Beastly Kingdom

[Slowjack]

Makes complete sense, and I agree. I do think Dino-Rama (and Dinoland, U.S.A.) needs a bit of a kick to get the story across. Now, having said that, it is easily salvagable.

IMHO, Dino-Rama is not salvageable. Right now, I think most guests think it is literally an old parking lot where Disney threw in some cheap carny rides, and don't understand that Disney built the fake parking lot to make it look like an old roadside carnival. But even if the backstory was better explained, and guests "got" it, you're still left with the essentially unthemed (by Disney standards) carny rides sitting on asphalt. Put another way, you may get more people to view it as clever, but they still will view it as cheap. It's like if you took a badly made sitcom and did a parody version of it, while people might find what you did clever, if they didn't find the original sitcom funny, they probably won't find your parody funny, either.

It's the same problem that DCA has with Paradise Pier; I don't think there's a problem with the story there; everyone knows what the area is supposed to represent, yet it remains a collection of ordinary rides undistinguished from those at most any amusement park.

 

[sanctumsolitude]

I have plently more ideas; I'll try to post more as I can get my thoughts collected.

I encourage you to flesh out your ideas. Think of the story you are trying to tell. Think of the purpose behind the land. Even if you can't draw, be sure to sketch your ideas on paper.

Most of all though, remember that there are no bad ideas. You can ditch the no-so-good ideas later, but at this point, there are no bad ideas.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

IMHO, Dino-Rama is not salvageable. Right now, I think most guests think it is literally an old parking lot where Disney threw in some cheap carny rides, and don't understand that Disney built the fake parking lot to make it look like an old roadside carnival. But even if the backstory was better explained, and guests "got" it, you're still left with the essentially unthemed (by Disney standards) carny rides sitting on asphalt. Put another way, you may get more people to view it as clever, but they still will view it as cheap. It's like if you took a badly made sitcom and did a parody version of it, while people might find what you did clever, if they didn't find the original sitcom funny, they probably won't find your parody funny, either.

Bingo, bingo, bingo. No matter what "theme" they try to portray, it's a poorly conceived area of the park whose theming is on the level of Six Flags- i.e. half-a**ed!

 

[RSoxNo1]

A few things: First, If I'm not mistaken many of the designers of Dueling Dragons were former Disney employees, the concept of a Dragon themed roller coaster (and my understanding, much of the queue) was taken from Disney initially. If Disney wanted to build Dragon Towers the perception might be that they are copying Universal, when the reality was that they were using what was rightfully theirs. I have to imagine that the next big roller coaster that Disney builds will be a morphing coaster. If it's not Dragon Towers it will be something else, but it seems that this concept has been on the drawing board for a few different ideas (most notably, Dragon Towers and Fire Mountain).

As for future Animal Kingdom expansion the ideas listed on here about a European/Beastly Kingdomme between Africa and Asia are solid, as are making Camp Minnie Mickey into a North America area with South America taking over the original Beastly Kingdom plot. Using the Nemo show as a segway into Australia is a great idea, I just don't know how much room there is to do it. I would think it would mean leveling Dinoland USA/Dinorama which could be a problem. Not that I would miss Dinorama, but I think there would be significant backlash if Dinosaurs were elimated all together. If possible, I would eliminate the Dinorama idea, rename the entire section Dinoland, not Dinoland USA add the Excavator or retheme Primevil Whirl (if you make it indoors with a few special effects it can be a pretty good ride).

 

[raven]

IMHO, Dino-Rama is not salvageable...Put another way, you may get more people to view it as clever, but they still will view it as cheap.

I don't think any guest who pays $$$ to go to Disney will see that anything they build is cheap. Knowing very well how much that area cost I can personally say that. It might not have been up to the cost of E-Ticket attractions but it certainly isn't something you can pick up at a supermarket either.

Dino-Rama was built to be a kid-friendly area in AK. It is a place where kids can be themselves and run around. Not since MK has Disney added this kind of area to a park at WDW. I don't think it's going to go anywhere soon.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I don't think any guest who pays $$$ to go to Disney will see that anything they build is cheap. Knowing very well how much that area cost I can personally say that. It might not have been up to the cost of E-Ticket attractions but it certainly isn't something you can pick up at a supermarket either.

