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

[BrianLo]

For me, not even close. The Mission Breakout theme messes up theme and sight lines for the entire park. This retheme, if we get something close to the model, will actually make exterior of the attraction fit the rest of the park better.

Sorry, you misunderstand me. Not in terms of final product, but in terms of need/justification. DCAs tower of terror was clearly lesser than and there were multiple examples of superior versions of that attraction. At both DHS and TDS. It also occurred quite recently.

Dinosaur is the same way. There are two much better received versions of that ride already. It’s not meeting Disney’s expectations.

I highly doubt this facade change will be controversial, as you say. Which is already a positive in this projects column.

It’s both…. Indy in Cali is infinitely superior but we aren’t getting that. Dinosaur is a fun concept and Dr. Seeker has become a fan favorite - if the ride was properly maintained and plussed it’s certainly worthy of staying.

I’m pretty neutral, I don’t have a problem with Indy in DAK since it does fit the theme of exploration - I don’t think it’s a huge win or loss.

This technically doesn’t need to be better than Disneyland or TDS to be a success, it just needs to be better than Dinosaur currently is. Though I’d certainly hope it’s not inferior to the other Indy’s. I also agree, the existing attraction could have also just been improved, albeit Indy makes more sense for what they are doing to the rest of the land now.

I’m just trying to break that Tiana is not a good comparator. That project had a completely different ‘reason’ that we certainly don’t need to relitigate.

I just really don’t like Dinosaur in its current iteration, so it’s going go be hard to disappoint me on this one. I don’t think many people think Tropical Americas in totality will be a downgrade from Dinoland USA at least!

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I don’t think many people think Tropical Americas in totality will be a downgrade from Dinoland USA at least!

Agreed - DAK is the only park that has clear wins and improvements. Pandora is certainly better than Camp Minnie Mickey, and this will certainly be better than Dinoland as a whole.

I was hoping they could have saved the dig site even if it became an Indy theme. That’s really the only loss here.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

It’s not meeting Disney’s expectations.

Only if "Disney's expectations" means it needs to be based on a profitable IP. Quality-wise, if Disney were maintaining it, it would be the best ride in the park, as it used to be.

It's still going to be a jeep-shaking ride in the corner of the park. This won't move the needle long-term. It's an unnecessary change. It's just cheaper than doing something completely new and gets another IP in the park. That's it.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

I realize that I don’t understand all the complicated business factors, but just from the outside, I can’t help thinking:

(a) Disney wants to have attractions that people want to repeat and to tell their friends are “must-dos” thus encouraging attendance

and

(b) The bar for the above is set higher as a result of stronger competition Universal

and

(c) Disney has supposedly allotted $17 billion towards WDW capital expenditures for the next decade

…so…

If they’re having trouble delivering on their original intent with the budget they originally set, wouldn’t it be at least plausible for them to consider increasing the Tropical Americas / IJA budget to compensate for this (and thus prevent them from disappointing guests and being compared unfavorably to Universal’s new offerings)? Like, wasn’t that sort-of the point of the $17 billion plan?

 

[BrianLo]

Only if "Disney's expectations" means it needs to be based on a profitable IP. Quality-wise, if Disney were maintaining it, it would be the best ride in the park, as it used to be.

It's still going to be a jeep-shaking ride in the corner of the park. This won't move the needle long-term. It's an unnecessary change. It's just cheaper than doing something completely new and gets another IP in the park. That's it.

It’s not a maintenance issue. The ride simply doesn’t connect with the public in its current form. It’s like pre-overhaul Sindbad.

Objectively, everything under the hood should work. I’d be quite happy with a soundtrack, better lighting and a complete story tonal shift. But, it definitely needs something. That’s what I mean by Disney’s expectations, it’s just not clicking for how major of a ride it should be - and there’s plenty of internal data on this.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

there’s plenty of internal data on this

I'd love to see that data. Because I'm so far on the other side of this, I can't even see you! I still don't think changing the theme of the ride is going to change the popularity long-term. Like I've said before, there will be a temporary "new ride" bump, but the most important thing the new ride has going for it is its proximity to the new Encanto ride. I'd be willing to bet that if they didn't touch Dinosaur's theme (but fixed it up to be like its glory days again), its wait times and popularity would rise once it's next to an Encanto ride.

 

[SplashJacket]

I believe they said it best.

You should have an experience you want to deliver, but if there’s an IP that fits that experience, you should he’s that IP.

That’s how we got Indy in the first place.

No matter how good you make Dinosaur, it would always be a Jurassic Park/World imitator. People can love it, it could be amazing, but it would still hinder the experience.

If Shanghai Pirates was at Universal w/o the IP, it wouldn’t be as good.

The issue is when you have an IP mandate without an attraction idea, that’s how you get uninspired mediocrity.

Dinosaur sought to out Dinosaur Jurassic Park, it was setup for failure. Journey to the Center of the Earth works far better, even though both have similar goals, because it’s not dominated by preconceived media (even though it’s still technically IP).

