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

[WorldExplorer]

The normal act of being a fan is going on a ride and enjoying it. Of course people are going to be more vocal when it leaves; why do they need to be vocal BEFORE it leaves? They're just enjoying a ride. They might buy a shirt.

What performative rituals must be done in order to be considered a fan now?

The one thing i am sad about with dinorama is the destruction of the giant “cement-o-saurus”. I wish he couldve been put outside the gates as a sign. Maybe paint him green and put “disneys animal kingdom on the side of his body with the head sticking out?

At this point I just hope they have the decorum to not his decapitated body visible while they work.

At the entrance to a park with no dinosaurs?

They're not going to move him, but they've been doing this exact thing with a dragon and the unicorn lot for decades.

 

[doctornick]

Hot take: the case with maelstrom. WHO CARED about it until it was gone? Don’t even get me started on Ellen’s energy adventure. Anyone who says they genuinely was a big fan of it is a liar. It’s ok to be a fan of it post closure announcement, but don’t pretend you were always a fan.

I always loved Maelstrom. And I know my kids were really upset that “the ride with the trolls” was gone.

I was actually pretty surprised by the number of folks who seemed apathetic towards its closing. Most of the complaints were geared towards the appropriateness of Frozen as opposed to the big loss of Maelstrom.

 

[Streetway]

I was actually pretty surprised by the number of folks who seemed apathetic towards its closing. Most of the complaints were geared towards the appropriateness of Frozen as opposed to the big loss of Maelstrom.

I’m not saying the people who loved maelstrom genuinely didn’t exist, just the amount of frozen people greatly outnumbered them.

 

[rle4lunch]

Is a shame it took that long, because dinosaur is a Bad ride.

fixed that for you. don't put lipstick on a dead luau pig. it once was great, but the lack thereof to keep it relevant and not looking dingy has been apparent for at least a decade. the word 'rad' captures the timeframe in when that word, and the ride, were any good.

 

[danlb_2000]

At this point I feel like Disney is playing a bit loose with “construction starting this fall.” We haven’t even seen the WDI trailers go up for this facility. If anything, those WDI trailers will go up this fall, but nothing in Dinoland will be touched until 2025. Just my prediction.

How would be know if the trailers are there or not?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Saur. TriceraTop Spin will devastate its two fans before Christmas, last I’d heard.

NOOOO!!! MAH CHILDHOOD DESTROYED!!!

 

[Starship824]

How would be know if the trailers are there or not?

BioReconstruct photos. The last DAK overhead photos he posted showed they weren't set up yet but I think that was about month ago.

 

[Streetway]

fixed that for you. don't put lipstick on a dead luau pig. it once was great, but the lack thereof to keep it relevant and not looking dingy has been apparent for at least a decade. the word 'rad' captures the timeframe in when that word, and the ride, were any good.

I agree that dinosaur has been kinda limping along. While some closures of rides recently were 100% premature and those rides couldve lasted (COUGH COUGH GMR), sometimes it’s just time for a ride to go. Even if a ride is good, like DINOSAUR, it’s been kinda decaying, and it isn’t connecting with guests as much anymore. It had a good respectable run, it will be missed, but it’s time for a change. Even if it was to stay Dino themed, a massive overhaul still would’ve been needed. I still feel like dinosaurs could’ve worked at dak, but idk. I feel like even though we dislike change a lot as parks fans, i feel this category of closures in recent years is bigger than we’d like to acknowledge. Now replacements are a whole other category. The fact that it was time for a change could mean less if the change isn’t good.

 

[EagleScout610]

NOOOO!!! MAH CHILDHOOD DESTROYED!!!

You're the president of Animal Kingdom! You can save Triceratops Spin for you and you alone all of us!

