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

[WorldExplorer]

They're probably easier to find in the parks, too.

So many people that knew Dinosaur was there and were actively trying to find it needed directions. It definitely wasn't particularly easy to stumble upon. That's something I will concede was a design flaw in the land. I blame the road. You naturally expect things to be clustered near it, and it was the only thing not even visible from there!

Compare Everest, which is visible from the parking lot, literally impossible to miss if you walk through Asia, and arguably easier to find from Dinoland than Dinosaur was.


Indy's going to be taller.

 

[HauntedPirate]

But Disney doesn't see dinosaurs as a valuable asset. Hence why we're stuck with Harrison Ford.

There's an irony in that statement...

 

[easyrowrdw]

I feel like the biggest driver of skepticism towards the project is the lack of a live animal exhibit component. Like there'd be a lot less "Is Encanto actually going to focus on Antonio's animal buddies or are they just a cover for Disney to program robots to sing the Bruno meme song everybody forgot already?" questions if they had a capybara enclosure somewhere outside.

I agree with this. The only thing I liked about Dinoland was the excavation playground, but I still didn't want it to be replaced. And I think it's ridiculous that they won't have animals in Tropical Americas.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Does anyone else feel like the park already has the perfect amount of animal exhibits? If you stop to take it all in you could easily spend hours at the trails and exhibits.

 

[Gusey]

And also we've known for a while that due to the proximity of both Tropical Americas and Pandora to the parking lot, they can't have major animal exhibits in those lands. That's why before there was only an alligator in Dinoland and the Pocahontas show in Camp Minnie Mickey (the North half of Pandora)

 

[Aramar]

And also we've known for a while that due to the proximity of both Tropical Americas and Pandora to the parking lot, they can't have major animal exhibits in those lands. That's why before there was only an alligator in Dinoland and the Pocahontas show in Camp Minnie Mickey (the North half of Pandora)

I don't understand the reasoning for that. Many zoos have parking lots next to them with animals nearby. San Diego Zoo for example.

Does anyone else feel like the park already has the perfect amount of animal exhibits? If you stop to take it all in you could easily spend hours at the trails and exhibits.

Never enough!

 

[Cranky Kong]

Thing is, a capybara exhibit really wouldn't take much more than the footprint of the croc and bird exhibit (people keep forgetting that one!) that were there. I think it's understandable if technical constraints prevented, say, a jaguar or tapir exhibit, but capys are experiencing a surge of popularity right now and tie right into Encanto. Seems like you couldn't get a more perfect fit considering everything. Heck... I'm pretty sure both the birds and the croc were endemic to.... tropical America! It'd just take some prepwork to get temporary offstage holding ready to keep them happy in the year and a half or so of construction. Ironically, the anteaters and babirusas would also fit into "Tropical America" too! Don't even need to keep them offstage - just transition them to the new environment when they're ready for inhabitants. Not sure what you could put in their place in the Oasis, but, they had options.

Never enough!

Agreed.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Thing is, a capybara exhibit really wouldn't take much more than the footprint of the croc and bird exhibit (people keep forgetting that one!) that were there. I think it's understandable if technical constraints prevented, say, a jaguar or tapir exhibit, but capys are experiencing a surge of popularity right now and tie right into Encanto. Seems like you couldn't get a more perfect fit considering everything. Heck... I'm pretty sure both the birds and the croc were endemic to.... tropical America! It'd just take some prepwork to get temporary offstage holding ready to keep them happy in the year and a half or so of construction. Ironically, the anteaters and babirusas would also fit into "Tropical America" too! Don't even need to keep them offstage - just transition them to the new environment when they're ready for inhabitants. Not sure what you could put in their place in the Oasis, but, they had options.

Agreed.

I think people may underestimate the infrastructure it takes to have exhibits on the scale of Africa and Asia, and that expectation is definitely unrealistic for the front half of the park. But something at the size you described could work.

 

[Casper Gutman]

If Disney ever wanted to wade back into the Dino theme in the future, I would love a land where you are actually back in time

This just wouldn’t work - it would be an incredibly aesthetically boring land. That’s why both major resorts took a very different design and narrative approach to their Dino lands.

