News 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom

[Jrb1979]

Velocicoaster, Hagrids, Top Thrill 2 or Steel Vengeance

Not flashy at all. Got it.

You just want non-flashy rollercoasters and not like the ones you've never ridden but know all about. Got it.

Just making sure I am following all the twists in this pretzel.

I have been on all of those coasters multiple times.

My point is going back to what I loved about Disney parks was they were all about immersive dark rides like Haunted Mansion. What I want is them to go back to that. I'm excited for the Test Track redo with World of Motion.

I think leave the thrill rides and coasters for parks that actually push the boundaries and not lower the thrills

 

[James Alucobond]

I think leave the thrill rides and coasters for parks that actually push the boundaries and not lower the thrills

Or let people enjoy (mechanically) simpler themed coasters too. Some people don’t care about pushing boundaries with physicality and thrills.

 

[Jrb1979]

Or let people enjoy (mechanically) simpler themed coasters too. Some people don’t care about pushing boundaries with physicality and thrills.

I have not issue with that or what the guests like. My issue is with Disney going away from what made them different.

Each park originally was unique, had immersive dark rides and didn't focus on thrill as much as they do now.

Now all the parks are an extension of MK.

 

[Dranth]

I have not issue with that or what the guests like. My issue is with Disney going away from what made them different.

Each park originally was unique, had immersive dark rides and didn't focus on thrill as much as they do now.

Now all the parks are an extension of MK.

I get not liking some of what they added but I don't think it is fair to say they are focusing on thrills.

Sure, in Epcot they added Guardians but no one is going to mistake Remy or Moana for thrilling attractions. MK got Tron, which is a thrill ride while DHS got MMRR, RotR and MFSR. AK has had nothing added recently. That is two out of the last seven attractions that could be considered thrill rides during the most recent round of updates.

Unless I am misremembering, there are none in the previous round of updates unless you want to include kids coasters.

As for what is coming, I don't think we've heard any rumors about possible thrill rides outside of updating existing ones.

 

[Jrb1979]

I get not liking some of what they added but I don't think it is fair to say they are focusing on thrills.

Sure, in Epcot they added Guardians but no one is going to mistake Remy or Moana for thrilling attractions. MK got Tron, which is a thrill ride while DHS got MMRR, RotR and MFSR. AK has had nothing added recently. That is two out of the last seven attractions that could be considered thrill rides during the most recent round of updates.

Unless I am misremembering, there are none in the previous round of updates unless you want to include kids coasters.

As for what is coming, I don't think we've heard any rumors about possible thrill rides outside of updating existing ones.

It's not just thrill rides that's the issue. It's also moving the parks away from their original theme to a mish mash of IP

 

[Dranth]

It's not just thrill rides that's the issue. It's also moving the parks away from their original theme to a mish mash of IP

I get it, but we don't know how they are going to handle AK yet so I'll wait and see. I thought Avatar was going to be a terrible addition and they proved me wrong there so hopefully they do that again.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

I hope they really are considering moving some of the Dinoland materials* into the Wonders of Life building.

It seems like such an obvious thing to do, it's hard to imagine they haven't at least considered it. A paleontology pavilion would fit World Discovery, make "legacy fans" happy by being non-IP, be inexpensive to create because they already have both the materials and the unused space, keep dinosaurs represented in WDW, be a nice area for people to relax indoors (especially between doing World Discovery's thrill rides), etc.

*e.g., "Dino Sue," fossil replicas from the CTX queue and gift shop, some things from The Boneyard...

 

[el_super]

Because they are planning to remove an “animal” themed section in “animal” kingdom to put in some fantasyland stuff

Wait.. you do realize that time travel isn't real right?

 

[el_super]

Now all the parks are an extension of MK.

Yeah .. because not all capacity is the same. No matter how many billions they pour into their other parks, MK will always be on top, and MK will always have the highest demand. Why fault them for trying to make the other parks more like MK when they would just otherwise be failures?