 

[rle4lunch]

I agree that dinosaur has been kinda limping along. While some closures of rides recently were 100% premature and those rides couldve lasted (COUGH COUGH GMR), sometimes it’s just time for a ride to go. Even if a ride is good, like DINOSAUR, it’s been kinda decaying, and it isn’t connecting with guests as much anymore. It had a good respectable run, it will be missed, but it’s time for a change. Even if it was to stay Dino themed, a massive overhaul still would’ve been needed. I still feel like dinosaurs could’ve worked at dak, but idk. I feel like even though we dislike change a lot as parks fans, i feel this category of closures in recent years is bigger than we’d like to acknowledge. Now replacements are a whole other category. The fact that it was time for a change could mean less if the change isn’t good.

I think the biggest disappointment I had with DINO was when I eventually got to ride Indy at DL (I had ridden DINO first, before my first visit to DL). From that point on, every time I rode DINO all I felt was how many opportunities WDO missed when developing essentially the same exact ride system/track. There's ZERO fun felt on DINO in comparison to Indy, no matter how far they crank up the soundtrack (last few times riding DINO it's been excruciatingly loud). All I feel, is, well, nothing. To date, I've road both Indy and DINO a lot, but Indy still has the kinetic fun, frantic pace and good set pieces (when it's not in B mode). On DINO, it's like, ooohhh, look, a vegetarian dino... oooh no,,,, the pterodactyl is gonna get us.... ooohh, no,,, not our dinosaur... picture time with the carnotaurus... now let's scurry before the asteroid hits.. it's all so blasé

 

[MisterPenguin]

You're the president of Animal Kingdom! You can save Triceratops Spin for you and you alone all of us!

I can't. Bob ordered it. It's a little know fact that he suffers from ornithoscelidaphobia.

Please don't tell him I'm one.

 

[MLevell]

So I first visited Animal Kingdom a few months after it opened and my favorite ride was Countdown to Extinction, on the next visit it was called Dinosaur but it was still my favorite ride. Living only a 2 and half hour drive away I made frequent visits to the parks in the 90's through the mid/late 00's and when it came to Animal Kingdom it was all about Dinosaur. As the years went on though I became aware that out in California there was an Indiana Jones ride that was similar to Dinosaur and this became a bit of a dream ride for me, a combination of one of my all time favorite rides with one of my all time favorite film series, and in 2019 I finally got to go to Disneyland and ride Indiana Jones Adventure... and I was disappointed. It's not a bad ride for sure but after around 15 years of building it up in my mind I was certainly disappointed, it lacked the energy, thrills and scares of Dinosaur and it was also a bad representation of Indiana Jones without Ford's likeness and a bad impression buried in the quiet audio mix.

This disappointment with Indy was so at odds with conventional fan wisdom that in 2021 I decided to go back to Animal Kingdom to see if my memory was cheating, but no Dinosaur still blew me away and even with the new Avatar additions it was still my favorite ride in the park, and as soon as I got off I immediately got back in line to ride it again. On my 2nd visit to Disneyland in 2022 I re-rode Indy, and now with my expectations in check enjoyed it more, but my opinion on which is the better ride has not changed.

I believe that Tropical Americas will be an overall improvement for the park from a lot of metrics. but I can't help but predict that my personal enjoyment of the park will be greatly reduced by the removal of Dinosaur.

I hope Disney proved me wrong.

 

[Professortango1]

Hot take: the case with maelstrom. WHO CARED about it until it was gone? Don’t even get me started on Ellen’s energy adventure. Anyone who says they genuinely was a big fan of it is a liar. It’s ok to be a fan of it post closure announcement, but don’t pretend you were always a fan.

I can say that I was a fan of Ellen's Energy Adventure. I really loved that ride and how it kept evolving throughout the ride time. Maelstrom...I liked the trolls a lot, but the rest of the ride was just okay. Frozen isn't a well-crafted ride, but the effects and sets look better now. Even if it lacks the fun of the previous attraction.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

So I first visited Animal Kingdom a few months after it opened and my favorite ride was Countdown to Extinction, on the next visit it was called Dinosaur but it was still my favorite ride. Living only a 2 and half hour drive away I made frequent visits to the parks in the 90's through the mid/late 00's and when it came to Animal Kingdom it was all about Dinosaur. As the years went on though I became aware that out in California there was an Indiana Jones ride that was similar to Dinosaur and this became a bit of a dream ride for me, a combination of one of my all time favorite rides with one of my all time favorite film series, and in 2019 I finally got to go to Disneyland and ride Indiana Jones Adventure... and I was disappointed. It's not a bad ride for sure but after around 15 years of building it up in my mind I was certainly disappointed, it lacked the energy, thrills and scares of Dinosaur and it was also a bad representation of Indiana Jones without Ford's likeness and a bad impression buried in the quiet audio mix.

