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News Zootopia and Moana Blue Sky concepts for Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Thread starter wdwmagic
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yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
I mean, I don't think its really all that confusing - I consider myself someone who loves the details, but not all details are created equal.
Big Thunder at Disneyland Paris has a rich backstory that is intricately interwoven with Phantom Manor and the land as a whole. Guests can still enjoy these things without being aware of this, but the "history" is fully developed, well integrated, and fascinating to uncover for the initiated.
Meanwhile, Big Thunder at WDW littered the queue a few years ago with new "offices" and props that "told the story" of the mining company's owner, "Barnabas T. Boullion", a character who we'd never heard of before, who is never referenced again, and whose attraction was successful for 40+ years without him. To me this backstory is mostly ineffectual business.
The main difference between these two examples is that one of them feels rewarding to discover, and the other just feels like information. Ultimately it comes down to one genuinely being used as a conceptual cornerstone and the other essentially being a cosmetic application.
Mere props with funny names on them aren't what stimulate the guests, the indication of a rich and developed history is. One points to a mystery that can be discovered, and the other ends just about where it begins. The signifiers are similar, but what they signal is not.
The main question to ask when it comes to details, and backstory in particular, is "what has changed now that I know this?" In the case of DLP's Big Thunder, quite a bit changes - not only do the clues throughout the different attractions start to piece together, but the care and consideration which went into those attractions becomes obvious. At WDW's Big Thunder, not much changes when you learn about "Barnabas T. Bouillion". It basically amounts to a fun fact. It doesn't reveal much consideration because, truthfully, there isn't much beyond "How can we sneak in a tribute to Tony Baxter?" Which is a fine thing to do, but feels about as deep as it is.
Point being, there's a reason one ride feels full of legitimately special details and the other feels like a ridiculous backstory, and it makes sense that one makes a better impression than the other.
Well said. To echo some of that; the Barnabas T Boullion story was just a way to justify the interactive queue initiative that came with that era that ended up being spill over money to tribute Tony Baxter. It also dumps nonsense over some of what as you pointed out has been there since day one of the attraction.
Same era and situation goes for HM queue changes that came before that. It did not add anything, and changed the method of storytelling for retirement home for ghosts to one where ghosts had already materialized a plenty before the original pacing set up.
This all goes back to a common issue I have with Disney from the merch to commonly now the attractions themselves. They become themed to themselves rather than inspired by things and standing on their own quality.
Most of the merch are parodies and shapes of treats and items in the parks. That is fun and has its place, but it became so self referential that when things are added to the attractions, they are self referential more than they are enhancing any themes.
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Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
For me it's cause back when Imagineering was top notch the ride told the story. There is a reason so many love Spaceship Earth. It's a reminder to how Disney rides used to be and should still be. Lately the majority of new attractions are just lazy ways to get IP into the parks.
Tom P.
Well-Known Member
No. One. Cares.
Okay, a few people care. But 99.9% of people visiting DAK would not find anything wrong with having Zootopia there and would think they fit just fine because they are animals, regardless of them acting as humans in the film. No one is going to question them as being out of place.
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
Even if no one cares about the fit of the ride content, I do think the Zootopia skyline (assuming that’s the facade they go with) would feel very out of place in the park even to those not otherwise engaged in thinking too much about it.
RoysCabin
Well-Known Member
I think for me I'm just very much over the whole idea of "Movie - The Land" in theme parks. Worked for Potter, feels really lazy otherwise, though I'd give a shot to one themed after a world as literary and fully developed for all five senses as something based on Tolkien's works. Leave the themed areas broad in subject matter ala the original parks and it just gives you more flexibility for the kinds of attractions and ideas you can develop.
As for small details, I think sometimes full backstories are a little overdone (the emphasis of attractions should be more on experiences, less on overt plots and stories, though the latter do have their place), but the thing about small details and whatnot is they're a classic case of "You might not have noticed this, but your brain did." Put another way, a lot of it made up the old "Disney Difference" that people would always talk about that set Disney parks apart from the competition for so many years.
