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

[Incomudro]

Its a vacation destination meant to be fun!!! Not analyzed and overthought every single step you take and ride you go on and show you watch… You must be real fun to be with at Disney walking the parks. I gotta sa

Whatever criticisms one may make of the parks, I think it’s a wild exaggeration to say they all blend together now. If that were the case, people would just indiscriminately visit any one of the four.

Especially in regards to Animal Kingdom which blends the least.
Which is a large part of the reason I would like to see something like Zootopia stay out of it.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Whatever criticisms one may make of the parks, I think it’s a wild exaggeration to say they all blend together now. If that were the case, people would just indiscriminately visit any one of the four.

Agreed. They may have blurred the lines a bit (they would argue because the old concepts were dated and unpopular) but Epcot is still distinct from the others, for example. We got Guardians but they didn’t build the ride they would have built at DHS. Within the parameters set by their bosses, Imagineers still work to make attractions fit. They still exercise discretion. For example, they opted to NOT have Wall-E fly by on Space 220.

 

[Jrb1979]

Agreed. They may have blurred the lines a bit (they would argue because the old concepts were dated and unpopular) but Epcot is still distinct from the others, for example. We got Guardians but they didn’t build the ride they would have built at DHS. Within the parameters set by their bosses, Imagineers still work to make attractions fit. They still exercise discretion. For example, they opted to NOT have Wall-E fly by on Space 220.

I don't know. At one time AK had very little IP in it and Epcot had next to none. It made those 2 parks different and they stood out. Now it's become IP overload. I get it from Disney's side but why do the fans love it so much.

Had they finished the World Showcase as originally planned with original attractions for each country it would be one of the best parks. Instead it's basically a paid festival park year round.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I don't know. At one time AK had very little IP in it and Epcot had next to none. It made those 2 parks different and they stood out. Now it's become IP overload. I get it from Disney's side but why do the fans love it so much.

Had they finished the World Showcase as originally planned with original attractions for each country it would be one of the best parks. Instead it's basically a paid festival park year round.

Neither Disneyland nor the Magic Kingdom were conceived as IP parks, much less franchise parks. Shanghai Disneyland would really be the first Magic Kingdom conceived of as such.

 

[Jrb1979]

Neither Disneyland nor the Magic Kingdom were conceived as IP parks, much less franchise parks. Shanghai Disneyland would really be the first Magic Kingdom conceived of as such.

I wasn't talking about those parks. I'm talking about how much Epcot and to an extent AK has become IP parks.

 

[peter11435]

I freaking can’t with this. Bye!

It’s really not hard to understand. I don’t know why you can’t,

 

[LittleBuford]

I don't know. At one time AK had very little IP in it and Epcot had next to none. It made those 2 parks different and they stood out. Now it's become IP overload. I get it from Disney's side but why do the fans love it so much.

Had they finished the World Showcase as originally planned with original attractions for each country it would be one of the best parks. Instead it's basically a paid festival park year round.

The presence of IP alone is not a good measure of a park’s distinctiveness.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I wasn't talking about those parks. I'm talking about how much Epcot and to an extent AK has become IP parks.

You literally just said those two parks have become more like Magic Kingdom…

I would say Epcot, AK and DHS now have become an extension of MK.

 

[crazy4disney]

I don't know. At one time AK had very little IP in it and Epcot had next to none. It made those 2 parks different and they stood out. Now it's become IP overload. I get it from Disney's side but why do the fans love it so much.

Had they finished the World Showcase as originally planned with original attractions for each country it would be one of the best parks. Instead it's basically a paid festival park year round.

AK has been a 1/2 day park since inception and a couple of the better shows are IP related and probably the best ride in the park is IP related addition… being different and standing out doesnt mean better. In regards to Epcot i agree the festival heavy infusion has sucked the park of its soul but again Remy has been a nice addition which imo the park needs more rides like that. GoTG is an excellent ride by all accounts & if we would have gotten MP that would have been a very nice addition as well. So when done right i think IP can be a great addition and some balance to the parks.

 

[Jrb1979]

You literally just said those two parks have become more like Magic Kingdom…

Maybe MK didn't start that way but since I have gone since the the 80s MK has been heavy with the IP. At the same time Epcot went from little IP to it being prevalent in the park. That was more my point.

The presence of IP alone is not a good measure of a park’s distinctiveness.

