Rumor: DinoLand, USA to become Indiana Jones Land?

The logo of AK even today references Beastly Kingdom with its large, centered dragon. Beastly Kingdom was supposed to be based on imaginary/mythical creatures.

They did rebound this scenario very effectively IMO.

Esp when you consider DD is already getting the wrecking ball.
 
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Interesting stuff, we only did one day at Universal and didn't really spend any time in lost continent, I never knew much about it even. Between Beastly Kingdom and Harry Potter, it really seems Disney let a lot slide through its fingers to Universal.
 
Yeah I'd rather see Disney get Dinoland right. The one company you'd expect to properly covey the dinosaur world creates a cheesy carni themed miniland. So disappointing. Redo the entire land and, to better blend in with the multi continent theme, call it Pangea (stupid Pandora kind of rains on that parade).
Frankly, instead of a beastly Kingdom I think it would be just better to have a mythical creature ride for each land. Asia already has the Yeti, so add something for Africa though I can't imagine what African mythical creature would excite westerners. Africa does need more than the trails and Safari though. Kali needs to be spiced up and lengthened though too. That is one snore fest of a white water ride.
But what I was thinking was to change the hub ToL area into a mini Europe and have a dragon/unicorn attraction. That would leave room for an Australia or SA land but again, can't think of what mythical creatures could be added? Asia and Europe have all the cool mythical stuff...
Maybe just do extinct animals for SA instead of mythical? Saber Tooths, Terror Birds and Giant Sloths would be cool to see and would be more exciting than a Chupacabra.
I do love the Indy ride though so if they can squeeze that in at MK or DHS I'd love it. Oh BTW, I saw a few people complain about the Dinosaur and Indy rides being too rough. They can be dialed down by the cast members on the fly to make them tolerable. Can't do anything about the sound and lights, but just ask the cast members when boarding to turn the motion down by 50%. Now they've definitely have ignored my request a couple times but it helps a lot when they follow through.
 
I just can't see an Indy area here. When they (Rohde, etc all.) were talking about how Pandora "fit" with AK, it was all about sustainability, responsibility, respect for the environment, etc. How does IJ fit into all of that?

My question is when did AK become environmental love central? Living with the land at Epcot beat them to that punch decades ago And Pandora is more about joy rides on non-existent creatures and boat rides featuring a bunch of projections and one sole animatronic than it is about "responsibility and sustainability." :rolleyes:
 
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I think that Pandora blends in much better into AK than Dinoland. One can especially see it blend in well if they walk from Pandora to Africa. However, leave Dinoland toward Asia, and it looks like two totally separate parks.

One redeeming quality of Dinoland is that Dinosaur offers an excellent way to cool down in AK.
 
Pandora fits to how they always wanted the mythical land aka Beastly Kingdom.

Yes and no.

Pandora is a single vision of one form of yes, a truly mythical environment.

But the original concept for Beastly Kingdom was to present multiple views of mythical worlds (fire breathing dragons, which were to inhabit a medieval world, Unicorns which would reside in an ancient civilization, winged horses, etc.)

In fact when Animal Kingdom opened, when the Discovery Boat ride took passengers by one section of the river going around the Tree of Life, at one bend in the river when it was passing jagged, volcanic rocks, one suddenly heard a guttural roar and flames shot out of a cave opening in the rocks the boat was passing by:


That is perhaps why so many still yearn for the originally planned BK and view comparatively narrow Pandora as having been driven by the need to grab an available IP (one that isn't nearly as broad and rich as many imply it is) to try and catch up with a competitor who broke huge new ground with a hot one.
 
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My question is when did AK become environmental love central? Living with the land at Epcot beat them to that punch decades ago And Pandora is more about joy rides on non-existent creatures and boat rides featuring a bunch of projections and one sole animatronic than it is about "responsibility and sustainability." :rolleyes:

I, too, thought AK has always been about conservation and environmental responsibility. The movie Avatar IS an environmental statement in and of itself so I think that is the rationale for how Pandora fits..
 
I don't know if it's true or not, but wasn't the site for the Tree of Life originally supposed to house a 60-foot animatronic Ralph Nader that would loudly broadcast environmental lectures through the park from opening to close? I could be wrong on that, but maybe he got cut with all the other mythical creatures from Beastly Kingdom.

