News Zootopia and Moana Blue Sky concepts for Disney's Animal Kingdom

[UNCgolf]

This is one of the things that makes me think it won't happen. For some reason, despite it's box office success they never really merchandised Zootopia or gave it much of a presence at the parks. They also don't seem to consider it a franchise and it doesn't pop up all that much on the streaming rankings like Moana or even Coco. So, I would be a little surprised to suddenly see them spend big on a Zootopia land in 2023, 2024 or whenever.

I think it'll depend on how easy it is to copy the Shanghai Zootopia ride over to Animal Kingdom. TRON has essentially no merchandise presence and the sequel didn't perform all that well, but that didn't stop them from cloning it over from Shanghai.

It seems like the Shanghai ride may be a different ride system, so hopefully that will be enough to kill it.

 

[rio]

I am slightly torn, as Dinosaur might be my favorite ride in WDW. However I can understand a transition away from the generic Dino area theme to something else. While popular, you can see dinosaurs all over the country without having to go to WDW. You have them as part of small regional parks, as traveling showcases, ect. There isn’t anything that WDW can offer in the “Dino” space that would be unique to WDW.

At this point if WDW is at all concerned with “competing” with Universal or other parks, the major edges that WDW will have is exposure across its various media platforms, and leveraging its IP so that it is the only place you can go to get that certain experience. Anyone can build a log/flume ride. Only Disney can offer splash/tianna. Six flags can build all the roller coasters it wants, only Disney can bring your Marvel.

It’s the whole reason univeral went all in on Harry Potter. Yea the rides are good, but any park can build a side by side medium coaster or indoor rides with screens. You don’t need to fly to florida for that. But If you want to see Harry and Hermione, the only place you can do is universal.

Disney has the largest and most popular selection of IP of any theme park. So I can see the reasoning behind shifting from a Dino ride that anyone can build, to popular IP that you can only get at WDW.

I think it’s more a fact that Disney simply got outcompeted in Dinosaurs. When people think of dinosaurs in media, it’s Jurassic Park/World (where’s Blue?)……..

I’d rather Dinosaur turn into a ride where Scat is trying to get the acorn.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I think it'll depend on how easy it is to copy the Shanghai Zootopia ride over to Animal Kingdom. TRON has essentially no merchandise presence and the sequel didn't perform all that well, but that didn't stop them from cloning it over from Shanghai.

It seems like the Shanghai ride may be a different ride system, so hopefully that will be enough to kill it.

True, and I remember Iger saying Ratatouille probably wasn't a franchise, but then Paris wanted the attraction and it eventually made its way to Epcot. On that note, I would be interested to know whether it has proved a big seller of merchandise at WDW. In Paris, chefs hats with Remy and other Ratatouille merchandise are pretty ubiquitous. Then again, they even sell Remy toys in the souvenir shops at Charles De Gaulle airport

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Well, that was the whole argument about AK being Nahtazu. Disney is taking an existing concept and applying Disney showmanship and Imagineering to elevate it to something else. I'm not sure many people agree, but I actually liked the spin they took on it by focussing on dinosaur fever and building a tourist town that grew around an archeological dig. That was the kind of creativity and originality on which Disney built its reputation, not just making rides based on movies.

And I think they did a good job with it. The bigger problem on a macro level is that I think there are a ton of ways to do “dinosaurs” well. There is an old seasonal park in Ma called Edaville RR that expanded with a really nice dinosaur section, with a great walk through experience, camp area with fossil mining, gem mining, ect. Even if Disney does Dino’s to the best of their ability, someone locally can do it different or almost as good….and I don’t have to pay Disney costs or fly to Florida to experience it.

There is a lot more competition in the them park space/entertainment space than existed when WDW first was built. Any company can throw money at great and imaginative talent. But no other place can match Disney’s IP. In that battle they have an almost unbeatable advantage. It makes totally sense for them to leverage that advantage. I still want them to do the rides well, but using the Ip gives them a hell of an edge.

 

[UNCgolf]

And I think they did a good job with it. The bigger problem on a macro level is that I think there are a ton of ways to do “dinosaurs” well. There is an old seasonal park in Ma called Edaville RR that expanded with a really nice dinosaur section, with a great walk through experience, camp area with fossil mining, gem mining, ect. Even if Disney does Dino’s to the best of their ability, someone locally can do it different or almost as good….and I don’t have to pay Disney costs or fly to Florida to experience it.

There is a lot more competition in the them park space/entertainment space than existed when WDW first was built. Any company can throw money at great and imaginative talent. But no other place can match Disney’s IP. In that battle they have an almost unbeatable advantage. It makes totally sense for them to leverage that advantage. I still want them to do the rides well, but using the Ip gives them a hell of an edge.

Disney could build dinosaur AAs that no local place could come close to affording. If they built an AA heavy ride that was essentially like a dinosaur zoo it would be an absolutely massive hit with kids -- dinosaurs as an overall concept are more popular than most Disney IP anyways.

They're not going to do it, but if they actually committed to it they'd have a major new attraction.

 

[SNS]

I think it’s more a fact that Disney simply got outcompeted in Dinosaurs. When people think of dinosaurs in media, it’s Jurassic Park/World (where’s Blue?)……..

I’d rather Dinosaur turn into a ride where Scat is trying to get the acorn.

I heard the reason they even had the Carnotaurus instead of the more popular T-Rex is because people now associate the T-Rex with Jurassic Park.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Disney could build dinosaur AAs that no local place could come close to affording. If they built an AA heavy ride that was essentially like a dinosaur zoo it would be an absolutely massive hit with kids -- dinosaurs as an overall concept are more popular than most Disney IP anyways.

They're not going to do it, but if they actually committed to it they'd have a major new attraction.

