The CRAZY History Of Doctor Who And Disney

Having been on the air for over six decades, it's a minor miracle that the Doctor hasn't actually visited Disneyland in an episode.

Of course, the Seventh Doctor and Mel tried to visit 1959 Disneyland in Delta and the Bannermen, but that's not the only time Doctor Who came close to crossing over with one of Disney's parks.

As revealed by Disney historian Jim Korkis, there was once an idea to actually set a Doctor Who story at Disneyland, with the Doctor hunting down a rogue monster.

As Korkis explained:

"There was a proposal for one of the serials to take place at Disneyland where the Doctor would be tracking down an alien. The premise, of course, was that Disneyland is a pretty alien place of its own, so it would be the perfect place for an alien to hide."

Doctor Who historian Richard Bignell has backed up Korkis' claim, revealing that, in 1981, Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner had pitched the Disneyland storyline. However, Doctor Who's oldest enemy budget restraints struck once again, and the money just wasn't there to pull such an ambitious serial off.

And even if the money had been there, Disney apparently wasn't too keen. According to Bignell, they reportedly responded:

"It is against our policy to allow settings like Disneyland and Walt Disney World to be used as background for a programme in a non-Disney television series."

Bit harsh.

The date of this proposal is interesting, as it was likely something that Nathan-Turner had in mind for Doctor Who Season 20, which was filmed in 1982.

So is there a version of Arc of Infinity where the Fifth Doctor ran around Disneyland instead of Amsterdam? That seems like it might line up.