Festival of the Lion King closes January 5th

[doctornick]

But why would a dark ride be there in the first place?
Did the citizens of Harambe build it?

Why would you think of it as "a ride".

Did the people of Anandapur build a roller coaster with a fake Yeti? Why would a roller coaster be in Anandapur in the first place? Obviously, the answer is that you need suspension of disbelief to "understand" that it is not a roller coaster, but is a train ride in the Himalayans.

Similarly, why does a Lion King dark ride have to be "a ride" from the prospective of the denizens of Harambe? My suggestion would be to make a Lion King "ride" the experience of being an animal in the world of The Lion King. So, no, the villages didn't "build a ride", the animals already exist in the area and you are simply "suspending disbelief" to enjoy the experience of entering the Circle of Life that the animals in Africa exhibit.

YMMV. The execution obviously would determine how well something fits into the theming of the land.

 

[Cesar R M]

Thank you. They were taken with a Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM Lense.

daaaaamn, expensive camera!
And here I am with my fruity Nikon 5100 XD
I envy!

The Magic Kingdom used to be a lot better in this regard. Adventureland was originally as cohesive as Harambe, but for portions of the Jungle Cruise, but the addition of Pirates and later the Agrabah area made it a total mess. Actually, Pirates is a complete failure in the sense that in porting it over from Disneyland they excised the entire "time travel" sub-narrative. Now that they have that "Treasures of the Seven Seas" mini-game spread out all over the land it's nearly impossible to tell where or when you are anymore, let alone what the "logic" of the land is.

I call it the "Patrick" logic. "We should take all these rides and push them somewhere else"

 

[Cosmic Commando]

The Magic Kingdom used to be a lot better in this regard. Adventureland was originally as cohesive as Harambe, but for portions of the Jungle Cruise, but the addition of Pirates and later the Agrabah area made it a total mess. Actually, Pirates is a complete failure in the sense that in porting it over from Disneyland they excised the entire "time travel" sub-narrative. Now that they have that "Treasures of the Seven Seas" mini-game spread out all over the land it's nearly impossible to tell where or when you are anymore, let alone what the "logic" of the land is.

It's true, but even at Disneyland, there's no real reason for you to be boarding these boats other than to ride a theme park ride. The time travel thing is a way to rationalize what you see on the ride, not the in-story reason for its existence.

 

[themonkeyisthesultan]

There's new construction starting in Africa. A wall has gone up near the train station to build a new walkway to Asia. There are also rumors of an expansion for Tamu Tamu.

 

[doctornick]

There's new construction starting in Africa. A wall has gone up near the train station to build a new walkway to Asia. There are also rumors of an expansion for Tamu Tamu.

I am happy to hear about these infrastructure improvements, though I'd prefer to hear about the dark ride being added as well (sounds like it is off the table though).

 

[Mukta]

It's true, but even at Disneyland, there's no real reason for you to be boarding these boats other than to ride a theme park ride. The time travel thing is a way to rationalize what you see on the ride, not the in-story reason for its existence.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you, but for the JC at DL, I board a boat to take a tour of the jungle I am in. It still fits with the theme of the land. There are multiple signs and objects talking about the tour company giving tours in the jungle.

 

[doctornick]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you, but for the JC at DL, I board a boat to take a tour of the jungle I am in. It still fits with the theme of the land. There are multiple signs and objects talking about the tour company giving tours in the jungle.

They are discussing POTC.

 

[Mukta]

They are discussing POTC.

Thanks. Literacy is not my friend today.

POTC in DL still has a story. You board a boat to tour the New Orleans bayou. There are gators, fireflies etc. Then after the drop, you are transported to a different time/place in the Caribbean where seeing the cursed treasure unleashes pirates on the island. I think of the drop as some kind of magical vortex.

 

[Cesar R M]

There's new construction starting in Africa. A wall has gone up near the train station to build a new walkway to Asia. There are also rumors of an expansion for Tamu Tamu.

photos or it didnt happen!

 

[RSoxNo1]

There's new construction starting in Africa. A wall has gone up near the train station to build a new walkway to Asia. There are also rumors of an expansion for Tamu Tamu.

Do we know if this will be for guests? Seems like they'd have to re-route a bunch of stuff:
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=28.359499&lon=-81.590929&z=19&m=b

 

[themonkeyisthesultan]

Do we know if this will be for guests? Seems like they'd have to re-route a bunch of stuff:
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=28.359499&lon=-81.590929&z=19&m=b

It'll be for guests. My understanding is it won't go directly to the main part of Asia, it'll go to the Asia side of the path between Africa and Asia. I'm hearing walls have gone up backstage in that area as well now.

 

[RSoxNo1]

It'll be for guests. My understanding is it won't go directly to the main part of Asia, it'll go to the Asia side of the path between Africa and Asia. I'm hearing walls have gone up backstage in that area as well now.

There has to be more to it than this. This doesn't make sense on it's own.

 

[doctornick]

There has to be more to it than this. This doesn't make sense on it's own.

