As unlikely as it might sound, Tom McDonald, EVP, Global Factual and Unscripted, Nat Geo, has said a National Geographic attraction or experience could be coming to a Disney Park in the future, according to Deadline.
- McDonald explained that he floated the idea of a Disney Parks attraction based on National Geographic shows:
- “I know this sounds outlandish but when I started, and I half meant it as a joke, one of the things I said was ‘Wouldn’t be great if one of our shows became a theme park ride at Disney World?’ There are some really interesting conversations happening right now within the system, with Parks and beyond about how we might bring some of our shows to life in the physical world, interesting types of experiences.”
- He did go on to clarify that a theme park attraction is not exactly top of mind, but that an experience of some sort could be coming:
- “We’re making a series about Jonestown Massacre [The Cult: One Day In America], we’re making a series about the Boxing Day tsunami [Tsunami], we are definitely not thinking about a theme park ride. However, I do think that the priority to us as we go forward is going to be how to bring these things to life in a bigger and broader way. I think that’s one of the things is unique about us, compared to Netflix or Apple or some of the other cable channels. I do think it is part of being part of the wider National Geographic and the wider Disney ecosystem and that feels like it’s not been wholly tapped into yet.”
- As for what shows might be brought to life, McDonald couldn’t say. Though he did joke that the list would likely not include Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller.