Indy's Temple Takes Shape

Thanks to Bioreconstruct, we can see that Countdown to Extinction aka DINOSAUR at Disney's Animal Kingdom is quickly becoming the temple entrance to the new Indiana Jones Adventure. This will be the next in a series of temples in Walt Disney World. First, there are those in the Jungle Cruise at the Magic Kingdom. Next we have the pyramid and interior temples at the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. Now, this. We can debate whether or not Encanto and Indy fit, but the look and feel of Tropical Americas aligns perfectly with the park. Is it just my vivid imagination or is Disney's Animal Kingdom becoming the new World Showcase one step at a time?
 

Goodbye to Countdown to Extinction / Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom

It's over and now in the past. The original Countdown to Extinction at Disney's Animal Kingdom was ambitious in some ways and lazy in others. Stealing the exact same track layout as the great Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland was the lazy part but helped contain expenses in a park that was built way over budget. But from there on out, it was a pretty clever and unique take on the dinosaur world. 

Imagineer Joe Rhode and his team brought a great respectful vibe by housing the attraction in a museum, only to counterbalance it with adding much humor to the preshow. OK, sometimes it was cheesy. Very cheesy. I mean, Dr. Grant Seeker? 

In the early years of the new park, it was a thrill ride in a whole new vein from Universal's Jurassic Park. The difference was necessary if Disney was going to stand out from its main dinosaur competitor. It was dark, scary, and exhilarating! When they renamed the attraction to match a new movie, it was a bad move and the beginning of the end. Letting effects go missing, toning down the scare factor, and seeing maintenance become less and less, it was clear Disney suits were planning a change.

I'm very sad to see Disney give up on dinosaurs, but I'm excited for the transition of the land to Tropical Americas. The new Indiana Jones Adventure will surely be a great one, and an Encanto attraction - does it really fit either?- should be charming. It's a kid friendly dark ride this park needs so badly. The land should be beautiful and fit in well with what's in Africa and Asia and Discovery Island- something Chester and Hester's Dinorama never did accomplish.

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Not Our Dinosaur!

Forgive me for doing so. But to quote the infamous Dr. Grant Seeker from Countdown to Extinction aka the very generic but soon to be disappearing Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom,  "That's not our dinosaur"! Jurassic World Rebirth is a mediocre film. The big bad beast is out of place. The pacing lacks, there's too much backstory in an attempt to make viewers really care about the characters.

The talents of the cast are wasted. Under Gareth Edward's leading, the talented Scarlett Johansson just doesn't have much to do. But it is not her fault. The story just isn't there. The best of the cast performances come from Jonathan Bailey in one single moment: his sincere and slightly frightened Dr. Henry Loomis gets appropriately choked up when he touches his first prehistoric beast. 

Yes, plenty of dinosaurs eating both good and bad guys, but that's about all this movie has to offer besides the air conditioned theater it is shown in.
 

If You Can't Go to Tom Sawyer Island, Go Here Instead

The closure of Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom got you down? Does the removal of the Rivers of America bring a tear to your eye and make you wish for the days when Walt Disney ran Imagineering? Don't worry! We have you covered! There's a great place within reach that will remind you of the golden days of theme park design at its best.

Just head down the street from Walt Disney World and take a turn into Universal Orlando Resort. Head into Islands of Adventure. Walk past Hogsmeade and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and even go beyond Velocicoaster. Travel into Jurassic Park and stop. Take a deep breathe. Look around until you find Camp Jurassic. 

This place has all the charm and design detail you'd see on the soon to be demolished Disney island, just with a bit more thrill. Beautifully designed amber studded caves remind you this is not Huck Finn's playground. Is there something dangerous lurking around the bend?

Maybe there are flying dinosaurs overhead. Oh, no! It looks like the creature has a few victims that are being taken high above the island. I guess you could go up there for quite a ride and an incredible view.

But if you're inside those caves and hear a monstrous beast roaming them, hurry up! Get out of those caves, and take shelter up above! At least you'll get a better view of what is on the prowl. And you'll get to see how much there is to explore. 

This overlooked gem in a park stacked with thrills brings a different and immersive vibe on the world of prehistoric creatures. So, if you're missing Tom Sawyer Island and soon, the rest of Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney's Animal Kingdom, this is the place to go! Yes, Universal now owns dinosaurs in the theme park world. But at least they do it well!

