What the heck is Dinoland U.S.A?

[Movielover]

I mean, flat rides don’t typically have “show scenes” really.

Tomb Raider The Ride was a pretty good one... Or it could have been if Paramount had not shot themselves in the foot while building it.

 

[xdan0920]

As in, I expected my post would be met with hyperbolic knee-jerk complaints like "It looks like a Six Flags!" - I question whether people who say this have actually been to a Six Flags. Dinorama is Six Flags-y: tacky flat cutout theming on asphault with little to no landscaping. Toy Story Land is not this.

"There's no placemaking!" - what does that even mean? The place is Andy's backyard. We're in Andy's backyard.

If you had told me 10 years ago that Disney would have lands as elaborate in scope and scale as Pandora and Galaxy's Edge, I would have been skeptical. Let's not pretend that Toy Story Land is Disney's new normal, OR that there haven't been carnival rides at WDW since 1971.

I'm not saying I think TSL is fantastic or preferable to something better, but its several steps up from Dinorama or Pixar Pier to me.

I have season passes to Six Flags Great Adventure. It does look like a Six Flags. You keep going on and on about lush landscaping, Whatever you think that means, Toy Story Land isn't it. It's a couple exposed rides, modestly dressed up.

There is no placemaking. There are big decorations. It's the All Star Resorts school of themed design. Or if you are feeling generous, the Pop Century.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Lazy.

So if parks gave us unconvincing show scenes in 1963 it's ok to continue that in the 2000's even though architectural designs and engineering has greatly improved over the years.

Not as lazy as your glossing over the context of my remark. Someone mentioned Walt and how he'd never allow such carnival type rides.

He did.

That was the point of my post, not the straw man you so cleverly knocked down.

 

[xdan0920]

Not as lazy as your glossing over the context of my remark. Someone mentioned Walt and how he'd never allow such carnival type rides.

He did.

That was the point of my post, not the straw man you so cleverly knocked down.

FWIW.....

I believe, most posters, when bringing up Walt, are making the point that he consistently strived for the best. Whatever that was at the time.

It's always going to be easy to point to something from 1963, and say "look look, Disney did X back then, therefore it's fine to Y do now."

 

[lazyboy97o]

Not as lazy as your glossing over the context of my remark. Someone mentioned Walt and how he'd never allow such carnival type rides.

He did.

That was the point of my post, not the straw man you so cleverly knocked down.

The context is that the post to which you responded made no mention of flat rides, or even rides.

 

[Incomudro]

FWIW.....

I believe, most posters, when bringing up Walt, are making the point that he consistently strived for the best. Whatever that was at the time.

It's always going to be easy to point to something from 1963, and say "look look, Disney did X back then, therefore it's fine to Y do now."

Except when he didn't.
Except when budgets wouldn't allow it.
Except when time frames wouldn't allow it.
Much like now.

 

[xdan0920]

Except when he didn't.
Except when budgets wouldn't allow it.
Except when time frames wouldn't allow it.
Much like now.

This is a stretch, even for you.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I have season passes to Six Flags Great Adventure. It does look like a Six Flags. You keep going on and on about lush landscaping, Whatever you think that means, Toy Story Land isn't it. It's a couple exposed rides, modestly dressed up.

There is no placemaking. There are big decorations. It's the All Star Resorts school of themed design. Or if you are feeling generous, the Pop Century.

Tell us your definition of placemaking and why Toy Story Land doesn't have it.

The All Star/Pop Century hotels have no placemaking. The theme is "motel but what if larger than life props attached to the buildings?" In Toy Story Land you are the size of a toy and everything is constructed out of t toys.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Tell us your definition of placemaking and why Toy Story Land doesn't have it.

The All Star/Pop Century hotels have no placemaking. The theme is "motel but what if larger than life props attached to the buildings?" In Toy Story Land you are the size of a toy and everything is constructed out of t toys.

Place is about distinctiveness, aesthetically and spatially. Andy’s backyard is no more distinctive than Bonnie’s backyard or Julie’s backyard. You only know you are in Andy’s backyard because it is written out, not because of any design elements that form a distinctive space. Even spatially, the land is just an assortment of things dropped into a field and how they are dropped has no meaning or significance. Anything could be wrapped in a big toy look, be dropped in anywhere and fit just as well as anything else.

 

[Incomudro]

This is a stretch, even for you.

Why?
The original Magic Kingdom's had a carousel, Speedway, Tea Cups, Mr. Toad, Dumbo... That's just in one park.
So Walt didn't consistently strive for the best as far as rides themselve's go.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I mean, flat rides don’t typically have “show scenes” really.

Yes. But now that some posts mentioned Walt era flat rides....

The show scenes of the Carousel, of Dumbo, are the scenes, the views, of the Medieval town, of the castle. That's why these rides are so good. Imagine if you will the carousel on the parking lot and it loses most of its attractiveness. Whereas the bare steel coaster would be just as exciting.

The reverse is true too. The flat rides are the show scenes of the county fair in the medieval village. FL MK's original theme, now largely forgotten.

Hence why consistency of theme is important, it is the mechanism through which the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

A problem with Dinorama, and Pixar Pier, is that the rides here all but are the theme. The backstory is merely an excuse, or more positively stated a reason, for why they are there. 'Here is a spinner, it is themed to here is an area with a spinner'. The carousel on the parking lot....

