UP! A Great Bird Adventure

[Alicia]

Off-topic, but it's interesting that there's very, very little dinosaur representation on that 20th merch...

On-topic, I'm curious to see exactly what they're doing to that theater.

Primeval Whirl of all things is mentioned on the merch with names and phrases on it, but you're right, doesn't seem to be any dinosaur animal shapes on any of it.. Yet Pandora mountains and banshees got a lot of representation.

My guess is there will be a big colorful sign over the entrance to the theater featuring models of birds and the characters from UP so people notice it and wanna come in. Something the old shows there were lacking to draw in guests.

Something like this perhaps (except with birds and UP characters):


I'm not expecting much to be different inside the theater, just upgraded and renovated.

 

[belloq87]

I just hope whatever they're doing, aesthetically, isn't too jarring or out of place for the area.

 

[Scott W.]

Rehearsals for New UP!-Themed Show Begin at Disney's Animal Kingdom

 

[Nick]

Theming elements almost finished being added to the theater. Only the entryway is still being worked on. Also, FP+ will now be an option for this show (it wasn't for Flights of Wonder).

It's a huge improvement from what it looked like beforehand... which isn't that high of a bar:

PHOTOS: Caravan Theater Refurbishment for 'UP! A Great Bird Adventure' - Blog Mickey

 

[belloq87]

Videos of the new show are surfacing...

... and it is not particularly great in its current form. To me, it feels like they over-thought it: our initial host is way too much of a “character,” Dug and Russell are mostly superfluous distractions (do we really need FOUR major players involved in this?), and it is littered with awkwardness (though possibly some of that could be fixed by some tightening of the pacing).

There’s also the reality/illusion-shattering thing of costumed cartoon characters (one human, one animal) sharing the stage with real humans and real animals, and it’s just a strange combo. It feels weird.

Overall, it’s more Disneyfied - and skews towards a younger audience - than Flights of Wonder, which felt like much more of an all-ages-accessible show.

I will give them credit for tying the show into Asia in a very strong way, and it’s hard to go wrong with the bird gags, so - once reliable - those elements should be just fine. Not a bad musical score, either.

If there’s a silver lining, it would be that they presented a bit of a spiel at the beginning basically saying that it’s a bit of a work-in-progress and that they’ll be gathering feedback from guests. Perhaps a few positive changes will be implemented.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah I imagine it'll be tweaked. Live performances usually rely on preview showings for this reason alone.

 

[belloq87]

Yeah I imagine it'll be tweaked. Live performances usually rely on preview showings for this reason alone.

There's only so much they could change because the meat of the show is what it is, but I really think losing several minutes would, alone, greatly improve the show.

 

[Nick]

Here's Blog Mickey's video of the new show:

 

[Alicia]

Signage looks good! Cartoon characters, color, in theme for Asia. I like it.

 

[Nick]

Signage looks good! Cartoon characters, color, in theme for Asia. I like it.

The design of the theatre’s facade slightly reminds me of the Moroccan Palace Theater at BGT.

 

[belloq87]

Sign looks nice!

Now if they can just rework the show itself...

 

[Jones14]

I haven’t watched videos because we’re local and will probably see it within a few months, but I’m wondering if the hope was to alleviate the continued complaints about DAK failing to be child-friendly.

For the record, I disagree with that sentiment, but I understand that that’s pretty much the last group left for the park to win over.

 

[Alicia]

I haven’t watched videos because we’re local and will probably see it within a few months, but I’m wondering if the hope was to alleviate the continued complaints about DAK failing to be child-friendly.

For the record, I disagree with that sentiment, but I understand that that’s pretty much the last group left for the park to win over.

Yea, I am not opposed to them adding characters to an animal show, if that means more people will see it. Flights of Wonder had great animal interactions and was interesting because of the animals in it, not because of the silly storyline... So I am open to them changing it up every 10 years or so. Plus, now they get to pretend it's a new attraction!

 

[Teebin]

There seemed to be fewer birds this go around...

 

[Alicia]

There seemed to be fewer birds this go around...

Boooo!

I'm heading there Wednesday to film the show. I filmed Flights of Wonder last year, well before it was announced it was going away, but never did anything with the footage. I plan to upload them together on YouTube this week, so it'll be real easy to see what differences there are in species!

 

[UNIrd]

I haven’t watched videos because we’re local and will probably see it within a few months, but I’m wondering if the hope was to alleviate the continued complaints about DAK failing to be child-friendly.

For the record, I disagree with that sentiment, but I understand that that’s pretty much the last group left for the park to win over.

You're not wrong. I was helping my friend plan a day there for their 2 and 4-year-old. And I was warned that the 4yo is a little sensitive. So I advised against It's Tough To Be a Bug because kids always come out crying out of that.. they're too small for Everest.. Dinosaur is all in the dark and can be terrifying.. too small for Primeval Whirl... they can do the Safari and the dino spinner?

 

[Alicia]

You're not wrong. I was helping my friend plan a day there for their 2 and 4-year-old. And I was warned that the 4yo is a little sensitive. So I advised against It's Tough To Be a Bug because kids always come out crying out of that.. they're too small for Everest.. Dinosaur is all in the dark and can be terrifying.. too small for Primeval Whirl... they can do the Safari and the dino spinner?

I totally get that, but I find that the animal trails are awesome with little kids. They love animals, especially the bats and meerkats! Plus, the Boneyard and especially the dig site is good for kids too. I'd say Navi River Journey, but that can scare little ones for sure (although nothing is scarier than Tough to be a Bug, that's terrifying no matter your age.)

 

[UNIrd]

I totally get that, but I find that the animal trails are awesome with little kids. They love animals, especially the bats and meerkats! Plus, the Boneyard and especially the dig site is good for kids too. I'd say Navi River Journey, but that can scare little ones for sure (although nothing is scarier than Tough to be a Bug, that's terrifying no matter your age.)

I don't think the River Journey is scary at all.. just that nobody wants to wait 90 minutes for it with or without little kids.

 

[Nick]

I totally get that, but I find that the animal trails are awesome with little kids. They love animals, especially the bats and meerkats! Plus, the Boneyard and especially the dig site is good for kids too. I'd say Navi River Journey, but that can scare little ones for sure (although nothing is scarier than Tough to be a Bug, that's terrifying no matter your age.)

What’s scary about NRJ? It’s a very serene boat ride. I get that there’s the Viperwolf, but not only is it a projection, it’s rather far away from you.

 

[Alicia]

What’s scary about NRJ? It’s a very serene boat ride. I get that there’s the Viperwolf, but not only is it a projection, it’s rather far away from you.

Sometimes 9 foot tall blue people are scary.

Actually just being in a dark space can be scary for little kids. Depends on the kid.