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

[Coaster Lover]

Moana 2 (animated) would be better received than another live action remake with little new creativity

I agree 100%. This is one of those rare circumstances that I would embraced an animated sequel (especially if given the option between that and a live action remake...)

And the first movie more or less sets up a sequel... an island nation that was hesitant to ever leave their island who, by the end of the film, are off to exploring again? A film that already sets a lore of dozens of gods and monsters? The options for where the sequel could go are about as wide open as they were for the Pirates franchise (just for kids). Given the popularity of the fist film, it's almost a surprise that a second wasn't already greenlit (and instead, they opted for the easier option of just remaking the original as "live action", despite the act that so much of the "live action" sequel will still need to be computer animated...)

 

[UNCgolf]

The discussion was regarding the number of rides in the park. I was just saying converting Dinosaur into Zootopia doesn’t add an E-ticket, unfortunately. They are so resistant to actual expansion…it would be very strange if they do all of this work and the only actual expansion is at MK.

It would be a tremendous waste of money, too.

 

[flyerjab]

Doesn’t seem they are interested in adding an E-ticket with the Dinoland project…

What would the supposed flume ride be?

 

[doctornick]

It could certainly be worse, but what I meant is...

At their best, Disney theme park lands transport us to other times and places in ways that allow us to suspend our disbelief. One of the ways they've accomplished this is to avoid "non-diagetic" elements such as exposed steel roller coasters and carnival flat rides (apart from areas that don't attempt transport us to specific times/places, such as Tomorrowland and the original versions of Fantasyland). When they diligently recreate a time/place - such as Pandora or Liberty Square (America during the time of the Revolution) for instance - adding a flat ride would destroy the carefully-crafted illusion that permits the experience of "immersion."

So, if this new land is more like the early versions of Fantasyland, where it's a semi-abstract representation of things, in that case amusement park rides could fit even if they're not optimal (since immersion is in large part what makes Disney Disney). But if it claims to transport us to, say, the world of Moana, then an amusement park ride would contradict ("break") that.

I also think there are a lot of attraction types that are wonderful for families with young children (e.g., boat rides, dark rides, etc.) that aren't amusement park flat rides.

I don’t necessarily disagree with your point, but a flat ride can effectively work with immersion. Maters in Cars Land, for example, I think incorporates well with the land and fits. Flik’s Fliers in (RIP) Bugs Land worked really well too. Just some examples

I think this theoretical Moana spinner could harmonize with the other ride and what seems like a new Oceania land.

 

[doctornick]

It would be a tremendous waste of money, too.

Changing Dinosaur and the rest of Dinoland USA to Zootopia does indeed seem like a tremendous waste of money and stupid. If they really want to add Zootopia to DAK (they shouldn’t), build it as an actual expansion.

And really expanding Pandora with at least another ride seems like the best course available.

OTOH, I don’t really have a problem with the Moana addition since PW is long gone now and it would probably make the park overall better/more sensible if they break off Dinorama along with Nemo to become Oceania.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

I don’t necessarily disagree with your point, but a flat ride can effectively work with immersion. Maters in Cars Land fir example I think incorporates well with the land and fits. Flick’s Fliers in (RIP) Bugs land worked really well too. Just some examples

I think this theoretical Moana spinner could harmonize with the other ride and what seems like a new Oceania land.

Good point re: Mater's. That's a really well-integrated flat ride. If they find similarly good in-story way to explain/"disguise" the spinner, I could imagine it working... though it might be a "harder sell" since it's a more recognizable ride mechanism.

And WOW... an Oceania land would seriously be a perfect way to balance IP with maintaining the theme/structure of DAK. That would be an A+ idea for sure, provided it's executed properly.

PS A Dino Institute could still exist in Oceania, couldn't it? I mean, dinosaurs were everywhere...

 

[doctornick]

And WOW... an Oceania land would seriously be a perfect way to balance IP with maintaining the theme/structure of DAK. That would be an A+ idea for sure, provided it's executed properly.

PS A Dino Institute could still exist in Oceania, couldn't it? I mean, dinosaurs were everywhere...

I think the premise is to separate the current Dinorama + Nemo theater into a new Oceania land. And the rest of Dinoland USA (Dinosaur ride, Boneyard, restaurant) would remain Dinoland or (hopefully not) converted to Zootopia. There’s no reason the whole of Dinoland USA has to remain a single land.

