What's Next For DHS And AK??

[TiggersPooh]

I disagree about the removal of the train. It is themed perfectly for Africa and it offers guests a chance to sit (park is a LOT of walking) and relax for the short journey to Rafiki.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

I disagree about the removal of the train. It is themed perfectly for Africa and it offers guests a chance to sit (park is a LOT of walking) and relax for the short journey to Rafiki.

Where is it themed beyond the train and the stations? You see absolutely NOTHING interesting during the entire ride.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Where is it themed beyond the train and the stations? You see absolutely NOTHING interesting during the entire ride.

I agree...and actually it's the exact opposite of themed because you can see the animal enclosures along the route.

The train itself is themed...but the attraction isn't.

 

[bugsbunny]

WDW is simply not replacing attractions at a 1-for-1 ratio. So we lose entertainment rather than gain. And then the "big" news is to refurb an existing attraction. Yeah, that's great, but even that is usually an overdue obvious "we can't get away with this any longer" move.

AK was poorly executed by Eisner, period. Lack of follow through on committing money to what it took to do it right is glaringly obvious. Look no further than the sign that has a dragon on it. How could Disney think nobody would notice a dragon on AK's sign? But this was the mantra of don't spend any more money. They bought the signs already, so put them up.

That mantra is rampant and obvious in their planning or lack thereof. It all comes down to $$$$ and nothing else. While Eisner is gone, the mentality to "hit singles and doubles" is still there. It seems nobody has the stones to dream big and go that extra mile anymore. They try to shoehorn something in that pleases the suits and bean counters, just like the original FLE project. Then once public opinion and the realization that they had a $250million Princess meet and greet came to light, they changed the plans after they already started digging dirt?

Its not the attractions that are the problem, its that they now have 10+ years of DCA and AK type execution of things they have to fix while keeping them open at the same time. Coupled with the fact they have nobody with the pull-the-trigger attitude. Lasseter might be head of ideas, but he's out working on movies, not the parks. That's pretty obvious.

Fast forward 10 years. Does anyone actually think all of these problem go away with the current regime? :shrug: The continuing piece meal after the fact is the best plans they have?

 

[NoChesterHester]

Why did the Discovery River boats close? On a park as short on attractions as DAK, it seems like closing rides would/should be the last thing they would do; even bad or mediocre ones.

The DRB had hour long waits to see nothing. Horrible attraction. Could have been so much better. It was obvious to me it was the victim of a budget cut.

 

[NoChesterHester]

Where is it themed beyond the train and the stations? You see absolutely NOTHING interesting during the entire ride.

The real issue isn't even the ride... it is the lack of compelling destination. Rafiki's Planet Watch is no different then your local petting zoo.

I like the train. I hope it stays. I just want it to go somewhere worthwhile.

 

[djkidkaz]

The wall issue isn't even the ride... it is the lack of compelling destination. Rafiki's Planet Watch is no different then your local petting zoo.

I like the train. I hope it stays. I just want it to go somewhere worthwhile.

^ This.

 

[Yodadudeman]

The wall issue isn't even the ride... it is the lack of compelling destination. Rafiki's Planet Watch is no different then your local petting zoo.

I like the train. I hope it stays. I just want it to go somewhere worthwhile.

Agreed.

 

[NoChesterHester]

Where do you propose you they put additional attractions? Aside from the Pocahontas Stage there aren't a lot of dormant areas of that park. The problem is that most of the outdoor attractions take up quite a bit of space. I already got torn apart for suggesting that Flik's Fun Fair replace some of the Discovery Island Trails.

You've been to Disneyland. New attractions don't need an expansion pad, just makes it easier. Yes, I looked at the map. Plenty of opportunity in both Dinoland, the left path before Harambe and after Pizzafari, and a couple spots in asia.

In the real world we reconfigure things all the time. A little density would do the parks some good (all of them). The will to demolish and an imagination can make amazing things happen. We are far too accustomed to not build only where it is painfully apparent because of our abundance of open space. We gave been preconditioned to do so.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Why did the Discovery River boats close? On a park as short on attractions as DAK, it seems like closing rides would/should be the last thing they would do; even bad or mediocre ones.

The boats closed due to excessive complaints from the guests. They were intended to be used mostly as transportation from one end of the park to the other while most guests were under the impression that it was a sort of "Jungle Cruise" type of attraction. The problem was that once you were on the boat, there wasn't a whole lot to see and guests got bored quickly.

The DRB had hour long waits to see nothing. Horrible attraction. Could have been so much better. It was obvious to me it was the victim of a budget cut.

The Discovery River Boats were originally intended to showcase mythical animals and would have had encounters with the lochness monster, dragons (as well as the charred remains of knights that had gone after the dragon), and a unicorn. What happened was they had next to no money to actually theme the ride once the docks and boats had been set up. This left enough for a propane rig that would breath fire out of a cave.

