I almost want to cry. Exploring the smoldering remains of a partly ruined castle and coming face to face with a 30-foot animatronic dragon? That would have been *SO FREAKIN' AMAZING!*
As much as I love dinosaurs and love the dinosaur ride there, the land itself always felt unfinished and a whole lot of nothing. Its just a parking lot with dinosaur themed carnival games and a small carnival wooden coaster. Its no wonder its now slated to be remade into Zootopia, while keeping the actual Dinosaur ride. Even though its my favorite ride there, I would have much rather had Beastly Kingdom as a whole.
The fact Beastly Kingdoms was going to be a really open, fairy tale-ish place seems like it would've lent well to new rides and updates. Pandora's just going to be Pandora, with little change.
Well, Avatar has 2 or 3 sequels in the works, so they can add new attractions and updates based on those films in the coming years. But yeah, I agree Beastly Kingdom would have probably been a better land overall. I just hope after Pandora opens they fix the broken yeti in Expedition Everest and refurbish Kali River Rapids. So many broken things on that now.
If they were to add in a ride that would allow you pilot one of the various aircraft or mech suits I'd be all for it. Otherwise I'm saddened by the fact that beastly kingdom never came to be.
Philip Ellwell I went to the Pandora attraction for my dad it was dope when we got on the simulator it was the best part but it will also be cool if they had beastly kingdom
I agree that in the long run Beastly Kingdom would have been better. Sure, when it opened Pandora might have great attractions, but already they don't have an audience. I don't know anyone who would go to Pandora's kingdom outside of curiosity or boredom, especially not for a passion in the franchise. When it opened, Pandora had breathtaking new technology, but that technology is going to age, and I think in 10 years everyone will have all but forgotten Avatar, and the impressive technology won't be as impressive. All Disney attractions face this problem because all IPs age. Meanwhile, if they had done something like Beastly Kingdom, which used unique ideas and interesting concepts, telling a new story that has already proven to be timeless, they would have had something much more substantial. I would visit Beastly Kingdom a thousand times, but, even though I've only visited once, I think that's enough of Pandora for me. Also sure, Avatar might have sequels but the sequels probably won't really reinvigorate audiences into adoring avatar, unless they pull a star wars and have it going forever, but Avatar, imo, doesn't have the fan base nor brand recognition to do something like this.
Problem with the Avatar sequels is, unless the scripts are really good the movies aren't gonna have staying power. Which means the park won't either. Avatar is notable not only for making so much money, but for making so much money while also having almost no impact on pop culture or the film industry. I'm sure the sequels will make money, but unless it also has a lot of true fans, and continues to get new fans as time goes on, the park area is gonna have a short lifespan.
Interesting piece. I would love to see Beastly Kingdom move forward with some really well-done dark rides, There's so much mythology to play with, and it could overlap existing Disney films, introducing some of the mythos of the cultures, such as China, France and Nordic countries. Can you imagine visiting a cave where dragons from different cultures are talking?
I agree that it left its self open to a lot. And to go along with your idea they did release one ride that featured a mythical creature the yeti is in Everest. I just wish they would do this with more creatures,
And fix the Yeti, which was originally more animated. Plus the mythology of different cultures doesn't get dated the way a film franchise can, and can be updated when there is a relevant film out. The tech exists to do something great. Speaking of which, The Great Movie Ride is overdue for a tech upgrade.
Exactly. If Disney wants to draw in all those Chinese tourists, why not redo the burnt-down castle with evil Western dragon as a ride through the air or underwater to the Dragon King's Palace of East Asian mythology. If they still have any props from Norway's Maelstrom ride, remake it in Beastly Kingdom for the all the people who enjoyed Norwegian trolls more than the forced Frozen rebranding. Make a ride overlapping the Good and Evil sections about the Firebird and Spirit of the Forest from Fantasia 2000. Hell, most people forget Disney translated and distributed Studio Ghibli films for the US and therefore have some rights to the properties. Give us stuff based on My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away!
...man I wished I lived in the alternate universe where Beastly Kingdom was developed and opened as planned. That and the universe where Westcot was built instead of DCA.
