Rumor Is Indiana Jones Planning an Adventure to Disney's Animal Kingdom?

[jt04]

Virtually same layout, very different positioning of walls.

As for Indy in AK, it certainly could work. Dinoland is already based on a paleontological dig and collegiate atmosphere. Jones is a college professor and archeologist - similar disciplines. And the park itself has a huge focus on the type of cultures Indy movies visit. (And for the record despite the name, animal kingdom is not a park themed to animals - it's a park themed to nature and humans relationship with it, animals have been the subject - rohde has stated this over and over again from the beginning and is pretty obvious throughout the design of the park). Of course the challenge is taking a very human oriented franchise and linking it back to nature - but it probably could be done, especially if the dinosaurs stay around. No pun intended but the bones of the Indy storyline do lend themselves to it.

Course I'd rather see the land stay original, and see Dinosaur stay with updates (I'm one of the few that actually prefers it most days to Indy) but the push for IP is so strong these days. But hey, if that's the way for the parks to get the investment they need it's hard to argue with. I wouldn't worry too much about it - AK is Rohde's baby and he believes in the power and necessity of theme and coherent story more than anyone, to a flaw nearly. If it happens it'll be fine. And it's certainly a better fit than Zootopia.

Hell it might even be a great way to get a South America land.

Well said.

 

[Rider]

Virtually same layout, very different positioning of walls.

As for Indy in AK, it certainly could work. Dinoland is already based on a paleontological dig and collegiate atmosphere. Jones is a college professor and archeologist - similar disciplines. And the park itself has a huge focus on the type of cultures Indy movies visit. (And for the record despite the name, animal kingdom is not a park themed to animals - it's a park themed to nature and humans relationship with it, animals have been the subject - rohde has stated this over and over again from the beginning and is pretty obvious throughout the design of the park). Of course the challenge is taking a very human oriented franchise and linking it back to nature - but it probably could be done, especially if the dinosaurs stay around. No pun intended but the bones of the Indy storyline do lend themselves to it.

Course I'd rather see the land stay original, and see Dinosaur stay with updates (I'm one of the few that actually prefers it most days to Indy) but the push for IP is so strong these days. But hey, if that's the way for the parks to get the investment they need it's hard to argue with. I wouldn't worry too much about it - AK is Rohde's baby and he believes in the power and necessity of theme and coherent story more than anyone, to a flaw nearly. If it happens it'll be fine. And it's certainly a better fit than Zootopia.

Hell it might even be a great way to get a South America land.

Walls can be moved (or of not the scenes can be tweaked). I love Dinosaur but the rest of the land isn't very good IMO. One of the issues with dinosaurs is they are not alive and the ones at Disney are not even real fossils. If they got away from them and back to a theme like Asia* or South America in addition to Indy rides they could add more real animal exhibits which I am all for.

*Joe's recent research trip to Bali makes me keep an Asia expansion on the table instead of ruling it out completely.

 

[BenJacobs]

Indy in DAK fits perfect, I can't believe some think its a terrible fit. Everyone seems to agree that Dinoland needs to be replaced, and the whole Indy land vibe I think sounds fantastic. But I keep seeing people say the track layout is the same for Dinosaur and Indy in California, I've ridden both and outside of the ride vehicles I don't see any similarity in the track design. On the Indy ride you have this huge open space where you cross the bridge and drive over the other vehicles, where is this room/space in Dinosaur? I know Dino is dark but something like that room would stand out IMO. I know this Indy rumor is new so I'm not getting too excited, but this land sounds like a homerun for DAK in my book.

They do have about the same layout, but where there is one large room in Indy, there are just two separate floors for Dinosaur - same track layout, different building.

I don't think people want to get rid of Dinoland altgether, dinosaurs fit perfectly in Animal Kingdom(as the park is, and has always been, about nature and animals of the past, present and of the mythical - Indy doesn't fit into any of these by the way), and Dinosaur is a well loved ride(definitely one of my favourites), but people definitely want to get rid of the dinorama section of the land - I would suggest adding The Excavator, as it's thematically appropriate to the land.