There was also an encounter with the Aladar (spelling?) the Iguanadon from Countdown to Extinction. After the initial complaints they tried to revitalize the boats by bringing smaller animals/insects/arachnids on the boat to showcase, but in the end it was closed because guests saw it as nothing more than a mode of transportation.

Perhaps guests should start to complain about that "Wildlife Express Train" so they shut that down too. It's by far the most boring ride I ever experienced in a Disney park, the bus tours between the parks are more interesting and I would appreciate if it would be closed and they would open instead a normal path to get to Rafikis Planet Watch. Because it is the peak of bad imagineering to build a BORING train ride that is the only mean of transportation to an entire area or land that is MEDIOCRE at best.

I disagree about the removal of the train. It is themed perfectly for Africa and it offers guests a chance to sit (park is a LOT of walking) and relax for the short journey to Rafiki.

Where is it themed beyond the train and the stations? You see absolutely NOTHING interesting during the entire ride.

I agree...and actually it's the exact opposite of themed because you can see the animal enclosures along the route.

The train itself is themed...but the attraction isn't.

The real issue isn't even the ride... it is the lack of compelling destination. Rafiki's Planet Watch is no different then your local petting zoo.

I like the train. I hope it stays. I just want it to go somewhere worthwhile.

The train is another mode of transportation - but I do like the benefit of being able to see the back of the house areas. I'd consider that relevant as it's taking you to Rafiki's Planet Watch to see the Animal Care Facilities back there.

Over the years the rumors have been that Festival of the Lion King would move back there to bring some attention to that space, but the reality is that the average guest doesn't want to invest the time it takes to get back there - ultimately it's not worth it.

WDW is simply not replacing attractions at a 1-for-1 ratio. So we lose entertainment rather than gain. And then the "big" news is to refurb an existing attraction. Yeah, that's great, but even that is usually an overdue obvious "we can't get away with this any longer" move.

AK was poorly executed by Eisner, period. Lack of follow through on committing money to what it took to do it right is glaringly obvious. Look no further than the sign that has a dragon on it. How could Disney think nobody would notice a dragon on AK's sign? But this was the mantra of don't spend any more money. They bought the signs already, so put them up.

That mantra is rampant and obvious in their planning or lack thereof. It all comes down to $$$$ and nothing else. While Eisner is gone, the mentality to "hit singles and doubles" is still there. It seems nobody has the stones to dream big and go that extra mile anymore. They try to shoehorn something in that pleases the suits and bean counters, just like the original FLE project. Then once public opinion and the realization that they had a $250million Princess meet and greet came to light, they changed the plans after they already started digging dirt?

Its not the attractions that are the problem, its that they now have 10+ years of DCA and AK type execution of things they have to fix while keeping them open at the same time. Coupled with the fact they have nobody with the pull-the-trigger attitude. Lasseter might be head of ideas, but he's out working on movies, not the parks. That's pretty obvious.

Fast forward 10 years. Does anyone actually think all of these problem go away with the current regime? :shrug: The continuing piece meal after the fact is the best plans they have?

Animal Kingdom has that dreaded word, "potential" associated with it. The park really has so much potential. As much as I love it, it is still the most incomplete of all of the parks (I would argue that it's far closer to DHS than most think though).

I understand that the animal exhibits should be part of the draw, and they are for me - but that's not the case for everyone. The park essentially opened with two rides (and two modes of transportation, outlined above). That is inexcusable. Kilimanjaro Safaris is my favorite ride in Disney World, but no Disney park should open with a roster of rides that thin.

Faced with a decision between Dinoland and Beastly Kingdom, Eisner made the executive decision to go for Dinoland. I actually don't fault him so much for this, I just fault him for the implementation. Had they opted for Beastly Kingdom, I think there would be alternating monthly threads about when Disney is going to build Dinoland, vs. getting rid of Chester and Hester's Dragon-O-Rama.

Dinoland should have been built out with the original Dino Institute theme with a more thorough Countdown to Extinction as well as the Excavator. They can still make that happen, but I'm not optimistic.

You've been to Disneyland. New attractions don't need an expansion pad, just makes it easier. Yes, I looked at the map. Plenty of opportunity in both Dinoland, the left path before Harambe and after Pizzafari, and a couple spots in asia.

In the real world we reconfigure things all the time. A little density would do the parks some good (all of them). The will to demolish and an imagination can make amazing things happen. We are far too accustomed to not build only where it is painfully apparent because of our abundance of open space. We gave been preconditioned to do so.

