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

[999th Happy Haunt]

I don't remember where I read it, but Dinoland says really interesting things about our relationship with animals and would act as a great exclamation point to Animal Kingdom's message if it was just a little clearer.

People are notoriously obsessed with dinosaurs; in Digg's County we see how the discovery of some bones (not an actual dinosaur, just the remains) completely transforms a whole town into a dinosaur hotspot where a ton of people make their living off of these remains. Chester and Hester's is nothing special, yes, but that's part of the point; the characters canonically rake in cash from that thing because people will pay for dinosaurs in any form. Something that's very true; roadside attractions based solely on static dinosaurs continue to exist.

Despite this obsession, no one has ever seen a dinosaur. No one ever will. That grounding in reality, the knowledge that these were actual creatures roaming the world at one point, is a large part of what fuels our cultural love of them, but, as the Dino-Institute says, extinction is forever. No matter what happens, no matter how much we all love dinosaurs, we will never really see one.

One day, if we're not careful, that could be the beautiful animals you just got to see in the other parts of the park. Would you rather your children and grandchildren experience the Maharaja Jungle Trek or Tiger-Rama?

I don't expect anyone to give it points for that because it's definitely in the "if I have to read a pamphlet to understand it it's not working" category, but I do think it's a really neat way of emphasizing the importance of conversation. If they were allowed to build what they had originally intended and the Dino-Institute housed a calm dinosaur safari it probably would have come across better.

Beautifully said

 

[osian]

Excited about both new rides and an excellently themed new area to replace the poor Dinoland USA.

Antonio’s door is a great choice, and I do hope to hear the two best songs from Encanto around the ride area.

Are you also excited to see what animal representation there might be?

 

[bwr827]

Are you also excited to see what animal representation there might be?

I assume it’ll be based on the animals in the movie. Here’s hoping they’re done well with excellent animatronics.

 

[Consumer]

Dinosaurs belong in DAK. CTX being replaced by Indiana Jones is a good change. Both statements are true.

Ideally, DAK would have a prehistoric land featuring a slow moving boat ride through a primeval world, ending with a volcano and a big drop.

The big problem, however, is that for dinosaurs to be most effective, they can't be scientifically accurate. I don't care that the T-Rex and the Triceratops lived at different points of time, I want to see them fight. Such contradictions to nature aren't meant for a park like DAK, unfortunately.

Primeval World on Disneyland Railroad will forever remain the best thing Disney will ever do with dinosaurs.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

The big problem, however, is that for dinosaurs to be most effective, they can't be scientifically accurate. I don't care that the T-Rex and the Triceratops lived at different points of time, I want to see them fight. Such contradictions to nature aren't meant for a park like DAK, unfortunately.

I somewhat agree with the overall statement, but this is a funny example because t rex and triceratops DID live in the same time period and likely fought each other.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I don't remember where I read it, but Dinoland says really interesting things about our relationship with animals and would act as a great exclamation point to Animal Kingdom's message if it was just a little clearer.

People are notoriously obsessed with dinosaurs; in Digg's County we see how the discovery of some bones (not an actual dinosaur, just the remains) completely transforms a whole town into a dinosaur hotspot where a ton of people make their living off of these remains. Chester and Hester's is nothing special, yes, but that's part of the point; the characters canonically rake in cash from that thing because people will pay for dinosaurs in any form. Something that's very true; roadside attractions based solely on static dinosaurs continue to exist.

Despite this obsession, no one has ever seen a dinosaur. No one ever will. That grounding in reality, the knowledge that these were actual creatures roaming the world at one point, is a large part of what fuels our cultural love of them, but, as the Dino-Institute says, extinction is forever. No matter what happens, no matter how much we all love dinosaurs, we will never really see one.

One day, if we're not careful, that could be the beautiful animals you just got to see in the other parts of the park. Would you rather your children and grandchildren experience the Maharaja Jungle Trek or Tiger-Rama?

