New Project for Dinoland?

[JungleSkip]

Hard disagree

The park was severely underbuilt, and never recovered. It's floundered since opening.

Wait....people don't like Zootopia.

I was pretty sure it was a film that Disney wanted a sequel to.

I would like both (because AK needs more attractions) but no reason to hate on Zootopia

It's getting a sequel, but so is basically everything as Disney scrambles to try to get its movies to start making money again.

I don't think most people *dislike* the movie, but I don't think it's one that is generally beloved by the public at large.

 

[Alicia]

Wait....people don't like Zootopia.

I was pretty sure it was a film that Disney wanted a sequel to.

I would like both (because AK needs more attractions) but no reason to hate on Zootopia

A sequel has been announced.

Blog Mickey appears to have heard that the rumored Zootopia re-theme of the ride will be announced at Destination D23 in September:

DINOSAUR Attraction Continues to Struggle Ahead of Possible Zootopia Retheme at Animal Kingdom

Multiple animatronics are not working at the DINOSAUR attraction months before a possible Zootopia retheme could be announced

blogmickey.com

I can't fully express how opposed I am to that idea.

The park needs more capacity, not new stuff to replace existing stuff, so this is disappointing for that reason especially.

 

[DodgsonHere]

The park was severely underbuilt, and never recovered. It's floundered since opening.

Oh I agree it was underbuilt, but the cohesiveness, thematic integrity, and park-wide moral is still unmatched. And most of the (few) attractions are legitimately pretty great. Zootopia spits in the face of the design philosophy of the park.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

In the off-chance this is one of those on-purpose leaks they use to gauge feedback, I’m gonna add to the “this is a terrible idea” camp. Dinosaur is probably the most underrated ride on property, and its ride system is too intense to get linked up with something like Zootopia—you’re either gonna have a ride that’s dissonant with the property or have to tone down the motion profile to the point of completely wasting the tech. Obviously, everyone’s points about needing extra capacity vs replacements are valid too.

I just want to keep Dinosaur—Dinosaur is lit.

 

[JungleSkip]

Oh I agree it was underbuilt, but the cohesiveness, thematic integrity, and park-wide moral is still unmatched.

None of that matters when there's not enough for people to do and they get bored and leave after a few hours.

And the quickest way for Disney to remedy that is clone a bunch of IP stuff they're sticking elsewhere.

 

[mccgavin]

Animal Kingdom is easily my least favorite of the 4 parks. That being said, every attraction there is of a high quality and I enjoy them all (except maybe Kali River Rapids). The big problem for me is simply a severe lack of attractions and things to do. I think AK has the potential to be fantastic, but replacing attractions instead of adding capacity is not the right move.

 

[DodgsonHere]

None of that matters when there's not enough for people to do and they get bored and leave after a few hours.

And the quickest way for Disney to remedy that is clone a bunch of IP stuff they're sticking elsewhere.

Retheming an existing ride is no additional capacity or attractions though?

 

[Freak]

So let me get this straight: Disney has a brand-new major theme park opening up from them about 10-20 min away from them. They have virtually nothing in the pipeline, at least officially. So their answer to combating Epic Universe is not adding new rides, but replacing one of their beloved rides for an overlay nobody asked for?

Disney is so screwed once EU opens. Yikes. The prices keep going up but the incentives for me to come back are going down. I despise this idea. You need to add not replace.

 

[ReelJustice]

Retheming an existing ride is no additional capacity or attractions though?

The problem is no one rides Dinosaur. In theory, Zootopia will draw 1+ hour wait consistently.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

So let me get this straight: Disney has a brand-new major theme park opening up from them about 10-20 min away from them. They have virtually nothing in the pipeline, at least officially. So their answer to combating Epic Universe is not adding new rides, but replacing one of their beloved rides for an overlay nobody asked for?

Disney is so screwed once EU opens. Yikes. The prices keep going up but the incentives for me to come back are going down. I despise this idea. You need to add not replace.

As bad as this retheme would be, the internet has been saying Universal will hurt Disney for the last decade (with a different spin every year) and it’s never happened. That talking point has just become kind of funny by now. This isn’t really about Epic at all, it’s about a crappy idea that‘s hopefully a red herring or pulled out of nowhere (which seems to happen…a lot?)

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Retheming a ride at Animal Kingdom before adding a new ride is dumb, especially when the park has the same or less things to do than it did when it opened almost 30 YEARS AGO.

Edit: Also AVATAR 2 MADE 2.3 BILLION DOLLARS YOU HAVE A BANSHEE ANIMATRONIC ON TAP. HOW HARD IS IT TO BUILD A CAVE IN THE JUNGLE WITH A QUEUE? IT CAN JUST BE A HIGH CAPACITY MEET-N-GREET! IT CAN COST LESS THAN JOURNEY OF WATER!

