Anybody ride Primevil Whirl yet?

[DLMAGICDARREN]

LOL, nothing I've read here convinces me that Chester and Hester have any story involved in Dinorama.

The comparison to Mickey Mouse is just silly. We all know who Mickey Mouse is, born long before there was ever a Disneyland. He was born in 1928, had an original name of Motimer, starred in the first talking cartoon, Steamboat Willie, appeared in the 1940 Fantisia, I could go on and on.

Chester and Hester? They opened a shop in Dinoland in 1998. Aside from that, don't know anything about who they are. Sure they may have a story in the Imaganeers heads, but they have not shared it with the general public.

Fossil lab and Jubillee may very well have been intended to disapear, but I'll say it again, if they would have disappeared for a superior improvement, it's great, but to dissapear for cheap carny rides, I'm not impressed.

If Disney owned the La Brea tar pits, should they tear out the pits, and add a Tilt a whirl so long as they add some tar pits cardboard?

The refrence to Astro Orbiter, was a good valid point in the thread, but still does not change the original theory. It was an original ride, one I forgot to include in my history of the Disney spinners, but in theory no different then Dumbo. It was an original ride, copied at the 3 additional Tommorland's (Discoveryland for Paris), but still 46 years went by before they decided to do it again.

 

[dwldzm9]

weeelllll,

OK here goes.

I understand some being upset with the seemingly poor quality of Dino-Rama. I also understand the defense. What I don't understand is this :

People trying to claim that it won't bring in extra people to the park.

Not that you're wrong, but that's not the point.

The fact of the matter is that the problem DIS has had from day one with AK is that people were able to do most, if not all, of what they wanted to do in a short period of time. Although the opening of Asia helped a little bit, the fact remains that on an average day you can ride Dinosaur, Kilamanjaro, Kali, and possibly even get It's tough to be a bug by noon (This is assuming you play Fastpass correctly and arrive close to park opening). This means they AREN'T MAKING MUCH MONEY off of these people because many eat before they come and wait until they leave to eat again, with only a soda or perhaps a small snack (piece of fruit, etc.) in between. Don't believe me? Then explain why the Rainforest Cafe at DD has at least an hour and a half wait everytime I go, yet I have never waited more than 20 min. to be seated at AK.

Also, this is hurting sales of everything else. If you know you can get everything done in that amount of time, you are unlikely to take your time browsing the shops. Alas, you miss much of the beauty of the park this way, but if you are really into that one entire day at the park isn't enough. So, if they put something in - ANYTHING, really - to keep you at the park just a little while longer they have succeeded in their task. Think : if you are there until 1:30 or longer, odds are you are going to have lunch - and that is a big deal, since I would venture to guess that they profit almost as much from two people eating lunch as they do from one ticket. I could be wrong, but I really feel that is what is at the essence of the entire Dino-Rama development and if it is then I think it has succeeded greatly.

 

[Chad]

Yeah, they DO need to get the story across..

What good is the story if no one knows about it? They should have a 'Welcome to Dino-Rama' sign right when you enter, sort of
explaining the story

Welcome to Chester and Hester's Dino Rama! We're so glad you decided to visit us, instead of spending your money (scratched out) Time over at some -OTHER- stuffy Institute. Why Visit them? They try to send you back in time..With big, scary, flesh eating dinosaurs..Here you'll find our dinosaurs to be colorful, friendly, and, well, made mainly of cardboard. So come along! Bring your kids and your wallets (and your kids allowances for that matter) And enjoy your day here at Dino-Rama!

Or they could just have this playing on T.V's in the Queue line..or just as an anouncement..You get the idea

 

[Chad]

Ahh..dwldzm9 has hit the nail on the head!
That is the precise reason why it was built, they've been dying to KEEP people in that park..Thats why the parade is at 3 or 4 o'clock, the wanted people to stay to see the parade (which is a FANTASTIC parade..highly recommended)..

