New Addition's To Disney's Animal Kingdom

[999th Happy Haunt]

Expand the dig site theme to the area dinorama is in now and build The Excavator roller coaster and some flat rides for kids that look like they were made from old digging machinery and there is a 100% satisfactory replacement for dinorama that fits the theme and story of the land perfectly. A peaceful dark ride with a dinosaur safari theme would also be a great addition but I don't think it's needed.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I do think a peaceful Dino ride is needed. Kids love Dino's - even little ones - and the DINOSAUR ride is something I'd never put them on.

 

[Kman101]

I do think a peaceful Dino ride is needed. Kids love Dino's - even little ones - and the DINOSAUR ride is something I'd never put them on.

It's really too bad Good Dinosaur flopped. Who owns the rights to Land Before Time?

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

It's really too bad Good Dinosaur flopped. Who owns the rights to Land Before Time?

Personally I think both are too cartoony for AK

 

[Kman101]

Personally I think both are too cartoony for AK

Yeah I agree with that. I like the realistic animals used in the park. If by some miracle we ever got a Jungle Book ride I'd prefer it based on the live action movie. It's also why as much as I'd love one I'd rather not get a ride based on Lion King.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Who owns the rights to Land Before Time?

Universal. Surprised they never did anything with it in their parks. Would have had more longevity then the Fievel playground

 

[Timothy_Q]

Hopefully if Dinoland ever gets a redo, they'll remove the movie tie-ins on Dinosaur and give it a better theme for the queue and facade

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

I'm suspect any resurrected version of The Excavator would be a family-friendly coaster (e.g., 7DMT-level) that serves those who can't ride EE. And that could be great, IMHO. Disney could definitely make a solid experience out of riding through rockwork with dinosaur fossils (hey, it's already a lot of people's favorite part of BTMRR!) and maybe excavation equipment.

Perhaps more importantly, the additional rockwork would also really help add a better sense of place to Dinoland. There's already a small sample of good-quality rockwork with embedded fossils at the entrance, so this would extend the existing aesthetic and go a long way to improve the land's visual consistency.

TBH, I might be more excited just for the removal of Dino-Rama than I am for whatever will replace it.

 

[HMF]

It's really too bad Good Dinosaur flopped. Who owns the rights to Land Before Time?

I believe Land Before Time was a Don Bluth project and considering their history, I don't think Disney would want anything to do with him.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The number one change that can make to Dinoland is get rid of that freakin' underpass chokepoint. Gah! Move it, people!

 

[UpAllNight]

I hope they never change Dinosaur beyond updates/refreshes. It's one of my absolute favourite rides and we laugh all way around it every time without fail.

 

[Daveeeeed]

Yeah I agree with that. I like the realistic animals used in the park. If by some miracle we ever got a Jungle Book ride I'd prefer it based on the live action movie. It's also why as much as I'd love one I'd rather not get a ride based on Lion King.

Can I like more than once? The Jungle Book has to be live action for it to fit in Animal Kingdom. Plus it's becoming a franchise so it seems that it is the best decision.

 

[HMF]

I hope they never change Dinosaur beyond updates/refreshes. It's one of my absolute favourite rides and we laugh all way around it every time without fail.

I would like the name changed.

 

[Phineas]

You know, they could always make a slow-moving dark ride taking riders through prehistory with thoughtful Spaceship Earth-esque narration, possibly with the dawn of man as the finale. And with rumblings of Energy getting axed/replaced, they could always refurbish/reuse the Dino AAs from there.

 

[peter11435]

Yeah I agree with that. I like the realistic animals used in the park. If by some miracle we ever got a Jungle Book ride I'd prefer it based on the live action movie. It's also why as much as I'd love one I'd rather not get a ride based on Lion King.

Well there is a live action Lion King coming too.

