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

[SamusAranX]

LOL, a franchise from 30 plus years ago, who's movies have only gone down in popularity and watches as the franchise has gotten older, including its last movie getting killed at the box office, and yet the IP isn't dated because it had a first person shooter video game that had some success?

IJ (the original trilogy) is most certainly a timeless IP in the vein of Disney classics, Star Wars (which incidentally suffers from the same problem; most recent films while having made money, declined in quality and were nowhere near the cultural zeitgeist as the OT and even PT was) and so on. Like in the aforementioned case of Star Wars, just because later productions bombed or had tepid response, doesn’t take away from the original films quality and popularity. And even if we acknowledge the premise as fact, certain IPs were not super popular or timeless yet transcended that because of the quality of the attraction. Pandora is a prime example. A lot of people questioned putting chips on the table for Avatar, given at the time only one film had debuted and anecdotally was nowhere near as culturally engrained as other Disney IPs. But they made it work and the end results are a popular land.

 

[EagleScout610]

I wonder how soon until we get a bioreconstruct shot of the dinos being taken out of the building.

 

[FigmentFan82]

LOL, a franchise from 30 plus years ago, who's movies have only gone down in popularity and watches as the franchise has gotten older, including its last movie getting killed at the box office, and yet the IP isn't dated because it had a first person shooter video game that had some success?

I mean feel free to be ignorant of current events. Yes the last 2 films were not great, but the original trilogy is still an amazing set of films. Old does not equal irrelevant

 

[FettFan]

Personally, I would love to see dinosaurs return in some capacity to Animal Kingdom....maybe an improved Dinoland (without the cheap "state fair" aesthetic) in that big expansion pad between Asia and Planet Watch (would make sense....conservation vs. extinction), with actual research and learning areas, similar to the temporary lab tents hosted by the Field Museum back when DAK first opened. Throw in a gentle primeval world ride ala DLRR/Epcot's Universe of Energy and it could be a hit.



Sadly, I suspect Damaro is going to continue the IP mandate....and all of Disney's dinosaur-themed IP's are simply not good.

And yet....I (and I suspect most of you intellectuals as well!) would take a million "love monkey" proto-lemurs over Jurassic World continuously becoming a parody of a parody of a once great movie.

 

[FettFan]

LOL, a franchise from 30 plus years ago, who's movies have only gone down in popularity and watches as the franchise has gotten older, including its last movie getting killed at the box office, and yet the IP isn't dated because it had a first person shooter video game that had some success?

"Killed at the box office"? Dude, as lame and nonsensical and downright awful (IMO) as "Rebirth" was, it still was able to pull in over $850M on a $200M budget.
The movie was so successful that allegedly Scarlett Johansson is in talks to return for a second go-round.\

EDIT - Oh wait, you're talking about Indy!

Yeah, there are only three Indiana Jones movies; my own trilogy is Raiders, Last Crusade and Crystal Skull.
I'll let you choose what yours are.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

I mean feel free to be ignorant of current events. Yes the last 2 films were not great, but the original trilogy is still an amazing set of films. Old does not equal irrelevant

Ben Hur was an amazing movie for its day, the IP isn't worth much now.

Back to the future was an amazing set of films (i might be going on on a limb there for the third one) but the IP is pretty irrelevant now.

By what measure do you see IJ (which i loved growing up, and still love the older movies) being in any way shape or form relevant now? The movies keep going down with every new iteration. The sales in tickets aren't there, the streaming numbers don't hold up. Attempts at extending the franchise with TV shows, young indy, ect., have all failed. So what current events are your talking about that i might be ignorant of? Is there some successful use of the IP in the last 5 years that is in anyway noteworthy? The last 10? The last 30? I mean maybe your idea of current events is different than mine but to just to set the timeline, IJ and the last crusade was close to 40years ago.

Are there still some massive sales of Indy lunch boxes or toys out there that I haven't seen?

 

[Disney Analyst]

The Dinoland entry arch is gone.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

"Killed at the box office"? Dude, as lame and nonsensical and downright awful (IMO) as "Rebirth" was, it still was able to pull in over $850M on a $200M budget.
The movie was so successful that allegedly Scarlett Johansson is in talks to return for a second go-round.

