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

[yensidtlaw1969]

It has nothing to do with 'the times'. It has to do with the fact that the video is not from a member of this forum and thus is not part of the discussion. You don't have to get mad because you like the app. Its like someone linked to a post on The DIS and said 'this guy makes some good points'. If they wanted to discuss with that guy, they can do it there, not interrupting this forum/thread to do so. Same with TikityTokity. If you want to interact with their bad takes, do it there.

This board would get real quiet real fast if nobody ever shared anything from outside of this website.

The fact that you choose to refer to the app by weird pet names and boilerplate judgements only reinforces the idea that you have some problem with Tiktok. You're creating that perception yourself.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

Getting back to topic, I realistically don't expect a penny pinching company like Disney to seriously consider retheming DInoland soon. I have to imagine that gutting the Dinosaur building and retheming to Indy, which itself is an expensive attraction and one that is apparently a headache to maintain in Disneyland, is something that's appealing to leadership right now. Also, why move Encanto to Animal Kingdom if they were serious about expanding beyond Big Thunder Mountain?

It's really a wishy-washy mess of "what ifs?" and not real plans, or at least it appears that way. At this point they're attempting damage control and trying to keep the media divisions afloat, so I doubt that they're actually considering any significant park investment. I think it's going to be a long time before any new big plans come to fruition bigger than Country Bears or the Tree of Life show.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

The weirdest part to me is how on the nose they are about this replacing Dinoland and the insinuation that it's a bad area (it isn't). They wouldn't even dare say "It's Tough to be a Bug" when announcing the new Zootopia show that's actually happening... but they seem really proud that they want to replace specifically Dinoland?

https://x.com/DisneyParks/status/1700515100090880435?s=20

They even made sure to include literal dinosaur emojis in a tweet pretty much saying they are getting rid of all dinosaurs in the park. I just think it's really weird that it's not like any other retheme they've announced.

 

[James Alucobond]

The weirdest part to me is how on the nose they are about this replacing Dinoland and the insinuation that it's a bad area (it isn't). They wouldn't even dare say "It's Tough to be a Bug" when announcing the new Zootopia show that's actually happening... but they seem really proud that they want to replace specifically Dinoland?

https://x.com/DisneyParks/status/1700515100090880435?s=20

They even made sure to include literal dinosaur emojis in a tweet pretty much saying they are getting rid of all dinosaurs in the park. I just think it's really weird that it's not like any other retheme they've announced.

That tweet seems completely benign.

 

[SirLink]

Frozen in Norway is fine. My issue is the book report ride. Maelstrom was better, as a view into Norway’s history and present. I wish Frozen used their characters to tell a similar story about Norway. I’ve been to Norway, it’s an incredible place with a rich history.

On that point of Book Report: The Ride, expect Encanto to be exactly to be the same which then leads to an interesting question why not use logic and reason by the bozos and realize their IP obsession doesn't make sense given that Haunted Mansion and POTC weren't IP until they were.

Imagine an original take on Dinosaurs with a relative healthy budget more logical than a land devoid of South American animals another book report ride and a carbon copy of the TDS Indy ride.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

On that point of Book Report: The Ride, expect Encanto to be exactly to be the same which then leads to an interesting question why not use logic and reason by the bozos and realize their IP obsession doesn't make sense given that Haunted Mansion and POTC weren't IP until they were.

Imagine an original take on Dinosaurs with a relative healthy budget more logical than a land devoid of South American animals another book report ride and a carbon copy of the TDS Indy ride.

I do wish they would think differently about IP and know they can go the other way - creat a new ride and original characters and back story that could become a franchise that way and then movies, etc can be based on that vs only going the other way. And not like they don't spend hundreds of millions of dollars on films that may or may not be a hit anyway - why not take those same funds and try a creative original attraction?

At least give it a shot

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Frozen in Norway is fine. My issue is the book report ride. Maelstrom was better, as a view into Norway’s history and present. I wish Frozen used their characters to tell a similar story about Norway. I’ve been to Norway, it’s an incredible place with a rich history.

I general agree, though Frozen Ever After isn't taking you through the story of the movie, it is set after the film and is a different story

 

[James Alucobond]

I actually don’t see Frozen Ever After as a book report ride. It’s more like Frozen (Reprise). I think they were stuck between a rock and a hard place because Frozen is the music to a greater degree than with any of their other properties. Let It Go is what made it a sensation, so you can’t just leave that out. All things considered, I thought they did a decent job of recontextualizing the songs with the lyrical edits. Is it a good fit for Norway? No. Could it have better set design? Yes. But I think it ably accomplishes what a Frozen attraction needs to in order to be satisfying for its fans.

