Pardon Our Dust - Disney's Animal Kingdom
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You would have thought that returning the Discovery River boat service to the park would be a start but it seems park management are not keen to re-start the attraction any time soon. The boats were constantly tinkered with during their short run (including the awful Radio Disney broadcasts) and now only one is used as a roaming performance stage for Mickey, Minnie and Pluto.
A full-service dining room is also regarded as essential to DAK’s future. Africa is unlikely to be the beneficiary as although the continent has a viable cuisine (that is attractive to regular WDW guests) in South African that is seen as the domain of Jiko at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Epcot also has Moroccan offerings but they are rarely as popular as others in World Showcase. Therefore the Asian experience is still seen as the most desirable for Food & Beverage so the Indian curry house could be re-started.
Disney enthusiasts continue to demand the long-rumored Beastly Kingdom project to be green lit. However Joe Rohde is always quick to point out that the concept was only ever a mantra for DAK in his desire to embrace other things that are not organic (the Yeti inside the Forbidden Mountain is one such example). The Dueling Dragons coaster at Universal’s Island of Adventure nixed the Disney version and Rohde is unlikely to want another coaster inside DAK any time soon.
However the Australian section continues to be a possibility for DAK. Bringing the continent’s unique mammals (marsupials such as kangaroos, koalas and duck-billed platypuses) to the park would allow imagineers to exploit the unusual architecture of the native Aborigines’ Down Under and Australia’s rich tapestry of art and entertainment. I am sure a bush tucker diner would be a smash hit with BBQ lovers. Rohde appears keen to continue to build upon the organic makeup of the park’s residents and Australia would reinforce those offerings and prevent inorganic attractions from dominating the lineup.
How else can park management keep guests inside the gates for longer into the night? Moving Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle parade to 4:45pm helps but the park requires something spectacular once the sun sets. Disney Creative Entertainment’s Steve Davison believes he has the answer. Fireworks would unsettle the diurnal animals but a nighttime parade could work despite the dark and winding pathways of DAK. It is rumored that Davison has pitched a project called the Rivers of Light, a lantern parade that would progress throughout the park and be the first to be shown on both land and water (Discovery River would finally see watercraft return to it). An initial concept saw performers acting in the trees of Discovery Village but this was eventually shelved due to safety concerns. Some form of nighttime entertainment is seen as essential for keeping guests from switching to another park for Fantasmic! SpectroMagic/Wishes and Illuminations. Rivers of Light seems to have exactly the right formula for the park; something that fits with the organic mantra of Rohde and is more adult-oriented without the need to rely on character-based entertainment. However it could just become another Eureka! (the characterless now-defunct parade that debut with Disney’s California Adventure park). We can only hope that the project is fast-tracked in the near future.
In short, Expedition Everest is certainly the start of something. It is the metaphorical springboard platform from which DAK can grow and become a park capable of retaining guest interest for more than a handful of hours. Only time will tell as to what lies beyond Everest and Nemo. I am certain that Joe Rohde has no intention of retiring from his pet project any time soon so all of us DAK fans can look forward to new projects coming to life at WDW’s fourth theme park.
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-- Posted February 21, 2006
-- Article and Photos by Lee MacDonald