 

[James Alucobond]

The most logical course of action is to create Oceania with Moana + Nemo and then keep Boneyard + Restaurantosaurus + Dinosaur, turning it into Dinosaur Alley or whatever. Least amount of work for the most payoff since Zootopia isn’t even a franchise people in America like in spite of Disney doing their darnedest to make fetch happen.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Tbh I think Animal Kingdom just lacks rides in general. DHS too but to a lesser extent. DAK is my favorite theme park and it has like, what, 3 major E-tickets? I'm sorry but for what Disney charges that's just unacceptable, especially since one of those three is Everest, which has been broken for more than 15 years.

I'd argue the attraction lineup is still stronger than EPCOT, but yes, it needs more rides.

I don't think the Moana flume would be a bad addition, but to me the most obvious need is an indoor dark ride without a height requirement. Mystic Manor makes a ton of sense to me.

The discussion was regarding the number of rides in the park. I was just saying converting Dinosaur into Zootopia doesn’t add an E-ticket, unfortunately. They are so resistant to actual expansion…it would be very strange if they do all of this work and the only actual expansion is at MK.

I'll preface this by saying that I am 100% against Zootopia going into DAK. That being said, while technically DINOSAUR is an E-Ticket it's amongst the weaker E-tickets on property. An update to it's quality would help spread crowds at the park.

With all that said, DINOSAUR is far from the problem in that park. As you and others have said, the park needs ride additions. It's already down 1 ride from its peak.

Good point re: Mater's. That's a really well-integrated flat ride. If they find similarly good in-story way to explain/"disguise" the spinner, I could imagine it working... though it might be a "harder sell" since it's a more recognizable ride mechanism.

And WOW... an Oceania land would seriously be a perfect way to balance IP with maintaining the theme/structure of DAK. That would be an A+ idea for sure, provided it's executed properly.

PS A Dino Institute could still exist in Oceania, couldn't it? I mean, dinosaurs were everywhere...

Another suggestion was a research corridor that would include the Dino Institute and the Marine Life Institute.

Personally my preference would be Dinoland USA and Oceania. Dinoland could see another dark ride and Oceania could see Moana and Nemo attractions.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

I think the premise is to separate the current Dinorama + Nemo theater into a new Oceania land. And the rest of Dinoland USA (Dinosaur ride, Boneyard, restaurant) would remain Dinoland or (hopefully not) converted to Zootopia. There’s no reason the whole of Dinoland USA has to remain a single land.

Great to know. Making the "Moana" area an "Oceania" area (rather than just a Moana land) would keep the park's theme intact.

Also nice to hear there's a chance that the "good half" of Dinoland might remain. While Dinosaur might not be one of the absolute best/"elite" e-tickets, it's definitely a solid attraction - especially when all the animatronics and effects are working. My hypothesis has always been that Dinosaur is less popular than it could be due to how it's hidden in the corner. I've heard of many people simply never knowing that it's there, or discovering it only after multiple visits to the park - which is an absurd situation for a park that already has so few major attractions. If they updated the pathways to direct more people towards it (which is actually closer to how things were before DinoRama changed the crowd patterns), I suspect it would soak up more capacity and increase the entire park's GSRs.

My only skepticism about the Oceania/Dinoland prospect is that it's hard to image how they'd separate the areas sufficiently, unless they move the spinner and reroute some of the pathways. Hopefully they can do something like that, so the areas feel distinct and don't visually intrude upon each other.

 

[eddie104]

I think the premise is to separate the current Dinorama + Nemo theater into a new Oceania land. And the rest of Dinoland USA (Dinosaur ride, Boneyard, restaurant) would remain Dinoland or (hopefully not) converted to Zootopia. There’s no reason the whole of Dinoland USA has to remain a single land.

Couldn’t Zootopia be placed somewhere else that’s empty ?

 

[James Alucobond]

Couldn’t Zootopia be placed somewhere else that’s empty ?

It could, but the general consensus (of both concerned guests and Animal Kingdom's former lead Imagineer) is that it doesn't belong in the park.

 

[eddie104]

It could, but the general consensus (of both concerned guests and Animal Kingdom's former lead Imagineer) is that it doesn't belong in the park.

Well I understand that but I’m thinking more in terms of actually adding capacity to the park instead of replacing what’s already there.

