Rumor Lion King Flume Ride being considered for Animal Kingdom

[James Alucobond]

I'm sure a Lion King ride can fit the theme as well as a roadside wild mouse rollercoaster.

Of course it can. But it has to be done correctly. The current discourse was in response to the possibility of plopping in a Fantasyland-style book report and calling it good enough.

 

[Purduevian]

Of course it can. But it has to be done correctly. The current discourse was in response to the possibility of plopping in a Fantasyland-style book report and calling it good enough.

I mean:

"An entrepreneur from the town of Harambe saw all the tourists flocking to the amazing safari leaving from his town. In an effort to capitalize on this he built a ride inspired by one of the most well known fictional stories from Africa" is about as good as the Dinorama story. No fake parking lot required.

 

[James Alucobond]

I mean:

"An entrepreneur from the town of Harambe saw all the tourists flocking to the amazing safari leaving from his town. In an effort to capitalize on this he built a ride inspired by one of the most well known fictional stories from Africa" is about as good as the Dinorama story. No fake parking lot required.

… Except you would have to make it look like something of a level of finish consistent with the rest of the village, not some multimillion-dollar animatronic masterpiece. Also, that is effectively what FotLK already does, just with the villagers as puppeteers and acrobats.

 

[Starship824]

What if we just build it in an area slightly away from the town center and make it the story of entering the pride land, slowly getting less man made and more natural.

 

[Brer Panther]

Okay, so The Lion King doesn't fit in Animal Kingdom because the plot doesn't have to do with Animal Kingdom's themes, or because it would stick out like a sore thumb in the more realistic Africa.

But when we point out that Indiana Jones and Encanto don't fit in Animal Kingdom because they're not about animals or nature, we get bombarded with "Oh, well, they could use the characters to tell new stories that fit!" - nor does anybody seem to have a problem with the animated Encanto characters and house sticking out like a sore thumb next to the otherwise realistic "Tropical Americas" land (and that's assuming the land isn't just Indiana Jones and Encanto Land).

Heck, what about the also animated Moana, which people claim would also be a perfect fit for Animal Kingdom?

 

[James Alucobond]

What if we just build it in an area slightly away from the town center and make it the story of entering the pride land, slowly getting less man made and more natural.

The problem isn’t making a facade that fits. The problem is if the content amounts to baboons holding lions cubs aloft, hyenas acting like the Three Stooges, and warthogs flatulating across the savannah during a series of jaunty musical numbers.

Okay, so The Lion King doesn't fit in Animal Kingdom because the plot doesn't have to do with Animal Kingdom's themes, or because it would stick out like a sore thumb in the more realistic Africa.

But when we point out that Indiana Jones and Encanto don't fit in Animal Kingdom because they're not about animals or nature, we get bombarded with "Oh, well, they could use the characters to tell new stories that fit!" - nor does anybody seem to have a problem with the animated Encanto characters and house sticking out like a sore thumb next to the otherwise realistic "Tropical Americas" land (and that's assuming the land isn't just Indiana Jones and Encanto Land).

Heck, what about the also animated Moana, which people claim would also be a perfect fit for Animal Kingdom?

We are talking about a hypothetical scenario where we get a book report. As with Encanto and IJ, it can fit if done correctly. It’s already been done once with FotLK.

 

[bwr827]

Bring it all on! Let’s make AK a full-day park related to animals and Disney.

 

[bwr827]

The problem isn’t making a facade that fits. The problem is if the content amounts to baboons holding lions cubs aloft, hyenas acting like the Three Stooges, and warthogs flatulating across the savannah during a series of jaunty musical numbers.

We are talking about a hypothetical scenario where we get a book report. As with Encanto and IJ, it can fit if done correctly. It’s already been done once with FotLK.

So no humour allowed at Animal Kingdom?

I know my daughter would love a book report ride. I’ll hope for something more creative.

 

[Brer Panther]

The problem isn’t making a facade that fits. The problem is if the content amounts to baboons holding lions cubs aloft, hyenas acting like the Three Stooges, and warthogs flatulating across the savannah during a series of jaunty musical numbers.

But Encanto, with its people with special powers and MAGIC HOUSE, isn't too out of the ordinary for Animal Kingdom?

Hey, should we ban Mickey and Minnie from Animal Kingdom too? Giant mice wearing clothes clash with the realistic Harambe, right?

We are talking about a hypothetical scenario where we get a book report. As with Encanto and IJ, it can fit if done correctly. It’s already been done once with FotLK.

What makes you so sure they'll do it right with Indiana Jones and Encanto but won't with Lion King?

 

[Moth]

The main take away from this thread is that a Jungle Book ride is incredibly overdue for DAK.

 

[mickEblu]

The main take away from this thread is that a Jungle Book ride is incredibly overdue for DAK.

For whatever reason the thought of a Jungle Book ride does illicit more of a positive response from me than a Lion King ride. Probably most of it having to do with the setting and just the fact that it’s easier for me to visualize as an attraction. I also think that it will probably be harder to meet expectations on a Lion King ride. With a Jungle Book ride i feel like it’s the kind of IP that people would just be happy to see have some representation in the parks and would be less hard on it.

Also Baloo and King Louie. Bear Necessities. I wanna be like you. Yeah the songs, characters and setting just kind of do it for me. The park could also use some classic Disney.

 

[James Alucobond]

So no humour allowed at Animal Kingdom?

