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

[TheMaxRebo]

This could end up a lot like expedition Everest where the lesson is some places simply shouldn’t be explored by humans. Maybe some character development for Indy?

Always say it should be him learning that instead of "this should be in a museum" it should be "this should be left where I found it"

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I believe it's a park "nothing-burger", but I'd be surprised if we didn't get any updates.

There are always some nuggets and this year they are pushing how they are doubling it in size so optimistic we get something (obviously nothing if the level of the expo, but just more than past DD23s)

 

[CJR]

It's not that the animals aren't a priority but where are they going to put the animal enclosures? Between the edge of the land and the parking lot? I think not. I think the expectation was that what is Pandora now and the soon to be Tropical Americas were never going to have animals because of parking on the opposite sides. If things had worked out it would have been dragons and dinosaurs in these two lands.

I believe the area that the playground is going was looked at for an animal exhibit. However, as you can see, there's just no room for anything big outside of that space. At best, there would be frogs, snakes, or spiders in a tank somewhere, but I'm now doubtful; it's possible though since they already have these in different areas of the park. I could see Disney having fake/animatronic animals in queues or shops.

I would have loved some South American animals in this land, but I do think the playground will be a better investment, especially if Encanto gets a height requirement. People will only want to do the carousel so many times. It's a smart move overall, IMHO.

 

[erasure fan1]

But there can be benefits, especially when the animals in question are rescue animals who are being rehabilitated or are not candidates for release into the wild. For people who will never go to the African savanna, seeing animals in person may influence their thinking about the value of nature.

You are right on the money, especially the seeing animals in person part. Sea Base alpha had an incredible impact on me as a kid. Not everyone can go see a bottle nose dolphin in its natural habitat. The key to all of it is how are the animals kept and treated. An animal that has little chance to survive in the wild on its own or needs to be rehabilitated to survive in the wild, I have zero issues with.

 

[mysto]

It could just as easily be Indy finding an artifact that has supernatural implications releasing said mythical beast, a protector or guardian of it's native peoples?

Wait, carne-tosaur isn't a mythical beast!? I thought it was a barbecue legend.

It's not that the animals aren't a priority but where are they going to put the animal enclosures? Between the edge of the land and the parking lot? I think not. I think the expectation was that what is Pandora now and the soon to be Tropical Americas were never going to have animals because of parking on the opposite sides. If things had worked out it would have been dragons and dinosaurs in these two lands.

I didn't think of that. It may turn out to be a good thing animals aren't in the new land. They can move the street parties and latenight events towards the parking lot and away from the animal enclosures.

Blackfish made the idea of animals at theme parks a hot button issue, and I don't see Disney taking on the PR liability that comes with that to display capybaras in what would, let's be honest, probably be a poorly attended exhibit. They've already taken some heat for their dolphins. When it comes to new animal exhibits, I think that ship has sailed for the foreseeable future.

A nutria exhibit could work from a PR perspective. Can't really go wrong, unless they escape into nearby neighborhoods.

 

[The Leader of the Club]

I am curious what will be at DD23. Not sure if there will be a new land model (maybe fore Monstropolis?) but I was at the 2021 event and they had the ride vehicle for Guardians there that people could sit in - maybe they have something for the Encanto ride?

I bet we get some nuggets about all of the current projects. Possibly a model of Piston Peak or Monstropolis. Probably some footage from the updates to Smuggler’s Run and a behind the scenes package for RnRC.

I think any new announcements will be for EPCOT. The Magic Eye Theater is a good bet.

 

[DisneyHead123]

A nutria exhibit could work from a PR perspective. Can't really go wrong, unless they escape into nearby neighborhoods.

I dunno. Animal rights is… a hot topic. Any animal in captivity is going to attract attention from very (very) passionate groups, and from Disney’s perspective, what would the upside be?

 

[mysto]

I dunno. Animal rights is… a hot topic. Any animal in captivity is going to attract attention from very (very) passionate groups, and from Disney’s perspective, what would the upside be?

I was just picking on the nutria as an easy target, but you're right there are no easy targets. The upside would of course be having animals in the new Animal Kingdom land. I do think that's an upside.

