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

[SaveDinosaur]

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.

There’s an important distinction between Expedition Everest and what's being proposed with Indiana Jones.


While Everest includes mythological elements like the Yeti, it still stays grounded in themes of wildlife, nature, and environmental respect — which are central to Animal Kingdom's identity. The attraction is framed around a real Himalayan ecosystem, with deep cultural authenticity, conservation messaging, and the relationship between humans and nature. The Yeti, in this context, serves as an extension of animal mythology, not a purely supernatural figure.


Indiana Jones, on the other hand, is rooted in archeology, human myth, and pulp adventure, with little to no connection to animals, conservation, or natural environments beyond set dressing. Its focus is much more about treasure hunting, ancient curses, and supernatural powers — things that fit far more naturally in Adventureland, which was built on that exact spirit of exoticized human exploration.


So while Everest may stretch the theme slightly, it still supports Animal Kingdom’s overarching message. Indiana Jones feels like a thematic mismatch — especially when combined with Encanto, which is another magical fantasy IP with minimal animal or nature focus.


Animal Kingdom's strength lies in its unique identity among the Disney parks. Diluting that with IPs that don’t align philosophically with its core mission weakens what makes it special.

 

[seabreezept813]

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.

I wonder if this is one where a great ride inspires more love of the film. We watch a lot of Disney films in a fairy tales course I teach and Encanto is the modern one that the students seem to not know well. I’m guessing because it was the pandemic straight to Disneyplus movie so less exposure to advertising, etc.

 

[Advisable Joseph]

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.

The gods are animals!

 

[Advisable Joseph]

I wonder if this is one where a great ride inspires more love of the film. We watch a lot of Disney films in a fairy tales course I teach and Encanto is the modern one that the students seem to not know well. I’m guessing because it was the pandemic straight to Disneyplus movie so less exposure to advertising, etc.

Apologies if you've already said this, as I just stumbled onto your story, but how old are your students?

 

[James Alucobond]

Indiana Jones, on the other hand, is rooted in archeology, human myth, and pulp adventure, with little to no connection to animals, conservation, or natural environments beyond set dressing. Its focus is much more about treasure hunting, ancient curses, and supernatural powers — things that fit far more naturally in Adventureland, which was built on that exact spirit of exoticized human exploration.

You are comparing the focus of the IP to the focus of a ride. You are supposing that the content of the IJ ride is a direct reflection of the IJ IP, which is rarely the case for anything that's not a book report. There is no reason that a cryptid or living fossil in the new ride cannot be treated incredibly similarly to the yeti in Expedition Everest.

 

[Disney Analyst]

You are comparing the focus of the IP to the focus of a ride. You are supposing that the content of the IJ ride is a direct reflection of the IJ IP, which is rarely the case for anything that's not a book report. There is no reason that a cryptid or living fossil in the new ride cannot be treated incredibly similarly to the yeti in Expedition Everest.

This seems like a damned if they do, damned if they don’t reaction from some.

They can easily make the world of Indy fit into the world of DAK. But I guess people just want book reports of the IP only?

 

[Advisable Joseph]

"The vase he translated featured a salty and mischievous rabbit"

"Salty" means "foul-mouthed, profane" here.

 

[britain]

Eh… what’s up Dr. Jones?

 

[Advisable Joseph]

Eh… what’s up Dr. Jones?

More salt for the Hasenpfeffer, bitte.

Here, have this from Q*Bert: @$%%$%#$@!!

 

[BlakeW39]

I honestly mean no disrespect to anyone here, but I think we need to have a serious conversation about media literacy among theme park fans.

Constantly throws around the word theme.. has no idea what a theme is. Argues that new attractions will fit in the park.. has no idea why the current attractions fit in the park. Do Disney Parks fans think the "theme" of The Lion King is.. lions? I'm starting to think so.

To the purpose of the thread... fingers crossed for this ride, honestly. DAK is the only park that hasn't really disappointed me yet... so I hope the optimists are proven right, and the ride fits into DAK's core themes as a Mayan EE with a working AA. Still a huge miss to not have animals in the land though.

