The Rumor Tracking Thread

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Here is another rumor I saw posted over at WDWMagic under their Harmonious thread:

According to the latest episode of Disney Dish. The other barges will be moved out and used as a fountain in February. Show testing would begin around that time. With the show opening around April-Easter time.

This is a rumor, please treat it as such grain of salt and all that.

Guess we'll know in February if this one holds true.

 

[Mit88]

Zootopia fits in AK far better than Black Panther. The film and the comics are more about culture (Epcot) than they are about animals.

As far as the IP thing. These are THEIR characters, THEIR story’s. Disney created them. I don’t know why the IP thing is an issue here. Having a gripe with Pandora, Star Wars, Marvel, fine. But now it’s just complaining to complain with the IP stuff

 

[Mit88]

Here is another rumor I saw posted over at WDWMagic under their Harmonious thread:

According to the latest episode of Disney Dish. The other barges will be moved out and used as a fountain in February. Show testing would begin around that time. With the show opening around April-Easter time.

This is a rumor, please treat it as such grain of salt and all that.

Guess we'll know in February if this one holds true.

I still think EF comes back at least for a few months before Harmonius starts. The fountain thing I believe, especially if the Rat rumor is true. But as long as the barges are out, and the fountains work, they don’t need to start Harmonius right away. They could incorporate the barges into EF since they’ll be there anyway

 

[BrianL]

Zootopia fits in AK far better than Black Panther. The film and the comics are more about culture (Epcot) than they are about animals.

As far as the IP thing. These are THEIR characters, THEIR story’s. Disney created them. I don’t know why the IP thing is an issue here. Having a gripe with Pandora, Star Wars, Marvel, fine. But now it’s just complaining to complain with the IP stuff

That's the thing that I never understood. I mena, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Manasion are IP as well. Does it much matter if a ride is based on a movie or a movie is based on a ride? At a certain point only the hardcore fans will even remember which came first.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Zootopia fits in AK far better than Black Panther. The film and the comics are more about culture (Epcot) than they are about animals.

As far as the IP thing. These are THEIR characters, THEIR story’s. Disney created them. I don’t know why the IP thing is an issue here. Having a gripe with Pandora, Star Wars, Marvel, fine. But now it’s just complaining to complain with the IP stuff

Well, personally I don't think Black Panther or Zootopia fit in Animal Kingdom very well. I see AK much more about habitats and conservation - Black Panther is more about that culture and developing technology, etc. (unless they spin it how technology can fit in the natural world without negatively impacting it). Zootopia is anthropomorphic animals living in a human style world, so sort of the exact opposite of what Animal Kingdom is

As for IP, I don't mind using it where it makes sense. I am not a fan of shoehorning it where it doesn't fit well, and also would appreciate some new rides base on new ideas - and then you can go the other way and make shows about the characters developed for the attractions. I think if there was even one or two non-IP attractions in development it would help balance things. Just feels like it has swung too far to IP and only IP not matter what

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I still think EF comes back at least for a few months before Harmonius starts. The fountain thing I believe, especially if the Rat rumor is true. But as long as the barges are out, and the fountains work, they don’t need to start Harmonius right away. They could incorporate the barges into EF since they’ll be there anyway

might depend on timing of having any night time shows. If they aren't able to do any night time shows until October then they might go right to Harmonius ... but if they can do something starting in the early spring, then EF makes sense to start with

 

[Moliphino]

Well, personally I don't think Black Panther or Zootopia fit in Animal Kingdom very well. I see AK much more about habitats and conservation - Black Panther is more about that culture and developing technology, etc. (unless they spin it how technology can fit in the natural world without negatively impacting it). Zootopia is anthropomorphic animals living in a human style world, so sort of the exact opposite of what Animal Kingdom is

As for IP, I don't mind using it where it makes sense. I am not a fan of shoehorning it where it doesn't fit well, and also would appreciate some new rides base on new ideas - and then you can go the other way and make shows about the characters developed for the attractions. I think if there was even one or two non-IP attractions in development it would help balance things. Just feels like it has swung too far to IP and only IP not matter what

YES! Neither of those fits in AK at all, in my opinion. Pandora works because it does have an environmental conservation message.

 

[rteetz]

Zootopia at AK was always something that was interesting to me, but it does "disturb" what AK is about. But it's really no different than Pandora and that's been a huge success and draw.

Pandora and Zootopia are not even remotely the same. Zootopia does not belong in AK and has no connection to AK. Animal Kingdom is about nature, it’s values, and conservation. Just because Zootopia has animals in it does not mean it fits in AK. That would be like saying Star Wars belongs in AK because it has animals/creatures. I do worry that with Joe Rohde retired that Disney will lose sight of his creative vision and overall theme of that park and will stuff something incredibly stupid like Zootopia in there.

