Will Avatar Land and Africa connect?

[Figment2005]

Hmmm... Now there's an option I never thought of.

I'd always assumed they'd stay at the same grade and either bring the bridge onstage or have gates on either side of the walkway that they'd open only after hours or in an emergency (like an ambulance needed to get to First Aid). Going under the bridge makes sense.

-Rob

If I remember correctly, once you start entering the new Africa area you are on a downgrade. This happens very subtly so folks probably don't even notice they are going downhill.

 

[danlb_2000]

Here is the 3D view from Google Earth.

 

[Tim Lohr]

Here is the 3D view from Google Earth.

View attachment 86755

Back when they had boats going around Discovery Island the boats went under this bridge but the rest of this area was different. From this angle though it looks like path way is right next to the river, and this seems like a great spot for a boat dock. Is there any chance they are bringing the boats back as proper transportation system around AK? or any permits to that effect?

 

[Daannzzz]

That looks like it will be a hellish spot when each Lion King show gets out. Even without those crowds that seems like a tight path.

 

[Lucky]

My opinion has always been that the best and deepest immersion in the Orlando themeparks is found in both Harambe and Anandapur. The theming in Africa and Asia is absolutely top notch.

I agree, but haven't been to WWoHP since Diagon Alley opened.

 

[RSoxNo1]

That looks like it will be a hellish spot when each Lion King show gets out. Even without those crowds that seems like a tight path.

Without the additional pathways leaving the Lion King now still feels better than Camp Minnie Mickey. With the runoff to Avatar as well as the additional room coming this year in Africa this shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Timothy_Q]

Bringing the boats back once RoL opens would be amazing

 

[doctornick]

Bringing the boats back once RoL opens would be amazing

I've been a big fan of the idea of having the boats back just for transportation (and the kinetics of having them go along the water) rather than it being a "ride". Make ports at opposite ends of the Discovery River (maybe use the old one in Asia and then put one on the path between Africa and Pandora) and it can be like the lagoon boats in Epcot.

 

[Fox&Hound]

1. Still agree that a few more rides would be welcome in AK beyond Pandora

2. What was the deal with the boats? My understanding is that they did not serve as transportation or even really a ride. That there was not much to look at? Is this true? It seems like a great idea. Just curious since I never got the chance to experience the boats. Does anyone have stories of riding them? Thanks...

 

[RSoxNo1]

Bringing the boats back once RoL opens would be amazing

If they're sold as a means of transportation a la the Friendship boats at World Showcase it could work.

 

[ThemeParkTraveller]

2. What was the deal with the boats? My understanding is that they did not serve as transportation or even really a ride. That there was not much to look at? Is this true? It seems like a great idea.

I believe it originally used to ferry people between Discovery Island and Asia, but they later turned it into a round trip journey. Indeed, there was little of actual interest to see while on the boat. It was basically just a place to rest your legs for 15 minutes. I think there were some geysers and the infamous dragon-shaped rock that hinted at the Beastly Kingdom expansion, but that's about it. Besides having a good vantage point of the Tree of Life, it wasn't a particularly scenic boat ride either. For the most part, you just pass by lush vegetation and couldn't get a good look or overview of the lands you passed.

I think a lot of people were disappointed after expecting an E-ticket attraction like the Jungle Cruise but with real river animals or at least some unique show scenes. DAK opened with very few attractions, so the lines for the Discovery River Boats were very long. This combination led to many complaints from guests, and the attraction was eventually discontinued.

 

[Tom]

I believe it originally used to ferry people between Discovery Island and Asia, but they later turned it into a round trip journey. Indeed, there was little of actual interest to see while on the boat. It was basically just a place to rest your legs for 15 minutes. I think there were some geysers and the infamous dragon-shaped rock that hinted at the Beastly Kingdom expansion, but that's about it. Besides having a good vantage point of the Tree of Life, it wasn't a particularly scenic boat ride either. For the most part, you just pass by lush vegetation and couldn't get a good look or overview of the lands you passed.

I think a lot of people were disappointed after expecting an E-ticket attraction like the Jungle Cruise but with real river animals or at least some unique show scenes. DAK opened with very few attractions, so the lines for the Discovery River Boats were very long. This combination led to many complaints from guests, and the attraction was eventually discontinued.

I believe it was actually even hotter down on the river than the rest of the park, making it less enjoyable.

