Now then, let's move on to the next land.
Asia
Continuing on, we will arrive in Asia, one of the largest sections of the park. From Africa, a pathway leads through the jungles at the northern section of Discovery Lake, leading into Asia. From here, guests will trek through the jungles and villages of Asia, to explore and discover the wonder and mystery that are yet to be seen. Guests enter into the village of Anandapur, located at the base and foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. The entire land is heavily inspired from Nepal, India and Thailand, using their influences to inspire a real-life experience of Asia.
Before entering into the village of Anandapur, guests will come across the Caravan Stage, which serves as the entry location to Flights of Wonder, a live show which features Cast Members showcasing a display of different types of live birds. The caravan has stopped in the middle of the jungles of Asia. This small get away is a welcoming diversion from out trek in-between Africa and Asia. The travelers along the caravan have laid out some carpets and rugs, to add some much needed color amidst the earth-toned architecture. The style for the Flights of Wonder stage's architecture was inspired from real life photos taken from the Tibetan border and northern India.
Continuing up the edge past the Caravan Stage, guests will enter into the central city of Anandapur, where guests can discover the wonderful sights that are yet to be held in Asia. On the immediate left, guests will find Yak and Yeti, a restaurant that operates as a table service restaurant, while also having a separate quick-service location, as well. Yak and Yeti specializes in Asian Fusion cuisine. Just outside of the restaurant, in the Anandapur Plaza, guests will find the Yak and Yeti shopping units, which offers a wide variety of Asia-inspired merchandise, such as sushi plates and tea pots.
Now, don't kill me here, but I plan to get rid of Kali River Rapids. Why? Because it blocks access to the largest expansion plot that Animal Kingdom has to grow. In addition, Kali River Rapids is a tremendously scaled down version of another attraction, known as Tiger River Rapids, which would have been much longer and incorporated live animals. But fear not--a new type of river rapid ride will come to a new area of the park (more on that later).
Continuing towards the back end of the Anandapur village, guests will come across three of Asia's attractions at the northernmost end of Asia. On the left, guests will find the Maharajah Jungle Trek, a walking tour, taking guests far outside of the village of Anandapur and to the ruins of a former sultan's palace. The walls have crumbled and broken, due to years and years of exposure to the weather. There are small towers and structures that have been clotted out by trees growing from within the the former palace. This attraction is very similar to that of the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, where guests experience real life animal exhibits, just feet away. Tigers make up a large part of the Maharajah Jungle Trek, being seen from three different locations, while traveling through the ruined palace chambers. Guests continue walking through the trek, discovering different types of reptiles, gazelles and coloful birds. The trail takes guests through pathways of gushing waterfalls and lush greenery, before taking them back to the village of Anandapur.
Here's where things will get interesting: I plan to add a second trail to highlight even more of the continent’s exotic wildlife. This new trail would feature animals such as Asian elephants, clouded leopards, orangutans, red pandas, sloth bears, and Indian rhinos. This new walking trail would actually utilize parts of the existing Kali River Rapids queue, which is extremely well themed and very detailed. Here Guests make their way through several themed temples, passing by ancient, decaying statues, shrines, overgrown ruins and lush landscapes.
The main draw of this new trail, however, would be a massive giant panda exhibit. The giant panda is one of the world’s most beloved and recognizable animals and yet they can only be found at a handful of locations in the United States. Having giant pandas at Animal Kingdom would be a huge draw for the park.
Next, a new addition to Asia will be found: The Jungle Book Adventure. This addition was placed into Asia because The Jungle Book is one of these films that would perfectly fit into the theme park, alongside with The Lion King and Tarzan, and after the renovation, it would be the only one of these films to not be included in the park. I originally intended to call the ride "Journey into the Jungle Book", but given the show that shares its name is now part of the seven rotating shows at the Walt Disney Theater, I decided not to, out of confusion. What I'm most excited about this ride is that I plan to give this ride a new type of trackless ride system.
When you look at current trackless rides, the main point is just to see that the vehicles in front of you follow a different path that you take. To emulate this in a suspended ride, where you obviously must be supported by a physical track, this ride will have 3 different tracks that load in a straight line, but separate and pass through the scenes along different paths. The paths will not cross, that would be exceptionally complicated. In load and unload the 3 tracks follow parallel close to each other, with just enough room for the mechanism to sit over the track and hang the vehicle. The vehicles for each of the tracks are different so that the seating compartments line up in load and unload, meaning that the left vehicle cantilevers right under the track and the right vehicle cantilevers left. As far as I know, this system does not exist currently. I quickly drew a example track layout, but it is just lines, so no defined show scenes. Each of the 3 tracks are within an inch of 1046'.