 

[Tha Realest]

Just to circle back:

-Canonically, Dr. Jones is like each and every guest on Dinosaur: he, too, is a time traveler!

-Non-canonically, in Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs*, he sought to save the last living triceratops.

* I own a copy and read it when it first came out in 1996

 

[Tha Realest]

I dunno. Animal rights is… a hot topic. Any animal in captivity is going to attract attention from very (very) passionate groups, and from Disney’s perspective, what would the upside be?

Head on over to the movies board. Someone’s upset they used CGI instead of real animals in Snow White, and argues for the inclusion of chimp actors.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Head on over to the movies board. Someone’s upset they used CGI instead of real animals in Snow White, and argues for the inclusion of chimp actors.

Lol, I think people were joking around in that thread, but topics of animal welfare are very intense. Elephants were also removed from the circus not all that long ago. I think if Disney is looking at the zeitgeist at all, they’re thinking now is not the time.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

In the Cars thread there was some discussion of Indiana Jones' fit here. I wanted to respond but not in that thread...

Indiana Jones is an archaeologist. It doesn't make thematic sense for him to be searching for a mythical animal. That's not his job. What is his goal? To find the animal and put it in a zoo?

"It belongs in a museum" is Indiana Jones' credo. He has nothing to do with animals; rather he deals with the animals he encounters...which are usually an inconvenience for his mission, whatever it may be.

This is absolutely a stretch for Animal Kingdom. They should have used Shanghai's Pirate-tech and replaced the stunt show with an Indiana Jones boat ride. That's the UNIQUE Indy ride I want. Does ANYONE think that would have been worse than retheming an existing, fantastic ride?

And on the subject of uniqueness: guess what, no matter what you're passing by, those CTX-Rovers are still going over the same ride path, and that's a huge distraction for me, especially because I love Dinosaur so much. There is nothing they can do to make this different enough from Dinosaur (or even the other Indiana Jones rides at DL and TDS) to make it truly UNIQUE.

I don’t think he’s going to be searching for the creature. I’m quite confident he’s gonna be searching for something in the temple and finds it by accident. Just like how he would have never gone looking for aliens but the quest for what he was looking for led him to them.

That’s why I think people are overthinking this.

While he is not one to go looking for any creature, he IS a character with a vested interest in cultural artifacts. This artifact could be connected to the creature. The artifact in and of itself would he a symbol of what I was talking about in the other thread: human beings and how the natural world influences their lives, culture, and folklore.

Now, that is me taking guesses on what they’re gonna do based on the info that we have. Nothing official. But the fact that I and others are able to use the pieces we have to take that guess shows just how easy it is to make Indy fit AK perfectly.

Like I said, it’s super obvious how Indy fits but like with Pandora people are tying themselves in knots to make themselves not see it.

What Indy’s gonna do is exactly what Everest does: uses a mythological creature to explore a real world idea. Indy works as a vessel for that because he is a character that naturally would be in a place doing something that would allow we the audience to encounter such a creature.

Does not mean that’s what he in story was intending to do, but then I don’t Indiana Jones has EVER intended to find the super natural stuff he does in every single movie. He’s always looking for an artifact and ends up finding stuff that goes well beyond the confines of an archeologist.

That’s the whole character.

 

[Brer Panther]

I continue to be shocked that other people are shocked. It's almost like animals aren't a priority in this land...

Exactly! Disney's only adding Tropical Americas to Animal Kingdom so they can stick Indiana Jones and Encanto rides in there because apparently that'll make them more money. I'd be shocked if they ever even CONSIDERED having animal exhibits here...

I see pros and cons to the idea of animals in captivity. Clearly, it can be done horribly. But there can be benefits, especially when the animals in question are rescue animals who are being rehabilitated or are not candidates for release into the wild. For people who will never go to the African savanna, seeing animals in person may influence their thinking about the value of nature. But again, I cut Disney a lot of slack on this particular topic, because I think it's very different than other questions regarding park theming.

On the other hand, it’s also a question of how to navigate this in a post-Blackfish world.

There is absolutely a cogent and humane argument to make for why zoological exhibits with live animals are still relevant and vital. Accrediting organizations like the Association fot Zoos and Aquariums, of which Disney is a recognized leader, already lead by example. Reasons include preservation of threatened and endangered species, propagation and husbandry, and public education. All of which Disney does with admiration. This isn’t a Blackfish issue.

