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

[WorldExplorer]

Genuine question - if they had replaced the coaster with a cheesy Dino dark ride - think classic like Mr. Toad with Dino’s - and really made the place feel alive with extra carnival games and carnival entertainment like jugglers, etc. - how would that be seen?

As much as the carnival was a compromise, I think the idea had merit. What I think they should have done is similar to that; lean into it as the designated kiddie land. You already have the TriceraTop Spin and the carnival games, which are good for kids (plus the Boneyard, across the road). A dark ride without a height requirement, maybe one more typical carnival ride with some custom dinosaur elements, and a few more games (along with a minor expansion of the defunct Dino-Diner) and I think it would have had a decent shot.

Disney kind of already promotes it that way; their promo video that plays in all the resorts doesn't mention Dinosaur. It focuses entirely on children enjoying themselves in Dino-Rama.

I also think they could have made it feel a lot better if they got actual entertainment cast members in the games. Way too often you would get people that clearly don't want to be there and can barely be bothered to look at you and it sucks out the fun. All Chester and Hester's CMs are supposed to be their cousins, so have them play into it like one big, argue-happy family, kind of like the Citizens of Hollywood or Main Street but with southern accents.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I also think they could have made it feel a lot better if they got actual entertainment cast members in the games. Way too often you would get people that clearly don't want to be there and can barely be bothered to look at you and it sucks out the fun.

Yes! If the games were more “entertainment” in general - that would make all the difference.

 

[KDM31091]

I agree that the Dinorama area could be saved with relatively simple changes and some additions. It's not a horrible concept. It just needs more. Same with Dinosaur itself. Good concept, maybe just a minor amount of updating and it would feel fresh and exciting. Neither of these things need to be removed IMO, they fit the message of the park. Disney let them languish to the point where now people are like "well that land sucks, so let's get rid of it".

 

[Beacon Joe]

The Boneyard was a great attraction for little kids. RIP.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Dinosaur is one of WDW's best attractions, and its replacement will have to measure up to that...which is going to be basically impossible. As someone who loves dinosaurs AND Indiana Jones, having a Dinosaur-themed Indiana Jones Adventure-style ride will always be better than having two, even different, IJAs.

 

[James Alucobond]

I agree that the Dinorama area could be saved with relatively simple changes and some additions. It's not a horrible concept. It just needs more. Same with Dinosaur itself. Good concept, maybe just a minor amount of updating and it would feel fresh and exciting. Neither of these things need to be removed IMO, they fit the message of the park. Disney let them languish to the point where now people are like "well that land sucks, so let's get rid of it".

I mean, they are salvaging most of Dinoland, just structurally rather than conceptually. Essentially the entire southern portion of the land is preserved. Dinorama is the only part really fully getting the bulldozer, and there was almost nothing structurally significant to that portion to begin with outside of the two poor rides.

 

[Haymarket2008]

I am a fan of Dinosaur, but it is far from a guest favorite. I will miss it, but I won't lose sleep over this one. The land it exists in is quirky and wonderful....in places. But its time has come. This is a perfect example of change being good and okay.

That being said, prehistory and dinosaurs are a core element to Animal Kingdom and I hope that they will come back in some form down the line.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

That being said, prehistory and dinosaurs are a core element to Animal Kingdom and I hope that they will come back in some form down the line.

Never gonna happen. Please, quote me in 20 years if I'm wrong. But it's just not happening. I'm sure Beastly Kingdom will happen someday, too.

 

[Haymarket2008]

Never gonna happen. Please, quote me in 20 years if I'm wrong. But it's just not happening. I'm sure Beastly Kingdom will happen someday, too.

I mean, dinos had a presence for over 25 years at the park....

 

[DisneyHead123]

Random thought - after watching The Imagineering Story and reading some of Joe Rohde’s posts on the theme of AK, it seems to me that there is kind of a cool yin yang relationship between MK and AK that just doesn’t fully carry over to Dinoland. MK as very safe and idealized place that allows guests to be unpredictable and “play”, AK as more unpredictable and wild space that showcases the environment as unpredictable and changing (and even encourages guests to constrain their behavior somewhat via conservation.) Maybe that’s why I’ve always been a bit “meh” on the land but couldn’t put my finger on why. The theme that feels present throughout the rest of AK and even ties it into the parks in general via contrast with MK doesn’t feel nearly as salient in Dinoland.

