Disney World Is Ruining Animal Kingdom
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- Опубліковано 27 лют 2024
- Delve into the intricate dynamics of Animal Kingdom within the sprawling realm of Walt Disney World. With a critical lens, we examine the impact of the amusement park juggernaut, Disney World, on the thematic essence of Animal Kingdom. With the upcoming closure of Dinoland USA, problems at Animal Kingdom are only going to broaden, weakening the strength of Walt Disney World as a week long vacation destination. Comparisons inevitably arise as we juxtapose Animal Kingdom against other prominent players in the theme park arena, such as Universal Orlando and its vast Universal Studios parks. The rivalry between Disney and Universal has been a longstanding debate among enthusiasts, and we analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each, shedding light on the ongoing competition.
With the imminent arrival of Epic Universe, Universal's latest venture, the stakes are higher than ever. We examine how this new addition to the Orlando theme park landscape may alter the dynamics between Disney World and Universal Studios. With Animal Kingdom facing a several year long overhaul, will Walt Disney World be able compete with the expanding Universal Studios Orlando resort? Join us on this exploration of Disney's Animal Kingdom, where we uncover the nuances of its existence within the larger context of theme park culture, Disney's ongoing evolution, and the fierce rivalry between Disney and Universal.
Sources:
How Disney and its Cast have Protected Over 1,000 Species of Animals: disneyconnect.com/dpep/how-di...
Theme Park Attendance: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Video Credit:
Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom Overview: • Explore Disney's Anima...
Disney Hollywood Studios Theme Park Tour: • Disney’s Hollywood Stu...
Disney's Animal Kingdom Orlando, Florida Walkthrough: • Disney's Animal Kingdo...
Pandora The World of Avatar Animal Kingdom Walt Disney World: • Pandora The World of A...
Avatar Flight of Passage Disney Animal Kingdom: • Flight of Passage POV ...
Top 8 Updates From Destination D23 | Disney Parks: • Top 8 Updates From Des...
It's Tough to Be a Bug Complete Show Disney's Animal Kingdom Walt Disney World: • It's Tough to Be a Bug...
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind Epcot Disney World: • Guardians of the Galax...
TRON Lightcycle Run Roller Coaster Magic Kingdom: • TRON Magic Kingdom - N...
Universal CityWalk Orlando Florida 2023: • Universal CityWalk Orl...
Universal Studios Islands of Adventure 2000: • Universal studios Isla...
Hagrids Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Universal Studios Orlando: • Hagrids Magical Creatu...
Velocicoaster Universal Orlando Jurassic World Roller Coaster: • Velocicoaster Off-Ride...
Universal Epic Universe - Celestial Park Animated Fly-Through: • Universal Epic Univers...
Dinosaur - Full POV at Disney's Animal Kingdom: • Dinosaur - Full POV at...
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Putting encanto and Indiana Jones into animal kingdom feels like a complete diss to the spirit of this park
Exactly. Why tf are they getting rid of DINOSAUR? That's one of my favorite rides ever!!
Disney has gone all in on IPs that's just how it goes
Indiana jones makes sense but Encanto doesn’t
Disney be like: Indiana Jones has snakes? They’re an animal right? Perfect!
I mean, I get encanto, but why Indiana Jones?
They should finally add that mythical beasts area they didn't do all those years ago...
Especially now with Lost Continent on the way out. It'd be the only true mythical land in town!
EXACTLY!!!!!
didn't the ones who desigend that leave disney and move to universal and give those plans to them when they built lost continent
@@AttractionIdeas Disney’s Animal Kingdom should revive their Beastly Kingdom idea and move Pandora to a new expansion plot!
maybe they should replace dinoland with dragons, which are much cooler than dinosaurs.
Replacing Dinoland is a bad idea period. Prehistory's part of the park's mission statement, everybody loves dinosaurs, and the acquisition of Ice Age gives you an IP to slap onto whatever you tear down the carnival for as well as additional prehistoric creatures to play with. "We can't compete with Jurassic Park, let's just surrender and put some rides that aren't really centered around animals or nature here" is a coward move.
Agreed 👍
Dude! ice age! I didn’t even think of that! Man that really makes this decision more aggravating!
That said if they turn the encanto area into a South America area that would make me feel better because of the wildlife conservation aspect. That and because South American animals are cool!
Dinoland USA is terrible and has nothing except dinosaur it needs to be replaced or at least removed in the future.
@@Pantheraleo1545 South America would be a perfect fit elsewhere at Disney’s Animal Kingdom instead of the plot of land where Dinoland currently sits!
Animal kingdom needs stuff to do. But instead they rather go all in with Disney plus. Poor animal kingdom.
LOL. The cope. No, buddy, they'd rather go on making entertainment no one wants. You can debate why no one wants it, but you can't deny their monetary problems stem from the fact that they make things no one wants to see, which then causes their streaming service to be rendered mute.
@@VunderGuy Weather their service is good or not they should pour more money into the parks. Putting all their eggs in one basket isn’t the best financial move you think it is.
@@Starlit43welp
Magic Band system preceding it all. $2 Billion dollar just to make fastpass hunt being online and miserable for majority of people. And yet Disney still churned up the ride capacity quota for fastpast rider and now make fastpast extra charge.
Maybe they should build an animal kingdom in everyones house, because you can get disney+ in every household
They should just sell disney plus to apple allready they need the content disney needs the money and they can focus on the parks which is the only thing theyre good at anymore.
This is a problem with Disney as a whole. They’re obsessed with gutting and remixing old rides while their biggest problem at the moment is the terrible overcrowding of the parks. Remixing old rides does nothing to help this besides move the crowds around a little instead of getting more people off the streets.