/end rant

 

[rteetz]

Here is another rumor I saw posted over at WDWMagic under their Harmonious thread:

According to the latest episode of Disney Dish. The other barges will be moved out and used as a fountain in February. Show testing would begin around that time. With the show opening around April-Easter time.

This is a rumor, please treat it as such grain of salt and all that.

Guess we'll know in February if this one holds true.

Jim doing a lot of bold things this week.

 

[Mit88]

Well, personally I don't think Black Panther or Zootopia fit in Animal Kingdom very well. I see AK much more about habitats and conservation - Black Panther is more about that culture and developing technology, etc. (unless they spin it how technology can fit in the natural world without negatively impacting it). Zootopia is anthropomorphic animals living in a human style world, so sort of the exact opposite of what Animal Kingdom is

As for IP, I don't mind using it where it makes sense. I am not a fan of shoehorning it where it doesn't fit well, and also would appreciate some new rides base on new ideas - and then you can go the other way and make shows about the characters developed for the attractions. I think if there was even one or two non-IP attractions in development it would help balance things. Just feels like it has swung too far to IP and only IP not matter what

Im not saying Zootopia is a perfect fit, just that it’s better than Black Panther, something people have suggested in then Disney community. I for one would much rather see Paradise Falls get adapted into AK.

It’s just extremely difficult to develop original ideas that the masses would flock to in this day and age. Even the development of Haunted Mansion was a disaster. Could it be done? Yeah, of course. But if they develop an original attraction with a story and/or characters that people don’t connect with, they’re out quite a bit of money. Figment for example, while based on the character they already created, the updated version is still technically an “original” attraction. And while the fans might think it’s lazy, the Imagineers probably hoped it would be a hit, and it wasn’t. People are quick to criticize rather than go into something hoping to enjoy it. 9 times out of 10 if you hear something bad about something, you’re going to go into your first experience with it ready to hate it. I think we saw this with MMRR.

 

[SMRT-1]

While I can certainly see some clueless, money-grubbing exec like Chapek doing it, the rumor of Mando characters in SW:GE doesn't make sense from a story/immersion standpoint.

The Mandalorian takes place ~30 years before the timeline of SW:GE, so either the land's E-Ticket attraction, "Rise of the Resistance," would be 30 years too early and be completely out of place, or the Mando characters would be 30 years too young (unless Mando and Ahsoka were senior citizens, and Grogu was "no-longer-a-baby Yoda."

 

[tlmadden73]

Pandora and Zootopia are not even remotely the same. Zootopia does not belong in AK and has no connection to AK. Animal Kingdom is about nature, it’s values, and conservation. Just because Zootopia has animals in it does not mean it fits in AK. That would be like saying Star Wars belongs in AK because it has animals/creatures. I do worry that with Joe Rohde retired that Disney will lose sight of his creative vision and overall theme of that park and will stuff something incredibly stupid like Zootopia in there.

/end rant

Agree.

That's why I never felt that Dino-rama never fit into AK thematically (besides the cheesy rides). They should turn that area into an immersive dive into a dino-like world.
Or just tear it all down and build another continent there and focus on those animals - South America, Australia. The "zoo" part of the park is really lacking in that corner of the park.

As for the other rumors:

• Zootopia at DAK in 2025-2030 was going to be announced at 50th
• Battuu timeline coming to an end, which will add a bunch of characters (Mando, BY, Ashoka and Boba Fett)
• Rat: soft opening January

Zootopia - ya .. just doesn't fit in AK. Would they just put it in Dinoland USA since that area is so empty and awful now without the Whirl?

Battu timeline? Ya .. I can see them definitely continue to "ditch" the sequel trilogy in SWGE. Why have it set in a time period that the company has seemingly abandoned from a marketing/merchandising standpoint? The Mandalorian is arguably more popular than the Rise of Skywalker was. (I mean .. they barely even promoted that movie before or after compared to how much Baby Yoda merhc you see)

Rat? Soft opening in January? I am planning on going last week of January .. Yes please!

 

[Chumpieboy]

While I can certainly see some clueless, money-grubbing exec like Chapek doing it, the rumor of Mando characters in SW:GE doesn't make sense from a story/immersion standpoint.

The Mandalorian takes place ~30 years before the timeline of SW:GE, so either the land's E-Ticket attraction, "Rise of the Resistance," would be 30 years too early and be completely out of place, or the Mando characters would be 30 years too young (unless Mando and Ahsoka were senior citizens, and Grogu was "no-longer-a-baby Yoda."

