Why was this never done? It doesn't seem to me that The Lion King has enough representation in the parks. It has one show whereas Nemo has three, Toy Story has two, Little Mermaid is soon to have two, etc. I believe Lion King is just as popular as these others. I'd love to see a Lion King dark ride in Animal Kingdom, possibly similar to Pooh's Hunny Hunt with the trackless ride system, with an elaborate Pride Rock facade as detailed as the ones for Little Mermaid and Be Our Guest. Just a random thought.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Lion King Dark Ride
- Thread starter td1129
- Start date
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
I don't see this happening any larger than a show. Or maybe it's just a lion king dark ride has no interest for me.
Maybe a Hercules or Beauty and the Beast dark ride I can easily see more clearly?
Maybe a Hercules or Beauty and the Beast dark ride I can easily see more clearly?
DABIGCHEEZ
Well-Known Member
In addition to the Festival of the Lion King...Timon and Pumbaa are in the Circle of Life movie @ the Land Pavillion and there was a Lion King(puppet-like) Show before Philarmagic had to come along. So it is not like there is or was just the AK show.
I do agree a dark ride based on this classic is due in one of the parks. Wasn't there a rumor about adding LK AAs to the Jungle cruise years ago? I would like that... this way the corny storyline/joke would be gone!
I do agree a dark ride based on this classic is due in one of the parks. Wasn't there a rumor about adding LK AAs to the Jungle cruise years ago? I would like that... this way the corny storyline/joke would be gone!
DABIGCHEEZ
Well-Known Member
I wasn't comparing them... just saying that there was some other things over the years representing the LK.
And BTW... we enjoy(ed) them both. Different shows and both well done IMO.
And BTW... we enjoy(ed) them both. Different shows and both well done IMO.
JustInTime
Well-Known Member
Well, they could could always hire new management for the Tiki Room.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
There's also Rafiki's Planet Watch which is inspired in some what by the Lion King.
I certainly wouldn't mind other attractions based on The Lion King as its a great movie, but I don't think they are doing it a disservice. There are other classic films that have much more of an argument for being ignored in WDW IMHO: Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Jungle Book, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, etc.
I'd love to see a Jungle Book ride as well. Some if the best music in all of the Disney movies.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
This. My count on LK based things at WDW is this:
Festival of the Lion King
Philharmagic [segment]
Circile of Life
Art of Animation (as of Aug 10)
Walk around / parade characters (Timon and Rafiki)
For some reason "dark ride" has become the thing for fans here (and elsewhere) to insist their favourite movie should get, and nothing else will fill the void of disapointment in not having one (which is why even after getting more BatB stuff this year, people are still insisting a dark ride be given for that). There are many, many Disney movies that don't have dark-rides and likely never will, as much as I or others may want them for their specific favourites. Realistically not everyone can have one, and since I like to see Disney make original rides too, I don't mind that they don't.
It also seems to be a lazy form of creativity where you take any given Disney movie and add "dark ride" at the end and somehow it will be great. I don't think every Disney movie would work in that format, so I also don't mind that some don't for that reason and I think there are other ways to incorporate their content into the parks in satifsfying ways.
JimboJones123
Well-Known Member
I agree that Sleeping Beauty is maybe the most underrepresented classic on WDW property. In my opinion, it is still the most beautiful Disney movie ever made. It literally looks like stained glass throughout the film.
I don't know how this could be changed, but a Dragon in a show that SERIOUSLY needs updating and a few M&Gs are really selling this masterpiece short.
Sorry, I forgot the $250 tea time at GF.
I don't know how this could be changed, but a Dragon in a show that SERIOUSLY needs updating and a few M&Gs are really selling this masterpiece short.
Sorry, I forgot the $250 tea time at GF.
ellie-badge
Well-Known Member
A Lion King dark ride? Meh... for some reason, the idea just doesn't sit well with me. Dark rides, to me, suit the much older Disney films better. The Lion King is an incredible story with epic proportions... will a simple dark ride really be able to do it justice?
I'd much rather prefer a Broadway-esque stage show at one of the parks, perhaps even as a replacement to Festival of the Lion King. It's already on Broadway, so they could easily tone it down a bit and turn it into something that's on the scale of, say, the Aladdin stage show over at Disneyland (if it's still there). I would enjoy that, personally.
Another thing I was thinking Disney could do would be a tame coaster, maybe on the same level as Big Thunder Mountain. The premise could be that we're trying to avoid the stampede of wildebeast with Simba and, after he is confronted by Scar, run for our lives out of the gorge and through the thorny forest with him to escape from the hyenas. It could end with Simba (and us, too) meeting Timon & Pumbaa, and that's when the ride would end. That would be pretty cool, too.
I'd much rather prefer a Broadway-esque stage show at one of the parks, perhaps even as a replacement to Festival of the Lion King. It's already on Broadway, so they could easily tone it down a bit and turn it into something that's on the scale of, say, the Aladdin stage show over at Disneyland (if it's still there). I would enjoy that, personally.
Another thing I was thinking Disney could do would be a tame coaster, maybe on the same level as Big Thunder Mountain. The premise could be that we're trying to avoid the stampede of wildebeast with Simba and, after he is confronted by Scar, run for our lives out of the gorge and through the thorny forest with him to escape from the hyenas. It could end with Simba (and us, too) meeting Timon & Pumbaa, and that's when the ride would end. That would be pretty cool, too.
ImagineerDude
Well-Known Member
I would like to see a great BatB and LK dark rides built. But if they were done like LM I would be greatly disappointed :/
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
The Lion King got an entire theme park.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
A Lion King dark ride just doesn't seem like it would do the film justice. Something like the Lion King should be represented on the stage, because of that amazing soundtrack and the depth of the story. Unless a ride was created based on something specific, I just don't see it working as a dark ride.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
That's one of my disappointments with the FLE. I think with all the land they are using, that there is easily some room for an additional smallish attraction or two -- and I think Sleeping Beauty would be the prime candidate for some recongition. I mean, couldn't they have added a show building to the side of the Mine Coaster (and covered it with rockwork so it looks like the rest of the mine mountain) and had Aurora's cottage attached as a ride entrance for a classic dark ride based on Sleeping Beauty? You wouldn't need a large footprint for that and it would finally get a presence for a movie that deserves it. (Similarly, how does Cinderella not have any presence in DLR?)
I've said it elsewhere, but I think that there should be a land in Animal Kingdom to showcase the various Disney animals. Call it "Critter Country" or something like that (not that it has any relationship to the DL land) and feature attractions based on the likes of Bambi, Jungle Book, Pocohontas, Tarzan, 101 Damations, Lady and the Tramp or even more obscure ones like The Rescuers, The Great Mouse Detective, The Fox and the Hound, etc. Maybe a Chip 'N Dale treehouse tossed in. Heck, you could bring back Mr. Toad! I mean, there's lots of possible options and it could be an easy way to increase capacity with a relatively small footprint and give younger folks more options while still being nostalgic for the older crowd.
I really can't believe that Bambi and The Jungle Book don't have Disney attractions. Two absolutely wonderful films. I guess you could add something based on the Jungle Book to "Asia" in DAK, but I think it's better to avoid "cartoony" stuff like that which would undermind the theming of the land.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
Sleeping Beauty has got two awesome walkthroughs, in Anaheim and in Paris. Smallish, but lovely.
SB is simply made for a presence in a Disney park, I wish we had some in Florida.