What’s next for Animal Kingdom?

[larryz]

Ya, looks like you're right about the use of animals with a specific important phrase "Snakes, why did it have to be snakes".......but Indiana Jones is as much about "animals" as Empire Strikes Back is with its "And I thought these things smelled bad on the outside"
Would you consider putting Star Wars in that spot because the franchise has animals like dragonsnakes and bogwings? I hope not.

My point is the animal angle is a stretch, enough to make Helen Parr proud.

But then again pulling the Helen Parr seems to be the going rate lately so have at it.

Animals are a big part of the IJ universe. Hence, you can reasonably put an IJ attraction in AK.

Unless, of course, you don't feel that 10-foot-tall blue aliens are appropriate... and they're even sentient beings, unlike most of the critters in IJ movies, so not what we'd normally call "animals."*

* Fraternity members excepted

 

[The Empress Lilly]

JC
PotC
Splash
BTM
CBJ
HM
HoP
Space
CoP

SSE
TT
AmAd

ST
ToT
RotR

KS
Dino

Since you asked

No LwtL?

Since this is a DAK thread:

Are E:
EE
FoP
Presentation and theatrics are everything. Both rides excell in that. You are somewhere, they create a place. They take you on a journey. They convey a sense of scale, of importance. There is stuff to look at. And both have a decent ride experience at heart, not an excellent one, but decent enough.

Not E:
Dino.
Like Kali, it does everything right that EE and FaP do too, but is severely let down by the ride experience. Every single time I go I expect that this time, the ride will deliver. But neither ever does. Michalangelo once said that he doesn't create sculptures, he merely releases them from the rock, in which they have always been present. Likewise, somewhere there are great rides hidden in Kali and Dino, but they weren't found.

Personally I might add the two trails as E's too.

 

[marni1971]

both have a decent ride experience at heart, not an excellent one, but decent enough..

That is enough to knock them down to a D. D+ for FoP for the overall theming.

IMHO of course.

I can’t believe I’m having the age old discussion about what’s an E.... must be the lock down

 

[The Empress Lilly]

That is enough to knock them down to a D. D+ for FoP for the overall theming.

IMHO of course.

I can’t believe I’m having the age old discussion about what’s an E.... must be the lock down

Who's your favourite princess?

 

[Bender123]

That is enough to knock them down to a D. D+ for FoP for the overall theming.

IMHO of course.

I can’t believe I’m having the age old discussion about what’s an E.... must be the lock down

Dwarves feels like half a ride...Its the same story (but the opposite end of the story) as with River Journey. It feels like there should be something "more", but it just ends. River Journey feels like all buildup and no finale. Dwarves feels like all Finale and no buildup.

Its like if they started Splash at the room where the Bear gets his head stuck in the hive. Yeah, its a neat ride, with a great story system, just there is nothing that makes it a satisfactory story.

Its so weird that many of the recent examples of rides all just feel like half an experience.

 

[bryanfze55]

Dwarves feels like half a ride...Its the same story (but the opposite end of the story) as with River Journey. It feels like there should be something "more", but it just ends. River Journey feels like all buildup and no finale. Dwarves feels like all Finale and no buildup.

Its like if they started Splash at the room where the Bear gets his head stuck in the hive. Yeah, its a neat ride, with a great story system, just there is nothing that makes it a satisfactory story.

Its so weird that many of the recent examples of rides all just feel like half an experience.

I think the real factor is neither have a story. There’s no conflict. There’s no “reason” other than pretty scenery. Granted, I think pretty scenery is important and I enjoy both rides...

But it‘s just odd that Walt Disney was able to build rides with real story and real conflict in 1955, and the majority now have none of that.

Frozen Ever After? Just visiting Elsa. No biggie. 7DMT? Idk, visiting the dwarves at work I guess. NRJ? Visiting a shaman... it’s pretty, but why am I visiting this shaman? What’s the moral of the story? Even Mr. Toad circa 1955 had a “moral”.

There’s room for both types of rides (I guess Storybook Land Canal Boats and the Casey Jr. Circus Train are just “pretty scenery” rides, but I just wish Disney put a little more effort into their C and D ticket rides and not just the occasional blockbuster like RotR.

