News Primeval Whirl, Stitch's Great Escape and Rivers of Light permanently closed

[FigmentJedi]

THIS!

I think you've hit the nail on the head.

The land had potential before Dino-Rama. Not only did Dino-Rama destroy the land's aesthetic as you described, but it messed up the crowd flow so that a big percentage of guests now completely miss the land's actual main attraction.

Not only should they remove Dino-Rama in its entirety, but they should fix the pathways so that guests are actually funneled to the land's true centerpiece. The percentage of AK guests who are never aware of Dinosaur's existence is ridiculous. Fixing that problem would almost be like adding a new e-ticket to the park.

The truth is, even from the beginning, the placement of Dinosaur was one of the weirdest design decisions that Disney had ever made in a theme park. It should have been the land's "weenie," just like the EE mountain is for Asia, the tree in front of KS is for Africa, etc. But at least improving the guest flow would make more people aware that it exists...

Imagine if instead of hiding the show building with a row of trees on the roof, they created a rockwork ridge of fossil layers marking off the K-Pg extinction line or one of those buttes where they arrange white rocks into the town initials/symbols like you see all the time out west. There's a lot of ways the prehistoric road trip placemaking could have been strengthened if budgets weren't so tight in the park's original construction and first few years.

 

[MythBuster]

Replacing either is understandable and fine, the issue is that they're closing without a substitute planned

That's the problem now, they are not looking to replace, just shutdown to save money.

 

[po1998]

Yes the spinner is the only thing operating.

View attachment 484308

How DInoRama ever got green lit is beyond me? It is one area that if it was bulldozed and nothing put in its place but trees/landscaping and benches, it would be a drastic improvement.

 

[wdwmagic]

How DInoRama ever got green lit is beyond me? It is one area that if it was bulldozed and nothing put in its place but trees/landscaping and benches, it would be a drastic improvement.

Need for quick ride capacity is why it was built.

 

[po1998]

Need for quick ride capacity is why it was built.

So far below WDW standards.

 

[CircusPeanuts]

So far below WDW standards.

It was a *very* different era in the company. The economy was trash before 9/11 and then that made it worse. Disney was releasing direct to video animated movies like Lady and the Tramp 2 and Hunchback 2 like they were going out of style. Not saying it makes it right, but context is important. Look at the original Disney Studios Paris which opened around the same time if you want to see the true meaning of value engineering - way worse than anything people complain about today.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I'm assuming RoL will return in some other form in a year or two, the R&D along with the infrastructure that went into building the show just does not warrant total abandonment. Just my opinion, but time will tell.

 

[sanctumsolitude]

Need for quick ride capacity is why it was built.

Hey guys we need more ride capacity at Animal Kingdom. Why don't we add a off-the-shelf ride with a height requirement higher than space mountain...

 

[easyrowrdw]

I'm pretty sure it was open when we went in February.

It was open when we went in December also. I think it's been closed regularly, though.

 

[Brer Panther]

I’d love to see dinoland completely redone...but they have no IP for it and that’s a dealbreaker

Disney owns Ice Age now. I wouldn't be opposed to them building a ride based on that. Maybe a fun family-friendly dark ride.

EP: Figment -- currently worst ride on property. I'm all for closing it now so long as an Imagination 1.0 replacement is on "the horizon"

I'm worried that if Figment closes, that'll torpedo any chance of us getting the original ride back, or at least something very similar to the original ride using the same characters.

 

[JohnD]

Disney owns Ice Age now. I wouldn't be opposed to them building a ride based on that. Maybe a fun family-friendly dark ride.


I'm worried that if Figment closes, that'll torpedo any chance of us getting the original ride back, or at least something very similar to the original ride using the same characters.

Good point.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney owns Ice Age now. I wouldn't be opposed to them building a ride based on that. Maybe a fun family-friendly dark ride.


I'm worried that if Figment closes, that'll torpedo any chance of us getting the original ride back, or at least something very similar to the original ride using the same characters.

Slow moving “infotainment” rides are just never coming back...

Do I hold out hope they’ll do a trackless or some new generation ride with figment?
I do...but it’s just not gonna happen.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I hope they keep some night time hours for AKL, at least in the fall through early spring, when you can see Panadora and some of the other areas at night. It really is pretty to walk around the AKL with various glowing lights and trees etc.

 

[UNCgolf]

The original Rivers of Light was tremendous. My second favorite night show I've seen at Disney behind Reflections of Earth. The updated version looked bad, though.

I'm glad Primeval Whirl and Stitch are being put out of their misery. I know those locations will likely just sit there empty for several years, but at least there's the chance of something better going in there eventually.

 

[freediverdude]

Warning- Spoiler in Files

Well at least it looks like he is still in one piece and could be reused with a new fur suit!

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

Disney owns Ice Age now. I wouldn't be opposed to them building a ride based on that. Maybe a fun family-friendly dark ride.


I'm worried that if Figment closes, that'll torpedo any chance of us getting the original ride back, or at least something very similar to the original ride using the same characters.

I agree. I feel like if they do that, they’ll then attempt to slowly phase out figment merchandising, since they’ll view him as “no longer relevant” since he won’t have an attraction. That’ll probably lead them to eventually demoing the pavillion, for another glorified “booze bar,” or a “modern open concept landscape” with food stands.

 

[Communicore]

So! Are they doing away with the “on the cheap” TDO aesthetic of Chester and Hester, and maybe, upgrading it? I’ve always loved that back story to hide the fact that it was really, on the cheap.

 

[Fox&Hound]

Oh I know it won't happen this year, or next, but please tell me C&H gets replaced. The boneyard is actually well-done and truly fun for small kids and Dinosaur is okay, but the rest of the land needs a complete overhaul. Hopefully, imagineers can now begin dreaming up something awesome for this space and when the time is ripe to pull the plug, plans are already in place.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

So far below WDW standards.

After Frank Wells died, Disney had multiple attractions that were subpar in the years Eisner had remaining in his reign as CEO and it was not just Primeval Whirl. It was not just a WDW problem either.

I never went to Disneyland, but I read Disney California Adventure was a big disappointment in its early years with complaints about the park. Superstar Limo was so bad a ride that it did not even last a year before it closed down despite it being a DCA grand opening attraction.

In terms of WDW, Enchanted Tiki Room under New Management was not looked kindly by people like me. The 2nd version of Imagination was terrible and got replaced by a 3rd version.

 

[MrPromey]

Slow moving “infotainment” rides are just never coming back...

Do I hold out hope they’ll do a trackless or some new generation ride with figment?
I do...but it’s just not gonna happen.

You know, everyone seems to hate the ride but at the rate Disney continues to slap him on Epcot merch and event things, there's gotta be a pretty universal love for the character. People are obviously buying the stuff.

So I have an idea: Disney can make a movie about Figment!

They can get Jon Favreau to direct so it'll pull in at least half a billion dollars.

Then Figment will be an internationally popular IP and they'll be able to build a real ride with a real budget featuring him in... the way they do things today, probably Animal Kingdom?

That's it! New trackless Figment Ride to replace Dinorama! You heard it here first, folks!