New Project for Dinoland?

[Nick]

Well according to an insider on WDWMagic this concept is very close to being green lit. They are looking at a potential 2025 opening date.

I know the majority of people on here won’t believe it but it’s interesting that’s the same year EU is debuting. The Zootopia rumors are years old so I don’t think that’s just a blue sky idea.

Who was it that said that over on Magic? I have a select few I trust there and then there's a bunch of people who pose as insiders but really know nothing.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

lets play a game. Who will be more insufferable? Epcot purists or DAK purists. it is just a theme park. Disney does what Disney does and everyone complains. But you all still go and give Chapek money.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Dinosaur is a cool ride but.....the land when i went was...just so meh.

I'd want to see more of what they want to do but I'm very much down for a change over what is there now

 

[Nick]

lets play a game. Who will be more insufferable? Epcot purists or DAK purists. it is just a theme park. Disney does what Disney does and everyone complains. But you all still go and give Chapek money.

Disney is gonna do what they're gonna do. That doesn't mean we can't voice our displeasure if we don't agree with the direction they are taking the parks.

Dinosaur is a cool ride but.....the land when i went was...just so meh.

I'd want to see more of what they want to do but I'm very much down for a change over what is there now

I have to say based on what I see, this would not get me to visit DAK any more than I currently do (1 time in the past few years). The reason for that? This is all a retheme as it looks with one new ride, although it looks very Splash Mountain-y if you ask me.

I don't see a retheme of Dinosaur to Zootopia and a retheme of Chester & Hester to Moana getting me to care about DAK all that much more about the park than I do today given it's mostly the same stuff.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Disney is gonna do what they're gonna do. That doesn't mean we can't voice our displeasure if we don't agree with the direction they are taking the parks.


I have to say based on what I see, this would not get me to visit DAK any more than I currently do (1 time in the past few years). The reason for that? This is all a retheme as it looks with one new ride, although it looks very Splash Mountain-y if you ask me.

I don't see a retheme of Dinosaur to Zootopia and a retheme of Chester & Hester to Moana getting me to care about DAK all that much more about the park than I do today given it's mostly the same stuff.

I mean, I said the same thing about Cars land.....doesn't matter if we dont like every theme. Most people love both the films that could be coming to this land and if the ride is an E ticket then could still work. I hope it has more then one ride but we will see.....I dont have much hope with the current CEO but like Bugsland, they see an area being under visited and want to put newer Hot Ips to fill the same space

 

[Nick]

I mean, I said the same thing about Cars land.....doesn't matter if we dont like every theme. Most people love both the films that could be coming to this land and if the ride is an E ticket then could still work. I hope it has more then one ride but we will see.....I dont have much hope with the current CEO but like Bugsland, they see an area being under visited and want to put newer Hot Ips to fill the same space

I have no problem with them wanting to change up Dinoland. But what we are looking at is literally a fairly cheap overlay and beautification project.

I want to be clear that the land needs beautification and if this is what they are serving us i'll have to live with it, but I can't find room for myself to get too excited over this project. Part of that is probably because the new ride is a water ride which just means I won't be riding it often and a retheme of Dinosaur to Zootopia, while I suppose it could be interesting, the park needs MORE RIDES, not just overlays, which is my issue here.

If this happens the park will have the same amount of rides in, lets say 2026/27 (if this happens), as it did in 2017 when Pandora opened (9 rides, which includes the wildlife express train) and the park will be coming off of it's first influx of cash in quite awhile.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I have no problem with them wanting to change up Dinoland. But what we are looking at is literally a fairly cheap overlay and beautification project.

I want to be clear that the land needs beautification and if this is what they are serving us i'll have to live with it, but I can't find room for myself to get too excited over this project. Part of that is probably because the new ride is a water ride which just means I won't be riding it often and a retheme of Dinosaur to Zootopia, while I suppose it could be interesting, the park needs MORE RIDES, not just overlays, which is my issue here.

If this happens the park will have the same amount of rides in, lets say 2026/27 (if this happens), as it did in 2017 when Pandora opened (9 rides, which includes the wildlife express train).

I agree the park need's more rides, and while I have little faith in the CEO. We have nooooooo real idea what is going here besides theme right now

They for some reason decided to just talk about this Blue Sky idea.....unless they want feedback not really sure what the point of announcing it now really does since nothing is close to final

 

[OrlLover]

I have no problem with them wanting to change up Dinoland. But what we are looking at is literally a fairly cheap overlay and beautification project.