 

[The Leader of the Club]

It's not just thrill rides that's the issue. It's also moving the parks away from their original theme to a mish mash of IP

If you don’t like mish mashing IP then I don’t get why you’re praising the Universal Parks. Or does ”originality” not matter when it’s not Disney?

 

[GhostHost1000]

Wait.. you do realize that time travel isn't real right?

Oh I’m very aware. I’ve been waiting on Disney to travel back in time on a few things for years

 

[Jrb1979]

If you don’t like mish mashing IP then I don’t get why you’re praising the Universal Parks. Or does ”originality” not matter when it’s not Disney?

Universal was never built the same as Disney parks. Islands of Adventure still has kept to it's theme of different islands. Epic Universe is doing something similar.

You're missing my point. When Epcot, AK, and Hollywood Studios started they all were different and unique. That's what made Disney better.

 

[KDM31091]

publicly

Universal was never built the same as Disney parks. Islands of Adventure still has kept to it's theme of different islands. Epic Universe is doing something similar.

You're missing my point. When Epcot, AK, and Hollywood Studios started they all were different and unique. That's what made Disney better.

Totally agree. The parks are blending more and more together and I think that is not a good thing.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Universal was never built the same as Disney parks. Islands of Adventure still has kept to it's theme of different islands. Epic Universe is doing something similar.

What makes something fit in one of Universal’s parks but not the other? None of the properties in Epic Universe are unique to that park concept. Even ideas for new additions can and do get kicked around the three Orlando parks for consideration.

 

[Jrb1979]

What makes something fit in one of Universal’s parks but not the other? None of the properties in Epic Universe are unique to that park concept. Even ideas for new additions can and do get kicked around the three Orlando parks for consideration.

That was my point. Universals parks don't have a theme like the Disney parks once did. Its why I hate a lot of what they are doing now. Instead of staying with the theme of each park, they are just an extension of MK

 

[Brer Panther]

How do you know there won't be any animals? They mentioned in the Blue Sky presentation that one of the reasons they chose this region was its incredible array of different animals and plant life.

Well, let's think about it for a second... first of all, getting live animals would be expensive. And Iger hates additions to the parks that could be expensive. I'd be shocked if there were any live animals as part of this land, which is being built to push IPs and not educate parkgoers on Tropical American wildlife. Second, even if there will be some live animals, they won't be the focus of the land. There isn't going to be another Kilimanjaro Safaris, I'd be shocked if there was even a trail like Maharaja Jungle Trek. The focus will be on the IP-based rides - which, again, are based on IPs that star HUMANS and have no major animal characters in them.

So the argument people are making is that this proposed area is about tropical rainforests, so therefore it fits the theme of AK?

An actual Amazon Rainforest land, focused on actual South American animals, with IPs that would actually FIT THE PARK (Up and Rio for example), would work great for Animal Kingdom. A recreation of the town from Encanto with an Indiana Jones ride in the back and a Coco flat ride would not.

It's like if, when they were building the park, they just had the Asia section be some sort of Mulan Land because, hey, Mulan takes place in Asia even though it's not about animals.

It's not Tropical Americas.
It's Encanto and Coco.

Yes. This.

You literally have no idea what the attraction will be about, and we're talking about a movie where one character has the power to commune with all the fauna of South America and another the power to control all the flora. Maybe wait until the ride doesn't cover those topics to complain.

Even ignoring the fact that Antonio is a minor character, the idea that the hypothetical Encanto attraction will focus on him and Dolores teaching us about nature is very unlikely. People were claiming that Frozen Ever After might teach us about Norway, and it didn't. Then there were theories that the Guardians of the Galaxy ride would teach us about energy, and look how THAT turned out. Heck, The Seas With Nemo and Friends could've used the IP to teach riders about sea creatures, and instead we got a rehash of the movie.