I propose the attraction could be built nearby Flights of Wonder as there is plenty of open space there. This, of course, would expand out Anandapur, but the movie’s locale fits easily into this faux Indian setting. The facade of the building is a crumbling stone temple, like the temple of King Louie. Before you actually get into the attraction, a side path would lead to meet and greets with the characters from the movie, particularly Mowgli, Baloo and King Louie. Plus, I've heard that when the Journey into the Jungle Book show was here, you would often have King Louie’s monkeys causing mischief along the path to Discovery Island, trying to entice guests to go see the show. I would bring those monkeys back for meet and greets and general mayhem. They would be an awful lot of fun. Maybe there could be a rare sighting of Colonel Hathi, as well...or maybe even Shanti (that would be incredible).
The queue path takes us over the stream and into a cave to the left of the temple. In this cave, you'll find out that the queue actually doubles as an animal exhibit! Amongst the ruins that are being reclaimed by the jungle, I would put in exhibits for smaller, but no less important, critters of the Asian rain forest.As the ruins are being overgrown, little things like lizards, snakes and spiders would be moving in.
Some examples would include the green snake and the red tailed rat snake. Both of these reptiles are fairly commonly found in zoos and make great exhibits. A good creepy animal would be a hunstman’s spider. Many kinds of these spiders live in Asia. They are huge and hairy and looking at them makes your skin crawl. Perhaps there could be a submerged section of the ruins that is now home to the unusual snake-necked turtle. And I wouldn’t leave mammals out, either. Prevost squirrels do well in captivity, are fun to watch and, with their bizarre color pattern (mahogany fur on the belly and black and white up top), they make fun zoo animals.
We exit back out into the jungle, now inside the show building. We approach load, where we see a line of hanging vehicles, looking like carved tree trunks, hanging by vines from the canopy above. The vehicle seats 2 per row with 2 rows. This system's biggest issues is the access to the maintenance bay since it cannot just split and pass directly into a backstage area. After some thought, I decided that the best decision would be that at some point in the path, each track has a split that gently descends down to the basement, passes underneath the scenes of the attraction, and rises again in the maintenance building to the east of the show building. I also considered track splits into small bays that contain a track elevator, moving the vehicle down to the basement, but that would radically slow the process of moving vehicles.
Of course, the ride takes you through the story of The Jungle Book. Beginning right off quick with the wolves and the pack leader talking about Mowgli and Shere Khan, who hates men. The story (and the ride) then moves quickly to introducing Bagheera and then the Dawn Patrol. For this scene, I really want to have the cars vibrate, as if they're being shaken by the thunderous footsteps of the elephants. Leaving the elephants behind, we meet Baloo who does an awesome audio animatronic version of "The Bare Necessities.”
Of course, the plot turns to the monkeys. On this attraction, you will have animatronic monkeys on both sides of you as well as above you with one coming awfully close to the top of your head all the while mocking Baloo and stealing his man cub. At this point, the ride takes you to King Louie himself singing “I Wanna Be Like You.” I envision this scene to be big and wide open, not unlike the Under the Sea part of the Little Mermaid dark ride. The end of this part of the scene would have the stone pillars coming close to crumbling and falling around you. Mowgli, of course, runs away again, and we meet Kaa dangling over the river looking at you with his hypnotic eyes.
We finally meet Shere Khan and the vultures. There's a great big climax scene, where Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and the vultures all fight off Shere Khan. A neat fire effect would come into play. The boat ride then ends with Bagheera and Baloo watching as Mowgli and Shanti go off into the man-village. The exit to the attraction would be a replica of the man village (and since this is Disney this would likely be a gift shop--the Bare Necessities gift shop, if you will).
From here, guests then walk back south through the Anandapur Plaza, walking to the right, past a closed off temple, where monkeys are frequently spotted, swinging from the temple structures overhead. The path then curves to the left, leading alongside the Discovery Lake on the right. From here, Mount Everest begins to loom just overhead. Along the lake, a special temple had been built by the people of Anandapur, a possible shrine to show respect to the forboding creatures of the region. The trail also features telescopes that helps guests receive a closer look at Mount Everest. The path then leads through a dense jungle, featuring small buildings offering some appetizer specials.
Guests then enter into the opposite side of Asia, featuring one of Disney's Animal Kingdom most prolific attractions, one of the most visually striking attractions in any of the Disney theme parks, Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. The mountain completes the skyline of Disney's Animal Kingdom, while also completely fitting into its' surroundings. The legend of a Yeti is one of the many folklore tales that travels through Nepal and India. These people believe that the Yeti is a real creature, capable of great destruction and terror.
