Disney Odds and Ends - D23 Edition and More

There's surprisingly a lot going on in the Disney news world these days, but not too much of it rattles fans stateside- that is until D23 comes along today. 

Just for a little fun, I thought I'd spit out my predictions in great anticipation of D23's announcements for the theme parks.

(By the way, why this photo above for D23? Just a reminder that the best plans of men who work for the mouse get changed all the time.) 

Darth Vader and friends coming to a new and expanded location.

Mouse on the Web: Sadly, Al Lutz has gone missing, and his once powerful MiceChat / MiceAge has almost morphed into just another fan site- almost. They've brought some gusto back to the game with their latest update, however! As sure as the Second Coming of Christ, you can bet Disney suits will be doing something huge and significant with their stellar Star Wars property- at least at my beloved Disneyland for now. (It does leave Tomorrowland a thematic mess, however.) It would be nice to feel assured of the same quality coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios/Adventure, but given the recent track record, I have my doubts. Prove me wrong, Disney! And please finish the work before 2021.

Spiderman and more coming to California Adventure.

Marvel, however, makes perfect sense on the West Coast (perhaps not in theme at California Adventure), since the suits are under contract to forbid anything with the Super Heroes in Florida. Imagine a really compelling new Spider-Man attraction, one so good that it just might discourage folks from going to Islands of Adventure in Florida- that is, if that pesky Harry Potter went away. Anyway, expect Marvel at California Adventure in a big way. Even though it is out of theme in my mind, I help it is excellently done. Well, at least this leaves the space for the Third Park free for a brand new concept.

Close by on the web, Mouse Info remains a fun place to visit with & WDWMagic being the place to go for the inside scoop on Walt Disney World. Alain Littaye still rocks on Disney and More, and my little boutique blog Insights and Sounds continues on doing its own thing. I know these guys will all be bringing us great stuff in the days ahead. Can't wait and Thank you!

Animal Kingdom: Yes, the big news out in the lushest Disney park ever built is Avatar land / World of Pandora. That fun website Da Mouse was the first one to really hit the nail on the head and identify it as a "quiet transformation" on the scale that the parks in Florida have not seen that often. Moving of the Lion King show, creating an expanded Harambe in a couple of areas, changes to the Tree of Life and to Discovery Island. Lots of construction- and perhaps even a few things we know nothing about. Of course Rivers of Light is scheduled to open sometime next year. I go back and forth on Pandora. Sure, it will look cool- but will it have something unique that really is a compelling attraction or two? Doubtful. I'm kind of over simulators, Soarin' aside. But the Disney suits have lots of prove after their big push for the project coming off their loss of Harry Potter to Universal. All said, Animal Kingdom has some of the best potential to be a powerhouse of a theme park since Tokyo Disney Sea. We'll see.

China, China, and more China!

Disney's (Disastrous) Hollywood Studios: With Star Wars certain and Pixar expansion a necessity, this park will be the one to watch in the year ahead. Closures abound in preparation for the future. Magic Kingdom has had its big splash in New Fantasyland, and Epcot is being ignored for now. The big budget almost guarantees a relaunch a la Disney California Adventure, but unless the suits allow the Imagineers to do it up big time, the park will become one where folks talk about "what could have been". Not a good thing- unless you're Universal Orlando. Many see Robert Iger as a man who cares most about stock value versus great product. When will he finally see real quality and real investment bring great results? Toy Story Playland? Been there, done that. It's time for something new instead of another rehash from overseas.

Beautiful, yes!

Shanghai Disneyland: Speaking of Iger, the plans for Mainland China's Disney park look great. Many unique aspects and that Tron coaster than should have come to the States. My bet is there's a few more pieces of concept art and some great models. Should be fun to hear what the Imagineers have to say abut it all. Expect nothing political, though.

The one that got away!

Frontierland Expansion for Florida: This one will be on hold for a couple of years. I'm sure something will happen in the Magic Kingdom for its 50th, (not that they need a new draw for THIS park), but the plans will stay wrapped up. Unless a miracle happens, long time park fans can kiss any version of Western River Expedition goodbye. It's too bad- this could be a great way to honor Walt Disney World's story- and Imagineer Marc Davis- and build that dedicated fan base similar to that of Disneyland. Instead, I fully expect a toon-based attraction.

Do you want this in your park or the truncated version below?

What won't we see at D23? Anything Frozen for Tokyo Disneyland or even the slightest peek at plans for their new Fantasyland expansion. The suits will never reveal so clearly why the Asia parks are the ones to get most all the great stuff while the States can sometimes get knockoffs and second rate versions of what's built overseas. 

Fast, quick and easy.

