DAK interview with Joe Rohde

[jakeman]

I felt the same way until I read the Imagineering Field Guide to DAK. Once I read the whole backstory on the land, I now understand what they tried to do. Admittedly, it still isn't my favorite area, but it really fits into the area now to me. I don't harbor hardly any bad feelings for Dino-Rama anymore.

This is exactly the point. The area fits the storyline perfectly. The failure was not that particular area of the park, it was conveying the whole story of that area of the park.

Once you understand the story, you understand that area.

 

[wedenterprises]

Well, my take is that the message behind Dinoland is the exploitation of animals. There is a gas station called "dino gas" or something, on top of an area rich with fossils (why the dino institute is there). So the irony of a gas station....well, hopefully I don't need to explain that.

Chester/Hester exploit Dinosaurs as a way to make a buck and they quickly set up a carnival based on all kinds of Dino imagery. I think all-in-all Dinoland is a very cynical message, but it is offset by the "good" work that the institute is doing with their research.

I love the area, but I just can't stand the look of the cheesy carnival rides.

 

[4 Park Central]

Well, my take is that the message behind Dinoland is the exploitation of animals. There is a gas station called "dino gas" or something, on top of an area rich with fossils (why the dino institute is there). So the irony of a gas station....well, hopefully I don't need to explain that.

Chester/Hester exploit Dinosaurs as a way to make a buck and they quickly set up a carnival based on all kinds of Dino imagery. I think all-in-all Dinoland is a very cynical message, but it is offset by the "good" work that the institute is doing with their research.

I love the area, but I just can't stand the look of the cheesy carnival rides.

I emailed the LP magazine folks and they kindly gave me the section that talked about DinoLand in word so I could reprint it here:

In the face of the gritty realism of Africa and Asia there is a land that stands out as the comic relief – DinoLand U.S.A. The area is an affectionate nod to the great American pastime of dinosaur study from the serious paleontological research of the original 1998 Dinosaur Jubilee attraction (which gave way to Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama) to the wacky roadside souvenir stand (Chester & Hester’s) which is how most Americans interact with these prehistoric beasts. At first glance DinoLand U.S.A. could be seen as the Fantasyland of Animal Kingdom but Joe is quick to highlight the story behind the development of this chunk of Americana. “DinoLand U.S.A. was on the opening day menu despite what many people have said,” Joe avows. “There are always two options when building theme parks – either water everything down or build what you will, well. The latter is my choice. We could easily have done everything on our original master plan and done no-one of it well. DinoLand evolved to satisfy two criteria – to make the park distinct from the others at Walt Disney World and to meet Eisner’s philosophy – that the park played to a broad audience with easily understandable marketable ideas. Everyone gets dinosaurs. It is so much easier to market than Asia or even fantasy animals. We had just completed the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland and it made sense to use that ride system again and it meant we could put more money into the dinos themselves to make them believable. We originally had another ride in the land which was a mid-range mine-train kid coaster called the Excavator but we had no program need for it so it came off of the menu. So when we came to look at expansion plans it was precisely that function that we wanted to build back into the park hence how Primeval Whirl arose.”

“For me DinoLand U.S.A. feels very real. It is part of roadside America. Most Americans need to drive cross-country to see dinosaurs and invariably it means pulling off of the freeway and either looking at fossils and rocks or visiting museums which typically can only be found in DC or New York,” Joe continues. “There will be a dig site and a rock shop. This is our experience of dinosaurs. We tried to build in multiple points-of-view so what does it mean to study animals that do not exist anymore? What effect have they had on popular culture like kids’ toys and movies? And anyhow besides all that they are big and green with claws! We were able to fold all of that into this very American dinosaur land.”