Guests board old tea trains, as they set up to scale Mount Everest. However, the sacred ground of Mount Everest is closely guarded by the watch of the Yeti. Our expedition may not be as simple as our tour guide would have us believe. Upon reaching the apex of the mountain, we find that the Yeti has torn the track apart, leaving the train to reverse through the cavernous chambers of the mountain, before taking a terryfying drop and coming face to face with the fierce Yeti, themselves. This attraction will receive an extensive refurbishment to complete several adjustments to the attraction, such as adding in a heavy mist and chill to the peak of the mountain range, to add some interior rocky work to the caverns and to most importantly, fix the Yeti at the conclusion of the attraction. The attraction will be closed for an extended period of time to ensure that the attraction re-opens in top quality. The attraction exits out into the Serka Zong Bazaar, a merchandise location specializing in Expedition Everest merchandise.
Asia
1) Flights of Wonder
2) Maharajah Jungle Trek
3) The Jungle Book Adventure
4) Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Shopping
A) Yak and Yeti
B) Bare Necessities
C) Serka Zong Bazaar
Dining
A) Yak and Yeti
In the next post, we'll explore the new land I told you about. See ya then!
Asia
Continuing on, we will arrive in Asia, one of the largest sections of the park. From Africa, a pathway leads through the jungles at the northern section of Discovery Lake, leading into Asia. From here, guests will trek through the jungles and villages of Asia, to explore and discover the wonder and mystery that are yet to be seen. Guests enter into the village of Anandapur, located at the base and foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. The entire land is heavily inspired from Nepal, India and Thailand, using their influences to inspire a real-life experience of Asia.
Before entering into the village of Anandapur, guests will come across the Caravan Stage, which serves as the entry location to Flights of Wonder, a live show which features Cast Members showcasing a display of different types of live birds. The caravan has stopped in the middle of the jungles of Asia. This small get away is a welcoming diversion from out trek in-between Africa and Asia. The travelers along the caravan have laid out some carpets and rugs, to add some much needed color amidst the earth-toned architecture. The style for the Flights of Wonder stage's architecture was inspired from real life photos taken from the Tibetan border and northern India.
Now, don't kill me here, but I plan to get rid of Kali River Rapids. Why? Because it blocks access to the largest expansion plot that Animal Kingdom has to grow. In addition, Kali River Rapids is a tremendously scaled down version of another attraction, known as Tiger River Rapids, which would have been much longer and incorporated live animals. But fear not--a new type of river rapid ride will come to a new area of the park (more on that later).
Continuing towards the back end of the Anandapur village, guests will come across three of Asia's attractions at the northernmost end of Asia. On the left, guests will find the Maharajah Jungle Trek, a walking tour, taking guests far outside of the village of Anandapur and to the ruins of a former sultan's palace. The walls have crumbled and broken, due to years and years of exposure to the weather. There are small towers and structures that have been clotted out by trees growing from within the the former palace. This attraction is very similar to that of the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, where guests experience real life animal exhibits, just feet away. Tigers make up a large part of the Maharajah Jungle Trek, being seen from three different locations, while traveling through the ruined palace chambers. Guests continue walking through the trek, discovering different types of reptiles, gazelles and coloful birds. The trail takes guests through pathways of gushing waterfalls and lush greenery, before taking them back to the village of Anandapur.
Here's where things will get interesting: I plan to add a second trail to highlight even more of the continent’s exotic wildlife. This new trail would feature animals such as Asian elephants, clouded leopards, orangutans, red pandas, sloth bears, and Indian rhinos. This new walking trail would actually utilize parts of the existing Kali River Rapids queue, which is extremely well themed and very detailed. Here Guests make their way through several themed temples, passing by ancient, decaying statues, shrines, overgrown ruins and lush landscapes.
When you look at current trackless rides, the main point is just to see that the vehicles in front of you follow a different path that you take. To emulate this in a suspended ride, where you obviously must be supported by a physical track, this ride will have 3 different tracks that load in a straight line, but separate and pass through the scenes along different paths. The paths will not cross, that would be exceptionally complicated. In load and unload the 3 tracks follow parallel close to each other, with just enough room for the mechanism to sit over the track and hang the vehicle. The vehicles for each of the tracks are different so that the seating compartments line up in load and unload, meaning that the left vehicle cantilevers right under the track and the right vehicle cantilevers left. As far as I know, this system does not exist currently. I quickly drew a example track layout, but it is just lines, so no defined show scenes. Each of the 3 tracks are within an inch of 1046'.