I don't expect anyone to give it points for that because it's definitely in the "if I have to read a pamphlet to understand it it's not working" category, but I do think it's a really neat way of emphasizing the importance of conservation. If they were allowed to build what they had originally intended and the Dino-Institute housed a calm dinosaur safari it probably would have come across better.

I think the difficult thing about dinosaurs in theme parks is that, as you said, no one has ever seen one, and so we don’t really have an extensive web of associations that go with dinosaurs. For kids who love the idea of live dinosaurs, T-Rex cafe is really a pretty good summation, I don’t know that there’s a lot that needs to be added to it. There they are, growling, doing their dino thing, pretty cool. It’s not a theme like “pirates” or “haunted house” with endless narrative possibilities, or a live animal with an ongoing storyline. And dinosaur fossils are, well, fossils, they represent something dead and inert. Dinosaurs are fascinating but unless a new narrative world is created for them, a la Jurassic Park, they just seem like difficult source material for a theme park.

 

[Gusey]

Antonio’s door is a great choice, and I do hope to hear the two best songs from Encanto around the ride area.

Since it's the day of Antonio's power ceremony, AKA the 1 of 2 days the film takes place across, I bet we're getting to see what the other family members were doing whilst Mirabel was trying to fix Casita. Therefore, the songs can still appear in the attractions

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Dino land will be an interesting book for someone to write one day. The land was originally going to have an impressive mine train style coaster that would have been very popular. The “dig site” - restaurant, and Institute all were created around that concept.

The park opened and for some reason there wasn’t enough to do! Haha. Eisner wanted something quick and cheap - and we got the carnival.

In 2005 era - that land was pretty good. With the coaster, spinner, and games all running the area felt alive and we had Lucky the Dinosaur - a very impressive walk around AA, as well as a really good juggling show.

There was also a brief time after that where they did a short version of “flights of wonder” in the area showcasing birds that were related to dinosaurs and behaviors.

If you’ve only seen that area in recent times - no wonder you think it’s a disaster!

 

[Gusey]

Dino land will be an interesting book for someone to write one day. The land was originally going to have an impressive mine train style coaster that would have been very popular. The “dig site” - restaurant, and Institute all were created around that concept.

The park opened and for some reason there wasn’t enough to do! Haha. Eisner wanted something quick and cheap - and we got the carnival.

In 2005 era - that land was pretty good. With the coaster, spinner, and games all running the area felt alive and we had Lucky the Dinosaur - a very impressive walk around AA, as well as a really good juggling show.

There was also a brief time after that where they did a short version of “flights of wonder” in the area showcasing birds that were related to dinosaurs and behaviors.

If you’ve only seen that area in recent times - no wonder you think it’s a disaster!

Don't forget the Dinosaur Jubilee, the big tent with some dino bones located where Dino-Rama ended up

 

[BlakeW39]

Dinosaurs belong in DAK. CTX being replaced by Indiana Jones is a good change. Both statements are true.

Ideally, DAK would have a prehistoric land featuring a slow moving boat ride through a primeval world, ending with a volcano and a big drop.

The big problem, however, is that for dinosaurs to be most effective, they can't be scientifically accurate. I don't care that the T-Rex and the Triceratops lived at different points of time, I want to see them fight. Such contradictions to nature aren't meant for a park like DAK, unfortunately.

Primeval World on Disneyland Railroad will forever remain the best thing Disney will ever do with dinosaurs.

All due respect, but to be honest that's not really true, and I think it's unfortunate that dinosaur media has made people think this is true.

Dinosaurs are most effective when they are scientifically accurate. This has been proven countless times and the only reason people think otherwise is because modern entertainment has refused to modernize their depictions of dinosaurs, like JP and others were doing in the 90s. That is because they are lazy and simply have no interest in doing anything new or innovative. It isn't because "accurate" (real, vs. fictional) dinosaurs were some lame, giant chickens. People just think that because they hear the words "scientifically accurate" and scream "Ahh! Learning!"

