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

[BlakeW39]

umm the natural relics are not magical, therefore the entire premise of the ride doesn't work...so...there is that. And the setting for Mystic Manor is an outpost in the jungle with an explorer and collector...
you can get mired in the missing conservation storyline, but the setting certainly feels like the park...
Adventure, Exploration, A Monkey, a little magic... It is not jarringly off course...Like Moana in the front of EPCOT is....
Mystic Manor feels like it could fit....
Which was the same justification for FEA... and quite frankly Expedition Everest and it's mythical yeti....There is no animal tie-in other than that, and we all accepted and love it....because it feels right in that park...

A couple of things.

1. Moana fits in EPCOT better than Mystic Manor fits in DAK.

2. Expedition Everest is accepted in DAK because it fits the themes of DAK perfectly.

3. Mystic Manor doesn't "feel like" it fits in DAK. At least, not in my opinion. It would water DAK down to just being a big Adventureland, which is a major fear of mine now that Rohde is gone. Just because Mystic Manor is 'adventurey' and takes place in a jungle doesn't mean it has any place in Animal Kingdom.

Back in the day, Disney used to localize attractions to fit. So, Mystic Manor DAK could easily be Henry's naturalist brother or sister set in South America or a fantasy jungle - retooling many of the gags to be about interactions with animals or any number of stories.

But, that would take effort and not allow the cap ex to be shared like direct cloning does...

Now this I could get behind. If Mystic Manor is updated to being about a naturalist's manor that has all kinds of fossils, zoological specimens, and bizarre creatures... that would be awesome. But the version of Mystic Manor in Hong Kong includes historical artifacts and has nothing to do with animals or nature. Thus, it doesn't fit in DAK any more than Indy does.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I actually wonder if the best use of the concept would be in a Beastly Kingdom setting. Where the magic brings relics of mytihcal beasts to life. It would be a new version of the attraction, no doubt. But, it could be a spiritual successor that meets more directly the ideals of DAK

Yes yes yes! A Beastly Kingdom with Dragon Tower and a Mystic Manor-like ride would be FANTASTIC. I would argue it should just use the same tech and not necessarily be set in a manor, but now we're getting somewhere.

 

[Bocabear]

Yes yes yes! A Beastly Kingdom with Dragon Tower and a Mystic Manor-like ride would be FANTASTIC. I would argue it should just use the same tech and not necessarily be set in a manor, but now we're getting somewhere.

That would work too... It would take a lot of reworking, but if somehow a path could be carved out in Adventureland to get you back behind the Jungle Cruise and build Mystic Manor back there would be great...
I think the original concept of the ride is so great...It would be nice to keep it intact... And the Albert Monkey would sell a ton of plush!!

 

[flyerjab]

I’ve always felt a new Adventurer’s Club would be fantastic at DAK.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Well... I wouldn't really call Moana underrepresented, she already has meet and greets and her own attraction, that's far more than most films get and anything more than that is oversaturation imo. I don't have a huge issue with Moana in DAK, but I would greatly prefer something original in the park. Moana might not go against the themes of DAK but it also doesn't feel like the best possible option for where to take the park next. It clashes with the tone and art direction of DAK plus there is the issue with needing to make the land more centered around wildlife than the film ever really cared to be.



I'll be honest, I think Mystic Manor would just work better in Adventureland. Besides finding a good place to put it, the attraction doesn't really lend itself to the themes of DAK. Perhaps he could go in a new dinosaur-themed land. Instead of collecting archaeological artifacts, he could collect paleontological fossils or zoological specimens.

That could be a good idea. You could have dinosaurs coming back to life causing chaos in the mansion too.

The flume ride feels like another splash mountain retheme that Lost out to princess and the frog but could be used here.

The more flumes the better! How is there 4 parks & we only have 1 so far?

I think the WDW version of Pirates is definitely a classic on its own -- it was my favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom as a kid -- plus, most WDW guests aren't ever going to visit DL so it's not really duplicative.

Of course I think Jungle Cruise at WDW should be ripped out and replaced for multiple reasons (the DL one should stay as a Walt attraction), so...

I think at this point, there's too many "classic" rides at Magic Kingdom that can't be replaced. Our best hope is for them to be remade; but we'd need a very park focused CEO for that at that point because this doesn't really offer much from a financial standpoint unless the current ride is rotting away (...Figment).

 

[doctornick]

I don't know. While not having the restaurant is obviously a downgrade compared to DL, I've seen some relatively convincing arguments that the rest of the WDW attraction is at least equal to the DL version, if not superior (I believe @yensidtlaw1969 has laid this out before here, but I may be mixing up people). I know the Imagineers made some intentional changes when building the WDW version that they thought were improvements on Disneyland.

