Your Dream Animal Kingdom: Oasis and Discovery Island

Walt Disney World: Tell us your dream Oasis and Discovery Island.

From David L.
Posted July 5, 2010 at 8:59 PM
Disney's Animal Kingdom is one of Disney's greatest themepark with so many places to explore with elaborate themeing (in most places). Your job is redo, rename, expand, or keep the same the Oasis and Discovery Island. Some people complain about food in these parts. Others love the food. There are also few attractions. But it is also more of stop and smell the flowers area. I'd love to hear as many ideas as possible.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted July 6, 2010 at 7:09 AM
The reasoning behind the Oasis and Discovery Island is to journey though time to get to tree of life. Many of the walkways represent early earth and some of the oldest animals are found there.

As for food, I think AK, generally, has the second best counter service at WDW (EPCOT is #1 and is hard to beat). I would be more inclined to get better counter service outside of this area. I would personally like to see the Peanut Crusted Chicken that used to be in Tuskers. Now that was a meal!

From David L.
Posted July 6, 2010 at 7:25 AM
would there be anything you would want to change? I've jumbled around the possibility of a water play area in the oasis but it wouldn't work with the area too well. If the conservation station was moved to discovery island with the outdoor theme flowing i think Rafiki's planet watch could be eliminated.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted July 6, 2010 at 9:17 AM
I like that idea David. I know my answer was a bit jumbled, but I am ok with the way its going right now. Many people miss the beauty in AK making it a very underrated park. It works the best with fastpass because you need to "stop and smell the roses". AK's strength is its theming which the Oasis does perfectly. I think if people knew the reason for the Oasis, it would be more popular.

Its also the "coolest" part of a very hot park!

From luis gonzalez
Posted July 6, 2010 at 11:41 AM
there is not much you can do with animal kingdom to make it anything but 4th string. Its also so freaking hot most of the time, there is like zero shade in that place. i dont think there is much you can put in the beginning of the park, its a tight space with the tree. i think the way the park is setup you need all that empty space to orient the guests, its a high traffic area. i say rip out that rainforest cafe and put in a mega coaster. JK :(

word!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From David L.
Posted July 6, 2010 at 12:43 PM
I see what yall mean. i guess i'll go on with DinoLand USA. first of all, the chester area that needs to go. There was once to envisioned excatator ride that might work in that area. Also Nemo is a bit out of place. What do yall think this area needs to boost up. Another thing that i forgot to mention, Mark Taft at insightsandsounds.blogspot.com wrote an article recently about how animal kingdom needs to stand out from zoos. many people aren't going because they think it's just a zoo. Even with everest, dinosaur, and Kali, many people think it's a zoo. Many zoos around the country are stepping up with themed exhibits. this is hurting AK even more. So dinoland, and the rest of the park, has to stand out more than ever. So tell me your ideas for dinoland.

From Tim W
Posted July 6, 2010 at 1:03 PM
^I saw that article too! And The excavator would work great in Dinoland still. Drop the USA part to the name and chester and hesters dinorama. I would gladly volunteer to be the one to take the wrecking ball to that carnival as well as primeval whirl!

I realize that nemo is out of place, but its such a fantastic show, my 2nd favorite at Disney World. It needs to stay, but I do wish they considered the placement better. The 3 shows (Jungle Book, Tarzan, and Nemo) that have been here haven't exactly worked well, but Finding Nemo is perhaps the best.

Finally, I suggest a portion of the land to be dedicated to the icier prehistoric time. I think the Ice Age period could have real potential in having a ride here. It would work great and I'd love to see it!

As for the Oasis and Discovery Island, keep it the way it is. There isn't room to change anything about these lands. the restaurants they have aren't that bad. I really would not change anything.

As we move on in this discussion I'll list my other ideas!

From James Rao
Posted July 6, 2010 at 7:21 PM
I have no issue with Discovery Island or the Oasis. There are plenty of hidden gems in those areas if you take the time to explore, and since most people don't, I love having the area all to myself. Besides, if you think of those areas as the Main Street, USA, and Central Hub of the Magic Kingdom, then you don't really want a lot of line-stopping attractions along the way.

