Rumor D23 Expo 2019 expected announcements

[yensidtlaw1969]

Yes, but, to be fair . . . It’s universally agreed that it should have been built.

I see both points but I tend to lean towards Zootopia would be fine at the back of the park. Would I prefer South America? Yes, I would.

It’s universally agreed that we would have liked for it to be built, but that doesn't mean it automatically fit the park perfectly. The Fantasia hippos don’t really speak to the mission of the park, fantastic though they would have been to encounter.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

The main reason Zootopia doesn’t belong in DAK, in my eyes, is because of the setting. It’s a giant metropolitan city. It would be so out of place with how lush every other land in the park, and go against the idea that most buildings in the park are to stay below the tree line. Add on top of that the lack of a conservation message and characters that are more like people than animals, and you have a very poor fit for DAK.

Sorry to get off-topic again, I just had to get that out.

 

[brb1006]

Expect Epcot to have a large presence at this D23.

Maybe some more good news on Epcot... I hope.

 

[Disney Maddux]

The main reason Zootopia doesn’t belong in DAK, in my eyes, is because of the setting. It’s a giant metropolitan city. It would be so out of place with how lush every other land in the park, and go against the idea that most buildings in the park are to stay below the tree line. Add on top of that the lack of a conservation message and characters that are more like people than animals, and you have a very poor fit for DAK.

Sorry to get off-topic again, I just had to get that out.

This I see as the one good point against Zootopia in DAK. But it's also immediately discouraged if this were to take over Planet Watch, cause it'd be away from everything else and you wouldn't be able to see any of it until you actually entered the area.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

This I see as the one good point against Zootopia in DAK. But it's also immediately discouraged if this were to take over Planet Watch, cause it'd be away from everything else and you wouldn't be able to see any of it until you actually entered the area.

Planet Watch will be updated for the new Lion Ling live action movie coming out soon.

 

[dothebrdwalk]

Hopefully we hear some info on the new cruise ships due in about 2 years finally!

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

If we went by the rules that everything must look exactly the same there would be no...

- Different lands in "Magic Kingdom"
- World Showcase in "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow"
- Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land in "Hollywood Studios"
- Pandora, Dinoland and possibly Zootopia in "Animal Kingdom"

You can’t drag the other 3 parks in when discussing something like this, their design philosophies are so much different from each other and especially from Animal Kingdom. Pandora’s beautiful landscapes and mountains fit in great with the natural feel of Animal Kingdom, and for as cheesey as Dino-rama is, it still keeps the gritty feel of the rest of the park and contributes to the overall story in Dinoland of how we interpret and interact animals that no longer exist.

Putting a modern city in the park would be an absolute slap in the face to the parks original concept. You cannot tell a story of how humans interact with nature in a land designed without humans in mind.

 

[peter11435]

If we went by the rules that everything must look exactly the same there would be no...

- Different lands in "Magic Kingdom"
- World Showcase in "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow"
- Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land in "Hollywood Studios"
- Pandora, Dinoland and possibly Zootopia in "Animal Kingdom"

First of all. The fact that mistakes were made in the past or that other parks failed to adhere to their themes perfectly is not and should not be a justification for doing it again.

Pandora and Dinoland both fit perfectly within the theme of the park.

 

[monothingie]

First of all. The fact that mistakes were made in the past or that other parks failed to adhere to their themes perfectly is not and should not be a justification for doing it again.

Pandora and Dinoland both fit perfectly within the theme of the park.

It’s not like they’d ever do this again...

 

[BlakeW39]

I don't understand why people don't want Zootopia in Animal. It has just animals in the fricking movie and zoo in it's title.

And most important of all it will make a lot of money. Much like Pandora (which is at the same park) the franchise will be relevant for the next 10+ years. Thanks to the 2 or more sequels Disney has planned for it.

If we went by the rules that everything must look exactly the same there would be no...

- Different lands in "Magic Kingdom"
- World Showcase in "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow"
- Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land in "Hollywood Studios"
- Pandora, Dinoland and possibly Zootopia in "Animal Kingdom"

Disney's Animal Kingdom is the most thematically consistent park Disney has. The fact that you question this means you do not fully grasp the themes which are DAK. DAK is not just a park 'with animals.'

Disney's Animal Kingdom is built around the intrinsic power and value of nature. It is both beautiful and lethal. Nature is at the parks core. Nature is wild; we bask in its glory and are humbled by its greatness. Animals of all kinds live by core principles and by the laws of nature. Animals are nature and are its "rulers" therefore it is the animals which make the kingdom. This is the central theme which is first and foremost to the park.

It first displays that nature is beautiful, and then that leads us to why we must conserve it. It ties together a reciprocal relationship between man and beast (nature). The majesty of nature is the motivation for conversational message, but the majesty of nature (thereby animals) is #1.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is story driven and focuses on transformation through adventure. It is what ties the other two themes together, that we embark upon a journey and it will change us. Hence why the park must all be in 1st person and cannot have book report dark rides.

Zootopia doesn't just defy these themes, it is the antithesis of them, and therefore fits less in DAK than nearly any other IP. In Zootopia, the natural world is no longer existant and has formed into human society. There is no more nature, it is gone, and animals are gone as they have all now pledged to new rules; not to those of the animal kingdom, but to those of society. The basal principles which are nature are not not acceptable in this world. All of nature is undermined in favor of society. There is no wild adventure to be had, no conservation to learn through it, and first and foremost, there is no nature to celebrate, it's gone. The Lion King and other Disney films have animals talking but they are still animals, who must abide by animal rules and act as animals, face the same pressures which animals do. The Lion King - The Circle of Life. The talking or clothes bit isn't the problem.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Disney's Animal Kingdom is the most thematically consistent park Disney has. The fact that you question this means you do not fully grasp the themes which are DAK. DAK is not just a park 'with animals.'

Disney's Animal Kingdom is built around the intrinsic power and value of nature. It is both beautiful and lethal. Nature is at the parks core. Nature is wild; we bask in its glory and are humbled by its greatness. Animals of all kinds live by core principles and by the laws of nature. Animals are nature and are its "rulers" therefore it is the animals which make the kingdom. This is the central theme which is first and foremost to the park.

It first displays that nature is beautiful, and then that leads us to why we must conserve it. It ties together a reciprocal relationship between man and beast (nature). The majesty of nature is the motivation for conversational message, but the majesty of nature (thereby animals) is #1.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is story driven and focuses on transformation through adventure. It is what ties the other two themes together, that we embark upon a journey and it will change us. Hence why the park must all be in 1st person and cannot have book report dark rides.

Zootopia doesn't just defy these themes, it is the antithesis of them, and therefore fits less in DAK than nearly any other IP. In Zootopia, the natural world is no longer existant and has formed into human society. There is no more nature, it is gone, and animals are gone as they have all now pledged to new rules; not to those of the animal kingdom, but to those of society. The basal principles which are nature are not not acceptable in this world. All of nature is undermined in favor of society. There is no wild adventure to be had, no conservation to learn through it, and first and foremost, there is no nature to celebrate, it's gone. The Lion King and other Disney films have animals talking but they are still animals, who must abide by animal rules and act as animals, face the same pressures which animals do. The Lion King - The Circle of Life. The talking or clothes bit isn't the problem.

To add to this, each land at Animal Kingdom explores our relationships with nature in different ways.

Discovery Island is an art colony where all the residents express their fondness for the natural world through their craftsmanship.
Africa's animal experiences are primarily through the lens of biological study and was initially sort of the "front lines" in the fight for conservation in combating poaching.
Asia is very much about spirituality and nature overcoming man. The Jungle Trek is nature reclaiming a hunting lodge, all the supernatural mysticism surrounding Everest and the OG Rivers of Light, and even Kali River Rapids has that logging operation being caught in the mudslide right along with us.
Dinoland USA is about the simultaneous reverence and irreverence we hold towards prehistoric life like a comical memento mori about extinction.
And finally, Pandora is Space Ferngully and while blowing a full imaginary animals land on a specific film director's imagination rather then broader mythological themes will always be a bad call, it's still tapping into those "Man's relationship with nature" themes.

 

[FigmentJedi]

What about Dinoland? It is a human made dig site that was turned into a dino themed Carnival. A lot of the land is made up of goofy looking cartoon dinosaurs. That bare no resemblance to real dinosaurs.

The Dino-Rama carnival is an awkward attempt at trying to evoke how towns near the various Great American Fossil Beds out west end up going nuts with using dinosaurs to attract the tourists coming through to check out the bones whether it be building concrete statues outside their shops or creating dinosaur sculpture parks attached to their giftshops. Somehow trying to translate that dinosaur park idea resulted in "Tacky state fair midway" instead of say "a Jungle Cruise with even faker animals".

 

[BlakeW39]

To add to this, each land at Animal Kingdom explores our relationships with nature in different ways.

Discovery Island is an art colony where all the residents express their fondness for the natural world through their craftsmanship.
Africa's animal experiences are primarily through the lens of biological study and was initially sort of the "front lines" in the fight for conservation in combating poaching.
Asia is very much about spirituality and nature overcoming man. The Jungle Trek is nature reclaiming a hunting lodge, all the supernatural mysticism surrounding Everest and the OG Rivers of Light, and even Kali River Rapids has that logging operation being caught in the mudslide right along with us.
Dinoland USA is about the simultaneous reverence and irreverence we hold towards prehistoric life like a comical memento mori about extinction.
And finally, Pandora is Space Ferngully and while blowing a full imaginary animals land on a specific film director's imagination rather then broader mythological themes will always be a bad call, it's still tapping into those "Man's relationship with nature" themes.

The ecologist in me is more than pleased with Pandora, even considering Beastly Kingdom. Pandora did a great job of making you feel as if it is a rainforest alive, with ecosystems like a rainforest on earth has. At no point does the Pandora fauna feel like utter chaotic roaring.

As much as I love the idea of Beastly Kingdom, I feel as if it would likely tread a very thin line between mythological animals and crowd pleasing monsters. Not saying it wouldn't fit of course.

And yes, each land tends to approach the theme a little bit differently as is supposed to be in a story. Each land is another chapter, unique to itself. I very much like the way you have described each land as such.

 

[FigmentJedi]

The ecologist in me is more than pleased with Pandora, even considering Beastly Kingdom. Pandora did a great job of making you feel as if it is a rainforest alive, with ecosystems like a rainforest on earth has. At no point does the Pandora fauna feelike utter chaotic roaring.

As much as I love the idea of Beastly Kingdom, I feel as if it would likely tread a very thin line between mythological animals and crowd pleasing monsters. Not saying it wouldn't fit of course.

I do think the dragon coaster's story could have been tweaked some as the talking cartoon bats that carry your vehicles thing was clunky, but Beastly Kingdom could have easily tapped into the broader ecological themes. Magic's decline is such a big theme in a lot of modern fantasy and even the folklore behind dragons and unicorns is primarily focused on overhunting the things into extinction whether it be "These apex predators are threatening our homes and livestock" for the former or grinding them up for healing remedies in the case of the latter, which seemed kinda built into that Unicorn Maze's entire premise of the Unicorn only revealing itself if you proved you weren't planning on poaching it.

Non-Disney movie, but framing it as something like the "Last Sanctuary of Magic" from Rankin/Bass's Flight of Dragons comes to mind.

 

[BlakeW39]

The Dino-Rama carnival is an awkward attempt at trying to evoke how towns near the various Great American Fossil Beds out west end up going nuts with using dinosaurs to attract the tourists coming through to check out the bones whether it be building concrete statues outside their shops or creating dinosaur sculpture parks attached to their giftshops. Somehow trying to translate that dinosaur park idea resulted in "Tacky state fair midway" instead of say "a Jungle Cruise with even faker animals".

While Dinoland certainly fits thematically, the story that's made up is cool but obviously just an excuse. They made up the story to 'make the mess better' not as if they wanted to do such a story and so did. It's cheap and dumb and needs to be replaced. Personally I can see them doing some really good rock work and theming Dinoland to really be like the great American dig sites in the badlands out west.

I do think the dragon coaster's story could have been tweaked some as the talking cartoon bats that carry your vehicles thing was clunky, but Beastly Kingdom could have easily tapped into the broader ecological themes. Magic's decline is such a big theme in a lot of modern fantasy and even the folklore behind dragons and unicorns is primarily focused on overhunting the things into extinction whether it be "These apex predators are threatening our homes and livestock" for the former or grinding them up for healing remedies in the case of the latter, which seemed kinda built into that Unicorn Maze's entire premise of the Unicorn only revealing itself if you proved you weren't planning on poaching it.

Non-Disney movie, but framing it as something like the "Last Sanctuary of Magic" from Rankin/Bass's Flight of Dragons comes to mind.

Oh for sure. Beastly Kingdom could have certainly tapped into ecological themes. I just don't know if it would have based upon what we've seen. It seemed it might have fallen to simple tropes of the general fantasy genre. Then again, they did the reast kf the park well so it's safe BK would've been done correctly.

With Everest now, I think a Europe area would be better. We can have BK but also find a way to bring in some temperate ecosystems to a very tropically centric park.

 

[raymusiccity]

While Dinoland certainly fits thematically, the story that's made up is cool but obviously just an excuse. They made up the story to 'make the mess better' not as if they wanted to do such a story and so did. It's cheap and dumb and needs to be replaced. Personally I can see them doing some really good rock work and theming Dinoland to really be like the great American dig sites in the badlands out west.



Oh for sure. Beastly Kingdom could have certainly tapped into ecological themes. I just don't know if it would have based upon what we've seen. It seemed it might have fallen to simple tropes of the general fantasy genre. Then again, they did the reast kf the park well so it's safe BK would've been done correctly.

With Everest now, I think a Europe area would be better. We can have BK but also find a way to bring in some temperate ecosystems to a very tropically centric park.