 

[Bender123]

I think the real factor is neither have a story. There’s no conflict. There’s no “reason” other than pretty scenery. Granted, I think pretty scenery is important and I enjoy both rides...

But it‘s just odd that Walt Disney was able to build rides with real story and real conflict in 1955, and the majority now have none of that.

Frozen Ever After? Just visiting Elsa. No biggie. 7DMT? Idk, visiting the dwarves at work I guess. NRJ? Visiting a shaman... it’s pretty, but why am I visiting this shaman? What’s the moral of the story? Even Mr. Toad circa 1955 had a “moral”.

There’s room for both types of rides (I guess Storybook Land Canal Boats and the Casey Jr. Circus Train are just “pretty scenery” rides, but I just wish Disney put a little more effort into their C and D ticket rides and not just the occasional blockbuster like RotR.

Disagree on River Journey and 7D...

The 7D story should follow the actual story. What makes it weird is we get the dwarves working, Snow White Sleeping, then everyone happy and dancing. The problem is they needed to have one or two more "story" stops in the ride to get that across.

The problem with RJ is the opposite. Its five minutes (less, actually) of build up as the forest comes alive. You see the animals moving, you are getting the music rising, you see the Navi going to a festival. YOU ARE GOING TO THE FESTIVAL! Suddenly, you see an amazing sight! A real Navi shaman, welcoming you to join in the celebration and to join in with the songs of nature! How exciting! I can wait to see the next room! I bet its a huge celebration and a bunch of AA Navi and animals will be there!

Then...you turn the corner and...and...Its an empty room with some treasure, sitting on dais.

 

[bryanfze55]

Disagree on River Journey and 7D...

The 7D story should follow the actual story. What makes it weird is we get the dwarves working, Snow White Sleeping, then everyone happy and dancing. The problem is they needed to have one or two more "story" stops in the ride to get that across.

The problem with RJ is the opposite. Its five minutes (less, actually) of build up as the forest comes alive. You see the animals moving, you are getting the music rising, you see the Navi going to a festival. YOU ARE GOING TO THE FESTIVAL! Suddenly, you see an amazing sight! A real Navi shaman, welcoming you to join in the celebration and to join in with the songs of nature! How exciting! I can wait to see the next room! I bet its a huge celebration and a bunch of AA Navi and animals will be there!

Then...you turn the corner and...and...Its an empty room with some treasure, I think, sitting on dias.

I’m not sure what you disagree with. What you’re saying is accurate. I just added that visiting dwarfs at work and visiting a singing shaman hardly counts as a “story” IMO.

Ride length is what it is. I’d love every ride to be PotC in Disneyland or Spaceship Earth. Talk about payoff... But NRJ is pretty much par for the course for most dark rides and nearly twice as long as many of the Fantasyland-style dark rides (PP, SW, Pinocchio, Toad).

 

[Tavernacle12]

I think the problem with NRJ is there really isn't that much spectacle until the very end. There's some projections and that one plant with the frogs jumping on it, but that's it. If they added some actual AA animals around to make it feel like a genuine forest, it'd be more satisfying. I know the Shaman is incredible but the elephant pool at Jungle Cruise has more to look at than the whole rest of the ride. It need enough in it so you can actually miss something and want to ride it again, which a lot of the classic dark rides and even Astroblasters has.

 

[The Grand Inquisitor]

I think the problem with NRJ is there really isn't that much spectacle until the very end. There's some projections and that one plant with the frogs jumping on it, but that's it. If they added some actual AA animals around to make it feel like a genuine forest, it'd be more satisfying. I know the Shaman is incredible but the elephant pool at Jungle Cruise has more to look at than the whole rest of the ride. It need enough in it so you can actually miss something and want to ride it again, which a lot of the classic dark rides and even Astroblasters has.

I agree Navi River Journey just feels empty. It needs AA's and some more exciting stuff as well.

 

[Imagineer45]

Dino-Rama is a blight on Disney's most beautiful US park. Joe Rohde and his team did the best they possibly good with the awful assignment they were given (it was during the Pressler era), but Dino-Rama is a net negative to the DAK experience, jarringly removing guests from the transportive world created by the rest of the masterfully-designed park.