As for what we expect out of an Encanto ride, I actually think a book report is unlikely because a Mystic Manor overlay makes so much sense, but only if the focus is on Casita and its rooms. I don’t see how they could easily map it to the film. However, as a series of vignettes, there are a number of similarities that they could capitalize on. For instance, the first room could easily be behind the walls in Bruno’s secret chamber, with his rats standing in for Albert and Bruno popping out of the wall to chat with them. Perhaps they cause some mischief, like blowing out Abuela’s candle, which throws the house into chaos. The music room is a perfect opportunity for Casita to demonstrate its own musical qualities by clacking its shingles and clinking its tiles; photos in the corridor could split and change as the house’s magic comes undone; Pepa’s frosty powers could leak out of her door and crack the mirror; Antonio’s animals could be running amok in the former armory; Isabela’s plants could be growing wild in the former conservatory; and Bruno’s sands could be spilling out into the former tiki room.

 

[GoofGoof]

Getting back to topic, I realistically don't expect a penny pinching company like Disney to seriously consider retheming DInoland soon. I have to imagine that gutting the Dinosaur building and retheming to Indy, which itself is an expensive attraction and one that is apparently a headache to maintain in Disneyland, is something that's appealing to leadership right now. Also, why move Encanto to Animal Kingdom if they were serious about expanding beyond Big Thunder Mountain?

It's really a wishy-washy mess of "what ifs?" and not real plans, or at least it appears that way. At this point they're attempting damage control and trying to keep the media divisions afloat, so I doubt that they're actually considering any significant park investment. I think it's going to be a long time before any new big plans come to fruition bigger than Country Bears or the Tree of Life show.

It seems like the plan now is the AK project will come before beyond Big Thunder Mountain. They hardly mentioned the MK expansion and gave no details this time around. TWDC doesn‘t want to drop a billion in capital improvements for this or any park project immediately but the construction will be spread out over 3-4 years and won’t start in 2023 so it’s not a huge annual investment overall. In the last fiscal year (ending 9/30/22) the company spent $2.7B on capital spending for the domestic parks and resorts segment. A chunk of that is just maintenance on existing assets but 1/3 of the cost of a project this size each year would only be around 10% of total domestic capital spend. That’s pretty doable.

The downside is it pushes a beyond Big Thunder Mountain project out to closer to 2030.

 

[IMDREW]

Reasons I think (emphasis on think) this announcement might have some more weight to it than your regular Blue Sky crap Disneys been doing lately, is they released the concept art. They never tend to do that if its still that much up in the air. They didnt with Moana/Zootopia and they didnt with the first Epcot future world overhaul blue sky. So there's that.

Secondly, in the announcement they announced the land Tropical Americas coming, with what would inhabit it being the blue sky element. Doesnt that mean the theme is set, yet the IP is still to be debated over?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Reasons I think (emphasis on think) this announcement might have some more weight to it than your regular Blue Sky crap Disneys been doing lately, is they released the concept art. They never tend to do that if its still that much up in the air. They didnt with Moana/Zootopia and they didnt with the first Epcot future world overhaul blue sky. So there's that.

Huh? The did release concept art for Evolving Epcot (during early development), Moana/Zootopia and Beyond Big Thunder.

 

[IMDREW]

Huh? The did release concept art for Evolving Epcot (during early development), Moana/Zootopia and Beyond Big Thunder.

Only on screen during D23, but not online.

 

[discos]

Huh? The did release concept art for Evolving Epcot (during early development), Moana/Zootopia and Beyond Big Thunder.

Tropical Americas was the first piece of "Blue Sky" concept art to actually be available for media/press to download.... doesn't sound like something that's blue sky. Little details might change but I think what the art shows will pretty much be what we're getting

 

[IMDREW]

Tropical Americas was the first piece of "Blue Sky" concept art to actually be available for media/press to download.... doesn't sound like something that's blue sky. Little details might change but I think what the art shows will pretty much be what we're getting

Thats what I’m saying

 

[Disnutz311]

Last year's Moana/Zootopia land was garbage. I think we are seeing Bruce Vaughn shine a little here with this new land. I am sure he came in last year and set those lost Imagineers straight. Nice to have someone back in the regime to be able to course correct and fight for some of the values of the past. That is my guess at least. The use of existing buildings, pathways, and such is a clear budget saver but more importantly, means we get this land done a little faster. But still talking Q4 2026 at very best.

