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

[TrainsOfDisney]

Stitch - I always thought it should be redeveloped. Take out the silly shoulder restraints and just make it a cute little AA special effects show. Stitch is an EXTREMELY popular character, the attraction was just a miss.

Primeval Whirl - no big loss. The carnival really needs to be redeveloped. Still if it’s one less thing in the park, it’s one less thing.

Rivers of Light - when the crowds come back, they’ll be able to put a show back into this space. I’m glad I saw the show as much as I did, it had some really cool moments, just not enough of a wow compared to other Disney shows like illuminations, world of color, etc.

 

[G00fyDad]

Maybe they will take this opportunity with the closure of Primeval Whirl to shut down the rest of Dinoland and do a decent dinosaur themed portion of the park once budgets allow. Or maybe they can just re-theme the Dinosaur ride and rework the entire area. I'm sure we'd all love to see Beastly Kingdom come to life.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Didn't say they would. But to have something just sitting there in plain sight just to rot is just sad. Especially since Dino Rama is all carnival games that can't operate during COVID. Thats why I said "Where would the money come from?" because obviously I'm quite aware of the financial uncertainty. I'm not even saying where it would come from in the short term. This is a long term problem and to have something close now just to rot and sit there for a long time is a problem thematically. So no repetition needed nor to imply that I don't understand the financial situation...

They’ve done it before...not that I don’t get what you’re saying

The repetition doesn’t apply to you...but there will be many that will post “I hear that the new ____ is on!” As they tip toe through the tulips. Stay tuned.

I’m not really sure what you’re arguing here. The water park closed under Eisner not Iger. As did many other things including some on your list, and most of the things on your list have been or are being replaced.

Many things closed and sat for a LONG time...whatever the excuse...it’s bad show.

I believe the “plug” was officially pulled on river country around the time bob took over...

It was demoed 6 months ago. He must have been busy?

 

[disneygeek90]

I actually really enjoyed ROL, looks like I won’t be doing nights at AK once park hopping comes back...

I'd be hard pressed to even estimate when nights at AK will be back in general.

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

This might sound crazy, but could it possibly be Wakanda? After Black Panther's huge success, I figured getting a Wakanda land in the parks would be a huge success, and I think Animal Kingdom would be a great place to add it. Black Panther 2 is allegedly supposed to introduce Namor, Marvel's Prince of Atlantis into the MCU, so they could possibly use the river for something Namor related as well? I'm not sure if Black Panther is tied up in Universal/Disney drama, but if Universal hasn't introduced BP as a character yet, I severely doubt they have the rights.

If things were normal This would be great but they aren't. If only they could fill it with some cheap off the shelf boardwalk rides because even that might stretch the budget . Its a decent size area so something of the Wakanda or Zootopia type of project would be cool but I can't imagine they're in the right place in the foreseeable future.

 

[FettFan]

ROL
The tech didn't do all that they thought it would (moving things to specific points reliably.) The water was the issue in that just a little wind meant the float was blown off course.
The show is limited in what it can do noise wise.
The current world of having thousand of people packed in there, even with skipping rows and distancing on seating just doesn't work. You end up being too close entering, exiting for sure, and even on the sitting.

So they cut their losses, they have a great seating area for when they can mount a new show in the future.

Funny thing is that there are trolling motors that are designed specifically to prevent this sort of thing.
It's called Spot Lock by Minn Kota....it's a programmable GPS system that can either hold your boat on a set coordinate, or it can move your boat along a path that you can program yourself.

 

[peter11435]

Like what? Horizons? 20K? Most closures without replacements have happened in the Iger era. Heck, one of the major ones happened just a few years after he became CEO and is only now getting any sort of replacement.

Horizons, 20k, river country, some theaters around DHS, numerous merch and FB locations around the property, half of the Living Seas, the skyway, numerous MK water based attractions....

I’m assuming you are referring to WoL which did close under Iger but it’s death began a few years earlier when it acquired seasonal status under Eisner.

