News Round Up 2016

[Flyerjab]

I wanted to post this link here as it has a bit more info on the new Africa Tour, Tiffins and Joe Rohde in DAK on 22Apr2016. This is from the Jambo Everyone website and is all things DAK. The two guys that run the site do a great job keeping up with everything going on at DAK and WDW.

http://www.jamboeveryone.com/2016/04/animal-kingdom-news-for-friday-april-1.html

All I can say is that DAK is my favorite WDW park due to the levels of theming and immersion found there. And I am bursting at the seems for the transformation that this park is about to undergo over the next year, starting April 22nd of this year with RoL, the ToL Awakings, Sunset Safaris, Tiffins, night time entertainment and the overall infrastructure improvements made in terms of pathways, paint schemes, etc. The park is going to be an incredible experience and probably the best park to be in at night.

And don't even get me started on Pandora. I know that I am in a minority in that I can't wait for this to debut next year. I think that it is going to surprise a lot of people just on its grand scale in terms of theming and how beautiful this made-up world is. I honestly don't care if this was a knee-jerk reaction to Harry Potter or a long, thought out IP acquisition...it's going to be an incredible experience. I also like it because IMHO it is a very 'un-Disney' move to acquire an IP like this. Marvel and Star Wars are almost no-brainers from that whole synergistic, merchandise tie-in perspective. Avatar is not that way at all (unless this changes with the new movies - maybe there is some over-the-top marketing push that Cameron promised Disney) but it will provide such a visceral experience that I cannot wait for that debut next year.

 

[Budshark]

Wizarding World opened in May 2010.

Clearly finishing the play of AK as it SHOULD have been done with Beastly Kingdom died the day Universal acquired HP park rights. Disney could no longer build a dragon / medieval area as it would be seen as a cheap knock off of HP (whether they dealt with magic or not, the dark castles, dragons, fanciful beasts were enough of an overlap). Disney failed at this point.

A pivot was required... all in on the "zoo" / animal concept? Unlikely and not popular.
Convert to another random park? Epcot and DHS at the time were struggling enough due to lack of theme.
All in on "Planet / Ecology"? Too much debate - almost a religion at that point.
Or keep the "beastly kingdom" type concept - but use a space theme that can't ever be compared to HP? A major movie with enough uniqueness that you keep in line with the park theming, and is well known enough to not be seen as a cop out? Sold and sold...

It was a unique mix of need, timing, interest, and uniqueness that brought Avatar to the parks. Can the new movie and the park create something out of what feels like nothing in 2016? Time will tell...

 

[jade1]

I can't even wait! I'm also curious to see how they are going to make the animals on the tree "come to life" - it's going to be magical!

Same.

I wonder if you can stay and watch from the paths on preview nights.

 

[twebber55]

Going back to news reports at the time, it seems the were announcing several new sequels at the exact same time they announced the license acquisition. It wouldn't surprise me if Disney negotiated for publishing rights of the movies, and maybe even a little creative input, in return for building the land.

Also, even though there are some very vocal critics of the movie, and the storyline itself wasn't anything to write home about, it *banked* and really pioneered the 3D movie revolution. Sitting here in 2016 we can easily see how quickly it petered out, but back in 2011 I can see trigger happy execs thinking they were going to ride the gravy train on this tech.

Disney went nuts with 3D, however they opted for the horrid post processing version rather than actually filming with 3D cameras. And then seemed surprised when people got sick of it real fast.

For my part, I find it very believable that, given the state of things in 2010/2011, Disney was in a panic mode. They had just acquired Marvel, then they got Avatar rights, and then the following year they acquired Lucasarts. They were obviously on an IP acquisition frenzy, and it isn't too fa fetched to figure they knew they needed *something* for AK. Even if the LucasArts deal was already in the pipeline at the time, nothing in that portfolio could have really fit into AK. On the marvel side, even if they *could* build marvel attractions in Orlando, it doesn't have much to offer int he way of stuff for AK either (other than a really silly version of Savageland or something... and I only mention that jokingly).