No, where DAK needs help is in three areas: Dinoland, Rafiki's Planet Watch, and Camp Minnie-Mickey.

Dinoland needs to be blown up. Leave Nemo and Dinosaur, but lose everything else, and build the originally planned attractions: Journey to the Center of the Earth (a high-speed coaster similar to the attraction at Tokyo DisneySea), the Excavator (a runaway mine car roller coaster through an abandoned dinosaur dig), and for the kids, Dinorama Meteor Dark Ride (a tamer version of Dinosaur).

Rafiki's Planet Watch could become more of a "youth area" with nature themed Fantasyland-styled dark rides. You can keep some of the existing nature exhibits and meet 'n' greet areas, but a few dark rides on a hot day would go a long way towards making the area more inviting. Furthermore, the train ride needs to be far more interesting (an attraction unto itself), and there must be alternate means of getting to the area besides the train.

Camp Minnie-Mickey needs to retain FotLK, but lose everything else. Bring back the design plans for Beastly Kingdom and make it happen, adding in the originally planned rides as well: Dragon Tower (a dragon-themed roller coaster which eventually became Dueling Dragons), Quest for the Unicorn (a hedge maze / play area), and Fantasia Gardens (a boat ride featuring mythical animals).

Just re-read that list and realize the DAK would be the greatest theme park on the planet were these changes implemented.

Oh, and before I forget, Disney needs to fix that darn Yeti as well.

From Tim W
Posted July 6, 2010 at 7:28 PM
Definately agree James. I like all of your ideas. I think Lion King would work best if they moved it into Africa where it belongs. I'd love to see Beastly Kingdomme built still. In my opinion, that would make Animal Kingdom complete and make it more of a full day park. I'd love to see TH Creative's Loch Ness Monster idea here as well as one other mythical creature ride. Very interesting idea to put Journey to the Center of the earth in Dinoland. With nemo there, maybe the overall theme of the land needs a slight retweaking beyond dinos.

From James Rao
Posted July 6, 2010 at 7:52 PM
Yep, that Loch Ness attraction was awesome. And I have no problem with moving FotLK, but I'll take what I can get!

As for JttCotE, remember they ran into some Dinos (at least one) when they got down there....

From Tim W
Posted July 6, 2010 at 7:56 PM
^Sorry, never read, saw the movies, or been on the ride. I guess it would fit well then! I've seen snippets and pictures of the ride and it looks awesome

From David L.
Posted July 6, 2010 at 8:03 PM
Here's my idea for dinoland: loose dinorama area. replace with the excavator. I'm afraid that unless they really expanded out JTTCOTE wouldn't fit. Expanding the dino institute to have a food court and some exhibits would also be nice. Another possible attraction would be a Land before time dark ride for kids. any other ideas would be great.

From Raymond Sydowski
Posted July 6, 2010 at 9:37 PM
I suppose I'll be the lone defender of Americana then. Chester and Hester need to stay. They hearken back to a yesteryear that was the American road trip: the roadside attraction, but Disney-fied. It can't all be mega-coasters. That's not Disney. I don't even think any of Disney's coasters even qualify for the prefix "mega", and I dare say that's by design. Families want to have areas that are fun for everyone, and while Chester and Hesters may disappoint the jaded coaster fan, there were many kids who loved it. All I ask is that you view it with that in mind. And as to the commenter who suggested that there is no shade, your experience is not one that I can share. DAK is the one area where I could almost guarantee shade.

That being said, I do think the Beastly Kingdom is a needed expansion. There's the place for another coaster, or a robot arm experience. Camp Minimickie could do with a water ride of some sort, something to draw guests into the area besides meeting the Fab Four.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted July 6, 2010 at 9:57 PM
I like Hester and Chester too!

Get rid of the Rainforest Cafe. I thought it was an odd choice for that area anyway.

From Manny Barron
Posted July 6, 2010 at 10:21 PM
I agree with Raymond. A mega-coaster isn't Disney and would be waaaay out of place at Animal Kingdom. I wish we could have a Journey ttCot Earth ride stateside but with Everest I don't think Disney would want to build another giant mountain at AK, plus after a quick look at google maps no way a ride of that magnitude would fit in the Dino-Rama area.