I'm not against using the existing space in the Animal Kingdom, but as I've said there aren't the gaping holes in DAK that exist in Epcot and DHS. The areas you've identified don't offer a huge amount of space. I don't feel that every addition to a park needs to be a huge addition, but realistically we couldn't anticipate more than a B/C ticket level attraction at best in any of the locations that you mentioned. These types of attractions (especially if they're rides) are absolutely necessary in this park, and provided they are themed correctly, I would absolutely welcome.

However, to address the greater need of the park (family D tickets), this would require expansion (or building in Camp Minnie Mickey).

 

[Cosmic Commando]

It seems like every time someone brings up a potential expansion space for DAK, there are reasons trotted out why "it" won't fit or why Disney shouldn't use that space. However, WDI must have been planning out decades of expansion space before even opening... so where are the good spots to use?

 

[nytimez]

WDW is simply not replacing attractions at a 1-for-1 ratio. So we lose entertainment rather than gain. And then the "big" news is to refurb an existing attraction. Yeah, that's great, but even that is usually an overdue obvious "we can't get away with this any longer" move.

AK was poorly executed by Eisner, period. Lack of follow through on committing money to what it took to do it right is glaringly obvious. Look no further than the sign that has a dragon on it. How could Disney think nobody would notice a dragon on AK's sign? But this was the mantra of don't spend any more money. They bought the signs already, so put them up.

That mantra is rampant and obvious in their planning or lack thereof. It all comes down to $$$$ and nothing else. While Eisner is gone, the mentality to "hit singles and doubles" is still there. It seems nobody has the stones to dream big and go that extra mile anymore. They try to shoehorn something in that pleases the suits and bean counters, just like the original FLE project. Then once public opinion and the realization that they had a $250million Princess meet and greet came to light, they changed the plans after they already started digging dirt?

Its not the attractions that are the problem, its that they now have 10+ years of DCA and AK type execution of things they have to fix while keeping them open at the same time. Coupled with the fact they have nobody with the pull-the-trigger attitude. Lasseter might be head of ideas, but he's out working on movies, not the parks. That's pretty obvious.

Fast forward 10 years. Does anyone actually think all of these problem go away with the current regime? :shrug: The continuing piece meal after the fact is the best plans they have?

This.

 

[flavious27]

WDW is simply not replacing attractions at a 1-for-1 ratio. So we lose entertainment rather than gain. And then the "big" news is to refurb an existing attraction. Yeah, that's great, but even that is usually an overdue obvious "we can't get away with this any longer" move.

AK was poorly executed by Eisner, period. Lack of follow through on committing money to what it took to do it right is glaringly obvious. Look no further than the sign that has a dragon on it. How could Disney think nobody would notice a dragon on AK's sign? But this was the mantra of don't spend any more money. They bought the signs already, so put them up.

That mantra is rampant and obvious in their planning or lack thereof. It all comes down to $$$$ and nothing else. While Eisner is gone, the mentality to "hit singles and doubles" is still there. It seems nobody has the stones to dream big and go that extra mile anymore. They try to shoehorn something in that pleases the suits and bean counters, just like the original FLE project. Then once public opinion and the realization that they had a $250million Princess meet and greet came to light, they changed the plans after they already started digging dirt?

Its not the attractions that are the problem, its that they now have 10+ years of DCA and AK type execution of things they have to fix while keeping them open at the same time. Coupled with the fact they have nobody with the pull-the-trigger attitude. Lasseter might be head of ideas, but he's out working on movies, not the parks. That's pretty obvious.

Fast forward 10 years. Does anyone actually think all of these problem go away with the current regime? :shrug: The continuing piece meal after the fact is the best plans they have?

It is too bad that parks is hq on the wrong coast, being closer to their money maker would bring better maintenance. It isn't a surprise that dca got over a billion to be rebuilt, they could smell that place's stink from burbank.

 

[flavious27]

It seems like every time someone brings up a potential expansion space for DAK, there are reasons trotted out why "it" won't fit or why Disney shouldn't use that space. However, WDI must have been planning out decades of expansion space before even opening... so where are the good spots to use?

DAK

DHS

MK

WDW in general

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

AK was poorly executed by Eisner, period. Lack of follow through on committing money to what it took to do it right is glaringly obvious. Look no further than the sign that has a dragon on it. How could Disney think nobody would notice a dragon on AK's sign? But this was the mantra of don't spend any more money. They bought the signs already, so put them up.

Yep. He didn't only throw out the entire Beastly Kingdomme to replace it with a rather boring M+G area but he even downwatered the rides that were built. Kali River Rapids were planned more than twice as long (not to mention the Tigers) but shortened, a mistake because what was planned as a major E-ticket attraction in the park and a super headliner became a disappointingly short experience.

