Anyone know why there is no Lion King ride?

[Nemo123]

I know this has been brought up before but the Lion King is my favorite Disney movie of all time. I also know it is one of if not the highest grossing Disney movies of all time so why do they continue to ignore it? Has there ever been any rumors or ideas floating around. I mean they just made a little mermaid ride so I dont see why they cant go back in the vault and do a Lion King one. I think it's more than deserving.

[BugSam101]

Indeed a classic movie great and all but......Where shall we place this attraction?

[disneyfn]

No space in Adventureland for it short of tearing out the shops, restaurants, Aladdin Oasis and Tiki Room. Could be an add on to the Jungle Cruise with a few AA's. If you want a full ride better to try to do it at Animal Kingdom.

[calsig31]

Probably the same reason why there isn't one for Pete's Dragon, Mary Poppins, the Fox and the Hound, Bambi or the Avengers. With such a rich film history, they can't get to everything.

[Chuuster]

Chances of a Lion King ride for Adventureland at Disneyland would be slim, but there is potential at WDW's Animal Kingdom, that place is lacking dark rides.

[DisneylandTraveler]

The best rides cost millions of dollars to construct so Disney has to pick their spots. Besides, you can understand a Little Mermaid or Toy Story ride because there are a lot of merchandising opportunities and retail sales surrounding the characters. With Lion King characters, not so much anymore. As good and popular as the movie was, it just doesn't have the legs of other characters

[imaginashton]

There's not really much space to do so in Adventureland, which is the only space that it would fit thematically. It could loosely fit in fantasyland...vvveeerrryyy loosely. I guess you could turn Tarzan's treehouse into Rafiki's tree or have a small show in the Aladdin's Oasis area.

[bisforbrittney]

as much as i would love love love a lion king themed ride at disneyland, i have to agree with other posters in that there's really no room for it at disneyland where it would fit the theme and not be at the expense of a different attraction/ride/store.

however, for the sake of discussion, if we were to change up the current attractions to fit, tarzan's tree could be made into rafiki's tree or the jungle cruise could be made into timon and pumbaa's safari (much like the bonus feature from the lion king 1 1/2 dvd...i'm a big lion king fan). but, i myself don't even like the idea of changing what's currently in adventureland just to fit the lion king in.

also, for ideas bouncing back and forth sake, i think the best bet for a lion king ride would either be a dark ride or maybe even a final battle themed thrill-ride, much like the current format of rsr but with more of a coaster aspect. it could include a story into, and then a coaster of avoiding obstacles and running to get back to pride rock and then some experience of the final battle, with the conclusion of the ride being the defeat of scar and then as you head back to the loading gate, you see simba and the gang up on pride rock and hear the roars.

just a thought.

[greenalfonzo]

Gotta save some of the good stuff for the future 3rd park!

[oddball]

To follow up on brittney's idea of how to do it, could you make it a dark ride and place it in place of Winnie the Pooh? Technically, they would be critters right? If you can call a bear, a piglet, an owl, and a tiger a critter, I'm sure a few lions, hyenas, meerkat, monkey, and warthog could be called critters too!

[bigcatrik]

Lion King just reproved its worth with the surprise blockbuster 3D rerelease -- #1 at the box office for two consecutive weeks and almost $200 million worldwide. The planned two-week run turned into a four *month* run. Somebody likes this film. There's a Lion King parade unit in SoundSational so I think they do know it's popular.

[Chesire]

As good and popular as the movie was, it just doesn't have the legs of other characters

Totally disagree. Lion King has some of the most memorable and popular characters around. Marketing would be no problem to Disney if they chose to do a ride like this.

Anyways, I agree with everyone else; I've always felt like Adventureland was themed to dense rain forests, not in wide open savannas.

---------- Post added 11-25-2012 at 10:11 PM ----------

To follow up on brittney's idea of how to do it, could you make it a dark ride and place it in place of Winnie the Pooh? Technically, they would be critters right? If you can call a bear, a piglet, an owl, and a tiger a critter, I'm sure a few lions, hyenas, meerkat, monkey, and warthog could be called critters too!

I think jungle animals would clash with forest animals, then the line between Critter Country and Adventureland could be slightly blurred.

[gatheringrosebuds]

As others have mentioned above, the only place that it makes sense thematically is Adventureland, and space is extremely limited. Plus, as much as I would love a Lion King dark ride, I like that Adventureland doesn't have an overbearing toon presence. The only main Disney character in Adventureland is Tarzan, and since he's hidden away in the tree house, the rest of Adventureland is able to maintain this realistic, rustic, sophisticated feel. And I feel like bringing in more Disney characters would change that.

[ohmyjustin]

I'm sure Disney wants to put the Lion King in, but they just can't. As previously said, there just isn't the room for it.

I think it would be interesting, though, to see what would happen if Timon and Pumba ran Bengal Barbecue and served up their favorite foods on sticks.

[jsanch2]

Lion King just reproved its worth with the surprise blockbuster 3D rerelease -- #1 at the box office for two consecutive weeks and almost $200 million worldwide. The planned two-week run turned into a four *month* run. Somebody likes this film. There's a Lion King parade unit in SoundSational so I think they do know it's popular.

And not to mention that the broadway show has been running since 97' making it the 5th longest running show off all time and has grossed almost $900 million... Lion King has amazing characters and story, the problem for an attraction is a lack of appropriate space...