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

[Blobbles]

I love that the prospect of a giant animatronic Quetzalcoatl in Indiana jones is very likely to happen. I think animal kingdom should have more giant animatronic mythical beasts. Hopefully this one stays working this time, unlike a certain 70’s music adjacent fellow I know.

 

[celluloid]

I love that the prospect of a giant animatronic Quetzalcoatl in Indiana jones is very likely to happen. I think animal kingdom should have more giant animatronic mythical beasts. Hopefully this one stays working this time, unlike a certain 70’s music adjacent fellow I know.

Do you think it is likely to be something already there reskinned?

 

[Blobbles]

Do you think it is likely to be something already there reskinned?

I dunno

 

[BrianLo]

Are the new DVC towers at the Poly and Lakeside Apartment Complex part of the 12B investment number?

Yes, definitely.

But so were DVC towers last decade. DVC can’t even build 50% more in WDW as they are limited to what they can sell and sales rates are similar decade on decade.

We also had a botched LARP hotel thrown in the mix last decade too that I don’t see them repeating. Then on the cash side Destino Tower. There’s a lot of hotel Capex surplus budget I suspect will go towards other aspects of the resort.

 

[Casper Gutman]

As I’ve said before, I’m very much looking forward to this land. It is far and away the most promising thing WDW has announced and the only one that I wouldn’t cancel if I had the ability to do so. It’s also great that it’s a traditional multi-IP land.

Going back to a broader view and considering Disney’s performances over the last decades, it’s a huge indictment of the company that, since the focus shifted to single-IP lands in 2010, Disney has utterly failed to build any such areas equal to Uni’s Potter lands in Orlando. Cars Land is on that level in California, but we’re getting an ill-fitting knock off, Monsters Land is a cheap and destructive overlay, TSL is a sad joke, and SWL and Pandora are both good but fall short of Potter. The first shot Disney has is Villain Land (taking the Villains as one IP, similar to Uni’s Monsters), which won’t open until around 2030 at the most optimistic. That’s 20 years after the first Potter Land, by which time Uni will have opened two more Potter areas plus at least three other IP lands that appear to be of similar quality.

 

[James Alucobond]

… Disney has utterly failed to build any such areas equal to Uni’s Potter lands in Orlando …

They literally can’t, just like how Universal also can’t reproduce it and has instead resorted to essentially re-building it three times across each of their parks. The vast majority of IP doesn’t capture the essence of what makes HP alluring and successful as a place to experience and explore.

 

[Timothy_Q]

They literally can’t, just like how Universal also can’t reproduce it and has instead resorted to essentially re-building it three times across each of their parks. The vast majority of IP doesn’t capture the essence of what makes HP alluring and successful as a place to experience and explore.

Even Dark Universe, as excited as I am for it, is essentially a reskinned Hogsmeade.

Old european crooked street lined with shops, leading to an imposing castle/manor housing a kuka arm ride, next to an exposed family coaster themed to a magical creature

 

[President Loki]

I've always questioned why they didn't include Up in the new land. It's a popular movie and Ip, especially for Animal Kingdom. It could be that Paradise Falls is more of a secluded, one Ip land, but I think maybe replacing the theater and some of the backstage area for an Up land would be great. Here's a basic layout of what I think an Up mini-land could look like...



Restaurants:

• Wilderness Explorer Lodge - The land's counter-service with outdoor seating.
• The Spirit of Adventure - A table-service restaurant, set inside the Spirit of Adventure. Walking through a cave, guests would enter the blimp and go through a mini exhibit, until seated.

Attractions:

• Wilderness Explorer Outpost - A play ground area similar to the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at DCA. An playground like this could be great for Animal Kingdom, and for WDW in general
• Wilderness Explorer Challenge Course - Located either inside or right next too the Explorer Outpost would be a high and low ropes course. Being similar to the ropes course found at Shanghai Disney, being a first for Disney American parks.
• Hidden Hideaway - Meet-and-Greet space where you could meet Carl, Russel, and even new Doug and other dog animatronics
• Carl's House - A recreation of Carl's home, with a small navigation interactive.