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

Beastly Kingdom Never Made It Off the Drawing Boards

The best laid plans of mice and men get put aside by budget restraints, an uncertain economy, and just plain old fear or greed. Such is the case with Beastly Kingdom, the once planned land for Disney's Animal Kingdom. When budgets had to be slashed due to cost overruns and the higher than expected money it took to take care of live animals, Michael Eisner decided to choose between building DinoLand U.S.A. or Beastly Kingdom. The dinosaurs won, and visitors had a chance to go back in time for a Countdown to Extinction. Multiple attractions were designed for Beastly Kingdom, but they fell by the wayside.

Disney's Animal Kingdom has a fascinating history! My multi-part series is among the most beloved articles on the Insights and Sounds blog. Take a look at Part One here. (And eight more parts afterwards. Part Nine is on the way!) It's full of concept art, photographs, and it's a combination trip report\/history of the park that you won't want to miss.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Jurassic World: Dinosaurs are Never Extinct

If you've ever really wondered why the suits at Disney have given up on the Dinoland U.S. A. portion of Disney's Animal Kingdom and have plans to turn it into Tropical Americas, Jurassic Work Rebirth might be the answer you're looking for.

 

It's not beyond Disney to create compelling stories that demand sequels and raise subsequent generations knowing the characters and music. But they just can't do it when it comes to prehistoric creatures of any kind. The market is just cornered by Universal's Jurassic Park  / World. They own dinosaurs just like Disney owns mermaids and now snowmen. 

I'd venture to say their dinosaur franchise is every bit as powerful as anything in Marvel, maybe moreso. It's definitely a countdown to extinction for Dinoland U.S.A. another's nothing anyone can do about it. Dinosaurs rule- and they belong to Universal. 

Encanto In, Dinosaur Extinct at Animal Kingdom- Universal Orlando Wins on Battle of the Dinosaurs

Seems as if Disney has waved the white flag to Universal Orlando Resort and its excellent Jurassic Park themed land at Islands of Adventure! If all goes according to plan, Dinoland U.S.A. is now extinct and its Dinosaur attraction, aka Countdown to Extinction is on its way out. Should we Walt Disney World fans be sad? Well, that decides how you look at it! (Note- Updates below from original September 9 posting.)

At park opening, Countdown to Extinction along with Kilimanjaro Safaris was the must-do attraction in a park light on rides, heavy on shows and walking trails and zoological exhibits. With all the effects working and the sound and movement turned up on its original presentation, Countdown to Extinction was 100% scarier than anything conjured up by Indiana Jones. And that was part of its strength and appeal. Once the transport vehicle ride started losing effects, had a lessened ride profile and a less in your face sound experience, the now generically named Dinosaur lost a lot of its mojo. Rumors began years ago that Indy would come and take over the space. Now, it looks like it may be happening.

Will this be the end result or another Blue Sky concept under built or even never built?

Indiana Jones Adventure and Encanto are on their way in its place in a "Tropical Americas" themed land. There's potential for something great. Potential. 

Encanto is a hot property, but not so much with Indy after the dismal take of the Dial of Destiny movie. However, I maintain that Indiana Jones itself is iconic and outlasts any poorly designed film and how the audience shows up or doesn't. That said, I'm sorry to see a land dedicated to dinosaurs in a park dedicated to animals go by the wayside.

Just plain bad and cheap. No excuse.

An easy win in this is the total removal of the pathetic Chester and Hester's Dinorama. The worst addition to any Disney theme park. It makes California Adventure's awful Pixar Pier look like a masterpiece of Imagineering! Goodbye, I say very happily. (Want to see more? Look here.) Disney forgot that even little kids want to see "real" Dinos, and they left the little guys out in the cold. How hard would a sweet little "C Ticket" type dark ride have been? A nice sightseeing day to night tour with no jump scares, ending with a T-Rex battling something high above their heads a la Primeval World at Disneyland. But no. 

Here, there's two thrill rides for adults and teens

as well as plenty of stuff for the entire family- including the littlest Dino fans.

Different story at Universal with their charming Camp Jurassic and the Pteranodon Flyers. Very different, where a variety of hands on experiences, exploration areas, and an overhead flying ride allow the littlest of guys to experience dinosaurs. Wise, family friendly and much needed.