I worked at Disney when Animal Kingdom was about to open and remember ALL of this! I was so excited because there were going to be mermaids, dragons , unicorns and a sea serpent too! The designs were on maps and I still have one. I was also lucky enough to open Islands Of Adventure and my home was Lost Continent and we all knew the secrets Bethune the design there too. Very magical times indeed ✨
@@StarlightPrism They've actually done that in the past with the submarine ride! The swimmers ended up having issues with the water quality over time. I know Defunctland has a really good video on the 20000 leagues under the sea ride that's got some info about the mermaids.
Even more disappointingly, Dino Land was supposed to have a coaster on par with Thunder Mountain. But, as is the theme with the Disney Park Eisner Era, it was drastically simplified to cut costs.
Beastly Kingdom sounds so cool, it's really sad it never got built. Nobody really cares about Avatar anymore, so I hope one day it will be replaced with Beastly Kingdom.
All those choices made to promote Dinosaur, one of the most bland and forgettable Disney movies. Way to go, Eisner. That's like canceling Frontierland to promote Home on the Range.
To be fair, he was probably just trying to make the choice that would be the cheaper option in terms of building cost, and was anticipating the Dinosaur movie to be a commercial success, so believed that the film's popularity would bring in more revenue for the park. Not an easy decision, I'm sure. It's hard to say what I myself would have done had I been in the same boat looking at the business side of things. Also, Home on the Range was not that bad.
I feel like given the choice between dinoland and Beastly Kingdom, a ball was dropped. Beastly Kingdom would have been the better option. more money making opportunities that could be utilized toward the construction of Dinoland; and seeing as how Dinosaur got its own ride in another park, it's an unnecessary redundancy in my personal opinion. Especially seeing as I would prefer Beastly Kingdom over Dinoland- and yes, even Avatar. But can't change the past, unfortunately.
The thing is, Disney was expecting dinosaur to be as successful as jurassic park. The problem is the movie didn't feel unique in any way. Most of its plot was about a migration! And the ride was strictly a time travel experience with animatronics, completely forgetting that it was supposed to be based on a movie. You could have put in clips directly from the movie into the preshow, and nobody would notice. When we could have gotten a land that was basically fantasia, we got something based on a movie that was forgotten veeerry quickly. And we are stuck with pandora, which feels like it was based more on a final fantasy spinoff than a movie. When we see what could have been, we don't have anyone to blame but Michael Eisner.
In terms of profitability it made way more sense to go with Dinoland. Beastly Kingdom would’ve been probably the most expensive section of any Disney Park, save for New Fantasyland. Chester and Hester’s Dinoland is themed to be a roadside attraction and as such was not expensive at all to produce or maintain, and the many shops and carnival games are easy money makers.
I think the avatar land is a good idea, however, beastly kingdom is more vague and they would have more room to add and play with ideas. I also think it would draw in more people. The avatar fan base is basically dead in my opinion and I think the need something more fresh to draw people in. I never even knew about beastly kingdom before this video and I'm kinda bummed that it never came to be.
I'm thinking (and hoping) that there are some things up James Cameron's/Disney's sleeves, because building a $500 million dollar land off a SINGLE film (as of now) that came out 8 years ago and 5 planned sequeles (that haven't even started shooting yet) is a BIG gamble.
Yesterworld Entertainment Agreed. But if there are films in the making and if they are successful, more power to them. I just would hate to see this part of the park be a flop.
+Reep 22 A fallacious conclusion. FernGully was hardly the first movie to contain a green aesop. +Pietro Lucchese Assuming Disney cares about park experience. At the end of the day, Pandora's making money and that's all they care about. +Samuel Solomon Watch the Extended Edition. For starters, we actually get to see Earth in it.
