Zootopia Coming To Shanghai

[TwilightZone]

Okay, fair point, but they're imaginary, just like talking foxes. Remember that DAK was supposed to include imaginary animals as well as real animals. It's just too bad that Iger went with Cameron's talking kitty cats instead of Disney's talking foxes. I'd much prefer the latter in DAK.

Yes, but the imaginary animals disney chose had their limits. Banshees, the yeti, and dragons are still animalistic. And the Navi carry a theme of the connection between man (or man like creature) and nature.
The characters of zootopia don't do either. Unless Zootopia 2 is about them recycling or some S@#$ I don't see how they can fit AK at all.

 

[TwilightZone]

Just a list of themes Zootopia uses to show why it doesn't fit at all.
Major themes:
Racism
Negative Stereotypes
Forgiveness
Coexistness
Fear can be used for gain
Minor (City lifestyle. Can be tackled by epcot):
Different lifestyles in a culture.
Differences in Ecologies
Not At All:
Humanity's relationship with animals/nature
Animals acting like animals (without being shot by an evil plot devise dart of course)

 

[dennis-in-ct]

Is anyone else imaging a convention of Furrys showing up at the Zootopia land?

This is why we can’t have this land here in the states - I don’t think “Furrys” is a “thing” in China - lol

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom

 

[FerretAfros]

As much as I enjoyed the movie, I really don’t think Zootopia is a compelling environment for a theme park setting. The best themed areas are driven by unique settings, but what made Zootopia a compelling film was driven entirely by the characters. Other than some punny names and visual gags (which DCA 1.0 proves does not make for a good experience), it not really different than any generic city.

Theme parks are most successful when they transport guests to new and exotic places, whether that's an idealized neighborhood, far-away destination, or imaginary world. This is similar to the issues that arise whenever people suggest areas based on the Muppets or Marvel: other than some individual characters, there’s really nothing to distinguish those worlds from the one we live in and experience every day. Once you remove the cast of characters and replace it with human guests and cast members, the elements that made the films so enjoyable disappear and all that's left is a mostly-ordinary setting.

The best themed areas and attractions rely on mood and atmosphere, rather that linear storytelling and dialogue. It’s the reason why “some non-descript roller coaster somewhere, that maybe is [themed like] India or whatever” is more exciting than a tediously-backstoried attraction like Dinosaur. Dialogue and characters often serve as shortcuts for designers to quickly give the audience a lot of information, but that information always seems to fit better when it can be developed in an organic way. They're great for film, but just don't translate well to the medium of themed entertainment, where everybody explores at their own pace and will likely only notice a fraction of the information provided.

I also think Zootopia is an especially poor fit in Shanghai, where presumably the overwhelming majority of park guests will come from China's dense urban areas. When Tokyo Disneyland was being designed, WDI intentionally included lots of wide-open park-like areas to make it stand out from the density of the city. This approach was repeated at SDL with the sprawling Gardens of Imagination in front of the castle. Replicating a bustling city at a park in a metropolis for people who live in big cities just doesn’t seem like a terribly compelling setting. Why bother paying for a theme park visit when you can just stay home and have the same experience?

 

[Timothy_Q]

I really don’t think Zootopia is a compelling environment for a theme park setting. The best themed areas are driven by unique settings

it not really different than any generic city.

So generic

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Is anyone else imaging a convention of Furrys showing up at the Zootopia land?

This is why we can’t have this land here in the states - I don’t think “Furrys” is a “thing” in China - lol

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom

I’d never heard of Furrys before. What’s next? Being attracted to plants?

 

[TwilightZone]

I’d never heard of Furrys before. What’s next? Being attracted to plants?

I thought everyone knew about them lol.
And yes there are "plant lovers".
Don't ask, seen my fair share.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Some people needlessly bring up the topic of furries because they want to make fun of what they perceive to be their psycho-sexual immaturity. But you know what's even more immature? Needlessly bringing up the topic of furries.

