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

[clemmo]

Well in my opinion an Indiana Jones land really doesn't make sense in conjunction with the rest if the park. How do Pandora, Africa, Asia, and Indiana Jones Land flow together? The first three are places, the last is a human.

I don't think it makes sense either but I'd rather have a whole land of IJ than just one even more out of place rethemed attraction at DAK. To me I'd be much more upset if they rethemed dinosaur and did nothing around it than if they went all in with the whole land. Of course though I'd rather this whole thing take the place of or be built around IJSS in DHS.

 

[britain]

I don't really see how Indy could lend itself to a decent hotel hyper-immersion experience on its own. Unless if you just went "Screw it, it's the Adventurers Club on steroids" and Dr. Jones is part of a greater ensemble of SEA characters interacting with guests throughout the experience.

Possibly. I thought it could be like Pankot Palace. Can you find the secret passage in your room that leads to danger and treasure?

 

[JackCH]

If only Disney owned Land Before Time, all our problems would be solved.

On a serious note: Indy would be cool but not ideal. Would much rather stick with the Dinosaurs (an original purpose of AK was animals of the past), but with a completely different theme. Perhaps we have actually stepped back in time? A repurpose of the lost Fire Mountain to fit the prehistoric landscape? Just a thought.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The name DisneySea is a play on the name Disneyland. Haha, get it? Someone thought they were funny.

Can't wait for DisneyAir!!

 

[MisterPenguin]

So Fresh Baked is saying there could be an Indy hotel, a la Star Wars hotel, to go along with this rumored land. This is the first I've heard of it, unless it was mentioned in here and I just didn't see it. Unlikely though since that would be a pretty tasty rumor.

First I've heard of it. All the insiders who've dropped hints about new resorts have steered clear of AK. However, if this mini-IJ land winds up in DHS...

I don't really see how Indy could lend itself to a decent hotel hyper-immersion experience on its own. Unless if you just went "Screw it, it's the Adventurers Club on steroids" and Dr. Jones is part of a greater ensemble of SEA characters interacting with guests throughout the experience.

Possibly. I thought it could be like Pankot Palace. Can you find the secret passage in your room that leads to danger and treasure?

Would love a SEA Resort. At DS, I always go to Jock's.

 

[No Name]

Can't wait for DisneyAir!!

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Me too!! And they're screwing up by building Soarin' in DisneySea. Where's the long-term planning??

 

[FigmentJedi]

Possibly. I thought it could be like Pankot Palace. Can you find the secret passage in your room that leads to danger and treasure?

Attaching an escape room-type experience directly to your room sounds really impractical though.

You'd either have to build hundreds of identical chambers for each hotel room, have "secret tunnels" connecting your room to a shared treasure room that would probably result in people getting really lost in trying to find their way back after getting their loot if one would have to end up backtracking.
Also, it keeps the bedroom from serving as a guest's means of decompressing from activities in the rest of the hotel. The Star Wars Hotel has the bedrooms merely serve as your cabin aboard the Space Cruise Ship and your primary break from all the LARPing stuff, which is pretty darn important in making this Immersion Hotel concept work.

 

[YodaMan]

I'm getting a little confused now about the "why" of all this. It sounds like the Powers That Be want something Indy in the parks ASAP to be ready in time for the new film. And it sounds like Dinosaur was being looked at because of how easily it could be rethemed. Which makes sense to me if they're converting Dinoland into a "South America" and quickly re-theming the whole area. But if Dinorama is being replaced with a BRAND NEW E-ticket Indy ride in addition to the Dinosaur re-theme and creating a whole new Indiana Jones land, why is this not going into Studios? If they don't mind spending the time and money to create a new Indiana Jones E-ticket from scratch, why is DAK the park that they're looking at?

 

[choco choco]

Does anyone wonder if they are ever gonna add more animals to Animal Kingdom?

 

[FigmentJedi]

I would assume it's because DAK really doesn't have any exposure to Hot IP's in it. Mean they do have Avatar, but Disney doesnt really own it and hasnt proven to be a popular IP in the long term.

MK has the princesses and classic disney characters, Epcot Will have Guardians, Frozen, Nemo, ect, and DHS will have Star Wars and Toy Story. Now what does Animal Kingdom have that's a hot IP?

Lion King's been part of Animal Kingdom from the beginning. They could just as easily build on that, give Africa a dark ride.