 

[BlakeW39]

Based on the D23 presentation and concept art, it doesn't seem particularly likely that Moanaland will become "Oceania." I just want to remind everyone to reign in their expectations. While Oceania would be a great land for DAK— incorporating both man's relationship with aquatic ecosystems as well as incorporating the vast array of marine life forms that inhabit our planet —from what we currently know, the entire land will be based on the film franchise Moana, not the real world geographical location that its setting is based on.

Additionally, while we do have on some good authority that there will be zoological exhibits in the land, I'm not sure those exhibits would include elaborate and expensive (especially maintanence-wise) aquariums. One reason for that being that the seas pavillion still exists over at EPCOT.

 

[BlakeW39]

I'd argue the attraction lineup is still stronger than EPCOT, but yes, it needs more rides.

I don't think the Moana flume would be a bad addition, but to me the most obvious need is an indoor dark ride without a height requirement. Mystic Manor makes a ton of sense to me.


I'll preface this by saying that I am 100% against Zootopia going into DAK. That being said, while technically DINOSAUR is an E-Ticket it's amongst the weaker E-tickets on property. An update to it's quality would help spread crowds at the park.

With all that said, DINOSAUR is far from the problem in that park. As you and others have said, the park needs ride additions. It's already down 1 ride from its peak.


Another suggestion was a research corridor that would include the Dino Institute and the Marine Life Institute.

Personally my preference would be Dinoland USA and Oceania. Dinoland could see another dark ride and Oceania could see Moana and Nemo attractions.

Well we don't know anything about the Moana flume right now. Based on its location, it seems unlikely to me that it will be a very large attraction, but we'll see.

As for DINOSAUR, I think it's a muuucch weaker attraction now than it was, say, 10 or so years ago. The new lighting and neon color scheme ruins the ride's effects. Another example of an attraction suffering because Disney feels it necessary to pander to small children who shouldn't have been on the ride in the first place. The ride was never incredible in my opinion but it was definitely a good attraction before they turned the lights on and painted everything in glow-in-the-dark paint.

 

[doctornick]

Based on the D23 presentation and concept art, it doesn't seem particularly likely that Moanaland will become "Oceania." I just want to remind everyone to reign in their expectations. While Oceania would be a great land for DAK— incorporating both man's relationship with aquatic ecosystems as well as incorporating the vast array of marine life forms that inhabit our planet —from what we currently know, the entire land will be based on the film franchise Moana, not the real world geographical location that its setting is based on.

When did Nemo become part of the Moana franchise?

Additionally, while we do have on some good authority that there will be zoological exhibits in the land, I'm not sure those exhibits would include elaborate and expensive (especially maintanence-wise) aquariums. One reason for that being that the seas pavillion still exists over at EPCOT.

Nobody has said that any animals added to the area would be aquatic or aquariums. It’s more likely they would be terrestrial animals from that part of the world which would be perfectly fine.

 

[flyerjab]

Based on the D23 presentation and concept art, it doesn't seem particularly likely that Moanaland will become "Oceania." I just want to remind everyone to reign in their expectations. While Oceania would be a great land for DAK— incorporating both man's relationship with aquatic ecosystems as well as incorporating the vast array of marine life forms that inhabit our planet —from what we currently know, the entire land will be based on the film franchise Moana, not the real world geographical location that its setting is based on.

Additionally, while we do have on some good authority that there will be zoological exhibits in the land, I'm not sure those exhibits would include elaborate and expensive (especially maintanence-wise) aquariums. One reason for that being that the seas pavillion still exists over at EPCOT.

Since Rohde has “retired”, I have many doubts that anything in this park will be done with the same ideals that he was able to sustain as the Creative Lead. For a park like this, you need a visionary that can pull theme, content, conservation and education all together. That was even managed in some degree with the addition of Pandora- keystone species, affects of mining on an ecosystem, etc. With Rohde out of the picture, I doubt the concepts he defended for this park will ever be achieved as rigorously as they used to be.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

I've said it before. I'll say it again. You can build 2 C's for the price of an E.

 

[Kamikaze]

I've said it before. I'll say it again. You can build 2 C's for the price of an E.

You can. Can Disney? Not that cut and dry with the inflated costs & timelines they're always throwing around.

 

[ToTBellHop]

You can. Can Disney? Not that cut and dry with the inflated costs & timelines they're always throwing around.

They can, but C tickets cost them what an E ticket cost 15 years ago. I understand inflation is real, but they’d spend $100m on a C ticket now. E tickets cost almost as much as it used to cost to build a theme park.