I had an inclination that this Adventures in the Magic Kingdom prototype could be special based on the fact that a DuckTales proto with a similar label contained many interesting differences. Turns out, I was right for a change.

The EPROMs inside lack the company stickers seen in many Capcom prototypes. The chips are housed on an official Nintendo NES-SKWEPROM-01 board.

There is a white wire on the back of the circuit board that does not appear on the released version's PCB, as well as five screws on the back of the cartridge (the retail game uses three screws).

This prototype comes all the way from Hollywood, CA, about 300 miles north of Capcom's former Santa Clara headquarters:

As of 2011, the address is now home to Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), a company that, according to their site, "is the global leader in providing innovative equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products."

 

 

Continue Option
In the retail version, the Continue option only appears after losing all of your lives. In this prototype, however, the option appears before even beginning a new game.

 

Requires Flash10

Unreleased Yoko Shimomura Music Track (Download Full .NSF File [ripped by Chris Covell] & .MP3 Sample)
The retail game plays the Mickey Mouse Club theme song during the opening cutscene. This prototype uses a different song that cannot be heard anywhere in the retail game.

Side note: Yoko Shimomura composed the Adventures in the Magic Kingdom soundtrack. Shimomura would go on to orchestrate the scores to Super Mario RPG and Kingdom Hearts.

 

Text Sound Effects (Download .MP3 Sample)
The prototype uses a loud, annoying typewriting sound effect for whenever text emerges. No such sound effect exists in the retail game.

 

It's Not Polite To Point
The flashing, downward-pointing arrow is missing on the final screen of cutscenes in the prototype.

 

Select Screen Changes
Pressing Select pulls up a menu where you can use the stars that you've collected in your adventures to replenish health, briefly become invincible, freeze enemies, or gain an extra life. The prototype requires fewer stars to purchase these items.

 

Missing Main Street, USA Store Rooftop Sprites
The sprites on the rooftops of the Main Street, USA stores are not yet implemented in the prototype. (Now where am I going to find the souvenir top hats?)

 

L-A-Z-Y. E-Y-E. Why?
Mickey Mouse seems distracted in the prototype version, as his eyes stare away from you during several cutscenes and in the Select menu. Or maybe Mickey just has a terrible case of lazy eye?

 

Space Mountain Lettered Stars Not Displayed
Mickey instructs you to find the silver key on Star "F," but the prototype does not display any letters on the HUD. "F" the alphabet!

 

Projectile Dysfunction
In the prototype, blue-colored lasers, not missiles, are fired at asteroids. In the retail, the laser sprites are used only when blasting incoming enemy spaceships/Star Destroyer rip-offs.

 

No Congratulations Music
Music does not play after you beat an attraction, only the aforementioned irritating text sound effect.

 

No Game Over Music
In addition, the game does not play any music when you lose.

 

Map Music Plays Before Attraction Begins
At the start of an attraction, the map background music continues to play.

 

New Autopia Drawbridge Sprites
The Autopia drawbridge in the prototype version uses more realistic-looking sprites than the "extending bridge" graphics in the retail version.

Failing to wait until the drawbridge comes down runs you the risk of driving right into the water. I suppose the sprites may have confused some gamers into thinking that they could use the drawbridge as a ramp.

 

Look At Me When I'm Talking To You!
If you approach one of the kids from the side or from behind to trigger the trivia game, your character will be turned to look directly forward. In the prototype, your cowboy has poor social skills and shows no such politeness.

 

Dog-Loving Girl Repositioned
During the trivia game, the girl with the dog is placed a little higher up on the map in the prototype, so much so that her bouffant gets in the way of the white text box.

 

Dog-Loving Guy Repositioned
Also during the trivia game, the boy with the dog is placed a little higher up on the map in the prototype version.

 

Pirate-Tosser Cannonball Color
The prototype cannonballs that the bearded pirates carry and throw at you in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction are painted a different brown. As a result, they blend in with some of the background.

 

Boat-Bound Cannonball Color
The prototype cannonballs that drop from the sky during the boating portions of Pirates of the Caribbean are painted a deeper blue.

 

Scorpion Surprise
The prototype adds a scorpion on the platform where the skeleton pirate throws his gold coins, making that section much trickier.

