Rumor: DinoLand, USA to become Indiana Jones Land?

Bringing this back on topic, maybe we're talking about an Indy Land that includes Short Round's Wild Ride - you know, for the kids? I'm also okay if they keep the Whac-A-Packycephalosaur game (yes - that's its real name) from DinoLand but with a Mutt overlay - because it's never too early to teach your kids the joy of repeatedly hitting Shia LaBeouf in the head with a rubber mallet.
 
Its not about what Walt wanted, its about what's good for share holders. A marvel land is going to be a huge draw. I reckon it's about that simple. Personally, I'll take an extra trip to DLR just to visit it, but I love a reason for a hop to Vegas and then a quick flight to Anaheim, so it's really not a huge stretch:)

fair enough - I just know that when we went on our trip to DLR it was underwhelming for a number of reasons and one of them was how much I felt like we had to rider-swap on at DCA ... certainly makes me less likely to return so they won't get my money
 
In Socal, its a local park, and the demand is very different I'd think. And those kids are rarely spending big $ on fancy dinners and booze:)
You'd be surprised. Spending patterns are different, but there are still plenty of hard core Disney fans shelling out top dollar for high end experiences.
 
You'd be surprised. Spending patterns are different, but there are still plenty of hard core Disney fans shelling out top dollar for high end experiences.

I was just being silly about kids drinking...lol:) I think that the Socal audience will love Marvel. Because it's more locally driven, change there I think is more crucial.
 


fair enough - I just know that when we went on our trip to DLR it was underwhelming for a number of reasons and one of them was how much I felt like we had to rider-swap on at DCA ... certainly makes me less likely to return so they won't get my money

Different desires for sure. DCA is my favorite park after Epcot. But again, you've got kids.

Personally, would anyone really complain if they had Dinosaur and Indy - the same ride in the same land? I wouldn't! I think its a fun ride mech and we have loads of omnimovers and I love all them too.
 
Interesting points. Capacity would be an issue for sure. Of course any additional capacity would be welcomed at WDW, even for those of us with 0 need, interest, or desire for such, but it'd keep those kids off the streets and rides, I'm all in:)

Those types of rides also aren't unique. You can get them tons of places, so I'd think it wouldn't draw people to WDW if they advertised "little kiddie" land, folks could get that cheaper and closer to home. They could do unique rides/attractions like the Alice hedge maze which would be cheap and serve all kinds, and you don't see those at the local county fair/small local park. I'm sure WDW could come up with all kinds of unique family friendly offerings, I just don't think it's a sexy marketing campaign that will draw additional park guests.

This said by someone with no children (thank heavens) - but would that actually make anyone plan an additional trip? If it won't move the needle, why would WDW do it?
While it may not be unique to us adults .. it is "new" to children.

My son and his two cousins were fascinated by these "non-unique" rides that we went to at this small "theme" park in Wisconsin (Little Amerricka) because it was the first time they were ever exposed to them. We spent the whole day there and rode every ride (some more than once). If asked, he probably would prefer a day back there than a day at Magic Kingdom.

If they were in Disney? They would probably love them there just as much as long as the lines aren't crazy long (the key to these rides was the fact they could pick one they wanted and hop on them immediately or wait ONE cycle at most).

While the Aladdin Carpets are often a "forgotten" attraction by us veterans, it was one of my son's favorite during his first trip as a 2yo. My son loves the "simple" carousel at MK and is the only ride besides Buzz Lightyear that he has gone on every trip by request (3 trips, 2yo, 3yo, 4yo).
And me? I have some fabulous memories (and pictures) of my son's sheer joy at riding a fake horse that goes up and down in a circle for a few minutes.
I have yet to get him on the Astro Orbiter, but I bet he would like that too.

Bringing this back to Dinoland, USA .. maybe I would like that place even more if they just ditched the silly carnival games and added another kiddie carnival ride or two in there. It would be more of a draw than it is now probably.
 
Bringing this back to Dinoland, USA .. maybe I would like that place even more if they just ditched the silly carnival games and added another kiddie carnival ride or two in there. It would be more of a draw than it is now probably.

Thematically it would work really well.

I meant unique not to a new, small human, but "unique" in the parents' eyes. They have those circle type rides lots of places...WDW kinda has to be unique to be worth it for a long trip with high prices vs. what that family can get at home.
 


I actually thought there were too many dinky rides at DCA. We spent most of our time at the Cove Bar.
 