Encanto will bring a beautiful and very different aesthetic to a park that needs even more visual diversity. In some ways, the lands of Animal Kingdom form more of a real world showcase than Epcot's World Showcase! Soon, you'll be able to travel to regions of Africa, Asia, and Central America to experience the food, music, and architecture of each region. That is a win as well! Will the area's second attraction be a Mystic Manor type ride? I certainly hope so. It could be the anchor attraction that draws everyone in. 

My last visit to Dinoland U.S.A.?

Back to Indy. Anyway you look at it, Indy is a retheme of an old existing attraction. If Disney is smart, they'll give Florida audiences an entirely different Indy attraction than the one at Disneyland. Even smarter would be one that is not Temple of the Crystal Skull from Tokyo Disneysea. Perhaps they could slide in a tribute or two to El Rio del Tiempo, one of the most enchanting attractions that debuted at Epcot. A few Mayan priests, an ancient curse? Sounds like the beginning of a great storyline.

The queue for the new Indy adventure could incorporate some cleverly included Audio-Animatronic snakes, similar to what Universal did with Velocicoaster. Might be a good beginning!

Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs.

Don't get too excited. The story takes place in Asia.

Like the 5th film, will Indiana Jones go back in time? Will he encounter a dinosaur or two? Could be a nice nod to the past. I'd expect to hear more at the next D23. Only time will tell.

Universal's T-Rex! The new and still reigning Dinosaur king!

I'm just waiting for the snarky Universal post on Instagram!

If anyone could have given the Jurassic Park/ Jurassic World franchise a run for its money in the theme park battle of dinosaurs, it would certainly have been Disney Imagineering. But instead of investing deeply into the prehistoric piece of the Kingdom, Disney's calling it a day and tucking their horned tail between their legs. 

It's hard to compete, though. Jurassic Park is just so good with its mix of attractions for guests of all ages, including dinosaur encounters that delight and others that scare. Universal Creative nailed it from every aspect. 

Goodbye Dinoland U.S.A.

Here comes "Tropical Americas".

So now, kids of all ages looking hard to find prehistoric creatures must go to Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure. (Isn't Harry Potter enough?) A majorly tossed aside opportunity for Disney- and one of the opening day mantras of the park is gone. 

First, goodbye to Beastly Kingdom for Pandora World of Avatar, now this. What will a full Zootopia land one day replace? Real animals? Is Kilimanjaro Safaris next? I'm sure it isn't. Disney's not that stupid. Or are they? It's so hard to predict what bone-headed thing they'll do next!

All that will be left is animals that exist now- or cartoon characters.

No dinosaurs, no dragons. Oh my!

Read this Michael Eisner quote at the park's opening:

Welcome to a kingdom of animals… real, ancient, and imagined: 

a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs, and dragons; 

a kingdom of balance, harmony, and survival;

 a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, 

thrill at the drama, and learn.

"It's Fast! It's a Blast! It's in the Past!"- Goodbye, Dinosaur. Time has left you behind.

(Concept art and some photographs copyright The Walt Disney Company. One by Universal Orlando, the rest by Mark Taft.)

Universal Orlando's Monster of the Deep

Is this terrifying enough? Universal Orlando Resort has a great series of attraction posters for their Velocicoaster at Islands of Adventure. There's a few other ones on this blog, but this may be one of the best. While you're waiting in line for this incredible coaster, these line the queue. Are they posters of what's to come in the future for the Jurassic Park themed land? Certainly dinosaurs and more dinosaurs are the order of the day. We all love them. Except at Disney World apparently.

The money minded suits and the Imagineers at Disney look to be caving big time to Universal's dominance in the dinosaur market. By planning to bring Zootopia to replace Animal Kingdom's jeep ride, it certainly seems there's a Countdown to Extinction for Dinosaur. In the old days, they'd never let their main competitors win without a fight. These days, seems the suits roll over. The big beasts deserve a place in a theme park devoted to dinosaurs, don't you think? I know those folks spending their hard earned money tend to think so.

(Art copyright Universal Creative.)

