There was a water ride originally planned. My wife was there when there was a soft opening for it at the Animal Kingdom Park. During that week on the River Ride, someone slipped off the pier and was crushed. Due to this death, the ride was cancelled, for years afterward you could see the pier (they finally removed it some years ago). The thing is, I tried to google this accident and could find nothing about it. Strange as I know it happened, but how was it that this is completely erased from the internet?
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News Zootopia and Moana Blue Sky concepts for Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Tuvalu
Premium Member
While not disputing this incident, The Discovery River Boats operated from April 22, 1998 - August 19, 1999.
See here:
Discovery River Boats - Wikipedia
I personally rode twice, in July 1998 and July 1999.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
There would be nothing wrong with the boats if they were set up like the ones in World Showcase lagoon - as transportation to get from one side of the part to the other. If they have a small spiel as part of it, great. Would help to add some kinetics during the day
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
I agree, unfortunately everyone thought they were a "Ride" and the complaints came in.... Of course even though it is transportation, some wonderful theming and set pieces/effects would have made it a real attraction, but rather than investing the money to make it better they just took it away.
cookiee_munster
Well-Known Member
You'd think they'd just add some information or something clearly stating they weren't a ride and we're just a mode of transportation. But no, just remove everything entirely...
Maybe one day when the park adds more attractions and stuff the boats will return! *remains hopeful*
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
I believe that ship has sailed...I cannot see them doing anything with the boats at this point... They even built an arena for a water show and gave up on that... The show wasn't great, but they could have done a new show... or something... Water Parade... Something.You'd think they'd just add some information or something clearly stating they weren't a ride and we're just a mode of transportation. But no, just remove everything entirely...
Maybe one day when the park adds more attractions and stuff the boats will return! *remains hopeful*
The Disney movie clip shows with water are just not compelling...Harmonious was not great either...because it was largely a movie clip show with water. Where are the show writers?
TomboyJanet
Well-Known Member
I have to say I'm not a fan of this at all. It has nothing to do with the theme of Animal Kingdom and it removes a really cool aspect dedicated to prehistoric life. It will make the park very lopsided and stick out like a sore thumb. I also really like the Dinosaur ride and I'd hate to see it go. That's a big thumbs down from me.
Henry Mystic
Author of "A Manor of Fact"
@Cmdr_Crimson to prevent me from derailing the other thread I decided to respond here.I mean....The idea is there..It's a shame it can't convert it to an Indy Theme instead..There is a book about it...
Image from pintrest
instead of saving Aladar..Switch the styracasaurous at the end instead and tweak the plot a bit so Indy could fit jn it..Just a shame they got rid of the original statue and switch it again..
Animal Kingdom needs new rides more than any other park at WDW. Still, given how infinitely superior Indiana Jones Adventure is to Dinosaur, I wouldn't necessarily be against a complete gutting of the attraction remade to be on par with its west coast counterpart as a more modern take alongside a dinosaur component like you mentioned.
If they insist on replacing Dinosaur, I'd retheme Dinosaur to a new Indiana Jones ride modeled after Anaheim's, and Dinoland should then be rethemed to South America like has been repeated on the forums for years. Creating what's basically an Indiana Jones mini-land, from the boneyard to Dinosaur, would be a noticeable quality upgrade as well.
For the disastrous Chester and Hester's area, cloning the masterpiece that is Mystic Manor with an altered story to fit the new land would give the park a major indoor family ride which it is in desperate need of. I guess you could get TriceraTop Spin to fit better by making it more like the Moana concept art, and I wouldn't necessarily want to get rid of it for capacity's sake, but perhaps move it if possible.
Scatter some South American animal exhibits like caimans, piranhas, and jaguars, and put rockwork on the Nemo theater alongside a new South America appropriate show (Encanto would fit better and be popular but would not be perfect), and the land is stacked.
It would probably only cost half as much as Galaxy's Edge too since it would repurpose much of the land like Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure did. I bet Disney is looking to expand Pandora, so if the plan is to put, let's speculate, an indoor coaster over there, an excavator coaster for Dinoland to me falls by the wayside in favor of a family-friendly, relatively inexpensive, E-ticket like Mystic Manor.