Dino-Rama will keep SOME people atleast an extra 1hr and a half, maybe 2hrs, after they wait in line, ride (some may re-ride) , play a few games and get an icecream..Plus the mom's who don't much care for spinning coasters will go visit the gift shops while their little bundles of joy ride with dad. (That was purely hypothetical) Then, they'll all watch the parade, and eat dinner. Money. Money. Money.

Which should go to help build beastly kingdom. (crosses fingers)

 

[DLMAGICDARREN]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

There is no doubt if all you intend to do at Animal Kingdom is ride Dinsaur, Kali River Rapids, Kilomanjari Safari and even It's Tough To Be A Bug, the fact you can be done before 2:00 (or whenever) is not disputed.

Unforutunately, these are the exact guests that Disney had to cater to when they built Dinor-rama. People that just don't get an animal park is not about rides rides rides, it's about animals.

The whole "half day park" nonesense always cracks me up. I have yet to meet anybody that did everything and call it a half day park. Most critics calling it that aren't even aware of many of the park's offerings.

Watching the Festival of the Lion King, and Tarzan Rocks will easily keep you occupied an additional 2 hours.

The Pangani Forest Exporation trail, and the Maharajah trails will each take you a good 1/2 each, even if you rush.

Pochantontas and Flights of Wonder are additional shows that could take up another 90 minutes.

Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade (my favorite parade of all 4 parks) will easily take up an hour if you want to hold a good spot before it starts.

The train over to Conversation station alone will take a half hour (15 minutes each way), and that in no way counts the time you spend there. I can easily spend a good hour (if not more) there. Affection Section is fun for the little ones, plus the kid oriented shows they do. I love to check out what's new in the nursery, who's getting seen by the doctor, or the nutrilionist explain the animals diets.

Also the kids like to play in the Boneyard, not to mention charect meet and greets with Disney charecters.

Never mind you might just maybe get hungry in the day and stop for a bite at Tusker House, or Flame Tree Bar B Que (my favorite), or one of the other places to eat.

And since you ran through the Discovery Island trails on your way in the park, without looking at anything, why not take a slow walk back when you exit, there are two sides each representing different animals, so even if you did enjoy them on your way in, exit on the opposite trail and enjoy those ones on your way out.

Sorry but a 90 second carnival ride might be fun, but it was not the answer to Animal Kingdom's problems. I've said many times I will enjoy it, but they could have done better. The park is full of exibits once you realize there are non fastpass things to do as well, something most guests seem to miss at all four parks.

 

[dwldzm9]

yes,

Darren,

I completely agree with you about the park having enough for one day if not more - if you'll note I mentioned this in my first post. It's just unfortunate that not enough people share this view.

 

[Chad]

Yes, Darren, that is true, But the majority of that is available at your local zoo. And a local zoo doesn't cost 50 bucks to get into.

I completely agree that Animal Kingdom has enough to do for and entire day, I've spent many long days there, Heck, we watched the flamingos for almost 2hrs while eating pretzels...(they have to be the most entertaining animals to watch. The purposely just -fall- into the water..It's hilarious.)

And you know what, Disney Executives know that Animal Kingdom has enough for a full day..yet they look at the park and see everyone -GONE- at 3 or 4 pm, despite everything there is to offer..

Solutions they begin to use:

Maybe noone can find our attractions?
They clearly put up a BIG sign for Rafiki's Planet watch, where they was none. They add 'criers' out on the paths, trying to get people to go on the jungle walks

That doesn't work....

Maybe it looks like we don't have many attractions because of our maps...

They add new things that previously weren't listed..Put the tree of life under 'attractions' along with the times and information board to make it look like there is more to do..

That doesn't work...

Maybe we need More entertainment to keep them in the park?
They add Tarzan ROCKS! And a parade..

That doesn't work....

Suddenly, they realize that people come to disney MAINLY for rides, so they build some more..

