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

[mysto]

You do remember what was happening in the world during November 2021, right?

I erased that I think.

And to @Webbinator I say that popular is not the same as great, making the most money is not the same as the greatest. Flawed base assumption.

 

[thelookingglass]

That’s what I said. Someone posting on a Walt Disney World forum about whether Encanto fits in DAK clearly has Disney as a niche interest or hobby.

When they're specifically wanting less Disney properties being represented instead of more? When they clearly have a preference for original experiences?

A lot of us want more Tower of Terrors, more Spaceship Earths, more Expedition Everests, more Kilimanjaro Safaris, more Dinosaurs (the ride), more Test Tracks, more Soarin's, more Big Thunder Mountains, more Haunted Mansions. For most of WDW's history it was delivering a steady stream of great, original experiences.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Some posters better be glad that the mods are not overzealous like they can be on other websites because…


Really ???

How old are we here???

So much for trying to have a mature discussion but acting like a little kid who can’t have his way doesn’t make me respect you at all.

New posters can’t even come here to see any updates because it’s one poster replying manically like he is trying to win a competition.

Okay it was a pretty bad post that I made after a night of no sleep, my bad, I accept that I messed up. But I'm far from the only one debating the merits of Encanto in DAK in this in the thread, I just happen to have been the most vocal the last several pages.

 

[eddie104]

Okay it was a pretty bad post that I made after a night of no sleep, my bad, I accept that I messed up. But I'm far from the only one debating the merits of Encanto in DAK in this in the thread, I just happen to have been the most vocal the last several pages.

You’re a very passionate individual and I like that.

But I feel this thread needs to be balanced just like the many others that go off the rails. We have a brand new land under construction and I barely see any users discussing the cool details we are starting to see emerge.

That’s the fun for me on this forum is seeing us discuss the cool little designs Disney adds to its various parks around the world.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Didn’t Disney make a point of saying it would stream on Disney+ after 30 days?

I would imagine a lot of people interested in Encanto had Disney+ and were willing to wait a short time.

Disney absolutely kneecapped Encanto announcing a 30-day-only window for it and releasing it on D+ the day before Christmas.

Tho, in the end, releasing it on Christmas Eve only made it more popular by having youth culture get their hands on it during their Winter break, memeifying it into the stratosphere.

 

[BrianLo]

But they also didn't have to stretch the theme of the films all that much to make the land work.

I agree that it all very much rests on final execution.

But my devils advocate stance would be having to set the land 100 years after the film and invent a magical plant backstory so we could navigate the planets atmosphere without masks-was in fact a pretzel. One they managed to sufficiently solve!

Setting the ride against the backdrop of an event that occurs In the film, where the community is invited into the home is not somehow on a different playing field of having to work the IP, to me at least. Of course they could or could not mess it up.

The film very much is about generational trauma and no, this ride will surely not focus on that. Nor do I actually think most guests want them to in any form of an Encanto attraction. It’s hard to tell if storybook rides are in vogue or not, since we constantly bounce back and forth on what people advocate for.

I too am not sure if there will be major conflict in this ride, but that might not be a bad thing. Contrived conflict isn’t a necessity of a good ride and Encanto doesn’t have great conflict for a ride.

 

[BrianLo]

No, it did not. It was squarely about the theme parks not being considered a core business by Iger. It was solidified with the very successful opening of the Nondescript Roller Coaster Themed Like India or Whatever. It was squarely about Iger not understanding why people would like anything else and maybe being able to charge higher licensing fees if he was able to offload the parks.

What are your thoughts on the Asian operators also having landed on largely the same conclusions? It’s interesting in that it feels almost inevitable. A generational shift where millennials, I think in part, really started to become obsessed with franchises. I’ll take the blame on that one.

I know it’s not great for the artform or theme park lover, but it’s hard to frame the argument around there being no business case. Not that you were trying to.

 

[Touchdown]

For the record, I just want more great attractions. I don’t care if it’s IP (Radiator Springs Racers) or non IP (Haunted Mansion) quality wins out with me. Especially if when all said and done it fits the theme of the land and park although that’s secondary to my first want.