Fern Gully in Space is also the highest grossing movie of all time, which is really attractive to a CEO like Bob Iger, who prefers to invest big but play it safe
It still hits me hard cause I love mystical and fantasy stuff to see Beastly Kingdom never take fruit. Though I'm an Avatar fan, adding Pandora seems such a big central focused idea, something Disney has had trouble with in recent years with stuff like Cars Land where they just focus on one property and don't consider if that'll work in the long run when that franchise falls out of favor. I suppose in years to come Avatar, if the partnership with Disney and Cameron ever ends, can be phased out of the land and it be rebranded as a more generic alien world the imaginears can play with, but I still much would have loved to have seen Beastly Kingdom. Maybe with the Lost Continent now having lost nearly everything of that was similar to the idea for Beastly Kingdom, Disney can start to reconsider it? Please? D:
Xycron No doubt, this channel and Defunctland are hands down the best amusement history themed channels, and totally up there for the best overall channels! I recently watched a collaboration they did together, I loved to see two competing channels team up. Such respect for each other, and it seems to me just out of a love for what they do.
It's strange and kinda sad how so many Disney parks have such a strong identity either at the conceptual stage or upon opening and over the years this erodes to obscurity. I mean the idea of animals of the present, animals of the past, and mythical creatures was effortless in its simplicity, yet what we're left with is a bit of a hotch potch. I think the same about California Adventure where, love it or hate it, at least it had a unified theme, yet with Guardians of the Galaxy and a lot of the recent changes it's become bit of a mess theme-wise there, too.
Marcus They're sort of fading out the California theme because it just didn't work. Sure it was consistent, but it was only really consistently shit. They're probably just going to convert it into a generic Disney Adventure park, since the company has realized that such a specific theme doesn't allow for much, while Disneyland allows for all kinds of different ideas.
Honestly, Disney keeps changing their parks strictly to keep up with popularity. Mythical creatures in Disney would have been the most beautiful thing. Besides, there wasn't any specific tie in with mythology, so they could grow and improve in new, unexpected ways.
I don't even know why there is an avatar land. It wasn't originally created by Disney and the movie wasn't even that good. Sure, it looked spectacular, but it was nothing more than a rehash of Pocahontas. Beastly Kingdom sounds like it would have been awesome.
Because they were scrambling to find something to combat Harry Potter at Universal and Bob decided Avatar would work because it made a billion dollars.
It is coming because they are trying to push the next movie that is coming out. Avatar was a terrible movie, but people bought the hype and went to see it and are embarrassed to say they made a mistake.
Me I kind of think that it has alot more in common with Starcraft than Pocahontas myself... Basically the Pandorens are prettier looking, nicer and less destructive of the Zerg...(With the Hometrees functioning as their over-minds.)
As a kid in the 90's saw all of these ads with dragons and also was a huge fan of Spyro at the time: I was kinda bummed that I didn't get to see any when my grandparents took me
Beastly Kingdom is a great example of a literal rollercoaster ride. I swear there were so many ups and downs in the development of it. I heard a rumor that Disney was also going to create a land all about the Villains, with Maleficant's castle in the middle. That concept reminds me a lot of Beastly Kingdom
Hey All! I've gotten quite a few messages regarding a way to get my unofficial 'Beastly Kingdom' logo as a shirt or some other item of clothing. Coincidentally, I've been working on putting together a shop with some of my logos and designs, so feel free to check it out! Also, feel free to check out my patreon to help support the making of future videos! www.patreon.com/Yester_World www.shop.spreadshirt.com/YesterworldEntertainment
This video broke my heart. It is such a shame that such a fantastic idea would go to waste because of two movies people have long forgotten about. I have no doubt that if They chose BK over Dinosaur, it would have been a bigger hit, a success. Either Disney steps up their game and creates Beastly Kingdom, or they sell the idea and somebody else creates a new theme park based around this concept. Because this is such an amazing vision that NEEDS to be realized.
The Dueling Dragons roller coaster was recently removed from Universal Islands of Adventure. I wonder if that could open the door for a dragon ride once more in the Animal Kingdom someday. Universal may have used the idea first, but they don't have a copyright on dragons and castles. The idea for the Unicorn Labyrinth sounded amazing too, really innovative and different. I'd love to see it come to life one day.