Which is why a 5th theme park is needed …for villians and marvel
@@ahf5471 Yeah, rides breaking down more often is another huge reason for the overcrowding. This seems to be because Disney has cut costs on maintenance for their attractions. Rides occasionally breaking down is nothing new, but it's become a lot more common in recent years. The rides breaking down not only decreases their capacity for the day, but it causes Lightning Lane to get backed up, which further slows down standby.
@@CarolCityCane305they dont need a fifth park, why not invest more into the parks that need more rides like animal kingdom? And eventhough Epcot got guardians, it still needs more rides!
@@NamesSimba Epcot isn’t really a place rides
@@NamesSimbathe point of Epcot isn’t rides.
Disney should fix up Dinoland USA to make it more relevant with plenty more dinosaurs and lots of other prehistoric creatures in addition to dinosaurs!
I agree with that idea 💡
@@SuperRedtiger1 I’m glad you agree with my idea along with my other ideas!
Yes! It's such a good place for younger kids! I think another attraction there would be great!
Taking dinosaur out basically means killing the movie it ties into. Plus they remove one of the 3 original ideas for animal kingdom.
@@pursuedsubset5915 That’s upsetting…
Its tough to be a bug is the most sensory overloading experience I have ever experienced
I only did it once as a kid, and I absolutely hated it. I can see how it’s kinda fun to do, but 8 year old me was not amused at all.
Wow you need to get out more, maybe go to taco bell in times square w a meth head and you'll find a better experience
I saw it as an adult, and I loved it. The sensory overload made it more fun.
I am an adult and got so freaked out by that show that I took my glasses off and cried a little bit 🤣. I also just closed my eyes until the closing song and power walked out the MOMENT the doors opened. I only did it because I went with a friend that wanted to see it.
I loved it & would do anything to experience it one more time. It's been almost 20 years (went on 10th birthday)
Sux that they're getting rid of it. It's rated really high so it shows ppl like it. Even tho it might be a little scary for aome
5 years for disney to build 2 roller coasters and its only supposed to take 6 years in total (2019-2025) for universal to build a whole new park with all 3 projects being interrupted by covid
tron couldn’t have opened until 5 years after its opening in shanghai due to the contracts with the international parks :^)
If the cvoid dind't happen EPic would already be open
@@CoolGuyGreen1 tron opened in shanghai in 2016 when the park opened 5 years would've been 2021. Disney world''s broke ground in 2018 and was planned to open in 2021 but finished 2 years behind schedule anyways
@@promethean9851 pretty much! from my experience in engineering and project management, things tend to fall behind schedule pretty often and that can be due to many factors. one of the major ones seemed to be covid. and speaking of that, a lot of manufacturers’ lead time on materials increased more than exponentially! something that used to come in within a few weeks extended to nearly half a year or more! i’m not saying that those were disney’s exact problems, but those are 100% possibilities. there’s definitely a good reason as to why tron took so long
@@ChouhouinNeko good point
I’m in the minority of loving all the trees and wildlife of ANIMAL kingdom
Yes! I love the wildlife part of animal kingdom! Honestly if people just want to do rides then stick with magic kingdom.
@@wave1313713 the Kilimanjaro safari, the train to the petting area, and animal loops, each of those is more than the typical couple of minutes a “ride” offers but id argue it’s just as much fun. Honestly if they just added a different themed safari ride I’d be so excited.
@@wave1313713 the old Kilimanjaro ride was the best!! The poaching plot is still relevant, and ppl today need to grow a pair, plus the bridge used to shake and rumble like it was about to crumble which was AWESOME!
Oh yeah! Same! The only thrill ride I enjoy is kali river rapids. But its probably still my second favorite because I love animals
@@wave1313713Facts
I completely disapprove of DinoLand USA being closed down. The lack of a dinosaur themed land ensures that the theme park isn’t living up to the idea of Disney’s Animal Kingdom presenting the idea of dinosaurs being in the park. Not to mention, the ride is one of the only three things that gives respect to the movie, dinosaur.
I disapprove of that too. I want dinosaurs to be kept around.
I can't fathom that Disney, of all companies, can't make a land centered around dinosaurs more interesting, to the point they're just going to remove it entirely. Animal Kingdom is a beautiful park and I love just spending time there, doing the walking tours, etc., but if the plan is just "slap more IPs on it", then I can't say I'm very excited for its future. Beyond that...ok, my own hot take on this, but I *do not get* the obsession with Flight of Passage. Good ride? Sure. Worth an hour wait? Maybe. *2-3+ hours of waiting?* Not a prayer. And I think a big reason for the attendance drop off is that, frankly, people don't care enough about Avatar as a franchise to get people excited to spend time in a "land" of it. Like, I don't quite get why I'm supposed to be excited to eat bao buns, just because I'm told they're from Pandora instead of Asia.
But there's the dirty secret, in the end; anything they replace Dinoland with will just be even more low capacity, long wait rides, because it'll further incentivize people to buy Genie+ every day of their trip. At a certain point you're paying not just to avoid lines, but because you don't feel some of those rides are worth THAT long a wait...and now they're getting you to pay to express that. It's insanity.
Dinoland deserves the world. Glad i was able to experience it last month even in its half demolished state. Love that part of the park, almost cried when i saw it
Drive a bit up the road and visit Jurassic Park/ World instead lol
Disney gave up after velocicoaster.
