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

[AidenRodriguez731]

When they announce the closure of Dino Land USA, it would be a major missed opportunity if they don't say "experience Dino Land USA before it goes extinct"

Dinoland as a whole going out with a "Countdown to Extinction" themed party/celebration of what was would have been a pretty fun little last nod to everything. I hope we could maybe see some references to Dinoland in the new land. Maybe some newspaper clippings of Indiana being hired by the "Dino Institute" for work nearby. Maybe a version of the Boneyard opening up in South America, technically South America is a pretty frequent place to find fossils iirc.

Maybe on the nose but could also reference "Chester and Hester" as two American charlatans who have been spotted trying to sell oddities/scams to locals.

 

[Quietmouse]

So will this transformation to tropical America land allow animal kingdom late? Or will it still close early because of the animals well-being?

I wish I could experience at avatar at night because the photos I see look stunning.

I’ve heard things where people will say it’s because of staffing issues, or Disney executives still view animal kingdom as a half day park, or the other reason is so the animals are properly taken care of and aren’t exposed to people/firework celebrations late at night.

I know zoos are typically only open until 5/6 pm in the United States…so if animal kingdom is viewed as a zoological park then will we essentially never see animal kingdom open late ?

I feel there should be ways to mitigate the impact of human activity/noise, because obviously animal kingdom isn’t built out and there will be more lands/attractions in the future.


But realistically, if you continue to expand animal kingdom how do you justify it only staying open until 6?

 

[sedati]

Hoping the Indians Jones temple is visible from the fountain plaza as I’ve always felt Dinosaur was hurt by visibility or lack thereof. The red temple should draw the eye more at least.

 

[cjkeating]

What I don't see anyone bringing up is Dino-Bash; I'm hoping a desire to keep the meets running as long as possible leads to them preserving a chunk of Route 498 and the Cretacous Trail until the second phase of closing, which would mean more decorated areas.

I would expect the meets (or at least the character budget) to be moved elsewhere around the park.

So will this transformation to tropical America land allow animal kingdom late? Or will it still close early because of the animals well-being?

The shorter hours aren't anything to do with animal well-being. So hopefully longer hours return like pre-COVID.

Hoping the Indians Jones temple is visible from the fountain plaza as I’ve always felt Dinosaur was hurt by visibility or lack thereof. The red temple should draw the eye more at least.

If anything on the model I think access to Dinosaur/Indy looks more hidden/forested away.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The new area is being designed to operate at night but they’ll need to get a nighttime show up and running to actually operate after dark (outside of December).

 

[doctornick]

The new area is being designed to operate at night but they’ll need to get a nighttime show up and running to actually operate after dark (outside of December).

I am assuming that the plan would be to have a new nighttime show begin - along with extended hours into the nighttime regularly - once Tropical America opens. That is when you'd arguably have enough "stuff" to justify the longer hours of operation, though it would help to have a TLK ride open as well.

I assume though that the nighttime safari rides are not coming back. That was deemed to not be a success I think.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Can we move Triceratop Spin over to Toy Story Land as Trixie's Triceratop Spin? Is that too much to ask?

 

[doctornick]

Can we move Triceratop Spin over to Toy Story Land as Trixie's Triceratop Spin? Is that too much to ask?

Or anywhere else in DHS or keep it in DAK somewhere. Seems silly to just remove it rather than move it.

 

[gorillaball]

So will this transformation to tropical America land allow animal kingdom late? Or will it still close early because of the animals well-being?

I wish I could experience at avatar at night because the photos I see look stunning.

I’ve heard things where people will say it’s because of staffing issues, or Disney executives still view animal kingdom as a half day park, or the other reason is so the animals are properly taken care of and aren’t exposed to people/firework celebrations late at night.

I know zoos are typically only open until 5/6 pm in the United States…so if animal kingdom is viewed as a zoological park then will we essentially never see animal kingdom open late ?

I feel there should be ways to mitigate the impact of human activity/noise, because obviously animal kingdom isn’t built out and there will be more lands/attractions in the future.


But realistically, if you continue to expand animal kingdom how do you justify it only staying open until 6?

You might have to make a winter trip to see AK at night (5:30p sunset), it is a different experience. Even Everest is quite a different ride at night... you can see a lot better in the mountain without your eyes adjusting from bright Florida sun.

 

[SaveDinosaur]

@marni1971

What're your thoughts on the addition of Tropical Americas at DAK? Do you approve?
It's weird that this seems to be one of the few "on-theme" additions coming to any WDW park.
Your opinion is highly respected. Especially among so many bad decisions the company has been making lately.

What do you mean by 'on-theme'? How does a story about a multigenerational Colombian family who receives magical gifts from a miracle and then tries to defend their family and magic fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave? How does a story about an archaeologist who tries to defend historical artifacts fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave?

I’m sorry, but just adding a random animal to these completely different stories doesn’t make them a good fit for the park’s theme. If that’s your logic, what would be your argument against a Doctor Strange ride at Animal Kingdom where he uses the Time Stone to save endangered species? That kind of thinking is why all parks now look and feel the same—they're just Six Flags parks with no real theme...

 

[James Alucobond]

What do you mean by 'on-theme'? How does a story about a multigenerational Colombian family who receives magical gifts from a miracle and then tries to defend their family and magic fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave? How does a story about an archaeologist who tries to defend historical artifacts fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave?

Ignoring all details we’ve been given about both attractions thus far sure is convenient. The Encanto attraction takes place on the day a boy gains the ability to commune with animals and opens the door to a room filled with a rainforest. The IJ attraction involves a mythical pre-Colombian animal deity or cryptozoological creature of some sort.

