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

[SpectreJordan]

Ever heard of Smaug, the dragon in the book The Hobbit? The dude talked. Dragons talk in many stories. That's hardly natural animal behavior (unless we're talking parrots, who mimic, not talk).

And unicorns talk also, most notably in the excellent book The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle. And unicorns can heal, raise the dead, purify water, and open any lock. How is that natural animal behavior?

There's stories where Yetis talk too. I assume they would've had the dragons & unicorns in a more typical animalistic form.

 

[LittleBuford]

The Fantasia ride always seemed odd & I'm glad they didn't do that. But the dragon coaster's theme probably would've ended up similar to what we got with Everest though. I'm sure that would've been a good ride but I'm glad we ended up with Everest instead & eventually Pandora in that land's spot.

I personally would have loved the Fantasia ride. Indeed, as someone opposed to zoos, I wish the whole park would move entirely away from live animal exhibits, though I realise I'm in the minority.

 

[Brer Panther]

I mean, if we're going to bring "they talk" into it, the park already has attractions with talking animals in 'em (Festival of the Lion King and It's Tough to Be a Bug).

 

[SpectreJordan]

I personally would have loved the Fantasia ride. Indeed, as someone opposed to zoos, I wish the whole park would move entirely away from live animal exhibits, though I realise I'm in the minority.

I'm torn on that tbh. I feel animals of a higher intelligence shouldn't be in zoos (apes, elephants, dolphins, big cats, etc...) but I imagine animals that are typically prey are living their best lives in zoos, depending on how much space they have.

But I also feel like zoos are important teaching tools when it comes to conservation. Seeing animals in a documentary is fine but seeing them in person can really drive it home. So it's a double edged sword.

 

[Consumer]

Ever heard of Smaug, the dragon in the book The Hobbit? The dude talked. Dragons talk in many stories. That's hardly natural animal behavior (unless we're talking parrots, who mimic, not talk).

And unicorns talk also, most notably in the excellent book The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle. And unicorns can heal, raise the dead, purify water, and open any lock. How is that natural animal behavior?

To say it is unnatural for dragons to speak because animals don't speak is the equivalent of saying it is unnatural for platypuses to lay eggs because mammals don't lay eggs.

Anyway, obviously Zootopia has no place in Animal Kingdom and I'm glad it's not happening.

 

[Bocabear]

I personally would have loved the Fantasia ride. Indeed, as someone opposed to zoos, I wish the whole park would move entirely away from live animal exhibits, though I realise I'm in the minority.

A Fantasia Ride would work perfectly well where Launch Bay currently sits... And I think it would be amazing if well done...

 

[Incomudro]

What world does that make any sense? WDW comes up with a great and popular idea for a ride/land, and they should restrict it to only one location? Why would a business do that? Especially when 80-90 (and I am being conservative here I believe) of your customers attending US parks are never going to go to China. So you’re making horrible business decisions and drastically reducing the ability of customers to experience great attractions because…..why? So by that reasoning there should only be 1 space mountain? 1 haunted mansion or pirates of the Caribbean? Hell should Mickey only be allowed to appear at one park, and which one should it be?

As to you HS point, who cares? You tried to say HS had been neglected. Spending millions and millions of dollars and creating 2 brand new lands, even if they weren’t on virgin ground is not neglecting a park. If anything it would be more accurate to say over the past several years Hs got the most focus. No other park since Pandora in AK had gotten an entire new land, HS got 2, and a new major attaction in addition to them.

I'm with you 100%, as I often roll my eyes at people who complain about "cloned rides."
The two Disney Parks in the US are literally on opposite coasts of the country.
WDW was designed to give east coast residents what was on the west coast.
The other parks are in different countries.

 

[mattpeto]

To say it is unnatural for dragons to speak because animals don't speak is the equivalent of saying it is unnatural for platypuses to lay eggs because mammals don't lay eggs.

Anyway, obviously Zootopia has no place in Animal Kingdom and I'm glad it's not happening.

Well tell that to the Tree of Life…

 

[WondersOfLife]

A Fantasia Ride would work perfectly well where Launch Bay currently sits... And I think it would be amazing if well done...

Talk about a trippy omnicoaster... Jk. Or am I.