wow, so disappointing. the more I learn about WDW's history the more I realize how these parks lost their vision after Walt. I would love to see a video on the Western River Expedition, that too had completed designs and had the potential to be the next pirates. ;(
Roy oversaw most of the funding for Magic Kingdom and EPCOT but Walt himself was heavily involved in the creative part of Disneyland in his later years. In fact, during his late 50's and early 60's Walt mostly worked on Disneyland exclusively and had little hand in his films beyond greenlighting them and looking them over from time to time. Walt was extremely enthusiastic about the park, he had his hands personally a lot in the Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean ride, even going so far as to pull some of his studio's best artists away to work on artwork for it. For example the Haunted Mansion stretching room portraits which were originally painted by one of the 9 old men, Marc Davis. Mary Blair was one of his leading art directors and was pulled away to design the entirety of "It's a Small World". He loved it so much he had a living place built there for himself. It was a special apartment built above the Main Street Firehouse where he could go and do work in private while on the premises. A replica of it still stands in Main Street USA. You can sort of see it from the light that always shines from the window above.
Gracie Sullivan if you go bCk to 60 yrs ago it seem like Disneyland could be one of those ideas that don't pan out and another company could have bought them out
Thats why i love Disneyland Paris its way smaller but i do feel like its more focus on original Disney and more magical in that sense...no avatar or safaris or stuff like that
Eric JB I agree, but there’s also always a part of me that’s so sad he’s gone. That he didn’t get to see how much it has grown, and some of the amazing things Disney is doing. While I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy with some and might have done something different, I also think he would have been proud ❤️
Actually the more I think about it, this kind of makes sense with AK's persistent insistence that it's "Nahtazu." You really needed both the Dinosaur and Beastly Kingdom themes to round out that idea that it was more theme park than zoo. Without Beastly Kingdom, AK is just "a zoo with dinosaurs."
QuesoGr7 except it isn't. Besides that, I fail to see what is wrong with zoos? It is a mix of a theme park and zoo, but the safari is anything but a zoo exhibit.
Huh? I don't like AK if I think it's a zoo, but it's perfectly okay to like zoos? How does that work? For the record, I didn't make any claims in the above statement, but I will right now and say if Disney didn't want AK to be seen as a zoo, they shouldn't have launched the park with nothing but animal attractions and one Dinosaur themed ride... You know, basically a zoo. (You could say "It's Tough to Be A Bug" is a ride but I don't think a 4D show should count as I've seen those in zoos...)
I remember when it first came into marketing the toys you got in McDonald's happy meals had a purple dragon who flapped it's wings. When we went to the actual park when it opened though, it wasn't there at all. I have to admit I was kind of disappointed to see it absent.
I never understood the Disney push toward Avatar as a themed land. While the movie did well, I can't think of much else in the franchise. I know these things have a long development life, but it almost seems as if it is dead on arrival. Avatar never really caught on in pop culture. Not to mention it's been 8 years since the movie came out, and no hot sequel near by. I really think they should have gone in a different direction. IMHO.
Doug K it was a knee jerk reaction to potter combined with the current company leadership not understanding box office dollars don't always translate to park experience. Once they saw the success of potter and that they could pay for an entire land with butter beer sales, they jumped on the biggest property that they could get. Cameron is a dreamer and an over achiever but I think he didn't realize that Disney of today is not as talented or willing to take risks. Pandora should be pretty neat but it will not be close to what they wanted from beastly kingdom.
Reading these comments after Pandora opened is hilarious. I don't like Avatar but it's the best themed part of Animal Kingdom with the most technologically impressive rides and it will likely hold up just fine.
Seriously Fantasia land would have been fucking bad ass I went in January and animal kingdom wasn't bad just the line for the roller coaster and the safari was fucking long!
Really think that there was so much potential there. Potential that Pandora just doesn't have. I wish we could see more originality . Lately it seems like Disney is just trying to pander to select groups, loosing originality and cutting corners. Perfect example is the replacement of TOT with Guardians in California.
This is so sad! I'm glad some of the concepts from Beastly Kingdom found a home at Universal Studios, but at the same time there was something magical about that juxtaposition between living, extinct, and imaginary animals (and the celebration of all three) that was lost when the project fell apart. Seeing those little remnants around the park like the stone dragon and the dragon in the logo is really spooky to me, like I'm seeing a ghost.