I do think those rides / that area could be better ... though I am starting to get worried about this focus on nothing but "E-ticket" attractions ... and every new land seems to just have a couple of big rides. Maybe I am just more aware/focused on this as I have little kids, but there is some value in having some smaller rides with less wait that kids can get on, etc. .... I know we have gone on Triceratops spin as something to do with the little kids when the older ones/parents take turns on the bigger rides. If they replace those two rides with one E-Ticket with a height restriction than the only thing in that area little kids can do is the boneyard - which is weird for an area based on dinosaurs which most kids love

You'd only be losing Triceratops Spin as a real kiddy ride. Primeval Whirl is tied with RnR for that tallest height restriction at WDW (outside the water parks).

Though I think they could do better than a spinner and fair ride, I have a soft spot in my heart for TriSpin and the Whirl.
 
For what they are, the rides themselves aren't awful. The 48" on the whirl just seems out of character for the ride, but seeing it at local fairs, they have the same height, so obviously it's a design consideration. Obviously the cars are built in such a way, and that's what the insurance would cover. I'd think with disney's resources they could have maybe sprung for a certified modification to get it to accommodate 42"+.
There seems a space between the Whirl and DinoSaur towards the exterior of the park that could be a building pad large enough to accommodate another attraction. Maybe something like the slinky dog dash, minimal theme, a coaster that goes through dino bones or something. Some tunnel scenes to obscure the back side of expedition Everest. Voila, near E ticket attraction, and a reason for more people to hang out in that section of the park.
 
For what they are, the rides themselves aren't awful. The 48" on the whirl just seems out of character for the ride, but seeing it at local fairs, they have the same height, so obviously it's a design consideration. Obviously the cars are built in such a way, and that's what the insurance would cover. I'd think with disney's resources they could have maybe sprung for a certified modification to get it to accommodate 42"+.
There seems a space between the Whirl and DinoSaur towards the exterior of the park that could be a building pad large enough to accommodate another attraction. Maybe something like the slinky dog dash, minimal theme, a coaster that goes through dino bones or something. Some tunnel scenes to obscure the back side of expedition Everest. Voila, near E ticket attraction, and a reason for more people to hang out in that section of the park.

From the very, very little I've read, you're basically describing the excavator coaster that was once planned for the area.
 
Bringing this back on topic, maybe we're talking about an Indy Land that includes Short Round's Wild Ride - you know, for the kids? I'm also okay if they keep the Whac-A-Packycephalosaur game (yes - that's its real name) from DinoLand but with a Mutt overlay - because it's never too early to teach your kids the joy of repeatedly hitting Shia LaBeouf in the head with a rubber mallet.

Mutt was probably the best part of Crystal Skull, right up until he started swinging on vines and fencing between two moving vehicles, like a video game.
 
Knowing that both rides are on the same track system I have wondered why I like Indy so much (indeed, I've been known to stand in line for lengthy periods of time to ride it) but don't particularly care for Dinosaur.
1) I like the Indy back story (anthropology undergrad who actually did some archeology back in the day.) But I don't dislike dinosaurs and generally am interested in paleontology, so that can't account for the extreme difference to me in the rides.
2) Execution - I feel like I see more when I ride Indy, whereas Dinosaur is so dark I see very little. Plus in dinosaur the sound is at an uncomfortably loud level, whereas w/ Indy I don't notice how loud it is. So couple nothing much to look at resulting in focusing on the too load roars and what not, and by the end of dinosaur I can't wait to get off the ride, whereas w/ Indy I'd be happy to hop on and ride again.
I hope they get rid of the cheap carnival type stuff over in dinoland, just about anything would be more appropriate than that, IMO. I know there's a 'story' to 'explain' it - but puleese, there's so much they could do involving dinosaurs w/out resorting to the carnival stuff.
 
Knowing that both rides are on the same track system I have wondered why I like Indy so much (indeed, I've been known to stand in line for lengthy periods of time to ride it) but don't particularly care for Dinosaur.
1) I like the Indy back story (anthropology undergrad who actually did some archeology back in the day.) But I don't dislike dinosaurs and generally am interested in paleontology, so that can't account for the extreme difference to me in the rides.
2) Execution - I feel like I see more when I ride Indy, whereas Dinosaur is so dark I see very little. Plus in dinosaur the sound is at an uncomfortably loud level, whereas w/ Indy I don't notice how loud it is. So couple nothing much to look at resulting in focusing on the too load roars and what not, and by the end of dinosaur I can't wait to get off the ride, whereas w/ Indy I'd be happy to hop on and ride again.
I hope they get rid of the cheap carnival type stuff over in dinoland, just about anything would be more appropriate than that, IMO. I know there's a 'story' to 'explain' it - but puleese, there's so much they could do involving dinosaurs w/out resorting to the carnival stuff.
I feel the same way. And I've often wondered the same thing. The Indy backstory definitely has a lot to do with it. But for me a lot of it is strangely enough, the music.
 