I will say I did my part to promote this thread and environmentalism last week when I was at WDW by: (1) dressing as Indiana Jones for MNSSHP (although I should've really committed and worn a "IJ 4 AK" placard); and (2) drinking my Bloody Mary at Dawa Bar through a paper straw even though it was constantly (and annoyingly) clogged from the mix. The sacrifices we make for the planet....
 
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Not sure why this rumor is floating around as AK just added Pandora and River of Lights. The park really doesn't need any work right now it seems (compared to DHS and Epcot).

While I love Indiana Jones, making a themed area doesn't fit into Animal Kingdom. Just because Dinosaur is the same ride vehicle as Indiana Jones in Disneyland, doesn't mean they will redo an entire area.

What they need to do is double down on the Dinosaur theme. Make it immersive like Pandora like you stepping into the Jurassic era.

Kids love dinosaurs .. having the ability to see and walk among them would be amazing rather than the county-fair rides they have there now. THAT little section needs to be thrown out and redone to be more "Dinosaury".

Completely agree! Could be like jurassic Park only the dinosaurs don't kill you.
 
My question is when did AK become environmental love central? Living with the land at Epcot beat them to that punch decades ago And Pandora is more about joy rides on non-existent creatures and boat rides featuring a bunch of projections and one sole animatronic than it is about "responsibility and sustainability." :rolleyes:

Umm, I would say from pretty much its very conception. You do realize that most of the park is dedicated to the concepts of educating visitors on the concepts of the importance of conservation and naturalization. The animals that are highlighted throughout the park are all either endangered species or close-to being endangered. There were 2 new Sumatran Tiger cubs recently born in this park, and this species is estimated to only have approximately 500 of its kind remaining in the wild. Now there are 502, thanks to WDW and the programs that this park is committed to. Furthermore, DAK through the TWDC actively donates to help preserve endangered animals (i.e., Kenyan elephants).

Also, through educating the guests - which happens pretty much everywhere throughout the park - we become more aware of the peril that some of these species face so that they hopefully don't end up extinct like the dinosaurs in DinoLand. We donated after we paid to go on the Wild Africa Trek (the best upcharge anywhere in WDW).

And I give the Imagineers credit for what they did with Pandora. This was an IP - not Disney-owned - that Joe Rohde and his team were asked to somehow shoehorn in and have it make sense somehow in DAK. And to their credit, they did a great job with it. The FoP ride explains why certain animals known as keystone predators are significant to their respective environments. All throughout Pandora itself, there are man-made relics that are slowly being reclaimed by nature, demonstrating how even though man may think it has control over nature, it really doesn't. Also, the boat ride into the Na'vi rain forest is more than a ride with projects and one animatronic. Rohde and his team worked to show how important it is to remain in concert with nature as opposed to trying to control it. That is part of the point of that ride in particular. But, we all see things how we want to see them.

My question is why does it matter if Living with the Land "beat them to it" as you put it? I love that ride, but what is so wrong with taking that idea and expanding upon it and making it even better. That to me is what DAK does in this case. It is a unique experience among the Orlando theme parks, marrying fun rides, incredible immersive environments, great animal exhibits, shows, music, food and an education on conservation and the importance in taking care of the world that we share with other species.

@MommaBerd isn't the only one with a soapbox. :-)
 
Just to clarify, Avatar is what happens when Disney doesn't make good on Beastly Kingdom for park opening and allows Universal to steal their ideas.

Dinoland was always planned to be part of the park and has been there since day 1.

The Chester and Hester's Crap-tacular Dino-rama section of Dinoland is what happens when you open a park with 4 rides and most of your guests complain, so you buy minimally themed off-the-shelf carnival rides and put them in an area with a cheap "we meant this to look crappy" theme so you can open them quickly. And that "4 rides" is very generously counting the train to Conservation Station as a ride. And that also includes the horrendous Discovery River Boats... the "ride to nowhere seeing nothing in particular" with boats the cast members couldn't drive well which caused 90 minute lines for possibly the worst ride experience in modern Disney history.
Oh yeah! I forgot about the boats. The worse thing was you could only ride one way and you couldn't take your kids strollers. The next time I was there, the boats were gone. Thankfully.
 
personally I think it would be a nice addition to the park. I always found Dinoland to be out of place in AK.
 
