Rumor Lion King Flume Ride being considered for Animal Kingdom

Odds that Zootopia land ends up in DAK rather than DHS? ... I really think it's going to eventually end up here in a secluded expansion area of the park. Maybe not with the tree of life allegedly still on the table ... but three trackless rides in DHS or shoehorning it into MK doesn't sound ideal either.

** especially if they build a train to take you from DAK to the ZOOTOPIA area. Let the park have a splash of whimsy for the kids. It would truly make this park a full day park.
 

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry but if The Lion King doesn't fit the theme of Animal Kingdom yet Pandora does then what exactly is acceptable or not anymore?
No one said The Lion King doesn't fit. What was said was that, as with everything that goes into Animal Kingdom, the content of an attraction based on the IP needs to take the themes of the park into consideration. You can't just drop the narrative of the original film into the ride; there's a reason FotLK deviates already deviates from the source material.
 

Sneakman

Well-Known Member

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Advisable Joseph

Active Member
Its really not that hard to tie Indiana Jones into Animal Kingdom.
Look in to Mayan mythology: gods looking like animals, animals looking like humans, and humans looking like animals?

[Lion King] will be a wonderful addition to the park!!!
Problem is, where? According to the yearly rumors thread, it will cut into the safari, but from existing Africa, or from the north of the park?

I would take either[Lion King and Jungle Book]. Both are well loved stories and IP
Why not both? Baloo and Mowgli were in D'Amaro's teaser for D23.



They could be up north, in a talking animal world, with the Lion King being a transition area since the critters there are a bit less human-like. Then you could have stuff like...
Odds that Zootopia land ends up in DAK rather than DHS? ... I really think it's going to eventually end up here in a secluded expansion area of the park. Maybe not with the tree of life allegedly still on the table ... but three trackless rides in DHS or shoehorning it into MK doesn't sound ideal either.

** especially if they build a train to take you from DAK to the ZOOTOPIA area. Let the park have a splash of whimsy for the kids. It would truly make this park a full day park.

Basically the Beastly Kingdom with Disney characters Jim Hill was talking about, contrasting with Animal Kingdom:

Jim Hill's reporting that Beastly Kingdom is on track again...this time with lovable Disney characters in tow.

Sounds like Fantasyland in the Jungle.

My favorite quote from his story: "And given that DAK is pretty light when it comes to rides, shows and attractions that prominently feature the Disney characters (To date, there's only seven of these in that entire theme park)."

Um...only 7 out of, what, 12 attractions? I think Disney characters are visible enough around the park, but I'm sure there's room for more.

And supposedly DAK's River of Lights parade is a dead idea now.


If they bring over Mysterious Island /Verne-verse to Animal Kingdom but with dinosaurs in the Center of the Earth, and put Donald's Dino-Bash there, they could also put Duckburg way up north in Beastly Kingdom, as IIRC they said Duckburg was nearby. Wouldn't work in Animal Kingdom, but Beastly...
 
It can obviously get in. It already is in. But a Lion King book report styled like the original film would stand in stark contrast to almost every other ride in the park.

The yeti, the dinosaurs, and the fauna of Pandora are presented as โ€œrealโ€ within the fantasy of AK. The denizens of Beastly Kingdomme would have been treated similarly. Such would not be the case with the stylized talking and singing animals of something potentially following the Lion Kingโ€™s plot. As I mentioned previously, Itโ€™s Tough to Be a Bug is the nearest existing analogue.
But Disney is all about presenting their IP as real within the fantasy of its worlds. They're their own mythology. The artistic style and media chosen to represent them -- whether classic hand-drawn animation or ultra-realistic CGI -- does not define whether the world is "real" (or could've been "real"). Only defines how we're experiencing it in the moment. And it certainly doesn't detract from messages around animals' relationships with humans, and each other.

Kingdom Hearts shows this well -- a "real" boy travels to a variety of worlds where some happen to be presented in a 3D cartoon, some realistic, some black and white, etc.