Every Day is Earth Day at Disney's Animal Kingdom: 24 Years of Incredible Adventures, Missteps, and Surprises

Almost 25 years ago today on earth Day, Walt Disney World's fourth theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom opened to the public. Long before Expedition Everest thrilled its first guests, Disney Imagineers under the leadership of Joe Rohde planned attractions to thrill, delight, amaze and scare guests- to keep them coming back year after year. Though not the colossal failure Disney would see a few years later with Disney California Adventure and the Walt Disney Studios Paris theme parks, the wild creature focused world was also not as well received as 2001's Tokyo Disneysea. 

My first visit to see Florida's fourth Disney park for myself resulted in the multi-part in-depth look at its creation and evolution. Part history, part trip report, and part image gallery, you'll find concept art, photos and more. Today, we go back to the beginning of one of my most popular blog series...

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Disney's Animal Kingdom: A True Life Adventure (Part One)

Earlier this year, Disney’s fourth and largest Florida theme park celebrated ten years of delighting, thrilling, or frustrating Walt Disney World guests. Plans for the future have yet to be made public, but let’s look back at the past, discuss the present, and speculate on the future of this wonderfully imagineered playground.

Why is there such a deep appreciation and an equal disdain for Disney’s Animal Kingdom? It stands distinctly different from the Mouse’s other playgrounds in the Sunshine State. For its fans, the combination of a brilliant and daring design, consistent theme, and faithful execution brings new and unique adventures and environments. Its detractors would counter there are too few attractions to hold their interest for an entire day. Both sides agree the park is a beauty to view. However dazzling this combination zoo, botanical garden, and theme park is to behold, there are also the intangible factors that draw us to it when we can look past the limited number of adventures: there is a deep emotional connection that comes from our love for nature and animals. It meets our desire to run away from the concrete jungles of modern day life and reality- if only for the day! The park is a unique entity among Disney’s theme park roster, one that will probably never be duplicated.

Beginning with Mickey himself, animals of all types and depictions continue to be a great and profitable fit with Disney. According to company lore, Walt’s well-known love for animals and exotic locales, evidenced by the inclusion of Adventureland at Disneyland, California, and his True-Life Adventure films formed the emotional heart of Animal Kingdom long before ground was ever broken. In reality, when discussion began about the creation of this park in 1989, it may have truly been a strictly business decision that brought it to fruition.

The Magic Kingdom was a concept unique to Disney, successfully capitalizing and expanding upon the reputation of its older sibling in California. The next park, EPCOT Center, conceptually different in Walt’s mind but with its execution clearly inspired by world’s fairs and corporate America trade shows, transformed Walt Disney World from a single day destination to one that could consume a traveler’s entire week. Disney-MGM Studios debuted and was the least original of the three parks, taking ideas from Universal Studios in California and Disneyland, including a new Main Street of a different era for its entrance plaza.

Michael Eisner, brilliant or be damned, was the driving force behind the creation of a nature focused park. Bringing a competitive, and some would say greedy, nature to the business, he guided the company into direct battle with his once friendly neighbors, desiring to capture all the time and money any visitor may have in Central Florida. Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park had just successfully launched to square off with the soon-to-come Universal Studios. Pleasure Island was Disney’s answer to Orlando’s popular Church Street Station, Typhoon Lagoon their response to Wet N Wild, and myriads of resort properties were added to the entire Disney complex to grab a large share of the hospitality industry’s bread and butter. Earlier in the decade, Epcot’s Living Seas pavilion took a swipe at Sea World, and now Disney’s Animal Kingdom was looking to take a large bite out of Busch Gardens popularity in nearby Tampa.

Continue reading Part One here.

Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven

Part Eight

Get Ready to Be Lost in This Prehistoric World and Beyond

Ready to take an adventure Around the World in 80 Days or back to the prehistoric times when dinosaurs roamed the earth a la Countdown to Extinction at Disney's Animal Kingdom? These incredible pieces of concept art would make any Imagineer proud! Or ex-Imagineer in these cases.

What do you mean "Ex-Imagineer"? Well, this art and so much more was designed by Disney artists no longer under their employment. If you look closely, you'll recognize the styles of a few of these folks.

Legacy Entertainment commissioned these pieces showing how an incredible park can be made without the use of Intellectual Property tied to books, movies, or television shows.

Be prepared to be wowed! Pages upon pages of this terrific art can be found starting here. Set aside a couple of hours...

(Thanks to Randy Savage at the WDWMagic Boards for pointing the way!)

