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

[Consumer]

Indy exists in a fairly grounded reality and is often put against the forces of nature in the films. Nature also reclaims pretty much any ancient tomb or temple that Indy explores. It would not be a stretch at all to include a number of animals on one of his adventures.

Let’s not pretend Dinosaur needed a deep message about conservation to fit into the park, it has always been a thrill ride where guests are simply humbled by the power of nature. I have no doubt an Indiana Jones attraction would be able to retain that aspect.

Edit: this isn’t to say Indiana Jones fits just as good as Dinosaur, just saying that it’s totally not as much as a stretch as the other properties considered for this area.

I've always viewed DAK as a Natural History Museum type park, anyway, with a certain degree of cultural anthropology infused with the animal theming, so I really can't see how Indiana Jones wouldn't be a perfect addition.

 

[GoofGoof]

So with this plan is this a good summary of the changes and open questions or am I missing anything?

1. Dinosaur becomes Indy - makes some sense considering the exact same track layout and ride vehicles. They need to update the entire inside and do something substantial outside too so will still take a long time even without changing ride vehicles or track. There may actually be more space for the queue than DLR (someone can correct that if I’m wrong but it seems likely) and the DL queue is pretty good already. Ironically the Indy ride at DLR has almost constant crowds and long waits while Dinosaur is usually close to a walk. I wonder if the change in theme means bigger lines.
2. Restaurantosaurus gets rethemed to S American or possibly includes Indy stuff or maybe both.
3. Carnival area including old coaster and spinner rethemed to Americas and Enconto. Is there an actual Enconto ride included or just restaurants/shops/meet and greet?
4. Boneyard kid‘s play area - gone or just rethemed?
5. What happens to Nemo show? Rethemed or considered outside this area?
6. Will there be animal exhibit, a walking trail or some other natural attraction?

 

[J4546]

this is a nice surprise imo, i was not happy about zootopia retheme but indy is a great ride and putting south america in AK is awesome

 

[aladdin2007]

I am very happy to see Indy finally looking likes it's going to happen at WDW. It is easily one of WDI's best attractions, and to see Dinosaur use the same track and deliver such a sub-par experience in comparison just isn't right. Hopefully a new version of Indy can be even better than the original and really a stand-out experience.

Do you think this is the plan they will stick to hopefully? It seems much more realized than the previous and the art work makes it all look very practical and planned out well, compared to the blue sky version before it.
relieved zootopia is going in the tree,,,they seem have to a good solid direction with this version of the plans. I dont like ip plopped everywhere either but I like how they are implementing these.

 

[James Alucobond]

1. Carnival area including old coaster and spinner rethemed to Americas and Enconto. Is there an actual Enconto ride included or just restaurants/shops/meet and greet?
2. Boneyard kid‘s play area - gone or just rethemed?

It looks like both the spinner and the Boneyard are gone, perhaps replaced with a much higher-capacity carousel. Can't really tell if there's a replacement playground nestled in there somewhere.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Add some cleverly integrated AA snakes into the queue of Indy. Just like the dinos in the queue of Velocicoaster.

 

[GoofGoof]

Pandora isn't about Animals....No matter how much you squint..

You are riding on the back of an animal on the main ride….a fictitious one, but still an animal. The secondary ride features animals as well….again not real ones. If beastly kingdom concept happened with a dragon would that not fit because it’s a fictitious animal? I’m not saying yes or no, just asking. They tried to tie in Pandora with the theme of conservation. It’s a stretch but I suppose it works. I personally would like any new land to feature actual live animals in some way, even if it’s just exhibits.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Wrong park for Indy. He should just have his own full fledged out land in HS. Keep the stunt show, add the ride and a restaurant and a shop, make that a land.

How about we keep animal-themed stuff in animal kingdom? Encanto and Indy have references to animals, but it's not the core of their purpose...

Personally, I think it's a huge mistake to take dinosaurs out of AK altogether. It's also incredibly stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I am very happy to see Indy finally looking likes it's going to happen at WDW. It is easily one of WDI's best attractions, and to see Dinosaur use the same track and deliver such a sub-par experience in comparison just isn't right. Hopefully a new version of Indy can be even better than the original and really a stand-out experience.

I disagree. Dinosaur has been my all time me favorite Disney attraction ever since I was a kid. And it's always been nice to have our own attraction that's different, with the same ride system.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Restaurantosaurus could become more Animal Kingdom AND more Indy by serving chilled monkey brain!

 

[BagOfGroceries]

Stupid stupid stupid

Geez, 11037, no need to repeat yourself.

 

[DavidDL]

An Indiana Jones “and the Lost World” type of attraction with themes that fit into Animal Kingdom writes itself, it’s so easy.

1) Indy is searching for a long lost artifact.

2) Indy removes said artifact and ends up opening a gateway to and throwing into chaos, the titular “Lost World”.

3) Populate “Lost World” with all manner of extinct creatures (Dinosaurs, Giant Snakes, etc.) while trying to escape.

4) Indy realizes that returning the artifact to its original location is the only way out and to save the world and creatures we’ve thrown into chaos. He does so.

5) Walk away with the message that sometimes humans need to take a “hands off” approach to certain areas/ecosystems, lest we lose them forever, much like the creatures featured in the ride. Indy made the conscious choice to give up some crummy material possession in order to save something much grander.

There. Done. You can have it Disney. Just don’t be lazy or cheap with the Dinosaur transformation, please.

 

[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.

 

[GoofGoof]

Restaurantosaurus could become more Animal Kingdom AND more Indy by serving chilled monkey brain!

View attachment 741930

100% yes. This is the only possible answer to butterbeer . Can you somehow add rum to a chilled monkey brain?

 

[bmr1591]

I have to wonder if the poor reaction to Moana/Zootopia spooked management a bit. While it sounds silly, the fact that they’re presenting yet *another* blue sky idea is really strange.

It does feel like they looked at the reactions and did a sharp turn in strategy. With that said, I don’t think these are as blue sky as we might think. While they didn’t give a closing date, they were very specific about what would come, what would be replaced, etc. They also placed a new Antonio photo spot outside Animal Kingdom where Up’s used to be. I think they’re pretty confident in their plans. While they may be finalizing some details, I won’t be surprised if they announce Dinoland’s final date before D23 2024.

 

[ppete1975]

Dinosaur is the same ride as indy so that makes sense (cheaper). Im sad about moana, not necessarily that it fits but a large body of water and a ride makes me happy. Maybe its just me missing the 20k lagoon.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Well, this makes this logo much more extinct with myth and dinos being removed..

 

[GoofGoof]

So is the rumor that there would be a Mystic Manor type Encanto ride? I’ve seen it mentioned a few times here but is that something they discussed?

 

[wdwmagic]

So is the rumor that there would be a Mystic Manor type Encanto ride? I’ve seen it mentioned a few times here but is that something they discussed?

They did not mention any specifics for a ride.

 

[flyerjab]

So is the rumor that there would be a Mystic Manor type Encanto ride? I’ve seen it mentioned a few times here but is that something they discussed?

No. I was one that mentioned it. But when you think of the Mystic Manor ride, and how the house in Encanto is ‘alive’, and the brother has magic that links him to animals and the other girl that can grow flowers, it made some sense.