Design-a-Land: Edition 1
Walt Disney World: The first in a series, what would you do if you had complete creative and monetary freedom to build the Beastly Kingdom in AK.
Picture this: WDI has decided to build the Beastly Kingdom! They called you up and put you in charge of designing it. You have complete creative freedom and no budget to have to watch. What would you do?
Hmmm, Dueling Dragons were supposed to be there, but oh well....'
Narnia Dark ride
Fantasia Gardens Maze
Night on Bald Mountain Roller Coaster
From Raul Araoz
Posted February 22, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Picture this...you cross the bridge from Discovery Island into a misty forest lined with topiary creatures from times past. As you traverse through the woods, you enter a storybook village with fountains lining the center throughway and thatched houses off to the side. Off in the distance, you can spot the craggy spires of the Dragon's Keep.
The houses contain various shops and eateries including a sit-down restaurant with those most famous of mythical creatures: Disney characters.
Off to your left is the Amphitheater where the main show is held: "The Wizard's duel between Merlin and Madame Mim". An audience participatory show involving amazing effects as you watch the magicians shape shift into all manner of beast.
Off to your right, you will first come to the "Cave of legendary creatures". The witch Dalmadriel invites you to take a gentle boat trip through her menagerie of fantastical beasts. You will see Pegasus, Minotaur and Cereberus from ancient Greece. See the lovable creatures from "Fantasia" and many more including Chernabog. They all are in their natural environments and the witch guarantees you will be perfectly...safe.
Across from the cave, "The Maze of the Unicorn". Walk through a beautifully manicured labyrinth where every dead-end leads to a magical interactive surprise with effects. The goal, of course, is to reach the glen of the last Unicorn. An amazing creature that is available for petting.
Last, but not least..."The Dragon's Keep". You cross over the bubbly moat and enter the Castle Draken. Merlin begs that you help find the missing villagers who went looking for the hidden treasure. You board your twelve seated steed and get ready for a mix of an Indiana Jones/Conestoga thrill ride. You see the skeletons of the previous team that didn't quite make-it. Why one of them is wearing Mickey Mouse Ears. Your horses enter the castle and all is quiet. Wait...was that a giant eye watching us? You track down the imprisoned villagers and free them. Time to get out. But...look at all of this treasure...a little can't hurt. Ohhhh, yes it can. You can now see it. Towering 50 feet above you is the largest AA ever. and it is upset. Fire pours out of its' jaws. Your group flies out of the suddenly crumbling castle dodging the dragon's tail and claws. Just as you think you found an escape in the dungeon...the great beast is blocking your exit. A quick dash under a collapsing gate and you are free. The villagers and Merlin are ecstatic. Your heroism will be forever remembered.
Wooo...sorry for the long-winded description. This is my favorite idea that WDI has never realized and can't wait for it to finally happen.
From Tim W
Posted February 22, 2009 at 10:26 AM
i really like the sword and the stone themeing raul. narnia and chernabog would also be great for the land. i still feel there needs to be a great dragon coaster despite deuling dragons. the loch ness monster would also be a cool boat ride or show even. They could have a boat ride that focussed on mythical sea creatures like the loch ness monster and the kraken.
From James Rao
Posted February 22, 2009 at 8:09 PM
I am sold, Raul. I already like Animal Kingdom a lot (except for the carnival parts of Dinoland), so your addition would make the park even more of a destination.
One thing: since Disney has decided not to produce/distribute anymore Narnia movies, do they still have rights to make Narnia attractions?
From Raul Araoz
Posted February 22, 2009 at 3:37 PM
Thanks for the compliments. I have become a little obsessed with this land.
As far as Narnia goes, I am sure Disney could make a ride based on the first two films. However, now that 20th Century Fox has gotten the rights for the third film, I am sure Disney could get the rights for an attraction on those as well.
From Tim W
Posted February 22, 2009 at 4:57 PM
they should only foccus on the lion the witch and the wardrobe. that is still the best and most noticeable.
Good call with Night on Bald Mountain. Any other number of famous mythical beings could be used for attractions.
oops... haha.