 

[Bob Harlem]

I'd expect to see as much new out of Disney for these closed areas as we saw all the new stuff after 9/11/2001. That meaning, hope you like triceratop spin, because that'll be it for a long while in that area.

I wonder if they will remove whirl, or just let it stand without operating.

 

[Gillyanne]

I wanted to hold out hope for Primeval Whirl, if only because my niece loves all kinds of rides but wasn't tall enough to ride it (not that I would've with her b/c it's not my thing) Last time we were there it was actually running and when I told her she couldn't ride it she measured herself to understand why. The CM at the stand at the entrance gave her a lil card to act like a Fast Pass when she was big enough. it was specific to the ride "Future Past Travel Certificate This is to certify that you will be able to experience a great adventure back in time on Primeval Whirl, just as soon as you are tall as the posted signs. I was tall enough to ride on (blank for date)" At least it'll make a cool lil souvenir.

:: Edited to add pic of the card in case any one was interested::

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Forgive me, I cannot recall anything being announced as “permanently closed” until a replacement was planned. Things just closed quietly or went “seasonal”, as far as I can remember.

Pleasure island was “replaced”...then the replacement was cancelled for bout 8 years

River country

Innoventions

Wonders of life

Backlot and long “temporary” closure of mgm shows...

 

[JustInTime]

My point, moreover, is when they ANNOUNCE something is not returning, it’s typically because a replacement is planned. If they abandon something quietly, we are in for a long wait. Why create bad publicity when you can just pretend something isn’t there?

Seems like that’s what they are doing since they haven’t publicly announced. I guess I’m just glad they are staying afloat.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Should Disney eventually retheme DinoLand U.S.A. it wouldn't be a huge surprise. But, I'd personally find it a bit sad as we've grown to really like Restaurantosaurus (specifically the burger and sundae dinner offering).

 

[JustInTime]

True but there was no announcement that they were officially closed. Like Stitch has been closed for 3/4 years but not officially announced until today.

And still not publicly announced. Not a good sign.

 

[peter11435]

Many things closed and sat for a LONG time...whatever the excuse...it’s bad show.

And the same can be said for when Eisner was CEO. This is a Disney problem not an Iger problem.

I believe the “plug” was officially pulled on river country around the time bob took over...

It was closed several years before Iger took over. It sat around for a few years before they officially announced it would never reopen but even that announcement came before Iger took over.

 

[Skywise]

Heh- when I first saw this I thought they were shutting down River JOURNEY!

I liked the idea of Rivers of Light on paper but it just never really worked in execution.
It'd be nice if they'd bring back Alien Encounter in place of Stitch but otherwise that's not a surprise.
Never rode Primeval Whirl but that doesn't seem like a great loss either.

The downside is that, with Covid hanging around for awhile I don't think we'll see any replacements for years to come.

 

[FettFan]

I actually agree...but these are cost cutting moves...not “development” moves.

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

Well, Disney does own the old 'Dinosaurs' specials with Eric Boardman and the late, great Gary Owens.


Surely they could do a reboot of those for the land?

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

They’ve done it before...not that I don’t get what you’re saying

If nothing else they can at least demo the Dino Rama area and plant some trees at least. No reason why the RoL area can't be a relaxation zone while COVID is going on.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Wasn't one of the Stitch theaters already demo'd?

My hope for a night show in DAK is a water screen that works in a slight breeze. This is the chance to build it correctly with a brand new show.

 

[ElvisMickey]

Wow.. wonder how much they blew on RoL.

That’s the first thing I thought of too.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I'd be hard pressed to even estimate when nights at AK will be back in general.

I wouldn’t care if there wasn’t one thing open at AK at night. Ok, a little exaggeration there but I could stay and walk that park every night. It’s without question,IMO the most beautiful park at night. Hopefully they will stay open at night, as long as there is a adult drink stand open.