I’ve always liked Dinoland - it was probably my second favorite land in a park that was often my favorite at the resort. It’s spotty reception by guests is the result of a lot of intertwining factors, but I think a big one is that what guests THINK they want from Dinos in a theme park would actually produce a terrible land. I think it’s a similar issue to the one we see with the Monsters Door Coaster or the various attempts to relaunch the Muppets - consumers have become dead set on ideas that just don’t work for the IP and Disney is determined to pander.

 

[Casper Gutman]

They should bulldoze/gut that Kong ride and give us a jeep ride. I want a dinosaur ride that doesn't get me soaked or is a coaster and focused on damn dinosaurs!

Lots of zoos and other local amusements have walk-through Dino attractions. Sometimes the dinos even move. The problem is that they’re very boring.

And Kong is a good ride.

 

[Moth]

Lots of zoos and other local amusements have walk-through Dino attractions. Sometimes the dinos even move. The problem is that they’re very boring.

And Kong is a good ride.

Kong probably was good in 3D, but have you been on it after they changed it to 2D?

 

[Touchdown]

Being 2D hurt it but you still get that fantastic opening approach to the gate and the amazing animatronic at the end.

 

[James Alucobond]

This just wouldn’t work - it would be an incredibly aesthetically boring land. That’s why both major resorts took a very different design and narrative approach to their Dino lands.

Indeed. There's also a core structural issue at AK in that you couldn't have a village anchor like with the other lands since no built structures would logically exist, and you couldn't use the human perspective to frame the experience as is central to the park's themes.

 

[Aramar]

The right side of that exit path would make such a great space for a couple small animal enclosures

I agree, small animals like capybaras, armadillos, coatis, monkeys, tortotises... don't need something as big as the Africa/Asia trails.

Ironically, the anteaters and babirusas would also fit into "Tropical America" too!

Anteater yes, but babirusas come from Asia.

 

[Mike S]

Indeed. There's also a core structural issue at AK in that you couldn't have a village anchor like with the other lands since no built structures would logically exist, and you couldn't use the human perspective to frame the experience as is central to the park's themes.

I once saw someone’s fan concept online that for the life of me I can’t find anymore that Dinoland should’ve been redone to take place in a 1930’s type setting using a Henry Mystic type character as a new professor that invented period appropriate time rovers. I think this concept also called for Dinorama to be redone as an extinct mammals area anchored by a Splash Mountain style E Ticket.

I could be mixing up separate concepts though.

Edit: all I needed was to remember the actual name of the post. Here it is lol.

DINOLAND REBORN

For the next entry in my Wishful-Thinking-Birds-Eye-Illustration series (previous entry Tokyo Fantasyland viewable below ), I decided to ta...

idealbuildout.blogspot.com

 

[gerarar]

Dr. Seeker finally has authorization from Dr. Marsh to go get that dino himself

 

[FigmentFan82]

This just wouldn’t work - it would be an incredibly aesthetically boring land. That’s why both major resorts took a very different design and narrative approach to their Dino lands.

I’ve always liked Dinoland - it was probably my second favorite land in a park that was often my favorite at the resort. It’s spotty reception by guests is the result of a lot of intertwining factors, but I think a big one is that what guests THINK they want from Dinos in a theme park would actually produce a terrible land. I think it’s a similar issue to the one we see with the Monsters Door Coaster or the various attempts to relaunch the Muppets - consumers have become dead set on ideas that just don’t work for the IP and Disney is determined to pander.

Maybe, maybe not. I’m pretty sure you don’t have the answers to all things, so maybe don’t speculate in absolutions

 

[Moth]

Okay, maybe DINOSAUR was actually like Monsters Unchained and had a low wait because of the people it eats up. I can buy that now.

I guess the question is: how did DINOSAUR do on GSATs?

 

[YodaMan]

View attachment 906231
Okay, maybe DINOSAUR was actually like Monsters Unchained and had a low wait because of the people it eats up. I can buy that now.

I guess the question is: how did DINOSAUR do on GSATs?

KSR at 1400? Where is this table from?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I guess the question is: how did DINOSAUR do on GSATs?

Touring plans has it listed pretty low - above zootopia and river journey - even with wildlife express and kali.