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

[disney111]

Yeah, unless Disney official announces anything I definitely don't believe what Jim says.

 

[boomhauer]

Does Disney bring all the animals back to their cages at night after the park closes?

 

[boomhauer]

Yeah, unless Disney official announces anything I definitely don't believe what Jim says.

Jim's like a meteorologist. When he's right, it's usually old news.

"Tomorrow evening's forecast.....Dark."

 

[mickeymyfavorite]

Who is this guy Jim Hill, sounds like he DOESN'T have a very big fan club? Does this guy just spread RUMOR'S

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Hippos are the most dangerous animals. And the most difficult animals to upkeep in a zoological setting. I will spare you the details. I can't imagine they would let people that close to feed them.

I think the idea of swimming with dolphins would appeal to many people. I don't think feeding a hippo would. Some, sure. Not nearly as many. Plus, Discovery Cove is a daytime event. Many of the people you see at the theme parks at nights are families pushing a stroller with a sleeping child in it. $300 is a lot of money to pay for that.

 

[POB14]

Who is this guy Jim Hill, sounds like he DOESN'T have a very big fan club? Does this guy just spread RUMOR'S

Yes.

You know what I would pay three hundred bucks for? I would pay three hundred bucks to go into a little park with thirty-foot high walls; upon entrance, I would be issued a 34 inch Louisville Slugger and a Segway. I would be able to ride around on the Segway until I found Jim Hill, hidden somewhere in the park, whereupon I could beat the #@$% out of him with the bat.

Actually this park (the rumored one, not my idea above!) sounds kind of interesting to me, but I'll probably never be able to afford it.

 

[Enchanted]

Hippos are the most dangerous animals. And the most difficult animals to upkeep in a zoological setting. I will spare you the details. I can't imagine they would let people that close to feed them.

See, I was thinking along these lines. Feeding hippos? Walking around on a savanna IN THE DARK with LIONS and HYENAS all around you? Rock climbing at night? That just...doesn't sound right. All I could think about at first was, "Dang, Disney's insurance premiums are gonna fly through the ROOF."

As others have said, swimming with dolphins is one thing, but hippos, lions, and hyenas? There's a REASON there are unseen barriers between you and the animals on the safari, y'know? I mean, after some of the idiotic things I've seen other guests do, I can just see someone getting their hand bitten off by an animal because they didn't listen to the CM properly.

And I too would be overwhelmingly annoyed by the attention of two cast members. If our family went, we would have eight to fourteen cast members bugging us. My dad gets annoyed when the waiter lingers too long at our table, he'd get REALLY bugged if we had a whole gaggle of CMs trailing after us.

But then my second thought was, "Ah well. Even if Jim DID get this one right, it just means good things for me. Less people at MK and Epcot for the fireworks!"

 

[Tara8595]

Sounds awesome to me. Similar to what is offered in Africa if you really go there - they do night safaris because so many of the animals are nocturnal. I love the idea of adding a broadway style show, and good food. Seeing the animals at night.

Sounds great. Hope they do it. I loved Discovery Cove. I'm sure I'd love this too.

And as to why don't they spruce up the other parks and add stuff? They add stuff all the time. They added Everest, they added the Nemo show and enclosed the theater. They added the stunt show. They added Soarin. They added Nemo to Epcot.

Anyhow, why spend money to add something that won't increase revenue? If they spend money on something like this, it has better ROI due to it being ticketed separately.

 

[Tara8595]

FOR THOSE HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE SITE TO LOAD...

Jim Hill
Night Kingdom to reimagine the Disney-theme-park-going experience
Jim Hill shares what he knows about WDW's 5th theme park. Which will be an after-hours venue that will offer guests the chance to have all sorts of once-in-a-lifetime, hands-on adventures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TiggerFan452 writes in to say:

Hey Jim,

Just wondering if you've heard anything about these focus groups that Disney World has been recruiting people for. If you take part, you're apparently shown a preview video for something called "Disney's Night Kingdom". Any idea what this project is about and if Disney's actually going to build the thing?

Dear TiggerFan452

"Disney's Night Kingdom" is the Mouse's long overdue response to SeaWorld's Discovery Cove. And -- yes -- the Mouse is actually going to build this $520 million project. Current plans call for this niche park to officially throw open its doors in October of 2011, just in time for the start of Walt Disney World's 40th anniversary celebration.

"Why did you call 'Disney's Night Kingdom' a niche park?," you ask. Well, because -- just like Discovery Cove (Which only allows in a thousand visitors each day) -- DNK will be restricting the number of guests that can enter this park every afternoon. Only 2000 people will be allowed into WDW's 5th theme park at any one time.