I guarantee you it'll focus on the popular merchandise-selling characters - Mirabel, Bruno, maybe Luisa too. And they'll all sing songs from the movie as the vehicle goes by. Nothing to do with animals whatsoever.

 

[James Alucobond]

Even ignoring the fact that Antonio is a minor character, the idea that the hypothetical Encanto attraction will focus on him and Dolores teaching us about nature is very unlikely. People were claiming that Frozen Ever After might teach us about Norway, and it didn't. Then there were theories that the Guardians of the Galaxy ride would teach us about energy, and look how THAT turned out. Heck, The Seas With Nemo and Friends could've used the IP to teach riders about sea creatures, and instead we got a rehash of the movie.

I guarantee you it'll focus on the popular merchandise-selling characters - Mirabel, Bruno, maybe Luisa too. And they'll all sing songs from the movie as the vehicle goes by. Nothing to do with animals whatsoever.

In the film, the only three rooms we see are Antonio's, Isabela's, and Bruno's, and Bruno's is ruined. Antonio himself might be a minor character, but the rooms he and Isabela occupy, which are coincidentally the two most appropriate for this park, comprise two-thirds of the pocket dimensions beyond Casita's magical doors that we actually know about. If the ride explores the house, I feel more confident that we'll see significant content from their rooms than I do that they'll invent rooms for the other six characters that presumably have them.

And again, my point is not that they will use the film's content correctly, just that acting as if there's not a tremendously obvious way that Encanto can work in the park isn't grounded in reality.

An actual Amazon Rainforest land, focused on actual South American animals, with IPs that would actually FIT THE PARK (Up and Rio for example), would work great for Animal Kingdom. A recreation of the town from Encanto with an Indiana Jones ride in the back and a Coco flat ride would not.

Every land in the park is preceded by a "village" or "market". The one proposed in the artwork is not a recreation of Encanto's town but a tropical Americas village based on Barichara and places like it.

 

[Brer Panther]

Still, I doubt that the Encanto ride will focus on Antonio and/or Dolores over the more popular Mirabel.

 

[SplashJacket]

Still, I doubt that the Encanto ride will focus on Antonio and/or Dolores over the more popular Mirabel.

Best case scenario it visits La Casita with Mirabel as a host (like Henry Mystic) and Antonio/other small humans as mischievous side kicks (like Albert).

Then everything turns to chaos in the mid-sections while visiting the rooms of the house (Bruno, Antonio, Dolores) with Mirabel acting as the preshow and ride bookends.

I’ve long wanted an adapted Mystic Manor for Animal Kingdom (previously wanted a Mystic Safari concept, perhaps at the base of Everest), but this is actually likely to happen.

They’ve been given a layup for this, hopefully They knock it out of the park.

Overall, Encanto (and also Coco) lend themselves far better to expansive impressive attractions than Frozen or even Tangled, IMHO.

So I’m very excited what they’ll do.

 

[MistaDee]

Universal was never built the same as Disney parks. Islands of Adventure still has kept to it's theme of different islands. Epic Universe is doing something similar.

You're missing my point. When Epcot, AK, and Hollywood Studios started they all were different and unique. That's what made Disney better.

That was my point. Universals parks don't have a theme like the Disney parks once did. Its why I hate a lot of what they are doing now. Instead of staying with the theme of each park, they are just an extension of MK

Disney's MGM Studios was literally Michael Eisner's attempt to beat Universal to the Orlando market by copying their "ride the movies" mixed with a working studio. There's simply no argument that Hollywood studios is different or unique or somehow makes Disney better: that's a fundamental mischaracterization of how theme parks were developed in the Orlando market.

Still, I doubt that the Encanto ride will focus on Antonio and/or Dolores over the more popular Mirabel.

At this point it's all speculation but I see no reason why Antonio's room can't be the primary setting for the ride but features characters like Mirabel more prominently in the action, they don't have to exclusively stay in their own rooms...