Dragon animatronic at Animal Kingdom

[Chrononymous]

I thought the suits of armor were gruesome in a humorous way.

I sort of remember a dragon too (and I was a lot older!)
but it's extremely likely that it was something in a model or a drawing from the preview center.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Here's the Concept art of the Dragon & the cave...

And Here's the Cave sans the Dragon but with FIRE!!

The only Animatronic that was on the Boat tour was the Iguanadon that you "Saved" on Dinosaur who went to the Lake and was splashing around..

 

[Can we go yet?]

That Iguanadon was a good addition to the story of AK, whatever happened to it? Is it still rotting in the water? I always thought it should have been moved nearby Dinosaur, I don't know, build a pond or something?

 

[drew81]

Sure...but there was no fire. I think RandomPrincess is right, your young mind filled in the blank.
View attachment 28641

Whatever happened to him? Was he used for parts or something else?

 

[bethymouse]

What a shame! They really could've put more "imagination" into this whole thing!

 

[Lee]

Whatever happened to him? Was he used for parts or something else?

Yeah, I think he was used for parts or something.
Without the river boats, he was useless.

 

[RandomPrincess]

What years was this ride open?

 

[Master Yoda]

What years was this ride open?

They closed in august of 1999, so just over a year.

 

[RandomPrincess]

They closed in august of 1999, so just over a year.

Thanks, I missed it by a year.

 

[doctornick]

Yeah...it's funny how many times I've been to AK since then and never thought about it. I'd love for them to maybe revisit the idea of a Beastly Kingdom since they obviously haven't forgotten about it.

I've suggested in another thread that a simple thing would be to bring back the Discovery River Boats and have a mini-Beastly Kingdomme part on the ride -- restore the fire/cave, add an AA dragon (or even just a tail or head poking out somewhere), maybe have a separate unicorn somewhere. Other parts of the boat ride can have other riverside effects. The infrastructure for the boat ride all there, it's just a matter of plussing it which would be cheaper than a brand new attraction and would add capacity to the park in a short amount of time.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

That Iguanadon was a good addition to the story of AK, whatever happened to it? Is it still rotting in the water? I always thought it should have been moved nearby Dinosaur, I don't know, build a pond or something?

Sadly he is now for some odd reason at Disney Studios Paris on the Backlot Tour scrapped of his skin..And rots in the sun..or rain...or whatever they get...

Here's 2 more pictures of the Iguanadon by the river I found..

 

[FettFan]

Disneyland Paris...underneath the castle.

Sadly he is now for some odd reason at Disney Studios Paris on the Backlot Tour scrapped of his skin..And rots in the sun..or rain...or whatever they get...

Here's 2 more pictures of the Iguanadon by the river I found..

What a tragic waste....

 

[Lee]

What a tragic waste....

Yet, sadly....quite typical.

 

[AllyInWonderland]

Awwww! I wished I could have gone on the river boats! When I watched the video of it and it got to the dragon part, it was so cool that I sat in my chair with my mouth open. Then when I saw the dragon rock at AK, it was SO awesome! I was waiting for the cave to shoot out fire, but my parents kept telling me it wouldn't anymore. It made me sad that Beastly Kingdom wasn't built for the rest of the time I was in AK.

 

[AllyInWonderland]

Is there a video of the iguanadon in the water?

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Is there a video of the iguanadon in the water?

I've been looking but, haven't had much luck...I did tho find another Picture of the Iguanadon from the boat..

 

[taz0162]

So basically the story of Animal Kingdom.

Well that and "That used to work for a while."

maybe the dragon can only be seen if a strobe light is flashing.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I didn't even know this ride existed, let alone that neat AA.... sad.

 

[CinderellyKelly]

Yet, sadly....quite typical.

Why was this ride closed after a year? There are some terrible rides that have lasted waaayyyy longer than a year ( example: sounds dangerous, SGE). It just seems like such a waste?

 

[Lee]

Mostly because it wasn't really a ride.
It was meant as transportation, with some show along the way. Like the railroad at MK.

Sadly, DAK was (and is) so lacking in actual rides, people were lining up and waiting for extended periods of time to ride a boat halfway around AK, and not getting any real "entertainment" out if it.

There were complaints...so they killed it.

Simple as that.