This disappointment with Indy was so at odds with conventional fan wisdom that in 2021 I decided to go back to Animal Kingdom to see if my memory was cheating, but no Dinosaur still blew me away and even with the new Avatar additions it was still my favorite ride in the park, and as soon as I got off I immediately got back in line to ride it again. On my 2nd visit to Disneyland in 2022 I re-rode Indy, and now with my expectations in check enjoyed it more, but my opinion on which is the better ride has not changed.

I believe that Tropical Americas will be an overall improvement for the park from a lot of metrics. but I can't help but predict that my personal enjoyment of the park will be greatly reduced by the removal of Dinosaur.

I hope Disney proved me wrong.

This is really interesting. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences in such detail.

I think one of the issues is that Dinosaur and Indy should be judged on their own merits, as completely different experiences, just like different omnimovers (e.g., Haunted Mansion "vs" Spaceship Earth).

I grew up loving Dinosaur and it's still (even it its lessened form) among my favorite WDW attractions. At the same time, when I first went to DL and rode Indy without the knowledge of its relationship to Dinosaur, and without knowledge of the comparisons/hype, I was absolutely blown away.

However, I took my father to DL a few years back, and we went on Indy after I'd told him that it's the same ride system as Dinosaur (which he also loves)... and he was disappointed just as you were!

(This comparison game has also been unfair to Dinosaur, because the fan community knows it as derivative of Indy - which undersells it by preventing it from being viewed on its own merits.)

This creates a problem: unlike most Indy riders in DL who usually judge it on its own merits, many/most will be like you and my father - having gone on Dinosaur and knowing this is the same ride system and layout.

The good news is our insiders (e.g.,. @Moth) have suggested this will be an improved variation on the existing Indy rides. I hope it's improved enough to clearly exceed Dinosaur even for those making the comparison, but that won't necessarily be as easy as many think...

 

[rle4lunch]

This is really interesting. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences in such detail.

I think one of the issues is that Dinosaur and Indy should be judged on their own merits, as completely different experiences, just like different omnimovers (e.g., Haunted Mansion "vs" Spaceship Earth).

I grew up loving Dinosaur and it's still (even it its lessened form) among my favorite WDW attractions. At the same time, when I first went to DL and rode Indy without the knowledge of its relationship to Dinosaur, and without knowledge of the comparisons/hype, I was absolutely blown away.

However, I took my father to DL a few years back, and we went on Indy after I'd told him that it's the same ride system as Dinosaur (which he also loves)... and he was disappointed just as you were!

(This comparison game has also been unfair to Dinosaur, because the fan community knows it as derivative of Indy - which undersells it by preventing it from being viewed on its own merits.)

This creates a problem: unlike most Indy riders in DL who usually judge it on its own merits, many/most will be like you and my father - having gone on Dinosaur and knowing this is the same ride system and layout.

The good news is our insiders (e.g.,. @Moth) have suggested this will be an improved variation on the existing Indy rides. I hope it's improved enough to clearly exceed Dinosaur even for those making the comparison, but that won't necessarily be as easy as many think...

I will say that Indy has a frustratingly large amount of downtime, and for about 5 years (and directly after covid sanctions were lifted), the ride had about 50% of the effects turned off for about a year or so after the parks fully opened. We've been about 10 times (San Diego to Anaheim is 99 miles) in the last 3 years, and while many of the effects are back up and running, the ride is starting to feel it's age. I will die on the hill though in the opinion that it carries so much more energy than DINOSAUR ever did. DINO is so cheesy. Hell, even Mission Space got more love in a shorter amount of time that DINO ever has/did. The writing has been on the wall for it for a long long time.