Rebirth? What movie are you talking about. The last Indian Jones movie as far as i know was Dial of Destiny, which got absolutely destroyed at the box office loosing hundreds of millions. I think you are refiring to the Jurassic Park series, not Indiana Jones.

 

[Brer Oswald]

The problem with Dinosaur for me is that it was so much in the dark and nothing to see, so the whole ride mostly lands flat. I have been fortunate enough to ride Indy in DL and thought it was way more fun than Dino ever was, because you could actually SEE things as you were moving along. I think Indy in AK will feel better than Dino was. My 2 cents.

You have to consider that this is not going to be the Tony Baxter version (with the giant detailed temple room) and that the timeline for this retheme is a year and a half. I’m sure there will be some set installations, but if you’re expecting the level of detail the Disneyland ride has on the whole, you will be disappointed. We’re also losing a lot of animatronics.

 

[flyerjab]

If the other Indy attractions in DL and TDL were walk-ons, they most likely wouldn’t be doing this. That is far from the case. Also, if they were making a book report ride version of the last movie, then I would question their approach to the subject matter. This, of course, is also far from the case.

The question of irrelevance from an IP perspective is interesting. I’m certain many people had no idea who the characters were or what movie they were from when riding Splash Mountain. I would say that particular film was forced into irrelevancy, yet because the ride was designed so well people flocked to it.

For this attraction, I’ve always felt that Indy is a safe IP. People love the idea of the Indy character. He is almost a mythical figure in cinema. A professor by day, adventurer by night character that many people have fallen in love with. As with many examples, blame Disney for the poor box office. However, in the parks, we already have proof that this IP with this ride system was, is, and most likely will be a success (reference the rides in DL and TDL). This ride will attract people and there will be long standby times for this. Of that I have no doubt.

 

[rd805]

IJ is a dated IP, and even beyond that, doesn't have a ton of general merch appeal.

I think having an actual ride and a giftshop, with the typical gift shop photo is actually going to give people a lot of merchandise opportunities.

As an IP - the recent video game was a HUGE hit (I know not everyone is gaming these days), and they are going to bring it to a newer system (Nintendo Switch 2) for new audiences this year. It is one of those IPs that keeps living on, although without Harrison Ford it will certainly be interesting to see the play-out.

 

[ChewbaccaYourMum]

Indiana Jones the IP will always have a place in many peoples hearts. It is part of the culture and will always be, even subconsciously. Indiana Jones (the name and movies) is synonomous with ADVENTURE and the "Action Adventure" genre. Whenever something, mediawise, comes out that is part of that genre people always say "It's just like Indiana Jones!". Some quick examples off the top of my head I can think of are the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies, or the Uncharted video games. There's so many others.

My point is that even if the last two movies weren't regarded so highly, the IP is still part of the culture. And for the younger crowds that maybe didn't grow up with their parents showing them the movies, they still understand that Indiana Jones = ADVENTURE. This is the vibe that alone his name brings.

And for the very unkowing people of the IP: Whenever I go to Disneyland and go on the Indy ride there's so many people around me that don't know the movies, but they understand the vibe and the ride is fun and easily understood by the character and story. Just like with Splash Mountain, as an example, many people, including myself, never saw the movie or even knew it came from a movie, but I could understand the story and vibe it was portraying. Indiana Jones Adventure in Disneyland does that well, and I find it hard to beleive they won't be able to bring that here as well, even with a new story.

Sorry for the huge rant, but for the people saying the IP is irrelevant, IMO you're just plain wrong, and even if you're right, it doesn't matter because irrelevant or not, people will ALWAYS understand what Indiana Jones represents... and ADVENTURE will never be irrelevant!

 

[Disney Analyst]

You have to consider that this is not going to be the Tony Baxter version (with the giant detailed temple room) and that the timeline for this retheme is a year and a half. I’m sure there will be some set installations, but if you’re expecting the level of detail the Disneyland ride has on the whole, you will be disappointed. We’re also losing a lot of animatronics.

They can easily install a giant temple room if they deem they want to, in the time frame.

A lot of Indy at Disneyland is well done painted flat walls, with uv paint… Yes the big temple scene is grand, but I don’t think it would be that difficult for them to create something similar.

 

[Timothy_Q]

Saying Indiana Jones isn't a popular/relevant enough IP for a ride, while "not understanding" why the Dinosaur (2000) ride is being replaced.... anyway

 

[FettFan]

Are there still some massive sales of Indy lunch boxes or toys out there that I haven't seen?

