New Roller Coaster at AK

[dseth]

Talked to a bus driver taking us from AK to AKL and she mentioned a new roller coaster being put in AK. It will be called Mufasa's Revenge. Anyone else hear this before now??

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Well the bus drivers are well known for being able to disseminate infrmation about upcoming attractions, and about as accurate as Jungle Cruise Captains.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Talked to a bus driver taking us from AK to AKL and she mentioned a new roller coaster being put in AK. It will be called Mufasa's Revenge. Anyone else hear this before now??

Thank you for posting this rumor. Seriously. What I'm about to write is a comment about some bus drivers, not a criticism that the rumor was posted on this board.

Nope. I hadn't heard this before.

While anything's possible, keep in mind that bus drivers don't have a good track record for accurate predictions of future attractions. Sometimes I think that a few drivers make it a game to see what kinds of rumors they can start and how long it takes those rumors to hit the Internet.

Now, every rumor deserves a sanity check. Here's my attempt to dissect this rumor...

Disney's Animal Kingdom could use more attractions, and roller coasters provide a relatively easy way of assuring a popular, repeatable ride. With another roller coaster (joining Everest), Animal Kingdom would become more of a destination for roller coaster fans. I would not be surprised if Disney Parks & Resorts management eventually approves another coster for Animal Kingdom.

The name Mufasa's Revenge doesn't sound like something the Imagineers would come up with.

A Lion King character-themed coaster would be a terrible addition to the Africa section, which tries very hard to immerse guests in an African village on the outskirts of a wildlife preserve (and succeeds in doing so). Any kind of roller coaster in Africa would contradict the theme, even though the Lion King takes place in Africa.

A Lion King character-themed coaster could work in what's now Camp Minnie-Mickey. With the closing of Pocahontas, the only attraction there is the Festival of the Lion King. The entire "land" could be themed to the Lion King.

Personally, I would prefer more live animal environments at Animal Kingdom. I'd like to see any new attractions leverage the fascination with animals that most humans of all ages have, not the quest for thrills that appeals to a limited (but loyal) segment of the market.

 

[CoolTrainerTerry]

Well, Mufasa's Revenge wouldn't be right since Mufasa was a hero. Scar's Revenge, however, sounds rather appealing.

 

[ChrisFL]

Well you know Imagineering's closest partners are the bus drivers, I mean I'm sure that's the best way to get up to the top ranks of Imagineering, by starting as a bus driver

 

[minnie61650]

There is a strong rumor that lots of dirt is going to pushed around AK by this spring for a new attraction or maybe even a new land. I have not yet heard about any details.

Take the rumor for what it is.......... (A rumor).

As with all things Disney..........Time will tell.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Another roller coaster at Animal Kingdom? How sad that would be. Disney just going to give up on the theme and continuity of another park like they did with EPCOT and The Studios. I know AK has been less popular and a disappointment to many but is it really the theme that's at fault?

 

[minnie61650]

Another roller coaster at Animal Kingdom? How sad that would be. Disney just going to give up on the theme and continuity of another park like they did with EPCOT and The Studios. I know AK has been less popular and a disappointment to many but is it really the theme that's at fault?

Not saying they will add another coaster to AK but depending on the theme another coaster could fit in with an AK theme.

Take for example the Dragon Tower (a type of Coaster) which was supposed be in a land of mythical animals called Beastlie Kingdome.

In an article I read by Paul Torrigino, contributing writer (introduction by Mark Goldhaber)
Paul tells about how he worked on a project for the Animal kingdom.
He spent 2 years helping to plan the Dragon Tower ride. (a thrill ride)
It was going to be a suspended coaster ride inside a castle complete with bats and a dragon.

There was going to be a restaurant on a little lake with mythical sea creatures.
The Loch Ness monster was going to appear every so often. Bubbling would start up in the lake and then the monster would slowly appear.
Sounds so cool.
They were also going to have, Fantasia Gardens, a bridge called "Billy Goat Bridge",a Unicorn Maze, a Mother Goose's shop, etc., that all over the land.

He said, "I remember after they shelved it, I watched the guys crate up all the pieces, very sad. They probably still have it all in a warehouse somewhere."

I for one am still hoping they get some those concepts out of the warehouse and build BK.

-----------------------------------

One of the lands at AK was supposed to be Beastlie Kingdomme. Because of budget cuts (Ei$ner) Disney delayed the building of Beastly Kingdomme and built Camp Mickey and Minnie and put the show Lion King in that area to keep the area ready for Beastlie Kingdom.

After Ei$ner nixed the plan for Beastlie Kingdom a lot of Imagineers lost heart and some went to work for Universal. They designed Dueling Dragons for IOA.