(Art copyright Legacy Entertainment.)

Twenty Years Ago at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Stumbled across this photograph of our children taken during our last all-family visit to Walt Disney World. It was 1999, and Animal Kingdom was a year old park. There certainly wasn't too much to do because of budget cuts (no Beastly Kingdom) and Asia wasn't even open. Kilimanjaro Safaris and Countdown to Extinction were the big hits. It was a very pretty park, but it certainly was not a full day!

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)

What Animal Kingdom Needs

Walt Disney World's incredible Animal Kingdom may be one of two perfect theme parks in the States, Disneyland being the other. 

Filled with incredible scenery, stunning, creative but authentic architecture, and thrilling attractions to go with all the wildlife, the park is currently the go-to place for guests ready for something different after the Magic Kingdom. With Africa's Kilimanjaro Safaris, Asia's amazing Expedition: Everest and even Dinoland U.S.A.'s Dinosaur (aka Countdown to Extinction) anchoring the park along with Pandora's new Flight of Passage, the park can only get better. But it is missing something: China's pandas.

The whole concept art.

You'd think the Disney executives would be able to pull off getting a panda to two on loan. After all, China now holds two Disney Parks- Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland. Probably at least one more to come. Why would they hold out?

According to Business Insider, the city of Chengdu will build a brand new park built around pandas. Should be quite a beautiful and exciting area to view and interact with these beautiful and rare creatures. No doubt this will pull in big, big crowds!

Here's the full rendering for "Panda Capital". To read the whole article, look here.

Is This the Inspiration for Excavator for Animal Kingdom?

As rumors continue to swirl about a proposed change from Dinosaur into an Indiana Jones themed dinosaur filled jeep adventure, my mind turns to the Excavator coaster which was never built for Animal Kingdom. Is it back on the table? The suits and Imagineers are certainly looking to expand the park's capacity. Avatar / Pandora is an unqualified hit- and Flight of Passage and the family friendly  Na'vi River Journey are still bringing in the guests. 

More people eating attractions are certainly needed and quickly. The beautiful park is an amazing place, but Dinoland U.S.A.'s parking lot carnival needs a revamp to bring it up to par with the rest of the place.

What you're looking at is actually a piece of concept art for Disneyland Paris. Alain Littaye's Disney and More site presented this article with an extremely rare piece of concept art by Imagineer John Horny. The post is here.  

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Countdown to Extinction for Dinosaur

Love Disney's Animal Kingdom?  Me, too!  With Pandora, nighttime safaris, and the Rivers of Light nighttime show, it's should be just the beginning of more great things to come. But there's also the potential of a huge loss as this park is gaining in popularity. 

Is the Dinosaur attraction facing extinction? Rumor has it, this great "E Ticket" attraction could be giving way to a famous explorer by the name of Indiana Jones. Check out the thread on WDWMagic, the site that first brought this to light as a possibility.

As an opening day headliner that drew guests to the park along with the iconic Kilimanjaro Safaris, Countdown to Extinction - with its this reused track layout from Indy's Adventure- anchored the dinosaur themed land long before Chester and Hester's Disaster made its debut. Perhaps this is the disadvantage of creatively saving money by duplicating a ride system and just changing out the showpieces and adding different effects: When the suits in charge decide to bring in the latest intellectual property, they can just reuse what's there vs. creatively thinking how to best tell a new story and building around that. It's comparatively cheap to do a layover (See Mission: Breakout), but it's lazy and short changes the guest experience. 

Oh well. Disney's going to do what they want.

Here's some rare concept art by the Disney Imagineers. Notice a  slightly different opening sequence than the final result. The terrifying Carnotaurus greets time travelers right at the beginning of the journey. Too late for those with second thoughts to change their minds. If they do decide to override Dinosaur with Indy, we will eventually get over it.

It's all just part of the evolution of Animal Kingdom. Check out this series of articles on the changes over the last 20 years! History of the park, rare concept art, trip report and more!


(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Art for Hong Kong Disneyland Brings Questions Then Answers

Long, long, ago, I was "gifted" with this piece of concept art for an attraction at the soon to open Hong Kong Disneyland. It never materialized as was the case with major portions of the park.

