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[Kristof]

There's an interesting article by a former Animal Kingdom Imagineer at Mouseplanet.  She was responsible for the maze in Beastlie Kingdomme.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mg060308mp

Concept art at Webcot:

[Kristof]

Read this today on screamscape:

The rumors about revival of Beastly Kingdom are starting again, claiming that it will take over Camp Minnie Mickey and the characters Meet & Greets will then be dispersed throughout the park. Taking over this site may also mean the end to the Pocahontas and Lion King shows... though we've heard that Lion King could be moved and updated to inhabit a new venue in Africa instead.
   Like before, the highlight attraction being talked about is a coaster style ride where you encounter a huge Dragon. I'm not sure what kind of coaster may be used here since the existence of Everest is sure to throw everything into a redesign, but the word "hybrid" was mentioned. I'm not sure what that means in Disney-Speak but in the coaster community the term usually refers to a water flume coaster like the nearby Journey To Atlantis at SeaWorld. The second E-Ticket ride in development is also said to be a dark ride concept as well, but I've heard nothing else right now. The kiddies are not being left out however, as a small assortment of kiddie rides are also said to be part of the mix along with a new show theater.

[Anthony]

I can honestly see Animal Kingdom becoming one of the best Disney parks in the world in 10 years time, perhaps up there with Tokyo DisneySea! (But not quite DLP level  :wink: )

The coaster they talk about is interesting - I hope they do work hard to make it different to Everest.  I'd quite like something that *isn't* based on a mountain, if possible.  A dark ride is always very welcome too, the park only has one so far...

[Kristof]

I don't see why they can't do the Dragons-themed ride?  It's not a mountain, but a funny shaped castle.  :lol:   And they don't have to worry about the Duelling Dragons at IOA, that has no theming at all (except for the queue line ofcourse).

[babybert]

What and where is Beastlie Kingdomme? Is it disney???  :?

[Kristof]

Sorry Babybert, I'll explain it to you.

Beastly Kingdom was supposed to be a brand new "land" at Animal Kingdom.  It should have opened to compete with Islands of Adventures.  But since that park was hardly a threat to Disney theme parks after it opened, the plans got forgotten...  Expedition Everest has now been build on the Beastly Kingdom ground.

[Kristof]

*bump* - 2 years later.  :lol:

Jim Hill Media reports that plans for Beastlie Kingdomme have been dusted off once again and is now scheduled for a 2011 opening.  However, the idea now is to drop the dragons & unicorns and replace them by existing Disney or Pixar characters.  

[...] WDW execs are still looking for ways to extend DAK's operating hours, guess which concept for a brand-new "land" at that theme park has just been dusted off? Would you believe Beastly Kingdomme?

Mind you, you can just forget about "Dragon's Tower," "Quest for the Unicorn" or any other ride concepts that were previously proposed for this Animal Kingdom addition. My understanding is that WDI is now looking to get a fresh start with this part of the park. More importantly, that any shows or attractions that are being proposed for this revamped version of Beastly Kingdomme will have to have strong ties to already well established Disney brands.

I know, I know. Those of you who are already up in arms about those Disney characters that are allegedly going to be added to Disneyland's "it's a small world" attraction now have yet another reason to bitch & moan. But face facts, folks: One of the main reasons that most people go to the Disney theme parks is because they actually want to see the characters. And given that DAK is pretty light when it comes to rides, shows and attractions that prominently feature the Disney characters (To date, there's only seven of these in that entire theme park: "It's Tough to Be a Bug," "Finding Nemo - The Musical," "Dinosaur," "Festival of the Lion King," "Pocahontas and her Forest Friends," "Rafiki's Planet Watch" as well as Camp Minnie-Mickey's character greeting area) ... Reimagining Beastly Kingdomme as a character-friendly addition to that park will probably be a smart move in the long run.

Source

Concept art from the original idea can be found at our magicblog.

[Remco K.]

Jim Hill Media reports that plans for Beastlie Kingdomme have been dusted off once again and is now scheduled for a 2011 opening.  However, the idea now is to drop the dragons & unicorns and replace them by existing Disney or Pixar characters.

An interesting idea... I wonder if we'll still see something along the scale of the former Beastly Kingdomme concept.

Perhaps they can even 'import' Journey to the Center of the Earth in this new area. A mixed concept from former Beastly Kingdomme plans and Tokyo DisneySea could make up for a neat addition to Animal Kingdom.

[DisneyParksFan]

Beastly Kingdom was supposed to be a brand new "land" at Animal Kingdom.  It should have opened to compete with Islands of Adventures.  But since that park was hardly a threat to Disney theme parks after it opened, the plans got forgotten...  Expedition Everest has now been build on the Beastly Kingdom ground.

No, it was supposed to open with the grand opening of the park. They ditched the plan late in the process. That is why you see dragons on some of the Animal Kingdom singage/logos...even though the park holds no dragons (real or fake  :wink: ).

The site where the 'kingdom' was suposed to go is now occupied by Camp Minnie and Mickey. It was rumored that the Imagineers working on the project were fired and then went to Universal...hint the Dueling Dragons attraction.

[Remco K.]

That is why you see dragons on some of the Animal Kingdom singage/logos...even though the park holds no dragons (real or fake  :wink: ).

There even is a dragon-shaped cave which used to have a fire effect. I'm not sure the fire effect is still in operation.

[Kristof]

No, it was supposed to open with the grand opening of the park.

According to the great book "The making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" it was Imagineered one year before park opening as part of the "first 5 year plan". (Page 174)  :wink:

[DisneyParksFan]

No, it was supposed to open with the grand opening of the park.

According to the great book "The making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" it was Imagineered one year before park opening as part of the "first 5 year plan". (Page 174)  :wink:

I stand corrected.
Sorry about that.

[experiment627]

Screamscape is reporting:

2011 or 2013 - Beastly Kingdom - In Redesign - (4/25/08) Screamscape sources tell us Beastly Kingdom may very well be back on the five-year planning track and if all goes as planned, we could see it open by either 2011 or 2013, depending on just how quickly they want it. Unfortunately it seems Disney has move away from any plans involving the Dragon's Tower roller coaster concepts. In fact, they're said to be shying away from Dragons entirely since Universal already took the basic idea for Dueling Dragons, which will get refreshed with an all-new story when it becomes part of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter late next year. Instead Disney will focus the land on "other" imaginary creatures.
  There is some good news however as the long rumored next generation water ride concept Disney has been working on does look to be the front-runner for the land's big Super E-Ticket concept. I don't know much about it except that the basic idea is to take the EMV style motion-based action you get from the Indiana Jones Adventure (DL) and Dinosaur (AK) rides and then apply it to a boat ride. I've got two ideas in my head... one invoving large Jungle Cruise sized boats with a huge motion base (sinking ship action?) or on the smaller scale of things... something more Splash Mountain log sized but with bouncy seating to create a real-world version of the Virtual Jungle Cruise attraction at DisneyQuest.

[Anthony]

Instead Disney will focus the land on "other" imaginary creatures.

Stitch? :|

I would have thought IOA ditching the dragons for Potter would be a good chance for AK to give them a go. The original concepts above of a very British, Alice in Wonderland-type land with dragons, unicorns, the Loch Ness monster and so on looked like a great contrast for the park.

[The Butlin Boy]

I would have thought IOA ditching the dragons for Potter would be a good chance for AK to give them a go

They are re-themeing it, but I think it's still going to be based on dragons though. But still, there is nothing stopping them from using a Dragon type theme in there though :wink: