Crossing the rock barrier which separates the EuroDisneyland hub (aka Central Plaza) form Discoveryland our sight would have been focused on the centerpiece of the land: the tall, huge but luckily dormant volcano which would have covered half of the area dedicated to the visions of a past that never was. Never mind those “flying Hyperions” which (thanks to a clever use of transparent wires) would have whizzed over our heads, never mind the incredible light show that which would have drawn your eyes to the rock barrier separating Discoveryland from the remaining park, our goal, if Imagineers had got it there way, would only have been to get as fast as possible within the realms of Discovery Mountain, a real whole “indoor mini-land” dedicated to the dreams and visions as told in Jules Verne's world reknown novels.

From the outside Discovery Mountain would have been a pointy, rocky structure clearly showing off that this natural volcano was functioning as the base for some impressive, human-made structures, even so most of them would be bared from the guest's view as long as he wouldn't step inside. This was ment to firmly establish the basis for the main background story of the whole mountain, which was supposed to had been been taken over by Captain Nemo and had now become his secret lair, the place where the good captain returned to rest with his Nautilus and used the natural forces within the volcano as the driving energy for his experiments. So from the outside various technological elements such as metallic antennas, structure beams, search lights (and even cabins full of passengers) peeking out of the rockwork would have emphasized the idea of many more secrets held within the deepest grottos and tunnels of the dormant volcano.

Once guests would have crossed the doorstep into the mountain (featuring the Latin inscription above the entrance saying “Within this lair the secrets of energy are sealed”) they would have passed through a dark cave like tunnel, their senses aided (or better: fooled) by smells of moisture, noises of dripping water and a descending walkway effect (ingeniously done like in Anaheim’s Indy Adventure) creating the impression of walking depp into volcane and at the same time vigorously building up anticipation for what great adventures laid ahead of them once this tunnel would end somewhere in the depths of the mountain...
As the lights would have come back EuroDisney's guests would have had one of the greatest “WOW”-effects ever to be devised by Walt Disney Imagineering: before them a giant cave would have opened up - the sight of the very heart of the volcano, with rockwork surrounding all the edges of the mountain, a freefall metallic ride with its cabins dropping down at the far end of the giant cave and taking the center very heart of the volcano a huge indoor lagoon in which Nemo’s Nautilus would have been anchored. As if all this wasn't enough over the guests heads the Discovery Mountain rockets would have blasted off from the edges of the volcano for their trip "From the Earth to the Moon", which would have taken place mainly on the third and fourth floors of the mountain out of sight of the guests.

Yes gang, this amazing area of the park would have been more than just a single ride with special effects - it would have effectively been what Imagineers had been trying for years to design: an indoor land which would have held incredible levels of detail and adventures which would have hooked the guests for hours and hours, as well as effectively developing a level of themeing as non other thanks to being able to tap into the richness of all those incredible novels by Jules Verne. Guests venturing into the captain's lair would have been able to decide what adventure to experience as Imagineers had in fact developed a variety of rides and shows suitable for all age groups.
Sure the main draw of the Mountain was supposed to be the roller coaster ride in the upper floors and right next to it the first freefall ride Disney had ever wished to develop … but the Nautilus walkthrough, the amazing light show on the roof of the volcano, the lagoon show featuring geysers, water fountains and quiet some surprising special effect plus the two restaurants - one on the lagoon's shores named “Vulcania” and the "Top of the World Bistro" on the mountain's top level connected with the Videopolis / Cafe Hyperion through walkways - sure would have offered hours of fun and excitement to all members of the family.

Not only Jules Verne's stories but also the walk-around character Jules Verne who, even so not very often, can still be found in Discoveryland nowadays would have found a perfect home within Discovery Mountain and would have beeen able to interact with all the other characters from his own novels Imagineering wanted to develop for this mini-land … including a Captain Nemo walkaround character based on the character design for the 1954 Oscar winning Disney feature. He would have been the "master" of the mountain as the elaborate back-story for Discovery Mountain would have been based on the concept from Jules Verne's novel  “Mysterious Island” that had Nemo finding the source of energy held within the deepest lairs of a dormant volcanic island - “Vulcania” as the novel names it- and using the volcano's interior as his secret port where he returned to to refuel his Nautilus and continue the work on his many experiments in the search for a stable, nature-friendly source of energy for the humankind.
Based on the story's central element the quest for energy, which is the main driving point behind most of Verne’s novels, the Imagineers developed their rides, themeing and entertainment being therefore able to give the main theme of Discoveryland, the “future that never was”, a more romantic / alternative twist ... creating inventions which never really saw the light of day but which in Nemo’s, and Verne’s alternative universe could be a part of every day life.

The freefall ride which guests would have boarded on the far left corner of the mountain seen from the entrance would have been themed around the idea of guests being invited by the Captain to see his observation tower on top of the volcano, the place frome where Nemo read the star maps and watched the whole ocean surrounding his island. Once boarding the cabine looking as made out of cold lava, the Captain would have explained in an audio-spiel the history of Vulcania, its incredible source of energy and how the Nautilus returns to this safe haven to refuel and give him the time to develop his experiments hoping to find a stable source of energy for the good of mankind.
As you can imagine in good Disney tradition once the cabine would have traveled right to the top of the vulcano, just in time to catch a great view of EuroDisneyland, the energy source would have proven unstable enough to let the cabines fall straight down - an amazing freefall experience which would have taken the passengers right through the centre of the volcano, passing in the very sight of guests entering the mountain, within inches of the Nautilus before plunging straight into a rockwork hole in the centre of the lagoon. Once the cabines had arrived inside the numerous caves underneath the lagoon search lights on the exterior of the cabines would have turned one again and illuminated us all the caves full of Nemo’s energy source - the very heart of the Volcano! The Captain would have then been heard saying: "Now You understand why my quest for energy can not be completed until I find a way to stabilize the process”.

Just as the first concepts for the "Tower of Terror" at the Disney MGM Studios, Orlando, the freefall-ride designed for Discovery Mountain was ment to utilize a system as the first generation of freefall towers. Guests would have been placed inside a cabine that was moved straight up "inside" the tower, at the top would have moved out of the tower and then "raced down" the track on the front of the tower, which would bend to the horizontal and stretch away from the tower at its bottom, so that the cabine and the guests inside would be turned on the back as the "wheels" keeping the cabines on the track where placed on its back. Only in the horizontal phase of the ride the cabines would have been slowed down, before being flipped upside again and moved backward to the station. By the way: one of these "original" freefall towers (an Intamin first generation Freefall Tower Prototype), even so without themeing, can still be found near Los Angeles at the Six Flag's Magic Mountain amusement park where it opened 1982 as a cutting-edge-attraction (photo copyright by / used by permission of  SFTTnet.com).