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

[osian]

I like to think there is a difference between imagined and fictional. As DavidDL implied, imagined can be synonymous with mythological, i.e. something which is not real but is believed to be real, in folklore and legends etc. It's a real thing in peoples' minds and might even have a base or an origin in real experiences, and it's cultural. That's the Yeti and dragons. That's what I believe was meant in AK's remit of past, present and imagined.

 

[EagleScout610]

I'm surprised we didn't get a blog post about Encanto today. They dropped details on Tiana, Musical Jamboree, ect... the day after their respective attractions went down.

 

[WaltWiz1901]

What really bums me out is how DINOSAUR becoming yet another Indy attraction adds to the homogenization of the parks.

When I first visited WDW in 2007, I was super excited for DINOSAUR. It ended up being one of the absolute highlights of my trip. I’ll never forget my first ride through, the absolute terror I felt being in the driver’s seat when the Carnosaur began to “chase” the vehicle from the left.

What made it special, and what separated WDW from DL where I grew up, is that things weren’t shared between parks. WDW didn’t have Indy, they had DINOSAUR. It felt special, unique. It was quite literally one of many exclusive attractions that made me want to go and visit WDW despite DL being a 20 minute drive from my parent’s place.

Sure, the upcoming Indy will have a “different” story than the one in DL but I wonder to myself: if it had always been Indy, if all the WDW attractions were just minor deviations from their DL counterparts, would I have felt as much need to visit back in ‘07? Probably not. “Bah, we have Indy here and there’s another in Tokyo” is what I’d probably have said.

You hit the nail on the head with every single paragraph here

To name another prime example of your point about uniquity, the Magic Kingdom is not Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom shouldn't (have) be(en) viewed as an inferior Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom shouldn't endeavor to be every bit like Disneyland. There's obviously an expected amount of overlap between their offerings, but even then most of the attractions shared between them, for better or worse depending on one's perspective, are/were executed differently on either coast, usually to adapt them into a different land or to "plus" them up. Whereas Disneyland has a few unique headliners and smaller attractions to its advantage (like the Matterhorn and the original Indy), much of the MK's unique headliners (like Western River Expedition and Fire Mountain) have historically been cancelled, further stoking the perception that it's a worse version of Disneyland (and no, removing the Rivers of America is not the only nor best way they could've tried to branch away from that).

It’s a shame, really, that many of the parks continue their slow march into generic, brand loyalty centers at the cost of their original identities.

And also a shame that a pretty big percentage of people here want them to homogenize if it means they can experience [X unique signature attraction from X park other than their local]. It reeks of both instant gratification (as opposed to booking a trip to any of the other resorts and being rewarded with that resort's own fresh spin on what a Disney park is...but apparently convenience will always out) and baby's first Imagineering pitch

 

[Gremlin Gus]

I'm surprised we didn't get a blog post about Encanto today. They dropped details on Tiana, Musical Jamboree, ect... the day after their respective attractions went down.

It's probably because TA (assuming they'll open TA all at once) isn't opening until well over 2 years from now, so I guess there really isn't that much to show for now. I guess we'll learn more about the attraction once Dinosaur closes.

 

[JackCH]

Whereas Disneyland has a few unique headliners and smaller attractions to its advantage (like the Matterhorn and the original Indy), much of the MK's unique headliners (like Western River Expedition and Fire Mountain) have been cancelled, further stoking the perception that it's a worse version of Disneyland

I'm confused... aren't they diversifying this cycle? MK will now have a unique frontierland and an entire unique land. This Indy will not be a clone. Encanto will not be a clone. The whole land of Tropical Americas will not be a clone. Heck, Monsters Inc will not be a clone.

(and no, removing the Rivers of America is not the only nor best way they could've tried to branch away from that).

So... they are actually NOT doing that for this recent set of additions, you just don't like the way they are doing it... So the complaint really isn't about homogenizing.

And also a shame that a pretty big percentage of people here want them to homogenize if it means they can experience [X unique signature attraction from X park other than their local]. It reeks of both instant gratification (as opposed to booking a trip to any of the other resorts and being rewarded with that resort's own fresh spin on what a Disney park is...but apparently convenience will always out) and baby's first Imagineering pitch

Ah, yes, because it is so easy for people to just "book a trip" to expensive places for expensive vacations. Most people do not have the means to go outside of their nearest Disney park... and so I don't have a problem with some people saying, "That ride looks cool, the only way I can experience it is if they build it here, so that would be cool."

 

[WorldExplorer]

I appreciate that perspective! Made me think about it a bit differently, genuinely. Still think this is a needed change though.

Thank you for listening. I understand your view, too.

