executives put it at the time, “make you a Civil War soldier. We want to make you feel what it was like to be a slave.”Disney was going all-in on history, as the studio had also begun working on its new animated film, Pocahontas (1995), and Mr. Eisner was very interested in John Smith and Pocahontas.Credit: DisneyWhat made Disney’s plans for its America theme park was that the plan wasn’t to create a fun environment like over at Busch Gardens.When Disney announced the project in 1993, Mr. Eisner said that the company was not going to whitewash American history. Instead, Disney’s America would present a “painful, disturbing, agonizing history.”The day after this press release is issued, Disney holds a press conference in Haymarket. At this presser, Bob Weis, who is the senior vice president of imagineering, which is Disney’s creative division, says, “This will be entertaining in the sense that it would leave you something you could mull over. We want to make you a Civil War soldier. We want to make you feel what it was like to be a slave or what it was like to escape through the underground railroad.”Credit: Jim Hill/DisneyAccording to Disney’s promotional brochure, Disney’s America would take guests through different periods of American history. Guests would begin their journey during the American Revolution, and they would then journey into different Native American villages, encountering different tribes, and even join Lewis and Clark on their expedition.Guests would then move on to the Civil War front, where they would experience what it was like to be a soldier. After that, it was a story about the explosion in immigration to America. Insiders claimed that Disney was planning a musical Muppets show about immigration, called The Muppets Take America.Disney’s plan was also for guests to experience the Industrial Revolution, parachute from an airplane, operate a military tank, milk a cow, and learn how to make homemade ice cream.Credit: DisneyRelated: Magic Kingdom’s Latest Expansion Is More American Than You ThinkAs expected, a lot of people had a BIG problem with Disney creating a theme park that would feature the dark period of slavery. A huge debate erupted around whether Disney was honoring American history or “Disneyfying” the entire experience.A group of respected historians even launched a campaign called “Protect Historic America.” Their biggest problem with the theme park was that it was going to be built just a few miles from the National Park Service Civil War Battlefield: Manassas. It is estimated that there were approximately 25,000 casualties on the battlefield, and 3,700 men lost their lives.There were even protests against the theme park. Mr. Eisner headed to D.C. and invited a large group of politicians to a screening of The Lion King, and when everyone left the theater, they encountered a group of protestors. Shortly after that, around 3,000 people marched on the National Mall to protest Disney’s America.Credit: Jim Hill/DisneyShortly after the march on the National Mall, Disney announced that it was pulling out of Virginia, and the project was canceled.Of course, this has not stopped Disney from being involved in historical debates, especially recently. The controversy surrounding Donald Trump’s administration has affected Disney in more ways than one, including a near-constant debate surrounding the Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square at Walt Disney World.Thankfully, when it came to Disney’s America, Disney listened to what the people had to say and decided against the controversial theme park.Do you think Disney was right in cancelling Disney’s America? Should any theme park have an experience where guests can feel what it was like to be a slave? Was the entire idea inconsiderate of the struggles of black Americans and immigrants? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!The post Cancelled Disney Theme Park Would Have Included a Slavery Experience appeared first on Inside the Magic.