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

[AidenRodriguez731]

I know it's just your thoughts for something you'd enjoy, but there's basically a 0% chance they'd ever build a ride based on Gravity Falls (and Pocahontas is wildly unlikely too).

Oh I 100% agree, especially gravity falls I’m afraid. Disney doesn’t really respect it the same as other Disney shows that had similar popularity.

But I think it would fit AK very well if done right as a fun dark ride so that’s where I’m going with it.

Pocahontas is wildly unlikely as well BUT I think Disney is not fully done with the IP as they did rework her in Fantasmic. If you take out any reference to John Smith tbh I think it would work well as an AK ride

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

Well the only other "North American nature-related" IP they have is Brother Bear!

They could resurrect Camp Minnie Mickey and have the adored and beloved Humphrey the Bear as the mascot though! :^)

I would use brother bear but tbh I haven’t watched it in a super long time. It might work fine but it’s also fairly unpopular and I imagine AK could use some princess representation

 

[James Alucobond]

Could we please stop suggesting that they add Moana to Animal Kingdom too? I don't want it to get Splash Mountain retheme/Electric Mayhem Rock 'n' Roller Coastered into existence. Especially since they previously considered having it and Zootopia be the Dinoland replacement.

Guys: please explain how the hell Moana fits DAK. This is an even worse suggestion than people saying with a straight face that Black Panther should go into DAK.

We can have those IPs be elsewhere. It's okay.

Given the IP mandate continues, name a better outcome for a new land than an Oceanian island-themed village with Moana, Nemo, etc. attractions tagged to the back, hopefully with animals surfaced meaningfully in spite of the source material. I honestly can't think of a new land they would actually build in today's environment that would end up being less damaging to AK. Zootopia and Bluey bother me more than that. That said, I would rather they add a third ride to Pandora and a second to Africa before bothering with anything else.

 

[Moth]

Given the IP mandate continues, name a better outcome for a new land than an Oceanian island-themed village with Moana, Nemo, etc. attractions tagged to the back, hopefully with animals surfaced meaningfully in spite of the source material. I honestly can't think of a new land they would actually build in today's environment that would end up being less damaging to AK. Zootopia and Bluey bother me more than that. That said, I would rather they add a third ride to Pandora and a second to Africa before bothering with anything else.

Well, the only other IP for Oceania would be uh, Stitch.

I don't think anyone wants to think about Stitch at DAK. So let's not entertain that.

I think adding to Pandora (either another ride or a walk thru), adding that TLK log flume to Africa, and maybeeee replacing Kali with a Jungle Book ride (I know, the dreaded replace tactic, but nobody would actually miss Kali. Come on.) should happen before they get another land.

And that land should be a fully air conditioned, indoor Ice Age land.

 

[James Alucobond]

I think adding to Pandora (either another ride or a walk thru), adding that TLK log flume to Africa, and maybeeee replacing Kali with a Jungle Book ride (I know, the dreaded replace tactic, but nobody would actually miss Kali. Come on.) should happen before they get another land.

I did surface those two obvious attraction holes as what should happen first at the end of my post. Also, I think a direct-from-Paris TLK log flume is actually a bad idea if you care about AK's themes since it seems to just be re-hashing the film's plot.

And that land should be a fully air conditioned, indoor Ice Age land.

Totally disagree. Each land should be anchored by a modern human settlement, which is impossible for the Ice Age land people keep chasing.

 

[SplashJacket]

Had CTX / DINOSAUR opened with a large expansive scene (maybe at dusk?) to introduce to you the world of Dinos before turning into darkened paths and close encounters, it would have been much more effective. And imagine the real "uh oh" factor, when you went down that pitch black area.

So basically Universal Beijing’s Jurrasic World ride?

 

[SplashJacket]

This 100%

Might as well throw in my two cents since we're back to glazing Indy again.

Having ridden both attractions multiple times, every time I've been on Indy its been riddled with broken effects, broken animatronics, completely unintelligible dialogue, speakers so loud they break your eardrums, and constant breakdowns. Dinosaur was always in much, much better condition than Indy from my experience. Perhaps I've been extremely unlucky, but considering Indy keeps getting major refurbs all the time to fix these issues, perhaps its not luck. To my knowledge, Dinosaur never got nearly as many refurbs as Indy did .

