Tip Top Club
Well-Known Member
I have a bad feeling that this is going to go down in history as one of those things that Disney fans looks back on with rose-colored glasses. (I know for a fact that Ben Franklin's Bifocals are not)
I really enjoyed the old poacher storyline, when Miss Jobson and Wilson would banter on the radio and there was a real element of danger to it. That being said, that storyline was downgraded, and became what was, until recently, a rather contrived effort.
For those of you harping about "story" if you really think about the story of Kilimanjaro Safaris from 2007-2012 was rather ... uhm ... ill-defined. As you cross over toward Monkey Point, Wilson told you they "picked up a baby elephant that was wandering off on its own. We can't find the mother, I'm afraid poachers may be in the reserve" Obviously that's a bad thing, and your driver probably reiterated that. So they chose to go a way they are unfamilliar with, (with the road outside the male elephant enclosure being closed) and that takes you over the tilting bridge and further into elephant country. The driver is on the lookout for a distressed mother elephant, but they don't see anything so they start heading down toward the Kifaru Plains. Wilson comes on the radio and suggests you go west, for animal viewing purposes, clearly he is not all that concerned about the potential poachers. Suddenly however a few minutes later, he tells you there ARE poachers in the area. So the driver decides to help cut them off. The driver takes you down toward the Magadi Gorge, where your life is endangerd by geysers, presumbly caused by volcanic activity that could be very dangerous. But WAIT, the poachers have already deserted their camp! And then, according to Wilson "The Poachers ran, but they won't get far, we've located the mother elephant, thanks to you they are now both safe, Asante Sana Everyone!" So...Not only did the poachers get away, but neither the baby elephant nor the mother elephant were ever in real danger....So really the driver puts your lives at risk, but nothing was even solved. That was the story.
To me, and obviously this is my opinion, that's just silly.
Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed having a FINALE to the ride, something it will most definitely be missing when this work is complete. I also miss the radio chatter already. And while the music is still there, I thought having Wilson and the driver communicating with him was wonderful as far as immersion in to the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, so that is something I will also miss.
That being said, I simply won't miss the contrived poaching plot. (I would have loved to see radio transmissions with a naturalist like Miss Jobson telling us about the areas we're going into, but I don't think that will happen) and just to be clear, the African Music is still played from Monkey Point all the way to tiliting bridge.
Once again, for clarity's sake, this was not a change made to appease families with small children. I have very seldom heard of small children being frightened beyond reason on this ride. This was a core shift in message from being directly about poaching to being about the animals themselves, and when a new script comes online this fall, I wouldn't be surprised if many different threats to the animals were referenced, rather then just this one (albeit Major) threat.
I don't agree that this change "Whitewashes" the ride. Someone mentioned that Walt Disney Quote about that kids LIKE to be scared. and that's true so once again note that that is not why this changed is happening. Seeing animals live and up close is just as much of a thrill. I could easily reference another famous disney anecdote about Joe Rohde's team bringing a tiger into a business meeting with executives, and from then on it was no longer a question that up close animal encounters were a thrill. I think if you've ever been lucky enough to be on a safari that's been rammed by a rhino, you'd think that too. (I have by the way, AMAZING!)
Anyway...I'm rambling, the original point I was trying to make was that I really do think this is a positive change, and while there are things that I would do differently, I really do believe this change is for the best. I guess we can only wait and see where the park is in four or five years to really see the effects of many changes coming park-wide, and hopefully judge it then. Until then, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for all the reasons discussed here.
P.S. The geysers are going because...well...that's where they're building a Zebra habitat. Zebras are one of the most popular and well-known African Animals, so since they can't live with the other animals, it makes sense to feature them elsewhere. No?
I really enjoyed the old poacher storyline, when Miss Jobson and Wilson would banter on the radio and there was a real element of danger to it. That being said, that storyline was downgraded, and became what was, until recently, a rather contrived effort.
For those of you harping about "story" if you really think about the story of Kilimanjaro Safaris from 2007-2012 was rather ... uhm ... ill-defined. As you cross over toward Monkey Point, Wilson told you they "picked up a baby elephant that was wandering off on its own. We can't find the mother, I'm afraid poachers may be in the reserve" Obviously that's a bad thing, and your driver probably reiterated that. So they chose to go a way they are unfamilliar with, (with the road outside the male elephant enclosure being closed) and that takes you over the tilting bridge and further into elephant country. The driver is on the lookout for a distressed mother elephant, but they don't see anything so they start heading down toward the Kifaru Plains. Wilson comes on the radio and suggests you go west, for animal viewing purposes, clearly he is not all that concerned about the potential poachers. Suddenly however a few minutes later, he tells you there ARE poachers in the area. So the driver decides to help cut them off. The driver takes you down toward the Magadi Gorge, where your life is endangerd by geysers, presumbly caused by volcanic activity that could be very dangerous. But WAIT, the poachers have already deserted their camp! And then, according to Wilson "The Poachers ran, but they won't get far, we've located the mother elephant, thanks to you they are now both safe, Asante Sana Everyone!" So...Not only did the poachers get away, but neither the baby elephant nor the mother elephant were ever in real danger....So really the driver puts your lives at risk, but nothing was even solved. That was the story.
To me, and obviously this is my opinion, that's just silly.
Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed having a FINALE to the ride, something it will most definitely be missing when this work is complete. I also miss the radio chatter already. And while the music is still there, I thought having Wilson and the driver communicating with him was wonderful as far as immersion in to the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, so that is something I will also miss.
That being said, I simply won't miss the contrived poaching plot. (I would have loved to see radio transmissions with a naturalist like Miss Jobson telling us about the areas we're going into, but I don't think that will happen) and just to be clear, the African Music is still played from Monkey Point all the way to tiliting bridge.
Once again, for clarity's sake, this was not a change made to appease families with small children. I have very seldom heard of small children being frightened beyond reason on this ride. This was a core shift in message from being directly about poaching to being about the animals themselves, and when a new script comes online this fall, I wouldn't be surprised if many different threats to the animals were referenced, rather then just this one (albeit Major) threat.
I don't agree that this change "Whitewashes" the ride. Someone mentioned that Walt Disney Quote about that kids LIKE to be scared. and that's true so once again note that that is not why this changed is happening. Seeing animals live and up close is just as much of a thrill. I could easily reference another famous disney anecdote about Joe Rohde's team bringing a tiger into a business meeting with executives, and from then on it was no longer a question that up close animal encounters were a thrill. I think if you've ever been lucky enough to be on a safari that's been rammed by a rhino, you'd think that too. (I have by the way, AMAZING!)
Anyway...I'm rambling, the original point I was trying to make was that I really do think this is a positive change, and while there are things that I would do differently, I really do believe this change is for the best. I guess we can only wait and see where the park is in four or five years to really see the effects of many changes coming park-wide, and hopefully judge it then. Until then, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for all the reasons discussed here.
P.S. The geysers are going because...well...that's where they're building a Zebra habitat. Zebras are one of the most popular and well-known African Animals, so since they can't live with the other animals, it makes sense to feature them elsewhere. No?
There ARE real animals. How do you know that this is a positive change and whatever happened to using your imagination? The whole theme of the park is Adventure. So there's no story? Where is the message now?