 

[Freak]

As bad as this retheme would be, the internet has been saying Universal will hurt Disney for the last decade (with a different spin every year) and it’s never happened. That talking point has just become kind of funny by now. This isn’t really about Epic at all, it’s about a crappy idea that‘s hopefully a red herring or pulled out of nowhere (which seems to happen…a lot?)

To be fair, with all of the price increases, Virtual Queue nonsense, replacing rides instead of building new ones, and almost no new additions on the horizon, I do think this is will be a fair point now that Epic Universe is coming along. No one will be taking about Disney by then. Everyone will be talking about the brand new shiny theme park in Orlando.

But if this happens, that is certainly not going to help.

 

[JungleSkip]

As bad as this retheme would be, the internet has been saying Universal will hurt Disney for the last decade (with a different spin every year) and it’s never happened. That talking point has just become kind of funny by now. This isn’t really about Epic at all, it’s about a crappy idea that‘s hopefully a red herring or pulled out of nowhere (which seems to happen…a lot?)

I mean, Universal is continually taking market share from Disney. I don't think Universal will ever "kill Disney" or whatever, but to say there isn't a consistent shift in the market for the past decade is ridiculous.

Who knows what EU will end up doing in the end, but if I'm looking at EU vs DAK as a guest, the choice is pretty clear there.

Retheming an existing ride is no additional capacity or attractions though?

Allegedly the land will be partioned into Zootopia and Moana, with the Moana stuff adding rides.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Allegedly the land will be partioned into Zootopia and Moana, with the Moana stuff adding rides.

I'm all for the Moana addition. If Moana and Zootopia have to come, then these are my preferred scenarios in order of preference.

1. Moana takes over Dinoland U.SA, and once the new rides are up, the Zootopia retheme begins.
2. Moana and Zootopia are constructed simultaneously.
3. Dinosaur goes down, they take two years to construct Zootopia, then they finally build Moana.
4. Situation 3 and Moana ride is based on the live action remake.

The problem is no one rides Dinosaur. In theory, Zootopia will draw 1+ hour wait consistently.

If Dinosaur is drawing a negligible amount of capacity, even on busy days, them I'm more willing to understand a quick retheme. However, using Zootopia should at least warrant more than a retheme, many some new shops or flat rides around the area, imo.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

but to say there isn't a consistent shift in the market for the past decade is ridiculous.

Oh, good thing that’s not what I said then

Also market share =/= per caps. The theme parks are the only facet of Disney’s business not hurting right now.

 

[SeventyOne]

Wait....people don't like Zootopia.

I was pretty sure it was a film that Disney wanted a sequel to.

I would like both (because AK needs more attractions) but no reason to hate on Zootopia

Walking a careful line here ...

The demographic who tend to post online about theme parks hates Zootopia, for political reasons. (Consciously or subconsciously.) Gen pop seems to love the movie; huge number of costumes at MNSSHP. I'm sure this will move far more merch than non-JP branded generic dinosaur toys -- which actually last time I was in the gift shop, it was wall-to-wall princesses and Buzz Lightyear anyway.

...

I've yet to hear a convincing argument why Moana -- which features a pig and a chicken both domesticated for food -- somehow fits better than a movie that highlights various animals' natural traits (admittedly on a child-friendly superficial level) and goes out of its way to reflect their natural environments. In the real world, bears and panthers don't co-parent human orphans, and orangutans aren't even native to India, but I never see objections to Jungle Book in the park.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Serious doubt dot gif about the popularity of Zootopia in 2023 in the USA.

 

[ReelJustice]

Serious doubt dot gif about the popularity of Zootopia in 2023 in the USA.

It’s more popular than DINOSAUR

 

[JungleSkip]

It’s more popular than DINOSAUR

If the ride had anything more than a tertiary connection with the movie I'd say you have a point. But there's no way Zootopia is more popular than Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are in like the top 5 things kids love. Disney just doesn't realize the answer to revitalizing that area of the park is to make family friendly Dinosaur attractions instead of some warmed over IP.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

If the ride had anything more than a tertiary connection with the movie I'd say you have a point. But there's no way Zootopia is more popular than Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are in like the top 5 things kids love. Disney just doesn't realize the answer to revitalizing that area of the park is to make family friendly Dinosaur attractions instead of some warmed over IP.

The fact Disney cant figure out a way to make dinosaurs, something kids consistently flip out about for decades, is deeply embarrassing. Like “can’t sell water to the parched” level of farce.