 

[WorldExplorer]

I love Dinosaur because it gives me, someone who is terrified of rollercoasters, a chance to have a really big thrill. I've descensitized myself to it by now, but when I was still new to it it was a HUGE rush.

Not because the car rocks a lot, which, yes, it will also do in Indiana Jones. That's important, but it combines with the ride's setting and animatronics to make it really scary. I don't think it gets enough credit for that; this is a ride that, by all rights, is relatively tame on the actual physical thrill element (no drops or loops or anything), and yet it has a reputation for being one of the scariest things in the parks. It's because of its show elements. Nothing else in the park is like that.

We're never getting a ride with this tone again. I think that's sad.

Yes, I understand they used to be better, and I really wish I could've experienced them when they were (the whole implied carnotaurus chasing you sounds amazing), but until I saw someone on here mention that it I had no idea and was very sufficiently scared by what it is now.

 

[Brer Panther]

I, personally, like Dinosaur. Always have (well, at least since I first went on it).

And I doubt Iger's Disney can create an attraction just as good as it, Indiana Jones theming or otherwise.

 

[WorldExplorer]

I've never been on Indiana Jones. Do we have reason to believe all the stuff people say makes it better will be added here?

Because it sounds like some pretty large effects that would take a ton of construction (a whole other level?) and it already sounds like what they're building has a different plot than that ride.

 

[Professortango1]

I've never been on Indiana Jones. Do we have reason to believe all the stuff people say makes it better will be added here?

Because it sounds like some pretty large effects that would take a ton of construction (a whole other level?) and it already sounds like what they're building has a different plot than that ride.

The ride path of Dinosaur will likely not change. That is a slightly reduced version of Indy. As of the show scenes, the concept art shows differences between the two existing versions, but the room layouts will likely be similar since Disney isn't one to reinvent the wheel.

Moving doors have been a headache and sadly cut from DLR and never used at TDS, so the current Security Station will likely be similar to what is at TDS with one door and some projection mapping.

Chamber of Destiny will likely be the concept art with the giant cross and maybe some effect regarding the animal tied to the attraction.

The big question is whether they will have a big room like the other Indy's as I know the current path cuts through that room instead of winding out for the Mummy section. It will be interesting to see how they retrofit a revamped version of Indy into a ride building that is similar, but a bit truncated.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I'm a bit offended by all of the "Who cared about Dinosaur until now?" people here. Dinosaur is a magnificent attraction and I have ALWAYS thought so, as have my siblings, parents, friends. I'm not afraid of roller coasters, but I thought @WorldExplorer described my feelings about it to a tee in this post.

I love Dinosaur because it gives me, someone who is terrified of rollercoasters, a chance to have a really big thrill. I've descensitized myself to it by now, but when I was still new to it it was a HUGE rush.

Not because the car rocks a lot, which, yes, it will also do in Indiana Jones. That's important, but it combines with the ride's setting and animatronics to make it really scary. I don't think it gets enough credit for that; this is a ride that, by all rights, is relatively tame on the actual physical thrill element (no drops or loops or anything), and yet it has a reputation for being one of the scariest things in the parks. It's because of its show elements. Nothing else in the park is like that.

We're never getting a ride with this tone again. I think that's sad.

Yes, I understand they used to be better, and I really wish I could've experienced them when they were (the whole implied carnotaurus chasing you sounds amazing), but until I saw someone on here mention that it I had no idea and was very sufficiently scared by what it is now.

As for what is replacing it, I've laid out many times here that I don't see how it could possibly be as good as what is there, but especially because of what it is replacing. Talk about expectations...people better temper those right now. Better to be impressed by something that exceeds your tiny expectations than to be disappointed greatly in something that doesn't measure up to what was there before (or what's across the continent at Disneyland).

Do we have any reason to believe, based on their recent efforts, this will be an improvement?