With it came the questions. What exactly it was for? Was it intended for a hybrid of a couple of attractions that never made it past the drawing boards of the Imagineers? To my eyes, it seemed to be Raging Spirits from Tokyo DisneySea - which in itself is a remix on the Indiana Jones coaster at Disneyland Paris - meets the infamous ferocious Carnatour from Countdown to Extinction/ Dinosaur from Disney's Animal Kingdom?

More questions. Was the attraction scheduled to go into the lush, dense outdoor jungles of Adventureland or was it meant for an indoor weather-proofed warehouse a la Indiana Jones? Maybe a combination like what was originally proposed for the dinosaur area at Animal Kingdom? (Found in my "Disney's Animal Kingdom: A True Life Adventure" series.)

Then reader Randy Savage had an answer. It was part of the original plan for Hong Kong Disneyland in an Adventureland that contained an outdoor attraction with Audio-Animatronic dinosaurs. It is found on the concept art map for the park in the book "More Making the Magic Real". 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Saturday at Disney's Animal Kingdom 2003

Welcome to Disney's Animal Kingdom! It's a beautiful afternoon in 2003. The park is alive with excitement since the recent opening of the thrilling Expedition: Everest.

Although the park has changed somewhat since then, there are a few attractions here that are now extinct. The most famous might be the entire section of Camp Minnie-Mickey, a land quickly thrown together before opening when the budget had long been spent. The quiet forest hosted the popular Festival of the Lion King, an attraction that finally moved to Africa where it belonged from the beginning. 

The show Pocahontas and her Forest Friends has also gone away. This animal show has departed along with Tarzan Rocks! It's a very popular opening day attraction, a high energy, acrobatic theater show starring the swinging Lord of the Jungle. 

The boats circling the river have also departed. So has the name Countdown to Extinction from the incredible ride back into the time of the dinosaurs. That attraction has been renamed by the suits who felt the need for a synergistic tie in to Disney's movie Dinosaur. Such imagination!

Regardless of the changes, Imagineer Joe Rohde and team created a beautiful park, one of the most stunning ever built. Very short on attractions but a lovely way to relax. A mega Adventureland come to life!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

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.)

Animal Kingdom's Stunning View

Among us hard core Disney park fans, it is quite in vogue to complain about the current state of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Not that the criticisms are inaccurate. The park is stale and even in disrepair. The Tree of Life is falling limb by limb. The Yeti in Expedition Everest is almost a still life, and the special effects in Dinosaur aka Countdown to Extinction leave much to be desire. 

Even the plans for the future do not seem impressive or even in theme. Avatarland, anyone? A trip to a night-lit Pandora could be amazing, but its relevance to the park theme remains questionable.

With all to question and complain about, one thing is certain. When the park excels, it does so exceedingly. The evidence? This stunning photo taken from the trip upwards to the top of the Himalayas. What a view! Even on a cloudy day. And views like this fill the park, making it one of the most gorgeous of all theme parks.

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)

Beastly!

Once upon a time, Disney's Animal Kingdom was the place to go on the Walt Disney World property if you were looking for adventures of the wild variety.

Sure, there were the sedate encounters and beautiful landscapes, but it didn't take long for guests to find the thrills in the park. The Imagineering team led by Joe Rohde designed it to be just like that!

The real animal encounters found on Kilimanjaro Safaris, the now historic lost animals of Countdown to Extinction, and the mythical (A-mode) Yeti waiting to be discovered on Expedition: Everest gave visitors goosebumps of a different sort compared to what could be found elsewhere. It was a unique and successful twist on the Disney theme park. Yet, it's been watered down as the years go by.

Just take a good, hard look at the park's three premier thrill attractions, and its easy to see the decline in show quality and presentation. Less drama, less detail, less functionality = less guest satisfaction. Pretty simple math, huh?

Will the pending Avatar project wake up a sleeping giant? (Will it really be announced at D23? And if it does, will guests love it?) Or will it take something more memorable- like the dragons found (above) on the abandoned plans for Beastly Kingdom (Kingdomme) - reused in some new ways- to bring a once vibrant park back to life? 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Animal Kingdom Debuts on Earth Day: A New Species of Theme Park

Editors Note: To celebrate Earth Day and the release of the film Chimpanzee, I wanted to re-introduce one of my most popular series. This detailed series, filled with concept art, photographs and more, covers the creation and evolution of Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park.