Dinosaurs are inherently scary, and their neighbors have the only good IP in the space. I just think it's a bad fit.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

And I think they did a good job with it. The bigger problem on a macro level is that I think there are a ton of ways to do “dinosaurs” well. There is an old seasonal park in Ma called Edaville RR that expanded with a really nice dinosaur section, with a great walk through experience, camp area with fossil mining, gem mining, ect. Even if Disney does Dino’s to the best of their ability, someone locally can do it different or almost as good….and I don’t have to pay Disney costs or fly to Florida to experience it.

There is a lot more competition in the them park space/entertainment space than existed when WDW first was built. Any company can throw money at great and imaginative talent. But no other place can match Disney’s IP. In that battle they have an almost unbeatable advantage. It makes totally sense for them to leverage that advantage. I still want them to do the rides well, but using the Ip gives them a hell of an edge.

But that's the same argument for replacing Haunted Mansion with a Tangled ride or Expedition: Everest with a Frozen rollercoaster because there are plenty of haunted houses and roller coasters in other places but only Disney has these particular IPs. I understand why that makes sense on some level, but I honestly think if they keep going down this path they will end up with a less appealing product that is not that different from all the movie-based attractions and lands at Universal.

 

[cookiee_munster]

What in the fresh hell is this!?!?

Honestly, the way they really tried to force the true essence of the park into these concepts was just borderline desperate.

Absolutely desperate to jam as much IP as they possibly can into such a unique and thematically beautiful park. I am annoyed.

Moana i can kind of see. But zootopia absolutely not. Just because it has animals doesn't make it right for Animal Kingdom.

It's so sad because i know imagineering have it in them to create truly unique and none IP based attractions. You just know that the big wigs are demanding all this IP crap to sell as much merch as they possibly can.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

I think it’s more a fact that Disney simply got outcompeted in Dinosaurs. When people think of dinosaurs in media, it’s Jurassic Park/World (where’s Blue?)……..

I’d rather Dinosaur turn into a ride where Scat is trying to get the acorn.

God my kids loved those movies. They used to giggle uncontrollably at him.

Somehow either through trackless ride and “special” room or screens would love a ride where 9 times out of ten he misses out on the acorn, but then randomly ride ends differently and he gets itZ.

 

[FigmentFan82]

Hope both phases come to life. It would be great to have some fresh new things in AK.

 

[SNS]

But that's the same argument for replacing Haunted Mansion with a Tangled ride or Expedition: Everest with a Frozen rollercoaster because there are plenty of haunted houses and roller coasters in other places but only Disney has these particular IPs. I understand why that makes sense on some level, but I honestly think if they keep going down this path they will end up with a less appealing product that is not that different from all the movie-based attractions and lands at Universal.

Haunted Mansion is its own IP though and they are trying to get a movie series from it (again). They can't really do the same with Dinosaur. It's just tied to a movie that bombed.

 

[No Name]

I think it'll depend on how easy it is to copy the Shanghai Zootopia ride over to Animal Kingdom. TRON has essentially no merchandise presence and the sequel didn't perform all that well, but that didn't stop them from cloning it over from Shanghai.

It seems like the Shanghai ride may be a different ride system, so hopefully that will be enough to kill it.

I wish we knew more about the Shanghai ride. This weekend we did learn that the vehicles are themed to police cars, a universally popular concept that fits DAK perfectly!

Whether they go ahead with it here will also probably heavily depend on how well the Shanghai ride is received. Part of me hopes that it’s the biggest disaster in the history of disasters.

 

[SpectreJordan]

I guess Moana could work if the surrounding land had some exhibits of animals from the Pacific.

But Zootopia doesn’t fit. I’m down for a land based on that movie but it should be in Magic or Hollywood. Keep Animal Kingdom to real animals.

It’s crazy that they’re not just going for a South America land with an Encanto ride. You can have a theme that would keep purists happy while also having a new popular IP.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Haunted Mansion is its own IP though and they are trying to get a movie series from it (again). They can't really do the same with Dinosaur. It's just tied to a movie that bombed.

The parks only have such strong original IPs such as Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and even Space Mountain because they created original concepts. That won't happen again if they just keep creating attractions based on film IPs.

I would even argue Epcot is a pretty strong IP that has worked its way into the culture. The more parks just become random collections of IP-lands, the less likely they will similarly work their way into the popular consciousness.

 

[dennis-in-ct]

So Dinosaur would be demo'd for a Zootopia mini-land and (presumably) the same SCOOP-style ride Shanghai is getting?

Can’t they keep the Dinosaur building/ride vehicles and just update the inside (like tiana)?

 

[SNS]

I wish we knew more about the Shanghai ride. This weekend we did learn that the vehicles are themed to police cars, a universally popular concept that fits DAK perfectly!

Whether they go ahead with it here will also probably heavily depend on how well the Shanghai ride is received. Part of me hopes that it’s the biggest disaster in the history of disasters.

Oh yeah, the police cars will be an issue. At least for an American version. Maybe they wouldn't care about that in China.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The parks only have such strong original IPs such as Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and even Space Mountain because they created original concepts. That won't happen again if they just keep creating attractions based on film IPs.

What was the last one they even attempted? Expedition Everest?

 

[FigmentFan82]

Can’t they keep the Dinosaur building/ride vehicles and just update the inside (like tiana)?

Someone who seems to be an insider suggested that would indeed be the path of it were to move forward

 

[James Alucobond]

I’m fine with Moana. Could have natural flow from Nemo nearby, and it represents capacity that needs to be restored. But seriously, just turn that area into a merged “Oceania” section and leave Dinosaur, Restaurantosaurus, and the Boneyard alone as a small Dinosaur Alley.