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

[danlb_2000]

Maybe I am naive, but the land was basically a flat parking lot previously. What would be the big challenge in preparing it for a new attraction? Sure it takes time, but everything closed in January. 5 months later, there is still nothing visible, just flattened dirt. Seems like 2027 would be a big stretch at this point.

Have we ever gotten confirmation on what exactly the Encanto ride is even going to be? A C ticket omnimover type thing? A boat ride? Something entirely new? Sorry if I missed it being mentioned before, but don't recall anything being really confirmed.

Disney normally builds at the pace they want to build at, not that pace that is possible to build at.

 

[eddie104]

Look at how many workers are on the Big Thunder Refurbishment versus this project and you will get your answer as to why it’s moving so slow.

And we knew this but..

 

[DavidDL]

Carnotaurus is a South American dinosaur, just sayin' Disney.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Carnotaurus is a South American dinosaur, just sayin' Disney.

I've been saying that since they announced this stupidity!

 

[Brer Panther]

I just realized. If they added an Emperor's New Groove attraction, we could still have dinosaur representation in the park.

After all, Yzma IS living proof that dinosaurs once roamed the Earth.

 

[Touchdown]

Emperors New Groove would lend itself wonderfully to a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride type attraction, I mean the characters could even break the fourth wall and question the cardboard cutouts. Come on Disney do it.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

Only issue with trying to get The Emperor's New Groove into Tropical Americas is that you really don't have that the movie doesn't have that strong of a connection to animals and the Encanto and Indiana Jones rides are really kind of stretching it in terms of connecting it to animals, but I wouldn't hate to see The Emperor's New Groove into TA or the parks in some form

 

[Touchdown]

Emperors New Groove: Lamapalooza. There’s your animal, not to mention a dastardly adorable cat is the main villain. Rumor is a squirrel will also be involved.

 

[Bocabear]

Emporer's New Groove is a 25 year old movie that was not the hit they hoped for... Why drag that one out after all this time?

 

[ToTBellHop]

Emporer's New Groove is a 25 year old movie that was not the hit they hoped for... Why drag that one out after all this time?

We may love it but it’s obviously well past its sell-by date.

 

[The Leader of the Club]

Emporer's New Groove is a 25 year old movie that was not the hit they hoped for... Why drag that one out after all this time?

It’s gotten more popular over time, but I’m not sure it resonates with kids the same way Monsters, Stitch and Cars do. I think they’d need to test its viability with a stage show or meet & greet before committing to an attraction.

 

[flyerjab]

Look at how many workers are on the Big Thunder Refurbishment versus this project and you will get your answer as to why it’s moving so slow.

And we knew this but..

I think that this replacement (not an expansion) is going to be another beautiful area for this park. And I love this focus on the Mayan culture. It gives the Imagineers a chance to stretch their legs a bit, to get creative in a non-IP sort of way. I think that the town of Pueblo Esperanza will shine in the redo of this area.

I also have this feeling that this part of the park, coupled with Pandora and Anandapur/Serka Zong will allow for this park to stay open later than 6 again. The use of 2 popular IP will draw people to this park. And these will be 2 dark rides; indoor attractions that this park needs.

I know most posters here are not excited about the changes happening over the next 5 years, but I definitely am. We will soon have active construction at 3 parks happening simultaneously, along with a new resort. I love watching this type of work unfold.

 

[Bocabear]

There are other films that were actual hit movies that have no representation in the parks...Emporer's New Groove seems like such an odd choice to get behind.... They are definitely going all out for the stage version of Hercules which is nice to see...If only there were a Greece pavilion in EPCOT...

 

[FutureCEO]

Disney normally builds at the pace they want to build at, not that pace that is possible to build at.

 

[Bocabear]

I think that this replacement (not an expansion) is going to be another beautiful area for this park. And I love this focus on the Mayan culture. It gives the Imagineers a chance to stretch their legs a bit, to get creative in a non-IP sort of way. I think that the town of Pueblo Esperanza will shine in the redo of this area.

I also have this feeling that this part of the park, coupled with Pandora and Anandapur/Serka Zong will allow for this park to stay open later than 6 again. The use of 2 popular IP will draw people to this park. And these will be 2 dark rides; indoor attractions that this park needs.

I know most posters here are not excited about the changes happening over the next 5 years, but I definitely am. We will soon have active construction at 3 parks happening simultaneously, along with a new resort. I love watching this type of work unfold.

Well to be honest, the new area with 2 new indoor attractionswould draw people to the park regardless of IP or not. IP is not necessarily the draw...the attraction is. Everest has no IP, is extremely popular, and no one is sayingit wuld have been much better with any IP... Original attractions are still important... I wish they would drop the mandate...

 

[The Leader of the Club]

Well to be honest, the new area with 2 new indoor attractionswould draw people to the park regardless of IP or not. IP is not necessarily the draw...the attraction is. Everest has no IP, is extremely popular, and no one is sayingit wuld have been much better with any IP... Original attractions are still important... I wish they would drop the mandate...

The carousel is the biggest sin of the IP mandate IMO. I’m sure the carved characters will be beautiful, but I think it would be just as beautiful if they were South American animals instead of Disney characters. Llamas, Jaguars, Tapirs, Capybaras, etc.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Maybe I am naive, but the land was basically a flat parking lot previously. What would be the big challenge in preparing it for a new attraction? Sure it takes time, but everything closed in January. 5 months later, there is still nothing visible, just flattened dirt. Seems like 2027 would be a big stretch at this point.

Have we ever gotten confirmation on what exactly the Encanto ride is even going to be? A C ticket omnimover type thing? A boat ride? Something entirely new? Sorry if I missed it being mentioned before, but don't recall anything being really confirmed.

An empty space can be some of the worst conditions in an open theme park because empty above ground doesn’t mean empty below ground. Site prep isn’t something you just want to rush and isn’t easy to notice changes. It’s a common phase of work that people complain is taking too long. Then steel will start to go up and people will comment about how fast everything is moving. Then they’ll be working inside a box and we’ll return to comments about work being slow.

 

[Moth]

The most obvious IP to put into Tropical Americas that fits DAK like a glove is Rio. But Rio wouldn't sell Indy hats or Encanto dresses. UP is second place.

 

[flyerjab]

Well to be honest, the new area with 2 new indoor attractionswould draw people to the park regardless of IP or not. IP is not necessarily the draw...the attraction is. Everest has no IP, is extremely popular, and no one is sayingit wuld have been much better with any IP... Original attractions are still important... I wish they would drop the mandate...

I hear ya Boca. I know that there are many long time fans that wish there was no IP mandate. I appreciate and respect everyone’s opinion on this matter.

I’m in a different camp, so my thoughts on the matter differ. I was mainly talking from an aesthetics standpoint. This park is beautiful for so many reasons. I am happy to see that the concept of a “town” in Tropical Americas is the foundation. I am hoping that from a pure visual standpoint this area will compare to Africa and Asia, while leaning heavily into Mayan culture.

 

[Dreamer19]

Emporer's New Groove is a 25 year old movie that was not the hit they hoped for... Why drag that one out after all this time?

I genuinely think that Disney, at least the Disney Imagineers who came up with something like Splash Mountain could make anything wildly popular. Disney controls the guests. Guests will go to an attraction because it’s there and return to it because it’s great.

I’ve seen arguments about “why use characters people don’t know” assuming that the Guests would only enjoy an attraction based on something they have an awareness of. I think this is incorrect.

When I worked at Shanghai Disney they had a Star Wars m&g in Tomorrowland. Iger wanted it there to familiarize the Chinese with Star Wars. It ended up closing due to lack of interest. Had they come up with an incredible Star Wars attraction, they could have made headlines timed with the release of the new trilogy and perhaps gotten some butts in seats as well. Alas, Star Wars is dead in China (some would argue everywhere, but that’s another story)