One criticism that has been leveled at DinoLand U.S.A. is that whilst the rest of the park offers the opportunity for the average guest to immerse themselves in continents and cultures that they are unlikely to see themselves (Africa and Asia) this area is a quintessential American experience. Joe is quick to scoff at that notion as he describes Animal Kingdom as not just about exoticism. “There is that issue of familiarization [with DinoLand] but kids love dinos and we wanted to be careful that the park didn’t just become a park about live wild animals,” Joe explains. “Whilst we were under construction we had funding for Asia as we were still following the grand master planning concept. We knew we needed to fill out the park and that another ride was required. Ultimately not everything at Animal Kingdom could be this gigantic labor-intensive landscape exercise as you need a balance of concepts to create a theme park. Disneyland fulfils that model perfectly as it is dense and packed with lots of stuff in a small place. We needed that kind of theme-parky land and that is how we landed on Dino-Rama which has a quirkiness and level of irreverent humor that had never existed in Animal Kingdom before. We knew that there were levels of humor that were easier to get to than others and often you can reach those levels through realism. That realism led us to a real roadside shop in Chester and Hester’s. The more real it is the more humorous it is because it is in a theme park! If you were driving down the highway and saw Chester and Hester’s you would have to pull over. To a child it isn’t corny as it is shiny, big and full of giant dinos! You don’t need it to be perfect. I like Dino-Rama – it is a parking lot which in itself is a beautiful work of art. People probably don’t realize that we can’t have asphalt as in the Florida summer you would sink into it. That simulated asphalt is probably one of the most difficult themed surfaces we have ever created. I also loved the humor in the planter with the license plates. It is just funny – Animal Kingdom couldn’t be this serious, uptight and puritan park. Yes, the park is about conservation and important and serious issues but it needed to be entertaining too but it still needs to be grounded in storytelling and DinoLand and Dino-Rama have many layers to that – Chester and Hester’s used to be a garage and you can still see all of the paraphernalia associated with that around the store. It is just good design.”

 

[4 Park Central]

Yep, I still subscribe to LP, along with Orlando Attractions. And of course a pending sub to the new one as well, Celebrations or whatever.

I enjoy LP's graphical layout, photography, etc. The images / concept art in the EPCOT anniversary edition were phenomenal, including a few pieces I hadn't seen before.
But beyond that, I'm such a Disney "completist" that I like to keep my library well-stocked with the periodicals. :lol: I still have my DVC magazines, too.

Same for me although I preferred the latest DAK issue to the Epcot one. It was just so interesting to read Joe Rohde in full flow - I had never read his take on Beastly Kingdomme or Nature's Headquarters before (in fact the latter I don't think I have ever even heard of before). Having all those spotter guide animals from the Safari was awesome too. It just held together so well.

They definitely seem to have access that no-one else does. The artwork of the Excavator and the two original entranceway sequences were fascinating. The fact that Joe gave them his original pitch notecards to use probably sums up the relationship perfectly.

Epcot was a different piece - although I enjoyed reading Marty's take on the development of the park I didn't feel it was as insightful. That said the artwork and photography was amazing. I got such a kick out of seeing the tiles for Spaceship Earth laid out in the parking lot!

 

[RiversideBunny]

<from the Joe R. article>
"That realism led us to a real roadside shop in Chester and Hester’s. The more real it is the more humorous it is because it is in a theme park!"

That's where I do not agree with Joe.
The carnival games area does not belong in AK or at WDW anywhere. It's a little too realistic and trashy.
The rides are fine but the games are over the top.

IMHO

 

[wedenterprises]

It is interesting to read what Joe had to say about balance. The humor of DinoLand USA is important, but to me it comes across as cynical. I guess my beef really just lies in the carnival games and rides. I GET it, and I get that the themed surface was a feat in itself, but it's all so very ugly. Roadside dino attractions is a brilliant idea, but it just looks terribly cheap.

 

[4 Park Central]

It is interesting to read what Joe had to say about balance. The humor of DinoLand USA is important, but to me it comes across as cynical. I guess my beef really just lies in the carnival games and rides. I GET it, and I get that the themed surface was a feat in itself, but it's all so very ugly. Roadside dino attractions is a brilliant idea, but it just looks terribly cheap.

Cynical? Really? In what way - do you see it as purely a money-making exercise through the games?

I definitely wouldn't go for "ugly" - I think it is terribly kitsch but then that is the idea.

I guess I understand it - personally I think it makes a big difference when the Chester & Hester characters are out. It just binds the whole area together in that whimsical charm.

I do love the idea that some people think it is "temporary" - I guess just like Mickey's Birthdayland/Starland/Toontown Faire thing or Millennium Village. :ROFLOL:

 

[WDW-Tex]

I got to tell you though... My dad was a cartographer for the USGS and every summer was spent in pratcially a different state. We drove to where ever he had landed for that summer and we stopped at many of these roadside type places to get there. They aren't high dollar tourists attractions. One only needs to take a short trip north from WDW to South of the Border to see the imagineer's vision in real life. They have always had an amazing eye for detail, and for us to think "wow thats cheap looking" but to know it was not and we are just meant to think that, is their genius.