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

[Smoky]

Tropical Americas will likely feel like the most well rounded land at DAK I think

Spinner, dark ride, thrill ride, playground, and an adjacent stage show that is/isn't part of the land

Apart from the missing animal enclosures, this is pretty much a perfect roster for a land

Has it been confirmed that there won't be animal enclosures? Sorry if I missed that. I assumed there wouldn't be because this is nuDis we're talking about.

 

[Purduevian]

The mermaid ride building is “massive” compared to traditional dark rides.

The queue is massive... but I think the ride is ~23,000sqft

Compared to Pooh (plus the bathrooms and queue) which is ~20,000sqft its really not that crazy.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Has it been confirmed that there won't be animal enclosures? Sorry if I missed that. I assumed there wouldn't be because this is nuDis we're talking about.

Yes, well in at least the plans do not show any

Disney hasn't officially said there won't be any but unless something changes expectation is there will not be any

 

[lentesta]

The queue is massive... but I think the ride is ~23,000sqft

Compared to Pooh (plus the bathrooms and queue) which is ~20,000sqft its really not that crazy.

The indoor part of the Encanto queue is ~1/3rd of a mile long. I'm not sure how that compares to other queues.

The main part of the Encanto building, minus the queues, is over 60,000 s.f.

Keep in mind that some of those scenes have 40+' ceilings too. It seems big.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The indoor part of the Encanto queue is ~1/3rd of a mile long. I'm not sure how that compares to other queues.

The main part of the Encanto building, minus the queues, is over 60,000 s.f.

Keep in mind that some of those scenes have 40+' ceilings too. It seems big.

Just checking things via Google maps, and Small World show building is ~46,000sf, Haunted Mansion Show building is ~38,500sf, You Story Mania is ~61,000 sqft but that includes indoor queue

So yeah, seems rather large especially for a non-coaster

 

[lentesta]

@lentesta Anything you can say regarding AAs on Indy?

Giant feathered serpent AA?


...please let that come true

I don't think we know yet.

IIRC, Imagineering said at the May conference that they were not yet at a point where they had a ride model built. Everything they focused on was exterior and setting. It was from those that you could see how the ride story focuses on an underworld god of water.

 

[Timothy_Q]

The indoor part of the Encanto queue is ~1/3rd of a mile long. I'm not sure how that compares to other queues.

The main part of the Encanto building, minus the queues, is over 60,000 s.f.

Keep in mind that some of those scenes have 40+' ceilings too. It seems big.

Sounds like it's on a similar scale to TDR's BATB and Frozen rides

That's very exciting (and surprising)

 

[Gremlin Gus]

The indoor part of the Encanto queue is ~1/3rd of a mile long. I'm not sure how that compares to other queues.

The main part of the Encanto building, minus the queues, is over 60,000 s.f.

Keep in mind that some of those scenes have 40+' ceilings too. It seems big.

Now that you mention it, yeah it really does seem like the indoor queue for Encanto ride is decently big, I'm wonder if WDI/Disney is expecting that ride to be decently popular with guests to warrant the queue size.

 

[MR.Dis]

I don't think we know yet.

IIRC, Imagineering said at the May conference that they were not yet at a point where they had a ride model built. Everything they focused on was exterior and setting. It was from those that you could see how the ride story focuses on an underworld god of water.

Is the ride a walk thru? Could it be something like the doom buggies in HM?

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I think the only other thing that could have put this area over the top would have been the addition of a roller coaster a la Raging Spirits in Paris or Tokyo and an animal exhibit.

Around the park they still need an additional attraction in Pandora, Asia, and Africa. I think they should also bring the boats around the Discovery River back. Finally, they should add a nighttime show. That would make this the most well rounded park in Orlando.

 

[Purduevian]

The indoor part of the Encanto queue is ~1/3rd of a mile long. I'm not sure how that compares to other queues.

The main part of the Encanto building, minus the queues, is over 60,000 s.f.

Keep in mind that some of those scenes have 40+' ceilings too. It seems big.

I'm shocked... any idea how long the FOP indoor queue is?

 

[Gremlin Gus]

Good question. I don't know about the other characters. They don't have show scenes with their names in them, and the names of the show scenes aren't descriptive enough to narrow it down.

Ah I see, but actually I have one more question (I promise): So with the site plans for TA, the Encanto ride seems to have some backstage area behind the Casita, so I want to ask if you by any chance know, will the ride exit be located at either A or B in the image that I posted?

