The Concept for Disney's Animal Kingdom

[Cmash95]

gee for 22 years we have called disney world the happiest place on earth cause to my family it is. The only two people I know who are more fanatical about disney than me are figment and eeyore'snumber1fan and they happen to be my kids. btw my dd was kidding when she said that busch had the best coasters on the west coast of florida. but if you do look at it, since busch gardens is the only major theme park on the west coast of florida, they can easily claim it. oh and btw in what other theme park can you drop 200 feet head first and survive? as well as experience baby gorrillas, a baby rhino ,... and at least two other major coasters? oh and it's less expensive that disney too

[Gregor]

DAK gets a thumbs up from me. I am wholly impressed with the immersive theming. It's the imagineers at their best again which is something we haven't seen in a while. (Don't get me wrong, I love MGM. It's just that I just found certain areas to less immersive and less imaginative). Granted, it short on rides but the look and feel of the park is outstanding.

Like Niyxstyx said, I don't compare DAK to Busch Gardens because it is just a thrill park that has animals as a hook. I had been to BG a few times before ever going to DAK and I really liked the whole animal part to it. I thought it was a wonderful park, one of the best. Then I went to DAK... That's how a park with animals should be done.

[stitcharielsinbad]

PragmaticIdealist, it's a theme park, lighten up, no need to spark up an argument about the existance of a park and complaining about making it some sort of all encompassing place about astronomy, biology, botany and all that, go to a school instead why don't you? AK doesn't have to expand beyond the borders of zoology because animals are what it is about.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is one of the strongest themed disney parks there is and the only reason people can argue it being a failure is because it opened with a less than stellar collection of attractions. And the park itself is a brainchild of one Joe Rhode not Michael Eisner.

Disney's Animal kingdom is NOT about science!!!!! it is about ANIMALS, hence the name.

Animals have been a major influence upon human beings and has always been an avenue of our fascination and admiration much like the sciences (EPCOT) and movies (The Magic Kigndoms [yes, the MK styled parks were originally thematically based on movies before it became a legend on its own], Disney-MGM Studios) have fascinated us throughout history. We even go so far as to create myths and legends about them which may or may not be true.

DAK may very well be the disney park with the MOST potential from garnering influences from animals of every form. They can go ahead with Beastlie Kingdomme, dedicated to the mythical and seemingly imagined animals that have transcended generations and have influenced cultures around the world and sparked our imaginations for as long as we can remember. Then there are the insects, some of the most complex creatures there are. and then there are the animals of the oceans...enough to build a whole other theme park on. Animal Kingdom's theme is not limited, just your imagination.

[socalkdg]

My family is THRILLED about DAK- we are members of our local zoo- always have been-

Am I the only one that found this comment funny? Had images of the family living at the zoo.

I go to the San Diego Zoo about once a year, and DAK is actually a little light on animals when compared to this zoo, but more than makes up for it in shows and rides. Its a great integration of a traditional zoo and themepark with amazing theming.

I usually go to MK, Epcot, DS twice per trip, with one trip to AK. This might change for the very first time when I'm there next week due to the opening of EE.

With the new 6-8 day tickets for $185-200, costs are $25-30 per day for a 1 week vacation, which is a great deal.

[markbee]

Am I the only one that found this comment funny? Had images of the family living at the zoo.

You've been to my house? Remember---Don't feed the five year old...

M

[Anders]

A park about all the natural sciences, conversely, is something worthy of the Disney name.

What is the park wanting to say? Disney needs to justify its creative decisions. Why animals? Why zoology? What do they have to do with Disney, and why are they more important than: astronomy; biology; anthropology; botany; chemistry; etc.?

Well, I can't really see something anything about any of those that would add a whole lot to a park. Remember, the Hall of Chemistry at Disneyland? or the NASA space exhibit? You don't exactly hear about people wishing they'd bring back either of those. How about the farm section of DCA? There's the boat ride in The Land pavilion in Epcot even. These areas have been given a chance in Disney attractions and the most succesful one The Land.

People in general love animals. There are a few people out there that would enjoy a park about chemistry, biology, etc., but they're in the minority.

[PragmaticIdealist]

The aspects of Disney's Animal Kingdom that deal with the natural sciences are being limited artificially, while dragons and unicorns, ultimately, cheapen Nature, as the park presents it, and weaken the overall story and dramatic core of the park. These imaginary animals are redundant since The Magic Kingdom already presents full-fledged stories featuring these creatures. Disney's Animal Kingdom will never be able to use them in as full a way as The Magic Kingdom can, anyway.

A theme park about nature, in general, instead of animals, in particular could be a wonderful thing, as I imagine it. It is a concept with a scope commensurate to that of The Magic Kingdom, and it appropriately differentiates the park from the common zoo.

[stitcharielsinbad]

The aspects of Disney's Animal Kingdom that deal with the natural sciences are being limited artificially, while dragons and unicorns, ultimately, cheapen Nature, as the park presents it, and weaken the overall story and dramatic core of the park. These imaginary animals are redundant since The Magic Kingdom already presents full-fledged stories featuring these creatures. Disney's Animal Kingdom will never be able to use them in as full a way as The Magic Kingdom can, anyway.

A theme park about nature, in general, instead of animals, in particular could be a wonderful thing, as I imagine it. It is a concept with a scope commensurate to that of The Magic Kingdom, and it appropriately differentiates the park from the common zoo.

You judge that dragons and unicorns cheapen the park when at this stage neither dragons nor unicorns appear in the park at all yet. the overall story of DAk is ANIMALS!!!! does the name Animal Kingdom not make it clear? The Magic Kingdom does not focus on the mythological creatures because it is a park that focuses on disney films and disney lore. Disney's Animal Kingdom is the park to fully flex the boundaries of the mythical animal concept as well as all sorts of animals.

