But there is another Disney park that hasn't improved a single year since it first opened. Six years old and Animal Kingdom is still falling apart. But where's all the press about it? Motley Fool recently touched on the park's failure, but as part of an article about problems at ALL Disney parks. Other cynical commentaries are showing up also. But there still isn't the outpouring of hatred that DCA has received.
Why not? If anything, the park is proof positive that Disney's "Ten Year Plan" is a bunch of crap. In 2006, the park will open Expedition Everest and will still be about half a park. And that will be its EIGHTH year of operation. There is no way this park will be a full park two years after that.
It's not like there isn't precedence for Disney being able to complete a park in ten years. The original "Ten Year" park was Disney/MGM Studios, and it became complete right at the end of its first decade with the opening of three new attractions. And it did this AFTER the very expensive debut of AK.
Meanwhile, AK, which hasn't exactly had to fight other parks for money, languishes. 1999 saw a lot of building in WDW, including AK's much-needed Asia expansion. 2000 saw basically nothing in any WDW park. 2001 saw the slow-to-fully-open Dino-Rama expansion, which was not only horribly cheap and ugly, but did practically nothing to help the failing park.
Maybe people have played nice with AK because much of the park is well-done, unlike DCA and its Six Flags-lite look. Maybe it just gets lost in the big resort. After all, not a lot of people actually realize that WDW is actually four parks. Then again, maybe it is just a WDW thing, since no one seems to remember how truly horrible Disney/MGM was when it opened. If DCA was built in WDW instead of AK, would its lameness be ignored too?
Things may be getting worse too. The park may actually get a bump in attendance this year, more because of all those years of falling attendance than renewed interest in the park. But 2005 should see the park return to form, which might force Disney to start spending money on the park. Then again, they probably think Everest will be DCA's ToT, and the park will be "reborn" when the ride opens. Good luck. People will just leave by 1pm instead of noon.
And something needs to be done. Now! Islands of Adventure has been the park that has benefited most from AK's attendance drops, and that trend is sure to continue if Disney doesn't stop the bleeding.
Which means Disney must save the park before it turns ten, no matter how difficult it may be. At least one E-Ticket will be necessary, and at Disney's glacial construction pace it probably wouldn't see the light of day until the park's tenth anniversary. So what can be done quickly in the meantime?
The first thing I would do would be to close down the Living Seas over at Epcot and move all the sea creatures here. This benefits both parks since few Epcot visitors give a damn about the creaky pavilion and it would open up a building for an attraction people would care about.
The animals could then be part of a new Oceania land. If the animals were treated here like the animals in the Africa and Asia walkthroughs, instead like some museum exhibit, people might care more about them. I would line up all the tanks to form the berm of the "land" and then enclose everything between them. This would create some precious indoor relief from the heat and rain of Orlando, which AK has in short supply. Indoor rides - no shows allowed since the park has plenty - could easily be connected to the indoor area like an Epcot pavilion. There are plenty of rides that could fit in with this theme, since Tokyo DisneySea is a park filled with water-related rides. 20,000 Leagues (though less elaborate), Sinbad's Seven Voyages, StormRider, even Aquatopia (this one would have to be MORE elaborate) could all fit with minor changes. There is also a fantastic Little Mermaid dark ride that is looking for a home. I'd go with StormRider for the E-Ticket, which would be fairly cheap to clone, and Little Mermaid as the much-needed family ride. The Sinbad ride would be fine but IOA basically owns the character now. A 20K ride with a Nemo theme would also be awesome, but I think Ariel is fine as the Oceania "ambassador" and Nemo would be needed to be "ambassador" for the eventual Australia land. Plus, I think a 20K ride would be far more expensive to build. Throw in an extremely necessary water play area just outside the pavilion and you'd have a cheap, quick and COMPLETE land.
I know I have been clamoring for an Australia land, but my ride ideas have both been co-opted: Soarin' is now in Epcot's future and Asia is getting a roller coaster. There is plenty of space between Africa and Asia for a small land. I would create a Jungle Cruiselike flume ride (with drops!) featuring the animals of Australia (which would help save a bunch of koalas from being exterminated, by the way) and a corresponding animal trail. If created correctly, the land could be close enough to Conservation Station to get rid of the boring train ride, which would not only make it less of a chore to visit the ignored section of the park, but would save money to boot. Plus, there would be pleny of room behind the land for the Nemo-themed 20K ride I mentioned for future growth.
Add two sit-down restaurants - seafood in Oceania and "barbie" in Australia - and you got yourself a park. The three rides would all be fairly inexpensive, and would all last longer than Everest or the last two additions. The animals, which were a big part of AK's original budget, would be far cheaper this time, as half would just be relocating from Epcot and the other half would consist of a lot of animals considered "rats" in their home country.
Beastly Kingdom, or some form thereof, is always a possibility too. But I think this one land would cost more than the two I suggested. At least if they bother to theme it well. Maybe there are better, cheaper ideas out there???
My two pennies. Gimme yours!
Luckily, DAK has a HUGE amount of expansion room, space that DCA doesn't have. It's mainly just a matter of spending the money to put stuff in.
Yes, Disney's California Adventure would be better received if it was at WDW.
If they chose to open Disney's Florida Adventure at WDW, however, it would suck out loud.
Now this article is about what AK NEEDS to do to fulfill the Disney promise of it becoming a full park in ten years. As much as people want BK, two rides are NOT going to make this park complete. Animal Kingdom needs more ANIMALS as well as rides to make the park complete. BK will not have animals and most likely could not be finished by 2008. Even so, what about the years between? AK needs something NOW and I think the Oceania land could open quickly with rides opening as soon after that as possible.
So let's stick to things that can be built ASAP and will make sure people have enough to do in one day.
Disney could use the extra area. Fantasy creatures have been a Disney staple for years (not to mention animals in general). They're doing it with the Yeti for Expedition Everest--why not bring the other rides now? Put the dragon coaster on the otherside of DAK, along with a dark ride feature the unicorn. It's not rocket science, folks, just basic physics and engineering.
2.Stop building mountain themed rides! Disney already has 10.
Stop building mountain themed rides! Disney already has 10.
Space Mountain - MK, DL, TDL, DLP(4)
Big Thunder Mountain - DL, MK, TDL, DLP (4)
Splash Mountain - DL, MK, TDL (3)
Matterhorn - DL (1)
Expedition Everest - AK (1)
I count 13!
I like Disney's use of the mountain theme. Though sometimes it can get a bit silly. Splash *Mountain*? C'mon, the only mountain in the Bayou is a mound of boudin wrappers and beer bottles spilling from a roadhouse trash can on a hot Saturday night.
Now, here's where we get into some technical questions--does this mean the structure only needs a light BEYOND the 200 foot mark or AT the 200 foot mark? Furthermore, if Everest IS 200 feet tall, mountain and all, how do Imagineers plan to have this thing built with a blinkin' beacon at the top of the 'forced perspective' crag?
I have complained about the narrow paths since 1999! MK has many narrow paths too, but it isn't as noticeable because there is a hub area, an outer ring and a bunch of spokes connecting that outer ring. AK only had one section of outer ring that connected spokes. The bridge from Dinoland to Asia should help, but I'm not sure it is open. It would also help if there was a reason to go to Conservation Station, which would get more people off the paths. And they should connect Camp Minnie-Mickey to Africa, even if it is nothing more than a shady path. I'd definitely use it. Call it the Churro Cart Expressway!
While we're in Fantasyland, they might as well move the Lion King show out of the mandatory screaming area known as Camp Minnie/Mickey.