They got Africa and Asia. My wish would be for AK to have another continent themed land. South America with an UP ride or Australia/Oceania with Crush's Coaster from Paris.

From Phil B.
Posted July 6, 2010 at 9:35 PM
AK is such a source of frustration for me. The park is superbly themed, features some of the most advanced and highly entertaining attractions in all of the resort, and has immense potential as a power house 4th gate. Yet, it fails to deliver the much anticipated Beastly Kingdom, has no night time show, lacks attractions to keep the people from making it a half day park, and need I even mention Dinorama? It could be my favorite of all four parks, but until it gets some Cali Adventure type of investment/love, it's placing will continue to fluctuate for me. That being said, here's my suggestions:

-I would say Dinoland is priority number one, but really the park needs a new land altogether. Wiping out Dinorama 1st would take away an area for people to explore and spend time in, as horrible as that area might be. Any major addition to AK should come in the form of Beastly Kingdom or even perhaps a completely new land such as an Australian section. There is a huge plot of undeveloped land parallel to the Safari, across the train tracks to Rafiki's. A huge Australian land would make a great addition and really go a long way to locking this park into full day status. An E-ticket, some stage/animal show, a kiddy section, perhaps another dark ride and some animal exhibits and you're in business. Another full service restaurant would help to stretch the parks hours out also. There's immense potential in the diversity and exotic nature of Australia.

-I hate when people say this, cause it sounds like something that a hack, roller coaster tycoon fan-boy would say, but if it's at all possible, move FotLK to the African section. One thing this would do is breath life into this section of the park that basically goes dark after the Safari's shut down. As a result, the asian section of the park, specifically EE becomes very congested. It also clears out the Camp Minnie Mickey section that was originally earmarked for BK.

-Fix the Yeti, it's the featured star of your marquee attraction. I still maintain that I wouldn't do it until the park is further developed to better absorb the impact of EE being shutdown for 6 months.

-Dinorama needs das boot! That section seems to be about the same size as the very large footprint of the Dinosaur ride. I'd like to see the excavator ride, but I wonder if WDI considers that too close in theme to EE, where one is a runaway mine car and the other is a runaway train. Anything would be better than what is there though. Also, Nemo is an amazing show and not going anywhere for now. In the future though, maybe a way for Disney to go would be to strike a deal and feature a smaller version of the Walking with Dinosaurs show that seems to be wildly popular, much in the way that they have a Cirque show. Though it would have to be scaled back due to the fact that it wouldn't be a separate hard ticket event. It would really help to tie in that theater to the overall theme of the land.

-Get a night time show in there. There are two bodies of water in the front of the park. One by Camp Mickey and the other by Dinoland. If you open up BK where it was intended to go, part of that expansion could feature the parks first true night time spectacular and catapult AK into an all day affair with a perfect way to end it all. Over by Dinoland, you could create a route to a section much like DHS has for Fantasmic. Because both sections feature minimal, if any live animals, the impact of the show on any of the animals will be pretty much non existent. Since Disney has now changed the game with World of Color, a version of a show like this conceived for AK would be a perfect fit for a park that is looking to add a night time spectacular, yet faces the dilemma of keeping the inhabitants of the park at ease. With the use of low grade pyro, colored fountains, lasers, smoke, HD video, fire and perhaps a cohesive story line this time around, AK's version of this attraction would give this park the WDW street cred it desperately needs.

From Marcus Guimaraes
Posted July 6, 2010 at 10:55 PM
Hey, James, I loved Hester and Chester when I was a kid. I agree with all your other points, though. What Disney needs to do is expand. I remember hearing on a monorail ride or something that they have enough space to rebuild all of Walt Disney World; if so, they should definitely do that. They'd have enough space for Beastly Kingdomme, which would be awesome, and all the other improvements you mentioned. As for the Oasis problem, well, why not put up an Islands of Adventure-style sign at the front of the park? "Join us now for a journey through time," or something like that would suffice. Hopefully they'd make it a bit less hokey though, I'm far from the best writer.