 

[njDizFan]

Indy in DAK fits perfect, I can't believe some think its a terrible fit. Everyone seems to agree that Dinoland needs to be replaced, and the whole Indy land vibe I think sounds fantastic. But I keep seeing people say the track layout is the same for Dinosaur and Indy in California, I've ridden both and outside of the ride vehicles I don't see any similarity in the track design. On the Indy ride you have this huge open space where you cross the bridge and drive over the other vehicles, where is this room/space in Dinosaur? I know Dino is dark but something like that room would stand out IMO. I know this Indy rumor is new so I'm not getting too excited, but this land sounds like a homerun for DAK in my book.

Explain how Indy fits the theme of Animal Kingdom. Yes, Indy had adventures in the jungle....and desert, frozen tundra, cities etc. Indy is an archaeologist often in search of a long hidden artifact, that's a bit of a stretch.

 

[BenJacobs]

I don't think they would do this change anyway - swapping Dinosaur for something no more popular, and swapping Dinorama for what would probably be another off the shelf looping coaster(which would be no more popular). So the land would basically be the same in terms of rides, and would be no more popular(everybody likes dinosaurs, great for kids and adults), so there's no reason for Disney to do it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Indiana Jones as the anchor for an excavator type attraction and/or the general archeological tie to dinosaurs is a strong enough connection. However, I would hate to see an execution of this that did not involve dinosaurs in the park.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Dinosaur is closing just matter of when and what Disney decides on to change it to. But I agree it won't be for about 4-5 years based on other things going on at the World. Indy fits there better than Avatar. Rather have that than zootopia which was the other rumored IP that could go in that area.

Pandora is a perfect fit for that park. Indy would be a better fit than Zootopia.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Indy can work in DAK as part of a S.E.A. based land IMO.

But it shouldn't be at the expense of a proper land based on Dinosaurs. The current version needs a ton of reimagining.

A couple theories...

Perhaps Indy meets Dinosaur land mashup...Or

Dinoland is a bargaining chip to be negotiated away for more "marvels", in a manner of speaking.

Great, I agree with JT.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Indy in DAK fits perfect, I can't believe some think its a terrible fit.

Because archeology is a study of human activity, not animals. Do you take your dog to your physician?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Virtually same layout, very different positioning of walls.

The wall placement was something I thought of as well. Is this even logical for a re-theme if it was to be a scene for scene recreation of Tokyo or California? Would it be easier to start from scratch?

 

[Mike S]

It's not like they have the Indy area at DHS or even the huge expansion area in Adventureland in Magic Kingdom. No, let's get rid of ALL Dinosaurs in WDW. That makes sense. And let's clone a 20 year old ride instead of building something new that could potentially top it.

They were doing so well in this park too. Even Avatar ties really well with it sharing the same themes of respecting nature.

Like I said, I don't know what IP were talking about but it wouldn't surprise me.

Avatar is in a jungle. Indy goes in the jungle. DAK has jungle. That'll be enough.

Idiots.

An Indiana Jones ride would be great, but not in Animal Kingdom. Dino-rama could go, and I think that not many people would care, but Dinosaur is a beloved ride(and has just been refurbished). What scares me, is that Dinosaur has the same track layout as Indiana Jones at Disneyland in California, they could quite easily just replace the dinosaurs with an Indy.

Indiana Jones has nothing to do with lifelike nature, a ride would only ever fit in Hollywood Studios or Magic Kingdom.

Also, if they were to change it to an Indiana Jones land, it would cost loads of money, but probably be no more popular(still one very similar E ticket attraction, which people don't want to change anyway, and probably whatever that looping ride is called in Paris, which is basically on par with Primeval Whirl) - so they have no reason to change it.

After my recent ride it sure doesn't feel like it was just refurbished.

No, that particular prop is a better fit for The Holy Land Experience. But the animals in Indiana Jones movies are key to the plots; one can't summarily dismiss that viable connection vis-a-vis the Animal Kingdom.

Except it's not just about animals. It's about respecting nature. Indiana Jones focuses more an ancient civilizations and artifacts. There just happens to be animals he runs into on the way.

Why not combine the two.

Sort of 'Indiana Jones and the Lost Valley of Gwangi"

"Indiana Jones and The Lost World" would be a more understood reference even though it would feel incredibly forced to still have Dinosaurs. I also really don't want them to just reskin the ride.

I would LOVE to have an Indiana Jones ride at WDW, just not in Animal Kingdom. AK is about conservation and animals. I don't see how Indy relates to those themes. Indy would be a great way to expand Adventureland.