As for small details, I think sometimes full backstories are a little overdone (the emphasis of attractions should be more on experiences, less on overt plots and stories, though the latter do have their place), but the thing about small details and whatnot is they're a classic case of "You might not have noticed this, but your brain did." Put another way, a lot of it made up the old "Disney Difference" that people would always talk about that set Disney parks apart from the competition for so many years.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
It would be COMPLETELY out of place to walk into a futuristic urban environment in the middle of Animal Kingdom. People would absolutely notice and hate it. You don't put a volcano ride in the middle of Main Street, USA. You just don't.
Honest to God, why are you even a Disney Parks fan?
Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
People on this board would notice but your average guest (the ones Disney wants in their parks) don't care about a lot of that. They see a ride or land with IP they know.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
They built an alien planet populated with blue people and scientists with futuristic technology. No real complaints.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
The story of Pandora is nature's triumph over technology. The land looks and feels like a jungle, not a metropolis.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
Because the environment was not absolutely dominated by those things, the way Zootopia is.
In Pandora, as in the rest of Animal Kingdom (so far), Nature is dominant.
Sharon&Susan
Well-Known Member
Just replace every existing land with a city from a movie that has at least one animal. For instance Home Alone 2: Lost In New York Land to replace Africa. The average guest wouldn't even notice the difference!
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
I don’t think it really works all that well unless the location of the story is basically something you become so familiar with that it’s another character. Hogwarts works because the castle is almost a fourth protagonist. I’m not sure the Ministry of Magic will have the same effect.
A solid Disney parallel might actually be Casa Madrigal, though obviously with less literature surrounding it.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I don’t expect the ride to focus on the metropolis as much as surrounding biomes. The area guests walk through to get there will be populated, not unlike Dinoland, Harambe, and Anandapur. If it is a police car ride around the city, I agree it is entirely out of place.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The art shows a city skyline. Even the biomes are part of the city. Ski Dubai isn’t an example of the arctic.
RoysCabin
Well-Known Member
I get what you mean. I think for me the issue is that since themed spaces are meant to appeal to all five senses, it doesn't make a lot of sense to do a full IP land unless said IP has that integrated into the experience, as well, which is why IPs with "literary DNA" work best - e.g. Potter being a world with physical settings, sights, sounds, but also well-described scents and food/drinks/flavors that can be replicated in real life.
The key difference that holds things like Star Wars back from working as a full land is that Star Wars, being an action/adventure film franchise and not something more literary that places so much emphasis on descriptions and detailed physical locations you might actually want to explore (ala Potter or a Tolkien setting), is much more about wanting you to visually experience exciting moments and sequences. In other words, setting isn't as important as experience: Star Wars's settings are merely there for the sequences to happen, they don't have much life to them ("hey, look, it's the ice/desert/forest/city/cloud/swamp world!"), so why would you actually care about visiting any of them? The one location I can see working from Star Wars is the Mos Eisley cantina, but that's about it.
The rest, though? Again, it's all about the experience: the idea of experiencing swinging a lightsaber, experiencing the jump to light speed, experiencing the Death Star trench run.
Basically, Potter/Tolkien/Studio Ghibli films/stuff like that can work as an entire themed park or land, while Star Wars and similar IPs work significantly better as standalone rides, or at most a ride plus a small themed restaurant or something...and go figure, Disney already had that with Star Tours, which in its original iteration allowed you to experience the light speed jump, the asteroid belt from Empire Strikes back, and the Death Star trench run.
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Just like Rattatouie educated guests on cultural relevancy of France or how Guardians of the Galaxy inspired a humanities subject through the ride?
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I’m not defending Epcot although I actually don’t mind Rat. A ride focused on food, set in Paris, makes sense to me. Good is central to French culture. Certainly a better fit than Frozen.
Cosmic Rewind doesn’t belong in World…whatever district it’s in. I honestly don’t even remember. Nature, Celebration, and…? Drawing a blank.
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Meh, its space-hippy land (or it was until they got rid of the hippie drummers). IMHO its a great mixture of sights, sounds, and extensive theming. Everything is tucked away around the next corner or in an alcove. I dont see how they're going to address the environmental size differences between the inhabitants. Will the frozen treats be Jumbo Pops or Pawpsicles ? What scale for any rides? Fennic or Chief Bogo ? Zootopia will be a kiddie zone?