From James Rao
Posted July 7, 2010 at 3:42 AM
Honestly, at this point I would be satisfied if Disney would just fix the Yeti and replace the former Pocahontas show with something new (I hate when they take stuff away and replace it with...nothing!). However, without revamping the garish awkwardness of Dinoland (even my kids - 12, 10, and 7 - disliked the area when we visited back in May), improving the Rafiki experience (visitors deserve so much more for suffering through that lamentable train ride than a few nature exhibits, a petting zoo, and some meet 'n' greets), and adding another headliner to compete with Everest (Dragon Tower or JttCotE), DAK will remain a second fiddle Disney park and a "leave after the parade" diversion - regardless of its natural beauty and excellent zoo-type exhibits.

And in defense of my earlier post - none of the attractions (except for maybe Dragon Tower - although WDI's vision of this ride was not the same as Universal's) are "mega coasters". Heck, my favorite Disney park is Epcot and it doesn't have a single coaster (although it could use one back in the World Showcase - Fire Mountain, anyone?). Furthermore, everything I listed came from information about what Imagineers had planned for DAK before Eisner cut the budget to pieces prior to its grand opening in the 90's. Those ideas are WDI's, not mine.

And, oh yeah, I agree: Rainforest must go. Replace it with a parking lot, mega coaster! =)

From Tim W
Posted July 7, 2010 at 10:20 AM
Seems like everyone is on the same page about that darned yeti lol.

As for my dream Animal Kingdom, heres how it would look:

-First off create a nighttime water show. It would be really cool, and as said there are placed to put it.

-Rename and replace lands. Rename Asia to Andapur and rename Africa to Harambe. Replace Rafiki's Planet watch with a new land based on the South American Rainforest. Also replace part of dinoland with a small land based on the wildlife of Australia near Nemo musical.

From Tim W
Posted July 7, 2010 at 6:45 AM
South American Rainforest- This land could be a beautiful replacement for the lackluster planet watch. Mystic Rhythms from Tokyo DisneySea, the formerly proposed Rainforest Roller Coaster for Epcot, and the former Venezuelan Airtram ride for Epcot would all be placed here.

Dinoland- Breathe more "life" into this land by adding some more rides. New here would be a boat ride based on the Ice Age, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Excavator, and 20000 Leagues Under the Sea to tie in with Journey and the fish theme with Nemo.

Harambe- Move Festival of Lion King here and Add a coaster based on Tarzan.

Andapur- Retheme Kali River Rapids into Jungle Book River Adventure.

Beastly Kingdomme- Replace Camp Minnie Mickey. If you want to see North American nature go to a park. Set in a medeival town. Would include TH's loch ness ride, Dragon Tower, and rides based on Unicorn, Griffin, and Phoenix.

From David L.
Posted July 7, 2010 at 7:28 AM
I guess this has turned into a all of animal kingdom thing but here's my complete idea:

Oasis:
-Keep it the way it except, take out the rainforest cafe and put in the Oasis Cafe and make it Disney Run but with a similar theme.

Discovery Island:
-Keep it the way it is but put the conservation Station in the north west section of the island with a facad to match the other buildings of the island

south americanot:
-Discovery Isalnd and Oasis already have many SA animals so maybe if they add some that should be more than sufficiant

Asia:
-expand mahara Jungle trek(probably spelled it wrong) with more animals
-Transform Kali into the original "tiger river cruise thing"
-fix yeti

Africa:
-relocate Festival of the Lion King to the west side of Haramble
-Add a african museum with african art because i doubt another african country is coming to Epcot except the possiblity of Egypt and South Africa
-Expand the Safari to the west and make it what it originaly was supposed to be with the overlook

Dinoland:
-expand dino institute with exhibits and cafe
-expand dinosaur with some of the scenes that were originally supposed to happen(veloceraptor attack, calm area, ect...)
-Replace dinorama with excavator, a launching(due to TNT) woodie similar to terminator or evil kenivil.

Aussie outpost:
-finding nemo(it's in the great berrier reef after all)
-Kangaroo exhibits and other austrailian animals which would be behind everest.