Disney seems to like the idea of including mid-level roller coasters in its parks, a la Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Slinky Dog Dash. Why not "dig up" the Excavator plans, and make a kid-friendly version of that?

As for what Disney is actually doing, there were apparently a few ideas being considered for Dinoland, at least some of which included the long-awaited removal of Dino-Rama. As mentioned above, supposedly there were also concepts for Pandora Phase 2.

Obviously things are currently up in the air regarding capital expenditures, but they will have to get back to expansions eventually, and when they do, Dinoland and Pandora seem to be the two most likely prospects...

Dinoland is such an eyesore. Last time I went to DAK with non-Disney fans, they were so confused by the area and thought the apparent lack of theming was completely bizarre and out of place. The boneyard is great, Dinosaur is fine but could use a refurbishment to update the 90s appearance, and everything else sucks. I agree that the area has to distinguish itself from Jurassic Park, so I think it should continue with the Boneyard theme and replace everything Chester and Hester with the long-sought Excavator roller coaster. This would be the perfect opportunity for a wooden roller coaster to fit the archeological dig site theme, and a well-done Disney wooden roller coaster would be thoroughly enjoyable for all ages like Big Thunder. Lastly, the Finding Nemo Musical should be taken out because, in addition to me personally not enjoying the show, it does not fit the theme at all and I think all Nemo related attractions should be at The Seas at this point. I know the movie did not perform well at the box office, but a dark or boat ride based on The Good Dinosaur would be a perfect here.

Up.

Imagine if they re-created Paradise Falls.

If a South America land is ever added, Paradise Falls and an E-Ticket Up ride are an absolute must. It could really look as good as Pandora.

Again, I have no idea to the plausibility of it all, but I always thought it'd be kind of cool to re-purpose the train as a means of transportation between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. That might be pie-in-the-sky, but I've always felt that resort deserved a very unique mode of transportation to AK.

I agree that AKL should have some sort of walking/non-bus access to DAK since it is the park's hotel. I always thought that if the monorail was extended to DAK that it could loop around AKL to turn around, like how the Epcot Line loops around World Showcase, so riders could see the animals. Having the monorail even receive new trains is a stretch at this point, so my hopes are not very high...

Kali River Rapids is also disappointing, especially because it has so much potential. It is considered the sister ride to Grizzly River Run, which has much better theming and is 50% longer in a park 1/8th of the size. The deforestation theme is also very abrupt and is slightly confusing. There is plenty of room to add more track before the deforestation scene, which they should use to add at least 2 more minutes of ride time and a scene or two with some backstory before the deforestation scene. On the topic of ride length, Navi River Journey is also way too short.

I also find it strange that The Lion King, a movie that has made $2.5 billion from the original and remake, is limited to a single show in Africa. The Jungle Book made almost $1 billion when the remake was released a few years ago and has no presence at all in Asia. I am not saying the park should go all out for IPs and believe a mixed approach is the right way to go, but two popular, financially successful films about animals should definitely have a larger presence in a park about animals when they have no presence elsewhere at WDW.

 

[Mr Mindcrime]

It need enough in it so you can actually miss something and want to ride it again

I think this says it all....

 

[UNCgolf]

I agree Navi River Journey just feels empty. It needs AA's and some more exciting stuff as well.

I've argued this here before, but I don't think it feels empty -- it's elaborately detailed, it just ends abruptly (as someone mentioned above).

I think what's there is significantly better than what's in Frozen Ever After or Little Mermaid, which have more AAs (FEA has very good AAs) but feel very underbuilt/cheap otherwise. NRJ really does feel like you're on a river in an alien rain forest because you're completely surrounded by detailed sets.

I think the main reason people are so down on NRJ is because of the insane wait times. If it had 30-45 minute waits I think most people would enjoy it as a solid C ticket dark ride (even though it still has serious issues with the story/abrupt ending). I've only ever been on it with a FastPass. I'm sure if I waited two hours to ride it, I would have been very annoyed because it's not worth that kind of wait.

 

[The Grand Inquisitor]

I've argued this here before, but I don't think it feels empty -- it's elaborately detailed, it just ends abruptly (as someone mentioned above).

