Disney announce plans for 15th anniversary of Disney's Animal Kingdom

TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Funmeister said:
"TENcennial" would have been the first and I believe that term was borrowed from Disneyland.
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Yes, Walt Disney launched the Disneyland Tencennial Celebration on his Wonderful World of Color TV program in early 1965.

10_18_64_WaltTencennial.jpg

http://davelandweb.com/construction/images/60s/10_18_64_WaltTencennial.jpg

They resurrected the Tencennial phrase for Magic Kingdom Park in 1981.
 
W

wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
DisneyJunkie said:
As much as I do like and enjoy AK, why do a 15th anniversary for a park that's very much still a work-in-progress? I can see maybe a 20th or 25th anniversary observances (especially if they have something big and brand new about to open), but 15th is really a 'who cares' kind of thing.....kind of like a 6th or 8th. And in reading through their plans of what they're doing for it, I don't want to be a "debbie downer" about it, but it really sounds a bit unnecessary and lame, at least to me. Am I wrong here?
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I agree.

I am still not thrilled about nothing was announced for attractions for AK between Expedition Everest opening and Avatar being announced. That meant the waited 5 years for announcing something and they didn't even start building an Avatar attraction yet.
 
Funmeister

Funmeister

Well-Known Member
prberk said:
And the TENcennial was just five years later from the America on Parade special celebration that they did for America's Bicentennial in 1976 (which was also celebrated at Disneyland). Not celebrating an anniversary of the park, per se, but definitely seemed to set the stage for the "TENcentennial" and other anniversary celebrations to come. Seems like they learned something back then about the increased traffic (and profits) from having something to celebrate! Here is a parade image, but look around and you will find all kinds of souvenirs and shows and activities that were done as part of it. I remember going. It was cool for a 10-year old.

America%20on%20Parade-05.jpg
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Yeah it was pretty awesome. I believe the costumes used for this particular celebration were later re-purposed for the opening of EPCOT Center a few years later. I don't mind a new celebration every five years but when they are extended until the next one begins...it is hard to ever experience the parks as they are meant to be.
 
PeterAlt

PeterAlt

Well-Known Member
If they have something brewing other than Avatar for DAK, this would be the event to announce it, regardless of how big or small it could be. Big is defined as something like Australia or South America added. Small is defined as a new animal exhibit.
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
DisneyJunkie said:
As much as I do like and enjoy AK, why do a 15th anniversary for a park that's very much still a work-in-progress? I can see maybe a 20th or 25th anniversary observances (especially if they have something big and brand new about to open), but 15th is really a 'who cares' kind of thing.....kind of like a 6th or 8th. And in reading through their plans of what they're doing for it, I don't want to be a "debbie downer" about it, but it really sounds a bit unnecessary and lame, at least to me. Am I wrong here?
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Wrong? Dunno. But look at it this way: when WDW didn't want to celebrate EPCOT's 25th and 30th the fan community went mental. Perhaps Disney took notice. I say this celebration is WDW respecting its fan base.

I'd totally go if I lived in the area. :)
 
PeterAlt

PeterAlt

Well-Known Member
The Empress Lilly said:
Yes!
This has been my own overriding thought too ever since Antarctica was announced. It sounds exactly like what DAK needs. Shade, a dark ride, animals, a new Land, all based on original content instead of IP franchises. Perfect.
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Disney's been slacking way too often since Eisner. It's like as if Iger keeps falling asleep behind the wheel. When he's not snoozing, he throws together big projects or acquisitions (Avatar, FLE, DCA 2.0, Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar) - which I give him credit for, but then he falls back to sleep and NOTHING happens (not even something smaller) in between these. As a Disney fan, it gets frustrating and tiresome.
 
BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
PeterAlt said:
Isn't it a shame that Sea World will have Antarctica? Disney is slacking. This really belongs at DAK!
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Sadly, at the rate we're going in the real world - it would be a "historical attraction." All the ice, penguins and polar bears will be long gone.

AK does need to get on the ball though. As it is, it's not even a "full day park" (by my standards). It's a place to stop at, hit the Usual Suspects for a while and bail.
 
DizFiz

DizFiz

Well-Known Member
Wow this is some sort of party..... I would have expected a special disco party with the yeti inside the mountain but getting special 15th anniversary stuff will do.
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
The Empress Lilly said:
Wrong? Dunno. But look at it this way: when WDW didn't want to celebrate EPCOT's 25th and 30th the fan community went mental. Perhaps Disney took notice. I say this celebration is WDW respecting its fan base.

I'd totally go if I lived in the area. :)
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Yes, Disney learned quite a lot from the 25th Event.

EPCOT's 25th happened because of our little 'fan uprising', indeed. I will take some of the 'blame' for that....happily.

The 30th happened because Disney learned from the experience they had on the 25th...and all the money it generated for them. They definately sat up and took notice, and realized suddenly that retro sells and anniversary events like this can create insane sales numbers.
They liked this, and it of course helped to 'inspire' Disney to create other 'fan event anniversary' happenings. I have found it amusing to watch from the sidelines.

The 30th was done as a cash in by Disney...in my opinion. If you look back, the comparisons between the two are interesting.

The 25th was a fan-spearheaded 'movement' that began humbly on this very website and garnered some serious steam after a few months of rallying.
Disney eventually rolled out the red carpet and gave one h*** of a days experience in the end. It was a amazing experience like no other...and can never be repeated. It was a true one-off.

The 30th was created by Disney itself, and announced and hyped on all of the official Disney media outlets. The big difference this time was that the actual REAL 'event' was a expensive D23 sanctioned happening...which fans had to pay big bucks to attend. In-Park happenings were sparse. It smacked too much of marketing..and it seemed sadly obvious that the 'anniversary celebration' was only happening just to sell D23 Epcot's 30th tickets and related merchandise.

To be fair though, i think it is nice that Disney is making a effort to acknowledge milestone anniversary dates related to the Parks. Fans no doubt love it, and we all like the cool merch and special happenings. So i guess it is a win/win situation for most....



A shout out to all my 25th peeps out there....it has been ages.
( waves )
 

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