It's sad, but you have to remember that the people on these boards are a select -FEW- who go to the parks and soak in EVERYTHING..We look at the theming, we look at the effort, we listen to the story..ask people coming off the ToT, ask them what the STORY was, ask them the same on the dinosaur ride, most people don't even pay attention to what just happened..How do you expect them to truly enjoy those magnificent temple ruins that house the tigers? How do you expect them to be able to sit for hours on end counting animals in the tree of life, and actually APPRECIATE the work that went into it.. All they do is look at, look at their map, and add a CHECK over the tree, so they know they've already done it, then they wander off thinking about how much money lunch is gonna cost em, and how far away the cheapest mcdonalds is.

 

[Nightwing]

Ak Quick Fix?

The New coaster at AK is a good "FIX" to keep the Guests longer in the park. Everyone has vaild points on this issue, but the bottom line is that AK has a New Coaster this year and that will bring Guests in the park.. THIS YEAR! Yes, it's a small coaster, but a coaster still. I love AK, but I've never spent more than a couple of hours at the park. I have no interest in seeing the animal tours or the Tarzan show (hated it). But I do like the rides!!!!!!! Another ride or two (even if they're not e-rides) will make me book another trip to WDW that much sooner.

 

[DLMAGICDARREN]

Chad, I agree with you 100%, I am well aware the average guest does not read Disney sites, or read much up about it before they come.

I still meet many guests visiting the Magic Kingdom for the first time ever, so I totally understand and agree with what you are saying.

But to say that most of these offerings are available at the local zoo? Well yes, it's true what's on Discovery trails, and Conservation Station are at local zoos, no question about that.

However that's the only similarities.

I don't know of a local zoo where lions, zebras, giraffe's and hippos roam freely as they do on the safari.

I don't know of a local zoo where gorillas roam freely as they do on Pangani trail.

I don't know of a local zoo where tigers roam freely as they do on Maharajah trail.

I don't know of any zoo where I can see shows like Tarzan Rocks, or Festival of the Lion King.

I don't know many zoos where you take a train, to view exibits.

I will agree there are similaraties, but I would hardly call Animal Kingdom a comparison to a zoo. A very very small amount available might be at your local zoo, but probably 75% is not.

When was the times and info board listed as an attraction on a park map? I'm not saying it wasn't but I never saw it on a map if it was.

They did add Discovery trails to the map, but they also added interactive cast members that were on the trail as well, showing you certain animals.

I don't disagree with you, most don't apprecaite all that a park has to offer, that's true at all 4 parks.

Most people don't know Belle tells a story to kids at Magic Kingdom, or that a statue over in France at Epcot moves, or that the facade used in Disney Channel's Alice in Wonderland, is on the backlot tour over at Disney MGM Studios.

But how can they? Most only have 4 days or so to absorb what some of get to enjoy whenever we want. I totally get that.

I'm not asking anybody to call Animal Kingdom more then what it is, if you give it a chance, and don't rush out at noon saying there's nothing else to do. What I am saying is these people that can't find Rafiki's Planet Watch before it had a large sign, will have just as much trouble finding Primevil Whirl.

Things you lised as a failure I kind of disagree with, the parade is packed all along the route almost every day, Tarzan Rocks is filled to capacity at most shows, there plans do generally work. I'm amazed every time I leave Animal Kingdom at the crowds. It's packed leaving right after the parade.

There is no dispute Animal Kingdom cannot benefit from additional attractions, and when and if Beastly Kingdom becomes reality that will help, but what does not help is a cheesy carnival section, as you indicate yourself, will not even be known about, until and unless guests find it. I'm sure the attraction will have a 45 minute wait from now on, but if you are saying the new parade didn't solve it's problems or that Tarzan didn't solve problems, I have a hard time seeing how Primevil Whirl will do any better.

I for one would prefer the rumored Austrailia come, or the safiari in Asia as planned originally, just as much as I'd like to see Beastly Kingdom simply add more "rides".

 

[bearboysnc]

Actually, the "themed wild mouse" is an idea that isn't unique to disney.

Kennywood built an indoor Wild Mouse years ago themed to catching mutant mice in a sewer.

http://www.kennywood.com/darkride2k.htm

Primevil Whirl has alot more going for it than Mulholland Madness, YUK! Count your blessings.