Also, if it replaces Dinosaur, we will likely get the same attraction as DL. Don't get me wrong that attraction is great, one of my favorites. However, I was hoping for a new take on an Indy ride using modern technology, not one based on an attraction that debuted in the 1990's.

THANK YOU!!!

Paleontology and Archaeology are different things.

Disney fans don't like science. Epcot was always so boring, you know?

Considering Indiana Jones's pulp adventure tone and Lucasfilm's desire to have their parks stuff tell new stories instead of retreading past ground, I could definitely see this being an "Indiana Jones and the Lost World" thing more then them just doing South America. Especially if Rohde wishes to maintain the "Extinct Animals alongside Real and Imaginary ones" thing.

Took the words right out of my mouth. I'd want them to start fresh though and not reuse Dinosaur for a lazy retread of Forbidden Eye just because it has the same track layout.

That's what the Pandora retheme is gonna be. They don't even have to change the Na'vi that much if they incorporated the Sound Sprites from the comics.

No retheme is coming buddy. People love it.

Indy in DAK fits perfect, I can't believe some think its a terrible fit. Everyone seems to agree that Dinoland needs to be replaced, and the whole Indy land vibe I think sounds fantastic. But I keep seeing people say the track layout is the same for Dinosaur and Indy in California, I've ridden both and outside of the ride vehicles I don't see any similarity in the track design. On the Indy ride you have this huge open space where you cross the bridge and drive over the other vehicles, where is this room/space in Dinosaur? I know Dino is dark but something like that room would stand out IMO. I know this Indy rumor is new so I'm not getting too excited, but this land sounds like a homerun for DAK in my book.

It has the same track, not the same rooms. The bridge in Indy is where the Sauropod is in Dinosaur.

I can't believe people are trying to justify this fitting in DAK. It absolutely does not. Leave Dinosaur how it is.

Well, a reimagining wouldn't hurt.

 

[csmat99]

I would love if the entrance to the Indy ride would be a tube you have to walk through that is covered with slithering snakes all around you and make some puffs of air shot at the back of your legs/neck.

 

[No Name]

This reeks again of typical Disney executive mental deficiency. The thought that Avatar is more popular than dragons and unicorns. The thought that Indiana Jones is more popular than Dinosaurs. The thought that if a ride is rated higher, its always better for the park. The thought that they should be replacing major attractions at the parks with the least, and adding major attractions at the parks with the most!

But hey, it's certainly better than a Zootopia land.

An Indy based redo of Dinoland is one option on the table, and it is probably in the top two as of now. One thing to remember is that IJA in Disneyland may be in a Southern Asian temple, but a few, small tweaks resulted in Tokyo's version being based in South America.

My opinion really hinges on those small details.

If the ride is going to be set in South America (with other tweaks for DAK specifically), and with the intention of DinoLand becoming a South America themed land, then I can see the positive. If the ride is going to be set in South Asia yet be located outside of the land called "Asia," and DinoLand is simply becoming an "Indiana Jones themed land," then I am witnessing new levels of stupidity.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Indiana Jones as the anchor for an excavator type attraction and/or the general archeological tie to dinosaurs is a strong enough connection. However, I would hate to see an execution of this that did not involve dinosaurs in the park.

Archeologists don’t dig for dinosaurs.

 

[disneygeek90]

Well, a reimagining wouldn't hurt.

Reimagining Dinoland, absolutely. I think the Dinosaur theme concept is fine, though. As is Dinosaur the ride.

 

[WDWbuff2001]

maybe something like this where primeval whirl currently is? something more thrilling....

 

[RSoxNo1]

Archeologists don’t dig for dinosaurs.

Is it that much of a leap that Indy could be digging for dinosaurs as a paleontologist? Alternatively he could be looking for artifacts and uncover dinosaurs. That's not a leap and could easily kick off a new attraction to compliment DINOSAUR.

 

[RSoxNo1]

maybe something like this where primeval whirl currently is? something more thrilling....

The Tokyo version could be a nice secondary attraction, but it's not a great ride.

 

[BenJacobs]

maybe something like this where primeval will currently is?

That's what I was talking about before, replacing Primeval Whirl with another off the shelf coaster, and replacing Dinosaur with the same ride with slightly different(worse) theming. There's no point, it wouldn't be an improvement, just about the same, or worse as it doesn't fit in the park.

 

[marni1971]

Great, I agree with JT.

I'm sorry.