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

[DCLcruiser]

2 Queue paths - like Haunted Mansion perhaps?

Orange queue and Green queue lol.

 

[Bocabear]

Sounds great in theory... but some people, and a lot of kids, are petrified of snakes. Walking past them might be hard enough, but having to stand in a line unable to move might induce a dangerous environment for the animals and other guests.

This is a Disney Theme Park...even if they did use snakes, they would most likely do a bypass viewing area like they did with the Bats on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.... But there are people with fears of just about anything you can think of... It would be impossible to come up with anything that is absolutely trigger-free.
Well, I think that was the thought when they came up with the idea for the movie Wish...
So if you are creating an exciting attraction with some thrills, you have to approach the idea of danger and fear.... Not that it needs to be terrifying... If not, you end up with Small World...though I am sure someone is afraid of Dolls , Boats, and water.....

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

From the D23 press release back in 2024
"In this new venture, the man with the hat has recently discovered a perfectly preserved Maya temple, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to explore it. He’s heard rumors about a mythical creature deep within the temple — and he’s got to see it for himself. So, he brings us along on the adventure… but will there be snakes? We’ll just have to wait and see."

By the way, apart from closure dates, have we actually had any official updates from Disney about Tropical Americas since 2024 D23? The last new piece of official information was that we are getting an archaeology playground, but that's all we've had, right?

Archaeology playground, huh? Sounds…. Familiar….

I think the Boneyard might be sticking around, just rethemed lol

 

[cjkeating]

Their one shortcoming is Harambe. You need more than streetmosphere and a Lion King show to draw people to this area of the park after dark. Not to mention the one big dining location is a buffet. This area basically hours to bed after dark, and that needs to change if they want this to be an all day trek for families. They need another indoor E-ticket attraction here. Something that will draw people over at night.

During the Rivers of Light/Pandora era of the park pre-COVID there was also the night safari and Harambe Market was built as the lands quick service to support this.

 

[doctornick]

During the Rivers of Light/Pandora era of the park pre-COVID there was also the night safari and Harambe Market was built as the lands quick service to support this.

I think the night safari was eventually considered to be a failure and stopped running even while the late hours were still in effect.

I do think DAK needs at least one more ride in addition to a new show on the water to really offer a complete nighttime experience but it’s getting there. Would be nice if they fast tracked a TLK ride in Africa or a third ride in Pandora.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I think the night safari was eventually considered to be a failure and stopped running even while the late hours were still in effect

The safari is tricky because even in the afternoon it seems many of the animals have either gone to the barn already, or they are lined up at the gate in the back waiting to go.

If many of the animals are in the barn…. What are you supposed to see on the night safari?

 

[lentesta]

On the Indiana Jones side of things, do we know anything about the plot? Could the new ride involve dinosaurs somehow?

It likely involves the Maya god Chaac, who controls the weather including rain. Here's a screencap from Imagineering's presentation on the outside of the temple:

Fun fact: Chaac is part of Namor's origin story in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Here's another slide from WDI:

In Maya culture the Witz Monster usually represents the Earth or a mountain (i.e., some really big land mass). The implication here is that the bottom tier is some sort of cave entrance to the underworld.

So we have a cave leading underground, in a temple that references the god of rain (and water).

My guess is Indy finds the entrance and then ... things happen.

 

[whiterhino42]

I visited AK on the first full day of my trip two weeks ago today, and I paid my respects to my one-time GOAT attraction, Dinosaur. It was in a sorry state. I still had a blast on it, but riding it for the first time in 8 years, I realized that it wasn't the gold-standard attraction for me anymore.

It's funny how they can let something slip into disrepair and it changes your opinion on whether or not the ride should stay...but the fact is, the ride isn't as good as it used to be. It deserves more. When I rode it for the first time in the mid-2000s, I was blown away by how incredible it was. It was a slow decline, with a huge freefall between my last two visits.