Thank you for this video. I love the story of beastly kingdom. I also like how imagineers laid off from Disney went and worked for their competitors eventually rolling abandoned ideas from Disney into new and exciting attractions. I don't know what DIsney expected these employees to do when they laid them off. Go into a pit and die? Awesome work on this. I subscribed and I can't wait to see more of your content.
I was mildly amused by the idea of Avatar land when I first heard of it. now that I know what we SHOULD have had!!?? I am FURIOUS!! about it! I mean, don't get me wrong I didn't hate Avatar. it was an entertaining movie, but I have NO clue why it is this big "end all, be all" measure of what a "great" movie should be. it's no Star Wars. no Pirates of the Caribbean. it has no "franchise" legs in my opinion. it was a one time "good" movie. it shouldn't have a LAND!! at anybody's theme park. maybe one ride or stunt show I guess, but not a whole land! and especially now that I know what they were originally going to do?!...ugh. Beastly Kingdoms would've been so freakin' awesome!
Reading this after the second Avatar movie is so funny to me because you were so right, the second movie was visually good but bad story wise and just sad they keep trying to push it as a franchise because they built the Pandora park. I wish they made Beastly Kingdom! It would have been so much cooler
Tbf, I do think Avatar does fit the concept of the park (the whole fictional creatures thing) and is quite a good area, but all in all Beastly Kingdom would have so much better.
I really love all your videos, this one especially, and as I was re-watching it today something caught my eye. At 7:57 you mentioned e-ticket attractions being planned for all four parks and showed what I think is a poster that says 'The Great Villain Ride.' That seems like a really interesting thing, and I've never heard about it before-- if you have any more info about it, I'd love to see a video about that!
I know it's been 6 years, but the Villain ride thing is almost certainly a reference to the bizarre rumor of the Villains theme park that floated around for years. Never confirmed to be true, but sure seemed like a neat concept, it would be a theme park entirely dedicated fo Villains and their antics. Now, this never came to be but my wager was that it was born out of Disney's Idea for Harry Potter land back when they were trying to nab it from Rowling. Disney has proposed and was creating some concepts for a stand alone HP area that would fulfill Rowlings demands but in the end Uni managed to nab it from them.
It didn't fail, it's actually one of the more visited parts of the park with the longest lines and Disney is making the sequels so sorry but Avatar is here to stay
kristenx0 I agree with you. While the land is still strong to date, it’ll only take so long for people to get bored of the same rides. It’s been predicted countless times that the Avatar sequels aren’t going to go so well, so it’ll definitely be interesting to see how the land stays up 50 years from now.
One of the many great decisions made by Eisner, like choosing California Adventure over Westcot. Sigh good thing they replaced him eventually, after the damage was done.
Hey, California Adventure may have sucked then, but it's great now! It's so much less crowded than Disneyland because people only come in for a few things and don't just enjoy the park. So relaxing. Plus it's all about the golden state, baby! I was disappointed when I found out they changed Tower of Terror though. I don't live in Florida so I've never experienced the superior MGM version, but ToT was a must-do for any Disneyland trip.
Guest votes: "We want Beastly Kingdom!!" Eisner:"Say son, which would be cooler? Dinosaurs or dragons?" Eisner son:"Dinosaurs!" Eisner:"Dino Land it is!!" Guests:"WHAT?!?!" >.
The editing in the video was great, especially the Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and X-Files edits were pretty funny! Anyway, Beastly Kingdom deserves a second chance. Perhaps someday, you never know.
You have no idea how much it means to read a comment like yours! There are so many little moments within these videos or my others (which I probably spend too much time on) that I think, "Will anyone really notice?". I truly believe Beastly Kingdom deserves a second chance as well, since it's not tied to a dated franchise but rather an original idea.
Yesterworld Entertainment I actually commented because no other comment mentioned how clever the edits were used. Keep up the good work! You just earned a subscriber!
I would 100% much rather have beastly kingdom that sounds soooo cool! I love the concept of good and bad and unicorns! And dragons! Maybe even through in a few mermaids! Man o man that would of been so amazing! F-ing Michael Eisner! As if i didn't like him already!! RIP beastly kingdom you would of been Amazing!