I see the removal of Dinoland USA as Disney conceding that they no longer have the creative ability to make some of the most popular and incredible creatures ever to walk the Earth work in their parks.

I guess just because they aren’t able to stick a (TM) towards the end of the species names? Or because there isn’t some upcoming movie or Disney+ show to tie them into?

Weak.

There are stupider moves Disney has made, but I think removing Dinoland is in the running for the most embarrassing. The entire land is dedicated to how much people love dinosaurs, who are seen as inherently cool. Half of it was a giant ode to how easy it is to make money off dinosaurs. Parts of it show off how much they permeate our culture and have for a very long time (the huge variety of knickknacks in Dinosaur Treasures and parts of Restaurant O'saurus). For two decades they have had characters confidently declare on the musical loop that everyone loves dinosaurs. Even Donald's Dino-Bash has that idea at its heart; everyone understands why Donald would be excited about being related to dinosaurs without further elaborating.

But Disney just can't figure out how to make it work, apparently.

I was just looking through some of my old Dinoland photos. I know this picture isn’t great, but remember when the big dinosaur used to be yellow? Does anyone know why it was repainted green? I feel like I used to know but now I can’t remember

View attachment 837391

It was either to better represent what we knew about dinosaurs at the time (green was a more realistic color) or so he blends in better, depending on your source.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Or Disneyland!

For a small portion of the train?

 

[The Leader of the Club]

There are stupider moves Disney has made, but I think removing Dinoland is in the running for the most embarrassing. The entire land is dedicated to how much people love dinosaurs, who are seen as inherently cool. Half of it was a giant ode to how easy it is to make money off dinosaurs. Parts of it show off how much they permeate our culture and have for a very long time (the huge variety of knickknacks in Dinosaur Treasures and parts of Restaurant O'saurus). For two decades they have had characters confidently declare on the musical loop that everyone loves dinosaurs. Even Donald's Dino-Bash has that idea at its heart; everyone understands why Donald would be excited about being related to dinosaurs without further elaborating.

I'd argue that keeping Dino-Rama for two decades is more embarrassing honestly. It's practically Disney throwing their hands up and saying that they don't know what to do with dinosaurs. So let's get some off the shelf rides and cheap carnival games. That'll surely be enough to satisfy kids that like dinos but are too small/scared to ride Dinosaur. It's the same principle as the current Figment ride. They know they could do better, they just don't care. Finally getting rid of Dino-Rama, even if it means pivoting away from Dinosaurs is definitely a step in the right direction.

 

[DavidDL]

... Parts of it show off how much they permeate our culture and have for a very long time ...

This bit reminds me of a Park Lore article about the history of Countdown to Extinction/DINOSAUR.

The final paragraph, is the part I am referring to. If nothing else after the attraction is gone, there is some comfort in knowing Disney's version of the Carnotaurus was influential enough to leave an impact. One that will likely persist long after DINOSAUR is gone.

If you're a fan of the attraction, I'd give the 5 page article a read, it's a lot of fun. I liked learning about how they needed to "stretch the truth" a bit when it came to depicting a Carnotaurus because the real thing is smaller and more agile with hilariously short arms but both the required mechanics behind bringing it to life and the need for it to read as imposing necessitated an increase in creature size.

 

[WorldExplorer]

I'd argue that keeping Dino-Rama for two decades is more embarrassing honestly. It's practically Disney throwing their hands up and saying that they don't know what to do with dinosaurs. So let's get some off the shelf rides and cheap carnival games. That'll surely be enough to satisfy kids that like dinos but are too small/scared to ride Dinosaur. It's the same principle as the current Figment ride. They know they could do better, they just don't care. Finally getting rid of Dino-Rama, even if it means pivoting away from Dinosaurs is definitely a step in the right direction.

Getting rid of Rama and removing dinosaurs as a whole are completely seperate things. They had ideas for what to do with dinosaurs and cut them for budget reasons, but it was meant to be temporary. The plan was to get rid of C+H and build something with the dinosaur theme but better later.

There is nothing at all stopping them from doing exactly that now and making good use of dinosaurs, the thing that has been a proven money maker for many, many decades. Turning their backs on dinosaurs altogether because something that was meant to be temporary and just filler (but instead they kept it up for two decades) didn't draw tons of praise makes no sense.

If anything, I think knocking out Rama only when they make it clear everything is going just makes them look worse from that standpoint; that's implying pretty hard that the entire land was the problem, not just Rama.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

This bit reminds me of a Park Lore article about the history of Countdown to Extinction/DINOSAUR.