 

[menamechris]

Yep. He didn't only throw out the entire Beastly Kingdomme to replace it with a rather boring M+G area but he even downwatered the rides that were built. Kali River Rapids were planned more than twice as long (not to mention the Tigers) but shortened, a mistake because what was planned as a major E-ticket attraction in the park and a super headliner became a disappointingly short experience.

I agree with this completely. AK was a project that was seriously underestimated by not just Eisner, but everyone. I can honestly say it was the first theme park - anywhere, ever - that I walked into and literally had no idea what to do. I found myself just wandering and being bored out of my mind. Over time, and as I have grown up, I appreciate many aspects of it more- but I shouldn't be enjoying a theme park by conciously thinking about the engineering and creativity behind it. Those things should be elements that be enjoyed subconsciously as part of an overall experience. It shouldn't be the experience itself...

 

[imagineer boy]

DAK

I say build Beastly Kingdomme in the current Camp Minnie-Mickey area and build Australia in the Western "Possible Pad" area.

 

[ctxak98]

OK! so Ive read what everyone has said thus far on this message board and I now have some things to say. PERSONALLY I agree nothing will top POTTER for a long time. IT just finally ended its movie saga and is going to be popular for a long time just like star wars. HOWEVER I feel disney is not doing anyhting to SHOW that they care! CARS LAND to me seems really boring because I personally find it to be one of the most boring pizar movies to date. Finding Nemo, The incredibles, and UP are wayyyy more enjoyable.

Disneys Hollywood Studios and EPCOT have both lost there true selves along the way. People forget what its was supposed to be about. ADDING pixar characters to every single ride will ruin the diversity of the parks. NOT EVERY park is supposed to be about the characters like Magic Kingdom. I think now that there is a pixar place DISNEY NEEDS another ride. Toy story mania has too little of a capacity limit that the ride becomes overly crowded very fast making it the longest wait in the park if you dont get a fast pass right away.

Animal Kingdom to me HAS 4 of disney worlds GREATEST rides....but thats all they have. I think DINOLAND needs a change. DINOSAUR should get an update to make it new and thrilling. keep all the dinosaurs just move them to different spots and maybe change the story a little idk but That ride combines a little bit of everything in my opinion. CandH can be taken down and maybe replaced with an area where dinosaurs DO ROAM and have some kind of "walking with Dinosaurs " show at animal kingdom. and maybe change dinosaur back to COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION and making a ride DINOSAUR into a intense 3D show???
ALL IM trying to get to is disney needs another ride that will be a showstopper thrill or a showstopper family ride. otherwise disney is going to get completely run OVER by potterville!

 

[flavious27]

I say build Beastly Kingdomme in the current Camp Minnie-Mickey area and build Australia in the Western "Possible Pad" area.

Well that could work out, that pad is a more buildable spot than the larger one I placed to the east of ee. What would you put in that large spot?

OK! so Ive read what everyone has said thus far on this message board and I now have some things to say. PERSONALLY I agree nothing will top POTTER for a long time. IT just finally ended its movie saga and is going to be popular for a long time just like star wars. HOWEVER I feel disney is not doing anyhting to SHOW that they care! CARS LAND to me seems really boring because I personally find it to be one of the most boring pizar movies to date. Finding Nemo, The incredibles, and UP are wayyyy more enjoyable.

Disneys Hollywood Studios and EPCOT have both lost there true selves along the way. People forget what its was supposed to be about. ADDING pixar characters to every single ride will ruin the diversity of the parks. NOT EVERY park is supposed to be about the characters like Magic Kingdom. I think now that there is a pixar place DISNEY NEEDS another ride. Toy story mania has too little of a capacity limit that the ride becomes overly crowded very fast making it the longest wait in the park if you dont get a fast pass right away.

Animal Kingdom to me HAS 4 of disney worlds GREATEST rides....but thats all they have. I think DINOLAND needs a change. DINOSAUR should get an update to make it new and thrilling. keep all the dinosaurs just move them to different spots and maybe change the story a little idk but That ride combines a little bit of everything in my opinion. CandH can be taken down and maybe replaced with an area where dinosaurs DO ROAM and have some kind of "walking with Dinosaurs " show at animal kingdom. and maybe change dinosaur back to COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION and making a ride DINOSAUR into a intense 3D show???
ALL IM trying to get to is disney needs another ride that will be a showstopper thrill or a showstopper family ride. otherwise disney is going to get completely run OVER by potterville!

I know that there are other stories that could be used to make something on the same level as wwhp, but I agree that disney won't spent the money or creative time.

 

[TalkingHead]

DINOSAUR should get an update to make it new and thrilling. keep all the dinosaurs just move them to different spots and maybe change the story a little idk but That ride combines a little bit of everything in my opinion.

But mostly it has darkness.