At the end of the day, Lion King is one of the few Disney classics entirely featuring animals and animal relationships existing in our natural world (which isn't even a requirement as we know AK was open to the unnatural world) without a single human. And they chose to hand draw it. Adding a Lion King section to Africa in AK is just adding the corner of Africa where Pride Rock exists and is "real" in the movies. No less real than the section of Asia where the "real" Yeti's lair exists, or the "real" makeshift theater we visit under a big tree where bugs are putting on a show for us

Nothing at Disney is intentionally presented as fake
 

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
But Disney is all about presenting their IP as real within the fantasy of its worlds. They're their own mythology. The artistic style and media chosen to represent them -- whether classic hand-drawn animation or ultra-realistic CGI -- does not define whether the world is "real" (or could've been "real"). Only defines how we're experiencing it in the moment. And it certainly doesn't detract from messages around animals' relationships with humans, and each other.

Kingdom Hearts shows this well -- a "real" boy travels to a variety of worlds where some happen to be presented in a 3D cartoon, some realistic, some black and white, etc.

At the end of the day, Lion King is one of the few Disney classics entirely featuring animals and animal relationships existing in our natural world (which isn't even a requirement as we know AK was open to the unnatural world) without a single human. And they chose to hand draw it. Adding a Lion King section to Africa in AK is just adding the corner of Africa where Pride Rock exists and is "real" in the movies. No less real than the section of Asia where the "real" Yeti's lair exists, or the "real" makeshift theater we visit under a big tree where bugs are putting on a show for us

Nothing at Disney is intentionally presented as fake
Again, this is about the potential of cloning whatever is going into Paris' Adventure World, which would likely be a Lion King book report. Nothing else in the park is currently presented as a drive-by of film sequences because everything is adapted to allow you to explore various fauna, the worlds they inhabit, and their relationships with humans. Some of the fauna are themselves pure fantasy, but they have a fairly consistent presentation that is intended to convince you that they could exist and that what we learn about them can be extended to their real-world analogues. A re-hash of what is essentially a Broadway musical based on Hamlet with an animal visual overlay doesn't do any of that; the book report format is inherently about passive observation of what is already known rather than active exploration or discovery, and musicals are intrinsically artificial in their staging, perhaps doubly so with animals doing the singing.

There is no parallel to be drawn with Kingdom Hearts, which is about dimension-diving to realities that are fundamentally distinct from that of the main character. All of the creatures and characters in Animal Kingdom are supposed to exist in Animal Kingdom. The entrances to attractions are not supposed to be portals to alternate realities.
 

Rhinocerous

Premium Member
I think Lion King could fit if done correctly. The story of the film is Hamlet, but the message of the film is harmony and balance in nature. If they drill down on the Circle of Life aspect, and how Scar's rule destroyed that delicate balance, it could work. Of course, translating that into a compelling ride sounds like a challenge. They had enough trouble making it into a compelling film in Epcot.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
The Lion King isn't fake. They did a **LIVE ACTION** remake!! It's REAL.

At least it must be real since all the news sites keep saying that Inside Out 2 is on it's way to be the top grossing animated film once it passes Frozen II.

(The Lion King remake grossed more than Frozen II.)
 

DCLcruiser

Well-Known Member
I'm not really seeing how LK is an issue for DAK. It is a movie about real animals, doing real animal things. We are able to understand them, but they aren't speaking to humans. They aren't anthropomorphic. Plus, from what I recall as a kid, the animators studied real animals to mimic their movements to make it more natural. Not to mention the live action CGI movie.
 

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
Reading this thread is like watching someone sip a fruit smoothie and then expound on its tannins, oakiness, mouth feel, and how the orchard soil must have been mildly acidic that particular growing season.
No one's asking the park to adhere to standards beyond those that it already established for itself when it opened. Are we seriously at the point where it's considered snooty to hope that what gets built fits well within the themes Animal Kingdom had zero trouble following for the past quarter century?
 

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
No one's asking the park to adhere to standards beyond those that it already established for itself when it opened. Are we seriously at the point where it's considered snooty to hope that what gets built fits well within the themes Animal Kingdom had zero trouble following for the past quarter century?
Please explain how this fit the themes...
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Purduevian

Well-Known Member
This has been expounded upon extensively, including by Rohde himself in some of the "Making of" books. I'm not going to veer off topic about it, nor do I particularly like Dinoland. However, there is a consistent in-park logic to it.
I know the in-park logic of Chester and Hesters roadside attraction for people visiting the area for the dino institute backstory. Maybe I am wrong, but I don't remember anything about dinorama relating to conservation, man's relationship to nature, or a call to action.

If I'm wrong and it actually is in there. I'm sure a Lion King ride can fit the theme as well as a roadside wild mouse rollercoaster.
 

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