 

[Timothy_Q]

I believe there'd be more to see now. Primarily Everest, but also the expanded Harambe.

Either way, You don't see THAT much on the MK railroad either.
It's meant as transportation and visual kynetic.

Maybe they could add some elements by the river banks if they deem necessary.

 

[ToTBellHop]

For clarity, the walk would be similar in length to the walk from Anandapur to Everest, which is similarly devoid of much to look at. I'm sure there will be themed food buildings and a potty.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I believe it originally used to ferry people between Discovery Island and Asia, but they later turned it into a round trip journey. Indeed, there was little of actual interest to see while on the boat. It was basically just a place to rest your legs for 15 minutes. I think there were some geysers and the infamous dragon-shaped rock that hinted at the Beastly Kingdom expansion, but that's about it. Besides having a good vantage point of the Tree of Life, it wasn't a particularly scenic boat ride either. For the most part, you just pass by lush vegetation and couldn't get a good look or overview of the lands you passed.

I think a lot of people were disappointed after expecting an E-ticket attraction like the Jungle Cruise but with real river animals or at least some unique show scenes. DAK opened with very few attractions, so the lines for the Discovery River Boats were very long. This combination led to many complaints from guests, and the attraction was eventually discontinued.

It was sold as a ride, but the elements that were intended to be along the river were cut down significantly.

From Jim Hill's archive (http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2001/01/01/309.aspx#sthash.XNnR9uRU.dpbs)

As you passed under the main bridge leading into Safari Village, you would have seen that the water ahead was littered with the shattered lances and crumpled armor of a great many fallen knights. But what horrible fate could have befallen all of these brave adventurers? A roar from the nearby cave offers a clue.

As your boat floated past the opening of the cave, you would have seen a duplicate of the dragon found in the cavern under Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant at Disneyland - Paris. Only WDW's version would have been a lot more active than France's sleepy monster. This dragon would have craned his neck out of the cave, roared at the guests and then breathed fire their way, before once again settling back down to sleep.

At this point, your boat driver would have started to get nervous. He would explain that he was worried that the dragon's roaring would awaken the Kracken, a mythical Greek sea monster that was known to lurk along this stretch of Discovery River. Sure enough, the water around the boat begins to bubble ominously.

Off to one side, the huge fin of the Kracken suddenly cuts through the water. As the boat begins rocking back and forth, you're certain you're headed for a watery grave. Just then, your captain pulls out a lyre and begins plucking an odd tune. As the boat stops rocking and the water stops bubbling, the captain explains that music puts the Kracken back to sleep. Once that it's safe to move on, the boat continues to head up river.

Just as you round the bend, your captain points off excitedly to your left. There on the shore, you catch a glimpse of a unicorn. The beautiful white creature -- shrouded in mist as it stands in a picturesque grove of trees -- paws the earth lightly with one hoof and nods its golden horn our way. The unicorn's only visible for just an instant, but it truly is a beautiful sight.

As your boat pulls up to the dock in Harambe, you and your fellow guests would still be buzzing about the wonders you would have glimpsed on this leg of your adventure of Disney's Animal Kingdom ...

 

[Tim Lohr]

2. What was the deal with the boats? My understanding is that they did not serve as transportation or even really a ride. That there was not much to look at? Is this true? It seems like a great idea. Just curious since I never got the chance to experience the boats. Does anyone have stories of riding them? Thanks...

The boats were set up to be a transportation system, or to "someday" become one, but when the park first opened there wasn't any real need for them. There was no Everest, Nemo Musical or Chester and Hester Dino areas on opening day, and you could walk between the 2 boat docks and all the attractions a lot faster then the boats could travel, and when the phase 2/Beastly Kingdom expansions to the park got put on hold they took the boats out of service. But now that they are finally getting around to expanding/finishing the park it seems like if they added 2 more docks near Avatar and Everest it seems like would be worthwhile, because both original docks and the boats themselves are still in the park atthe boat storage area behind the Nemo Musical building

 

[P_Radden]

@RSoxNo1 thank you for posting that article. My first trip (1 of 2 ever) to WDW was summer 1998. I remember long lines and not much to do other than sweat your butt off and walk around. The Discovery River attraction not to mention Beastly Kingdom would have been amazing to say the least. Reading about those decisions and tight spending in those days have me thankful for what we are seeing right now with all the work going on at DAK.