Knowing that both rides are on the same track system I have wondered why I like Indy so much (indeed, I've been known to stand in line for lengthy periods of time to ride it) but don't particularly care for Dinosaur.
1) I like the Indy back story (anthropology undergrad who actually did some archeology back in the day.) But I don't dislike dinosaurs and generally am interested in paleontology, so that can't account for the extreme difference to me in the rides.
2) Execution - I feel like I see more when I ride Indy, whereas Dinosaur is so dark I see very little. Plus in dinosaur the sound is at an uncomfortably loud level, whereas w/ Indy I don't notice how loud it is. So couple nothing much to look at resulting in focusing on the too load roars and what not, and by the end of dinosaur I can't wait to get off the ride, whereas w/ Indy I'd be happy to hop on and ride again.
I hope they get rid of the cheap carnival type stuff over in dinoland, just about anything would be more appropriate than that, IMO. I know there's a 'story' to 'explain' it - but puleese, there's so much they could do involving dinosaurs w/out resorting to the carnival stuff.

to me it just also feels like there is more to the Indy ride - that big open room with so much going on is just very immersive and impressive ... Dinosaur feels like being jostling around in the dark between different small, very similar scenes where the dinosaurs are just stationary for some reason and waiting for the computer to evaluate them
 
CTX was just poor execution. The scenery (or lack thereof) lets down a wonderful ride system. If the whole ride was as detailed as the first room with numerous AA dinosaurs throughout, it would be good. But after you get through that first space you're mainly just being thrown around in the dark for 10 seconds before coming up to a poorly lit solitary dinosaur. Then you get thrown around in the dark for another 10 seconds before coming about another poorly lit dinosaur.
Indy, by comparison, is detailed throughout. It has a sense of grandeur as you can see all around the inside of that large temple room for a big portion of the ride.
 
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Besides being better lit and not quite as loud, another advantage Indy has is variety. Just think of all the different rooms with the various dangers you encounter: bugs, poison darts, the rolling ball, plus as mentioned above the large Temple room which contains not only the fire pit, but also the rickety bridge, HUGE snake and other things to look at as you go through it.

Also, as mom2rtk says, the theme music adds so much and then you have Sallah guiding you, it's easy to see why Indy tops Dinosaur.

Dinosaur is basically, uh, just Dinosaurs and with some nice landscaping in parts (that you can see).
 
For what they are, the rides themselves aren't awful. The 48" on the whirl just seems out of character for the ride, but seeing it at local fairs, they have the same height, so obviously it's a design consideration. Obviously the cars are built in such a way, and that's what the insurance would cover. I'd think with disney's resources they could have maybe sprung for a certified modification to get it to accommodate 42"+.
There seems a space between the Whirl and DinoSaur towards the exterior of the park that could be a building pad large enough to accommodate another attraction. Maybe something like the slinky dog dash, minimal theme, a coaster that goes through dino bones or something. Some tunnel scenes to obscure the back side of expedition Everest. Voila, near E ticket attraction, and a reason for more people to hang out in that section of the park.


Removing comment, I did some research and was wrong. LOL
 
Dinosaur is basically, uh, just Dinosaurs and with some nice landscaping in parts (that you can see).
I always feel that Dinosaur's poor lighting, jerky ride, blaring soundtrack/voiceover, and disorienting strobe effects are purposefully designed to overwhelm and distract you from realizing it's really not such a great ride. I've thought that they could do a better job of bringing you back down after that assault on the senses - maybe some Pink Floyd during the laser light show at the end.

For those playing at home, here's what we've learned from this thread so far: First, DinoLand is what happens when Disney doesn't make good on the Beastly Kingdom at the start and allows those raiders over to Universal to steal ideas for their ark of IP. Second, Disney should not treat its parks like sacred temples (which is a recipe for doom) and make changes that improve the experience (rather than ripping out the hearts of its guests who want change). Third, the last thing Disney should do is give up looking for the holy grail here in lieu of a crusade to save a part of AK that does not fit - if so, they will have chosen...poorly. Fourth, for all those suits over at the Kingdom, the need to improve AK should be crystal clear - but it doesn't seem to have sunk into their skulls yet.
 
the holy grail here in lieu of a crusade to save a part of AK that does not fit - if so, they will have chosen...poorly. Fourth, for all those suits over at the Kingdom, the need to improve AK should be crystal clear - but it doesn't seem to have sunk into their skulls yet.

I feel like all those words are begging for some kind of Indy, Crystal Skull reference, but none of us want a land based on that Indy movie.
 

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