Though I do wonder, if it is A, I wonder what the area behind the Casita will be used for, I'm guessing maybe for maintenance access for the Casita since we know there will be moving parts on the Casita, or maybe it's an emergency exit for load/unload

 

[Timothy_Q]

Toy Story Mania is ~61,000 sqft but that includes indoor queue

TSM is also essentially 3 rides in one, so it's not a great comparison in that sense

The single-track TSM building is more like 25.000sqft

 

[lentesta]

Ah I see, but actually I have one more question (I promise): So with the site plans for TA, the Encanto ride seems to have some backstage area behind the Casita, so I want to ask if you by any chance know, will the ride exit be located at either A or B in the image that I posted?

Though I do wonder, if it is A, I wonder what the area behind the Casita will be used for, I'm guessing maybe for maintenance access for the Casita since we know there will be moving parts on the Casita, or maybe it's an emergency exit for load/unload

View attachment 870720

My understanding is that (A) is the primary exit. If that's the case (B) is some sort of access path.

 

[lazyboy97o]

My understanding is that (A) is the primary exit. If that's the case (B) is some sort of access path.

Emergency egress would make sense, especially given its width. It would be able to accommodate a large number of people leaving all at once. The chicane would allow for landscaping and small built elements that would obscure the view along the path so there isn’t a direct line of sight.

 

[Coaster Lover]

Now that you mention it, yeah it really does seem like the indoor queue for Encanto ride is decently big, I'm wonder if WDI/Disney is expecting that ride to be decently popular with guests to warrant the queue size.

Also worth considering how few attractions DAK has to offer for when it's raining. Counting Dino, they only have five "all weather" attractions plus two shows. Encanto will add a much needed sixth and (I assume) the carousel will have a large enough cover (and a covered queue) to allow it to remain open as well increasing the number of all weather attractions by 40%. Having a mostly enclosed (and cooled) queue on Encanto will help in that department as well.

 

[CoastalElite64]

Well I legitimately think another ride will come after Tropical Americas, but yeah getting two would be awesome. And with the Paris TLK and DCA Pandora there are some easy things to add….

I think they're moving away from exact clones. What they should do is the Spiderman Shanghai coster rethemed to Tarzan.

 

[SaveDinosaur]

1. I think they're both going to be popular. Definitely more popular than what was there before. The Indy ride will have actual Maya stories in it - the exterior temple design tells a story based on real Maya gods, and that story is continued in the attraction. So that's going to appeal to the "keep the theme in theme parks" folks and people who like thrill rides. (Apologies if you've heard this before, but I went to the Maya archaeology conference where Imagineering presented their work for the ride. Here's a blog post on it with slides from Imagineering's presentation.)

Everything they've released so far about the new Indy attraction makes it feel like a terrible fit for Animal Kingdom. It heavily focuses on Mayan gods, mythology, archaeology, and jungle adventure — themes that align much more with Adventureland at Magic Kingdom than with a park centered around animals.


Animal Kingdom was originally designed to have just one fantasy-based area: Beastly Kingdom, which ended up being replaced by Pandora. Adding yet another fantastical land with Encanto and Indiana Jones doesn’t feel thematically appropriate and risks weakening the park’s unique identity.

 

[The Leader of the Club]

Everything they've released so far about the new Indy attraction makes it feel like a terrible fit for Animal Kingdom. It heavily focuses on Mayan gods, mythology, archaeology, and jungle adventure — themes that align much more with Adventureland at Magic Kingdom than with a park centered around animals.


Animal Kingdom was originally designed to have just one fantasy-based area: Beastly Kingdom, which ended up being replaced by Pandora. Adding yet another fantastical land with Encanto and Indiana Jones doesn’t feel thematically appropriate and risks weakening the park’s unique identity.

Everything they've released so far about Expedition Everest makes it feel like a terrible fit for Animal Kingdom. It heavily focuses on yetis, mythology, anthropology, and Himalayan adventure — themes that align much more with Adventureland at Magic Kingdom than with a park centered around animals.


Animal Kingdom was originally designed to have just one fantasy-based area: Beastly Kingdom, which ended up being replaced by Pandora. Adding yet another fantastical land with yetis right next to Finding Nemo doesn’t feel thematically appropriate and risks weakening the park’s unique identity.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Everything they've released so far about Expedition Everest makes it feel like a terrible fit for Animal Kingdom.

You’re not wrong…. Everest is just an updated Matterhorn which is indeed a perfect fit for a castle park.

But Everest exists in a land that includes 2 live animal attractions (bird show and animal trek) as well as additional animal exhibits.