YES OMG THANK YOU. I literally rode Flight of Passage for the first time yesterday, the people I was with were hyping it up saying "prepare to have your mind blown!" I cannot express my disappointment when we walked in and were greeted with fake motorcycle-like contraptions plopped in front of a big screen. It was basically a motorcycle arcade game from Dave & Buster's with a few extra gimmicks. I was literally the only person in my party who thought it was mid, and now they're all roasting me basically every other ride we go on that has any kind of VR in it saying shit like, "you liked it? But it was JUST VR!" Coz I said that FoP was basically just elaborate VR, which it is, but unlike FoP, rides like Rise of the Resistance or Smugglers Run are fun because they incorporate an actual ride and/or interactive experience into it.
Disney can make dinosaurs more interesting they just chose not to. There is a great vid out there with the original concept for this land and it had a wooden rollercoaster. The art work looked so cool unfortunately the land was scaled down due to budget cuts. It’s a shame as this land could have been great and given universal a run for their money with their Dino land.
As much as Animal kingdom feels like a half-day park, it is perfect in every other way and my favorite of the Disney parks. It has beautiful theming and scenery and is the only park that does not have ip where it does not belong or feels excessive. It is a shame that will change very soon.
I feel like everyone is ignoring that animal kingdom is not the same operationally as any of their other parks. It’s literally a zoo. A AZA accredited zoo. Which puts extra responsibilities on them. Building anything requires more logistic then “where do we need to put the walls to hide it”. They need to think about animal husbandry a LOT.
Disney animal kingdom is a HIGHLY regarded zoo! And they want to keep that status
very good point!
Yeah there has to be a lot of zoo area in the back and that is what animal kingdom is primarily for the good and the bad. Depends on what activists and stuff would do if they expanded.
Under current Disney i would prefer that animal kingdom is left alone.
real i like the lack of crowds there too
I agree Animal kingdoms attractions are perfect atm, also im fine with less crowds
the thing that Disney dosen't understand is that the parks don't need *replacements* for areas, they need *expansions* to new areas (and to the park in general) and FAST. Disney is letting history repeat itself
@@rukirgaming Its just so annoying I feel like walt would have loved animal kingdom but been annoyed with the current state of innovation
Too late
Aninal Kingdom is a good park with great theming it just needs some more love in terms of rides.
The theming is basically trees everywhere, long walks, and sweating your ass off 😂
@@JTstratman13 LOL
@@JTstratman13 That's only in the paths between the lands. The lands themselves are more intricately themed than almost any other theme park land I've seen. Especially the Nepalian village in Asia
There’s an easy solution here. Build Beastly Kingdom.
Yeah! Also, add more expansions to some plots of land perfect for possible expansions to make the theme park bigger, better, and more adventurous!
Disney should not remove dinosaur ride and add more dinosaur attractions and focus on more animal things instead, instead of replacing rides add more so there is more things to do
Exactly 👍
It’s the same exact track run as the Indiana Jones ride, They will just swap out the theming, of course that’s gonna take much longer than it should.
The youtuber Poseidon entertainment has an excellent idea for a wooden rollercoaster in dino land that would be themed around a fossil dig site that would fit perfectly. You dont have to have ip attached to dinosaurs to make it interesting.
Yeah the Dinosaur area could use one or two new rides. A new big or family coaster, better flat rides, and a re theme or update to Dinosaur. Give it an update like test track. Also take a page out of Epcot and add something like figments journey into animation or soaring.
@@maxhocks2006 Oh yeah
Dinoland, USA does not and should not be replaced. It's representative of an entire species of extinct, prehistoric animals which should be considered an animal "kingdom" in its own right. Instead, Dinoland, USA should be redeveloped and expanded into a Dinoland that is situated on a lost island where dinosaurs still exist. The Society of Explorers and Adventurers could discover this lost island and they establish the Dino Institute to conduct their research. The two principal attractions could consist of a reimagined jungle jeep adventure ride utilising the existing Dinosaur attraction as well as a jungle river/under water attraction based upon the Pirates of the Caribbean ride system at Shanghai Disneyland. The land can be filled out with smaller attractions like the originally proposed excavation coaster giving guests the opportunity to experience both living dinosaurs and their fossils. But, in order for any such plan to come to fruition, The Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney World should consider selling Disney's Animal Kingdom to the Oriental Land Company. The OLC seems better capable of developing and managing Disney parks than the Walt Disney Company itself.
I really like your idea of DinoLand's story. The only thing I can think of to add to it is what the dinosaurs will look like. For example, I'd like Triceratops to be blue, either Stegosaurus or Apatosaurus to be green, etc.
Love your idea of incorporating the society of explores and adventurers
I 100% support this idea. Dinoland should be preserved, even if only from it's theme. I would be all for a new and revamped Dinoland, USA that keeps the spirit of the original concept, but updates and modernizes it to make it more engaging and thrilling than ever before. New rides and attractions that will bring new life to the land and make it better than ever, bringing together the old and new fans with something beautiful. (PS - I love your proposal, the idea of a lost continent/island of Dinosaurs would be an awesome idea for a theme, and could make for some really exciting rides)
@@BeaverBotics2 The "lost island" premise of a new Dinoland could also be adapted to film or TV. Instead of shoehorning existing Disney cinematic IP into the parks, they could develop lands and attractions in the parks in tandem with film or TV productions. Back when Disneyland was being developed in California, the Disneyland TV series would feature Davy Crockett and Zorro to represent and spark interest in Frontierland. They'd show Disney fairytales like Snow White and Pinocchio for Fantasyland. They had a different kind of "synergy" back then. It was less about pushing Disney IP and more about using Disney IP to build up anticipation and interest in the parks.
They should just bring back the old fast pass system with the paper tickets
With what Disney is planning on doing to DAK, it’s no wonder Joe Rohde walked away and retired when he did.