I'm not saying it's superior to the DL version. just that I'm not sure it's such a cut and dried argument that it's obviously inferior.

I would argue that DL is something like 20% better than MK POTC. A lot of the extra ride time feels like fluff that doesn't really add much to the experience. and the markedly superior queue in MK helps establish a proper place setting that happens during the first couple of minutes of the DL ride (it's a different place setting, of course, but MK starts you in the fort and so you jump into the action instead of having the time travel conceit).

I'd love to have the shootout scene in MK though and the restaurant is cool (though would be out of place at MK). That's the main thing missing.

 

[BlakeW39]

I would argue that DL is something like 20% better than MK POTC. A lot of the extra ride time feels like fluff that doesn't really add much to the experience. and the markedly superior queue in MK helps establish a proper place setting that happens during the first couple of minutes of the DL ride (it's a different place setting, of course, but MK starts you in the fort and so you jump into the action instead of having the time travel conceit).

I'd love to have the shootout scene in MK though and the restaurant is cool (though would be out of place at MK). That's the main thing missing.

I think one of the main issues I have with MK POTC is the pacing. All the cut scenes make it too fast imo.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I would argue that DL is something like 20% better than MK POTC. A lot of the extra ride time feels like fluff that doesn't really add much to the experience. and the markedly superior queue in MK helps establish a proper place setting that happens during the first couple of minutes of the DL ride (it's a different place setting, of course, but MK starts you in the fort and so you jump into the action instead of having the time travel conceit).

I'd love to have the shootout scene in MK though and the restaurant is cool (though would be out of place at MK). That's the main thing missing.

A lot of what you would describe as “fluff” are my favorite parts of the ride. The bayou scene, the extra caves with the skeleton pirates (including the one drinking endless rum), and the time travel cave with the skeleton becoming a pirate. It all adds a lot to the atmosphere and storytelling.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I agree with this 99% of the time, but I think the Jungle Cruise is a mediocre to bad attraction that's also mostly pointless when you can see real versions of those animals at Animal Kingdom. Obviously it was changed into a joke attraction, but it was originally intended to be realistic. I don't find the jokes entertaining, so it offers almost nothing to me.

Also (and probably more importantly), it sits on a huge plot of land that wouldn't need to be a one to one replacement; it could easily hold multiple attractions and a new restaurant (which Magic Kingdom desperately needs). You could fit two Haunted Mansion size attractions on the Jungle Cruise footprint with plenty of room left over for a restaurant or whatever else.

They're not going to remove it, though.

Despite being a Disney classicist, I actually agree. Jungle Cruise does almost nothing for me, and since that’s such a large part of Adventureland, the land itself feels quite lacking.

Perhaps if it was a more atmospheric dark boat ride like Pirates, I’d appreciate it more. I don’t like the jokey crowded boat ride that it is. It got old super quick.

Their “opportunity” to remove it was when they reassessed the problematic elements of the attraction. Naturally, it got updates instead of a full replacement, and I’m sure they went that route because of the recently released film. Had the film not existed, who knows. I think there was a pretty good chance that it got the axe entirely. It’s a lucrative piece of land.

 

[Brer Panther]

Mystic Manor doesn't "feel like" it fits in DAK. At least, not in my opinion. It would water DAK down to just being a big Adventureland, which is a major fear of mine now that Rohde is gone. Just because Mystic Manor is 'adventurey' and takes place in a jungle doesn't mean it has any place in Animal Kingdom.

Now this I could get behind. If Mystic Manor is updated to being about a naturalist's manor that has all kinds of fossils, zoological specimens, and bizarre creatures... that would be awesome. But the version of Mystic Manor in Hong Kong includes historical artifacts and has nothing to do with animals or nature. Thus, it doesn't fit in DAK any more than Indy does.

I agree. Plus, wouldn't it be kind of redundant to have Hong Kong's equivalent of Haunted Mansion to Disney World, seeing as we already have a Haunted Mansion?

And I'm getting tired of trackless dark rides.

 

[BlakeW39]

I agree. Plus, wouldn't it be kind of redundant to have Hong Kong's equivalent of Haunted Mansion to Disney World, seeing as we already have a Haunted Mansion?

I mean I would prefer they build something new instead of a clone. Fire Mountain would be great. After TRON and the loss of Splash, MK could use another great thrill ride.

And I'm getting tired of trackless dark rides.

They're whatever. Rise is good but overrated, Rat kinda sucks, and Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Trainwreck is just... meh. And the latter two have incomprehensible plots.

