RUMOR : WDW 5th Theme Park - "Disney's Night Kingdom"

[fireman1]

I dont think I would have any interest in something like this. I wish they would build a thrill park, something like isle of adventure, but bigger/better.

 

[gmboy95]

hmmm....let me see here...$300 to go into a bat cave. Which is something I would not do if it where free and came with an open bar....hmmm sticking my arm in a hippos mouth, nope!!....hmmm $300....Just one more place these eyes will never see!!

 

[CanadianGuy]

hmmm....let me see here...$300 to go into a bat cave. Which is something I would not do if it where free and came with an open bar....

Very funny.. Totally made me laugh - and I could NOT agree with you more!

 

[PetesDragon]

Nothing in this article sounds fun or interesting, and definitely not worth $250 bucks. It all sounds more like you're paying to walk through a zoo at night with the lights turned off, and letting guests feed the animals instead of zookeepers. Just run the jungle cruise with no lights and no one would be able to tell the animals aren't real. Also, WHO WANTS TO BE IN A CAVE WITH BATS? EVER?

 

[Dumbo76]

Detroit zoo had giraffe feedings last summer. I think it was only ten bucks though!

Every time I went it was always closed or sold out, so that didn't pan out. And with the Busch Gardens one, it was close to an hour and we got to pet them and take tons of pics. We learned cool factoids about them, such as they have very similar personalities to dogs and like attention and affection, and their necks rubbed. They even gave us kisses on the cheek. It was awesome! We also got to feed other animals, like zebras and gazelles or elands I think, and some birds, but the giraffe part was the coolest for me.

 

[DisneyKevin]

It smacks of those corporate retreats where everyone from the office has to fall backwards into each others arms, slide down a zip-rope, let out a primal scream and then sing Cumbya. Its just not my thing..

Ok...thats really funny.

 

[Robo]

 

[boomhauer]

Who the heck is Jim Hill?

He's a Disney bus driver.

 

[Robo]

He's a Disney bus driver.

Heck no!

He's a bus driver WANNA BE!

He hangs with Disney drivers.
(He has to get his info SOMEWHERE.)

 

[Robo]

I'd rather debate THIS than the skywriter.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

He hangs with Disney drivers.
(He has to get his info SOMEWHERE.)

Well it isn't the drivers. Their info is more accurate than his.

 

[patsal]

Well, none of that is for me, but I could see DD wanting to do the hippo thing and DS wanting to do the crocodile and/or bat thing. BTW by the time the park is built (which I doubt it willbe) they would be old enough to make that decision on their own--and most importantly to pay for it themselves!
In any event, it doesn't sound like so much a park, but more of a set of experiences being offered within the confines of things that already exist. I think it is a niche market and I think it could be one that makes money, but overall it is so not for me! Which is one of the great things about WDW not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone!

 

[Robo]

Sky writer is still being discussed.

So I'm bumping Jim Hill's rumbling ramblings again!

 

[momtimesone]

I would never ever do this park first of all If I wanted to feed a hippo my local zoo offers a backstage experience for a lot less. This seems like an add on to AK and thats ok by me but building a whole new exclusive park is a stupid idea.The idea that only a certain amount of guest will be allowed in the park is ok by me because I would never go to that park.Disney should build a theme park that everyone can enjoy not some exclusive wallet buster.Bring on the thrill park and let it be for everyone. If they where smart they would offer a thrill park so that families with older children can send them to that park for the day( Look how packed the thrill rides get) If this park opens I for one am not going it sounds really lame.We have a AK we do not need another animal type park.

 

[Mme. Leota]

You guys didn't figure in the cost to run the park though. (electricity) It can't be too cheap to run the lights there.