I'm not convinced that he left willingly. There were still a few projects he was heavily involved in, the most recent being Lighthouse Point. He couldn't just leave a project like that midway through unless he was forced/pushed to by the company.
@@mupty Has he publicly stated why he left?
32,000 WDW cast (all areas) were let go in 2020 and 2021. I was one of them. Joe was also let go. Not sure why no one remembers that this happened to us?!
@@kjyochum2840Yeah…
Animal kingdom is my favorite park for so many reasons. But it closes so early. I’ve never been able to appreciate Pandora after dark. They need a night time draw …. A night time show to make people stay . And for that they need a drone show. It won’t bother the animals like fireworks would.
Hopefully it doesn't become an IP dump like Epcot's becoming. Then again I don't think they care much about maintaining the original visions of the parks anymore. #keepdinosaur
#Countdowntoextinction
Omg finally, someone who wants to keep dinosaur 😭 such an under appreciated ride
Dinosaur technically is an IP. Even the non IP rides are completely non existent right now. The older non IP rides are getting trash movies in hopes that it will drive interest.
Why dont they do something with dinosaur kids love dinos plus nostalgia why not a remake a film that had potential but underperformed. Black cauldron comes to mind maybe sword in the stone too.
They should include more areas, more rides, more animal encounters, and other stuff!
the worst part about this is expedition Everest has been Disney's best roller coaster out of all 4 parks for over a decade(i havent been on tron). they have plenty of good ones but for sure its just been left to languish in a park with nothing else
Guardian of the galaxy is currently their best coaster in my opinion.
And they still won't fix the Yeti.
I think the problem for Disney is that even them building Galaxy Edge for a billion and Avatar for 750 million or a Tron coaster, it doesn't move the needle at all. Only thing that happens is a shift but no additional guests. I don't think they see a return on investment at all.
Theming Galaxy’s edge on the sequel trilogy was one of the biggest mistakes they made
@@101magjTrue, I got burned out of Disney a decade ago but a Potter style version of the Original Trillogy of Star Wars would at least get me back to Disney Studios but this Chinese rip-off version doesn't entice me what so ever and only reminds me how my favorite ip got killed by the mouse. Even then they had to do a Milenium Falcon ride much better than what they did now.
Not when those are the numbers tied to the investment. Good time to mention streaming and it’s ROI too 😑 which money could have been our new DAK land or new Villians park….
@@101magjI would not be surprised if they spend half a billion to retheme it to Tatooine by 2034, and change Rise of the Resistance to take place on a Star Destroyer during the original trilogy.
I agree. Given the beautiful landscape at Animal Kingdom. They should just put up simpler attractions (no expensive theming, IP or huge expensive structure) that are atmospheric as guests will already be immersed in the environment. A meandering family style journey style roller coaster through the landscape would be cool and should be added as an expansion. No billions spent for this.
Honestly I’m not sure Disney needs to do anything, the park is already so busy and so many people are priced out. I went to Florida last month and even though I haven’t been to Disney world in 15 years I picked universal and sea world instead for the 5 days I had in the area.
Realistically the value people are getting with how long the lines are is the biggest issue. They need a bunch of high capacity additions to help with crowds.
One of the things I always wanted at Animal Kingdom was a re-theme of Dinoland USA to a McDuck Expedition Site themed around DuckTales considering the characters already did meet and greets there with a Dinosaur re-theme themed around Scrooge going on an expedition finding an island of dinosaurs like in the old show. The games could be replaced with the Beagle Boys doing shoddy games to trick folks out of money. A re-theme of Raffiki's Planet Watch themed around Ludwig Von Drake would have been neat as well
Also another thing that doesn't make sense is the theming, as Encanto and Indiana Jones have nothing to do with animals or conservation.
Kali river rapids should have a jungle book re theme!
no it should be rethemed to slavery and have actors portraying slaves and slave masters
Another (unaddressed) reason Disney would not want to expand Animal Kingdom may be because at least part of that land is set aside for wildlife conservation. Bulldozing that for new rides would likely give them a lot of pushback, for good reason!
That and they would need to get rid of the animals since their private area is the size of Magic Kingdom
Take a look at a satellite picture of Animal Kingdom. The Northeast corner is about twice the size of dinoland and is mostly empty except construction debris, a junkyard, some vehicles, probably trailer storage, and a couple small buildings. This is vacant land that can easily be converted to a new land. There are certainly no animals being cared for there. This area can easily be accessed from the train station at Rafiki's Planet Watch.
There’s a huge plot of flat land between Africa and Asia that only requires the removal of the Conservation Station train for park expansion and development. The animal interruption would be minimal. So no excuses for Disney.
@@keithschneider1054 i think they mean overall. Disney has no land for extra lands or new theme parks cause they need ot keep so much of their property to stay a wildlife conservation zone. Animal kingdom ate up most of what was left they only have a tiny bit left for hotels thats it
Animal Kingdom is actually straight up required to do research and conservation. It’s not just a park. It is first and foremost, a AZA accredited zoo. The Association of Zoo and Aquarium is a massive zoo collaboration program that goal is to provide excellent husbandry and conservation effort in zoos. AZA accreditation is a HUGR deal! Losing it, means potentially having a Blackfin situation. Losing the AZA is NOT good for Disney at all!
I just got back from Animal Kingdom last week it was probably one of our worst vacations everything was broken it was dirty cast members were rude it was super overprice the food was awful literally was one of the worst vacations I’ve been on in 25 years
In all fairness, there anything Disney doesn't ruin these days?
The one thing that will save animal kingdom is more rides
Yeah! More rides and more capacity along with more land and more animals!