Seriously, imagine if Animal Kingdom got an E-ticket Pandora Coaster ($300M+), an E-ticket Mystic Manor variation ($165M), a Retheme of Dinosaur to Indy with a dinosaur story bringing it from just an okay E-ticket to a headliner ($100M), and even toss in a small ride like Tokyo DisneySea's Aquatopia trackless flat-ride (~$45M) by 2030. Animal Kingdom would easily be the best Disney park in Orlando for all sorts of guests.
The land's overhaul itself could include upgrading facades, new pathways, new animal exhibits, let's say a clone of Hong Kong's excellent Explorer's Club Restaurant, a bar like Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar at Disney Springs, and some shops with a consistent design language. Altogether, it would probably cost under $200M on top of the ride costs and add massive capacity to the park.
All of this would fit SO much better than Zootopia. I'm honestly baffled Indy hasn't found his way into the park as it's one of the only huge IPs that would fit perfectly if it has an edutainment angle and design language to fit as Pandora did. I would be even happier if he made his way to Hollywood Studios in a purpose-built land, but honestly, I'd prefer to keep Animal Kingdom thematically pure, and I think it's one of the only large IPs that would be able to. Here's to hoping Indiana Jones 5 is excellent and extremely successful!
Moana isn't necessarily an awful fit either, I just have more of a problem with Zootopia specifically and the hodgepodge nature of them residing alongside one another. If they themed the entire land to Oceania and modified Dinosaur to fit that and scratched Zootopia, it could work, and would also be an improvement. However, I'm in the camp that thinks Animal Kingdom needs more indoor rides given Orlando's preponderance for summer showers alongside at least one more non-height requirement attraction which a Moana log flume would likely have two strikes on that front. If Disney is dead set on a Zootopia ride, it should go to Hollywood Studios.
Alternatively, just setting Dinoland to be like you're walking in a place from millions of years ago so you're actually visiting the Cretaceous would also be cool and would be my personal first choice, though we obviously know that isn't going to happen. Jurassic Park shouldn't have exclusive rights to dinosaurs in movies or theme parks.
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@Cmdr_Crimson to prevent me from derailing the other thread I decided to respond here.
Animal Kingdom needs new rides more than any other park at WDW. Still, given how infinitely superior Indiana Jones Adventure is to Dinosaur, I wouldn't necessarily be against a complete gutting of the attraction remade to be on par with its west coast counterpart as a more modern take alongside a dinosaur component like you mentioned.
If they insist on replacing Dinosaur, I'd retheme Dinosaur to a new Indiana Jones ride modeled after Anaheim's, and Dinoland should then be rethemed to South America like has been repeated on the forums for years. Creating what's basically an Indiana Jones mini-land, from the boneyard to Dinosaur, would be a noticeable quality upgrade as well.
For the disastrous Chester and Hester's area, cloning the masterpiece that is Mystic Manor with an altered story to fit the new land would give the park a major indoor family ride which it is in desperate need of.
Scatter some South American animal exhibits like caimans, piranhas, and jaguars, and put rockwork on the Nemo theater alongside a new theme-appropriate show (Encanto would fit better and be popular but would not be ideal), and the land is stacked. It would probably only cost half as much as Galaxy's Edge too. I bet Disney is looking to expand Pandora, so if the plan is to put, let's speculate, an indoor coaster over there, an excavator coaster for Dinoland to me falls by the wayside in favor of a family-friendly, relatively inexpensive, E-ticket like Mystic Manor.
Seriously, imagine if Animal Kingdom got a Pandora E-ticket coaster ($300M+), an E-ticket Mystic Manor variation ($165M), a retheme of Dinosaur to Indy bringing it from an E-ticket to a headliner ($125M), and even toss in a small ride like DisneySea's Aquatopia (I imagine it would cost under $50M) by 2030... Animal Kingdom would easily be the best Disney park in Orlando for all sorts of guests. The land's overhaul itself including upgrading facades, new pathways, new animal exhibits, and let's say a new cavernous Indy sit-down restaurant and some shops with a consistent design language would probably cost under $250M.