Dino-Rama was built to be a kid-friendly area in AK. It is a place where kids can be themselves and run around. Not since MK has Disney added this kind of area to a park at WDW. I don't think it's going to go anywhere soon.

Umm...with half of it's attractions unavailable to children due to the height restriction of Primeval Whirl.

I went with a 5 year old and Primeval Whirl was the only attraction in DAK that she couldn't ride. She can go on Everest but not Primeval Whirl...THAT is baffling. She loved Everest (her favorite attraction actually)...and she almost cried when we told her she couldn't go on Primeval Whirl. She even said, "But I'm a big girl...I went on the Abominable Snowman ride!"

(Hehe, of course it sounded more like "Abomibib"

 

[Slowjack]

I don't think any guest who pays $$$ to go to Disney will see that anything they build is cheap. Knowing very well how much that area cost I can personally say that. It might not have been up to the cost of E-Ticket attractions but it certainly isn't something you can pick up at a supermarket either.

Dino-Rama was built to be a kid-friendly area in AK. It is a place where kids can be themselves and run around. Not since MK has Disney added this kind of area to a park at WDW. I don't think it's going to go anywhere soon.

Are you saying because Disney charges so much to get in, guests actually lower their expectations? I think the opposite is true. Put Dino-Rama in a Six Flags park and it would look well themed, because that's the kind of theming you get there, off-the-shelf rides with simple overlays. But at Disney World it looks cheap.

I have no idea how much they spent on Dino-Rama, but that's not the point. The area looks cheap, whether it was actually cheap to build or not.

Personally I think AK was plenty kid-friendly before Dino-Rama. Camp Minnie-Mickey, Planet Watch, all the walking-past-animals exhibits, etc. Even before Dino-Rama I think it was the most kid-friendly park after MK. But in any case, I don't see why being kid-friendly would require lightly themed carny rides.

 

[sanctumsolitude]

I don't think any guest who pays $$$ to go to Disney will see that anything they build is cheap. Knowing very well how much that area cost I can personally say that. It might not have been up to the cost of E-Ticket attractions but it certainly isn't something you can pick up at a supermarket either.

Dino-Rama was built to be a kid-friendly area in AK. It is a place where kids can be themselves and run around. Not since MK has Disney added this kind of area to a park at WDW. I don't think it's going to go anywhere soon.

It doesn't matter how much money you spend to design and build an ugly roadside attraction - it will always be an ugly roadside attraction.

To quote a random person as I was walking through Dinoland: "It just ain't Disney."

Kid-friendly? That is not something I would have used to describe it.

 

[AlishaMisha]

my source is my eyes and the fact that after 9 years, there is still a dragon on the AK park logo. The park is clearly designed to showcase mythological beasts (dragons, in particular), and I have little doubt that if Disney did not intend to eventually add such a land, it would not still be hinted at in the park's logo after almost a decade. Is it an assumption? Surely. But, I think it's a pretty reasonable one.

Don't forget the Unicorn parking section. The Dinosaur section already came true...

 

[DisneyExplorer]

Umm...with half of it's attractions unavailable to children due to the height restriction of Primeval Whirl.

I went with a 5 year old and Primeval Whirl was the only attraction in DAK that she couldn't ride. She can go on Everest but not Primeval Whirl...THAT is baffling. She loved Everest (her favorite attraction actually)...and she almost cried when we told her she couldn't go on Primeval Whirl. She even said, "But I'm a big girl...I went on the Abominable Snowman ride!"

(Hehe, of course it sounded more like "Abomibib"

Again, that proves my point that I made earlier about lots of little kids loving the big roller coasters. When my brother was 5, he sat in the front seat on Space Mountain and couldn't stop hooting and hollering from being so excited. We had to go on it at least 4 times. And he was so disappointed he couldn't ride Rock'n'Rollercoaster. Now, he's 10 and went on the Griffon at Busch Gardens (90 degree 205 foot drop) and loved it.