So assuming they wanted an IP for AK, going with one of the highest grossing films with the promise of a bunch of sequels in the next decade honestly doesn't seem that far fetched to me. Universal made major concessions with Rowling over the Potter license. No M&G's, no face characters based on the books characters, no holiday theming (this may be changing currently though), etc... heck, if you have the photo pass you can't even get the harry potter borders printed around your picture unless you march over to the 'wizarding world' and get it done in their photo shop. In many ways, both harry potter sections operate as their own independent areas.

edit: Yikes.. Avatar 2, 3, AND 4 are being filmed together? Absolutely insane. Cameron, Fox (assuming their are publishing), and Disney stand to loose a *lot* here. I don't think the first Avatar was horrible or anything, but I have doubts that 3 more movies in the series can capture the same amount of money as the first one did. The film landscape has changed a lot since then, and I honestly believe a lot of people went to Avatar just to see the "amazing 3D" as it was touted at the time.

im stealing this from a guy on magic named Brianlo its great....think of it this way


-A land with an obscene, obscene amount of money spent on Rock Work.
-Based on a franchise mostly faded from public consciousness.
-An E-ticket Epcot 2.0 thrill ride clocking in just under 3 minutes.
-A lavishly plussed D-ticket with a worn Fantasyland-troupe ride system clocking in at 5 minutes.
-Tenuous connections to Animals featuring alien like critters and a mythical monster.
-Wide open guest pathways mostly to service the two rides and for photo opportunities of the rock work.
-A single restaurant/quick serve.
-One gift shop with below WDW-standard merchandise offerings.


Instead we are getting all of the above, PLUS
-The E-ticket will have a significantly longer ride time (and won't be brought down by Florida rains).
-Better merch (no matter how bad you think it will be, it will be better).
-A slightly better connection to the conservative undertones that define Animal Kingdom.
-A more magnificent nighttime experience.

Most importantly a non-cloned experience.


If you haven't caught on yet I was describing Mysterious Island at Tokyo Disney Sea. The land pretty much everyone would wet themselves to receive at Animal Kingdom. In lieu of Avatar. For no better reason than most people prefer the known from the unknown.

I love Mysterious Island by the way, the handwringing over this project has got to stop.

 

[twebber55]

i apologize for the avatar drift i take full responsibility
should ve never asked @lockedoutlogic about construction progress on it

 

[jade1]

I did walk through the new poly pool the other day and I really liked it. A very good family pool set up with a new almost seamless zero G entry and the snack bar.

Needs more shade though...no coverage and the concrete is gonna bake.

Nice to hear that's finally open correct?

I think this is the first time they have actually built shade structures? 4 including the snack bar area.

Were they packed underneath? Or are they an extra cost to reserve.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

i apologize for the avatar drift i take full responsibility
should ve never asked @lockedoutlogic about construction progress on it

It's minor drift from what it amounts to nothing...

"News" doesn't happen everyday

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Nice to hear that's finally open correct?

I think this is the first time they have actually built shade structures? 4 including the snack bar area.

Were they packed underneath? Or are they an extra cost to reserve.

It wasn't crowded on a spring break week...
I honestly couldn't figure out what was going down at the cabanas...it seems first come, first serve...

But that seems "undisney like"

 

[lockedoutlogic]

im stealing this from a guy on magic named Brianlo its great....think of it this way


-A land with an obscene, obscene amount of money spent on Rock Work.
-Based on a franchise mostly faded from public consciousness.
-An E-ticket Epcot 2.0 thrill ride clocking in just under 3 minutes.
-A lavishly plussed D-ticket with a worn Fantasyland-troupe ride system clocking in at 5 minutes.
-Tenuous connections to Animals featuring alien like critters and a mythical monster.
-Wide open guest pathways mostly to service the two rides and for photo opportunities of the rock work.
-A single restaurant/quick serve.
-One gift shop with below WDW-standard merchandise offerings.


Instead we are getting all of the above, PLUS
-The E-ticket will have a significantly longer ride time (and won't be brought down by Florida rains).
-Better merch (no matter how bad you think it will be, it will be better).
-A slightly better connection to the conservative undertones that define Animal Kingdom.
-A more magnificent nighttime experience.

Most importantly a non-cloned experience.


