News 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom

[eddie104]

last pic i saw it looked like a generic 20+ ip carousel with animals not native to Tropical Americas....I hope they dont do that. They should put it in DSP/DAW where that terrible aladdin spinner is

Why not have it themed to Encanto?

 

[DCLcruiser]

Some insiders have said there could be a potential flume ride added to AK

link: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...r-animal-kingdom.983565/page-17#post-10950228

Thank you. I just read the thread. Very helpful.

 

[_caleb]

Animal Kingdom just needs rides. I agree in general, but that’s not what Animal Kingdom has needed.

I’m not against rides. I love rides! But what makes you say “Animal Kingdom needs rides?”

 

[RSoxNo1]

While I think some additions would always be a valued thing, I would say that Epcot is largely in the best shape at the moment. Including having relatively new things to promote.

It’s in the worst shape for a long time. Imag. Magic Eye. Image Works. LwtL. Seas. Wonders. SSE.

Lipstick on a pig didn’t help it.

EPCOT is still remarkably flawed, but I also think a reasonable argument could be made that given the attraction lineup, this is the best version of the park.

I look back through the years and there was no window of time when enough of the "best versions" of EPCOT existed in the last 25 years. All of that is based on opinion, but additions of Cosmic Rewind and Ratatouille have to matter.

With all that said, they missed the mark on the Reflections of Earth replacements and if they had left well enough alone, plussed that show, and re-allocated that money elsewhere we could potentially be visiting a park with an updated SSE and a better nighttime show today. If they also had moved forward with an Imagination or Seas update (as was the plan in 2017 or so), then we'd truly be looking at the best version of the park.

Now, unfortunately they're in a position where three family friendly attractions desperately need attention (SSE, Imagination and Seas) and they probably won't have two of them closed at the same time. That and Test Track has jumped the line probably delaying any work on those 3 until after TT is completed.

 

[_caleb]

Exactly. No shortage of walking there!

Is this a bad thing? I see it as a feature, not a bug.

Dinosaur was the fifth highest grossing film of 2000.

PATF was the 26th for 2009.

Good thing box office earnings isn’t the best standard for determining an IP’s value to a themed attraction in the parks.

 

[marni1971]

EPCOT is still remarkably flawed, but I also think a reasonable argument could be made that given the attraction lineup, this is the best version of the park..

It might be a good version of a park, but it’s not Epcot. Spacey IP worldy studios mishmash of themes. A rename wouldn’t go amiss.

 

[Rhinocerous]

It might be a good version of a park, but it’s not Epcot. Spacey IP worldy studios mishmash of themes. A rename wouldn’t go amiss.

IPCOT is right there. (Intellectual Properties, Countries, Other Things)

 

[Rhinocerous]

This week I got a Like and a laugh from Marni.

Goodbye everyone. I'm shutting her down. Nowhere to go from here.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I’m actually happy about the carousel now but I hope it’s not themed to Coco.

It's likely Coco. The artist concept shows the entrance of the land looking more like Coco than Encanto. Journalists at a preview saw the carousel themed to Coco.

But, of course, that could change.

Why not have it themed to Encanto?

So then you're riding the same animals you just saw in Encanto? That would be like having the Dumbo spinner right outside a Dumbo ride.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The only part of Dinorama that I appreciated was that they painted parking spot lines to make it look authentic.

It ain't paint. Also, it ain't asphalt. It's all cement concrete.

 

[bwr827]

I’m not against rides. I love rides! But what makes you say “Animal Kingdom needs rides?”

It’s a half-day park for many people. More/better rides can fill that out. Going further, something to offset the rush to Flight of Passage would be great.

 

[BrianLo]

I think the thing really hurting it is that they still after months have yet to confirm it and is the second blue sky plan making people hold back any excitement. Even I won't believe anything until I steel go up.

This specific project (Tropical Americas) is confirmed. Disney's more recent language is now it *is* happening rather than a possibility. Both across that Imagineering instagram Video, the media event they held earlier in the Spring and supported by permitting progress. Which I realize is just the construction and imagineering campus, but still.