I thought someone said that it is to help with crowd movement during parades.

 

[themonkeyisthesultan]

There has to be more to it than this. This doesn't make sense on it's own.

I readily admit that there is probably plenty about this I don't know/understand.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I thought someone said that it is to help with crowd movement during parades.

Is it going to completely bypass the parade route between Africa and Asia? In that case it might be something that's only open during parade times?

Edit: Isn't the parade ending? Perhaps this is somehow related to necessary infrastructure for the Nighttime Safari or Nighttime show? Perhaps it's related to Wild Africa Trek?

 

[RandySavage]

Orlando Park News has an update on the new Lion King area, which is becoming interesting as architectural theme-ing appears. I'm impressed by what looks like will be a seamless continuation of Harambe aesthetic into this new area. Were the geysers turned off when the Riverboats closed? If so, hopefully they will go back on when this area opens.

More pics area

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2014/03/animal-kingdom-update-new-african-area_7599.html

 

[mm121]

Does anyone know what this is? looks like a door down to the river from under the new Lion King Theatre.

Now if only they'd make the ideas and plans a reality.

 

[Rob562]

Does anyone know what this is? looks like a door down to the river from under the new Lion King Theatre.

The new theater isn't directly along the water, this is one of the smaller structures along the water. If it is a door at river-level from the structure, most likely it's just something maintenance/landscaping access-related.

-Rob

 

[mm121]

Figures. I do NOT understand TDO!!!! "The Lion King" is STILL making money for the company, on Broadway, in re-release and re-issue...and the BEST TDO wants to do with it in AK is a dinky, cheapwad wooden cutout ride a la WDW's Pooh?

And meanwhile, Pandora gets a big-budget development.

WHAT THE FRICK IS WRONG WITH DISNEY RIGHT NOW? Is it that fathead Iger? I do NOT understand!!!!

Isn't the safari kind of indirectly related to lion king?

I agree. Lion King deserves much better

I think the better answer is neither.
Putting a cartoon dark ride, any cartoon dark ride into the African section of Animal Kingdom would completely destroy the thematic integrity of the land. With few exceptions (Nemo musical, Tough to be a Bug, meet and greets) all of the attractions at the various Animal Kingdom lands maintain the themed reality of their host lands. Everything is occurring where and and when it's supposed to be, making the immersion higher than any other theme park Disney's ever built. Train rides are train rides, raft journeys are raft journeys, and safaris are safaris.

A Lion King ride on the other hand, even a very nice one, would likely do what most of the Fantasyland dark rides do- have some sort of barely-themed omnimover slowly drag the rider in and out of several disparate scenes that tell a disjointed and abbreviated version of the film it's based on. There's nothing wrong with this approach in Fantasyland, but nothing else at Animal Kingdom uses this approach.

I'm worried enough that "Festival of the Lion King" going into Harambe is going to hurt it, but at least they can play up the actual "village festival" angle on it, which would be culturally insulting, possibly, but may be the best route here.

done right an dark ride in africa would be fine, success or failure is all about the execution.

not sure how festival of lion king could hurt africa, it actually fits well into the theme and gives in a true place vs being randomly located in camp minnie mickey.

I honestly don't mind animated films in DAK...well depending on the film. Lion King IMO fits pretty well as the settings are pretty accurate for the most part. I'd definatly like somethig other that the usual fantasyland dark ride like you said. I think te best way to intergrate the film would be something focused more on the enviornments of TLK accompanied by a couple characters of course.

What would the ride vehicle be in a Lion King dark ride, a jeep?

a jeep would be too close to the safari vehicles

It could be a lion, which could help the blend in the theming with Africa. Basically, the dark ride being that you are a lion (or other animal) experiencing the savannah from their prospective and could be more "Circle of Life" centered rather than a retelling of the story.

Why would you think of it as "a ride".

Did the people of Anandapur build a roller coaster with a fake Yeti? Why would a roller coaster be in Anandapur in the first place? Obviously, the answer is that you need suspension of disbelief to "understand" that it is not a roller coaster, but is a train ride in the Himalayans.

Similarly, why does a Lion King dark ride have to be "a ride" from the prospective of the denizens of Harambe? My suggestion would be to make a Lion King "ride" the experience of being an animal in the world of The Lion King. So, no, the villages didn't "build a ride", the animals already exist in the area and you are simply "suspending disbelief" to enjoy the experience of entering the Circle of Life that the animals in Africa exhibit.

YMMV. The execution obviously would determine how well something fits into the theming of the land.

definitely agree on this one that suspension of belief is everything, and execution is highly important

 

[mm121]

The new theater isn't directly along the water, this is one of the smaller structures along the water. If it is a door at river-level from the structure, most likely it's just something maintenance/landscaping access-related.

-Rob

if i was going to guess, i was going to say maybe its something for the new nighttime show, maybe performer access or something, as the rumors point to that being a river boat show.

though i know the building this is below hasn't been directly identified as to its purpose yet to my knowledge.. one guess i saw was either restrooms or merchandising