News Wakanda joins Coco, Zootopia, and Encanto on Disney Parks' future blue sky expansion list, reveals Josh D'Amaro

[Animaniac93-98]

Wait am I missing something? I always thought Animal Kingdom was about conservation, I don't remember ever reading about it being about adventure and exploration.

It's whatever Disney wants it to be at the time a decision is made.

 

[HauntedPirate]

D'Amaro stresses that, while not a final piece of concept art, the image — which showed the aging Dinoland U.S.A. section of the park re-themed to tropical American locales with Encanto and Coco attractions — highlights "where our heads are" as his team continues "dreaming" plans for Animal Kingdom's next big move.

I think "a dark place" would better describe where their heads are.

 

[doctornick]

Wait am I missing something? I always thought Animal Kingdom was about conservation, I don't remember ever reading about it being about adventure and exploration.

Rohde has said:

"If you think about the intrinsic value of nature, transformation through adventure, and personal call to action — these are the value of Animal Kingdom," Rohde said. "But if you say them again, those are the themes of the film Avatar. So Avatar and Animal Kingdom will nest into each other very, very neatly."

 

[DonniePeverley]

This is getting on my nerves with all this 'we might do this or we might not' ....

Ridiculous

 

[Brer Panther]

"Animal Kingdom is about exploration and adventure

Funny, I always assumed that it was about, y'know, ANIMALS.

 

[britain]

He’s trying to make it clear that WDI is working hard tap dancing and sweating bullets, and whether or not anything gets built is not his fault, it’s Bob’s.

 

[britain]

Funny, I always assumed that it was about, y'know, ANIMALS.

I think he’s avoiding the obvious tie-in that they will reveal as it gets closer.

Snakes. It has to be snakes.

 

[Incomudro]

From an article at Entertainment Weekly with Josh D'Amaro.

"After first teasing a potential Indiana Jones-themed replacement for the Disney World park's beloved Dinosaur ride, in an exclusive interview with EW at a press preview for Hong Kong Disneyland's new World of Frozen-themed land, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro doubles down on the Harrison Ford-starring blockbuster series as prime material for the wildlife park's next expansion.

"I think I actually played some music, didn't I?" D'Amaro teases, referencing his Destination D23 presentation in September, which saw him reveal concept artwork showing off an Indiana Jones-inspired temple in place of the existing Dinosaur thrill ride while composer John Williams' Indiana Jones score played overhead.

D'Amaro stresses that, while not a final piece of concept art, the image — which showed the aging Dinoland U.S.A. section of the park re-themed to tropical American locales with Encanto and Coco attractions — highlights "where our heads are" as his team continues "dreaming" plans for Animal Kingdom's next big move.

"We've got so many stories to tell, we have so many things we want to make even better in the theme parks. My plan is to continue to share that with the guests. I know people are like, 'My gosh, I can't believe he's saying this. Is he serious, is he not?' The answer is, we are absolutely serious," he says, also pointing to the company's recent announcement that it would spend $60 billion on improving global properties over the next 10 years. "We know what this business is capable of, we know what our fans expect of us, and we're going all in. You're going to see more and more of that. As we make our way through some of these ideas, some of them will become real, and we'll say that's specifically what we're going to do, but I want our guests to be on the journey with us."

Following D'Amaro's D23 presentation, many Disney parks fans questioned how Indiana Jones might fit in within Animal Kingdom, a park founded on principles of wildlife conservation. D'Amaro, who previously served as Animal Kingdom's vice president, notes that, while he's not ready to go "deep into" specifics just yet, he's optimistic about how that potential move might be received.

"Animal Kingdom is about exploration and adventure," he says. "I was fortunate enough to have run that theme park, so I know how special it is, and I think there are a lot of stories that we can stay true to Animal Kingdom and express new properties in there, and that's what you see us starting to do.""

Full article below.

Disney parks boss addresses potential 'Indiana Jones' ride at Animal Kingdom

Disney parks boss addresses potential 'Indiana Jones' replacement for Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom and other big moves: 'We know what our fans expect of us and we're going all in.'

ew.com

It's a disgrace to AK to remove Dinosaur and replace it with Indy.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

This is getting on my nerves with all this 'we might do this or we might not' ....

Ridiculous

Don’t worry, if Disney’s feature films keep bombing they’re not going to have any money to do anything in any parks.

 

[Rhinocerous]

“…As we make our way through some of these ideas, some of them will become real, and we'll say that's specifically what we're going to do, but I want our guests to be on the journey with us."

‘Get excited for all the announcements that we might actually follow through on. We’re in this together!’

The Disney difference.

 

[Haymarket]

I think Wakanda could be a land in a new IP park ($17 billion and 13,000 new "Disney jobs" in ten years may hint at a new park). Maybe Disney could negotiate with Comcast to use its MCU version of Black Panther at WDW, leaving Universal to use the old comic book version.

 

[Bocabear]

Disney is not even finishing out the parks they have...the last thing they need is another new underbuilt park.
I am just weary of the overuse of Superheroes...let that be Universal's thing....Disney has a gigantic library of classic IP to use... and at this moment they just need to finish up what is in the hopper....

 

[LittleBuford]

Wait am I missing something? I always thought Animal Kingdom was about conservation, I don't remember ever reading about it being about adventure and exploration.

How do dinosaurs fit that mission, though?

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

How do dinosaurs fit that mission, though?

The whole mission of Dinosaur is to "conserve" a dinosaur by saving it from extinction.

 

[Indy_UK]

From what Josh I saying the last day or so about Indy in Animal Kingdom, its sounds like the land expansion hasn't even got past the Blue Sky phase yet.

It may be me but I find it 1000 times more annoying that they announce and don't get cracking on building for years. I would rather they just don't announce until they are ready to build.

 

[LittleBuford]

The whole mission of Dinosaur is to "conserve" a dinosaur by saving it from extinction.

OK, but I think it’s a bit of a stretch to pretend that a concern for conservation defines people’s experience of attractions like Dinosaur or Expedition Everest. And let’s not forget that the original vision for the park included Beastly Kingdom.

 

[doctornick]

 

[LittleBuford]

View attachment 754980

“Thrill at the drama” seems relevant to the current discussion.

 

[LSLS]

OK, but I think it’s a bit of a stretch to pretend that a concern for conservation defines people’s experience of attractions like Dinosaur or Expedition Everest. And let’s not forget that the original vision for the park included Beastly Kingdom.

Absolutely a stretch, but I've just never heard it described as a park about exploration and adventure, I've only heard it described in the context of conservation.

 

[LittleBuford]

Absolutely a stretch, but I've just never heard it described as a park about exploration and adventure, I've only heard it described in the context of conservation.

See the dedication plaque posted above by @doctornick.