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

[marni1971]

"Blessing of size" is also a frustrating phrase repeated by so many here. Sure in a vacuum, let's keep what we have and expand but theme park real estate isn't in a vacuum.

They have a chance to increase efficiencies with some of these replacements.

Let's look at some:

• Nobody was rope dropping Dino-rama or Triceteratop Spin. Nobody was like "I have to experience Dinoland at night", (maybe unless you wanted to see some Christmas decorations), but it wasn't a destination like Pandora. Tropical Americas has a real chance to spread capacity. Now it makes some East-side Animal Kingdom action more in play, especially later in the day too.
• Magic Kingdom dead-ends at BTM are HM will be long gone. Piston Peak - if the rides can deliver - can draw more capacity than the RIverboat and TSI could ever dream of. TSI generally closed earlier in the day, now you have a fully utilized land that can run to park closing.
• Villians Land will continue to draw people away from the other parts of the park, especially at night. And if they do my dream (by adding a Dark Castle to put projections and leverage HEA fireworks) - it will be massive win for the Hub. Adding a train station would just improve guest flow as well, but we'll see if that works out.
• Monstropolis is expanding out to parking spot space. Could that be a indicator of the future of Star Tours and Indy stunt show - that expansion beyond the current attractions are coming? I sure hope so. With that massive show building with the door coaster, it's also possible to have projection shows on the front of it, there is a ton of potential here. MV3D was also not an attraction that opened for extending evening hours or early theme park for a bit IIRC. Doorcoaster will help.

It came with some casualties (MV3D, Dinosaur, RoA) but it has a potential to deliver in a huge way.

I could refute each point but I’ll just say I respect your opinion.

I’m too old for this !

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Otherwise, why spend all the billions in capital when they can just add 20 more Tea Cups for a fraction of the cost at MK to help improve efficiency.

Flat rides do help with efficiency. The Mk is more efficient because of the number of flat rides and more basic style of attractions.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

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.

Simple. Granny turned into a ray. Evolution!!

 

[Moth]

It was fast. It was a blast. It’s in the past.

Enjoy.

This video made me overly emotional and gave me closure.

 

[Disstevefan1]

This video made me overly emotional and gave me closure.

Keeping Martin busy with all the destroying and replacing Disney is, and will be doing going forward.

 

[Moth]

Keeping Martin busy with all the destroying and replacing Disney is, and will be doing going forward.

All that's left for tributes would be...
•Muppet-Vision/Muppet Studios
•Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
•RnRC
•ROA/Tom Sawyer
•JIYWF (Trust the plan!)

 

[marni1971]

All that's left for tributes would be...
•Muppet-Vision/Muppet Studios
•Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
•RnRC
•ROA/Tom Sawyer
•JIYWF (Trust the plan!)

Already done 3 of them

 

[Mickeynerd17]

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.

I I can understand that sentiment. Personally, I actually liked having the narration and the preshow because it provided structure to the experience and made sense canonically with the story. Sure, it may have more or less spelled out every movement the vehicles made, but I never found it annoying and with a remote-controlled time vehicle designed originally for an educational tour through time, it's only natural the vehicle computer would name every single dinosaur you come across along with whatever issue was with the system in canon. Additionally, Indy can get away with a more general experience because of the IP doing most of the heavy-lifting in terms of worldbuilding while Dinosaur essentially had to be developed from scratch, which necessitates having more dialogue to properly set up the experience for guests.

That said, I understand that kind of interaction is not everyone's cup of tea, which is why I agree with you that the best kind of rides accomplish both: immersing the guest in an enjoyable experience as you mentioned while also providing extra depth to the storytelling that technically the ride can do without but enhances the experience for people who like to read between the lines a bit more. I simply thought, after doing plenty of research and experiencing both attractions multiple times, that Dinosaur did it better than Indy.

 

[Touchdown]

The day glo florescent paint didn’t help the realism either. Dinosaurs should not glow in the dark, that would be an evolutionary disadvantage. Yes bright colors exist in animals but for a vast majority those colors do not glow in the dark. It dated that ride to the 90s more then the preshow ever did.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Dinosaurs should not glow in the dark

Cobras shouldn’t be 8ft tall either

 

[Brer Panther]

Yes, those are the themes from Joe. The Animal Kingdom is part of nature.

My point was that whenever I point out that Indiana Jones and Encanto don't fit in Animal Kingdom, folks on here insist that they're going to make the attractions focus on animals, but when we point out that Moana doesn't fit suddenly it becomes "oh, Animal Kingdom isn't about animals, it's about nature and humans' connection to it." So by that logic, the Encanto and Indiana Jones rides won't fit even if they ARE about animals.