The true potential of Disney's Animal Kingdom has yet to be realized but you have to keep in mind that the central nature of this park lies within the human fascination with animals, real, extinct, and imagined. It cannot turn itself into a park about nature because it isn't.

Sure, a Nature Park could be interesting, but what does it have to do with Disney's Animal Kingdom? Why rain on its parade?

[captsmith84]

gee for 22 years we have called disney world the happiest place on earth cause to my family it is. The only two people I know who are more fanatical about disney than me are figment and eeyore'snumber1fan and they happen to be my kids.

THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE?!! You've met me... lol.

Yeah, it may be happy for you when you're there, (heck, same for me) but the slogan only refers to that place in California called Disneyland Park. The Magic Kingdom in WDW is the "Most Magical Place on Earth." But now I'm getting way too technical and annoying... lol

[tloolgb]

Hong Kong "The Kingdom of Dreams" and Tokyo Disneyland "The Kingdom or Dreams and Magic".

While we are at it.

[captsmith84]

Hmmm. What about Disneyland Park Paris?

[Cmash95]

paris?? the land of bad planning?

[tloolgb]

No no I think the "Paris" part sums it up enough.

[Professortango]

I think the biggest problem with AK is the lack of financial planning and PCing. Attractions such as the river cruise, the tiger themed raft ride and the gorilla trail suddenly needed to be replanned due to cut backs. So we had a fire-breathing cave instead of an actual dragon, and feel good messages replaced every spot of darkness (saffari).

If you look at the concept art of AK, I believe this would have, and still can be, a brilliant park. A giant adventureland with actual animals. And furthermore, I see no problem with fantasy animals as long as they are resented in a real enviorment. Sure, knights fighting dragons and Nemo searching for sea serpants would have no place here. But creating enviorments where fantasy and reality mix is the core of what Disney is. And I love the fact that Disney has not started putting film-based darkrides in and instead rely on original stories. I don't consider Dinosaur! based off the movie entirely due to the time-travel element and the fact it came before the movie under the title Countdown To Extinction. I don't want to see Malificent's dragon, Jafar's snake, or Baloo dancing in a skirt with King Louie. While Its Tough to be a Bug is a great show, I almost wish it wasn't in the park for this reason. I think AK has great potential for a slew of original stories and characters.

[captsmith84]

See, that's the thing... original stories and characters and rides aren't as marketable... and aren't going to do as well as a ride that at least has some existing fan base. Countdown to Extinction was built when Dinosaur was in production... same with "it's tough to be a bug." They knew they were for the movie tie in. And WDI doesn't always get things right. When AK was planned, they had no plans to have Disney Characters in the park, no plans for a parade or shows (save for flights of wonder) and no plans for much atmosphere entertainment. They figured the animals would be the entertainment. Forget the fact that most animals sleep during the day. LOL

To solve the problem, Walt Disney Entertainment was called in only seven months prior to the park's opening to fix all the problems that WDI left. The concept for Festival of the Lion King was invented. Theatre in the Wild was created. And all the African Entertainment was added as well.

That's a lot to do in 7 months... and no, Festival of the Lion King was not planned before that. Contrary to what you may have heard before, there were never plans to add it later on. Festival was going to go into Africa (just to the left of the Tusker House) but then the park's budget was cut and Beastlie Kingdome was cut only six months before opening, and a replacement land was needed. Walt Disney Entertainment basically moved the plans for the Festival of the Lion King into an entire temporary land called "Camp Minnie-Mickey" that Walt Disney Entertainment bascially built on its own. Pocahontas was created. And all of Camp Minnie Mickey was created in less than 6 months.

Meanwhile, (and much earlier) WDI had problems of its own. When they found out that "it's tough to be a bug" couldn't be made by PIXAR, they had to go to an outside company to have the film made. It almost didn't open on time with the park. Some of you might remember that during those AP previews for AK "it's tough to be a bug" wasn't open yet. That's basically why. The whole project was cut down to the wire.

And in Dinoland, they had even more problems. (earlier on of course) WDI wanted two major attractions in that area, a steel coaster designed to look like a wooden coaster... (gee, wonder where that went. lol) and a simulator attraction to take you back in time to the age of the Dinosaurs. They also had plans in the pipeline to build the Indiana Jones Adventure over at the Disney-MGM Stuidos in the parking lot. Execs stepped in and cancelled the project for Indy at the Studios, and they told WDI that Dinoland only needed one ride. Well... WDI threw out the coaster, took the idea for the simulator, and used a clone of Indy to carry it out instead of the next generation of Star Tours Motion Bases.

Then Asia (which was also in planning) was having problems. WDI wanted a Rapids ride there to be the tallest and longest in the world, and to have real tigers on the banks of the river. A little budget cut happened there.

Now, what's interesting is where Joe Rhode kept the money on all these projects. He refused to cut the budget on the theming. And he refuses to say that Beastlie Kingdome will never be built. And that's why AK is what it is today. The best themed Disney park in WDW, and with an interesting slew of great rides and shows that fall just a little short from being awesome. (Except Festival of the Lion King and Kilimanjaro Safaris, basically the only two things in the park that didn't have a budget cut... but there are some reasons for that) Festival was designed as a temporary show... so the budget was small to begin with. It didn't need to be trimmed. Kilimanjaro was the one attraction that WDI couldn't cut the budget on, it dealt with real animals and people, and you can't cut a budget on that or you'll have a Jurassic Park situation... then again, "we spared no expense." Ha.