Yes, Indy does have more detailed sets and they're well-built, but Dinosaur always had a stronger storyline to it. Dinosaur had clear canonical purpose to every guest interaction with the attraction, preshow, queue, even the individual ride vehicle movements. On the flipside, Indy's main storyline is simplified and not as well structured, like making the main plot point trying to find him inside the temple, which you accomplish literally 20-25 seconds into the ride. The queue is, though very-well decorated, really only that elaborate out of pure necessity due to the building's location relative to the entrance making it extremely long. The queue would be insufferable without all the decor.

The biggest weakness with Dinosaur though was relying too much on special effects to communicate the story. Effects *always* get turned off for xyz reasons, which in this case rendered the ride experience to bouncing around a dark show-building with some dinosaurs. I think this is why people praise Indy more. Even if the effects are gone there is at least something to still look at. If Dinosaur didn't rely so much on those special effects, it would have been a much stronger attraction consistently IMHO. That said, even though Dinosaur was for the most part a bare show building, nobody ever mentions how the back half of Indy is nearly just as bare as Dinosaur (the shooting dart room, the dark rooms right after the bridge, etc).

Don't get me wrong. Indy is a very well done attraction and would be awesome if everything actually worked as intended, but to say Dinosaur was terrible in comparison is simply a bad take.

So, TLDR, Dinosaur was a much stronger attraction than Indy and much better than most people thought it was in my humble opinion.

I’m sure Indy had more broken effects than Dino for pretty much all of the latter’s existence, but that’s because Dino hardly had any, and when one did break, they could just turn off the lights

 

[Moth]

Totally disagree. Each land should be anchored by a modern human settlement, which is impossible for the Ice Age land people keep chasing.

I...

Hm. You actually make a really good point. You could do something interesting and base it around an ancient human settlement to show that animals have been a cornerstone of the lives of people since the dawn of time. But that'd stand out from the others and break the mold of the park.

That's an issue with extinct animals getting represented at DAK though. They're extinct and there's no good way to integrate them apart of a modern human settlement. I think extinct animals being apart of the ethos of DAK is important but outside of a thing like "we're doing a time traveling dinosaur ride again", it's just hard to pull off.

Regarding Lion King: I don't think a retelling of the film would clash against DAK, but an original story taking notes from the Circle of Life film that was at The Land would be something I prefer.

 

[James Alucobond]

Regarding Lion King: I don't think a retelling of the film would clash against DAK ...

It wouldn't clash as badly as other recent additions mostly because there are a couple of obfuscating/mitigating factors, like the animals looking naturalistic and a few of the songs (notably Circle of Life) being thematically appropriate. However, at the end of the day, it's still just musical Hamlet. The original designers of the park knew this; that's why Festival of the Lion King isn't just a CliffsNotes presentation of the film.

 

[UNCgolf]

Oh I 100% agree, especially gravity falls I’m afraid. Disney doesn’t really respect it the same as other Disney shows that had similar popularity.

But I think it would fit AK very well if done right as a fun dark ride so that’s where I’m going with it.

Pocahontas is wildly unlikely as well BUT I think Disney is not fully done with the IP as they did rework her in Fantasmic. If you take out any reference to John Smith tbh I think it would work well as an AK ride

I doubt they'd ever consider any Disney show for an actual ride -- they just don't have the overall reach/popularity of their major films.

 

[HM GhostHostess]

This 100%

Might as well throw in my two cents since we're back to glazing Indy again.

Having ridden both attractions multiple times, every time I've been on Indy its been riddled with broken effects, broken animatronics, completely unintelligible dialogue, speakers so loud they break your eardrums, and constant breakdowns. Dinosaur was always in much, much better condition than Indy from my experience. Perhaps I've been extremely unlucky, but considering Indy keeps getting major refurbs all the time to fix these issues, perhaps its not luck. To my knowledge, Dinosaur never got nearly as many refurbs as Indy did .

Yes, Indy does have more detailed sets and they're well-built, but Dinosaur always had a stronger storyline to it. Dinosaur had clear canonical purpose to every guest interaction with the attraction, preshow, queue, even the individual ride vehicle movements. On the flipside, Indy's main storyline is simplified and not as well structured, like making the main plot point trying to find him inside the temple, which you accomplish literally 20-25 seconds into the ride. The queue is, though very-well decorated, really only that elaborate out of pure necessity due to the building's location relative to the entrance making it extremely long. The queue would be insufferable without all the decor.