 

[Coaster Lover]

You know, they could always make a slow-moving dark ride taking riders through prehistory with thoughtful Spaceship Earth-esque narration, possibly with the dawn of man as the finale. And with rumblings of Energy getting axed/replaced, they could always refurbish/reuse the Dino AAs from there.

As much as this pains me to say, I think the "safe" option for Disney is to avoid talking about evolution as much as possible. You rustle too many feathers of potential visitors who live just north in the Bible belt to dabble in that field.

What would fit really well in Animal Kingdom would be an area dedicated to talking about ocean animals... however, with the Sea in EPCOT and Sea World just down the road, I'm not sure how you would put something like that in AK and keep the attraction in EPCOT and yet differentiate enough to be different enough from Sea World.

 

[HMF]

As much as this pains me to say, I think the "safe" option for Disney is to avoid talking about evolution as much as possible. You rustle too many feathers of potential visitors who live just north in the Bible belt to dabble in that field.

I agree, to an extent. It should stay in the era of Dinosaurs, bringing man into it just complicates things. Disney should avoid controversy as much as reasonably possible though I do think dropping the ball on Energy is tragic.

 

[doctornick]

the backstory of Dinoland USA already involves the Dino Institute being able to travel in time. It's a small stretch form there to have a dark ride that is a "zoo" where you can meet dinosaurs who were injured that they brought back and cared for and studied, but couldn't be returned to the past for their own safety. Y'know, like a regular zoo, but with dinosaurs. You can have the premise of the ride being a riding safari to meet these dinosaurs in their enclosures.

That could use the AAs from UoE pretty effectively. If they wanted to go that route.

 

[DDLand]

You know, they could always make a slow-moving dark ride taking riders through prehistory with thoughtful Spaceship Earth-esque narration, possibly with the dawn of man as the finale. And with rumblings of Energy getting axed/replaced, they could always refurbish/reuse the Dino AAs from there.

Keep in mind that Disney's Animal Kingdom happens exclusively in the first person. You are a character in the adventure, you don't passively watch the events. The dark ride you speak of would be a difficult concept to accomplish in practice while keeping the adventure about the guests.

Watching a story unfold passively has its place, but not at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The Animatronics from Energy are not accurate and would have to be overhauled completely to make it work. Feathered Dinosaurs should be coming sooner rather than later.

 

[DDLand]

Yeah I agree with that. I like the realistic animals used in the park. If by some miracle we ever got a Jungle Book ride I'd prefer it based on the live action movie. It's also why as much as I'd love one I'd rather not get a ride based on Lion King.

I don't think Jungle Book makes sense in the park narrative. While there could be debate, I don't believe the movies (definitely not the book) are set in the modern day. Asia is a modern day experience. It would be odd to place something from a century ago in a land about today. Furthermore, all iterations of the Jungle Book have animals that are either not accurately placed in their habitat, displaying nonnatural behaviors, or are incorrectly portrayed. For example, numerous animals were portrayed in the most recent movie as significantly larger than the real world creature. The old animated movie featured a species of Apes nonnative to India. Disney's Animal Kingdom prides itself on accurate portrayals of Animal behaviors and features, and would immediately be at odds with that mission. Perhaps most egregiously, the new Jungle Book Film featured an animal that is extinct in a feature role all without acknowledging the break. While there is a place for imaginary or extinct animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom, it must be in a properly supported area like Dinoland or BK.

It's also worth noting that Jungle Book is not a product of Asian Cultures. While there are certainly traces of the culture in the book, it was written by a European from a European perspective. The follow ups have also been created by Americans from an America perspective. If there must be a dark ride narrative, I think it would be far more fascinating to have a South Asian story told in way that enriches the land and park.

This also ignores the fact that the ride would have to take place in the first person. A retelling of the adventure wouldn't cut it. It would have to be your Adventure in the setting of the Jungle Book, at which point you have to wonder why even bothering with IP.

Jungle Book isn't necessary or even appropriate at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Think Original.

Edit: Hah, I didn't even mention that the book and park have different themes and messages. That's another problem...