 

[SaveDinosaur]

Ignoring all details we’ve been given about both attractions thus far sure is convenient. The Encanto attraction takes place on the day a boy gains the ability to commune with animals and opens the door to a room filled with a rainforest. The IJ attraction involves a mythical pre-Colombian animal deity or cryptozoological creature of some sort.

If that kind of stretch is what makes an attraction fit the theme, then they should add the rumored Endor coaster for DLP next to a Monsters, Inc. attraction where Mike and Sully travel the human world trying to find ecological solutions for new forms of clean energy!

 

[James Alucobond]

If that kind of stretch is what makes an attraction fit the theme, then they should add the rumored Endor coaster for DLP next to a Monsters, Inc. attraction where Mike and Sully travel the human world trying to find ecological solutions for new forms of clean energy!

What is a stretch if the attraction centers on animals? The plot of the source films does not necessarily determine the plot of the attractions. The Pandora attractions also do not center on the plot of the movies, nor does Dinosaur revolve around the plot of Dinosaur.

 

[SaveDinosaur]

What is a stretch if the attraction centers on animals? The plot of the source films does not necessarily determine the plot of the attractions. The Pandora attractions also do not center on the plot of the movies, nor does Dinosaur revolve around the plot of Dinosaur.

Dinosaur is not based on the movie Dinosaur, they just have the same name for marketing purposes, that's why it was called Countdown to Extinction. Splash Mountain also had its name chosen that way because of a marketing tie-in, and nobody thinks that Splash Mountain was based on the movie Splash...

 

[SaveDinosaur]

What is a stretch if the attraction centers on animals? The plot of the source films does not necessarily determine the plot of the attractions.

Just like I said earlier, making a stretch to put a random animal gimmick just to make it fit still doesn't make a good one; that's why Joe Rohde established the no Pants rule. Otherwise, the whole park will have the same fate as Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and DCA: a generic, worse Magic Kingdom park.

 

[James Alucobond]

The “no pants” rule has nothing to do with Encanto or IJ. You’re just saying random things.

If you don’t want to look at the Dinosaur example, fine. But with Pandora, they picked two scenarios out of the source film (exploring the Pandoran wilderness and flying on an ikran) and fleshed out those experiences because they fit thematically with the park. They don’t focus on Jake’s personal adventure. They’re doing similar things with Encanto and IJ; execution obviously matters, but early details are tracking correctly.

 

[Haymarket2008]

What do you mean by 'on-theme'? How does a story about a multigenerational Colombian family who receives magical gifts from a miracle and then tries to defend their family and magic fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave? How does a story about an archaeologist who tries to defend historical artifacts fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave?

I’m sorry, but just adding a random animal to these completely different stories doesn’t make them a good fit for the park’s theme. If that’s your logic, what would be your argument against a Doctor Strange ride at Animal Kingdom where he uses the Time Stone to save endangered species? That kind of thinking is why all parks now look and feel the same—they're just Six Flags parks with no real theme...

Deep breaths.

I am referring to the framing device of the LAND not the attractions.

I didn't say a single thing about the Encanto attraction, which I feel is problematic. The story treatment is a STRETCH.

Indiana Jones is different, imho, and it is possible that there can be a real connection to folklore and mythology a la Expedition Everest. The inclusion of an IP is the one thing that seperates the IJ attraction from Everest. Everest doesn't tackle conservation. It is a mystical creature from Asian mythos. There have been multiple indications that Quetzalcoatl will be featured in a big way in this attraction. I am going into this with an open mind.

The land itself? Seems like a big, thoughtful win for the park.

 

[Brer Panther]

What do you mean by 'on-theme'? How does a story about a multigenerational Colombian family who receives magical gifts from a miracle and then tries to defend their family and magic fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave? How does a story about an archaeologist who tries to defend historical artifacts fit a theme about conservation and how animals live and behave?

I’m sorry, but just adding a random animal to these completely different stories doesn’t make them a good fit for the park’s theme. If that’s your logic, what would be your argument against a Doctor Strange ride at Animal Kingdom where he uses the Time Stone to save endangered species? That kind of thinking is why all parks now look and feel the same—they're just Six Flags parks with no real theme...

If that kind of stretch is what makes an attraction fit the theme, then they should add the rumored Endor coaster for DLP next to a Monsters, Inc. attraction where Mike and Sully travel the human world trying to find ecological solutions for new forms of clean energy!

Yes. This.

And just because the Encanto ride's gonna be set on the day Antonio got his power doesn't mean the whole ride's gonna focus on Antonio and animals. I wouldn't be surprised if Antonio's room was just the finale and the rest of the ride was focused on the other characters, allowing us to go inside their rooms and hear the popular songs from the movie.

 

[Haymarket2008]

The “no pants” rule has nothing to do with Encanto or IJ. You’re just saying random things.

If you don’t want to look at the Dinosaur example, fine. But with Pandora, they picked two scenarios out of the source film (exploring the Pandoran wilderness and flying on an ikran) and fleshed out those experiences because they fit thematically with the park. They don’t focus on Jake’s personal adventure. They’re doing similar things with Encanto and IJ; execution obviously matters, but early details are tracking correctly.

Correct. And Pandora was more or less viewed as the realization of the "Beastly Kingdom" idea. But with more fleshed out concepts. A fictional culture that honors and cares for its' animals and ecology. Also "dragons" lol.

 

[James Alucobond]

And just because the Encanto ride's gonna be set on the day Antonio got his power doesn't mean the whole ride's gonna focus on Antonio and animals. I wouldn't be surprised if Antonio's room was just the finale and the rest of the ride was focused on the other characters, allowing us to go inside their rooms and hear the popular songs from the movie.

Legitimate concern, as has been said an infinite number of times. But as I recall, you were originally completely unconvinced that the ride would prominently feature Antonio and his animals at all, so I'll probably just wait for information to judge the execution instead of preemptively dismissing the entire IP.