Though first published in 2008, this currently is Part One of a six part series! (And many more smaller articles followed as well.)

Disney's Animal Kingdom is a game changer for the Walt Disney Company in how it viewed and designed and managed its theme parks and in how it educated its guests.

Taking a look back at the park's history and the thought processes of the Company may give us a hint to its future, even beyond the proposed Avatar expansion. At the end of this posting of Part One, there are links to the other six articles in the series.

Additionally, on this blog, there are 60+ other articles about Animal Kingdom, making it one of the both talked about subjects found here. These posts include more rare concept art, trip reports, etc. But for now, let's begin with Part One...

Earlier this year, Disney’s fourth and largest Florida theme park celebrated ten years of delighting, thrilling, or frustrating Walt Disney World guests. Plans for the future have yet to be made public, but let’s look back at the past, discuss the present, and speculate on the future of this wonderfully imagineered playground.

Why is there such a deep appreciation and an equal disdain for Disney’s Animal Kingdom? It stands distinctly different from the Mouse’s other playgrounds in the Sunshine State. For its fans, the combination of a brilliant and daring design, consistent theme, and faithful execution brings new and unique adventures and environments. 

Its detractors would counter there are too few attractions to hold their interest for an entire day. Both sides agree the park is a beauty to view. However dazzling this combination zoo, botanical garden, and theme park is to behold, there are also the intangible factors that draw us to it when we can look past the limited number of adventures: there is a deep emotional connection that comes from our love for nature and animals. It meets our desire to run away from the concrete jungles of modern day life and reality- if only for the day! The park is a unique entity among Disney’s theme park roster, one that will probably never be duplicated.

Beginning with Mickey himself, animals of all types and depictions continue to be a great and profitable fit with Disney. According to company lore, Walt’s well-known love for animals and exotic locales, evidenced by the inclusion of Adventureland at Disneyland, California, and his True-Life Adventure films formed the emotional heart of Animal Kingdom long before ground was ever broken. In reality, when discussion began about the creation of this park in 1989, it may have truly been a strictly business decision that brought it to fruition.

The Magic Kingdom was a concept unique to Disney, successfully capitalizing and expanding upon the reputation of its older sibling in California. The next park, EPCOT Center, conceptually different in Walt’s mind but with its execution clearly inspired by world’s fairs and corporate America trade shows, transformed Walt Disney World from a single day destination to one that could consume a traveler’s entire week. Disney-MGM Studios debuted and was the least original of the three parks, taking ideas from Universal Studios in California and Disneyland, including a new Main Street of a different era for its entrance plaza.

Michael Eisner, brilliant or be damned, was the driving force behind the creation of a nature focused park. Bringing a competitive, and some would say greedy, nature to the business, he guided the company into direct battle with his once friendly neighbors, desiring to capture all the time and money any visitor may have in Central Florida. Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park had just successfully launched to square off with the soon-to-come Universal Studios. Pleasure Island was Disney’s answer to Orlando’s popular Church Street Station, Typhoon Lagoon their response to Wet N Wild, and myriads of resort properties were added to the entire Disney complex to grab a large share of the hospitality industry’s bread and butter. Earlier in the decade, Epcot’s Living Seas pavilion took a swipe at Sea World, and now Disney’s Animal Kingdom was looking to take a large bite out of Busch Gardens popularity in nearby Tampa.

The Studios park was jammed with guests from opening day on, and the atmosphere was rich but the attractions were few. Plans were quickly put into place for expansion, and discussions began on what to do next. Outside the new park, visitors filled the water parks and daytime entertainment and shopping areas. Flush with success and lots of money to invest, Disney executives believed a large audience remained untapped. With the astounding success of all the new offerings on the property, it was only a matter of time before the strategy gelled to add another park to lure and keep vacationers on Disney soil. Watching its competition for further clues, all it took was a glance at what was going on in Tampa to realize people’s love for animals and for the Disney characters would be a hit when combined. Polls taken at the other parks confirmed the company’s hunch. The “blue sky” imagineering quietly but quickly began.

Joe Rohde, who was intimately involved in the now defunct Adventurer’s Club at Pleasure Island, got the go-ahead from Eisner early in the new decade to proceed. He would head up the small but talented team to design the new park. With only a few months, a relatively short amount of time, and a high level of secrecy, this crew began to dream, plan and envision a park that would capture an audience and their money.