Would you want your U.S. fans to compare what's coming to Epcot vs. what the Imagineers are doing with their biggest hit in Tokyo? I didn't think so.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

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

Today I offer up Part Seven of the extremely popular series, Disney's Animal Kingdom: A True Life Adventure. The very first part of the series dates back to Earth Day 2008. From the very beginning, my goal was to present some rare concept art and photos as I told the story of the evolution of Animal Kingdom- from concept to reality and all the changes in between. Toss in an objective analysis, a few trip reports, and rumors in the mix, and you've got a lot of enjoyable reading. 

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When we left off in Part Six, it was clear that Disney's newest theme park in Florida was in transition and without a clear vision for the future.  

Rare Beasty Kingdom(me) art found on a limited edition
 collector's pin. Thanks to my friend Mike S at WDWMagic.

Old concepts such as Beastly Kingdom (above and below) were tossed aside as expensive and old school- plus they were blatantly stolen over at Universal's Islands of Adventure - brought to Disney's competitors when several Imagineers took up residence there after being laid off by the Mouse.

Thanks to Werner Weiss for this excellent scan 

of the Beastly Kingdom(me) overview.

Coming after the park saving Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, was next year's Finding Nemo the Musical. It's debut in 2007 was hailed by hard core theme park fans but failed to deliver an attendance bump. 

In the new Disney world, which meant that character infusions were forced into places they did not belong, the Nemo musical fit surprisingly well into a park which celebrated animals in an extremely creative way. The beautiful huge puppets and consistently good musical numbers perfectly complemented the sweet, heartwarming story. The songs were written by the husband and wife team that brought Frozen to life, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. One number, (In The) Big Blue World also found its way into The Living Seas at Epcot. At 40 minutes in length, the new production took up another large chunk of the guest's day with schedules that offered differing times than the park's other must see musical, Legend of the Lion King. 

The next attraction to make its way to Animal Kingdom was...

Rare concept for the Tree of Life.

...Nothing. Absolutely nothing but the closing of the Pocahontas show. The park sat stagnant for several years. The Walt Disney Company was reeling from its loss of the Harry Potter property to competitor Universal. In an unexpected twist of blessing for the attendance starved Islands of Adventure, author J.K. Rowling turned over the theme park reins to Universal Creative and not Disney. It was a stunning coup for the fledging park operator. For Disney, it was back to the drawing boards.

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. 
  
—   Michael D. Eisner, April 22, 1998

Would the Imagineers (and the suits that controlled the budget) take a look back at the opening day inscription for the park when thinking and planning for its future? What would they do?

Come 2010 and the opening of Harry Potter and his wildly thrilling Forbidden Journey, the massively big, popular attraction at Disney's competition, took the public interest by storm. Not only did the new area increase Universal's guest count by several million people annually, it also made Florida visitors rethink an all-Disney vacation. More and more folks took a day or two off from the Walt Disney World property in favor of time with Harry. The Disney suits took notice.

Disney publicly denied they were worried (as anyone with any business sense would suspect) but privately, the frantic search began for a property they could use to create their own must-see experience for Animal Kingdom. 

Another up charge tour.

In the meantime, the suits dreamed up a new adventure for the elite tourist with big bucks to spare. With minimal investment, the Wild Africa Trek promised a more personal and up close look at the animals found in the Kilimanjaro Safaris. Of course it was expensive just for the experience of more animals and a trendy meal. Of course it pleased the suits because of the instant cash flow. And of course, it infuriated theme park purists, like myself, that new Disney was into milking all it could from its guests versus steadily improving the parks and the guest experience. 

The gorgeous Tree of Life.

 More characters were thrown into the park. Disney bloggers who benefitted from personal invitations to Disney park "events" went into high gear promoting the wonders of the world. On the other end of the spectrum, press was solid if not enthusiastic for the soon to come Cars Land in California. It seemed 2012 couldn't come soon enough to divert some attention from Universal. 

Pandora coming your way in 2017?

In the Fall of 2011, the Walt Disney Company announced a partnership with filmmaker James Cameron to bring the world of Avatar to the animal based park. Instant controversy. 

What place did movie aliens have in celebrating the animals on planet Earth? The Discussion Boards on Disney park websites began to debate back and forth about the merit of the addition. Sure, there was a shared conservation theme, and yes, a giant tree played a pivotal part in both the park and the film. But was there more commonality between the two projects?

James Cameron, Thomas Staggs, 

and Imagineer Joe Rohde

Actually, there is more in common than you would think. There's a spiritual emphasis that links the two. The theme park digs deeper into our emotional connection between animals and man with an underlying- sometimes blatant-  theme of conservation.  At Animal Kingdom, Disney carefully straddles the lines between man as guardian and steward of creation with man as equal with the rest of creation. This is done with the utmost sensitivity as to not offend guests with a Judeo-Christian ethic and world view, creating either controversy or decreased revenue. In this way, Disney's lovely and charming and peaceful park is no different in its presenting philosophy than the core belief system of Cameron's equally beautiful and artistic film.   