Most large dinosaurs weren't covered in feathers (i.e. T. rex for example) and they lived in extremely diverse ecosystems. T. rex and Triceratops did live together, and fought each other, alongside raptors, giant long necked sauropods, and so on. All in the same places at the same time. Sure not every single dinosaur species lived in the same time and place, but dinosaur ecosystems were definitely diverse enough to encompass most of the popualr "archetypes" in a single time and place.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Genuine question - if they had replaced the coaster with a cheesy Dino dark ride - think classic like Mr. Toad with Dino’s - and really made the place feel alive with extra carnival games and carnival entertainment like jugglers, etc. - how would that be seen?

 

[Brer Panther]

If Disney is considering putting The Simpsons in Hollywood Studios, I see no reason why they can't replace Dino-Rama with Ice Age. It'd bring more prehistoric animals into the park, it's an IP, and Disney has shown that they're still willing to milk the franchise.

 

[bwr827]

Genuine question - if they had replaced the coaster with a cheesy Dino dark ride - think classic like Mr. Toad with Dino’s - and really made the place feel alive with extra carnival games and carnival entertainment like jugglers, etc. - how would that be seen?

Still crap, in my opinion. The whole roadside carnival vibe has no place at DAK.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Still crap, in my opinion. The whole roadside carnival vibe has no place at DAK.

Yeah - I was wondering it the concept alone is too far. I think it could be fun - but they would have to commit 100% to doing it right.

 

[bwr827]

Yeah - I was wondering it the concept alone is too far. I think it could be fun - but they would have to commit 100% to doing it right.

It would be better than what’s there.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Genuine question - if they had replaced the coaster with a cheesy Dino dark ride - think classic like Mr. Toad with Dino’s - and really made the place feel alive with extra carnival games and carnival entertainment like jugglers, etc. - how would that be seen?

As much as the carnival was a compromise, I think the idea had merit. What I think they should have done is similar to that; lean into it as the designated kiddie land. You already have the TriceraTop Spin and the carnival games, which are good for kids (plus the Boneyard, across the road). A dark ride without a height requirement, maybe one more typical carnival ride with some custom dinosaur elements, and a few more games (along with a minor expansion of the defunct Dino-Diner) and I think it would have had a decent shot.

Disney kind of already promotes it that way; their promo video that plays in all the resorts doesn't mention Dinosaur. It focuses entirely on children enjoying themselves in Dino-Rama.

I also think they could have made it feel a lot better if they got actual entertainment cast members in the games. Way too often you would get people that clearly don't want to be there and can barely be bothered to look at you and it sucks out the fun. All Chester and Hester's CMs are supposed to be their cousins, so have them play into it like one big, argue-happy family, kind of like the Citizens of Hollywood or Main Street but with southern accents.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I also think they could have made it feel a lot better if they got actual entertainment cast members in the games. Way too often you would get people that clearly don't want to be there and can barely be bothered to look at you and it sucks out the fun.

Yes! If the games were more “entertainment” in general - that would make all the difference.

 

[KDM31091]

I agree that the Dinorama area could be saved with relatively simple changes and some additions. It's not a horrible concept. It just needs more. Same with Dinosaur itself. Good concept, maybe just a minor amount of updating and it would feel fresh and exciting. Neither of these things need to be removed IMO, they fit the message of the park. Disney let them languish to the point where now people are like "well that land sucks, so let's get rid of it".

 

[Beacon Joe]

The Boneyard was a great attraction for little kids. RIP.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Dinosaur is one of WDW's best attractions, and its replacement will have to measure up to that...which is going to be basically impossible. As someone who loves dinosaurs AND Indiana Jones, having a Dinosaur-themed Indiana Jones Adventure-style ride will always be better than having two, even different, IJAs.