 

[Mike S]

Dinosaur is to DCA's Tower as Indiana Jones Adventure is to Florida's. It's a great ride in a thematically fitting, but slightly underwhelming land in a park that was light on compelling attractions when it opened. Just because it has a cousin that many like better in a completely different park across the country doesn't mean that it should be redressed to fit an IP that Disney suddenly started caring about after more than twenty years of ignoring it.

If Disney wants a new Indiana Jones attraction, great.
If Disney wants a new Indiana Jones attraction in Animal Kingdom, fine, I guess.
But if Disney throws a 22 year old overlay over the top of a very popular attraction (that is in better condition than 90% of the park's attractions, mind you), then they've truly forgotten how to run a theme park in service of an IP that would be better served in two other parks anyway.

Who said I wanted a simple overlay to turn it into Forbidden Eye? I want something new that tops the 20 year old ride across the country. My post you quoted didn't even mention Indiana Jones, just that I'd want them to start fresh on the concept of Dinosaurs. The ride also isn't kept in great condition. I can't remember my last ride where all the AAs worked. In fact, my most recent rides (post refurb) that were months apart the photo Carnotaurus was bent over in a way it shouldn't be.

 

[BrianLo]

I'm getting a little confused now about the "why" of all this. It sounds like the Powers That Be want something Indy in the parks ASAP to be ready in time for the new film. And it sounds like Dinosaur was being looked at because of how easily it could be rethemed. Which makes sense to me if they're converting Dinoland into a "South America" and quickly re-theming the whole area. But if Dinorama is being replaced with a BRAND NEW E-ticket Indy ride in addition to the Dinosaur re-theme and creating a whole new Indiana Jones land, why is this not going into Studios? If they don't mind spending the time and money to create a new Indiana Jones E-ticket from scratch, why is DAK the park that they're looking at?

It sounds like the priority is the reverse of what you are thinking. Not a 'let's get Indy somewhere', more of a 'what can we do with 'Dinoland'. Indy being one of the proposals that has bubbled to the top.

DHS needs more attractions undoubtedly, but as I understand it they feel like they have a plan for DHS (Toy story/Mickey/Star Wars), and MK (Tron/theatre/50th entertainment), and obviously Epcot...

So the blue sky priority is what is the next thing for AK since Pandora will be a bit long in the tooth five years from now. I'm sure if they were planning the next wave of DHS Indy would be in that conversion too... and perhaps it is.

 

[Disneyson]

I think they'd be remiss in doing this, seeing how so many little kids walk around with dinosaur-themed apparel and how the rubber dinosaur puppets probably sell better than some of the things in Pandora and most certainly the Rivers of Light stuff.

Dinosaurs have always been great for young audiences, and while Dino-Rama ought to get scrapped, I don't see why Dinoland couldn't be Dinoland, South America, with the new Indy attraction as the new anchor with a slightly upgraded Dinosaur with a more explorational theme, maybe a secret cave where the dinosaurs have lived for all these years, or whatever. Like. Get your Indy, but also get your dinosaurs. 2X the merch, good for the wallet, good if nobody cares about the new Indy movie.

 

[cjkeating]

I was more talking about actual rides than shows or smaller ip presences in the park.

If you think about it, it's really surprising that most DAK rides dont have an IP integration into them.

• Everest - none
• Kali River Rapids - none
• Kilimanjaro Safaris - None
• Dinosaur - sort of (but not really)
• Primeval Whirl - none
• Dino Spinner - none
• Bugs Life 4D - Yes
• Flight of Passage - Yes, but not a Disney owned IP
• River Journey - Yes, but not a Disney owned IP.

And even though execs who'll be gone in 5-10 years don't care just think how well most of these rides/attractions have aged v.s. DHS which now doesn't have a single ride/attraction from opening day.

 

[BenJacobs]

It would appear that there are at least two plans of varying levels of investment, including:

1) a complete takeover of Dinand by Indy, with IJA replacing Dinosaur, a minor retheme of the Boneyard, and a new E-Ticket (or 2?) to replace Dinorama (water ride or coaster)
2) Dinorama will be taken over by Indy, and everything else remains

Aside from the fact that Indy is a much better fit at DHS or Magic Kingdom, this concept is another example of what is so frustrating with the modern leadership. Some IP tie-ins are drag and drop; Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is in Fantasyland because it is. There is no attempt to modify the story or setting because the world of the film already fits into the surroundings of the area it sits in. That's not to say that the IP is a retread of its plot; in fact, most of these types of attractions take on an active first person perspective (Star Tours, Mine Train, Tower of Terror).