Moana is mostly about sailing, not nature. And I sincerely doubt that any hypothetical Moana ride in Animal Kingdom would have Moana talking to the guests about endangered species and preserving nature.

Adventureland expansion pad

Exactly! Put it there! Where it would make SENSE! Why is this so hard?!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Whatever shortcomings CTX had as an attraction, in concept or upkeep, the closure is disappointing to me for the following reasons:

- It's the loss of another WDW exclusive, which is happening with greater frequency of late
- It's the loss of a non IP ride, for another version of an IP ride found elsewhere
- It's the decision to add this particular IP here instead of the other park where its been established for over 35 years
- It's the decision not to incorporate this attraction in some new way into Tropical Americas
- It's another replacement instead of addition to a park that still has less than 10 rides nearly 30 years after opening
- It's the loss of another core segment of animals the park was supposed to represent (extinct, present, mythical)
- We allegedly lost Beastly Kingdom for Dinoland and now we don't have either

 

[EagleScout610]

To me DINOSAUR was kind of like that kitchy VHS movie you hold onto from when you were a kid. Not because its good, but because as it ages it gets more corny and more charming. I highly doubt any (if there are any) original characters they create for Indy will have the same loveable cheesiness as Dr. Seeker and Dr. Marsh

 

[KDM31091]

Whatever shortcomings CTX had as an attraction, in concept or upkeep, the closure is disappointing to me for the following reasons:

- It's the loss of another WDW exclusive, which is happening with greater frequency of late
- It's the loss of a non IP ride, for another version of an IP ride found elsewhere
- It's the decision to add this particular IP here instead of the other park where its been established for over 35 years
- It's the decision not to incorporate this attraction in some new way into Tropical Americas
- It's another replacement instead of addition to a park that still has less than 10 rides nearly 30 years after opening
- It's the loss of another core segment of animals the park was supposed to represent (extinct, present, mythical)
- We allegedly lost Beastly Kingdom for Dinoland and now we don't have either

And I always circle back to the fact that they specifically chose to put in Dinosaur instead of Indy because it fit the park much better. Now I guess they... don't care? I am not convinced the ride will be wildly more popular than it was as Dinosaur, because the motion of the ride will be the same.

It is ridiculous to me that they refuse to expand this park beyond 10 attractions. "Blessing of size" is apparently not true. And the message of the park is basically completely gone at this point in favor of just random hodgepodges of IP and I guess as long as it somehow features animals (which applies to almost literally any Disney movie, and animals are not especially important to the plot in Encanto) it's good enough. It really is a tragedy.

 

[danlb_2000]

It’s a quote from Walt and it certainly applies to an extent.

There are ways to expand and keep some classics. Efficiencies would be improved with more attractions, not less.

But the question is, when do you stop expanding? There is a finite customer base for any product, so as you expand you will eventually reach a point of dimishing returns.

 

[lazyboy97o]

But the question is, when do you stop expanding? There is a finite customer base for any product, so as you expand you will eventually reach a point of dimishing returns.

Walt Disney World severely lacks capacity. It is not near that point. If attractions per guest per hour hits 2 then we can talk about the parks being overbuilt.

 

[danlb_2000]

Walt Disney World severely lacks capacity. It is not near that point. If attractions per guest per hour hits 2 then we can talk about the parks being overbuilt.

If they were to build out the parks enough to achieve that metric, where would the new revenue come from?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If they were to build out the parks enough to achieve that metric, where would the new revenue come from?

The same way both Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disney achieve new revenue with that attraction metric

Having slack capacity (for not only rides, but food and retail) to manage crowds does not eliminate the appeal of newer, high profile offerings or incentives and actually helps with those higher attendance levels to improve guest satisfaction and spending

 

[danlb_2000]

The same way both Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disney achieve new revenue with that attraction metric

Having slack capacity (for not only rides, but food and retail) to manage crowds does not eliminate the appeal of newer, high profile offerings or incentives and actually helps with those higher attendance levels to improve guest satisfaction and spending

None of this addresses my original comment, you can't expand without limit, how do you know when you are reaching that limit?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

None of this addresses my original comment, you can't expand without limit, how do you know when you are reaching that limit?

I mean, yes, expansion is technically not infinite, but I think it's safe to say the WDW parks are nowhere near that point and we don't have to worry about reaching that threshold anytime soon.