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

I think what's more relevant here is Disney's history of rethemes. When have they been an improvement over their predecessors? Guardians I'll give you, but MMRR, Tiana, Mission: Space, Nemo, JIYI, Test Track 2.0, Pooh, and so on... all downgrades.

But again that is just a matter of opinion. Not everyone thinks some or all of those things are downgrades.

Everyone here is trying to give a definitive answer to a question that just doesn’t have one. No attraction is going to appeal to all tastes or please all guests, just as some rethemes will please some more than what it originally was.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I believe they said it best.

You should have an experience you want to deliver, but if there’s an IP that fits that experience, you should he’s that IP.

That’s how we got Indy in the first place.

No matter how good you make Dinosaur, it would always be a Jurassic Park/World imitator. People can love it, it could be amazing, but it would still hinder the experience.

If Shanghai Pirates was at Universal w/o the IP, it wouldn’t be as good.

The issue is when you have an IP mandate without an attraction idea, that’s how you get uninspired mediocrity.

Dinosaur sought to out Dinosaur Jurassic Park, it was setup for failure. Journey to the Center of the Earth works far better, even though both have similar goals, because it’s not dominated by preconceived media (even though it’s still technically IP).

I think is it. I think Dinosaur is the best dinosaur-themed attraction in the world (and I’ve done Beijing’s Jurassic World…) but the popularity has just never been there. It’s bittersweet to see it go, but I can’t be mad at Disney for getting rid of it.

 

[SplashJacket]

I think is it. I think Dinosaur is the best dinosaur-themed attraction in the world (and I’ve done Beijing’s Jurassic World…) but the popularity has just never been there. It’s bittersweet to see it go, but I can’t be mad at Disney for getting rid of it.

Really? Supposed to hear that. In what ways does it exceed Beijing?

 

[Jrb1979]

The way I look at any attraction is if you take away the IP is the ride still good. IMO lately a lot aren't. Dinosaur is a good example where it's a great attraction even without IP.

 

[Brer Panther]

Not everyone thinks some or all of those things are downgrades.

I'll defend Pooh. If it had replaced any other attraction than Mr. Toad, I guarantee it wouldn't get nearly as much hate.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

The way I look at any attraction is if you take away the IP is the ride still good. IMO lately a lot aren't. Dinosaur is a good example where it's a great attraction even without IP.

Absolutely agree.

Perfect example, if you strip Tiana’s Bayou Adventure of its terrible IP, you find an amazing Splash Mountain underneath.

 

[Rockishcoco]

Anyone know whats up with this?

 

[Touchdown]

I’m not entirely certain why Disney would close Dinosaur before Encanto opens, it seems to me, especially in a park hurting for attractions it would make the most sense to build Encanto first, and close Dinosaur the day you open Encanto. That way you have less nashing of teeth, Dino’s close gets overshadowed, and you don’t operate a park with 5 attractions. Construction wise it also seems possible to do this easily.

 

[James Alucobond]

I’m not entirely certain why Disney would close Dinosaur before Encanto opens, it seems to me, especially in a park hurting for attractions it would make the most sense to build Encanto first, and close Dinosaur the day you open Encanto. That way you have less nashing of teeth, Dino’s close gets overshadowed, and you don’t operate a park with 5 attractions. Construction wise it also seems possible to do this easily.

They want to launch the land as a big bang, which makes more sense from a marketing perspective. The staggered attraction openings in Galaxy's Edge felt really weird, for instance. They'll keep Dinosaur open as long as they can, but they will be closed simultaneously at some point.

 

[gerarar]

Anyone know whats up with this?

I just rode this a couple times today and yesterday. The alioramus AA is missing (probably maintenance) so this might be the temporary replacement for it. There's 2 of the static raptors.

Gosh I love this ride. I'm so going to miss it.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

Really? Supposed to hear that. In what ways does it exceed Beijing?

I could write an entire article about Jurassic World Adventure, but long story short is screenz + using the Scoop vehicle does not at all fit the type of ride JWA is trying to be. As a result, you have scenes with incredible dino AAs preceded and followed by boring scenes where nothing happens while the ride vehicle randomly spins a la Midway Mania. On a technical level, the ride is still incredible, I just don’t think it has the cohesion and pacing that DAK Dinosaur has. It’s not scary like Dinosaur, nor is it as pretty as Dinosaur, nor is it as plot-driven as Dinosaur, it’s just… cool.

 

[KDM31091]

I just rode this a couple times today and yesterday. The alioramus AA is missing (probably maintenance) so this might be the temporary replacement for it. There's 2 of the static raptors.

Gosh I love this ride. I'm so going to miss it.

I took it as temporary distractions from the missing alioramus, as well.

 

[Moth]

I hope the styracosaurus lasts to the end at least, he's my favorite AA from the ride.