Umm, I would say from pretty much its very conception. You do realize that most of the park is dedicated to the concepts of educating visitors on the concepts of the importance of conservation and naturalization. The animals that are highlighted throughout the park are all either endangered species or close-to being endangered. There were 2 new Sumatran Tiger cubs recently born in this park, and this species is estimated to only have approximately 500 of its kind remaining in the wild. Now there are 502, thanks to WDW and the programs that this park is committed to. Furthermore, DAK through the TWDC actively donates to help preserve endangered animals (i.e., Kenyan elephants).

Also, through educating the guests - which happens pretty much everywhere throughout the park - we become more aware of the peril that some of these species face so that they hopefully don't end up extinct like the dinosaurs in DinoLand. We donated after we paid to go on the Wild Africa Trek (the best upcharge anywhere in WDW).

And I give the Imagineers credit for what they did with Pandora. This was an IP - not Disney-owned - that Joe Rohde and his team were asked to somehow shoehorn in and have it make sense somehow in DAK. And to their credit, they did a great job with it. The FoP ride explains why certain animals known as keystone predators are significant to their respective environments. All throughout Pandora itself, there are man-made relics that are slowly being reclaimed by nature, demonstrating how even though man may think it has control over nature, it really doesn't. Also, the boat ride into the Na'vi rain forest is more than a ride with projects and one animatronic. Rohde and his team worked to show how important it is to remain in concert with nature as opposed to trying to control it. That is part of the point of that ride in particular. But, we all see things how we want to see them.

My question is why does it matter if Living with the Land "beat them to it" as you put it? I love that ride, but what is so wrong with taking that idea and expanding upon it and making it even better. That to me is what DAK does in this case. It is a unique experience among the Orlando theme parks, marrying fun rides, incredible immersive environments, great animal exhibits, shows, music, food and an education on conservation and the importance in taking care of the world that we share with other species.

@MommaBerd isn't the only one with a soapbox. :-)

Pretty sure there are legal requirements that they have to focus on the environment and conservation since AK is a zoo and all accredited zoos in the U.S. have strict requirements regarding the focus on education and conservation.

Still, I think IJ could be a nice addition to AK and could work, with its theme of exotic adventure that is also inherent to AK. Perhaps a snake appreciation attraction could be included to meet the requirements of the National Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
 
Mola Ram's Ropebridge Crocodile Challenge? Cavern 'O Bugs? Young Indy's Circus Train Safari? I'd suggest Shia LaBouef's Flying Monkey Coaster, but that movie never happened.

If I'm being honest, what we'd probably get is a single rider, enclosed drop-tower ride called "Nuclear Fridge Escape".
You know - I made that post way back at the beginning of this thread and tried to think of ridiculous rides for Indy Land. But something has bugged me this week. Then it dawned on me a few minutes ago. This thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/spiderman-ride-patent.3639129/. The one discussing Disney's recently revealed patent application for a new ride system. That captures the feeling of swinging side to side. Like monkeys on a vine.

Sure - the application might name drop Spider-Man and Tarzan as the obvious choices. But what if this was Disney misdirection? Are we seeing the future of Indy Land - that maybe a Mutt-themed swinging monkey ride isn't so far-fetched after all? We're almost through the looking glass here, people! Putting these things together - I feel like I'm in a Dan Brown novel unraveling secrets hidden in plain sight to reveal a mystery both incredible and unfathomably dumb.

(Of course, I could be digging in the wrong place since my Staff of Ra is too long as I only had a scrapper copy of the limited edition AK collector pin that provides the measurements and I didn't know about the instruction on the reverse to give back one kaddam to honor the Iger whose park this is).
 
Well, the theme for the park is conservation, isn't it? The safari opened up being about poachers killing elephants, and Kali River Rapids is about the evils of logging.

Hasn't Rafiki's Planet Watch/Conservation Station been there 20 years now?
 

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