Beastly Kingdomn:
-Dragon Tower coaster plus dark ride
-Quest of the unicorn maze
-Griffon's Challenge dark ride(like spidy)
-Pixie hollow(relocate from magic kingdom with kiddie pixie ride)
-Questing Beast coaster
-located behind Asia and in the planet watch area
-get to it from cave between africa and asia

North America:
-Colorado River Rapids Company ADventures
-Grizzly Chase(spinning coaster like Tony Hawk)
-"hiking trails" with animals
-camp minnie and micky(meet and greet area with tents)
-Pocahontes nature show, a redone pocahontes show

and that's just about it.

From David L.
Posted July 7, 2010 at 7:51 AM
Night time show:
-Rivers of Light, a water parade with multiple viewing areas all around the kingdom because it will go around discovery island

From TH Creative
Posted July 7, 2010 at 8:18 AM
Add Hippos.

From TH Creative
Posted July 7, 2010 at 8:18 AM
Hippos improve every attraction. Period.

From Tim W
Posted July 7, 2010 at 8:24 AM
I think it would be a bit funny to see a bunch of hippos with the dinos in DINOSAUR.

From Thomas Caselli
Posted July 7, 2010 at 8:45 AM
If you think that most of Dinoland needs to be blown up, you don't understand what it is supposed to be. Everything doesn't have to be constant thrills. The one thing that I keep thinking is that they should put an Indiana Jones ride in the Asia section.

From Tim W
Posted July 7, 2010 at 10:12 AM
^Yes, everything doesn't have to be constant thrills, but the mediocre theming of the carnie side of dinoland is extremely un-disney. Midway games and garish theming was never planned to be implemented in this land. Without expanding dinoland out of AK's current boundaries, I would choose the Excavator over other mentioned rides any day!

David, LOVE The Aussie outpost idea. I'd love to see a miniland themed to Australia!

From James Rao
Posted July 7, 2010 at 10:09 AM
^Agreed. I am not asking for thrills, but I am asking for Disney parks to maintain Disney standards. Carnival games, carnival rides, and a horrific color scheme - that's Chester & Hester. It is the type of "theming" that sends old Walt tossing and turning in his cryogenic freezer. I do not want a "Six Flags" section at Disney, if you don't mind.

From Tim W
Posted July 7, 2010 at 10:25 AM
I'd really love to see Disney release some concept art or some kind of synopsis for the River of Light Nighttime parade! Anyone know anything??

From Flavio de Souza
Posted July 7, 2010 at 10:17 AM
I don't think that Beastly Kingdomn, would fit in AK. I always consider AK a park whose main theme is real animals. Nothing against dinos or the Yeti, but dragons and unicorns would be pushing too much the envelop.

I would create a South American and North American Land, mixing real animals attractions with dark rides and shows.

A Yellowstone themed roller coster in North America, and a real bear attraction.

An attraction about the Amazon Rain forest, with free monkeys and birds and some (caged) Jaguars, plus a Pantanal themed "soarin" ride could anchor South America land. Maybe a dark ride about cave animals, with lots of special effects with bats, snakes and blind fishes.

I also like the idea of having some marsupials next to Nemo, creating an Oceania Land.

From David L.
Posted July 7, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Flavio, if animal kingdom doesn't have any different lands, then many torists will think that it's just another zoo. That's why there has to be rides that stand out plus lands that stand out.

From Colin Sullivan
Posted July 7, 2010 at 5:14 PM
Do you know if the Excavator ride was supposed to be indoors or outdoors, because that could have effect in whether the ride would be possible

From David L.
Posted July 7, 2010 at 6:04 PM
Concept art shows that it was outdoors. MY favorite idea would to have it be a wooden coaster.

From Tim W
Posted July 7, 2010 at 6:50 PM
Yea I'm pretty sure it was outdoors too. And agreed David. Animal Kingdom would be classified as another zoo; having rides, mythical creatures, and dinos makes it more original and unique than a zoo.

From Raymond Sydowski
Posted July 7, 2010 at 11:25 PM
The Beastly Kingdom should be the next expansion. I'm reluctant to have a night time show due to the animals. Fireworks are an obvious no-no. That being said, Camp Minnie-Mickey has potential to be an interesting area for expansion thematicly. Imagine a Rivers of America themed dark ride. Pocahantus could lead brave explorers through adventures all throughout North America, and even into the waters of the Arctic, showing the beauty of american wildlife (all while cooling said explorers down).