Copyright 2002 Busch Entertainment Corporation

And -- yes -- I said "afternoon." Disney's Night Kingdom's operating hours will be 4 p.m. to midnight (5 p.m. to 1 a.m. during daylight savings time).

Okay. I know. DNK already sounds unlike any Disney theme park that's currently operating on the planet. But there's a reason for that. The Imagineers want your Disney's Night Kingdom experience to be distinctly different. Something that you'll remember for the rest of your life.

How so? Well, let's first start with the extraordinary guest service that you'll experience as you enter DNK. Current plans call for Disney's Night Kingdom to be staffed by 4000 cast members. That means that -- for every guest that visits this theme park -- there'll be two cast members to take care of their every need. So expect to receive a lot of personalized attention & pampering once you arrive on site.

Speaking of arriving ... Guests will enter DNK through a new, super-sized version of the Adventurers Club at Pleasure Island. As you & your family are registering for that night's activities, the club's members will entertain as well as offer hints about the extraordinary adventures that await you.

After you've finished checking in, there's a whole new world to explore. Have you ever dreamed of acting like Indiana Jones and riding a zip line over a pool full of hungry crocodiles? Or hand-feeding a hippopotamus? Well, here you can.

Mind you, Disney's Night Kingdom will have no traditional theme park rides per se. But you'll still be able to get your fill of excitement & adventure as you strap on a pair of night vision goggles and then wander out into a pitch-black African savanna. Where you'll then be able to observe up-close lions & hyenas as they go through their nocturnal hunting routines.

You'll also be able to try your hand at spelunking as you explore a cave full of bats. Or -- if you're not a big fan of bats -- how about rock climbing? Does that sound too much like work? Then why don't you head on over to that South American-themed enclosure where you can frolic with some penguins?

As for the look of Disney's Night Kingdom ... Well, this theme park's horticultural budget will be just about as big as WDW's Typhoon Lagoon is. So expect DNK to look pretty lush.

And once you've had your fill of adventures, why not grab a gourmet meal at one of the park's two highly themed eateries? Or -- better yet -- find a seat inside of Night Kingdom's centrally located main theater. Where you'll then be dazzled by a state-of-the-art stage show which will be produced by Disney Theatrical and feature top Broadway talent.

I know, I know. A lot of you may have trouble wrapping your heads around a Disney theme park that's as distinctly different as DNK is going to be. That's why the business plan that the Walt Disney Company has drawn up for this project calls for Disney's Night Kingdom to operate at only 60% capacity during its first year of operation and then only 80% capacity during Year 2. Starting in Year 3 ... Well, by then, Disney hopes to have all of the bugs worked out (not to mention finally having a handle on the marketing of WDW's newest theme park). Which is why they then plan on Disney's Night Kingdom operating at 100% capacity during its third year of operation.

As for future plans for the park ... Well, DNK's blueprints do include spots for two new hotels. But these resorts will only be built in response to guest need.

Speaking of hotels ... The Mouse expects that Disney World's higher end resorts (i.e. The Contemporary, the Polynesian, the Grand Flo, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Yacht & Beach Club, the Boardwalk as well as the Dolphin & the Swan) will be the primary feeders for Disney's Night Kingdom. With DNK drawing most of its visitors from these pricier on-property hotels.

"And why is that?," you query. Because just like Discovery Cove (which charges $269 - $289 for a one day adventure that also includes a week's worth of free admission to either SeaWorld Orlando or Busch Gardens Africa), admission to DNK is going to be pricey. Right now, Mickey's leaning toward charging guests $250 - $300 per person in order to gain entry to DNK.

Now keep in mind that this admission fee will also cover the cost of the gourmet meal that you'll be consuming while you visit Disney's Night Kingdom. Plus any non-alcoholic beverages that you quaff over the course of that evening. More importantly, that your admission fee to WDW's newest theme park will be considerably lower should you purchase it as part of a Disney World vacation package.

Another thing that you need to be aware of here is that the Mouse also plans on making DNK available to convention groups. So WDW's newest theme park could wind up being sold out for weeks, if not months in advance. Which is why -- if you really want to visit Disney's Night Kingdom -- advance reservations will definitely be recommended.

As to when the Walt Disney Company will be revealing that this project is actually in the works ... Next month's annual shareholder meeting in Albuquerque is a possibility. Though it's far more likely that Mickey will wait 'til the fall. So that Disney's Night Kingdom can then be announced as part of WDW's annual press event.

