November 23, 2015

Rare Countdown to Extinction Art

Attention all you lovers of Disney's Animal Kingdom! As you've probably noticed, the park is in the middle of a renaissance of sorts. New construction everywhere, refurbishments abound, and the future looks very, very bright. With the Rivers of Light nighttime show, the World of Avatar, and more on the way, Disney's Animal Kingdom will become an amazing theme park after dark as well.

Before all that opens, let me encourage you to take a look at the park as its stands now. It's still a pretty incredible place!

Countdown to Extinction aka Dinosaur, (Can we please go back to the original compelling name versus this generic one?), is truly an "E Ticket" attraction big on thrills, a centerpiece opening day attraction that drew guests to the park along with its iconic Kilimanjaro Safaris. This piece of fairly rare concept art by the Disney Imagineers presents a slightly different opening sequence than the final result. The Carnotaurus beast stands right in front of guests as the enter the primeval forest. It's not a warm welcome!

As things stand now, it seems this attraction has had some love and care but is still not up to opening day show standards. I would bet that things will change as the Disney suits will have a chance to relaunch the park beginning in the Spring. One thing is certain- guests come to see the beasts, mythical, extinct, or real. So now is the time to fix Disco Yeti on Expedition: Everest!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

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