From Tim W
Posted July 8, 2010 at 5:23 AM
Agreed, I'd love to see beastly kingdomme come first before anything!

From Phil B.
Posted July 8, 2010 at 7:44 AM
A night time show along the lines of "World of Color" positioned towards the front of the park where there are almost zero animals besides the animatronic ones would have minimal impact, if any, on the animals on the far end of the other side of the park. Low level use of pyro such as fire effects and mines, are very useful in a show looking to keep a lower profile.

From David L.
Posted July 8, 2010 at 8:34 AM
Yeah, i saw that on miceage. The combination or WOC and ROL would be great. And beastly Kingdomn.

From Colin Sullivan
Posted July 8, 2010 at 9:00 AM
There is also the large bay in front of Everest that has nice viewing angles for a nightime show

From Jay Glenn
Posted July 8, 2010 at 9:17 AM
If a nightime show would be implemented it should be in the Beastly Kingdom section (where camp Minnie Mickey is) and it should be the Mystic Rthyms show from Tokyo but in a outdoor form with a lagoon. I believe there's a lake in that area but if not they could build one behind the Dragon Tower building so that way it's far off from the animals. Then they should put a Quest For The Unicorn ride where the m&g's are. It would be outdoors through a forest where it would take visitors to find the unicorn. Then after you come across the bridge from Discovery Island to your left should be Fantasia River Adventure. And that's all AK needs. First off the excavator won't work because there are resident animals in Dinoland. If it were created it would need to be indoors. Dino Rama is fine. The theming works so well here. Just add Beastly Kingdom with Mystic Rthym, move Festival to Africa and there you have it a full day park.

From Tim W
Posted July 8, 2010 at 9:54 AM
Jay, how do you account for Primeval Whirl, an outdoor coaster currently located in Dinoland USA? How is that any different than having the excavator there. And yep I saw the article on miceage too. I think WOC could work well in Animal Kingdom with just a bit more emphasis on animals. I for one would love to see it brought to AK.

From Jay Glenn
Posted July 8, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Primeval is a mild thrill you wouldn't get the same type of screams from that as you would from a mega thrill like Excavator. And also Primeval is further back and if they don't expand Excaator's entrance area and main showbuilding would take up the entire Dino Rama area closer to the residents of the land.

From Tim W
Posted July 8, 2010 at 10:34 AM
Primeval Whirl and the rest of Dino Rama are right next to each other. Behind the proposed site for the excavator is Fidning Nemo the Musical; no animals. And behind that is everest, which is much closer to any animals than the excavator would be. I really don't think it would affect the animals that much at all, and Primeval Whirl would most likely be demolished if the Excavator was built, so that gives even more rooom.

From James Rao
Posted July 8, 2010 at 11:11 AM
Primeval Whirl should be demolished no matter what. The ride itself is ugly, no fun, and the height restrictions (48" tall) are way too high. The younger kids are the only one's who MIGHT like PW, but most of them are not tall enough to ride.

Chester & Hester's Dino-abomination does not belong in a Disney park. In fact, the only other Disney park in the US that has an area filled with the same type of crappy midway attractions is DCA's Paradise Pier, and Disney is spending $1.2 billion to fix that mistake. Someday WDI will learn to leave the carnival attractions at the carnival.

From Jay Glenn
Posted July 8, 2010 at 11:03 AM
Mickey's Fun Wheel (a regular ferris wheel) , Califnornia Screamin'(a regular steel coaster), Golden Zephyr, are carnival rides and they are still at DCA after the refurb.

From Jay Glenn
Posted July 8, 2010 at 11:07 AM
You are right Tim. I think I just hate to see Dino-Rama go. It has a great back-story to it. Everytime I ride Primeval Whirl I see families come off with smiles. Never seen anyone say "well that was a waste of my time."

From James Rao
Posted July 8, 2010 at 5:21 PM
Jay, wait for round two of the Paradise Pier redo...all the midway stuff will eventually be gone. It might take until 2020, but it will go. Walt never wanted that junk in his parks, and DCA's poor attendance has solidified the current mgmt team's resolve to transform that area.