That said, I don't think any of that matters in a clickbait world where public perception can be hugely skewed by a few sensational headlines. Blackfish made the idea of animals at theme parks a hot button issue, and I don't see Disney taking on the PR liability that comes with that to display capybaras in what would, let's be honest, probably be a poorly attended exhibit.

Don't a lot of zoos focus more on animal conservation and welfare nowadays, Animal Kingdom included (I know it's not a zoo, but still)? But I agree with @DisneyHead123, Iger's Disney is just too cowardly to do anything that might anger the Blackfish fans. It actually makes me a bit worried that they'll eventually remove the live animals from Animal Kingdom entirely - which, as an added bonus, would also save them money, wouldn't it? I'd hate to see Kilimanjaro Safaris bulldozed and replaced with another IP-based land...

I mean, it wouldn't even be the first time. Didn't Disney decide not to renew their contract with McDonalds in the 2000s because of Super Size Me?

 

[danlb_2000]

Seems like they won't close Dinosaur until Encanto is ready. I thought the park had actual expansion space they could build on without having to close and replace rather than just grow....

It has plenty of space for expansion, but these changes aren't about expansion, they are about optimization.

 

[James Alucobond]

Exactly! Disney's only adding Tropical Americas to Animal Kingdom so they can stick Indiana Jones and Encanto rides in there because apparently that'll make them more money. I'd be shocked if they ever even CONSIDERED having animal exhibits here...

You’re attributing it to the topical nature of Encanto and IJ when it’s actually just that this is largely a re-skin of a land where living animals were also not a priority and featured extremely minimally.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

Don't a lot of zoos focus more on animal conservation and welfare nowadays, Animal Kingdom included (I know it's not a zoo, but still)? But I agree with @DisneyHead123, Iger's Disney is just too cowardly to do anything that might anger the Blackfish fans. It actually makes me a bit worried that they'll eventually remove the live animals from Animal Kingdom entirely - which, as an added bonus, would also save them money, wouldn't it? I'd hate to see Kilimanjaro Safaris bulldozed and replaced with another IP-based land...

I mean, it wouldn't even be the first time. Didn't Disney decide not to renew their contract with McDonalds in the 2000s because of Super Size Me?

Eh, Iger is leaving by the end of 2026, so I wouldn't be worried about them replacing Kilimanjaro Safaris, and besides, it's not like a TSI/RoA situation where those two don't really bring in guests as much as Disney wants them to, but Kilimanjaro Safaris still gets a decent amount of people to that attraction, so I don't think it's going away anytime soon (hopefully)

 

[FigmentJedi]

I mean, it can't be worse than Leaves: the Ride featuring Dinos.

Better then the "We ran out of money for this hallway, get the guy that paints blacklight minigolf courses to put up some skeleton warriors" situation at Indy.

 

[𝐌𝖆𝖓 𝖎𝖓 𝐖𝖊𝖇]

Better then the "We ran out of money for this hallway, get the guy that paints blacklight minigolf courses to put up some skeleton warriors" situation at Indy.

Different strokes. I find that charming, a classic throwback to older Disneyland dark rides. But whatever.

 

[SamusAranX]

I dunno. Animal rights is… a hot topic. Any animal in captivity is going to attract attention from very (very) passionate groups, and from Disney’s perspective, what would the upside be?

The protests at park opening were negligible so I can’t imagine it being much more now

 

[BrianLo]

I believe it's a park "nothing-burger", but I'd be surprised if we didn't get any updates.

I’d normally agree. But I was a bit surprised the last one included announcements on ITTBAB and Country Bears. Which weren’t entirely nothing. Mixed with the promise to double this conference in size and scope. Plus the trio of things for WDW we’ve had in between (RnRC, Monsters Show and Villains show)… I’d expect a little something.

A little being an overlay. Kind of looking at something like Spaceship Earth or a revival on the China film. Not a land. Or a DAK night show. But maybe I’m being naive that I feel like an Imagination overhaul seems like the ripe fruit for this type of conference.