If you haven't caught on yet I was describing Mysterious Island at Tokyo Disney Sea. The land pretty much everyone would wet themselves to receive at Animal Kingdom. In lieu of Avatar. For no better reason than most people prefer the known from the unknown.

I love Mysterious Island by the way, the handwringing over this project has got to stop.

This is a 100% hypothetical musings board...

So if we don't hang ring about avatar...what's left?

It's not birnbaums

 

[Willow1213]

Another photo of the tree from orlandobros

View attachment 159444

Sorry my jaw is on the floor...

WOW!

 

[jade1]

It wasn't crowded on a spring break week...
I honestly couldn't figure out what was going down at the cabanas...it seems first come, first serve...

But that seems "undisney like"

Hmm, must just be the main pool is so popular. Sounds like enough shade then though, maybe summer will be worse as guests look for relief.

 

[nkosiek]

What would?

A lighted tree isn't enough. Hopefully the new show will be (but as to whether that means I stay longer or come later, I'm not sure). I'm not sure I like the idea of the night-time, perpetual dusk, safari. Seems cruel to the animals (those that would have already been there) to keep them out longer. When the new Avatar land opens, I'm sure that will extend the day. I like the park, believe me I do, but as a teacher who can only go during July/August, that's a brutal place to be for a whole day.

 

[soniam]

Just read on Portoleans.org's Facebook page that ferry service from Port Orleans to DS is being suspended due to unintended rise in water levels on the Sassagoula River which is causing ferry boats to sometimes even clip the undersides of bridges. Anyone know more about this?

ETA someone is saying this is an April Fools joke. ??? I don't know.

Totally April's Fools joke. It even suggested that the amphicars would be used instead Here's a quote from the page.

"UPDATE: Just to clarify in case there was any doubt, this was indeed an APRIL FOOL joke. I guess the most worrying thing is that, with all the price hikes and feature removals occurring around Walt Disney World at the moment, it at first seemed even slightly plausible that this might be a genuine plan of Disney's."

 

[Fantasia79]

It wasn't crowded on a spring break week...
I honestly couldn't figure out what was going down at the cabanas...it seems first come, first serve...

But that seems "undisney like"

Oh, you know someone will figure this one out. What a cabana in Vegas go for?

 

[Spacedog1975]

A lighted tree isn't enough. Hopefully the new show will be (but as to whether that means I stay longer or come later, I'm not sure). I'm not sure I like the idea of the night-time, perpetual dusk, safari. Seems cruel to the animals (those that would have already been there) to keep them out longer. When the new Avatar land opens, I'm sure that will extend the day. I like the park, believe me I do, but as a teacher who can only go during July/August, that's a brutal place to be for a whole day.

It seems to me this would work better for you. Head out later in the day when most of the heat is gone.
Win/win.

 

[luisov]

Jesus, just saw a report of a live-action Fantasmic! film being developed, but it's very likely just an April's Fools joke. Now they just have to announce that the $150 EMH event was a joke all along

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Oh, you know someone will figure this one out. What a cabana in Vegas go for?

But Vegas isnt a "world class location"...like the 1970 motor lodge next to a drained swamp

 

[nkosiek]

It seems to me this would work better for you. Head out later in the day when most of the heat is gone.
Win/win.

It will...to a point (toddler in tow). That said, it won't be me in the park longer right now, so much as it will change when I'm there. If the point is "longer" then that'll wait until Avatar. I'm not complaining about AK. I know it's gonna be coming up. I like the place. I can't wait to take my 22 month old there this summer.

 

[rteetz]

News

Kurt Russell added to food and wine DCA

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...ey-california-adventure-food-wine-festival-2/

 

[minnie mum]

I'm not sure I like the idea of the night-time, perpetual dusk, safari. Seems cruel to the animals (those that would have already been there) to keep them out longer

These aren't house pets. They're wild animals. In their natural habitats they'd be out all day and all night. 24/7/365. With predators on the prowl. How is this cruel? They're still being fed, watered and cared for better than any of their peers. It's not as if they were being whipped and made to do tricks. If you could ask your average Savannah animal which it preferred, I think they'd opt for a wide open habitat over a concrete stall in a barn.