 

Skeleton Pirate Throws Like a Girl
To make up for the missing scorpion, the skeleton pirate's throw radius is far greater in the retail game. In the prototype, once you're on the ladder, you're safe.

 

Candle in the Wind
The prototype candle item in Pirates of the Caribbean hangs on the right side of the ladder instead of on the left.

 

Pirate-Cannon-Firing Cannonball Color
The prototype cannonballs that the seated pirates fire at you are painted red with a teal blue shine. The ones seen in the retail game match the pirates' attire: dark blue with a gray shine.

 

Some Like It Hot
As our little cowboy makes his voyage out on the final paddle boat in Pirates of the Caribbean, the flames from the kindling rise and fall in the prototype. The prototype's logs are positioned slightly closer to the water, as well.

 

Zombies Hock Loogies Without Warning
In the retail game, zombies are pleasant enough to pause for a good two or three seconds to let you know that they're hocking up a ghostly loogie. Not so much in the prototype—these guys keep on walking as they're clearing their throats of evil, never missing a beat.

 

Flying Ghouls Are Cheap Bastards
The flying ghouls are another reason why The Haunted Mansion stage is much more difficult in the prototype. After getting through the library in the mansion, you have to do some platform jumping on chairs that fall once you plant your feet on them. Problem is, when you reach the second chair, a low-flying ghoul always pops up where you have to land, causing you to get hit and fall.

To combat the creep, throw a candle while you're on the first chair and just hope that the flame hits its target when the cheap bastard spawns. Even easier, when you get to the first chair, press Select and then use your stars to purchase Freeze to keep the ghoulie at bay, or Invincible to out-ghost his ass.

In the retail game, this flying ghoul comes after you land on the second chair, not while you're making your landing.

 

Y'All Come Back Now, Ya Hear?
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad's opening text in the prototype adopts a more dialectic, Southern drawl. Bless gracious! Dat dar ‘twa’n’ no good, honey.

 

Time's the Limit
In the prototype's Big Thunder, the time limit shows three digits instead of two.

 

More Rocking, More Rolling
An extra boulder rolls across the track in the prototype at the first right turn.

 

Dead-End Track #1
There's a dead-end track at the first left turn that does not appear in the retail version.

 

Dead-End Track #2
If you continue down the first right turn, you'll wind up going into a dead-end track in the prototype.

 

Borderless Stars
The star icons scattered around Big Thunder do not have white borders. Counting as five stars each, they were supposed to stand out from regular stars.

 

Dead-End Track #3
If you keep riding the right side past the first star, you'll see another dead-end track that does not appear in the retail game.

 

Dead-End Track #4
Are you seeing a pattern here? Past the bridge, and on the far right, you'll come across another dead-end.

 

Dead-End Track #5
Keep going through the dig site on the right-hand side, and this dead-end threatens to end your train ride.

 

Wide Gap
Towards the end of the level, on the far right around the patches of cacti, the gap between the right and left tracks has narrowed.

 

GOOOOAAAALLL
In the retail game, the stations at the end are marked by numbers, and your train has to arrive at the one where Mickey tells you to go. The stations have not yet been assigned their numbers in the prototype version, but the GOAL sprite is marked to let you know which one to choose.

 

Offroading
In the prototype, if you ride the left-hand track past the bridge, you can derail your train but still continue downward after you're no longer on the track. The barrier in the retail version prevents this from happening.

You can also derail at other parts of the ride, like at dead-ends, by slowing down while making a turn. The key is to make that turn at the precise time so that the train moves over the top of the barrier, and then immediately slow up.

 

Rocky Roadblock
A boulder blocks the track on the far left in the mine car graveyard.

 

Track Detour #1
After the mine cars, the far left track turns into two straightaway tracks in the prototype.

 

Track Detour #2
Also after the mine cars, the track to the right of the far left track has an extra straightaway in the prototype.

 

Track Detour #3
Yet another track in the prototype, this time near the final stretch of Big Thunder.

 

Game Over, Man
When you lose all of your lives in the retail version, you're taken to the Game Over screen and then automatically back to the Title screen where the Continue option is highlighted. In the prototype, though, the Game Over screen stays until you press Start, at which point the Start option is highlighted instead.