 

[Chad]

Uh..I just whipped out my map..
8 out of 16 'attractions' are animal viewing areas/and or exhibits. Thats half. Half of the stuff is Zoo/ museum stuff. Granted, they are AMAZINGLY elaborate, but as I stated before, most guests don't appreciate that as much.
With the DinoRama section, it makes it 8 out of 18, which is still signifigant.

And as for all of the 'I don't know's.." Lowry park zoo here in tampa has very similar exhibits, granted, they don't have a Safari(which, BTW, is not one of the '8' animal attractions) But they do have free roaming exhibits, just without the elaborate theming.

Yes, none of them have shows like Tarzan or Lion king, But they do have shows like flights of wonder.

As for the shows and parades, I go there alot, and they keep their guests just until the parade ends..then they all leave..Instead of a scenario like:

"Mom, can we go on the dragon ride ONE MORE time? PLEASE?"

"Dad just said he'd go on the Dino-Coaster! Can we stay a LITTLE while longer...?"

Instead, all the guests just herd out like cattle.

 

[DLMAGICDARREN]

LOL Chad, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

I never disputed that many of the map attractions listed are exibits, but just because they are exibits does not mean they are available at your local zoo, like the Pangari trail, or Maharajah trail, or the train to conservation station.

Of course zoos have some offerings similar to Animal Kingdom, just as Six Flags has mouse coasters and those parks are not $50 either, and are much closer to the average person then a Disney park.

The point is this is Disney's Animal Kingdom, not Disney's Six Flags lookalike, nor Disney's Zoo. It's pretty funny to critizise an animal kingdom for showing animals, just because zoos do as well, but I never heard of an Animal Kingdom needing a mouse coaster to justify it's existence.

However it's not a zoo (pronounced NAHTAZU) LOL

Unlike your local zoos they have parades, elaborate shows, high quality attractions like Dinosaur, Kali River Rapis, and Kilomanjari Safari.

I totally agree shows more like Pochahontis and Flights of Wonder are not spectacular, and proabably availble at your local zoo but they are animal realted at least, teaching you the about wildlife, not throwing you around some cardboard shaped into a Dinosaur, and then try to convince us, well since the cardboard is shaped liked a Dino it fits.

Of course the park exits after the parade. How could it not? The parade is at 4:00 and the park closes at 5:00 (normally, I know this week it's hours are till 6:00)

Of course they park is basically done by 4:30, when the parade is over, but for only 30 minutes, how much longer do you want them to stay? I'm not arguing the park can't be done by 4:30, I just get fustrated at the people who leave by 12 noon, thinking they saw it all when they didn't even see half.

I don't think Primevil Whirl will adrress that at all.

 

[Chad]

I NEVER critized Animal Kingdom for having animals..I love the animals, and many guests do aswell. But many don't care about the animals, Which Is why I made the point about much of the same things being offered in the zoo.

And no, none of their exhibits are terribly original. Any Zoo will show you their nursery, or let you see grains oats and meal worms that they use for food. Nothing new. Again, I'm not saying this is Bad, but half of the stuff is just Zoo stuff, good zoo stuff, but still zoo stuff.

And the fact that Animal Kingdom closes at 5 is the point..They would love to extend the hours..keep it open till 9pm, have a fantastic nightime show in Beastly kingdom (speculation of course)

Animal Kingdom doesn't need to build attractions to JUSTIFY its existence, it needs to build them to ENSURE its existence, if it expects to exist with a cost of 50 bucks, that is.

((....they have.....high quality attractions like Dinosaur, Kali River Rapis, and Kilomanjari Safari...))

There's the problem, you just listed all of their rides. High quality or otherwise. Thats why DinoRama is essential for now.

50 bucks for a full day of fun family attractions, a multitude of shows, parades, and a nighttime spectacular
or
50 bucks for less then half of a days worth of rides, (only one of which a kid can ride) some animals and a parade.


And no, I will not agree to disagree, I like arguing Its fun, and you're giving me a run for my money.