If IJAK can improve on Dinosaur at its best, and it doesn't seem forced into AK, I'll be okay with this. But I'll always mourn the loss of what was once a top-tier attraction...unfortunately, I'm already mourning it before it's gone.

Dinosaur was/is my favorite ride in all of Walt Disney World. I'm sad to see it go. I hope IJ is good.

 

[cjkeating]

I think the night safari was eventually considered to be a failure and stopped running even while the late hours were still in effect.

The safari is tricky because even in the afternoon it seems many of the animals have either gone to the barn already, or they are lined up at the gate in the back waiting to go.

If many of the animals are in the barn…. What are you supposed to see on the night safari?

I think I did about 4-5 night safaris during it's run and I would say yes you saw less animals either because of the darker lighting or because there were less animals about but I saw some of the best animal intereactions from the animals because they were far more active than during the day. The lions, elephants and rhinos were specifically far more active and vocal, I remember the lions roaring constantly and rhinos running and 'fighting' very close to the trucks, I think it added a more thrilling edge to the safari.

Regarding the animals going back in, I believe I am correct in saying in the year running up to the night safari starting they gradually changed the routine for the animals so they stayed out later on the safari. They all gather in certain locations out of habit so for example feeding them out of the Savannah late in the afternoon and in the evening will keep them out as they learn there next meal is out there not in the barns.

 

[Incomudro]

Sounds great in theory... but some people, and a lot of kids, are petrified of snakes. Walking past them might be hard enough, but having to stand in a line unable to move might induce a dangerous environment for the animals and other guests.

If your kid is afraid of snakes, that's YOUR fault.
I taught my son's that snakes were cool since they were toddlers.
They were catching snakes on their own by about age six.

 

[Incomudro]

Archaeology playground, huh? Sounds…. Familiar….

I think the Boneyard might be sticking around, just rethemed lol

Like the Boneyard but less interesting.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

If your kid is afraid of snakes, that's YOUR fault.
I taught my son's that snakes were cool since they were toddlers.
They were catching snakes on their own by about age six.

yup - it is my fault as I am scared of them after getting bit by a snake when I was a youngster ... so they are definitely nope ropes for me

 

[Stupido]

If your kid is afraid of snakes, that's YOUR fault.
I taught my son's that snakes were cool since they were toddlers.
They were catching snakes on their own by about age six.

Ah, yes. "This worked for me and my family, so there's no way it couldn't work for yours and you should be shamed if it doesn't!"

Cool.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

If your kid is afraid of snakes, that's YOUR fault.
I taught my son's that snakes were cool since they were toddlers.
They were catching snakes on their own by about age six.

Tell that to the Australians lol

 

[Cranky Kong]

The funny thing about phobias is that they are defined as an irrational fear. A lot of people with phobias logically understand they're irrational. Their brains just instantly put them in fight or flight mode when they run into the subject of their phobia. It takes a lot of exposure therapy to overcome, which people might not have the time to do, especially if the phobia isn't their most pressing health problem or it's a rarely encountered one. All this to say, I understand why it might not be the best idea to put snakes in the Indy queue.

Then again there's that (fake) tarantula in the JC queue. . .

 

[Gremlin Gus]

 

[Incomudro]

yup - it is my fault as I am scared of them after getting bit by a snake when I was a youngster ... so they are definitely nope ropes for me

I've been bit by a bunch, as have my son's

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I've been bit by a bunch, as have my son's

I did not enjoy it, would not recommend, zero stars ... absolutely would not ride if had to pass them in the queue

but everyone is different

 

[Gusey]

Maybe instead of snakes in the queue, have a segmented exit, so you have the option to see the snakes, a bit like Sea World has the option to see the penguins at the end of Penguin Trek

 

[TheMaxRebo]

In the exit area or just somewhere in that part of the land that animal handlers could come out with animals (including snakes) would be cool for people to be able to see (be they ride or not).

Maybe just have some animatronics in the queue like the spider in the Jungle Cruise queue