The CRAZY History Of Doctor Who And Disney

With a whole universe at its fingertips and with such famous iconography, Doctor Who has always been a perfect property to use in theme parks, escape rooms, and other similar attractions.

And although the Doctor himself didn't make it to Disneyland in the early 1980s, Korkis has also revealed that the Walt Disney Company wanted to bring the TARDIS to one of its real-life parks a decade later.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Disney was on the hunt for franchises it could buy the rights to, and Doctor Who was on its radar. Disney was keen to buy the entire Doctor Who video library, and if this deal had been made, it could've also led to a full-blown Doctor Who attraction at Disneyland.

Korkis described this potential attraction as follows:

"Preliminary plans were drawn up for a walk-through attraction at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland that would have taken guests through the inside of the TARDIS. There were also preliminary plans for a dark ride through time and space."

Korkis said that many have speculated that Doctor Who was a "Plan B" in the event that Disney's partnership with George Lucas and Star Wars didn't work out. This of course wasn't the case, and the Star Tours attraction enjoyed decades of success following its debut at Disneyland in 1987.

And look, as much as we love it, is Doctor Who really comparable to the behemoth that is Star Wars?

Over 30 years later, the TARDIS finally did arrive at Disneyland to promote Ncuti Gatwa's first season of Doctor Who. However, as far as we're aware, there are no plans for a Doctor Who ride to follow, which does feel like a missed opportunity.