From Tim W
Posted February 24, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Beastly kingdom was a mythical themed land that was proposed for animal kingdom. it was cut due to budget cuts and is a disney legend and perhaps the greatest never built land in disney history.
From Rob P
Posted February 25, 2009 at 5:13 AM
As Disney owns Miramax let's get real and have an "Apocalypse Now" water ride.
Off we trot in our PR boat ride along the Nung river in Cambodia. No benign animatronic elephants here my friend.
We could have " Men-in-Black / Buzz Lightyear " style weapons and score points when we take out................
Well you said BEASTLY Kingdom not NICELY Kingdom !
I could not respond any better than Raul has, so I'm not going to try! Love the ideas Raul, just remember that AK already has Dinosaur which is already an Indy type attraction. What if you turned it into a spinning dark ride/roller coaster similar to crush's coaster, just a whole lot better? I'm not trying to change your ideas, just putting some more out there!
If only Disney read this website!
Thanks for the complement, Andrew. I actually want it to be a hybrid of Indy and a roller coaster. I don't know if you are aware of the old Conestoga Stakes ride that used to be in Coney Island. Basically, you rode on the back of a fake horse through a hilly coaster. I wanted to update that sort of experience using the Indy technology to make it a sort of coaster through a dragon's den.
Here's a list of "beasts" that could be featured in different rides, and some ideas for ride themes:
Unicorn: European Folklore
Yeti: Asian Myths
Bigfoot: American Folklore
Loch Ness Monster: Undersea Myths
Sea Serpent: Undersea Myths
Atlantis: (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) (20,000 Leagues)
Kraken: Greek Myths
Giant Squid: Undersea Myths (20,000 Leagues)
Giant Whale: Undersea Myths (Pinocchio)
Dragon: European Folklore (Dragonslayer)(Pete's Dragon) (Sleeping Beauty)
Pegasus: Greek Myths (Fantasia)(Hercules)
Fairy: European Folklore (Tinkerbell)(Fantasia)
Ogre: European Folklore (Hercules)
Elf: European Folklore
Giant: Greek Myths (Hercules)
Cyclops: Greek Myths (Hercules)
Gorgon: Greek Myths (Hercules)
Ghost: European Folklore (Haunted Castle ride)
Banshee: European Folklore (Darby O'Gill)
Leprechaun: European Folklore (Darby O'Gill)
Gryphon: European Folklore
Three words: Loch Ness Monster.
From Tim W
Posted March 24, 2009 at 12:08 PM
personally i would love a water ride with the loch ness monster, and then add in some dragons, unicorns, maybe a phoenix or a gryphin, perhaps a fantasia ride and theres beastly kingdomme.
Raul, I want to be the first to enter your land! It sounds great.
I've been missing Alien Encounters; maybe this is the place to put something similar (never minds all the crying kids)? Picture the intensity of AE in a moving dark ride (I prefer water transportation) with hunt for Nessie or some similar creature. Use 3D sound, warm breath on the back of the neck, animatronics that come out of mist, etc. For the finale, the boat is lifted out of the water on the back of one of the creatures as the head whips around and snaps at the people in the boat!
Kids will cry and pant will be wet. My kind of dark ride.
From James Rao
Posted March 28, 2009 at 7:22 PM
Hey, I've dealt with crying kids for the last 11 years....after riding your attraction, Doug, at least they'd be crying for a reason!
I am sold. Someone get John Lasseter on the phone and get WDI building today!
Thank you for the complement and welcome to our humble little site, Doug.
I desperately miss Alien Encounter. It was probably my third favorite attraction at MK after Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion.
Disney management seems to have forgotten that Walt was the man that killed Bambi's mother and that a little fear is not necessarily a bad thing as long as it is done well.
Your idea is terrific and would fit well in a new Sci-Fi themed Tomorrowland.
This would be a great place to have a Sleeping Beauty ride. I love Raul's idea! But how about having Malificent (as the dragon) as an AA through a fast paced roller coaster. As you board the ride you could be in the role as the three good fairies chasing after Prince Phillip and helping hiim get to the castle, where the biggest AA ever is waiting at the end for the final battle. It may be too closely related to Expediton Everest, but hopefully this AA would be in a constant working mode :-)
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