I want to be clear that the land needs beautification and if this is what they are serving us i'll have to live with it, but I can't find room for myself to get too excited over this project. Part of that is probably because the new ride is a water ride which just means I won't be riding it often and a retheme of Dinosaur to Zootopia, while I suppose it could be interesting, the park needs MORE RIDES, not just overlays, which is my issue here.

If this happens the park will have the same amount of rides in, lets say 2026/27 (if this happens), as it did in 2017 when Pandora opened (9 rides, which includes the wildlife express train) and the park will be coming off of it's first influx of cash in quite awhile.

The same insider claimed the Moana area would be Oceania themed and contain some small exhibit’s with animals from that region of the world.

 

[shiekra38]

They for some reason decided to just talk about this Blue Sky idea.....unless they want feedback not really sure what the point of announcing it now really does since nothing is close to final

Disney are master hype builders...particularly with its core fan base

Josh Dinorama or whatever was being extremely open and candid about what they were doing, which is unusual,

typically they are way more controlled at announcing things that will never happen

The whole thing has such a delirious nervousness to it

However, judging by the applause, it still worked

 

[belloq87]

If Zootopia were being eyed for the Asia expansion plot(s), I'd feel much better. I still wouldn't like the fit, and I'd still think it belongs in Hollywood Studios, but it would be adding significant new capacity to the park. The current plan (to the extent it even really is a plan at this point) won't do that.

What it will do, though, is remove the representation for extinct animals in the park. And not just any extinct animals, but dinosaurs, which will never not be fascinating to most kids (and many adults!).

That's not acceptable.

it is just a theme park.

This is a very interesting line of defense for weakening the theme of the park!

That doesn't mean we can't voice our displeasure if we don't agree with the direction they are taking the parks.

The argument that any criticism of approach means that I have to decide to never visit WDW again (purely as an act of personal protest that will in no way impact the company) is quite tedious to me.

 

[Nick]

Blog Mickey has a good overlay of the concept art for Moana/Zootopia labeling what is currently where to help visualize it better if you aren't exactly sure what you're looking at. This helps drive home my point I keep bringing up that this project would mostly just be one new ride (albeit a replacement for one they already demolished) and a retheme of the rest of DinoLand.

It's also notable that almost the entire concept art (as currently presented) is Moana dominant. Everything pretty much looks like Moana aesthetically in this piece of art that I actually have a little less of a problem with Zootopia (at the moment) if it's minimally represented mostly only in the Gift Shop and as an overlay of Dinosaur.

I do feel like if this is happening, we probably get a confirmation sooner than later given that Primeval Whirl is already cleared and DAK is desperate for investment. I'm thinking as soon as Destination D next year.

 

[SkiBum]

Blog Mickey has a good overlay of the concept art for Moana/Zootopia labeling what is currently where to help visualize it better if you aren't exactly sure what you're looking at. This helps drive home my point I keep bringing up that this project would mostly just be one new ride (albeit a replacement for one they already demolished) and a retheme of the rest of DinoLand.

It's also notable that almost the entire concept art (as currently presented) is Moana dominant. Everything pretty much looks like Moana aesthetically in this piece of art that I actually have a little less of a problem with Zootopia (at the moment) if it's minimally represented mostly only in the Gift Shop and as an overlay of Dinosaur.

I do feel like if this is happening, we probably get a confirmation sooner than later given that Primeval Whirl is already cleared and DAK is desperate for investment. I'm thinking as soon as Destination D next year.

I would be fine with this as long as Dinosaur stays. Personally, I have felt that they could add an Australia ride using EV's that look like jeeps that go through the various environments found therein. Maybe even a simulator/Soarin' style ride focused on the Great Barrier Reef. Not too hard to envision some of this but none of it would have an IP attached and thus probably not on the horizon.

 

[belloq87]

I'm fine with the Moana area.

Keep Dinosaur. Put Zootopia (if we must have it) on a proper expansion plot somewhere else.

 

[Disneyhead]

Why is no one talking about how freakin' awesome a Moana attraction utilizing the Shanghai POTC ride system could be?