 

[HMF]

They’re substantially locked out of using most of Marvel at their biggest theme park and have really face-planted when they have no such geographic restrictions (Paris and DCA, so far).

I still don't understand the logic of the Marvel acquisition for this very reason.

 

[HMF]

'Indiana Jones' is a great choice, but 'Encanto' is a horrible a choice. It would have made a lot more sense to do the animated masterpiece 'Coco'. 'Coco' is so much better and literally grossed 4 times better profits at the box office.

Coco doesn't have anything to do with animals either. There is another park where Coco WOULD be perfect for but is currently being hosted by three birds.

 

[Tha Realest]

It’s weird in hindsight, as Encanto seems more popular than Coco at this point.

it’s a better and prettier film with better music.

 

[lazyboy97o]

But I feel this thread needs to be balanced just like the many others that go off the rails. We have a brand new land under construction and I barely see any users discussing the cool details we are starting to see emerge.

What details are emerging? There’s a steel frame.

 

[JD80]

What details are emerging? There’s a steel frame.

People like to see things take shape in reality.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

My two cents is Tropical Amercia seems like a great fit for DAK and it looks like it will be highly themed like the rest of the park. Whether Encanto fits is TBD, i do think it’s possible to connect it to the park. Just something simple like FOP connecting banshees as keystone species and the dangers of destruction of nature

 

[lazyboy97o]

What are your thoughts on the Asian operators also having landed on largely the same conclusions? It’s interesting in that it feels almost inevitable. A generational shift where millennials, I think in part, really started to become obsessed with franchises. I’ll take the blame on that one.

I know it’s not great for the artform or theme park lover, but it’s hard to frame the argument around there being no business case. Not that you were trying to.

The Chinese parks have their respective joint ventures but they outsource operations and most decisions to Disney. Yes, the respective local governments have exerted influence at times to shape the content of their parks but they’re not in the day-to-day. Their role is as investor and not as operating partners. Even the Oriental Land Company is not a truly independent operator in that everything at their parks must be procured through Disney. In both cases, it’s is Disney developing and pitching the ideas. So you end up with a bit of self-reinforcement. If everyone where else the expectation is that you develop franchise content, and the best case for support even when pitching for Asia is franchise content, then people are going to pitch franchise content.

I don’t disagree that there has been a pop-culture shift with millennials but I don’t think it’s just around movie-based franchises. Millennials also gave us the hipster, and while everyone claimed to hate the hipsters everyone also wanted to be a hipster. And what I mean by that is that as much as millennials love the shared references of pop-culture they also love the idea of niche awareness and references. Big case in point would be the Orange Bird. Even your elder millennials are too young to really know the character from its original use but it became a bit of “secret knowledge”. I also think your underestimating how much the lament about original content comes from millennials who were able to be exposed to that late-80s style of themed experience that was really layered with backstory, establishing their own little worlds and references.

Despite being the primary business model for several parks, it hasn’t pushed them into some new category of success. But also, in any other framing, it would obviously be considered bad business. “Don’t encourage or listen to the best ideas, but only those that ascribe to your biases” is on its face very clearly horrible business advice.

 

[UNCgolf]

I still don't understand the logic of the Marvel acquisition for this very reason.

I don't think they bought Marvel for theme parks. The total Marvel box office take is over $30 billion dollars, plus they've used it for a bunch of Disney+ content.

 

[easyrowrdw]

it’s a better and prettier film with better music.

Disagree on all counts!!!

 

[BrianLo]

I don't think they bought Marvel for theme parks. The total Marvel box office take is over $30 billion dollars, plus they've used it for a bunch of Disney+ content.

And they push billions of merch (annually) on top of that between their Spiderman and Avengers lines.

 

[gorillaball]

What details are emerging? There’s a steel frame.

Don’t forget about the dirt piles. Important topic of this thread this last week.

 

[gorillaball]

I still don't understand the logic of the Marvel acquisition for this very reason.

Let me help you… Disney acquired Marvel for $4 billion and grossed more that $30 billion in the next 15 years.