I know my daughter would love a book report ride. I’ll hope for something more creative.

There is plenty of humor and excitement throughout the park. It is just not generally rooted in animals acting in uncharacteristically anthropomorphic ways. I am happy your daughter would be happy with anything, but people on this forum will generally want to discuss the details.

But Encanto, with its people with special powers and MAGIC HOUSE, isn't too out of the ordinary for Animal Kingdom?

Dinoland includes humans capable of time travel, and Pandora includes humans capable of interstellar travel. Cryptids and aliens exist. Magical Colombians are not as large a concern to me as is the fact that the animals in the film at least generally behave like animals.

What makes you so sure they'll do it right with Indiana Jones and Encanto but won't with Lion King?

I am not sure. Where did I say I was? I have said clearly that all three can be done well or poorly. I am just baffled when those who reject Encanto and IJ outright think a Lion King book report slots in perfectly. It’s selective pickiness.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I am not sure. Where did I say I was? I have said clearly that all three can be done well or poorly. I am just baffled when those who reject Encanto and IJ outright think a Lion King book report slots in perfectly. It’s selective pickiness.

Indeed. All of them could potentially be handled well or badly.

I kind of wonder whether it has more to do with nostalgia around the original Lion King animated feature and some crotchetiness around newer IPs. There seems to me an obvious clash between Harambe and a book report-style ride based on The Lion King, but I guess it's a ride about 'animals' and based an older hand-drawn animated feature that sparks warmer and fuzzier feelings than newer IPs like Frozen or Encanto whose presence in the parks seems to more easily annoy parks fans. If we were talking an Emperor's New Groove attraction for Tropical Americas, for example, I feel there would be a lot more excitement and a lot less annoyance.

 

[Brer Panther]

Magical Colombians are not as large a concern to me as is the fact that the animals in the film at least generally behave like animals.

So talking animals don't belong in Animal Kingdom, but magical houses, aliens, and time travel are fine with you?

The animals in Encanto aren't even major characters. That's the main reason why we're saying Encanto doesn't belong in Animal Kingdom.

If we were talking an Emperor's New Groove attraction for Tropical Americas, for example, I feel there would be a lot more excitement and a lot less annoyance.

I'd still raise an eyebrow, honestly. Emperor's New Groove is about humans as opposed to animals as well, though at least the main character spends most of it as a llama.

 

[bwr827]

So talking animals don't belong in Animal Kingdom, but magical houses, aliens, and time travel are fine with you?

You don’t understand; some of those animals pass gas. Completely unrealistic.

I also am lost in the acceptance of sci-fi and the supernatural while lamenting possible cartoon animals.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

So talking animals don't belong in Animal Kingdom, but magical houses, aliens, and time travel are fine with you?

The animals in Encanto aren't even major characters. That's the main reason why we're saying Encanto doesn't belong in Animal Kingdom.

I'd still raise an eyebrow, honestly. Emperor's New Groove is about humans as opposed to animals as well, though at least the main character spends most of it as a llama.

Let's put it this way, does Expedition Everest fit the park? The set-up to that ride is all about an expedition by humans into the mountain and local legends of the Yeti among the people who live in the area. The Yeti itself only ever appeared very briefly. If you believe that fits, something like Indiana Jones or Encanto could theoretically fit even if the stories on which they are based centre on humans.

As for Lion King, you're talking about anthropomorphised animals telling a human story. I am less of a fan than many of Festival of the Lion King, but I think that kind of works as it is conceived as a live performance by human beings rather than a literal recreation of the film's plot. I don't think the old Legend of The Lion King puppet show that used to play in MK would fit well in that land, however.

vs.

You don’t understand; some of those animals pass gas. Completely unrealistic.

I also am lost in the acceptance of sci-fi and the supernatural while lamenting possible cartoon animals.

I don't think Pandora is a great fit, either. It's a great testament to Rhode and the team working on that project that it fits as well as it does.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Maybe there’s a reason for not doing something every Armchair Imagineer comes up with?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Well I hope they don’t remove the dinosaur spinners and just retheme it to something els e

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Maybe there’s a reason for not doing something every Armchair Imagineer comes up with?

I feel that way about a Lion King land that is supposed to be coming to Paris. A Lion King land is the sort of thing every 14 year-old armchair imagineer has probably thought would be a fantastic addition to the parks since the film came out. I am very curious to see, though, how they can make a land based on a world in which there are no built structures, signs, writing, etc.

 

[James Alucobond]

So talking animals don't belong in Animal Kingdom, but magical houses, aliens, and time travel are fine with you?

The animals in Encanto aren't even major characters. That's the main reason why we're saying Encanto doesn't belong in Animal Kingdom.

You don’t understand; some of those animals pass gas. Completely unrealistic.

I also am lost in the acceptance of sci-fi and the supernatural while lamenting possible cartoon animals.

Animals whose primary concerns are human or human-adjacent concerns don't belong in Animal Kingdom. This is not a difficult concept. The Lion King has a few elements in the source film that one could extract and focus on to mesh with the park's themes, but not as a straight drag-and-drop of the original story. It's not that the animals represented in the park absolutely can't talk or be stylized under any circumstance, but the more human qualities you pile upon them, the harder you have to push against that to actually convey the themes correctly. The humans in these scenarios having access to science or magic doesn't fundamentally alter the animals; it offers new and unexpected ways to interact with them.