Also, California Screamin' is not a carnival ride. Prior to the addition of TSMM and WoC, it was the only thing worth visiting in Paradise Pier.

From Raymond Sydowski
Posted July 8, 2010 at 11:13 AM
There are animals in almost every part of DAK. You walk in the front, and there are swans IIRC. A lot of people just walk past to get to the big things and miss out on how many animals there are everywhere. AZA restrictions would probably put a damper on any night-time extravaganza. And I wouldn't want to risk stress to the animals so someone can get their pyro fix.

From Tim W
Posted July 8, 2010 at 1:56 PM
Oh and one more request for Dinoland, Revert the name for DINOSAUR back to Countdown to Extinction!!!

From David L.
Posted July 8, 2010 at 4:19 PM
I think they once had fireworks at AK but they were far off. The lake behind Camp Minnie and Micky would be away from animals(asuming that area gets to be Beastly Kingdomn) and the lake is much larger. the DCA Midway rides fit with the theme of the area. Dinorama doesn't. Excavator is far enough from most animals(except the squirlls and racoons and litle birds) so it would not be problem.
AlSO, What do you guys think should happen to the space between Asia and Planet Watch?

From Tim W
Posted July 8, 2010 at 4:55 PM
I would say Australia, but Nemo would fit best in Australia. How about like an arctic land with penguins, polar bears, and sea lions in an igloo? Plus an arctic themed ride! Like maybe that Enchanted Snow palace ride with winter animal that was presented way back when...The theming would go great with everest in the background.

From David L.
Posted July 8, 2010 at 5:50 PM
Hey Tim, we could rip out planet watch and have the polar express to the arctic land! ;). that would be fun a lot of it would be indoors so that would be difficult to create a unique themed area for it.

From Tim W
Posted July 8, 2010 at 7:22 PM
I've been to plaent watch once and hated it. I really think it is the weakest land in the park, and I'm saying that while considering Camp Minnie Mickey and Chester and Hesters dinorama. I think the idea of a petting zoo is extremely undisney. The rest is just plain boring.

From Phil B.
Posted July 9, 2010 at 8:45 AM
I've been there twice. The first time I went with my girlfriend and my parents. The look of disgust on my fathers face when he found out it was basically a petting zoo area was so intense, that I had to abandon my strong desire to explore the area anyway, and to promptly reboard the train back to theme park civilization.

The next time I went there, with a different girlfriend and this time her family, her 2 sisters were all about petting animals, so I finally was able to explore the area. I have to hand it to my father, sometimes the man has vision. The place is a snooze fest, and I haven't been back the several times I've returned to the park, nor do I ever have any intention of doing so. At least at Dinorama I'll ride Primevil Whirl, Rafiki's gets absolutely no burn from me or anybody in my entourage.

From James Rao
Posted July 9, 2010 at 10:11 AM
Both areas are dead to me and mine, Phil. However, I did like the "Nature Sounds" dark room in the Conservation Station. But I only liked it once, and will probably never visit again unless Disney makes the uneventful train ride a bit more interesting and eye-catching.

From Tyler Bell
Posted July 6, 2010 at 11:41 AM
MORE RIDES AND WALKTHROUGH ATTRACTIONS.ANIMAL KINGDOM IS OVER 500 ACRES BUT ONLY HAS 25 ATTRACTIONS WHEREAS MK IS 107 ACRES WITH 49 ATTRACTIONS.

From Raymond Sydowski
Posted July 9, 2010 at 10:19 PM
"Oh and one more request for Dinoland, Revert the name for DINOSAUR back to Countdown to Extinction!!!"

Or you could use the staff's name: "Countdown to Breakdown".

From Colin Sullivan
Posted July 10, 2010 at 8:40 PM
There was also a roller coaster planned for Magic Kingdom called Fire Mountain that was supposed to be along the lines of Matterhorn Bobsleds except with lava and the theme of an erupting volcano, AK could use this idea to theme it to a volcano in a new South America Section, or the single attraction Africa section.

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