TBF when has that mattered regarding SW content in the parks? The random scenes from Star Tours take you into scenes from all 9 films - you fly from a battle on Naboo in Ep1 to the trench run in Ep4 on the same "trip" (or one of the timeline-tossing variants described here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Tours_–_The_Adventures_Continue#Ride_experience )

 

[Mit88]

Jim doing a lot of bold things this week.

As long as no one is planning trips based on the rumors he’s spilling, I don’t see anything wrong with this. Even if they’re all wrong, it doesn’t impact me. It’s better to have possible future plans to talk about at Disney than another day of news of things being taken away

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Im not saying Zootopia is a perfect fit, just that it’s better than Black Panther, something people have suggested in then Disney community. I for one would much rather see Paradise Falls get adapted into AK.

It’s just extremely difficult to develop original ideas that the masses would flock to in this day and age. Even the development of Haunted Mansion was a disaster. Could it be done? Yeah, of course. But if they develop an original attraction with a story and/or characters that people don’t connect with, they’re out quite a bit of money. Figment for example, while based on the character they already created, the updated version is still technically an “original” attraction. And while the fans might think it’s lazy, the Imagineers probably hoped it would be a hit, and it wasn’t. People are quick to criticize rather than go into something hoping to enjoy it. 9 times out of 10 if you hear something bad about something, you’re going to go into your first experience with it ready to hate it. I think we saw this with MMRR.

I get that, but I think you can still have success - Expedition Everest is a success ... if we look to international parks, Mystic Manor is success and Disney could then build on the story made for that and have like a Society of Explorers and Adventurers show on Disney+ and market the heck out of Albert the monkey

again, I get IP, I think makes sense for majority of rides to be IP based - but they need to make sense and woudl be great to see at least the occasional non-IP attraction that is being built because it is a great idea, not because they can shove IP into it

 

[TheMaxRebo]

As long as no one is planning trips based on the rumors he’s spilling, I don’t see anything wrong with this. Even if they’re all wrong, it doesn’t impact me. It’s better to have possible future plans to talk about at Disney than another day of news of things being taken away

yup - way more fun to discuss rumors that likely will never come to fruition than talk about how RNRC is down again and that the people mover still isn't open

 

[Mit88]

I get that, but I think you can still have success - Expedition Everest is a success ... if we look to international parks, Mystic Manor is success and Disney could then build on the story made for that and have like a Society of Explorers and Adventurers show on Disney+ and market the heck out of Albert the monkey

again, I get IP, I think makes sense for majority of rides to be IP based - but they need to make sense and woudl be great to see at least the occasional non-IP attraction that is being built because it is a great idea, not because they can shove IP into it

Rollercoasters are relatively easy to make original. The story of a yeti in the Himalayas isn’t really new or made by Joe Rohde. He adapted it from folklore. Mystic Manor while original, still used HM as a template. Dont get me wrong, I would much prefer original ideas than a continuous slate of IP driven attractions. But I 100% understand why they don’t take the risks

 

[rteetz]

Rollercoasters are relatively easy to make original. The story of a yeti in the Himalayas isn’t really new or made by Joe Rohde. He adapted it from folklore. Mystic Manor while original, still used HM as a template. Dont get me wrong, I would much prefer original ideas than a continuous slate of IP driven attractions. But I 100% understand why they don’t take the risks

It’s not like they can’t take a risk here or there tho. I don’t mind IP when it works and works well. Original stories also work too though and for ever 5-10 IP based things 1-2 original things would be nice.

 

[Mit88]

yup - way more fun to discuss rumors that likely will never come to fruition than talk about how RNRC is down again and that the people mover still isn't open

I also think he cheated a little in these rumors. 4 attractions based on those shows coming out. Well we already know Moana and Princess and the Frog are getting attractions, and no matter where it went, Zootopia was eventually going to find a home somewhere at WDW. Big Hero has also been rumored for a spot in Tomorrowland for some time.

Theres so much going on in France over in the area where Rat is that it’s pretty easy to predict it would be opening very soon. There’s really nothing left to do but to open it.

The Batuu stuff is pretty easy to predict given the success of Mandalorian. You don’t have the most adored part of Star Wars canon (non animated) in over 30 years tucked into a room in Animation Courtyard.

 

[BrianL]

I think Black Panther could fit in the Africa section of AK, but just as a small presence, not taking it over. Like a BP meet & greet there would fit okay. I think if they wanted to do Wakanda, they should do it how they are doing Guardians, in Future World, but as the World Showcase Pavilion for Wakanda. GotG will be the World Showcase Pavilion for Xandar.