Others are modified to fit the park they reside in, but the stipulation is that the IP's underlying message must be close enough to the ideals of the park for it to work, or something will feel off. A drag and drop of Avatar would work in DHS, but not in Animal Kingdom, and the current treatment of the franchise works in Animal Kingdom, but would feel out of place in DHS.

When it comes to IP's, drag and drops are generally preferred because the alternative (modification) would mean that there's an original concept that has to be created and then stapled to the IP in order to make it work. In that case, the original concept shouldn't be forced to hold up an IP.

Obviously, Indy COULD be made to work in Animal Kingdom, but it would need to be modified from the Indiana Jones experience that one would typically expect in order to do so. Clearly the creators of Dinosaur thought that Indiana Jones Adventure as it exists wasn't a good fit in Animal Kingdom, or they would have saved some money and plopped down an exact clone where Dinosaur sits now to begin with. Why ruin Animal Kingdom's Tower of Terror, just because the one across the pond is considered by some to be better? This is Guardians of the Tower ALL over again, and I'm not here for it.

You have perfectly summed up what's wrong with a Indy land in Animal Kingdom.

 

[FutureCEO]

Apart from snakes, spider and gators, there is no animal connection (and no one is their right mind like snakes, spiders and gators unless you're a zookeeper) in Indiana Jones unless you count the elephant that appears at the end of Temple of Doom.

Dino-land can be great but right now it's cheaply made.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

It wouldn't be an "Indiana Jones Land". It would be a "South America" land where you encounter Dr. Jones in an Aztec Pyramid. And there wouldn't be ANY dinosaurs. There would Jaguar, Capybara, Amazon Crocodiles, Anaconda, and Piranha.

And in my wildest dreams, an E Ticket boat ride to find the Lost City of Gold using the PotC:BotST ride system/tech.

Oddly enough, has anyone noticed the setting/theme of the "lands" in DAK are geographical locations not Family/Phylum from the animal kingdom? The lands are "Asia", "Africa"', "Pandora". Not "Reptiles", "Nocturnals", and "Pachyderms". Coming upon an Aztec Temple in South America is not that much of a stretch of the current thematic philosophy of the park.

 

[Robrien1110]

It wouldn't be an "Indiana Jones Land". It would be a "South America" land where you encounter Dr. Jones in an Aztec Pyramid. And there wouldn't be ANY dinosaurs. There would Jaguar, Capybara, Amazon Crocodiles, Anaconda, and Piranha.

And in my wildest dreams, an E Ticket boat ride to find the Lost City of Gold using the PotC:BotST ride system/tech.

Oddly enough, has anyone noticed the theme of the "lands" in DAK are geographical locations not Family/Phylum from the animal kingdom? The lands are "Asia", "Africa"', "Pandora". Not "Reptiles", "Nocturnals", and "Pachyderms". Coming upon an Aztec Temple in South America is not that much of a stretch of the current thematic philosophy of the park.

Oh wow... Yes please. That ride system is so suited to Indy as it allows for unpredictability, chaos and moments of real mouth-dropping mysticism and adventure to arrive with no warning.

 

[BrianLo]

It wouldn't be an "Indiana Jones Land". It would be a "South America" land where you encounter Dr. Jones in an Aztec Pyramid. And there wouldn't be ANY dinosaurs. There would Jaguar, Capybara, Amazon Crocodiles, Anaconda, and Piranha.

And in my wildest dreams, an E Ticket boat ride to find the Lost City of Gold using the PotC:BotST ride system/tech.

Oddly enough, has anyone noticed the setting/theme of the "lands" in DAK are geographical locations not Family/Phylum from the animal kingdom? The lands are "Asia", "Africa"', "Pandora". Not "Reptiles", "Nocturnals", and "Pachyderms". Coming upon an Aztec Temple in South America is not that much of a stretch of the current thematic philosophy of the park.

I wonder if a motivation to avoid Dino's has something to do with the Uni 3rd gate plans...

 

[marni1971]

Clearly the creators of Dinosaur thought that Indiana Jones Adventure as it exists wasn't a good fit in Animal Kingdom, or they would have saved some money and plopped down an exact clone where Dinosaur sits now to begin with..

In all fairness CTX happened due to several connected factors. Ending up as Indy-lite wasn't the idea.