I took a Zoo-planning class in college when I wanted to be a zoo keeper. Here my perspective on it. Animal Kingdom IS a Zoo. It’s actually a pretty highly regarded zoo with Association of Zoo and Aquarium (AZA) accreditation. Which is HUGE! If you see AZA, chances are that it is a very good and ethical zoo.
But that means you need to be cautious of overstressing the animals and it’s inhabitants. Disney actually had this problem with their Naked Mole Rats exhibit. Basically they got over stressed with visitor and they needed to close it down for a bit. I think they now let a limited amount of guests see them at a time.
Now to build a roller coaster or some other big E-ticket ride, you need land. Well great! Animal Kingdom is the World’s biggest theme park by area (if we don’t count the whole Disney World resort as one massive theme park). One problem, Much of that space is taken up by animal habitat including backstage habitat. As a zoo, they need to prioritize animal health and wellness, so eliminating habitat for new land is NOT a good idea in the slightest! It’s also would hurt their PR, and the last thing Disney wants is to have a blackfin movie.
Another issue about building a ride is again stressing the animal due to more crowd coming to their area and just the stress of construction in general. For example, at my local zoo a Zebra (an animal that is quite easily frightened) heard a noise or saw something from the construction and ran into a pole. This resulted in their death.
One solution to this is to build the rides away from the animals. This is what Disney did with Pandora. Pandora does not have any animal and is quite far from the rest of the park. That is by design.
Due to Animal Kingdom being a zoo, that makes its operations very unique from all the other parks. Which makes things like “new rides” harder than any other park
Disney needs to use that unused land to build Beastly Kingdom.
Yeah! They should tear down the Pandora section and rebuild it from scratch in an unused plot of land for a potential expansion which would include Pandora so the Pandora plot of land would be used for the Beastly Kingdom land!
The sad thing with WDW is that Disney doesn't care. They have yet to make a meaningful expansion (not a simple replacement) to any of their Flordia parks since Galaxy's Edge, as far as I can remember. The board is putting the minimum amount of effort into the parks just because of the income from the parks gets immiedietly thrown onto the fire that is the media side of the company. IF the WDC were to reinvest the park income back into the parks, THEN we would be seeing all of these new proposed ideas, and Universal would have a tough time clawing that top spot.
What I think is happening is Disney expects people to increasingly go to their parks no matter what. Instead I suspect that other than the increase from Epic Universal attendance is actually going to drop as the post covid travel and savings boom wear out in the next 2 years
Dinoland does not need to be replaced but merely updated. They keep trying to replace it with South America or whatever have you but... That completely ruins the thesis of the park. It's supposed to be animals from the past, present and fiction. Also... Dinosaurs are cool. Just update the rides and lands to be better.
Exactly 👍
Encanto has animals tho
Yeah
I could be wrong, but I think that surrounding area is a bit of a buffer for the land being surrounded by trees for immersion and the purveyed idea of conservation. Just past the trees are highways, resorts, and golf courses.
I’m a former DAK cast member, Dinoland 🦖 baby - left in 2017 right after Pandora opened, so I was there when park attendance was at all time highs and we had all the nighttime offerings and super late closing hours. Also there while Joe Rohde was still a driving influence in what happened in the park. Huge loss that was for DAK imho.
I agree with this take, closing Dino would be catastrophic for the park because of the general lack of attractions and ride capacity park-wide as it is. While it has always annoyed me that people stay with that half day park conversation - it’s not a half day if you treat it like the accredited zoo it is and actually go see the zoo things, outside of the safari and not just doing rides and Lion King. But I digress
Dinosaur is absolutely critical to keeping park attendance in check imho, even though not everyone can or wants to ride it, because it’s a relatively high capacity ride when functioning properly. Not to mention Triceratops Spin for the littles. Then on top of that, closing the entire land knocks Restaurantosaurus out too, which is a pretty popular quick service with indoor seating, crucial in the summer.
They’d almost be better off closing the whole park and doing a full park revitalization (Dinoland, fix Yeti, expand Pandora, etc) in the time it’ll take them to bring back Dino.
Let me also say how annoying it is they keep retheming existing attractions instead of giving us new options that will alleviate some of those five hour Pandora lines. They treat my park so bad 😞
You could expand behind expedition Everest like the behind big thunder expansion or upgrade dinoland USA doing a roller coaster like escape from gringotts but make it more thrilling.
MGM might actually be worse. They only have 8 rides and that's including the flying saucers. Two of them are freaking simulators which I hate, they're lazy ideas for "rides" IMO. Also, Rockn' Roller Coaster has been down for a refurb and anyone that has stood in line for ToT knows that it isn't exactly a capacity monster for overturn. Star Wars was way over hyped for a bland shopping mall. and they massacred the Great Movie ride for those creepy screen animatronic hybrids. Its become a de-facto IP dumping ground and just a trash cohesive theme.
I like It's Tough To Be A Bug. They got rid of their nighttime show and tore down their Family Friendly coaster in Dino-Land which i miss both of them.
Animal Kingdom needs more animals. I count only 20 exhibits. Most small town zoos have more exhibits than that. Disney should add two new zoo expansions, one in Africa and one in Asia, with long winding paths with new animal exhibits and even encounters. That would recenter the park to its mission, increase things to do, increase capacity, and be low cost compared to building a whole new land.
Add a South America zone (jaguars, tamandua, maned wolves, Andean Bears, vultures, howler and spider monkeys, giant otters, etc.), and Australia zone (koalas, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, cassowaries, wombats, saltwater crocs, little blue penguins), and a North American zone (bears, cougars, wolves, elk, etc.), plus expand in Asia since too many species are still missing (Indian Rhinos, orangutans, sloth bears, tapirs, fishing cats, clouded leopards, red pandas , gharials, etc.)