The biggest weakness with Dinosaur though was relying too much on special effects to communicate the story. Effects *always* get turned off for xyz reasons, which in this case rendered the ride experience to bouncing around a dark show-building with some dinosaurs. I think this is why people praise Indy more. Even if the effects are gone there is at least something to still look at. If Dinosaur didn't rely so much on those special effects, it would have been a much stronger attraction consistently IMHO. That said, even though Dinosaur was for the most part a bare show building, nobody ever mentions how the back half of Indy is nearly just as bare as Dinosaur (the shooting dart room, the dark rooms right after the bridge, etc).

Don't get me wrong. Indy is a very well done attraction and would be awesome if everything actually worked as intended, but to say Dinosaur was terrible in comparison is simply a bad take.

So, TLDR, Dinosaur was a much stronger attraction than Indy and much better than most people thought it was in my humble opinion.

I agree with your assessment. I would also add that the enhanced motion vehicle ride system is better utilized in DINOSAUR vs. the Indiana Jones Adventures. For a significant portion of the Indiana Jones Adventure, the track is illuminated and it is clear that the path is smooth and flat, making the ride's movements over supposed rough terrain seem fake. Additionally, there are several parts of the attraction where you can clearly see the other ride vehicles and it becomes apparent that the vehicles are bouncing around on their own vs. the environment causing the movements. In contrast, the darkness in DINOSAUR allows riders to suspend their disbelief while on the ride and feel as if they are actually moving over rocks, plants, tree roots, etc. You never really see any other vehicles ahead of you throughout the ride, which helps you to believe that your group is the only one going on Dr. Seeker's mission and the other vehicles you see in the ride load area are going to the Early Cretaceous period.

 

[co10064]

Just rode Indy at DL today for the first time in 10 years (I’m a WDW guy), and it made me excited about the future. I think this re-theme has the potential to out-do both Dinosaur and the DL Indy… if it’s done right.

This is all just my opinion, but DL’s Indy beat Dinosaur in terms of theming/immersion and “awe” moments (giant room scene, real fire, rolling boulder, etc.).

Dino/CTX beat Indy in animatronics (number and scale) and, for me at least, desired emotion—I enjoy a ride with some actual scares (even if they are mild), and Indy never did that for me whereas Dino did. I also think @HM GhostHostess makes an excellent point about the illuminated track.

This re-theme could take the best from both rides:
• Multiple, realistic animatronics of Dr. Jones and the mythical creature
• The mythical creature could have some chasing or jump scare moments similar to the Carnotaurus to keep an element of suspense
• Opening up walls to create a large show room with multiple ride vehicles traveling throughout
• Real fire (or water)
• No unthemed hallways (one of Dino’s biggest flaws… and even DL’s Indy is guilty of this in small areas)

Unfortunately, if they go the TBA route, the end product will be worse than both versions.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

The biggest weakness with Dinosaur though was relying too much on special effects to communicate the story. Effects *always* get turned off for xyz reasons, which in this case rendered the ride experience to bouncing around a dark show-building with some dinosaurs.

A far bigger weakness of Dinosaur was relying too much on dialogue to communicate the story. The fact you needed to watch a video to explain what the ride experience was about and then have a narrator for most of the experience to tell you what you were supposed to be doing is further evidence of how trying to fit a dinosaur-based story to the ride system didn't quite work. You then need to see the video on the way out to know that you did what you were supposed to have done because it doesn't correspond to anything you experience on the ride.

There is a story for Indy, but it is built more around immersing you in a general experience which is comprehensible and enjoyable no matter how much attention you pay to the story. I think that approach generally makes for better attractions.

 

[Fox&Hound]

I just will never get why it has to be an either or, in a property with nothing but size. Why not improve Dinosaur and add these things elsewhere? Of course I loved Dinosaur as is but I see people’s points about Indy. I just get tired of tradeoffs when we should be getting true expansions. Notwithstanding that Indy has basically nothing to do with this park and that’s why they chose Dinosaur initially. But today’s Disney doesn’t care.

Encanto is for sure an expansion compared to chester and hester. Off the shelf garbage flat rides an theming compared to a brand new E-ticket. Why can’t people see that? Maybe it is not an expansion in number but it sure is in quality.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

Well the only other "North American nature-related" IP they have is Brother Bear!

They could resurrect Camp Minnie Mickey and have the adored and beloved Humphrey the Bear as the mascot though! :^)

Actually, there is also Hoppers that does seem to have an environmentalist message throughout the film, so maybe if the film is popular enough, it maybe could go to North America if it happens?

 

[Brer Panther]

1. Personal call to action
2. Psychological transformation through adventure
3. The intrinsic value of nature

Okay, the argument I keep hearing for the Encanto ride is that it's gonna focus on animals and the minor character from the film that can talk to animals. But Moana fits in Animal Kingdom because the park is actually about nature and humans' relation to it, not animals? And all additions to Animal Kingdom should be tied to humans in some way?