 

[BubbaisSleep]

A lot of what you would describe as “fluff” are my favorite parts of the ride. The bayou scene, the extra caves with the skeleton pirates (including the one drinking endless rum), and the time travel cave with the skeleton becoming a pirate. It all adds a lot to the atmosphere and storytelling.

Thank you!! That’s some of the best fluff Disney has done. The Bayou scene is one of my favorite scenes among any Disney ride & a perfect compliment to the nearly flawless NOS land. I’m always in awe from the moment we enter the building in the queue. It’s also the only time I’ve ever seen fireflies (even though they’re fake haha). It’s still a good ride without it all but I really wish MK didn’t take out such amazing scenes.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I would argue that DL is something like 20% better than MK POTC. A lot of the extra ride time feels like fluff that doesn't really add much to the experience. and the markedly superior queue in MK helps establish a proper place setting that happens during the first couple of minutes of the DL ride (it's a different place setting, of course, but MK starts you in the fort and so you jump into the action instead of having the time travel conceit).

I'd love to have the shootout scene in MK though and the restaurant is cool (though would be out of place at MK). That's the main thing missing.

That's how Marc Davis felt, and keep in mind the "shootout" scene was in the MK version, just incorporated into the Treasure Room. Those figures were removed when Jack Sparrow moved in.

But I think the edits went a tad too far in Florida. Tokyo struck a better balance, and Paris rearranged and added to the whole thing in a way that gave every scene a clear purpose, even the drops.

 

[FettFan]

I heard a rumor that they are now going to make a land based off of the guinea pigs from the movie G-Force.

Better: A roller coaster based on The Cat From Outer Space.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Back in the day, Disney used to localize attractions to fit. So, Mystic Manor DAK could easily be Henry's naturalist brother or sister set in South America or a fantasy jungle - retooling many of the gags to be about interactions with animals or any number of stories.

But, that would take effort and not allow the cap ex to be shared like direct cloning does...

It'd be cool if he was just a kooky character with many interests & he had a ride in each resort. At WDW, he could have a ride at DAK where he's trying to preserve rare, mythical animals. At DLR, he could have a ride at CA where he deals with Californian/western US myths & legends. Etc...

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

It'd be cool if he was just a kooky character with many interests & he had a ride in each resort. At WDW, he could have a ride at DAK where he's trying to preserve rare, mythical animals. At DLR, he could have a ride at CA where he deals with Californian/western US myths & legends. Etc...

Too creative, no IP tie-in... next!

 

[Bocabear]

While Mystic Manor is considered HKDL's Haunted Mansion replacement, it is by no means anything like The Haunted Mansion... They could be in the same park easily and really don't relate to each other... Different feel, different idea, different setting...
We have 2 trackless rides in Florida... How many Omnimovers do we have? an attraction is way more than just it's conveyance system...

 

[networkpro]

I’ve always felt a new Adventurer’s Club would be fantastic at DAK.

SEA has societal issues

 

[Bocabear]

The whole spirit of Explorers and Adventurers seems like a natural for for a theme park that is about Animals, exploration and adventure in Exotic locations etc. Let's face it, Mystic Manor is basically an Adventurer's Club ride...they go very well together...
(I think HKDL's Mystic Point has an Explorer's Club restaurant next door to the ride.)
Not a far stretch to imagine a larger Adventurer's Club as part of a "Remote Jungle Outpost" where Lord Henry Mystic makes his home... and would be a beautiful and engaging addition to the Animal Kingdom lineup. Perhaps a restaurant on the first floor and a bar and club on the second...to segregate the families from the drinkers...

 

[Epcot82Guy]

The whole spirit of Explorers and Adventurers seems like a natural for for a theme park that is about Animals, exploration and adventure in Exotic locations etc. Let's face it, Mystic Manor is basically an Adventurer's Club ride...they go very well together...
(I think HKDL's Mystic Point has an Explorer's Club restaurant next door to the ride.)
Not a far stretch to imagine a larger Adventurer's Club as part of a "Remote Jungle Outpost" where Lord Henry Mystic makes his home... and would be a beautiful and engaging addition to the Animal Kingdom lineup. Perhaps a restaurant on the first floor and a bar and club on the second...to segregate the families from the drinkers...

I agree entirely. It could be a nice corollary to Pandora. Sort of "fantasy/mythical" jungle on one side (Adventurers Isle) and "alien" jungle on the other (Pandora). One more humorous/zany ala the Adventurer's Club (Adventurers) and serious on the other (Pandora).

It's definitely a "stretch" to the original, but it feels way in theme and would be a way to restore a major piece of Disney World history in a new, exciting way.