Yes and no. Epcot back in the 80s felt different and was less Disney. IP has never been a draw for me but it's not why I loved Epcot growing up. I loved how original the attractions were. Seeing different videos of what was originally planned for World Showcase it made me want to see that happen. IMO IP doesn't need to be on everything. Disney's best attractions have no IP attached.

 

[DisneyDodo]

Whatever criticisms one may make of the parks, I think it’s a wild exaggeration to say they all blend together now. If that were the case, people would just indiscriminately visit any one of the four.

I think we need to distinguish between the blending of the parks’ themes and the blending of the parks themselves.

I agree that Disney is moving in the direction of putting less emphasis on the themes of each park. But they still have very distinct offerings.

This is effectively how Uni operates in Orlando now. The parks are basically interchangeable (e.g. they can all have Potter lands), but that doesn’t make EU useless. It’s still an additional park with new lands and new rides.

 

[No Name]

I think we need to distinguish between the blending of the parks’ themes and the blending of the parks themselves.

I agree that Disney is moving in the direction of putting less emphasis on the themes of each park. But they still have very distinct offerings.

This is effectively how Uni operates in Orlando now. The parks are basically interchangeable (e.g. they can all have Potter lands), but that doesn’t make EU useless. It’s still an additional park with new lands and new rides.

But I wonder if having 3 or 4 basically interchangeable theme parks is actually a sustainable business model, or if it would only work due to the market they’ve already established. If Epcot, and then DHS, and then DAK had opened as hodgepodge parks but with fewer rides than MK, would they have gotten people to buy into the completely unestablished idea of a theme park vacation?

 

[lazyboy97o]

But I wonder if having 3 or 4 basically interchangeable theme parks is actually a sustainable business model, or if it would only work due to the market they’ve already established. If Epcot, and then DHS, and then DAK had opened as hodgepodge parks but with fewer rides than MK, would they have gotten people to buy into the completely unestablished idea of a theme park vacation?

At a minimum they won’t have the cultural cache of a truly distinguishable park. There’s a reason that Disney wants people to think of EPCOT Center when they think of Evolved Epcot, because EPCOT Center was a cultural icon that is still widely known and understand as its own thing. Universal’s Epic Universe of Universalness is not distinct. Almost everything that is being built or was considered has also been built or considered for the other parks. If the Korea project one day came back to life Universal Studios Korea would almost certainly include items out of all three Orlando parks.

 

[ToTBellHop]

But I wonder if having 3 or 4 basically interchangeable theme parks is actually a sustainable business model, or if it would only work due to the market they’ve already established. If Epcot, and then DHS, and then DAK had opened as hodgepodge parks but with fewer rides than MK, would they have gotten people to buy into the completely unestablished idea of a theme park vacation?

I don’t know…Universal does well with it and has added hotels at an incredible rate.

 

[UNCgolf]

I don’t know…Universal does well with it and has added hotels at an incredible rate.

How much of that is solely attributable to Harry Potter, though?

Not that that's a knock against Universal, just that it's not easily replicable because there are a very small number of IPs that both work well as an immersive land and have that kind of drawing power.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I think we need to distinguish between the blending of the parks’ themes and the blending of the parks themselves.

I agree that Disney is moving in the direction of putting less emphasis on the themes of each park. But they still have very distinct offerings.

At this point, what makes any of the WDW parks distinct from each other are the buildings, rides and areas that were created decades ago and are basically grandfathered in (Hollywood Blvd, World Showcase, Liberty Square).

 

[erasure fan1]

How much of that is solely attributable to Harry Potter, though?

Probably a lot. 3 parks, all with a Potter land means you are going to all 3 to see everything.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Probably a lot. 3 parks, all with a Potter land means you are going to all 3 to see everything.

Sure. They were wise to abandon the Fantastic Beasts land.

 

[Jrb1979]

I think we need to distinguish between the blending of the parks’ themes and the blending of the parks themselves.

I agree that Disney is moving in the direction of putting less emphasis on the themes of each park. But they still have very distinct offerings.

This is effectively how Uni operates in Orlando now. The parks are basically interchangeable (e.g. they can all have Potter lands), but that doesn’t make EU useless. It’s still an additional park with new lands and new rides.

IMO it's unfortunate they are heading in that direction.

 

[No Name]

I don’t know…Universal does well with it and has added hotels at an incredible rate.

Perhaps you completely missed my point! Not only does Universal currently have just 2 parks, they are part of a well-established market of people already interested in spending multiple days at theme parks. I’m not questioning their current success.