I would love to still see a Discovery River attraction come to life along with River of Light

 

[doctornick]

The boats were set up to be a transportation system, or to "someday" become one, but when the park first opened there wasn't any real need for them. There was no Everest, Nemo Musical or Chester and Hester Dino areas on opening day, and you could walk between the 2 boat docks and all the attractions a lot faster then the boats could travel, and when the phase 2/Beastly Kingdom expansions to the park got put on hold they took the boats out of service. But now that they are finally getting around to expanding/finishing the park it seems like if they added 2 more docks near Avatar and Everest it seems like would be worthwhile, because both original docks and the boats themselves are still in the park atthe boat storage area behind the Nemo Musical building

Totally agree. Bringing back the boats as transport (if there is some show scenes along the way, great, but not needed) with one port at Pandora or maybe around where the FOTLK bathrooms are and then the other port near Everest or towards the main part of Anandapur. That would actually provide a reason to use the service given the distances.

The boats would likely be suspended before RoL starts in the evening, but that's no biggie.

 

[mm121]

It looks like the path may go under that bridge.

View attachment 86744

not sure how much room is under the bridge, but different grade would be good from an access standpoint, to not cut off the backstage road.

Hmmm... Now there's an option I never thought of.

I'd always assumed they'd stay at the same grade and either bring the bridge onstage or have gates on either side of the walkway that they'd open only after hours or in an emergency (like an ambulance needed to get to First Aid). Going under the bridge makes sense.

-Rob

cutting off access to restaurant areas, isn't really the best of ideas, as that makes it difficult/impossible to enable access for outside vendors / equipment repair people / cleaning people / etc that need to access the restaurants during business hours since you dont want to have to pay everyone overnight wages to come in and fix things if you dont have to

Back when they had boats going around Discovery Island the boats went under this bridge but the rest of this area was different. From this angle though it looks like path way is right next to the river, and this seems like a great spot for a boat dock. Is there any chance they are bringing the boats back as proper transportation system around AK? or any permits to that effect?

no permits for it, and i dont think it would happen, its not a bad idea though now that the park is more developed as long as its marketed as a transportation attraction rather than a ride.

That looks like it will be a hellish spot when each Lion King show gets out. Even without those crowds that seems like a tight path.

its hard to tell how wide that is, but lots of the paths around the parks aren't really very wide and they work just fine, the main clogs are in the stroller areas.

I've been a big fan of the idea of having the boats back just for transportation (and the kinetics of having them go along the water) rather than it being a "ride". Make ports at opposite ends of the Discovery River (maybe use the old one in Asia and then put one on the path between Africa and Pandora) and it can be like the lagoon boats in Epcot.

yea the key is how they are marketed

1. Still agree that a few more rides would be welcome in AK beyond Pandora

2. What was the deal with the boats? My understanding is that they did not serve as transportation or even really a ride. That there was not much to look at? Is this true? It seems like a great idea. Just curious since I never got the chance to experience the boats. Does anyone have stories of riding them? Thanks...

ak definitely could still use a few more rides. an african dark ride, and some kind of indoor attraction in asia would be good.

Totally agree. Bringing back the boats as transport (if there is some show scenes along the way, great, but not needed) with one port at Pandora or maybe around where the FOTLK bathrooms are and then the other port near Everest or towards the main part of Anandapur. That would actually provide a reason to use the service given the distances.

The boats would likely be suspended before RoL starts in the evening, but that's no biggie.

a stop in both pandora and fotlk would be kinda close together, and by fotlk there is a big grade difference getting down to the water level which could complicate access, and i doubt theyd want to have to go back and redo much of the theming on that wall they just finished building.

 

[doctornick]

a stop in both pandora and fotlk would be kinda close together, and by fotlk there is a big grade difference getting down to the water level which could complicate access, and i doubt theyd want to have to go back and redo much of the theming on that wall they just finished building.

To clarify, I was saying two stops:

1. A stop in either Pandora or the FOTK area. Possibly in the area just south of the backstage bridge which would be the walkway between Pandora and Africa -- it looks like it is low enough level there to potentially make it work
2. A second stop somewhere in Asia, preferably closer to Everest.

Those two stops would be pretty far apart and make the boats a reasonable form of transport. And, as others have said, add a kentic element by having them traveling in the water throughout the day.