I took zoo design courses and conservation. I know how the zoo world is like. It’s not that easy. They have quite a few exhibits. Like a lot. And many of them are very high quality too. They have over 300 species. That’s very good. Including some very endangered ones.
Now they are AZA accredited. That is a MASSIVE MASSIVE DEAL! The AZA is a collaboration of many zoos and aquarium across the US. They often even trade animals across zoos for breeding purposes.
To establish a new exhibit is more than “we should add X because guests like it”. They need to get approval and have a care system in place and enough lands for it. They also need another zoo to get one of whatever X is.
@@felixdacat4941 Yeah! Orangutans are missing from the Asia section!
Dino land is an aesthetic eye soar. It looks like a cheesy carnival. It needs an aesthetic overhaul after an expansion is built for another land.
This is such a great video, I love the passion you convey with your voice throughout, it really convinced me!
I would say closing dinoland can work if they have quick turnaround and begin construction when something else is opening.
For example, if it closes the same month that test track reopens and star tours gets new Mando scenes, maybe the guests will still stick to Disney property rather than go to universal.
Disneyland WAS built in a year, Disney just needs to lock in and make it happen in 2 years tops.
Working on a video now discussing a similar topic regarding expanding Pandora, definitely good to see someone else with similar thoughts to myself!
Just put up new buildings? Apparently you forgot the issue of building on top of swampland vs simply putting a building on top of existing stable ground that already has storm drainage, electricity, water, sewerage, service tunnels if needed etc.
We're never getting Beastly Kingdom are we? Also I loved the Bugs Life show it was so scary haha
here me out. what if disney built an expansion at animal kingdom while keeping dinoland open. then when the expansion opens, they close dinoland and move their cast members to the new expansion? Then their capacity doesn't ever decrease, their employee costs won't increase, and they can build ANOTHER expansion in the coming years over the closed dinoland??
Animal kingdom has the best themeing and attention to detail IMO it is my favorite park to just exist in it’s beautiful. Don’t get me wrong I like rides lol but animal kingdom just has an immaculate vibe. I’d prefer if they would stick to the founding tenets instead of IP dumps
Why Animal Kingdom has nothing for an area/ride based on The Lion King or The Jungle Book I will never understand
Im trying to scroll through the Reedy Creek Improvement District comperehensive plan but cant seem to find an answer.. but how much of the area surrounding Animal Kingdom is suitable for construction?
Bruh I’ve just noticed that the light bulb has little loops in it lol that’s works really well
I think you might be the first person to notice that (at least that I can remember lol)
There's a mostly unused section north of the Asia region which would be perfect for adding in more Asian animals such as orangutans, leopards, sloth bears, reticulated pythons, Rhesus monkeys, Asian elephants, Indian rhinos, and striped hyenas, which would complete the whole Jungle Book animal cast. With all the unused land, Disney could easily build a Planet of the Apes themed section with a massive chimpanzee and bonobo habitat. Rafiki's planet watch could easily be reconfigured into a Zootopia themed section and have camel rides. All of those are doable.
Why would any theme park get rid of anything inspiring people - especially children - to learn about prehistoric creatures?!
In the current state of Disney, I think I'd rather Dinoland just be left alone
A Moana ride using the Shanghai Pirates ride system would make DAK the second most attended park at Walt Disney World.
Hate to break it to everyone, but until Disney’s sworn enemy isn’t governor of Florida and the Reedy Creek situation impacting everything from construction, to infrastructure and taxes for the resort is resolved - essentially all the unusual behind the scenes logistics, and background features like transit and roadways that made the theme park possible to begin with, and support its operations up from the literal foundation - we’re in the darkest days WDW might ever see. It’s not entirely the park’s fault (tho definitely much of it, for now).
my relative was fired from Disney when it all went downhill he was working there for 25 years and felt like his impact made a change but they let him go despite the number and company greed. He decided to work for Universal and has never looked back since. I love Disney, but it's never been the same when they put money first.
I used to work at DAK. It's my favorite park behind EPCOT. It's a travesty that this beautiful park doesn't have more to do. It could live up to it's potential if it had more guests. Personally, I'm not a huge Pandora fan. I go to DAK to spend time looking at animals. I realize I'm the minority here.
Also how many people in that attendance number are going to be people scanning in for their reservation just to immediately leave to another park?
You do make a good point about expansion vs replacement at this point; but I also think you are only thinking of Animal Kingdom in terms of traditional theme park rides. Animal Kingdom has,by far, the best daytime shows of all of the Orlando area theme parks. And all the animals are still awesome particularly the Kilimanjaro Safari which I go on multiple times a visit because with live animals, it’s always different.
It may be possible that Disney doesn't want to destroy more natural land surrounding a park that is about conservation when Dinoland needs to go anyway now anyway, may as well rip the band-aid off. I hope that we get something better than an old Indiana Jones ride in its place though, but... it's the same ride technology so it wouldn't surprise me if Disney cheapens out.
I don't understand why Disney can't just utilize the free areas of land located: In between Pandora & Africa, Behind Expedition Everest and/or In Between Asia & Rafiki's Planet Watch for a new section based on Central/South America?
...And if they want to update Dinoland, why not just remove the Dino-Rama section & replace it with a Water/Log-Flume Attraction based on the Ice Age Franchise? Also, would it kill them to replace Finding Nemo with A Good Dinosaur Musical instead?