Where am I?

Stitch on the other hand doesn't fit that well into DAK.

I don't think anyone wants to think about Stitch at DAK. So let's not entertain that.

No, it doesn't. But it seems that everyone thinks Animal Kingdom and Adventureland are the exact same thing - if it takes place in a tropical environment, it belongs in Animal Kingdom. So I wouldn't be surprised if people start claiming Stitch fits in Animal Kingdom too.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

A far bigger weakness of Dinosaur was relying too much on dialogue to communicate the story. The fact you needed to watch a video to explain what the ride experience was about and then have a narrator for most of the experience to tell you what you were supposed to be doing is further evidence of how trying to fit a dinosaur-based story to the ride system didn't quite work. You then need to see the video on the way out to know that you did what you were supposed to have done because it doesn't correspond to anything you experience on the ride.

There is a story for Indy, but it is built more around immersing you in a general experience which is comprehensible and enjoyable no matter how much attention you pay to the story. I think that approach generally makes for better attractions.

Does that make Spider-Man a weaker ride? It has both of those things...

Are pre-ride videos not a staple for an attraction of Dinosaur's size?

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

Just rode Indy at DL today for the first time in 10 years (I’m a WDW guy), and it made me excited about the future. I think this re-theme has the potential to out-do both Dinosaur and the DL Indy… if it’s done right.

This is all just my opinion, but DL’s Indy beat Dinosaur in terms of theming/immersion and “awe” moments (giant room scene, real fire, rolling boulder, etc.).

Dino/CTX beat Indy in animatronics (number and scale) and, for me at least, desired emotion—I enjoy a ride with some actual scares (even if they are mild), and Indy never did that for me whereas Dino did. I also think @HM GhostHostess makes an excellent point about the illuminated track.

This re-theme could take the best from both rides:
• Multiple, realistic animatronics of Dr. Jones and the mythical creature
• The mythical creature could have some chasing or jump scare moments similar to the Carnotaurus to keep an element of suspense
• Opening up walls to create a large show room with multiple ride vehicles traveling throughout
• Real fire (or water)
• No unthemed hallways (one of Dino’s biggest flaws… and even DL’s Indy is guilty of this in small areas)

Unfortunately, if they go the TBA route, the end product will be worse than both versions.

Calling it now...there will be ONE animatronic of the mythical creature at the very end of the ride and that's it.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Encanto is for sure an expansion compared to chester and hester. Off the shelf garbage flat rides an theming compared to a brand new E-ticket. Why can’t people see that? Maybe it is not an expansion in number but it sure is in quality.

Because 1. People who like Dinoland continue to argue that throwing up your hands and going "whatever" wasn't the way to go given there was nothing stopping them from making something else dinosaur themed there, 2. that's not what expansion means. Expansion means adding things to the park. It does not mean "I didn't like this area and now I think I will like the replacement".

People in this thread act like Rama was a sulphur pit that everyone just avoided and it did nothing for park capacity when that simply isn't true. Thrill Data gives Primeval Whirl an average half hour wait time. The area did, in fact, help with capacity. That was the whole reason it went up. They don't get to pretend they're adding just because they let the land sit there with a giant gaping hole for years.

(TriceraTop Spin has 7, but Prince Charming's Regal Carousel has 10, so I'm not expecting a giant difference there.)

Two rides hold more people than one ride. End. Stop. How much you personally like the one ride doesn't change that.

"Well, the new ride will have a higher wait." Animal Kingdom doesn't need people to spend 20 more minutes in lines. It needs more rides. I don't know why people are so in favor of engineering longer waits instead of making more to do. You could get on Mirabel's Human Adventure quicker if people were doing other stuff, you know.

"Well, Primeval Whirl wasn't safe." Cool. All the more reason to replace it with a dinosaur ride and actually expand!

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Given the IP mandate continues, name a better outcome for a new land than an Oceanian island-themed village with Moana, Nemo, etc. attractions tagged to the back, hopefully with animals surfaced meaningfully in spite of the source material. I honestly can't think of a new land they would actually build in today's environment that would end up being less damaging to AK. Zootopia and Bluey bother me more than that. That said, I would rather they add a third ride to Pandora and a second to Africa before bothering with anything else.

I'd love a tropical area with dolphins, blue lagoons, tiki torches, and beautiful lush Polynesian vegetation!