 

[MisterPenguin]

Yes. But now that some posts mentioned Walt era flat rides....

The show scenes of the Carousel, of Dumbo, are the scenes, the views, of the Medieval town, of the castle. That's why these rides are so good. Imagine if you will the carousel on the parking lot and it loses most of its attractiveness. Whereas the bare steel coaster would be just as exciting.

The reverse is true too. The flat rides are the show scenes of the county fair in the medieval village. FL MK's original theme, now largely forgotten.

Hence why consistency of theme is important, it is the mechanism through which the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

A problem with Dinorama, and Pixar Pier, is that the rides here all but are the theme. The backstory is merely an excuse, or more positively stated a reason, for why they are there. 'Here is a spinner, it is themed to here is an area with a spinner'.

So, then, Alien Swirling Saucers is an excellent use of a flat ride.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The show scenes of the Carousel, of Dumbo, are the scenes, the views, of the Medieval town, of the castle. That's why these rides are so good. Imagine if you will the carousel on the parking lot and it loses most of its attractiveness.

This is why the new Dumbo isn't as good, despite the added capacity and ornamentation.

Sticking it in the back corner of Fantasyland took away a lot of the appeal IMO. The other versions benefit from having it in the center of their Fantasylands.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

So, then, Alien Swirling Saucers is an excellent use of a flat ride.

Personally, to me your A.S.S. is the best part of Toy Story Land.

 

[AugieMorosco]

Hey all,

I've recently returned from my first trip the WDW, spending 3 weeks spread across Disney, Universal & seeing family in Jacksonville. Had an amazing time, and Disney met my expectations....ish.

I imagine this has been discussed to death here, but what is going on with Dinoland U.S.A? More importantly, why does it even exist?

Animal Kingdom was the park I was most looking forward to experiencing, a beautiful Oasis which seems to have a clear identity. Avatar was incredible, Kilimanjaro Safari was unique and fun, and it was just an all round pleasant park to walk around. When I went into Dinoland, I could not believe my eyes, just how out of character it felt in comparison to the rest of AK. It feels like a fun fair slapped on top of car park, and nowhere near up to the standard the rest of the park has set. Even worse Primeval Whirl was shut all day, and as the park is kind of lacking in the rides department, it was one less ride to go on. The main Dinosaur ride was a lot of fun, however it did not make up for overall experience of the area.

What's the plan here, surely this has to go at some point soon? As mentioned the Animal Kingdom is the one park in my eyes which has a clear theme, in comparison to the others, with less crossover. Are there plans to rebuild this as something better? Even if they stuck with the Dino theme would be fine, it just needs to be on the scale of the new lands we are seeing being built now, with amazing theming and attractions.

I'm most certainly in the minority, but I found Dinoland to be charming, whimsical, and overall fun. I particularly enjoy the character M&Gs, being a big fan of all things duck. I did know the backstory prior to going and also had low expectations based on these forums. It's certainly not TSL or Pandora, but I liked it and felt like it had a place at AK.

 

[MisterPenguin]

If the over-the-top cheesy Christmas lights of Dinoland makes it the new Osborne Lights...

Then Dinoland will never go away!!

In fact, they may double down on cheesy additions all year round!!!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Yes. But now that some posts mentioned Walt era flat rides....

The show scenes of the Carousel, of Dumbo, are the scenes, the views, of the Medieval town, of the castle. That's why these rides are so good. Imagine if you will the carousel on the parking lot and it loses most of its attractiveness. Whereas the bare steel coaster would be just as exciting.

The reverse is true too. The flat rides are the show scenes of the county fair in the medieval village. FL MK's original theme, now largely forgotten.

Hence why consistency of theme is important, it is the mechanism through which the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

A problem with Dinorama, and Pixar Pier, is that the rides here all but are the theme. The backstory is merely an excuse, or more positively stated a reason, for why they are there. 'Here is a spinner, it is themed to here is an area with a spinner'. The carousel on the parking lot....

I agree with that take on it.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

Come to think of it, now that I know the back story, the land seams cool for the story, but still it looks like a quick fix, that should be expanded. Maybe they should make the back story more evident. But then, people would have to slow down to read it and understand it.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I'm sorry but I dont care what the backstory was. It still is an area that just doesnt fit with your expectations for what Disney is capable of putting into that park. It feels like they got to that part and just got lazy. Where is the creativity?

Agreed -- it just looks and feels lazy, and Disney should know better: if a land needs several paragraphs of "backstory" to make sense, then your storytelling has failed. The addition of all the pay-to-play carnival games makes the land feel like an even more thankless rip-off than the ugly, lackluster aesthetics already do. There was such a missed opportunity here to create an Indiana-Jones-style land full of exotic adventures, exploration and archaeology/paleontology that would have been really cool. Midway games and cartoon cut-outs? Not so much.

 

[juniorthomas]

This^^^

From the Disney Wiki page.



The biggest problem is this backstory story is very poorly communicated in the land itself. Most people just look at Dino-Rama as a cheep carnival and don't think about the story behind it.

Can't agree with this more. Prior to today, I didn't know Dinoland HAD a backstory.