 

[Rotel1026]

I'll have to agree with the statement that a lot of the animal exhibits can be found at local zoos. Yes, they might not be elaborate and they might not be as large enclosures (honestly, no animal in a zoo has free roam) but they are still the same animals. I've been to the zoos in San Antonio, Fort Worth and Dallas as well as Busch Gardens Tampa. Fort Worth and Busch have white tigers. Dallas has a monorail that takes you around a "safari." The animal exhibits at BG Tampa are probably some of the most well done on Earth. One of the best bird shows I ever saw was at the Texas Rennaisance Festival in Plantersville (near Houston). So Disney has tough competition when it comes to it's animal exhibits and shows because most people would blow them off as being at the local zoo for 5-10 bucks. I do like the exhibits at AK and do make the time to do them but most people who aren't Disney nuts don't spend hundreds of dollars and then spend limited time they do have looking at animals when most would compare it to the local zoo.

As far as this park not having enough to do, why did they remove Dino Jubilee and the Fossil Lab to make way for Dinoland? If the problem is not enough to do then why basically replace two things with two more? Yes, I know part of the criticism is not enough rides but if someone's going to stay in the park that much longer to go thru Jubilee and Lab then why not keep them? Yes, they may have been put in as temporary placeholders but weren't they put in as temporary until Excavator and whatever else was supposed to be put in? Isn't there plenty of land in this area where they could have build Dinoland into?

Another thing, everyone complains about the carny games. I'm not a big fan of them and won't usually play them even when at Six Flags or the local fair. So I'm just curious, for those of you that go more often than I do (which is probably most of you since I've only ever gone twice), how well are these games being received? Are people stopping to play these games? When I went this past December, they were having a hard time meeting the miminum number of people to play the group games but it was early...about two hours into park opening so there wasn't much of a crowd in this area. Now that it's more crowded, how well are these games doing?

Valentin

 

[fishingdve]

I rode whirl with my 8 year old son on March 19th. He loved it and I thought it was a lot of fun. Not Disney's best work, but still worth trying.

 

[Chad]

You sorta answered your own question...
The reason they removed Dino Jubilee and the fossil Lab is because they are museum type exhibits, neat, but something they can see elsewhere..(not neccesarily, but when you look at it on a map, thats what most people see, and believe...."Oh honey, lets not go see that, the kids would be bored, plus they just dinosairs at the school field trip to the museum..Lets go on the river rapid ride"..)

And the games..They get a fair amount of bussiness. It really depends...AS you probably know, there's a bunch of different types of people that go to WDW..
Your local tourist, who doesn't plan to spend much money probably wouldn't play..
But your out-of-state tourist who has saved up his whole life so he can take the family on a week long trip to the happiest place on earth most likely would splurge and play.

 

[DLMAGICDARREN]

LOL Chad,

I don't think I ever claimed you crititisized Anaimal Kingdom for having animals. I just found the comparison to a local zoo to be innaccurate. I understand many Disney guests are looking for rides, not Animals, why that type of guest visits Animal KIngdom I will never understand but they do, and Disney has to cater to them. I understand that.

So on all that I think we agree.

But your examples again seem to defy what I was saying. Yes I will agree, what's at Conversation station is available at most zoos, but taking a train over is fairly unique in my opinion.

What I said that differed from your local zoo, was things that a map may show as exibits, but are actually much more then a zoo offers, such as the Pangoni trail, or the Maharajah trail.

Of course there are similaraties to a zoo, how different can a animal kingdom spider exibit be then a zoo's spider exibit?

What makes Animal Kingdom spectacular though is unlike your local zoo, the animals you really want to view roam freely, they are not in cages, you also add the Disney experiance with the E-tickets they do have, the parade, the elaborate shows (like Tarzan and Lion King, not Flights of Wonder or Pochahontis), and the Disney charecters.

I disagree that Disney is looking to try and keep the park open until 9:00 and do a firework type show. Firstly that would be cruel to the animals. I don't know of any open area animal park, such as Lion Country Safari, or San Diego Animal Park that would even begin to think that is their ultimate goal. Magic Kingdom itself closes at 6 or 7 the majority of the year, and that park suffers no attendance problems.