 

[DisneyExplorer]

But in any case, I don't see why being kid-friendly would require lightly themed carny rides.

Yeah, carny rides that the little kids can't even ride. lol

 

[DisneyExplorer]

Don't forget the Unicorn parking section. The Dinosaur section already came true...

Well, at least we have some hope. And that is another indication that Disney still plans on adding a Beastly Kingdom area. By now, if it wasn't going to happen, I think the parking lot would have been renamed.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

:lol: Why???

The Unicorn parking lot...the dragon on the logo...the Yeti.

The Yeti is in an attraction...so the "mythical" creatures are covered.

The unicorn and the dragon are just to give you that mythical influence so all of the bases are covered.

Just because the parking lot is named "Unicorn"...don't assume that an attraction with a unicorn in it will be built.

(BTW...both the logo and the parking area was name when Beastly Kingdom was still on the docket to be built...)

 

[raven]

No matter what people think of DinoRama or Beastly Kingdom you really have to look historically at WDI park ideas and designs. Six Flags, Cedar Point, Busch Gardens and other amusement parks were designed for thrill seekers. Disney parks are for the family. Disney didn't want kids to have to wait for their parents to go on a ride. He wanted them to be able to go on them together. Having said that, I really don't see some huge mega-looping, multi demension coaster being built at AK as much as I'd love to see one. ToT and RnR are exeptions to this at MGM but somehow I just don't see them building one at AK. This is just my own opinion but know one knows for sure what will happen until it happens.

Also, Everest has already been built. Doesn't this fit the criteria for BK? Yet it's in Aisa. So if BK were to become a reality wouldn't you think they would try to incorporate Everest and the area around it?

 

[WDWGuide]

Also, Everest has already been built. Doesn't this fit the criteria for BK? Yet it's in Aisa. So if BK were to become a reality wouldn't you think they would try to incorporate Everest and the area around it?

That'd be difficult to do given where it is located relative to the barren plot north of Asia.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

This is why I think Beastly Kingdom is dead.

They have already started to incorporate mythological creatures into the other areas of the park...so it would be a little redundant and take away from the "realm" of mythological creatures.

Beastly Kingdom was to be a land where mythological creatures resided...

Well, if the Yeti is in Asia...that's not really true.

Europe would work...and that way you could have your Loch Ness, and your Dragons...and your Greek myths as well.

It would not, however, be Beastly Kingdom.

 

[sanctumsolitude]

Also, Everest has already been built. Doesn't this fit the criteria for BK? Yet it's in Aisa. So if BK were to become a reality wouldn't you think they would try to incorporate Everest and the area around it?

This is one reason many of us prefer that they incorporate the beastly kingdomme ideas into the rest of the lands instead of creating a standalone land for it.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

Given Everest's location in the park, I don't see how they'd be able to incorporate it into BK, if it should ever come to fruitition.

 

[raven]

That'd be difficult to do given where it is located relative to the barren plot north of Asia.

Given Everest's location in the park, I don't see how they'd be able to incorporate it into BK, if it should ever come to fruitition.

That's my point. And if they were to build bits and pieces of it all over the park...what's the point of putting it in? They would have to rename the park "Disney's Animal (some living, some dead, some mythical and magical, some aren't even animals and some are made up from stories of the past so we don't even know if they ever existed anyway) Kingdom."

 

[sanctumsolitude]

No matter what people think of DinoRama or Beastly Kingdom you really have to look historically at WDI park ideas and designs. Six Flags, Cedar Point, Busch Gardens and other amusement parks were designed for thrill seekers. Disney parks are for the family. Disney didn't want kids to have to wait for their parents to go on a ride. He wanted them to be able to go on them together. Having said that, I really don't see some huge mega-looping, multi demension coaster being built at AK as much as I'd love to see one. ToT and RnR are exeptions to this at MGM but somehow I just don't see them building one at AK. This is just my own opinion but know one knows for sure what will happen until it happens.

Oddly enough, ToT has a height requirement of 40" while Primeval Whirl has a height requirement of 48". Which means, on average, you have to be 4 years old to go on ToT, but 7 years old to go on Primeval Whirl.