The designers instinctively knew Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom, (as it was first named), had to be different from the other Florida parks, yet it had to appeal to the masses as well. Could Disney pull off a zoological park that didn’t look or feel like one? It had to be one that could excite and not bore. These became the core challenges. The Imagineers and the money men were well aware that travelers would avoid the new park in droves if a run-of-the-mill zoo was the first impression the park left its early guests.

As with any Disney park, this one had to have its themed “lands”. Initial concepts blended traditional Magic Kingdom elements (Beastly Kingdom- home to imaginary animals and the expected Disney dark rides); an Epcot style pavilion (Conservation Station- highlighting advanced animal care techniques); and traditional zoo with safari essentials (Kilimanjaro Safaris and Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail- among others, providing real life animal encounters). Additionally, a few old school Disneyland elements reappeared with slightly different twists: an exploration into the era of prehistoric creatures from Anaheim’s Primeval World met the cutting edge technology of California’s Indiana Jones Adventure (Countdown to Extinction), repurposed Jungle Cruise boats became transportation (Discovery River Boats), and lastly another railroad line linked the more guest friendly areas with the research facility (the Wildlife Express). Of course, any and all great plans are subject to the accountants red pen!

(Thank you to Tales from the Laughing Place for the image above!)

The main themed areas were now in place, but the Imagineers had another challenge to solve as well. What should be the park’s identifying icon and how would they set the stage for an arriving visitor? The Magic Kingdom and Studios parks both used a long walkway leading from the park entrance toward its respective icon. Epcot utilized a welcome garden type area then allowed guests to walk under Spaceship Earth. After many different ideas were discussed, including entering the park through a recreation of Noah’s ark, Joe Rohde and team took a unique approach to solve the problem.

To quickly establish the idea this park was built for exploration, wonder, and maybe most importantly, was not your mother’s zoo, guests would pass the turnstiles and enter the enticing Oasis Gardens. This area establishes the feel of the park: there would be multiple paths to explore and animals and birds all around. With the vegetation lush and strewn with tropical flowers, streams, and small waterfalls, this place would be a place to relax as well as have fun. Nooks and crannies discovered along the way would contain animal exhibits quietly hidden for the folks who would choose to take the time to find them. Multiple paths into and out of the gardens encourage visitors to explore. All this to bring a sense of mystery. Once the chattering of birds and small creatures intermingled with the sounds of human laughter, anticipation would be built. What would it lead to?

To ensure the park had an extremely authentic and exotic atmosphere, the Animal Kingdom team wisely involved Paul Comstock, the modern day genius landscape architect behind so many of Disney's wonderful theme parks and resorts. Mentored by the legendary Bill Evans, his reputation is crowned by his breathtaking work on Disney's Animal Kingdom. This unique combination gives the park its bold flavor. (Below is one of Paul’s original landscape plans. To view more of his two decades of work at Disney, see his portfolio at his new employer, Valley Crest Design Group.)

The landscaping plan for the park is spectacular, but it is the man made masterpiece, the Tree of Life, the park’s chosen icon, that was intended to steal the show. This astounding structure is a piece of art unparalleled in Disney’s history. Designed to quickly brand the Animal Kingdom, there are more than three hundred animals are carved into its trunk and branches. Surrounding it are even more gardens, streams, and waterfalls. The Tree of Life was a bold and breathtaking choice. Situated on Safari Island, there were various concepts initially proposed for the area before the designers settled on the final one.


As expenses grew making accountants nervous, plans continued to evolve to balance the centuries old tension of art and commerce. The victims of cost cutting meant a haven for meeting the Disney characters replaced the beautiful landscapes and attractions of Beastly Kingdom, old parade floats from Disneyland were turned into the Festival of the Lion King show, and the exciting Excavator coaster for Dinoland U.S.A. became extinct. In what was ultimately another concession to the business side of the Mouse House, a 3D film based on an upcoming Disney/Pixar movie “A Bug’s Life” would be placed inside the majestic Tree of Life. Although fewer attractions would premier on opening day than what was originally designed, the park promised and would deliver enticing adventures for those guests who chose to look beyond the traditional Disney park experience.


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Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
(All artwork copyright The Walt Disney Company. Photos by Mark Taft. All rights reserved.)