So there you have it, folks. Disney World's next theme park will NOT be Villains themed and/or loaded with lots of coasters. But -- rather -- it will be an intimate, natural environment that then offers you the chance to have lots of personalized, hands-on, once-in-a-lifetime adventures.

So now the big question is ... Come 2011, will you actually be willing to pay $250 - $300 to experience something like this while vacationing at Walt Disney World?

 

[RussellDisney]

Sounds awesome to me. Similar to what is offered in Africa if you really go there - they do night safaris because so many of the animals are nocturnal. I love the idea of adding a broadway style show, and good food. Seeing the animals at night.

Sounds great. Hope they do it. I loved Discovery Cove. I'm sure I'd love this too.

And as to why don't they spruce up the other parks and add stuff? They add stuff all the time. They added Everest, they added the Nemo show and enclosed the theater. They added the stunt show. They added Soarin. They added Nemo to Epcot.

Anyhow, why spend money to add something that won't increase revenue? If they spend money on something like this, it has better ROI due to it being ticketed separately.

If they don't add stuff SOMETIME to the existing parks, attendance will drop. Plus, there is depreciation expense on a new investment to consider.

As to "adding stuff to to other parks", I would love to see DHS developed just a bit more. It's nice and I understand Toy Story is coming. It has also seen some major investments over the years - ToT being one of my top 3 at WDW. But it still could use a bit more, IMO.

 

[troynkasey]

What does every Disney park have? A family feel to it. Well...I guess Pleasure Island doesn't, but it's also not a "park". So if this is going to be built, they need to add the family aspect to it. I don't see them doing that and that takes away from what Walt Disney originally wanted. I won't go to this. Too pricey and I don't find enjoyment in swimming in feces infesting dolphin water, feeding hippos, or running from hungry lions in the savannah.

 

[DonnaL]

Just a comment on the above poster's comment about hippos being very dangerous......actually, my DH and I had the opportunity for a magical experience behind the scenes tour of the backstage hippo area with two CM's last month and they told us that hippos are actually the MOST dangerous animal in Africa. Why is that? Because of their strength and size.........they wouldn't eat something they killed.......but, their bite would be enough to kill and most deaths are caused by someone/something simply wandering into hippo territory .....they are very territorial......so I can't imagine Disney allowing guests to get THAT close to hippos. We were able to throw some food into the hippos mouth, but, that was from a distance of about 8 feet and a row of very large steel pier type bars between the hippo and us.

 

[Philadisney]

THANKS Tara for copying the article.
I hope it's not true - I'd rather see them add new attractions to existing parks. DNK sounds like more like a once-in-a-lifetime event rather than a great park that one could become farmiliar and comfortable with over the years while looking forward to new attractions and refurbishments.

 

[CathrynRose]

Um...thanks, but I have no interest to wander a pitch black savanna with lions and hyenas

No kidding!!!

not my cup o' tea either...plus I think the name is lame.

Agreed.

It looks like that money would be better spent at AK putting in the Beastly Kingdom section that was originally talked about during the conception of AK.

Beastly Kingdom

Animal Kingdom's original logo which includes a dragon at the center.Beastly Kingdom is a land of the Animal Kingdom which was proposed to be built. Beastly Kingdom (supposedly spelled in Old English as "Beastly Kingdomme") was to have featured mythical animals such as unicorns, dragons, and sea monsters. The land would feature realms of both good and evil creatures. The evil side would be dominated by Dragon Tower, a ruined castle home to a greedy fire-breathing dragon who hordes a fabulous treasure in the tower chamber. The castle is also inhabited by bats who plan to rob the dragon of his riches. They enlist the guests' help in their scheme, and whisk them off on a thrilling roller coaster ride through the castle ruins. The climax of the ride is an encounter with the evil dragon himself, resulting in a nearly-barbecued train of guests.

The good side of this land would be home to Quest of the Unicorn, an adventure which sends guests through a maze of medieval mythological creatures to seek the hidden grotto where the unicorn lives. Finally, the Fantasia Gardens attraction would be a musical boat ride through the animals from Disney's animated classic, Fantasia. The ride would feature both the crocodiles and hippos from " Dance of the Hours" and the Pegasus, fauns, and centaurs from Beethoven's "Pastoral."

Due to budget constraints of the Walt Disney Company, Beastly Kingdom never came to fruition and Camp Minnie-Mickey was built as a temporary tenant of the Beastly Kingdom's land.

The change was supposedly rather sudden, as remnants of this planned area were visible when the park opened. One such remnant was a fire-breathing dragon in the Discovery River Boats attraction. Said dragon was visible from the Camp Minnie-Mickey bridge for several years, roaring loudly and spewing fire from a rocky cave. In addition, one of the McDonald's Animal Kingdom-themed Happy Meal toys was a winged purple dragon.