 

[cjkeating]

I'm one of Dinosaurs biggest fans and I'm gutted it's going but so far from what I have seen the signs are the Imagineers are at least attempting to do some Joe Rohde like magic to make Indiana Jones fit... and when original alternative to this was Zootopia I think DAK has swerved a far far bigger problem.

(Sorry Tree of Life, I loved it's tough to be a bug too but you are taking one for the team with Zootopia)

 

[Casper Gutman]

It’s nice to be optimistic about a WDW project.

Let’s get that Lion King flume and something significant in Asia. Maybe a new daytime parade too.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I'm skeptical drones returns to WDW anytime soon.

Maybe Dreams that Soar returns to Disney Springs next summer before the "new activitations" are new starting in 2027 and beyond.

Starlight and Test Track are the karats this year. Muppets at RnR will carry limited pull.

Disney's NiteTails: KiteTails with little sparking lights attached.

Problem solved and you can have that idea for free, Disney. I renounce all future claims for royalties and other payments.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

I wonder if this is one where a great ride inspires more love of the film. We watch a lot of Disney films in a fairy tales course I teach and Encanto is the modern one that the students seem to not know well. I’m guessing because it was the pandemic straight to Disneyplus movie so less exposure to advertising, etc.

Really? Because I occasionally volunteer with children and they seem to know Encanto pretty well even today and seeing how popular it was back in 2021/2022 with teenagers and young adults on TikTok, I'd assume people would know it more. But now that you mention it, I really don't think I saw any advertisement for Encanto back in 2021, though that's probably because of the pandemic.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

1) It appears to be trains of cars. It doesn't appear to be an omnimover, trackless, or a water ride. Two cars per train. Two rows per car. Two or three people per car. (So 8-12 people per train?)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't WDWMagic say that the ride is going to be an omnimover similar to Journey into Imagination with Figment? Because I could've sworn that they said that.

 

[Bocabear]

The IJ attraction will be a perfect fit in the Tropical Americas section of the park...Exploration, a mythical animal/creature, the Jungle setting... It all feels like a fun adventure in the proper setting of the park. THe Dino institute, while original to the park seemed like a more difficult fit with a modern museum in the jungle setting... It certainly was a lot of fun though. They need to have some real-world animal integration though....even if it is a short exploration trail like in Asia that links you from the village square to the Temple Dig site in the jungle... It needn't be a huge long trail... but featuring a few animals would make it all feel perfectly at home in the Animal Kingdom Park. To me, Encanto feels like the more out-of-sync ride for the park....

 

[lentesta]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't WDWMagic say that the ride is going to be an omnimover similar to Journey into Imagination with Figment? Because I could've sworn that they said that.

It was rumored early on, along with a trackless system. And some of the concept art didn't rule it out.

The main reason I think it's not an omnimover is that there are maintenance bays big enough to work on a train of two cars, which is what the drawings show for the load/unload area as well. I ran it by Jim Shull, who seemed to agree.

 

[lentesta]

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.

I see your point. This version of Indy would fit in Adventureland too.

One of the things that makes this okay for me in DAK is that all cultures use gods and mythology to explain natural phenomena. Those gods frequently take the form of animals on earth. So if part of DAK is exploring man's relationship with nature, this is a widespread, ancient form of that.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

It’s nice to be optimistic about a WDW project.

Let’s get that Lion King flume and something significant in Asia. Maybe a new daytime parade too.

Yes, of everything coming to WDW, this is the one about which I don't really see any major negatives. Also very happy to be getting a big, new family dark ride rather than yet another thrill ride/rollercoaster. Animal Kingdom remains the park where they seem to be the most thoughtful about integrating new attractions into the overarching theme.

Not so keen on a Lion King flume, but that's a separate issue!

 

[easyrowrdw]

This seems like a damned if they do, damned if they don’t reaction from some.

They can easily make the world of Indy fit into the world of DAK. But I guess people just want book reports of the IP only?

The Indy ride at Disneyland seems to be very popular but it’s not a book report.