We don’t think it is a stretch to say that Dinoland USA is, by far, the weakest part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It has only one ride that would be considered a draw (Dinosaur) and even that ride has seen better days. Beyond that, there really isn’t anything special that you couldn’t find at your local country fair. [NOTE: We are not counting Finding Nemo which, although technically in Dinoland USA, has nothing to do with dinosaurs!]. This area of the park is ripe for re-imagining, but what should Disney do with it?
Here are a few humble suggestions from your site hosts.
SUGGESTION #1: Power Rangers Dino Thunder
This is actually Banshee’s idea as she is a big fan of the Power Rangers. For those who might not realize it, each Power Rangers season/series essentially a reboot which introduces some new theme or twist on the franchise. In 2004 when Disney actually owned the franchise, they created the series Power Rangers Dino Thunder which reboots our morphin’ heroes with a dinosaur theme. What better way to introduce this IP into the parks while connecting it to the existing dinosaur theme?
The Power Rangers are a super popular brand, so having them in the parks could be a huge draw. Plus, given the source material, there is a lot of fertile ground for the Imagineers to cultivate when redesigning this area. I could picture them going with a fantastical anime-style theming with this land, with some big thrill ride headliner where you can battle some evil monsters along side our heroes. Throw in a couple of family friendly rides, a meet-and-greet, an inventive dining option, and the obvious gift shops, this might actually work.
On the other hand, using the Dino Thunder part of the franchise as a link to Animal Kingdom is a stretch. The Imagineers would have to figure out how to connect this land to the theme park’s overall theme of conservation. Not to mention the fact that Disney no longer owns the franchise (it is owned by Hasbro) so they would need to cut some sort of licensing deal to make this happen. Given that Disney already has a ready made stable of IP, they might not feel the need to go outside the family so to speak.
The other thing that this has going against it is a certain dinosaur based franchise called Jurassic Park. Anything dinosaur-based that Disney would do will always be a shadow of the king of the dinosaur worlds. Maybe it is better to just jettison the idea of dinosaurs altogether and start fresh.
SUGGESTION #2: Beastly Kingdom
This was actually one of the original concepts for Animal Kingdom when the park first opened. The land was supposed to be a nod to creatures of myth and legend… unicorns, dragons, and other fantastical beasts. The idea was scraped in favor of Camp Minnie Mickey, but the idea was (sort of) revived with the addition of Pandora. However, why not go back to that original idea and bring it to life in the other corner of the park?
You could see a really cool backstory for this. At some point in time, our universe temporarily crossed over with the universe of legend. During that time, several creatures crossed over into our universe and got trapped. The Beastly Kingdom is a conservation area where these creatures can live and be protected in our world until the next universe crossover occurs and they can go home.
Now if you want a more IP based backstory, you can bring this into the MCU and say that these creatures were part of the Collector’s menagerie, but have since been freed and allowed to live in this park that is set aside for them. Banshee even wants the Gamemaster (aka Jeff Goldblum) to become the Gamekeeper and run the place!
Regardless of the backstory, you could see a Kilimanjaro Safari style ride that takes you through a fantastical savannah populated by magical creatures. You can even reboot the “Big Red” storyline where part of the safari is rescuing baby unicorn from poachers. Perhaps you can add a Soarin’ style ride where you fly with a dragon.
This sort of setting opens up a lot of creative possibilities in terms of dining and entertainment, too.
The obvious downside is comparisons to Harry Potter as that franchise is already populated with mythical (or dare I say, fantastic) beasts. Plus, you already have one fiction-based land at Animal Kingdom called Pandora, so do you need yet another home for mythical creatures?
SUGGESTION #3: Australia
This is the idea that we like the most! Rather than leaning into yet another fantastical land and/or IP, why not go back the park’s roots and add a third continent-based land. The animals of Australia are unique and fantastic in their own right. I mean, who doesn’t love a Koala?! Plus this dovetails perfectly with the educational and conservation message of the park.
I could see the Imagineers having fun theming the land around some small outpost in the middle of the Outback. It probably won’t take much to re-theme Dinosaur into an Outback safari adventure ride. You could also add a walking trail where you could see and learn about Australian animals, similar to the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Plus, this would be a perfect opportunity to introduce the latest and hottest Australian children’s IP into the park…. I’m talking about Bluey! Can you imagine the popularity of a Bluey meet and greet? I would stand on line for hours to get my picture taken with that crazy family. And wouldn’t you love to see a ride that re-creates Bluey’s dream of becoming a fruit bat and flying about?
You also have a certain Perry the Platypus whose Australian roots would make it a perfect fit for this land.
And don’t even get me started on the amazing dining options that an Australian themed land opens up!
Overall, we think that this is, by far, the best choice for a re-imagined Dinoland USA. It fits in perfectly with the park’s theme and it opens up so many creative avenues to go down. I hope Disney is listening!
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