Completely fair they've abandoned the ship further in progress than this. But I think the lingering weirdness had more to do with the district developer plan and their behind closed doors negotiations.

There's no reason to keep dancing around these funded projects come August. For both Florida and California.

 

[dreamfinding]

It’s a half-day park for many people. More/better rides can fill that out. Going further, something to offset the rush to Flight of Passage would be great.

It’s a half-day park because people don’t bother exploring the animal trails.

 

[BrianLo]

It's likely Coco. The artist concept shows the entrance of the land looking more like Coco than Encanto. Journalists at a preview saw the carousel themed to Coco.

No, I clarified with Tom Bricker. It may still be Coco. Or equally possible it may have been Coco and they are hesitating on going generic as the Coco project for MK firms up.

There were a few pieces of art from the non-Indiana Jones and Encanto area of the land. Granted, they only flashed briefly, but they were not just the vague/impressionistic concept art WDI sometimes does to conceal details, and I could not clearly clock Coco in any of them.

It’s always curious to me when Disney flashes concept art on screen but doesn’t release it (same thing happened with EPCOT Central Spine 1.0 in 2017, Reflections in 2019, and more that I’m probably forgetting). I assume it’s because the exact plans for that front section haven’t fully firmed up.

That’s why I equivocated on the Coco part of this post with the line that it “seems to maybe” be part of the reimagining.

 

[DCLcruiser]

It ain't paint. Also, it ain't asphalt. It's all cement concrete.

It looks realistic enough.

 

[MisterPenguin]

No, I clarified with Tom Bricker. It may still be Coco. Or equally possible it may have been Coco and they are hesitating on going generic as the Coco project for MK firms up.

Other journalist...

D'Amaro stresses that, while not a final piece of concept art, the image — which showed the aging Dinoland U.S.A. section of the park re-themed to tropical American locales with Encanto and Coco attractions — highlights "where our heads are" as his team continues "dreaming" plans for Animal Kingdom's next big move.​

Disney parks boss addresses potential 'Indiana Jones' ride at Animal Kingdom

Disney parks boss addresses potential 'Indiana Jones' replacement for Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom and other big moves: 'We know what our fans expect of us and we're going all in.'

ew.com

 

[DCLcruiser]

It’s a half-day park because people don’t bother exploring the animal trails.

It's a theme park, not a zoo. There need to be more rides.

Until they added the River of Light show, it was an AM only park, due to the humidity from the foliage.

 

[BrianLo]

Other journalist...

D'Amaro stresses that, while not a final piece of concept art, the image — which showed the aging Dinoland U.S.A. section of the park re-themed to tropical American locales with Encanto and Coco attractions — highlights "where our heads are" as his team continues "dreaming" plans for Animal Kingdom's next big move.​

Disney parks boss addresses potential 'Indiana Jones' ride at Animal Kingdom

Disney parks boss addresses potential 'Indiana Jones' replacement for Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom and other big moves: 'We know what our fans expect of us and we're going all in.'

ew.com

Yes, but this is both not a quote (an interpretation from EW) and also predates the media event that Tom attended. “Coco” has never left the lips of Josh or Bruce or any imagineer. To my knowledge.

I firmly believe the carousel was Coco. I’d go so far as to say this Carousel even existed in the Beyond Big Thunder Mountain plans. The thing got ported over to Animal Kingdom and the major Coco attraction scrapped.

Will this be a Coco Carousel when it opens? That’s still very unknown. I strongly speculate to the contrary. There’s a very clear reason why this is the case, a former project has been broken up for parts, but then they seem to want to use all the parts still

 

[dreamfinding]

There’s a very clear reason why this is the case, a former project has been broken up for parts, but then they seem to want to use all the parts still

This feels like reusing tinfoil

 

[BrianLo]

I also suspect the Day the Dead banners and original Santa Cecelia holdovers from BBTM has been entirely scrubbed. Likely so it doesn't feel like they are just building the same thing in Magic Kingdom a few years later.