Disney wants you to spend money, and come back, keeping a park open 4 extra hours is not always the goal, since the guest already paid admisission, regardless if they leave a park open all night at 5PM or 10PM.

Rather what they did do is open the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where hopefully after your day, you can get back to your nearby hotel, enjoy a few more animals untel sunset, and call it a night just as nature does. The fireworks are at the other parks.

I don't think Dinorama was essentail, I think it was an attempt, that will not help the park. Even though many guests will ride, many will come off angry it was too rough, many will get fustrated their kids want to ride, but it looks lackluster to them, many will just pass it all togeather and critisize Disney for having it in the first place.

You have to remember, no matter how many riders ride per hour, far more don't ride then do, because they get fustrated with the wait, think it looks to scary, or get mad that it's just a carny coaster. No matter how many are riding, many aren't, for whatever reason, they leave the parks with opinions just as well.

It's kind of like what you said earlier, sure Disney needs to attract people to stay in the park, longer then they do. That takes high capacity and quality to do it. Tarzan and the parade may not have solved all the problems, but they certainly helped. I don't see Dinorama keeping the guests in the park any longer, even if they do ride. I think it will just distract them and many will still leave at 12:00 unimpressed with it, perhaps never even finding Asia or Africa.

What is always on a guest's mind is what they will do next. You hear that in any queue. They are not talking about if this attraction will be fun, they are only worried about what they will do next. If Dino-rama takes an hour of a guests time, it will be a bad word of mouth experiance I think. They ride because it's there, they leave with a low opinion that they actually visited an animal park but didn't find any animals.

 

[Chad]

((It's pretty funny to critizise an animal kingdom for showing animals, just because zoos do as well..))

You typed it, not me

The train ride to many will seem like a waste oftime, even more once they get to Conservation Station and see a petting zoo (with the ever exotic goat) and a few exhibits. They will then dread waiting in line even more to go back on it..It's not like you see that much on the train..You see a caging complex, which rarely has any animals, a bilboard, and grass. I guess its unique..But uniquely boring in my opinion.

((You have to remember, no matter how many riders ride per hour, far more don't ride then do, because they get fustrated with the wait, think it looks to scary, or get mad that it's just a carny coaster))

So it's a toss up between having guests frustrated for those reasons, or frustrated because they spent 50 dollars and are having a hard time finding things to do. And you bring up another point. Right now, with the lack of things to do, you already have guests complaining about the lines. These two new rides will help shorten some of these lines, taking guest from dinosaur and putting them in line for PW.

Also, if you read through some of the post, you'll see the majority of the people who've ridden it have said.."it was fun, we enjoyed it..But it's not disney's best.." So, if this is a reflection of regular guests, then they should get off happy. And it's not like they're in for a suprise when they ride it..They can see the entire ride from the queue line..If they get in a 60 minute line, they can't get off and say:

"Gee, I wasn't expecting it to just a be a short roller coaster with some cardboard cut-outs.."

The guests know what they're getting into just from looking at it from the outside.

BTW, the only place the animals TRULY roam free are on the Safari ride, the other viewing areas simply make it look like they are romaing freely by adding ditches and trenches strategically out of the guest's view. Or by using rocks and boulders to cage them in instead of glass or bars. They wouldn't let animals roam free and jeopardize a guest not being able to see them, now would they? And lowry park zoo offers the same thing.

I agree, I was wrong by saying that they want to keep the park open till 9, but I'm sure they want to turn Animal Kingdom into a 'Dinner' theme park, and add some more full service resteraunts..

I also think there is a nighttime show in the future for Animal Kingdom..definetly a toned down one, without many aerial fireworks, but I'm sure there will eventually be one..Animals are able to withstand sound pretty well, Montu roars like a beast in Busch Gardens, but RIGHT next to it gazzeles graze peacefully..and I mean RIGHT next to it, the fence seperating the two often has them grazing along it..Not to mention that Bush boulevard is right next to the savanah area in BG, compelte with Semi Trucks and honking cars. They've done fine. Plus, most of the animals at night are put into pens, they'd be safe from the show.

