A 5th Disney World Theme Park?!

[Marshypooh]

I, too, would love to see more animal habitat trails at AK.

 

[ChrisFL]

Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Primeval Whirl, TriceraTop Spin, Wildlife Express Train to Conservation Station, Finding Nemo - The Musical, Festival of the Lion King, Flights of Wonder, Maharajah Jungle Trek, and Pangani Forest Exploration Trail (to name just some of the other attractions, shows, and animal habitats) all don't count?

I wouldn't call Primeval Whirl or Triceratops Spin quality Disney attrations. Im not into shows, so no go for the Nemo or Lion King. Let's face it, besides Dinosaur, AK has zero dark rides of any kind and that's one of the biggest things Disney has always been known for.

 

[dronein7g]

I wouldn't call Primeval Whirl or Triceratops Spin quality Disney attrations. Im not into shows, so no go for the Nemo or Lion King. Let's face it, besides Dinosaur, AK has zero dark rides of any kind and that's one of the biggest things Disney has always been known for.

thank you :-D We may not need character rides but we need more QUALITY rides at AK

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I wouldn't call Primeval Whirl or Triceratops Spin quality Disney attrations. Im not into shows, so no go for the Nemo or Lion King. Let's face it, besides Dinosaur, AK has zero dark rides of any kind and that's one of the biggest things Disney has always been known for.

I'm not a fan of Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin either. My point was only that Disney's Animal Kingdom has more than three attractions. Even Kilimanjaro Safaris was missing!

You may not enjoy Finding Nemo or the Festival of the Lion King, but many people do. In fact, these two shows are big crowd-pleasers.

As lead designer of Disney's Animal Kingdom, Imagineer Joe Rohde has repeatedly proven that he can deliver great results when he and his staff get the budget to do so. However, Rohde is ultimately dependent on executives who control the purse strings.

Yes, Disney's Animal Kingdom needs more attractions. But it doesn't need Fantasyland attractions in Harambe Village or the Village of Anandapur.

The focus needs to be on real, imaginary, and extinct animals. That was the original concept, and it's still a good concept. Yes, Disney characters can sometimes help tell the story -- but only when it's appropriate.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Duplicate post removed.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Really AK? If you look at a park map - MGM is the park with the fewest attractions. That park desperately needs some major help.

I think they would do well to beef up MGM, AK and Epcot in that order - so that each has MORE rides than MK. MK will always be the main draw due to sentiment, therefore the other parks should have more attractions to balance interest.

I also think the idea of another Boardwalk/DTD kind of area is in order. Something with no entrance fee, but a place to spread more folks for dining and shopping. Give folks a reason to hang near their resort (not just in a park) and spend money - but ALSO a place locals can go.

 

[onetoescape]

I agree about MGM needing rides the most. For me anyway i(t will be different this trip because this will be the first one with the kids) after Star Tours, RnR and ToT there isnt any what I would count as big rides.

Believe it or not the Park I am most looking forward going to is the AK. There seems to be a nice variety there for everyone.

 

[MJMcBride]

Hey! Bite your tongue! We want another one.........

I'm sure, but you'll never get one

 

[mattsdragon]

As for improvements to the current parks. . .

In EPCOT, do something with Wonders of Life, and expand the WS lagoon to its original design.

AK, scrap Camp Minnie Mickey, what a wasted space. Add either Australia or S. America.

MGM, change Indiana Jones to a thrill ride.

 

[dronein7g]

I like the indy idea! Maybe even a water ride at MGM all the other parks have at least one

 

[SpaceRangerEric]

I think if they keep building hotels and adding DVC's and Four Season's etc. they will need more parks to put all of the extra people. If not I am afraid everyday will be unbearable in the existing parks.

An increase in price would fix that problem.

I would just like to see them expand the existing parks.

 

[Disneydd2]

definitely an indy thrill ride. and aren't they adding the toy story mania to mgm, i mean dis' hollywood studios (it's gonna take some time to get use to the name change). i've got big hopes for toy story mania.

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

As for improvements to the current parks. . .

In EPCOT, do something with Wonders of Life, and expand the WS lagoon to its original design.

AK, scrap Camp Minnie Mickey, what a wasted space. Add either Australia or S. America.

MGM, change Indiana Jones to a thrill ride.

I'll second those motions!

 

[jasonbogen]

My take on some of the suggestions here and my own twists:

5th gate is definitely last priority, but it will come eventually, my favorite idea is the Disney's Heroes vs Villains with Disney Seas as close runner up. Personally though I think they should concentrate on another gate at Disneyland Resort before WDW (clearly not before DCA rehab is finished). Back to DHV...They have so many Heroes vs Villains stories that the material to choose from would be endless. I don't see how anyone could think capitalizing off the Disney characters could be bad. There should be a number of higher intensity thrill rides, but the park should not consist solely of them. They also don't have to scare families away. It could be somewhat like a Magic Kingdom experience for older families and adults. You would still have stuff for the little ones to join the family on, but you may spend 3-4 of your 7 day trip to WDW at the MK when your 3 kids are 1,4 and 6, but 10 years later when they are 11, 14 and 16, the MK isn't going to cut it for more than a day so you take them of site to Universal. That's no good for Disney. I don't have time to come up with the themes or expand on the rides here. Get a Fantasia water ride, a Monsters Inc floorless roller coaster riding the doors through the scare floor backstage chased by Randall, the Aladin magic carpet coaster, Pocahontas rapids chase, Little Mermaid water ride, Fantasmic...the ride, Buzz vs Zurg ride, National Treasure themed ride in vein of the DL Indiana Jones ride, a more updated and thrilling Pirates ride...I could go on and on, but I am at work. Anyway, I do think that the existing parks need to be updated and expanded first. In fact if each was expanded significantly (ie another themed area added), you could probably do without another gate (although I do like the idea of an "older" MK). I agree that the order should be the Studios, AK, Epcot, then MK. Some of the suggestions I think are no-brainers: Studios- add Indiana Jones ride, improve Great Movie Ride, more dark rides through Disney movie situations. AK- improve the traffic, can't believe how cramped Disney's largest park is. Add another land, the original idea of mythical creatures is fantastic IMO, but certainly Australia/New Zealand or South America would have plenty of potential for animal/habitat themes (South American scenes would probably too similar to Africa and Asia so I would go with Oz). Get more rides in there and keep the park open later, minus the safari. Since this is becoming a novel I will leave out specific ride ideas here. Epcot- I don't think it would be realistic, but I love the Westcot idea of having a boat ride through all countries with audio-animated historical scenes where you could get off at each country if you want. There should be more rides, tourist videos are not enough. I love the World Showcase, but I think the average visitor does not find this a highly repeatable experience, especially with kids. Dragon coaster in China, Higher tech "Peter Pan" like flight over Paris, dark ride through the history of the UK or Germany highlighting medieval and renaissance periods to throw out a few ideas. I'll leave it at the World Showcase for now. MK- I think they don't need much other than an occasional update. Another big ride would be nice, (love that Bald Mountain idea for the grotto, but since nobody has probably even gotten this far in my post I won't waste any good ideas here ;-). Other than that a great idea that I read here that I have really been wanting is more resort areas like the Boardwalk. It seems like such a no-brainer to have an entertainment area with several resorts and easy access to a park. Heaven forbid they connect anything other than a deluxe resort to it, but that would be REALLY nice. I would suggest they do this near the Animal Kingdom then plan another park over there. How about the space between AK, Coronado and Blizzard Beach. Connect all three to this area, put in another entertainment district and a few more resorts then add the 5th gate in the northern area (either moving Western Way or putting the gate to the north of it. This would draw more people to that area (they could charge more for AK lodge (hey Disney, the deluxe amenities are nice, but we are really paying for the convenience...AK lodge is too far away from everything else that's why you are barely getting more than a moderate price). Oh what fun, my dream job to be an imagineer . I could go into so much more detail, but if I don't get back to work I am going to have to call Disney and try to get them to hire me.

 

[todd222222]

This article on fool.com states a 5th park has been announced (which we know isn't true, but maybe something has been linked to them)....Pete makes some comments about this article in today's Dis Unplugged podcast.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/01/31/disney-in-2010.aspx

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

This article on fool.com states a 5th park has been announced (which we know isn't true, but maybe something has been linked to them)....Pete makes some comments about this article in today's Dis Unplugged podcast.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/01/31/disney-in-2010.aspx

Wrong!

The fool.com article is a fictional projection of how things might be in 2010. That's all it is.

The article does not state that "a 5th park has been announced" as of February 2008 -- just that the author is guessing that might happen between now and some time in 2010.

 

[todd222222]

ok interesting...I see your point and completely missed the point of the article.....

 

[fan of the TTA]

I'll second those motions!

hmmm, yeah, but i do like the stunt show at MGM. would go for the scraping of that wasted space in animal kingdom....in fact, is anything actually there?

 

[SandraVB79]

I love the AK! Last vacation, we spent two full days there (ok, from opening till closing) and didn't get to experience everything (I admit, I "walked" with the pace of a snail, but still).
Someone here said that he/ she didn't care for shows and therefore didn't count Nemo and the Lion King. Well, I can assure you many other people do like those shows, and they should be taken into consideration when "counting" the AK attractions.
Adding Australia/ New Zealand would be way cool: they do have interesting animals there (kangooroos, koalas, ...), who should be able to live in Florida (I think a kangooroo is more used to the heat than a polar bear...). An additional attraction next to a trail or safari or so could be a Soarin-kind of ride over Australia. Didn't the Rescuers go down under on the back of some bird?
Nemo is already the first step towards Australia. And yes, they could use WDS' Crush' Coaster to get you in Australia (that ride is scary, OMG!).

At MGM or however it is called now, a new POTC could be created: POTC-the movie ride. In those three movies, there were more than enough scenes that can inspire some wild ride. Just think about the battle between the two ships during the storm in the 3rd movie!
Or maybe a "Villains"-part in the park? Or a special Villains party at night?

Last but not least, everyone always raves about Epcot. I don't get that park. One part is "the future", but there is not much futuristic about it (and they certainly didn't envision neches and shade in teh future!), the other part are countries... I can imagine those are "cool" for people who never go really visit other countries. I have visited most of them in real, so ... they didn't really attract me. Now, if more countries would have rides or real attractions, I could think differently about it.

 

[DancingBear]

Last but not least, everyone always raves about Epcot. I don't get that park. One part is "the future", but there is not much futuristic about it ....

That, sadly, is the product of mismanagement. Disney has thrown the theme of future world completely out the window.