Rides

• Doug's Balloon Flight - A Zamplerla Balloon Race flat ride, using the same ride system as Inside Out: Emotion Whirl. The ride vehicles would be themed like a bunch of tiny balloons.
• Russel & Kevin Wilderness Jungle Trek - An outside slow-moving buggy ride, like Heimlich's Chew Chew Train at DCA or Tinkerbelle's Busy Buggies at Disney Seas. Join Russel and Kevin on a jungle expedition, with static characters and small sets. Maybe even a small-ish indoor scene.
• Up: The Sky-high Adventure - This ride would be a Mack suspended power coaster, offering small thrills and mainly being a dark ride. Giving Animal Kingdom a second and not so scary coaster. The ride would follow Carl and Russel embarking on a journey through Paradise Falls, the journey would be cut short, when they're forced to escape from the clutches of Charles Muntz. With the ride ending with a medium sizes dip across and next to the iconic falls.

 

[Bocabear]

They literally can’t, just like how Universal also can’t reproduce it and has instead resorted to essentially re-building it three times across each of their parks. The vast majority of IP doesn’t capture the essence of what makes HP alluring and successful as a place to experience and explore.

but honestly the rebuilt versions are still more compelling than SWGE... It has a lot to do with the subject matter being a more fun and joyful location as opposed to a dead, battle scarred planet. I like ROTR...i think it is really great, but the rest of the land leaves me wanting more. It feels like leftover movie props scattered around an unfamiliar rocky setting... It doesn't look fun....it doesn't feel joyful ....it lacks kinetics... Looks a little better at night with some colored lighting.... but as a whole it lacks the charm of all of the Harry Potter iterations....

 

[Casper Gutman]

They literally can’t, just like how Universal also can’t reproduce it and has instead resorted to essentially re-building it three times across each of their parks. The vast majority of IP doesn’t capture the essence of what makes HP alluring and successful as a place to experience and explore.

I disagree strongly. Cars Land is on the level of Potter land and Cars is a WEAK IP. Star Wars absolutely could have been at that level if not for a number of awful design decisions (and it’s still pretty good). The fact that Universal has succeeded in making three great HP lands, with the second superior to the first, is much more a testament to the designers then to the property. All indications are Universal has made equivalent lands based on Nintendo, the Uni Monsters, and (probably) HtTyD. Disney has a VAST number of properties that could support lands - Star Wars could support at least three. They’ve built already built excellent Indiana Jones, Aladdin, Zootopia, and (sort of) Frozen lands in other parts of the world.

 

[Casper Gutman]

but honestly the rebuilt versions are still more compelling than SWGE... It has a lot to do with the subject matter being a more fun and joyful location as opposed to a dead, battle scarred planet. I like ROTR...i think it is really great, but the rest of the land leaves me wanting more. It feels like leftover movie props scattered around an unfamiliar rocky setting... It doesn't look fun....it doesn't feel joyful ....it lacks kinetics... Looks a little better at night with some colored lighting.... but as a whole it lacks the charm of all of the Harry Potter iterations....

And these were all choices. The land was DESIGNED to be kinetic, with wandering droids and a third outside ride California fought for, but they were cut. The fact that the setting was “original” just highlights that the land’s problems are entirely self -inflicted - Disney could have made the land anything they want! They could have taken inspiration from Naboo or Coruscant and mixed it with Tatooine or the Endor Moon to produce something AMAZING! What if the setting was in a smugglers outpost set among the ruins of a Naboo-esque throne planet? What if the spires of Batuu were encrusted with gems (and the buildings were interesting and ornate)? The problem is that SWL really does feel like the sequels in that the aesthetic is beige and bland, the creatures are uninteresting, and the whole thing reeks of fear that too much imagination might alienate fans.

 

[UNCgolf]

I disagree strongly. Cars Land is on the level of Potter land and Cars is a WEAK IP. Star Wars absolutely could have been at that level if not for a number of awful design decisions (and it’s still pretty good). The fact that Universal has succeeded in making three great HP lands, with the second superior to the first, is much more a testament to the designers then to the property. All indications are Universal has made equivalent lands based on Nintendo, the Uni Monsters, and (probably) HtTyD. Disney has a VAST number of properties that could support lands - Star Wars could support at least three. They’ve built already built excellent Indiana Jones, Aladdin, Zootopia, and (sort of) Frozen lands in other parts of the world.

The Nintendo land and HtTyD don't look even remotely on the level of the HP lands (and I also doubt the new HP land at EU will be comparable to Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, because it's not pulled directly out of the books/movie series).