 

[DLMAGICDARREN]

LOL Chad, still gotta disagree with most of your point, but I gotta agree this is fun.

I really don't understand your refrence to crititisize an anmial kingdom for showing animals when zoos do as well, I really don't get the point you were attempting to make in that situation. I know what I typed, but I don't get your point.

Anyway let's move on to your other comments

It's funny how you want to always want to compare the place to a zoo, but every time I bring up why I think it's mopre then a zoo, you brush off that the guests won't like it. The train ride to conservation station is fun. I never said you pass 100 scenic objects, all I was saying was that in a zoo, you don't ride a train over, you just walk up to a nursery type area. I don't see why you brush off a train ride as so umimportant. Walt himself knew the importance and built a train through Disneyland, and then the Magic Kingdom.

Everybody seems to think just because you have a long line at a low capicity attraction that will make the lines on the high capacity attractions disapear. I always said the lines in Dino-rama will be there, but that does not really mean there will be any less lines on Dinosour, Kali River Rapids, or Kilomanjaro Safari, there is a big difference between low capacity and high capaicity rides.

I did read through the post, I know most said it's not Disney's best, but it was fun. But did you already forget the point you tried to make in the beginning? We both know the average Disney guest is not on this forum. The number of people unimpressed do not run home and look to sign onto a Disney website. They will spread the word though that Disney has lowered the bar.

Also the animals do run freely on the trails. I know quite well they have there specific areas (as they do on the safari), but they roam freely in those areas. The Tigers in Maharajah, may not have the free roam of the entire park, nor the gorillas from the Pangani trail, but they certainly have much more free roam then any zoo offers, which is what you keep bringing up.

The dinner theme issue you bring up was resolved when the park opened. That's why they put Rainforest right there. The park may close at 5:00 or so, but the restaurant remains open for guests to extend their experiance.

I don't think there is any nighttime park plans in the future for the park. I know they could do it, but the point is they have no reason to, as long as the guests leave happy, Disney has served it's cause. It's very true they could add a low scale fireworks, pyro show, or laser light show, but the fact is they have no reason to. Nobody expects an animal park to entertain them till midnight. Sea World and other parks might do it, but they don't have the advantage of 3 next door parks that offer entertainment at night. I say let the animals sleep.

They added a section, the rides are sort of fun, but just because a ride has lines, does not mean all the lines waiting for an e-ticket will disapear. Go to your local carnival and you will see a ferris wheel and and a merry go round may be packed with long lines, but it does not mean the lines disapperared at the roller coaster or log ride.

 

[Chad]

When I spoke of the Zoo and animal kingdom, I wasn't critizing either of them. The point I was trying to make is that You can see the same animals for a lower price at your local zoo. All you're getting here is some extra decorations.

I don't think I've brushed off the reasons why it's better then a zoo. It is better then a zoo, but it's still in infant stages...ANd I believe we're debating over how it's being developed into a full-grown theme park. And I wouldn't use a 5 minute train ride as an example as to WHY it's so much different then a zoo..Walt used trains, but in a much more entertaining way, there are things to see..he set up dioramas, and put stories into many of the areas..The train ride to conservation station is..entertaining the first time, but once you get there, you feel..ripped-off, like it wasn't worth the ride

((I did read through the post, I know most said it's not Disney's best, but it was fun. But did you already forget the point you tried to make in the beginning? We both know the average Disney guest is not on this forum. ))

Exactly, and the people on this forum have higher expectations, the average Disney Guest normally has lower, since they are living happily in ignorance..(not that we are some snobbish elite class, just cause of our knowledge of the 'World' ) The majority will come off happy.

I do think that this will lessen the lines..Ecspecially for Dinosaur, it's a distraction as people head towards the institute..and people will gravitate towards it and play the games, or give the coaster a couple of rides..I say this, because I don't think it's going to boost attendance all that much, so instead it will help evenly spread out the current crowd.