I think a dark ride could work very well. Let's say...a dark ride with water, where we board a boat and travel down a river. It starts out dark, and there's brush and plants on either side, and we see glimmers of eyes and hear crickets, bird calls and other jungle sounds, and then we turn a corner and hear the roars of lions, and suddenly we're in daylight and we see a vista where crowds of animals are surrounding Pride Rock and Rafiki's holding up Baby Simba. Then we pass into a scene where Simba is singing "I Just Can't Wait to be King", with an animal chorus (kind of like the "Under The Sea" scene in the Mermaid ride, but much better done). Then suddenly we turn into the creepy Elephant Graveyard, with sneering hyenas and Scar telling them of his plot to kill Mufasa and Simba. Then we pass into an area of mist, and see Simba standing near the dead Mufasa, and Scar telling him to "Run away, and never return...". We pass into a dark tunnel, and then come into a burst of music and light and see Timon and Pumbaa and Simba singing "Hakuna Matata". Then again we travel though a giant log (the kind that Pumbaa upended in the movie to get at the tasty bugs) and at the other end we find ourselves at the climactic battle scene between Simba and Scar, with fire and a massive lightning storm. And finally we wind up back at Pride Rock, with Simba, Nala, Pumbaa and Timon, and once again Rafiki is holding up the future King while the adoring animals below bow and cheer. The end!
P.S. Perhaps parts of the ride could include narration by Rafiki, a la Scuttle in the Mermaid Ride.