Harry Potter is kind of a singular thing in that it's a massively popular IP that has a handful of iconic locations that people want to experience. Most IPs don't have that combination. Even Star Wars lacks this -- while Galaxy's Edge could be better than it is, I don't think it ever really had a chance to beat Diagon Alley (Hogsmeade is definitely weaker than Diagon Alley, it's good but they could have done more with it and probably would if they were designing it now).

 

[James Alucobond]

I disagree strongly. Cars Land is on the level of Potter land and Cars is a WEAK IP. Star Wars absolutely could have been at that level if not for a number of awful design decisions (and it’s still pretty good). The fact that Universal has succeeded in making three great HP lands, with the second superior to the first, is much more a testament to the designers then to the property. All indications are Universal has made equivalent lands based on Nintendo, the Uni Monsters, and (probably) HtTyD. Disney has a VAST number of properties that could support lands - Star Wars could support at least three. They’ve built already built excellent Indiana Jones, Aladdin, Zootopia, and (sort of) Frozen lands in other parts of the world.

Cars Land is great, but Potter is based on a series that is essentially written as if the author were designing a theme park. There is in-depth description of visually uncanny environments, exotic food and beverage, retail experiences, magical vehicles, etc. On top of that, because the novels came first, a far greater proportion of people interested in Harry Potter will have read the extended accompanying literary material; I imagine a comparison between the number of Potter fans who have read the various books and the number of Star Wars fans who have read the novelizations/extended universe info will favor the former. Within the context of, say, the few Avatar or Star Wars films, the treatment of any one setting is pretty much surface-level only, so to fill in F&B, retail, etc., you have to either invent things or dig into supplementary materials with which most visitors won't be familiar. That's not to say that there aren't a few iconic things that you can place in the "other" lands that will draw people in (e.g. Millennium Falcon for Star Wars, floating islands for Pandora, Peach's Castle for Mario, etc.), but there are not many properties that hit so fully and completely on the entire nexus of things that make a theme park tick. Everyone who's coming in already wants to shop at Ollivander's and Gambol & Japes, already wants to try butterbeer and chocolate frogs, already wants to explore the depths of Gringotts and the Escher-like halls of Hogwarts, already wants to ride the train, already wants to dine at the Leaky Cauldron. You don't have to invent things like Satu'li or Toad's Cafe and subsequently convince people of the interest, desirability, and value. You just have to deliver the quality; the familiarity is already there unlike with almost anything else you could build.

 

[Gusey]

I've always questioned why they didn't include Up in the new land. It's a popular movie and Ip, especially for Animal Kingdom.

I bet they'll be new Wilderness Explorer badges in this land, so Up will technically be added. Up and Animal Kingdom have a rocky history though, as the Wilderness Explorers and Kevin walk-around character have been received well, but the Up bird show was really bad and its closure post-covid was probably one of the best things to come out of the lockdown (along with the drummers still appearing on the rivers, bringing them to life)

 

[BrianLo]

And these were all choices. The land was DESIGNED to be kinetic, with wandering droids and a third outside ride California fought for, but they were cut. The fact that the setting was “original” just highlights that the land’s problems are entirely self -inflicted - Disney could have made the land anything they want! They could have taken inspiration from Naboo or Coruscant and mixed it with Tatooine or the Endor Moon to produce something AMAZING! What if the setting was in a smugglers outpost set among the ruins of a Naboo-esque throne planet? What if the spires of Batuu were encrusted with gems (and the buildings were interesting and ornate)? The problem is that SWL really does feel like the sequels in that the aesthetic is beige and bland, the creatures are uninteresting, and the whole thing reeks of fear that too much imagination might alienate fans.

I don’t disagree with you, SWGE was disappointingly neutered. But beyond that, do you really want Disney to be more like Universal? I’m not really sure of your point. More criticizing something they aren’t as good at that we don’t really want them to do anyways.

Universal has leaned quite heavily on external studios and creators to make their best lands. Monsters looks good, but really not some sort of massive gain on SWGE. I think probably Pandora will still be perceived as better.