I’ll just put this here:

https://www.sideshow.com/search?keywords=Indiana+jones

Also there was talk of a Disney+ series at some point. Presumably, it would be computer animated and follow the Clone Wars method of telling side adventures between the main movies.

 

[rd805]

Back to the future was an amazing set of films (i might be going on on a limb there for the third one) but the IP is pretty irrelevant now.

Are there still some massive sales of Indy lunch boxes or toys out there that I haven't seen?

Regarding Back to the Future -- you may be surprised to know how big of an IP that still is. Beyond the movies, a global musical stage show that is incredibly popular, and Universal is talking about re-incorporating it MORE into their parks again. A new attraction is heavily rumored to be brought back to Orlando, and one WILL be in the UK Universal Studios already, so we know something is going to keep breathing.

I think the 80s movie genre is super nostalgiac and very popular again right now (Stranger Things!). For Indy - It takes re-energizing the brands to keep it going. On the movies topic, the first of the reboots wasn't bad. The most recent was incredibly weak writing, but i think they really wanted to roll out Harrison Ford one last time while they had some time.

The franchise needs a rebirth with a new hero (like 007 movies), and that will help the stories seem less stale too. I don't think the character / IP of Indy is going anywhere and will still be relevant in minimally the coming 20 years.

Having a brand new ride - i bet we see Indy hats every where, and plush creatures from the ride all around AK. Disney nails merchandising - I'm not scared there.

 

[lazyboy97o]

You have to consider that this is not going to be the Tony Baxter version (with the giant detailed temple room) and that the timeline for this retheme is a year and a half. I’m sure there will be some set installations, but if you’re expecting the level of detail the Disneyland ride has on the whole, you will be disappointed. We’re also losing a lot of animatronics.

Fabricating set pieces wasn’t dependent on the ride being closed.

They can easily install a giant temple room if they deem they want to, in the time frame.

A lot of Indy at Disneyland is well done painted flat walls, with uv paint… Yes the big temple scene is grand, but I don’t think it would be that difficult for them to create something similar.

The issue with doing the giant temple room isn’t the set pieces. Dinosaur has a solid floor in that area, so it would have to be cut out and the structure reinforced as necessary.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

I think having an actual ride and a giftshop, with the typical gift shop photo is actually going to give people a lot of merchandise opportunities.

As an IP - the recent video game was a HUGE hit (I know not everyone is gaming these days), and they are going to bring it to a newer system (Nintendo Switch 2) for new audiences this year. It is one of those IPs that keeps living on, although without Harrison Ford it will certainly be interesting to see the play-out.

Oh i think it helps, I just mean the IP itself doesn't seem to have as much in the way of merchandizing opportunities as just the generic dinosaur options. I mean even when the IP was in the height of its popularity, it didn't have the merchandising push that say star wars, or transformers, or other 80s/90s IP did.

As for the video game, i know it had about 4M players, and did well for a video game, but i still don't see it pushing merchandizing like dinosaurs do. I mean take games that were way more popular than that at their height, like Halo, or Fortnight, in a battle between those IP and Dinosaurs, i still then the generic dinosaur wins in sales.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Saying Indiana Jones isn't a popular/relevant enough IP for a ride, while "not understanding" why the Dinosaur (2000) ride is being replaced.... anyway

You have to put it all in perspective. The reason Disney is doing this is not because they’re trying to improve the guest experience or because it’s a good fit for the park. They’re doing it because they believe it’s a popular enough IP to boost attendance to the park and the ride. Dinosaur had many issues, but the giant dinosaur animatronics were not one of them (unless you’re talking to maintenance workers). What we will likely see is a brief attendance spike around the opening window before it settles down to the exact popularity the ride has before.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Saying Indiana Jones isn't a popular/relevant enough IP for a ride, while "not understanding" why the Dinosaur (2000) ride is being replaced.... anyway

I don't think anyone is arguing that. At least for the last couple posts anyway. The recent posts have been about merchandise sales for the store at the end of the ride, and how IJ isn't as merchandise friendly an IP as selling dinosaur stuff (little d meaning generic dino stuff that doesn't need to be related strictly to the Ride) to kids.