Legend has it that Disney laid off the Imagineers who had planned the Beastly Kingdom, and they were subsequently hired to create the Dueling Dragons and the Flying Unicorn attractions for Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park[citation needed].

Even now, hints of a mythological land still exist, including:

The "Unicorn" parking area
The original Animal Kingdom logo, which prominently features the silhouette of a dragon, and still appears throughout the park
The dragon-shaped stone fountain near Camp Minnie-Mickey
The detailed dragonhead statue which sits atop one of the ticket booths at the park's entrance.

Yes - YES! Beastly Kingdom!!! Its bad enough both AK and (IMO) MGM arent even full day parks - why not add to what they have and make them better!?

Well, this pretty much proves it's NOT going to happen.

Just a few of Jim's GEMS!!!!

1. Tarzan at AK was closed because Disney won't have a Theme Park show and Broadway show based on the same movie at the same time. (Shh... they apparently don't know about Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and the Little Mermaid at the parks!)

2. COP is closing. (An annual event for Jim)

3. ESPN club was closing last year. (Was open a few weeks ago)

4. For the PAST TWO Octobers Disney was going to have a "Halloween Horror Nights" at MGM Studios. (Apparently only Jim got invited)

And so on....... Yes, he occasionally gets something right, but more often he is wrong.. (Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then too!)

Don't get to worked up on any Jim Hill 'rumor' I think after Disney had him thrown out of a park his souces got more unreliable. I swear they feed him stuff to make him look foolish!

And wasnt Jim the one squawking about a "Disney Villians' park for YEARS! I mean, YEARRRRRRS??? Im still waiting for that park.

THANKS Tara for copying the article.
I hope it's not true - I'd rather see them add new attractions to existing parks. DNK sounds like more like a once-in-a-lifetime event rather than a great park that one could become farmiliar and comfortable with over the years while looking forward to new attractions and refurbishments.

Totally agree.

 

[cabanafrau]

Since Disney reportedly has such a difficult time staffing the WDW resort as it is, I can't see them opening up something like this at the rumored price structure. The image of the busboy, waiter & seating host fixated on the precise proportion of empty space on my plate initially flashed through my mind when I read the guest/CM ratio, but then I realized animals will actually absorb a lot of that.

My next red flag was the hippo feeding. As has been mentioned previously, hippos do not resemble the pink tutu-clad docile creatures of Fantasia. I think my odds are likely better w/ the lions & hyenas -- oh my!

The limited availability is the final nail in the coffin in my book. Yeah, yeah, I know Sea World does it w/ Discovery Cove -- but they're not Walt Disney World! Disney has the built-in factor of multitudes willing to plunk down serious cash for a Disney experience -- on a scale that something w/ such limited availability could never even hope to begin satisfying. The PR black eye generated by this would land Disney a featured spot in every business curriculum in colleges & universities across the country -- I'll step out on a limb & say "Night Kingdom", as outlined in this rumor, would become the brand name for business models of a Titanic mold.

 

[seobaina]

I'm gonna wait to see on this. Some interesting ideas but I personally would still rather have a villains based park.

 

[Villainess]

IF this does happen, I agree w/ PPs that it fits better w/in AK as a special event rather than a new park. I was disappointed that Beastly Kingdom never happened - I was looking forward to that. As far as the night vision goggles, can'[t you do this already at AKL (from a viewing area?

I would like to see a Villain park and it wouldn't need to be all thrill rides - think about dark rides which would fit very well too.

When I went on the KTTK tour (June '06) the CM said there were no plans for a 5th park until more hotels were built. For what its worth, just passing it along.

 

[magicalcouple]

I think this is a complete Bummer....you wait and wait for the excitement of what Disney will bring next, and this is it? Yikes! How many more years do we have to wait now?????

 

[GalDisney]

Hmm.. Not sure i am ready to believe this..will wait for an an offical annoucement from Disney, IF it happens.

 

[mickeymyfavorite]

Yes.

You know what I would pay three hundred bucks for? I would pay three hundred bucks to go into a little park with thirty-foot high walls; upon entrance, I would be issued a 34 inch Louisville Slugger and a Segway. I would be able to ride around on the Segway until I found Jim Hill, hidden somewhere in the park, whereupon I could beat the #@$% out of him with the bat.

Actually this park (the rumored one, not my idea above!) sounds kind of interesting to me, but I'll probably never be able to afford it.

ok that should sum it up