Animal Kingdom's biggest problem is that Disney never really got across the purpose of the park, which is to see and experience the animals. It's supposed to be more like World Showcase where instead of rides at most of the pavilions you're immersed in the different cultures, or like what Sea World was before people realized how horrible keeping Orcas in captivity was and switched gears to coasters. You need a specific mindset to get a day out of the park that doesn't jive with the 'beat the crowds and get on everything' way you have to think to get the most out of the other parks.
Tron wasn’t built on flat land it was a water area because the whole resort is a swamp, also the over seas parks have a contract that anything that they get that’s not a clone can’t be cloned until a certain amount of time has passed.
i heard the majority of disney world property is too swampy and not suitable land to build on. I do wish they would expand though. I kinda like the idea of parks that would take multiple days to explore and finish and not feel like we did mostly everything by 3PM and are then just kinda waiting around for fireworks
I like the idea here of enhancing dinoland instead of replacing. After all, the land fits perfectly with the parks theme
7:30 going back a bit further, didn't it also take four or so years for Seven Dwarves Mine Train? I'm happy to tack on an extra month or two for demolition of whatever was there, but seriously... AK could get a clone of the Hong Kong D-land's run away mine train... Call it rattle snake canyon run or something if there is no handy IP available. Good rollercoasters don't really need an IP tie in. (see Space or Big Thunder's Mountains)
i disagree with your take on it killing the park, it's the same argument to why they removed camp minnie mickey. Now pandora is there, and it definitely is an improvement. operating costs are negligible to disney since they replaced backlot stunt tour with that star wars area and toy story land. the real problem is the timing, they should have started construction shortly after universal announced epic universe. But if they don't do anything, less people will visit. cycle of death. it's too late to fully rebound, but they always say that the 2nd best time is today.
also i hope they put zootopia there
IPs get old, the iconic rides like dinosaur, space mountain, splash mountain, etc don’t.
People staying at resorts like the convenience of taking the monorail to MK and Epcot which is not available for the other two parks. Taking the bus really sucks especially when they are filled to max capacity.
There are a few things you're missing here in your assessment of this situation One is that rides are not the only thing to experience, you can easily make DAK a fullday park if you actually take the time to enjoy the park as intended and see all the shows, walk all the animal trials, etc. Though the problem is that the modern audience doesn't seem to care about those things, which underlines the true problem for this park. But that's a whole different topic to dissect.
Also, part of Disney's reservations on using up their land, which they very well could easily fill it up, is because Walt Disney himself set aside roughly 10,000 acres for conservation. Because with the orginal plan for the land was that nature was suppose to be an attraction in and of itself for guests(and residents) to enjoy.
I don't think Epic Universe is going to completely tank Disney right away with it opening. I think it will completely tank once Universe has opened Zelda Land, Lord of the Rings Land and Pokemon Land. Universal has done an amazing job in immersion. I don't even like Harry Potter but love the lands and rides at Universal.
Disney rested on their butts, and were too comfortable with the status quo for years, if not well over a decade plus and will pay the price for it. Expedition Everest needs to be fixed (AKA closed for years) and they need to add more things to do with more capacity. They love to add new rides that laugh at capacity. And they wonder why lines are long leading to more guest dissatisfaction.
I could spend all day in AK because I love the almost extreme level of theming in there. I don't feel like I'm in FL let alone a theme park. It's truly magical. I love Dinosaur. I don't really feel it needs to be replaced. Maybe spruced up, but it's still a solid ride. Dinoland in general needs an update, absolutely. I hate the cheapness of that area.
But Disney knows closing part of the park would be a temporary downgrade for the park. I have no doubt they crunch more numbers than most of us fans. It's what they do with those numbers we don't agree with. Any decision they make will be one with their eyes wide open, hoping for the best. Even if we don't like it.
Bold of you to assume I was going to go to Dinoland in the first place. Animal Kingdom with Dinoland and Animal Kingdom with nothing in that space are exactly the same park. Heck, they were fine for almost 20 years with basically nothing where Pandora currently sits. So long as they don't vomit cheap IP wraps all over Asia and Africa, the park will be exactly as good as it has been.
i still do not understand why anyone would build an avatar land. so not animal kingdom, so not interesting overall.
i love dinosaurs and i hate the fact they close the land instead of giving it a nice and well deserved overhaul. there is so much potential!
instead of avatar they should have given us beastly kingdom as it was the plan all those years ago. and as a new expansion they could work on now to open later, they have the best thing ever: ZOOTOPIA!!! how is this not a thing yet? that movie with all its habitats and lands/cities is perfect and so precious and it would fit an ANIMAL kingdom so much better than encanto?
encanto is nice and all but what does it have to do with animals?
but all we get is a 3d movie about zootopia? jeez why?? its tough to be a bug is so cute and also showcases that we still overlook insects a lot when it comes to animals. i think it is perfectly situated underneath the tree of life. such a shame they dont keep it.
anyways, lets see what will happen in the end.
great video and spot on analysis.
It is a tough call but you are spot on with the fact that when Universal gets a 3rd major park, people will be looking at Universal instead of Disney (vs in addition to Disney).
Interesting that you say Hollywood Studios spent most of its time known as DISNEY’s MGM studios. In reality, the park has been Hollywood Studios for as long as it was MGM…17 years each…give or take a few months. 😂
Keep it up with these videos bro 😎 you are doing great
With the way ppl hype this park up I was super hype to go last year. Man I was so underwhelmed! The Avatar ride the Disney stans praise is back to the future with smells lol The rapid ride is complete garbage compared to Popeyes! Everest and Dinosaur are awesome but other than that there’s nothing there.