 

[FerretAfros]

So generic

View attachment 343851View attachment 343852View attachment 343853

Sure, there are some great vistas and skylines highlighted in the film, but those aren't the sorts of things that translate well to theme parks, which rarely have buildings more than 2-3 stories tall. Themed areas aren't built as vistas to be seen from a distance, but rather smaller areas to encapsulate yourself in up close. Think of all the city-themed areas out there: how many successfully capture the "big" elements of a city? Very few event attempt it, and those that do typically resort to unconvincing painted flats.

Theme park guests inhabit the ground floor of any given area, and designers often surround those areas with details to the point that few even think to look up for a skyscraper. It's a classic case of "missing the forest for the trees" with how parks tend to hide things above guests heads.

And when reduced to the street-level frontages and interior spaces that theme park guests will actually get to see, what's left? A pretty generic city with some punny signage and superficial veneers applied to otherwise unremarkable buildings and spaces.

 

[disneyC97]

So this whole new land will have just one attraction?

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Some people needlessly bring up the topic of furries because they want to make fun of what they perceive to be their psycho-sexual immaturity. But you know what's even more immature? Needlessly bringing up the topic of furries.

And sometimes we humans need to laugh at what’s happening in our world.

 

[lazyboy97o]

This image highlights one of the aspects of the film I think people would be interested in seeing, the different sized facilities for the different animals. The challenge though is doing anything but different photo spots with oversized and undersized props. Something like the elephant ice cream shop won’t exactly look intended for elephants when the counters and tables are 2’-10” tall.

 

[Timothy_Q]

Sure, there are some great vistas and skylines highlighted in the film, but those aren't the sorts of things that translate well to theme parks, which rarely have buildings more than 2-3 stories tall. Themed areas aren't built as vistas to be seen from a distance, but rather smaller areas to encapsulate yourself in up close. Think of all the city-themed areas out there: how many successfully capture the "big" elements of a city? Very few event attempt it, and those that do typically resort to unconvincing painted flats.

Theme park guests inhabit the ground floor of any given area, and designers often surround those areas with details to the point that few even think to look up for a skyscraper. It's a classic case of "missing the forest for the trees" with how parks tend to hide things above guests heads.

And when reduced to the street-level frontages and interior spaces that theme park guests will actually get to see, what's left? A pretty generic city with some punny signage and superficial veneers applied to otherwise unremarkable buildings and spaces.

Radiator Springs is *actually* a generic run-down roadside town
Yet it’s most people’s favorite example of great modern Disney imagineering.

If Radiator Springs lends itself to a great land, I don’t understand why Zootopia can’t. Not counting your personal bias against it

 

[MisterPenguin]

So this whole new land will have just one attraction?

I like to think of and treat Pandora as having just one attraction.

 

[Timothy_Q]

I like to think of and treat Pandora as having just one attraction.

That's how I see DHS

The park with Tower of Terror

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

It's possible to both love Zootopia as a film and also feel that it has absolutely no place at DAK. I am among this crowd. Zootopia is one of my favorites of the modern WDFA films, but keep it as far away from DAK as possible. DAK is a park based on conservation and man's relationship to nature. Zootopia is a movie about people who happen to be animals. Again, a great movie, and I can certainly understand wanting to visit the worlds within... but, theme matters. Or, at least, it used to.

At best, do an overlay to Planet Watch. If that cityscape in the concept art ever shows up in DAK, it's game over.

 

[SweetDuffy101]

i wonder what technology are they going to use to this area.

 

[Brainleech419]

Can we stop talking about if zootopia belongs in DAK in a thread about Shainghai and keep this thread about the land actually being built.

 

[ThemeParkTraveller]

What kind of opening date should we expect for the new land? It would have been nice if this served as a 5th Anniversary addition, but 2022 still seems doable if they start construction soon.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What kind of opening date should we expect for the new land? It would have been nice if this served as a 5th Anniversary addition, but 2022 still seems doable if they start construction soon.

Depends how many times they have to build it.