999th Happy Haunt
Well-Known Member
Just blue skying here, but if you took Disneyland’s IJA queue theming and mixed it with animal exhibits it could be AWESOME, either as part of an actual ride queue or a standalone walk through attraction.
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News 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
I doubt will see any new Animal exhibits anymore in AK..Busch Gardens stopped it and their more focused on rides now more than their animals. The last animal exhibit were the Asian otters in 2019.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Pandora isn't about Animals....No matter how much you squint..
The theme of Animal Kingdom isn't just "animals", though.
Avatar wasn't a great fit, but Joe Rohde etc. did a good job making it work. There's really no avenue to make Zootopia fit without fundamentally changing the IP.
Again, this isn't about Encanto and Indiana Jones being an amazing fit for the park. It's that it's easier to make them work without seriously hurting the park than it would ever be for Zootopia. It's an improvement over what they previously teased.
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Consumer
Well-Known Member
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
Premium Member
So with this plan is this a good summary of the changes and open questions or am I missing anything?
- 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.
- Restaurantosaurus gets rethemed to S American or possibly includes Indy stuff or maybe both.
- 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?
- Boneyard kid‘s play area - gone or just rethemed?
- What happens to Nemo show? Rethemed or considered outside this area?
- Will there be animal exhibit, a walking trail or some other natural attraction?
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
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
Well-Known Member
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
Well-Known Member
Add some cleverly integrated AA snakes into the queue of Indy. Just like the dinos in the queue of Velocicoaster.
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GoofGoof
Premium Member
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.Pandora isn't about Animals....No matter how much you squint..
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
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.
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
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
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
Well-Known Member
Restaurantosaurus could become more Animal Kingdom AND more Indy by serving chilled monkey brain!
Henry Mystic
Author of "A Manor of Fact"
Idk, Paleontology/archeology is a pretty solid link. A temple overrun by nature would visually fit as well, and would actually fit an Americas land rather than just throwing Zootopia, an urban cityscape with anthropomorphic animals, that are literally representative of people with human sociopolitical issues, rather than animals, next to Moana, which was also pretty haphazardly placed.
As far as IPs go, I feel like Indy is the best fitting out of anything. The park needs something else to balance the more serious stuff in my view. I know it's not exactly the same, but it fits wonderfully at Tokyo DisneySea. I imagine with the right presentation it can fit here as well.
Animal Kingdom also isn't primarily about animals, they're actually secondary according to the literal park designers: it's primarily about conservation and man's relationship to nature. Animals are just a part of that, and they can be present, extinct, and mythical, but first and foremost, the conservation of nature still plays a domineering role in the park's design language.
Kilimanjaro Safaris was originally a ride about poaching. Kalli River Rapids was about deforestation. That doesn't mean literally everything has to be that way, Dinosaur isn't, Everest isn't, but Pandora also is. I think Encanto would be far harder to fit, but aesthetically in a South American land, it would easily, but that isn't the only thing that matters. They have pretty much limitless potential from the rooms already shown to new ones that could be added for the ride, but I feel like it also comes down to the execution. Mystic Manor isn't on the scale of Rise or Indy, but it may be the best non-massive scale E-ticket ever made, and it literally just goes through various rooms in a house, so purely as a ride it's exactly what Animal Kingdom needs: an indoor family dark ride. We'll see about its execution but there's a lot to work with for sure, as long as it's not a book report.
Like Pandora, Indy could be designed to fit. Flight of Passage mentions keystone species and poor mining practices in the queues and preshows. The beauty of the natural landscape of the mythical moon of Pandora is the focus of the ride experience with a very pro-environmental message that ties back into the park's theme. There isn't any big battle: it's just about your connection with what's pretty much a dragon flying over a beautiful world, so you can appreciate what we have in our world to take care of it. Throughout the land, we also see nature dominating over dilapidated human structures.
While the land also focuses on the world of Pandora and not the Avatar movies, I assume Indiana Jones Adventure will focus on Indy by the very nature of how integral he is, but honestly, following Indy on a new adventure doesn't really clash with the park to me, as that new adventure we'll experience can be specifically tailored to fit. It really does come down to execution. It's not dead on arrival like Zootopia as a concept for me.
Despite my reservations about Zootopia as a mini-land, I actually think it could work as a 3D show since they mentioned it will take place in the various boroughs of Zootopia, and it likely won't clash with the rest of the park at all like it would as a land.
Mind you, I think the land in Shanghai looks fantastic, but it would fit right at home at Hollywood Studios, but has just about as much in common with Animal Kingdom's design philosophy as a roadside carnival does.
It definitely won't fit as perfectly as It's Tough to be A Bug... and it'll be a shame to lose insect representation in the park; still, it's FAR better than retheming Dinosaur for it in my view, whereas Indy is so much better if they're able to match the original, and they should, there's no way it wouldn't be worth it. Dinosaur is in dire need of an overhaul anyway, so it's not like they're just burning money like they have on other rethemes. Plus, getting a Central/South America Land is perfect for the park. Zootopia Land? Just clashes in a way this concept doesn't.
Beyond just that, Indy is infinitely superior to Dinosaur in legitimately every way including when it was Countdown to Extinction before it was toned down. From Indy having actual sets throughout to the pacing, soundtrack, tone, and clever moments. It's masterfully crafted in a way very few rides have been before or since it was created, so I'm very happy with this announcement, so long as another E-ticket is added alongside it, and it appears there is one.
BagOfGroceries
Well-Known Member
Geez, 11037, no need to repeat yourself.
DavidDL
Well-Known Member
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.
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
Disney World Purist
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.
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.
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GoofGoof
Premium Member
100% yes. This is the only possible answer to butterbeer
. Can you somehow add rum to a chilled monkey brain?
bmr1591
Well-Known Member
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.