You have to look at all this with a different eye. We are getting the land of South America. Encanto and Indy just happen to be visitors and residents. A South American land goes perfect with Asia, Africa, and the rest of DAK. I just hope the go more authentic with the town with all this than lean towards "this is the town of Encanto". Giving us multiple animal exhibits and displays is a must. Keep with AK tradition and make sure it is immersive and feels like you are in South America.

We all know we are only going to get 99.5% of IP driven things from this company in the future. I dislike the percentage but at least we get new things. With proper people in place at Imagineering, it will all be ok. Encanto makes sense for the land and I would bet all my Disney Dollars that this would be a Mystic Manor clone. The story fits with the land and the land fits in AK. Indy is perfect IMHO as well as he is an explores of the region and it uses the same ride system. I expect an updated story and not 100% direct clone. Mara will be something South American lore related and the current queue will be more like the temple at Tokyo's Indy for the height but just on a smaller scale.

Do I think this is perfect in every way? No. Is this the best possible outcome for this future area. For sure. This has me smiling a bit more for the future of Imagineering.

Just as an interesting follow up I did reach out to Bruce to let him know my personal thoughts. You all may feel different, but I was surprised to get a reply of any kind, but glad he was listening. Please don't go blowing him up on social and let him work as he, I believe, is one of the good guys.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Yeah this is a massive W. Unfortunately it's just AK for now (though redoing Test Track is huge too), but man am I happy.

I didn't think about that. If they made Nemo Encanto that could be really cool actually. It could be the "book report" to the Encanto ride's new experience.

I'd keep Encanto contained to the ride & Meet & Greets. That IP in DAK is already pushing it, I don't think it should have a musical show too. I'm not the biggest fan of that Nemo show but it's cute & fits the park well enough.

Joe Rhode's vision of it being themed to some cheap roadside attraction combined with Eisner and Presslers budget cuts just led to a really poor looking area of an otherwise fantastically themed park. The original e-ticket Countdown to Extinction was also never really that great and was later toned down and tied into a movie that outright bombed at the boxoffice. The Dinosaur AA on the River that was meant to promote the land never worked right and was removed within the first few months of operation.

The dinosaur area of the park could and SHOULD have been far grander especially since the park opened just a few years after Jurassic Park released. But alas neither Eisner or Rhode had the conviction to make the land successful. The "expansion" where they added the carnival rides to the land just added insult to injury. It won't be missed.

I figure that the cheap roadside theming of Dinosaur is what won the execs on that land over Beastly Kingdom back during the budget cuts. I don't believe that's what anyone wanted to do with Dinosaurs during the initial brainstorming phase.

I really wish they could've gone back & fixed the land into a more proper Dinosaur land. Maybe one day it could still happen. The dinosaurs "returning" to Animal Kingdom, in the expansion plot above Asia, like a decade after Dinoland closes would be great marketing tbh.... That's if they ever decide to use that expansion plot though. -_-

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I figure that the cheap roadside theming of Dinosaur is what won the execs on that land over Beastly Kingdom back during the budget cuts. I don't believe that's what anyone wanted to do with Dinosaurs during the initial brainstorming phase.

From what I recall reading up on the history of the park, they were over budget and had to decide on Beastly Kingdom OR Dinoland and they went with Dinoland b/c they had Dinosaur the movie coming out

Maybe it was something that could be done cheaper too and that helped, but I understood that cross promotion to be the main driver

 

[SpectreJordan]

From what I recall reading up on the history of the park, they were over budget and had to decide on Beastly Kingdom OR Dinoland and they went with Dinoland b/c they had Dinosaur the movie coming out

Maybe it was something that could be done cheaper too and that helped, but I understood that cross promotion to be the main driver

Wish they would've been a bit further with that then since that movie's environments would've been a better setting for the land.

 

[Touchdown]

I hope Encanto is not a book report ride. What I hope is that it is a sequel. Something bad is happening to the house, like a cursed object, and it’s up to you to find it. The answer lies in the house, you go searching. Boarding is outside the house, Alma’s room is the introduction, you go into Isabella’s room, but get to see Luisa’s room (gym themed,) Delores room (sound themed,) Julieta’s Room (cooking) before climaxing in Pepas Room (weather) and the finale scene in the dining room. Basic idea would be the rooms starting to go hey wire while you’re there and you barely making it out before getting trapped. The object would be in Pepas room and she could destroy it via lightning. Inbetween rooms you could interact with other cars in the hallway. We don’t talk about Bruno tango would be the main musical motif until the finale.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I used to lament Beastly Kingdom never being built (first thing I wrote about on this site), but now that I think about it, it probably would have been replaced with IP stuff at this point if it HAD been built.