I agree with most of what you've said, but please, no more 'rock work' ! Little Mermaid- rock work, Seven Dwarfs - rock work, Thunder Mountain - rock work, Galaxy's Edge- rock work, Pandora - rock work....Even the entrance to Tomorrow Land - rock work

 

[justintheharris]

Disney's Animal Kingdom is the most thematically consistent park Disney has. The fact that you question this means you do not fully grasp the themes which are DAK. DAK is not just a park 'with animals.'

Disney's Animal Kingdom is built around the intrinsic power and value of nature. It is both beautiful and lethal. Nature is at the parks core. Nature is wild; we bask in its glory and are humbled by its greatness. Animals of all kinds live by core principles and by the laws of nature. Animals are nature and are its "rulers" therefore it is the animals which make the kingdom. This is the central theme which is first and foremost to the park.

It first displays that nature is beautiful, and then that leads us to why we must conserve it. It ties together a reciprocal relationship between man and beast (nature). The majesty of nature is the motivation for conversational message, but the majesty of nature (thereby animals) is #1.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is story driven and focuses on transformation through adventure. It is what ties the other two themes together, that we embark upon a journey and it will change us. Hence why the park must all be in 1st person and cannot have book report dark rides.

Zootopia doesn't just defy these themes, it is the antithesis of them, and therefore fits less in DAK than nearly any other IP. In Zootopia, the natural world is no longer existant and has formed into human society. There is no more nature, it is gone, and animals are gone as they have all now pledged to new rules; not to those of the animal kingdom, but to those of society. The basal principles which are nature are not not acceptable in this world. All of nature is undermined in favor of society. There is no wild adventure to be had, no conservation to learn through it, and first and foremost, there is no nature to celebrate, it's gone. The Lion King and other Disney films have animals talking but they are still animals, who must abide by animal rules and act as animals, face the same pressures which animals do. The Lion King - The Circle of Life. The talking or clothes bit isn't the problem.

Once again, we've faulted to the defense of "Zootopia doesn't fit Animal Kingdom's theme." Themes of a park can change and need to change. In addition, Disney can make it work depending on how the angle the land. I'm sure this forum threw a hissy fit when Pandora was announced claiming it wouldn't fit in Animal Kingdom (For some entertainment, go read the initial comments when Disney announced Avatar land about how everyone said they would hate it and never visit it). Pandora works well in Animal Kingdom because they took a conservation angle to it. Zootopia can go the same route. It's only a matter of how. For all we know, that's why Disney OK-ed it in China (also helped by the fact it's the highest grossing animated movie in China) and are still on the drawing board for Animal Kingdom.

 

[BlakeW39]

I agree with most of what you've said, but please, no more 'rock work' ! Little Mermaid- rock work, Seven Dwarfs - rock work, Thunder Mountain - rock work, Galaxy's Edge- rock work, Pandora - rock work....Even the entrance to Tomorrow Land - rock work

Haha well I think there are rocks everwhere. So if we want to keep this land and not just turn it into a primal forest or the like, then we'll need some RSR/BTMM type red rock work. It will make the dig fit in more as well.

 

[peter11435]

It's amazing how the antiZootopia people react to different opinions.

"Well it doesn't fit."
"Well Disney made a mistake of putting that land or attraction."
"Well Animal Kingdom is different than every other park in the world."

Those are all true.

Zootopia doesn’t fit at Animal Kingdom.

Disney has made mistakes with lands and attractions in other parks. They have not yet made those mistakes with Animal Kingdom. So don’t encourage them.

Animal kingdom is different in that it’s the only Disney park that has remained true to its original theme and been consistent with its execution.

I’m not anti zootopia. I would welcome the addition at the park it belongs in.

 

[Disney Maddux]

Once again, we've faulted to the defense of "Zootopia doesn't fit Animal Kingdom's theme." Themes of a park can change and need to change. In addition, Disney can make it work depending on how the angle the land. I'm sure this forum threw a hissy fit when Pandora was announced claiming it wouldn't fit in Animal Kingdom (For some entertainment, go read the initial comments when Disney announced Avatar land about how everyone said they would hate it and never visit it). Pandora works well in Animal Kingdom because they took a conservation angle to it. Zootopia can go the same route. It's only a matter of how. For all we know, that's why Disney OK-ed it in China (also helped by the fact it's the highest grossing animated movie in China) and are still on the drawing board for Animal Kingdom.

This is exactly what I've been saying:

Yes, if it were to just be a normal Zootopia land, it would not fit in DAK in the slightest. But they can do the exact same thing they did with Avatar: Tweak it and make the land based around a wonderful message about nature.