I think what's there is significantly better than what's in Frozen Ever After or Little Mermaid, which have more AAs (FEA has very good AAs) but feel very underbuilt/cheap otherwise. NRJ really does feel like you're on a river in an alien rain forest because you're completely surrounded by detailed sets.

I think the main reason people are so down on NRJ is because of the insane wait times. If it had 30-45 minute waits I think most people would enjoy it as a solid C ticket dark ride (even though it still has serious issues with the story/abrupt ending). I've only ever been on it with a FastPass. I'm sure if I waited two hours to ride it, I would have been very annoyed because it's not worth that kind of wait.

I agree with your points. They should have more AA's throughout the ride and something better at the end after the Shaman.

 

[UNCgolf]

I agree with your points. They should have more AA's throughout the ride and something better at the end after the Shaman.

It could definitely stand to have a few more AAs throughout. I think the screens/projections work pretty well (despite not being a big fan of them in general) because they are mostly showing things that are supposed to be off in the distance, but there should be a couple of AA animals on the river banks as well.

 

[The Grand Inquisitor]

It could definitely stand to have a few more AAs throughout. I think the screens/projections work pretty well (despite not being a big fan of them in general) because they are mostly showing things that are supposed to be off in the distance, but there should be a couple of AA animals on the river banks as well.

I think what hurts the ride is lack of AA's and the ride was supposed to have a drop and more things going on but they got cut. Plus the line can be kinda busy as well.

 

[bryanfze55]

I agree with your points. They should have more AA's throughout the ride and something better at the end after the Shaman.

No offense, I don’t really get this argument... We could say that about any ride really. I mean, I wish there were more scenes after the jail scene in Pirates of the Caribbean. And if you’ve ever been on the Disneyland version of PotC, MK’s could be very disappointing in comparison.

That’s why I think dwelling on ride length is a losing game. Every ride will compare negatively to something. We could ask for that “one extra scene” on every ride. And look at Spaceship Earth. The final part of the ride is a cheesy joke, but the ride as a whole is still a great experience worth doing. In the same vain, I think NRJ is worth doing because it is a good experience. It’s a peaceful boat ride through a well-designed alien planet. I’m sure the budget was cut to hell on this, and Rohde and his team did a pretty good job with what they had.

I think the real issue is that standby waits are always 60+ minutes. But that’s not an actual fault in the quality of the ride, it’s just a result of FastPass+ and AK having 8 rides.

 

[Mr Mindcrime]

I think the main reason people are so down on NRJ is because of the insane wait times

I agree with this. We've only ever ridden NRJ with Fast Passes. With little to no wait, we enjoyed the ride for the visual aspect and the Shaman. If we had to wait an hour, it would definitely not seem worth it. The ride needs improvement for sure but we don't get too worked up about it if we walked right on.

 

[Bender123]

I’m not sure what you disagree with. What you’re saying is accurate. I just added that visiting dwarfs at work and visiting a singing shaman hardly counts as a “story” IMO.

Ride length is what it is. I’d love every ride to be PotC in Disneyland or Spaceship Earth. Talk about payoff... But NRJ is pretty much par for the course for most dark rides and nearly twice as long as many of the Fantasyland-style dark rides (PP, SW, Pinocchio, Toad).

For RJ, at least, there is most definitely a story, the problem is that it doesnt have a satisfying finale. Imagine seeing Star Wars and the climactic battle to defeat the Death Star happens off screen. Thats my problem with RJ. You get all this story and buildup and you never get to see the payoff. You just get the ships taking off to attack and suddenly they are handing out medals. The story still exist...It just isnt a satisfactory conclusion.

 

[texasex95]

Again, I have no idea to the plausibility of it all, but I always thought it'd be kind of cool to re-purpose the train as a means of transportation between Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. That might be pie-in-the-sky, but I've always felt that resort deserved a very unique mode of transportation to AK.

I agree 100%. Have some sort of eco-friendly transportation...maybe sponsored by Tesla...and an interesting trail so you can at least walk between the two locations. The least they could do is build a walkway. It seems so wrong to take a bus when the park is that close.