And since they seem intent on shoving animals in pants in DAK, just go ahead and give me a Flash's Taxi Service launched family coaster.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Honestly shocked it's not an Excavator-themed version of Slinky Dog/Hagrid - unthemed supports with lush jungle environments and just a bit of rockwork could have worked... and I would have been fine with it.

 

[SkiBum]

Why is no one talking about how freakin' awesome a Moana attraction utilizing the Shanghai POTC ride system could be?

And since they seem intent on shoving animals in pants in DAK, just go ahead and give me a Flash's Taxi Service launched family coaster.

Actually, I do think that a Moana boat ride could be truly awesome. It doesn't need a big drop, although a small drop could be fun. If they do it right, it would truly be a great dark ride in a park that desperately needs several.

 

[tielo]

Imagineering: Hey Bobby baby, we have a new idea for a retheme of DinoLand USA!
Bob: How much is it going to cost?
Imagineering: That is the beauty of it, it doesn't cost anything! Look here is the concept art, Josh loves it.
Bob: Cost?
Imagineering: Bobby baby look this is Moana...
Bob: Mowatha?
Imagineering: Moana, it's an animated movie we made $643M, look the Dombo thingy gets a wood overlay as it is nature and water to make it watery.
Bob: Mobaba is water right?
Imagineering: Sure, and where the carnival coasters where we put a small logflume water ride.
Bob: I get it, water and stuff. Will there be animal habitats, you know the one with the long earlobe was going on about that all the time.
Imagineering: Bobby, trust me, no animals. Maybe a statue.
Bob: Don't people like the current thing we have there, we explained that parking lot cost a ton to look so shabby, didn't they buy that?
Imagineering: You holy marble headness, they love it, that is the thing, we are going to sell pieces of the parking lot.
Bob: Are the moneybags going to go for that?
Imagineering: Do we sell the worst pizza in the world with a 300% profit marge at Rizzo?
Bob: We do...and that?
Imagineering: Zootopia, a bit more than $1B.
Bob: I like that but earlobe guy was all about "this is not a zoo Bob."
Imagineering: You fired him sir.
Bob: Oh yeah I did, that was a great day, so that Jurassic Park thing is going to be a Zoo and that it's grazing place, pizza?
Imagineering: No thank you, oh you mean are we going to sell there rat pizza, sure!
Bob: Again, person I don't know, how much?
Imagineering: My name is John, I live in the green car on the parking lot at Walmart on I192.
Bob: Do I look if I care. Cost?
Imagineering: We gone earn $500M. We close the whole area, so no operational costs for 8 years!
Bob: 8 years, but that is a big stress on the other rides. Guests wait forever.
Imagineering: We have the upcharge thing, sir.
Bob: We do, great.
Imagineering: And sell the parking lot for $35 a piece.
Bob: It will be a great answer to Epic Universe, great, do it.

 

[GA-MBIT]

It would be such an incredible shame to lose both an existing and great dark ride in a park on the whole lacking attractions, and losing all representation of Dinosaurs as a branch of the animal world. Dinosaurs are incredibly cool, and even if you want to cede that ground to IoA (I understand that urge, 2022 JP with Velocicoaster compared to 2022 DinoLand is a sad sight) at least keep the Dino Institute which is already relatively tucked away in a corner.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I'm hopeful that if Zootopia is planned as a phase 2 - it'll never happen as I would assume a refurbishment is cheaper than a new ride.

 

[Nick]

So this project is supposedly currently on track for 2025 while the MK project has no timeline and is in early blue sky. If they want it for 2025, i'm not expecting it until at least 2026/27 given usual Disney timelines.

I'm hopeful that if Zootopia is planned as a phase 2 - it'll never happen as I would assume a refurbishment is cheaper than a new ride.

Moana is the only new ride I see in there that’s definitely new though. Zootopia could easily just be a retheme of what currently exists in the Dinosaur ride building and not a 100% new ride.

So by your logic, I think Zootopia and the Moana spinner are most likely to happen first.

However, new rides are actually sometimes cheaper in the end. Once they start digging around in the Dinosaur show building, they could find there’s a lot more unexpected things that need to be addressed (and some things they do plan for such as adding queue space for the increased demand).

With a brand new ride, you don’t really need to worry about the unexpected things hiking up the budget as much. For example, GotG cost more than Ratatouille by far.