 

[Bocabear]

Talk about a trippy omnicoaster... Jk. Or am I.

Omnicoaster or even just an omnimover...either would be fantastic.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The park as originally conceived was going to include a Fantasia ride that would have nothing to do with conservation or man’s relationship to the animal world.

I think people too readily buy the claim that Animal Kingdom is defined by some noble mission to benefit nature. It isn’t; it’s a zoo designed for human entertainment.

The Fantasia attraction was to feature fictional animals that behave like animals. That's pretty different from Zootopia, where the fictional animals behave like humans.

 

[LittleBuford]

The Fantasia attraction was to feature fictional animals that behave like animals. That's pretty different from Zootopia, where the fictional animals behave like humans.

I didn’t mention it to justify a Zootopia land but rather to respond to the claim that Animal Kingdom should limit its mission to conservationism.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I didn’t mention it to justify a Zootopia land but rather to respond to the claim that Animal Kingdom should limit its mission to conservationism.

Apologies, my wires must have gotten crossed.

I think it is fair to say that Beastly Kingdom if built would likely have had some conservationist sensibilities to it, given that it's designers have managed to work those into basically every project within the park. They've shown more than once that they believe there are valuable lessons we can learn about the natural world from mythical animals.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I didn’t mention it to justify a Zootopia land but rather to respond to the claim that Animal Kingdom should limit its mission to conservationism.

That's fair and maybe I and others take it too far - just saying the park isn't simply "oh it has animals, it fits" - when things like Kali River don't have any animals but fit because of the storyline of deforestation, but Zootopia really doesn't as it has animals working at the DMV

 

[LittleBuford]

Apologies, my wires must have gotten crossed.

I think it is fair to say that Beastly Kingdom if built would likely have had some conservationist sensibilities to it, given that it's designers have managed to work those into basically every project within the park. They've shown more than once that they believe there are valuable lessons we can learn about the natural world from mythical animals.

No need to apologise. I didn’t express any opposition to the Zootopia theme, so it was easy to misinterpret me. I don’t feel strongly about it one way or the other because of my general ambivalence towards Animal Kingdom. Except for one time a few years ago, my partner and I always skip it, because we find the sight of captive animals too depressing.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

AK is about aliens also. I vote for an Onward attraction. Pant less to appease the purists.

 

[Bocabear]

A Fantasia Ride in DHS would be a great fit... not so much for Animal Kingdom...

No need to apologise. I didn’t express any opposition to the Zootopia theme, so it was easy to misinterpret me. I don’t feel strongly about it one way or the other because of my general ambivalence towards Animal Kingdom. Except for one time a few years ago, my partner and I always skip it, because we find the sight of captive animals too depressing.

I can agree with that!! Me too ... What I did like about DAK was at least a lot of the enclosures were done in a way that didn't look confining... and I really enjoy the Maharajah Jungle Trek...nut in general I don't care much for zoos....

 

[SirLink]

A Fantasia Ride in DHS would be a great fit... not so much for Animal Kingdom...

I can agree with that!! Me too ... What I did like about DAK was at least a lot of the enclosures were done in a way that didn't look confining... and I really enjoy the Maharajah Jungle Trek...nut in general I don't care much for zoos....

Yet there was one coming with Beastly Kingdomme to DAK before the budget was cut and all we got was Camp M-M

 

[Haymarket2008]

Pandora fits the spot the Beastly Kingdom was supposed to fill.

Fantastical land (with a dragon-esque creature at its center). I would argue that Pandora might even fit in more with the park than Beastly Kingdom would have. Pandora is a fleshed out culture with strong conservationist messaging, a la the lands of Asia and Africa.

Zootopia doesn't fit in the park in a large way. I don't mind it being presented at the Tree of Life. It seems like they will be leaning into the natural biomes aspect of the story, and a 3D show is harmless and fun. Doesn't effect the park's messaging any more than Tough to be a Bug would.

 

[cupofchai]

Encanto is a go!

This expansion seems to have always been dreamed up as Tropical Americas. Encanto and Indy were some of the ideas for the attractions it seems, but i think it will be all Encanto now. Whether that means Dinosaur stays or not.