 

[Bocabear]

Cars Land is great, but Potter is based on a series that is essentially written as if the author were designing a theme park. There is in-depth description of visually uncanny environments, exotic food and beverage, retail experiences, magical vehicles, etc. On top of that, because the novels came first, a far greater proportion of people interested in Harry Potter will have read the extended accompanying literary material; I imagine a comparison between the number of Potter fans who have read the various books and the number of Star Wars fans who have read the novelizations/extended universe info will favor the former. Within the context of, say, the few Avatar or Star Wars films, the treatment of any one setting is pretty much surface-level only, so to fill in F&B, retail, etc., you have to either invent things or dig into supplementary materials with which most visitors won't be familiar. That's not to say that there aren't a few iconic things that you can place in the "other" lands that will draw people in (e.g. Millennium Falcon for Star Wars, floating islands for Pandora, Peach's Castle for Mario, etc.), but there are not many properties that hit so fully and completely on the entire nexus of things that make a theme park tick. Everyone who's coming in already wants to shop at Ollivander's and Gambol & Japes, already wants to try butterbeer and chocolate frogs, already wants to explore the depths of Gringotts and the Escher-like halls of Hogwarts, already wants to ride the train, already wants to dine at the Leaky Cauldron. You don't have to invent things like Satu'li or Toad's Cafe and subsequently convince people of the interest, desirability, and value. You just have to deliver the quality; the familiarity is already there unlike with almost anything else you could build.

And that is exactly what they got right with the DCA Carsland...It was a familiar environment and setting and the realization of it is perfect... By choosing an unknown location to begin with is where the problems start...Other than that, because of the source material used, there is only so much you can do with it...the locations in the films were not iconic demanding exploration... the actual ships were the more memorable locations from the series...The planet locations are worlds at war... they are not joyful places you want to explore... If only Disney had an IP that had a recognizable location that you really wanted to explore... not just a spaceship to shoot guns at and a dead battle scarred planet....

 

[flyerjab]

I don’t disagree with you, SWGE was disappointingly neutered. But beyond that, do you really want Disney to be more like Universal? I’m not really sure of your point. More criticizing something they aren’t as good at that we don’t really want them to do anyways.

Universal has leaned quite heavily on external studios and creators to make their best lands. Monsters looks good, but really not some sort of massive gain on SWGE. I think probably Pandora will still be perceived as better.

Pandora is better, and I’ve been to both Potter lands several times.

First off, in no way is Hogsmeade as good as Diagon Alley. And Diagon Alley is not better than Pandora or SWGE. I put those three in the same league.

However, I give Pandora and SWGE the nod over Diagon Alley, if for no other reason that they are more original. Diagon Alley is fantastic, no doubt, but it already existed on the big screen. There was a true north. As far as I know, the Valley of Mo’ara didn’t exist in Avatar. And the same for Galaxy’s Edge. These lands are original. The Imagineers had to create them. Diagon Alley is more of a popular blueprint that Universal Creative followed.

I do agree this far, however, with @Casper Gutman regarding my anticipation for Pueblo Esperanza. Looking at all of the lands in the Orlando theme parks, the best cohesive theming is found in Harambe, Anandapur and Serka Zong. Those lands are exceptional, and I am hoping that Tropical Americas follows that same path. I want the Imagineers to show that you can still make a great land that isn’t based upon a single IP.

 

[The Leader of the Club]

I've always questioned why they didn't include Up in the new land. It's a popular movie and Ip, especially for Animal Kingdom. It could be that Paradise Falls is more of a secluded, one Ip land, but I think maybe replacing the theater and some of the backstage area for an Up land would be great. Here's a basic layout of what I think an Up mini-land could look like...

I do wonder if the Theater in the Wild could be earmarked for a phase two. Up would be a no-brainer for another property to add here, but there’s always the possibility that Disney would push for Coco instead. Emperor’s New Groove could be a dark horse depending on how popular/significant Yzma’s contribution to Villains Land is.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

I've always questioned why they didn't include Up in the new land. It's a popular movie and Ip, especially for Animal Kingdom. It could be that Paradise Falls is more of a secluded, one Ip land, but I think maybe replacing the theater and some of the backstage area for an Up land would be great. Here's a basic layout of what I think an Up mini-land could look like...

I'm guessing it's because Up doesn't have too much "Tropical Americas" related things in it besides Paradise Falls, and also the fact that Encanto is a more relevant and popular franchise than Up is imo (I still love both don't get me wrong). I wouldn't be surprised if maybe an Up themed land at Tropical America comes perhaps as an expansion or a phase 2 replacing the Finding Nemo show next to Dinoland.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It's one of the biggest reason the Magic Kingdom feels like a slightly weaker park today than it did in 1993, though. There have been other changes, but they're more or less a wash overall with some improvements and some decline.

I'd say it's much worse now because of all the cuts and changes since, to say nothing of show quality.