Um, there will be no lights. We will all be wearing night vision goggles, remember


Just kidding, you are right, especiallly if they intend to run the penguin habitat. Can you imagine the cost of that for just one day, especially if you have a bunch of 98.6 degree humans running in and out? Just ask my mom. She'll tell you how much "fanning that door" will cost.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I would not spend so much for a park that won't even be open for a full day. It's way too much and that's why we've never done discovery cove. I was really hoping for a villan themed 5th park that would be just like the other parks where you could enter with your regular MYW ticket! They really better do some great things with this Night Kingdom to be charging so much!

 

[disjointed]

That means doing something with the Adventurer's Club (though I dont agree that they need to move it... if anything, they should expand it where it is because it is a tiny place and could certainly stand some more room... I think it could fit into the rest of DD quite easily, even without all of the other clubs).

From what I read, I got the idea that they aren't moving the Adventurer's Club, but rather building something similar to it as the entrance.

 

[disjointed]

I would not spend so much for a park that won't even be open for a full day. It's way too much and that's why we've never done discovery cove. I was really hoping for a villan themed 5th park that would be just like the other parks where you could enter with your regular MYW ticket! They really better do some great things with this Night Kingdom to be charging so much!

I agree with you 100%... They say they're building the park to appeal to guests staying at the luxury resorts. From what I know, that isn't many people. Wouldn't they rather build something appealing to a broader audience, something as you say, that we can use our MYW tickets to get into? They'd be a lot more successful with that. WD Company may have plenty of moolah, but I don't think they should gamble with this, unless they modify it to better fit every one of their guests.

 

[global-mouse]

I have been reading literally hundreds of comments spawned by Jim Hills article on Disney's Night Kingdom. I was quite surprised on how negative everyone has been. Yes, none of the details so far sound that exciting, but then again, I am sure Disney wants to keep some things from us until any official announcement as to not give any ideas to the competitors.

The concept is actually quite interesting if the imagineers come up with some good details. If a project like this is green lighted, I am confident they will find ways to amaze us.

For those who are finding this hard to imagine, I came up with a fictitious Trip Report just for fun... Here it is:
_______________________________________

I am so excited about my last trip to Walt Disney World, that I just had to give you this trip report.

This is probably the 10th time my family and I have been to WDW since we first went in 2007 for “The Year of a Million Dreams.” That is now 5 years ago, and it was the first time we heard about Disney’s Adventurer’s Club (DAC), which was then referred to as Disney’s Night Kingdom. There were many lame rumours floating around at that time, and it did not sound too exciting, but what we didn’t know then was all the ideas and innovations that Disney was planning, and didn’t want the competition to know they were developing.

Enough about then. It is now 2012 and we have just had the most exciting and magical vacation that we could have ever imagined.

First of all, let me introduce my family. I am Scott and was travelling with my DW Alison and our 2 DDs, Hannah and Hailey. We are now in our late 40’s and Hannah is 13 and Hailey is 17. Three years ago, after a few wonderful trips to Orlando, we decided to become members at Contemporary Villas, the newest DVC community. Now we go to “the world” at least 2 times each year.

This year, in addition to going to the theme parks, we decided to give Disney’s Adventurer’s Club a shot. It was not cheap at $499 per person, but when you consider that a single park ticket now costs almost $100, and this was “all inclusive,” we felt it wasn’t that much of a stretch. You may ask why we waited so long to try DAC, since it has been open for about a year now, well… these were the first reservations we could get for DAC. Only having 2,000 spots per night, they were immediately booked 6th months in advance.

Since we were staying in one of the Deluxe resorts, our ticket included transportation to DAC from our resort. That was a very nice touch. We were contacted by our “Disney Guide” (DG) about 30 days prior to tell us what to expect, give us all the details and she even asked us about adventure preferences, food preferences, allergies, etc.. The level of detail really blew us away. We were asked to meet at the DAC desk in the Contemporary Lobby at 3:15 for a 3:30 departure.

When we got to the desk, we were overwhelmed that we were 4 of about 100 people waiting. The DGs at the desk, quickly greeted us and introduced to our safari group of about 20 people. Up pulled what looked like long stretch Hummers that accommodated our group and our DG for a trip to DAC. When we got into the vehicle, we were given our backpack that was filled with a bunch of stuff including hats, personalized name badges, a bottle of water and some paperwork. We were required to read and sign waivers since some of the adventures could be dangerous.

