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

[JD80]

My concern is that they haven’t mentioned a nighttime show. Let’s hope they are working on one and keeping it quiet.

They dropped Luminous rather quickly didn't they? Those barges came down quick.

 

[ToTBellHop]

They dropped Luminous rather quickly didn't they? Those barges came down quick.

Yes. I’m just surprised they wouldn’t announce nighttime plans (if the exist) in 2027 with Tropical Americas.

 

[The Leader of the Club]

Yes. I’m just surprised they wouldn’t announce nighttime plans (if the exist) in 2027 with Tropical Americas.

In fairness, they don’t typically announce new nighttime shows 3 years out. I’d see what happens at Destination D next year or D23 in 2026.

 

[Timothy_Q]

Ideally, by the time Tropical Americas opens they'd have a new nighttime show, a Coco show replacing Nemo, new projection show for ToL, and some new entertainment offerings for Pandora

 

[Gusey]

It's going to be interesting if Finding Nemo becomes a part of Asia when Dinoland closes and if that will be temporary, or will the Theater of the Wild become a permanent Asia addition?

 

[doctornick]

It's going to be interesting if Finding Nemo becomes a part of Asia when Dinoland closes and if that will be temporary, or will the Theater of the Wild become a permanent Asia addition?

It fits fine with Tropical Americas and really is on that side. I don't know how it will be labelled in the interim but I expect it to continue to be part of the Tropical Americas/Dinoland space.

 

[JackCH]

It's going to be interesting if Finding Nemo becomes a part of Asia when Dinoland closes and if that will be temporary, or will the Theater of the Wild become a permanent Asia addition?

Expand over that way and make an Oceania area. Throw in the Moana ride. Kidding, obviously.

 

[doctornick]

In fairness, they don’t typically announce new nighttime shows 3 years out. I’d see what happens at Destination D next year or D23 in 2026.

Yeah, I'm still expecting a new show to show up in 2027 when Tropical Americas opens. Once Dinosaur and TS close, the park really won't be able to support longer hours which would be needed to offer a nighttime show. But doing a show and longer hours in 2027 makes sense and that's something I'd expect to be announced at the 2026 D23 (or even a Destination D23) not in 2024. It's definitely too early to have done that now.

In the shorter term, I thought perhaps we might have gotten some daytime entertainment on the water (something better than Kite Tails) as a 2025 or 2026 as something to advertise.

 

[TheDisneyParksfanC8]

That may be. But Galaxies edge didn’t even formerly settle into its build locations (on both coasts) until 2016 publicly. It wasn’t announced until 2015 and that concept was equally vague and inaccurate.

This project is quite a bit ahead; so it would have to be an active choice to pause it for several years to hit 2031+. One not currently supported from exec messaging.

Iger still isn’t gone by the next mainline D23, so Josh needs to have something deliverable to show.

I also think Moana for AL will also be at D23 2026 assuming it doesn't get announced at Destination D23 2025.

 

[Ayla]

…and a nighttime drone show.

Actually, I wonder if they haven’t decided about the drones because the sounds might freak out certain species of animals (like those with exceptional hearing at certain pitches)? Either way, a well-liked nighttime show will do wonders.

I don't think some people get how truly loud drones are.

 

[doctornick]

I don't think some people get how truly loud drones are.

They would have music at any show anyway. Do you really think a show featuring drones would be louder on the ground than RoL? It’s not like they’d be flying them right above animal enclosures

 

[Brer Panther]

Please no Moana at Animal Kingdom. Two human-focused IPs that barely have anything to do with animals is enough.

Surely there's room in Adventureland for a hypothetical Moana attraction.

 

[Bocabear]

There was talk once about "Rivers Of Light" actually being a parade through the river system there ending up at the main basin lake... Something smaller than the big cartoon clip show that we ended up with... like a lantern parade. I wonder if that is something they could re-think at this point...Add the night time element but something beautiful and more intimate...and of course the big finale circle at the amphitheater would be an Instagram-worthy spectacle... Without it being a brash loud overproduced Harmonious... That is what I would like to see for an evening entertainment... Lower tech, no film clips... Something that fits the spirit of the park...

 

[FerretAfros]

I mostly agree with you on this.

Still, it seems like Indiana Jones Adventure is much more popular and liked than Dinosaur. If the new Indy ride is in the same spirit, it will be more in demand.

It doesn’t really matter if Indy is more in-demand than Dinosaur; Dinosaur already operates essentially at capacity and does not have significant growth potential. Whether the wait is 20 minutes or 2 hours, the ride can only get so many butts-in-seats per hour. Increased popularity will only lead to longer lines, not higher hourly throughput.

It’s the same situation as Maelstrom, Splash Mountain, and DCA’s TOT: they’re spending significant sums of money to increase demand for attractions that don’t have the capacity to meet that demand, which in turn only makes the park as a whole more unpleasant, as larger crowds and longer queues form for the same old operations infrastructure.

For Tropical Americas to have a positive impact on the park, it needs to be more ambitious than a 1-for-1 spinner replacement, an at-capacity re-theme, and a modest busbar dark ride. They seem to be willing to spend the money for a big improvement, but they’re ultimately spending it in a way that won’t make a significant improvement.

 

[Timothy_Q]

It doesn’t really matter if Indy is more in-demand than Dinosaur; Dinosaur already operates essentially at capacity and does not have significant growth potential. Whether the wait is 20 minutes or 2 hours, the ride can only get so many butts-in-seats per hour. Increased popularity will only lead to longer lines, not higher hourly throughput.

A ride with a 2h wait sells more LL than one with 20 minutes

It also means it's pulling more crowds from the rest of DAK and better spreading them across the park

 

[lazyboy97o]

It also means it's pulling more crowds from the rest of DAK and better spreading them across the park

Only if visitation remain stagnant or declines.

 

[dmc493]

I don't think it's a wild statement to say that Indy will have a more consistently full/longer queue than Dinosaur. Because of newness, (probable) better quality ride, and because there's going to be a new marquee attraction right nearby. So it should definitely absorb more people than Dino does currently.

 

[Timothy_Q]

Only if visitation remain stagnant or declines.

How well a park is able to spread crowds has to do with having a somewhat uniform roster of big draw attractions across all corners of the park, regardless whether the park visitation numbers are going up or down.

Right now DAK is leaning heavily on Pandora.
With Encanto and Indy, crowds will be more evenly spread across lands

 

[Brer Panther]

and a modest busbar dark ride.

Isn't it gonna be an Ominmover?

 

[MisterPenguin]

GSATs are as important as queues. If a retheme changes nothing about capacity, it should at least raise Guest Satisfaction.