View attachment 837411

The final paragraph, is the part I am referring to. If nothing else after the attraction is gone, there is some comfort in knowing Disney's version of the Carnotaurus was influential enough to leave an impact. One that will likely persist long after DINOSAUR is gone.

If you're a fan of the attraction, I'd give the 5 page article a read, it's a lot of fun. I liked learning about how they needed to "stretch the truth" a bit when it came to depicting a Carnotaurus because the real thing is smaller and more agile with hilariously short arms but both the required mechanics behind bringing it to life and the need for it to read as imposing necessitated an increase in creature size.

Can you provide the link to the article?

 

[DavidDL]

Can you provide the link to the article?

Sure, honestly I probably should have done that to begin with. But I hate to feel like I'm "pressuring" anyone into a read, or something like that.

Countdown to Extinction: Inside the Evolution of Animal Kingdom's Time-Traveling DINOSAUR Dark Ride - Park Lore

“Exploration – Excavation – Exultation!” Take it from the Dino Institute team: there’s an art to digging deep. Uncovering the past isn’t always easy, and making sense of what was only begins at finding evidence of it. Maybe you could say that the same is true of exploring, excavating, and...

parklore.com

The article is 5 pages long and shares all kinds of unused Dinoland USA/DINOSAUR concept art, too.

 

[cjkeating]

I was just looking through some of my old Dinoland photos. I know this picture isn’t great, but remember when the big dinosaur used to be yellow? Does anyone know why it was repainted green? I feel like I used to know but now I can’t remember

It was either to better represent what we knew about dinosaurs at the time (green was a more realistic color) or so he blends in better, depending on your source.

My memory tells me it was repainted around the time the Rivers of Light amphitheatre was constructed and the colour change was linked it becoming more visible across the water from Asia.

 

[Drew the Disney Dude]

I'm surprised we didn't get a blog post about Encanto today. They dropped details on Tiana, Musical Jamboree, ect... the day after their respective attractions went down.

I hope Disney has some big reveals saved as I expect Universal to push Epic Universe starting next month through when it officially opens. I could be wrong, but that's my gut feeling.

 

[SamusAranX]

Every park is becoming just IP world at this point. Hence the homogenization statements.

Somehow though, even after adding Tropical Americas, AK will still remain a park that preserves it original theme(s) and have all of its attractions still unique, attractions that can’t be found at other Disney parks.

 

[Jedi14]

I hope Disney has some big reveals saved as I expect Universal to push Epic Universe starting next month through when it officially opens. I could be wrong, but that's my gut feeling.

I feel like the next big update for Tropical Americas will be at Destination D23.

 

[mattpeto]

I hope Disney has some big reveals saved as I expect Universal to push Epic Universe starting next month through when it officially opens. I could be wrong, but that's my gut feeling.

Starlight, Mermaid, Villains and TT are all summer offerings coming...

I'll be curious if they bring back Dreams that Soar (not counting on it).

 

[UNCgolf]

Ah, yes, because it is so easy for people to just "book a trip" to expensive places for expensive vacations. Most people do not have the means to go outside of their nearest Disney park... and so I don't have a problem with some people saying, "That ride looks cool, the only way I can experience it is if they build it here, so that would be cool."

For me it's not about money but about opportunity cost. I can drive to Disney World in half a day (although I still don't go even remotely often) and there's not much else of interest in Orlando. If I'm going to Paris, Tokyo, or Los Angeles, that's a more significant time investment. That means going to a Disney park isn't very high on my list of things to do with all the other things I want to experience, even if they look really cool.

I have not been to Tokyo, but I have been to Paris and LA, and I could probably spend another 1-2 weeks in LA and 3-4 weeks in Paris and its surrounds before I ran out of things I wanted to see/do before visiting a Disney park would make the list. LA is my favorite city in the US because of the architecture, and I do think I'll eventually get to Disneyland, but I really doubt I'll ever go to any of the other Disney parks because of the other things I'll want to do when I'm in those locations.

That said, I certainly don't want all the parks to become homogeneous. I just don't have any problem with some percentage of excellent attractions making their way to multiple parks around the world.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I have not been to Tokyo, but I have been to Paris and LA, and I could probably spend another 1-2 weeks in LA and 3-4 weeks in Paris and its surrounds before I ran out of things I wanted to see/do before visiting a Disney park would make the list.

many would feel the same way about Florida - the beaches, historic areas, Everglades, etc.

You either want to go to a Disney park or you don’t - personal decision.

 

[Drew the Disney Dude]

I feel like the next big update for Tropical Americas will be at Destination D23.

No doubt, but a short-form video on-site or Disney Parks Blog article before then would be awesome!