I propose the attraction could be built nearby Flights of Wonder as there is plenty of open space there. This, of course, would expand out Anandapur, but the movie’s locale fits easily into this faux Indian setting. The facade of the building is a crumbling stone temple, like the temple of King Louie. Before you actually get into the attraction, a side path would lead to meet and greets with the characters from the movie, particularly Mowgli, Baloo and King Louie. Plus, I've heard that when the Journey into the Jungle Book show was here, you would often have King Louie’s monkeys causing mischief along the path to Discovery Island, trying to entice guests to go see the show. I would bring those monkeys back for meet and greets and general mayhem. They would be an awful lot of fun. Maybe there could be a rare sighting of Colonel Hathi, as well...or maybe even Shanti (that would be incredible).
Some examples would include the green snake and the red tailed rat snake. Both of these reptiles are fairly commonly found in zoos and make great exhibits. A good creepy animal would be a hunstman’s spider. Many kinds of these spiders live in Asia. They are huge and hairy and looking at them makes your skin crawl. Perhaps there could be a submerged section of the ruins that is now home to the unusual snake-necked turtle. And I wouldn’t leave mammals out, either. Prevost squirrels do well in captivity, are fun to watch and, with their bizarre color pattern (mahogany fur on the belly and black and white up top), they make fun zoo animals.
We exit back out into the jungle, now inside the show building. We approach load, where we see a line of hanging vehicles, looking like carved tree trunks, hanging by vines from the canopy above. The vehicle seats 2 per row with 2 rows. This system's biggest issues is the access to the maintenance bay since it cannot just split and pass directly into a backstage area. After some thought, I decided that the best decision would be that at some point in the path, each track has a split that gently descends down to the basement, passes underneath the scenes of the attraction, and rises again in the maintenance building to the east of the show building. I also considered track splits into small bays that contain a track elevator, moving the vehicle down to the basement, but that would radically slow the process of moving vehicles.
Of course, the ride takes you through the story of The Jungle Book. Beginning right off quick with the wolves and the pack leader talking about Mowgli and Shere Khan, who hates men. The story (and the ride) then moves quickly to introducing Bagheera and then the Dawn Patrol. For this scene, I really want to have the cars vibrate, as if they're being shaken by the thunderous footsteps of the elephants. Leaving the elephants behind, we meet Baloo who does an awesome audio animatronic version of "The Bare Necessities.”
Of course, the plot turns to the monkeys. On this attraction, you will have animatronic monkeys on both sides of you as well as above you with one coming awfully close to the top of your head all the while mocking Baloo and stealing his man cub. At this point, the ride takes you to King Louie himself singing “I Wanna Be Like You.” I envision this scene to be big and wide open, not unlike the Under the Sea part of the Little Mermaid dark ride. The end of this part of the scene would have the stone pillars coming close to crumbling and falling around you. Mowgli, of course, runs away again, and we meet Kaa dangling over the river looking at you with his hypnotic eyes.
We finally meet Shere Khan and the vultures. There's a great big climax scene, where Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and the vultures all fight off Shere Khan. A neat fire effect would come into play. The boat ride then ends with Bagheera and Baloo watching as Mowgli and Shanti go off into the man-village. The exit to the attraction would be a replica of the man village (and since this is Disney this would likely be a gift shop--the Bare Necessities gift shop, if you will).
From here, guests then walk back south through the Anandapur Plaza, walking to the right, past a closed off temple, where monkeys are frequently spotted, swinging from the temple structures overhead. The path then curves to the left, leading alongside the Discovery Lake on the right. From here, Mount Everest begins to loom just overhead. Along the lake, a special temple had been built by the people of Anandapur, a possible shrine to show respect to the forboding creatures of the region. The trail also features telescopes that helps guests receive a closer look at Mount Everest. The path then leads through a dense jungle, featuring small buildings offering some appetizer specials.
Guests board old tea trains, as they set up to scale Mount Everest. However, the sacred ground of Mount Everest is closely guarded by the watch of the Yeti. Our expedition may not be as simple as our tour guide would have us believe. Upon reaching the apex of the mountain, we find that the Yeti has torn the track apart, leaving the train to reverse through the cavernous chambers of the mountain, before taking a terryfying drop and coming face to face with the fierce Yeti, themselves. This attraction will receive an extensive refurbishment to complete several adjustments to the attraction, such as adding in a heavy mist and chill to the peak of the mountain range, to add some interior rocky work to the caverns and to most importantly, fix the Yeti at the conclusion of the attraction. The attraction will be closed for an extended period of time to ensure that the attraction re-opens in top quality. The attraction exits out into the Serka Zong Bazaar, a merchandise location specializing in Expedition Everest merchandise.
Asia
1) Flights of Wonder
2) Maharajah Jungle Trek
3) The Jungle Book Adventure
4) Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Shopping
A) Yak and Yeti
B) Bare Necessities
C) Serka Zong Bazaar
Dining
A) Yak and Yeti
In the next post, we'll explore the new land I told you about. See ya then!