 

[YodaMan]

While I am still 98% on board with this project, a part of me is still sad that this is likely the last holiday season with the dancing Christmas lights all over the dinosaur fossils. I know we’ll never get the Osborne Lights back but the Dinoland Christmas display is the closest thing we’ve gotten in the parks to to recapturing that magic since.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

Random thought - after watching The Imagineering Story and reading some of Joe Rohde’s posts on the theme of AK, it seems to me that there is kind of a cool yin yang relationship between MK and AK that just doesn’t fully carry over to Dinoland. MK as very safe and idealized place that allows guests to be unpredictable and “play”, AK as more unpredictable and wild space that showcases the environment as unpredictable and changing (and even encourages guests to constrain their behavior somewhat via conservation.) Maybe that’s why I’ve always been a bit “meh” on the land but couldn’t put my finger on why. The theme that feels present throughout the rest of AK and even ties it into the parks in general via contrast with MK doesn’t feel nearly as salient in Dinoland.

The environment changing is the biggest theme of Dinoland

 

[DisneyHead123]

The environment changing is the biggest theme of Dinoland

It speaks to change that happened in the past, but not so much in the present moment that the guest is experiencing. The dinosaurs are pretty permanently extinct.

 

[Moth]

The big problem, however, is that for dinosaurs to be most effective, they can't be scientifically accurate. I don't care that the T-Rex and the Triceratops lived at different points of time, I want to see them fight. Such contradictions to nature aren't meant for a park like DAK, unfortunately.

I don't think this is necessarily true.


I do think a land that was basically mandated to not feature The Dinosaur Ever (T.rex) was doomed from the start though.

The ideal is a North America area in the future that has a dinosaur ride/attraction.


Besides, if beasts of fantasy can end up in DAK, I believe one day, beasts of prehistory can return. Be it in the form of the T.rex or a certain acorn obsessed squirrel.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

It speaks to change that happened in the past, but not so much in the present moment that the guest is experiencing. The dinosaurs are pretty permanently extinct.

Exactly the point. Natural causes or not, extinction is forever. It’s a warning.

 

[BlakeW39]

Genuine question - if they had replaced the coaster with a cheesy Dino dark ride - think classic like Mr. Toad with Dino’s - and really made the place feel alive with extra carnival games and carnival entertainment like jugglers, etc. - how would that be seen?

#1 problem with Dinoland U.S.A. was budget. Always was. The idea of a land set in the badlands with paleontological digs and fossils everywhere, with a thrill ride that takes you back in time to witness the extinction of the dinosaurs (and thus, the origin of the all fossils in the surrounding rocks) is a good idea. It could be done well and in a way that guests could enjoy.

The problem is that for such a land to work, you need a much larger budget. Dinosaur bones aren't found in the Florida swamps (literally have never even been discovered in the state, lmao), they're found in rock formations out in the desert or the mountains. The story that is unfolding in Dinoland is one that would unfold in a place like Arizona or Utah, not Florida. As such, a land based on the story they're going for needs extensive rock work and regional placemaking on a level that Dinoland U.S.A. just does not have. So as is, it's just some cheap carnival surrounded by mostly unthemed Florida swamp land with a kitschy restaurant/gift shop. And Dinosaur which almost feels separate from the rest of the land.

 

[Brer Panther]

That being said, prehistory and dinosaurs are a core element to Animal Kingdom and I hope that they will come back in some form down the line.

Not unless Disney creates a popular dinosaur-related IP.

Be it in the form of the T.rex or a certain acorn obsessed squirrel.

...wait, they're actually considering it?

#1 problem with Dinoland U.S.A. was budget. Always was. The idea of a land set in the badlands with paleontological digs and fossils everywhere, with a thrill ride that takes you back in time to witness the extinction of the dinosaurs (and thus, the origin of the all fossils in the surrounding rocks) is a good idea. It could be done well and in a way that guests could enjoy.

The problem is that for such a land to work, you need a much larger budget. Dinosaur bones aren't found in the Florida swamps (literally have never even been discovered in the state, lmao), they're found in rock formations out in the desert or the mountains. The story that is unfolding in Dinoland is one that would unfold in a place like Arizona or Utah, not Florida. As such, a land based on the story they're going for needs extensive rock work and regional placemaking on a level that Dinoland U.S.A. just does not have. So as is, it's just some cheap carnival surrounded by mostly unthemed Florida swamp land with a kitschy restaurant/gift shop. And Dinosaur which almost feels separate from the rest of the land.

Thanks a lot, Disneyland Paris.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Exactly the point. Natural causes or not, extinction is forever. It’s a warning.

Ok but in the case of Dinoland the element of change / the unpredictable is an abstract notion, not a park goers actual experience. At least to my mind.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

The fact that Carnotaurus fossils were only ever found in Argentina makes this transformation all the more tragic, considering they are making it into a Tropical Americas land. It would still work!

 

[EagleScout610]

Ultimate question- Will Disney use the name "Adventure" in either the Indy or Encanto attraction?