With those “buy 2 get 3” day deals, with an onsite stay, we chose Universal last summer cuz it was half the price of an equivalent Disney stay. But don’t be surprised if those deals vanish once Epic opens. And maybe Disney slashes the admission specifically for AK (non-hopper) if/when they reno it. Nonetheless, all signs point to Universal winning the next decade, and rightfully so.
They so could of revived the idea of the lost Excavator roller coaster attraction they were supposed to add to Dinoland at one point
Animal Kingdom should do what is keeping EPCOT open... wine and food festivals!
Its honestly baffles me cause it should be so easy to add to animal kingdom.
We have Africa represented with Kilamanjaro safari
Asia with the walking path.
So just start adding new continents, do Australia or even North America for international tourists.
Also iirc theh planned on doing fantasy animals as theme, the dragon is still on the sign but they've never done that. And i would love it.
I really hope they don't replace dino land, I'd rather they expand and do more dinosaur stuff.
Where are all the fun simpler dark rides like Magic Kingdom has based on animal characters? Seems like a great solution
I like this idea, a mini toon-town like land with simple or basic carnival rides for kiddies, then squeeze in at least two roller coasters for adults and that might decrease lines for pandora
@@felixdacat4941 There’s various unused plots of land for DAK to use for some dark rides inspired by animal characters! We need a Bug’s Land situated between Asia and Dinoland with a bug carousel, a dark ride, and other attractions!
My family loved Disney and went every year for 10 years. But it is old now! We are headed to Universal this year and can’t wait until next year for Epic Universe. Disney is old and in the past, Universal is the clear bright, fun future. If Disney is going to stand a chance they need to make a whole new park, and then replace Dinoland, and then expand Magic Kingdom. Which will take an insane amount of time, which people will spend at Universal because they have all of this new stuff Disney doesn’t!
Animal Kingdom has always been this weird, misbegotten thing. A bad idea from day 1, nobody's traveling to Orlando to go to a zoo, but I'm very happy they tried. For me, the original theming is/was the height of imagineering, particularly the Asia expansion. So many rich details, so evocative without a shred of IP in sight. I would get lost in those details as a kid. The idea that these fantastical environments were based on real places, places that were actually out there & that I might see one day was more enthralling to me than the Magic Kingdom could ever be. Thankfully I think it's safe to say Everest & the safari won't be closing before the park does, so the best bits of theming are probably safe - even if Disney won't make anything like them ever again.
As a casual disney-goer (once every 5 or so years) i really dont care much about Bugs Life or Dinoland. Me and my family are going regardless because its a pretty pleasant park to explore apart from the attractions and the attractions that are there are decently acceptable to pad out our day especially if we're taking it easy and getting there midday and not at rope drop or something
Honestly they should add a mythical bests land. Something with dragons, unicorns, krakens, and more. Maybe a dragon flight coaster, a dark ride, and a restaurant. Dino land also should get a refresh/update (like test track), a new coaster (kiddie or thrill), and just more Dino themed stuff if hollywood studios can get galaxy’s edge AND Toy Story land animal kingdom can get two lands.
That would round the place out. Two good coasters, two - four dark rides, and more overall things worth doing. The other parks feel fleshed out because they have quantity AND quality. Animal kingdom currently doesn’t have either.
Universal built Velosicoster in about a year. They took advantage of the shutdown for that month and kept on going.
Disney seems to be in the mindset of satisfying their investors, short term, and not having the ability to look ahead. But, they also know people will still visit their parks. They just keep raising prices.
I do agree that Disney has wasted a lot of time by not building new stuff in the parks. Not just DAK, but MK and Epcot as well. And all the while Universal has been playing catch-up, opening thrill attraction after thrill attraction in their most popular franchises (Potter, Jurassic Park, Minions, etc). But I think to suggest that they can just build wherever they want on the property is a taking things a bit far, as much of that land is dotted with sinkholes and unfit to build on. A certain portion is set aside as a nature preserve also. That said, there are several expansion plots in DAK
identified for future growth, that Disney should have begun building on yesterday.
As someone who grew up going to both, Universals always been way ahead to me. Better theming, better ride variety. Disney just feels empty and stale in comparison.
With the who USO vs Disney thing its so annoying to see Disney replace old attractions that still get love instead of innovating, making new franchises, and even a new park.
Twelve is the magic number. DAK has eight rides, DHS has nine. They don’t all need to be E-Tickets, but they should aim for twelve rides in both these parks. (And Epcot, which only has eleven rides, and needs a flat ride… somewhere).
Sad because I love AK and how original it was without needing IP
9:51 Once Epic Universe opens, you'll be able to make an entire "Walt Disney World" trip equivalent out of Orlando's non-Disney parks (Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Epic Universe, and SeaWorld Orlando).
I’m glad no one wants Expedition Everest gone. It’s proven to be timeless, it’s thrilling, it’s not an IP, it represents Nepal’s culture well, and it adds to the idea of Beastly Kingdom thanks to the Yeti. Truly the most perfect animal kingdom ride and proof that Disney doesn’t need to slap an IP into every ride, as Expedition Everest is still popular 17 years later. Only issue is the Yeti animatronic, which will hopefully be fixed if Disney wants to focus on Animal Kingdom more.
Also Disney had Reedy Creek still in place when they were building Tron…so no real permit slow downs, inspections or regulations to slow them down.
Forget Animal Kingdom, just spend your money at Busch Gardens Tampa or SeaWorld Orlando.
What do you think about Disney making investment in the parks abroad? It seems to me that Japan, Paris, Shang Hai and Hong Kong are getting the new lands now after Galaxy’s Edge opened in both US parks and they are focusing their investments there