Here is an article about some Disney attractions that were designed but never built. The Dragon Tower attraction was originally slated for Beastlie Kingdomme land planned for Disney's Animal Kingdom park in Florida. This article gives one a virtual walk-through of Beastlie Kingdomme and the ride Dragon Tower.
http://www.mouseplanet.com/mark/mg041027.htm

 

[Condorman]

Of all the proposed Imagineering projects over the years, Beastlie Kingdomme is the second greatest loss perhaps only after Disney's America. (I was never really into Wescot or the DisneySea they wanted to put in Long Beach.)

Although they could easily transplant the Lion King show to Africa (where it belongs) and install the mythical land where it was always meant to go, I don't have high hopes this will ever happen. It is easily a $500 million + investment. In a way, I believe that's why they did Everest with the mythical Yeti, so as to disseminate the mythical creatures throughout AK rather than dedicate a single area for them.

That said, a new land (and not a Jungle Trek night kingdom) is exactly what AK needs to go from being a half-day park to a one-day park. And there's no reason why they couldn't still build the Reign of Fire dragon coaster, despite what USO did with the Dueling Dragons. That Imagineer is right: It's all there, sitting in a warehouse like at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, in crates, dioramas and blueprints of the Beastlie Kingdomme. And somebody has the key.

 

[MJMcBride]

Bus drivers are often so off base I wonder if many of them just like to throw stuff out there to see if they wind up on internet sites

 

[ChrisFL]

-----------------------------------

One of the lands at AK was supposed to be Beastlie Kingdomme. Because of budget cuts (Ei$ner) Disney delayed the building of Beastly Kingdomme and built Camp Mickey and Minnie and put the show Lion King in that area to keep the area ready for Beastlie Kingdom.

After Ei$ner nixed the plan for Beastlie Kingdom a lot of Imagineers lost heart and some went to work for Universal. They designed Dueling Dragons for IOA.

Here is an article about some Disney attractions that were designed but never built. The Dragon Tower attraction was originally slated for Beastlie Kingdomme land planned for Disney's Animal Kingdom park in Florida. This article gives one a virtual walk-through of Beastlie Kingdomme and the ride Dragon Tower.
http://www.mouseplanet.com/mark/mg041027.htm

I was just thinking of an interesting development now that it appears that USO will no longer have anything Dragon themed, the STATUES ARE GONE!!!

So while I try to cope with this travesty (I loved those statues) I'm trying to decide if Disney would want to go ahead with their dragon ride which honestly would have been interesting, possibly better than Dueling Dragons past the amazing entrance queue at least.

 

[Condorman]

I was just thinking of an interesting development now that it appears that USO will no longer have anything Dragon themed, the STATUES ARE GONE!!!

So while I try to cope with this travesty (I loved those statues) I'm trying to decide if Disney would want to go ahead with their dragon ride which honestly would have been interesting, possibly better than Dueling Dragons past the amazing entrance queue at least.

This is the first I've heard of this. Haven't been to USO in a while. You mean the dragons statue of them facing off has been removed but all of the medieval theming in the queue remains? What was USO's reasoning for this? Were they taken down for refubishment or have their foundations been completely done over with something permanent?

 

[MJMcBride]

Here's another article I wrote on what might have been

http://www.mouseextra.com/2008/04/29/beastly-kingdomme-what-might-have-been/

 

[ChrisFL]

This is the first I've heard of this. Haven't been to USO in a while. You mean the dragons statue of them facing off has been removed but all of the medieval theming in the queue remains? What was USO's reasoning for this? Were they taken down for refubishment or have their foundations been completely done over with something permanent?

I don't know, it's possible they're coming back, maybe repainted. It's posted on screamscape.com, but I freaked when I saw that they are gone right now

 

[gymnastgirlflips]

I wouldn't trust what the bus driver says, even if he does work at wdw. I dont think Imagineers would chose to name a roller coaster "Mufassa's Revenge", just because it doesn't sound very creative... and Mufassa was a great leader and had nothing to do with evil, as said above. They already have Festival of the Lion King, and I am not sure if they would put that in.

Now- Beastlie Kingdomme sounds like the most awesome thing ever! If I worked there, I would make sure it was put in right a way. It seems like the perfect thing for Animal Kingdom because it doesn't have anything to do with mythical creatures yet. You know that dragon on those posters when you enter the park? I always wondered why they had it there! Maybe that was why, but it just sounds like an amazing idea. They need to expand AK somehow, and it would make it a more time consuming park. Besides, I think AK needs some more resturant type places to eat, although I love the counter service there. If that lochness resturant were a sitdown place, that would be nice. Beastlie Kingdom would be probably the best thing for AK, and im sure it would be worth the money.

 

[gymnastgirlflips]

Oh! And if they did put it where Camp Minnie Mickey was (which im sure pretty much pointless to me except the Festival of the Lion King) I would definetly have that moved over to Africa. That is my favorite show! Even if it is made with old cheap floats.. lol.