We headed down the Disney way and went into the entrance to the Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where many people were already leaving for the day. Instead of heading for the front of the parking lot, we went to the back of the lot, where we noticed for the first time a small train station and additional parking (I assume for those people who were staying off property and had to drive in.) There was a small area, where I saw the DGs giving out backpacks and having other guests fill out waivers.

We went straight up to the station where we boarded a steam train the held about 100 people. This was the beginning of our adventure. The train ride wasn’t long, but we went through some of the most beautiful and lush landscapes I have ever seen, before arriving in front of a huge “turn of the century” mansion in the middle of what appeared to be deep, dark Africa. The detailing was incredible.

We headed in through the main hall and into “The Clubroom” where we were joined by more people. Things started happening just like I remember when I had visited the Adventurer’s Club on PI before it moved. I had heard there was room for 2,000 at DAC, but this was almost identical to the original Adventurer’s Club and could probably hold no more than 200. This baffled me until I asked one of the bartenders about it, and he just looked at me and said “Do you think this is the only room in this giant mansion?” with a knowing smile, obviously not wanting to give away too many of Disney’s secrets.

The usual AC antics pursued, and we got to know all the regular characters, and a few new ones. Drinks were flowing (nice virgin ones for the kids) and of course all of these were included (we were now official members of the Adventurer’s Club.) The Characters acted as if they had known us for years (with the help of the name badges) and one by one we were asked to go into one of several rooms. Now I know why the DG asked so many questions when we spoke a month ago. It now dawned on me that we were all going to have slightly different experiences. This was also the last time we would see our daughters for a while (they had also asked if we wanted to stay together, but our daughters wanted to “do their own thing.”)

DW and I asked for some adventure, so we were in a group lead by Colonel Merryweather. There were about 45 of 55 of us and we were split up into groups with individual DGs and were told about a plot to steal the treasures of the Incadok tribes in Zimbabwe. Colonel Merryweather needed our help to foil this plot. And with that, we headed out on an adventure.

We boarded vehicles, which I recognised from the Indiana Jones ride in DL and Dinosaur in DAK. Looks like they used the same ride mechanism, but that is where the similarity ended. This adventure took us through many areas where we had to accomplish task to get to the next level. It was amazing that we felt like we were the only group around until we got back to our base camp, the AC. This took us over an hour and it was the most excitement we have had on vacation. I don’t want to soil any surprises, but I will tell you this, we ended up zip lining over crocodiles to save the day!

When we got back to the AC, we met up with our DDs and heard their wild stories of how they actually went and “joined the circus.” This made for lot’s of great dinner conversation as we were now treated to a Great Banquet which was being thrown for us since we had accomplished magnificent feats and created a better world (I guess that was the storyline in many of the adventures.) This was apparently held in the Great Banquet Hall which is the first time I realized that yes, there were close to 2,000 of us adventurers.

At our banquet table we heard of many stories from the other guests of how exciting and wonderful their adventures were. We also got to see many acts put on during our banquet and even a mini Cirque d’ soleil production.

As the banquet winded down, we were free to return to the AC main salons or go off and explore the rest of the mansion and the grounds. There were many DG out and about on the grounds to tell us all about the wildlife that was there and give us all some “close encounters” with them.

My wife and I decided to just wonder out onto one of the many balconies overlooking the grounds and listen to the music from the ballroom floating through the air.

It was truly a magical evening, and now I know why this is such a popular part of WDW. Since we are now Official Members to the Adventurer’s club, we actually get a slight discount on return visits, but even without that incentive, I can’t wait to come back and try some of the other adventurers. Heck, we actually booked for next year before we left, another advantage of becoming a member (365 day booking window).
_____________________________

So what do you think?

 

[Gusteau]

This idea would be one of the stupidest things Disney has ever done.