It would fit SO much better than Zootopia. I'm honestly baffled Indy hasn't found his way into the park as it's one of the only huge IPs that would fit perfectly if it has an edutainment angle and design language to fit as Pandora did.
Moana isn't necessarily an awful fit either, I just have more of a problem with Zootopia specifically and the hodgepodge nature of them residing alongside one another. If they themed the entire land to Oceania and modified Dinosaur to fit that and scratched Zootopia, it could work, and would also be an improvement. However, I'm in the camp that thinks Animal Kingdom needs more indoor rides given Orlando's preponderance for summer showers alongside at least one more non-height requirement attraction which a Moana log flume would likely have two strikes on that front.
Alternatively, just setting Dinoland to be like you're walking in a place from millions of years ago so you're actually visiting the Cretaceous would also be cooler.
If it's between Indy and Zootopia I'd prefer Indy but the IP really belongs in DHS and would be more dynamic and unique to that park. I do think a Mystic Manor ride (clone or reworking) would be an ideal ride type for DAK. As would a 20,000 Leagues type attraction.
If they aren't going to retain the Dino theme there are certainly better options than Zootopia and Moana.
A Vernian land would be fun. Maybe Dinosaur to Journey to Center of the Earth. (It's got Dinos!)
Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
If they add Indiana Jones to Dinosaur, I'd prefer if it were Indiana Jones facing off against dinosaurs. That way you can keep the dinosaurs in the park while still having Indy in there.
TomboyJanet
Well-Known Member
despite having a cast of animals, Zootopia is really a movie about people and the failures of our society to see each other as equals. But Moana......really has NOTHING to do with Animals. It seems so forced. Just WHY? You already have the Epcot thing why is this needed at all? It feels like a manic 12 year old is running the creative department. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they replaced the safari with a second toy story land
Basil of Baker Street
Well-Known Member
I question is Indy really a great IP anymore? I like it "ok" but I'm old.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Ever since Harrison drank from the Holy Grail, they’ve been able to confidently plan for a film each decade for the next 90 years at least.
TomboyJanet
Well-Known Member
I really think Indy is something that holds up. To me Indy is like one of those classics that are timeless and can be enjoyed any time. Like Star Trek or I guess the orginal Star Wars. I mean Harry Potter is an old IP too at this point as is Jurassic Park. I mean things age but it doesn't make them less good
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
Indy is great, Mystic Manor is great, Moana may not have the animals, but to add a Sea Life portion to the park feels right...and Moana was a "girl who loves the Sea"... So that would be the bridge... Aesthetically Moana based settings would look the best within the framework of the park... and then you can have a Volcano...(ride opportunity)...
Coaster Lover
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
As odd as this may sound, in my opinion, I think Indy still works as a good vehicle for the general "let's go on an adventure/explore" motif for a ride so long as that adventure is focused on you (as the rider) doing the exploring and not watching Indy do things around you. What they have in California works really well IMHO (you see Indy briefly at the beginning and the end, but other than that, the adventure is all about you). The John Williams score is so timeless and so tied to that genre that it would easily still work.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
I feel like if EPCOT didn't have the Living Seas area, we'd have alot more sea things at AK. They could still do some however... but they have SeaWorld down the road as well they won't want to replicate.
One thing I know SeaWorld had that was actually pretty popular was the small animals / pets trick show (cats, dogs, ducks, pigs, etc.) - could be something cute for Disney to add since that never came back to SeaWorld. Rafiki's Planet Watch area might be good for that... that area needs some TLC
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
I still would wonder if Animal Kingrdom would change to Adventure Kingdom..With EPCOT having almost 6 name changes and The Studios once. Wouldn’t it be the better way to go with putting attractions that fit that are adventurous?
FigmentFan82
Well-Known Member
This has been brought up many times before. Zootopia is not a good fit for the themes of AK. Moana is a good fit via themes of harmony with nature and environmental elements which speak to the parks core philosophy.