Colorful Aquatic World

A couple of weeks back I had the pleasure of joining Lou Mongello on the WDW Radio to kick off summer with a look at Typhoon Lagoon with our own special brand of history, food, attractions, and storytelling! We briefly touched upon all the experiences offered to Typhoon Lagoon’s guests via the Shark Reef, which sparked me to pull this gem out to share.

This is an early piece of concept art for the Shark Reef. In this cutaway view you can see all the various ways a guest could enjoy the tropical marine life of the reef; from walking along the bridge, to stepping below in order to peer into the clear blue waters from behind glass, or even don snorkeling gear and get up close and personal with the fish, sharks, and other marine life in the tank. The design may have changed a little, this looks a little more swamp than grotto and the underwater pathway would end up in an overturned ship and not the bridge, but the spirit remained the same right on through to opening day.

What I love most about this concept piece is that it shows the entire range of experiences in a single frame by just using a cross-section. Typically with concept art you get a single scene or activity, perhaps there is a description of more to do, or other images to explain further, but I love that we can see it all in one brief moment here.

Have you ever swam with the fishes of Shark Reef? Perhaps the better, non-gangster-like, question would be, what is your favorite way to experience Shark Reef?