More explanation might make sense: The opening act of the park, the Oasis area, was once named Genesis Gardens during the initial planning. The Tree of Life is a direct reference found in the holy books of all three major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In each of these books, Man and woman were created by God and placed in this beautiful world. In the very middle of the garden stood the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When the first couple disobeys God and eats of the forbidden fruit, they are punished for their choice and must await a savior to pay the price for their grievous sin of disobedience.

(Photograph courtesy Main Street Gazette)

In Disney and Cameron's Eden, man may return to favor by harmoniously blending with his surroundings. Here guests have the opportunity to return to this glorious place, a place where man,  beast, and nature co-exist in harmony. The concept of Gaia is the realm of belief in both kingdoms; the Earth (and in Avatar, the other planets) is a seen as a one living, breathing creature. This living land is able to sustain life on its own. 

How could the Imagineers walk a very thin line between offending paying guests by subtly teaching earth worship theology to a large segment of guests who believe otherwise? By creating a gorgeous park! Sometimes it's not so subtle- see photo above- and you can see where Disney Imagineers have openly embraced the new age/old school pagan philosophies. Directly in opposition to the classic Judeo-Christian teachings, Gaia calls for east worship, revealing these truths as real for today as when they were written: "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse...They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised." Right from the Bible. Of course, here Islam and Judaism part ways with Christianity, as Jesus claims to be God and proclaims He is the only One through which one might get to an eternal place of peace, joy, and life. Now back to the park story...

A new look for the Tree of Life after dark.

Paired with a version of World of Color, Rivers of Light,

the park should look terrific after dark!

Ground was finally broken on Pandora in early 2014 with a projected opening date of 2017 once Cameron finished the next two films in his planned series. Disney released a series of new pieces of art to showcase the project as well as announcing the arrival of a nighttime water show designed to make this once half-day park into a full day excursion, Rivers of Light. The concept art for both projects is spectacular! If the end result is nearly as true to the artists' work, I'll be very happy this Avatar addition came to Walt Disney World... even if I think that stylistically the world of Pandora belongs elsewhere. 

Great photo from DaMouse website.

In a move that took years to realize, the tremendously popular theater show, Legend of the Lion King, finally moved to Africa, making room for the expansion.  This allowed the placeholder Camp Minnie-Mickey to finally be replaced with Cameron's vision built in concrete and steel. The new home for the show was so beautifully designed and executed, it is almost as if it was planned from the beginning. Harambe, the fictional city of Animal Kingdom's Africa, seems fully realized now, and there's more to come.

Anticipating increase in park attendance once Pandora opens and the Rivers of Light water show debuts, Disney Imagineers are hard at work on a marketplace expansion to Africa, falling between its borders and Asia. More shops and eateries will make for a pleasant experience during the growing attendance bump.

Smaller projects are happening as well. Good or bad- the choice is up to you. Starbucks is on its way, and a newly expanded open space around the Tree of Life has recently opened. A table service restaurant will debut on Discovery Island, taking up some space from Pizzafari. 

Rivers of Light: Enough to keep park guests after dark?

More questions remain: Will the Discovery River once again find watercraft filled tourists on its waters? Will Pandora be home to more than one attraction? Will Disney continue to invest in this park after this most recent expansion or will that take decades? Those questions will have to be answered later in the next installment.

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This concludes Part Seven of the series. If you've never read the first pieces and want to discover all the rare concept art as well as read more about the park's development and history, you can find more information here:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
(Concept art and top photo copyright The Walt Disney Company. All other photos copyright Mark Taft.)

Da Mouse Does Harambe at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Aged to perfection. The most recent addition to Walt Disney World's mostly neglected Animal Kingdom theme park is so photo worthy. Almost on par with New Fantasyland over at the Magic Kingdom, the Harambe expansion shows what Disney can accomplish in little time when they want to do so. 

The new area houses The Festival of the Lion King, which belonged in Africa from the beginning, but was placed in Camp Minnie-Mickey to spread out the crowds. Now with Pandora / World of Avatar / Avatarland coming, the show got the boot.

There have been many photographs of the new area on many sites and blogs. I have to say Da Mouse provides one of the most detailed, comprehensive reports and with sharp commentary. Go to the link.

Imagineer Joe Rohde should be very pleased with this addition to arguably the most beautiful Disney theme park on US soil. Perhaps there is life after all- and a good one- for this long neglected gem.

(Photograph copyright Da Mouse.)