After seeing this video, I literally felt 'Beastly Kingdom' was such a missed opportunity :'S Just sad to see how it could have bloomed to an attraction that could really hold up. I hope in the near future some aspect or inspiration from this concept will definitely see the light of day. That "Fantasia Gardens" and the "Unicorn Lair" would've been REALLY Awesome to see now! :"D
Honestly with Harry Potter coming out and the D & D / Magic idea, Disney sure has screwed up over and over. That park would have drawn so many people. But Disney is known to be excessively conservative when it comes to new ideas. They have no problem destroying new ideas for the future that would benefit them for long periods. They will never change nor do they care.
I can see why they did what they did at the time. A dinosaur movie was coming out and they wanted to capitalize. And it's not good business strategy to create a new land that looks very similar to what the competition is doing, especially when you're considered the leader of the industry.
I hope that, once the initial popularity from it being new wares off, riders in the Pandora area drop dramatically and the whole expansion is deemed a financial failure with most of the Avatar based merchandise just sitting unsold on the shelves. Maybe then Disney will finally and at long last build Beastly Kingdom. I don't even care if it is built using IPs instead of original ideas anymore, just so long as it is built.
These type of comments make me ashamed of the Disney fandom. Yall claim to love the park so much but yet wish for its failure in place of something that WAS ALREADY STOLEN AND BUILT. The flames are gone
I have watched at least 3 of your videos and they are great. You just earned yourself a subscriber. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see your other videos.
I've made a huge mistake. I'm actually living in Osaka, Japan now and by the way the Jaws ride is still fun even in another language. Also Back to the future WAS great too I was there for the last day of the ride, in August. It was a sad day. But one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen was when they did a cross between Back to the future and the grudge. I wish USJ would be ok with filming things because that was so bizarre.
Micheal Eisner had some sort of obsession with the iguanodon. He made the dumbest decisions just to promote a bad iguanodon movie thing. The park would’ve had much more popularity if Micheal made the decision to proceed with the construction for beastly kingdom. He also made the dumb decision to make the iguanodon animatronic instead of the dragon. I’m sure that if they added the beastly kingdom the park would have gained a lot of popularity, attention, and money. It really would’ve added some magic to the park.
As much as I would have loved Beastly Kingdom and was skeptical about Pandora, the alien planet seems much more... Fitting, some how. The way the land comes alive at nighttime compared to the daytime is something rather long lasting even if the Avatar IP has already been forgotten. Perhaps Beastly Kingdom should be in the Magic Kingdom to better fit the theme; Animal Kingdom really does benefit from primal, jungle-esche environments and nothing merges magic and biology more than a bioluminescent alien planet.
Great work, man. Discovered your channel last night and am really loving it. Quality video essays that present the information in a way that's super interesting. Love, love, love it.
How many people are really going to enjoy Avatar? It's not a Disney movie, nor a kid's one. I just think the decision was done in haste and it won't be that great. With Star Wars coming in a couple of years Pandora and Avatar will be old news and no one will care for it.
Ashley Will you're right. The lines are gonna be empty always. Not a single person is going to enjoy it. Because going to Disney world is about how much I like the movies things are based, I mean that's why like.. Splash Mountain is a hit cause everyone loves song of the south right? Fucking get over it
I think Disney is just terrified of not keeping up with Universals franchises. .. lost their faith in their own brand/product. I hated this movie, I think the land will be stunning. However, future movies could also be terrible plots, and now you're stuck with this specific design and characters for 20 years.
Universal seriously ABANDONS THEIR OWN LICENCES FOR MORE SIMULATORS based on stuff they don't own. I mean they lost Back to the Future, Jaws, King Kong (The first one). Marvel isn't theirs to grow anymore, and they profit off of stuff that isn't theirs.
I heard a rumor they are making a 5th park right next to Animal Kingdom and it will be “Beastly Kingdom”. The lands would consist of a Dragon section, Egypt, Australia, a Stars Wars ice section and Fantasia.
Yeah, I know. I want Beastly more than the villain park. I'm not sure if it has enough IP's to keep Bob Iger satisfied though. Some of the attractions for Beastly Kingdom (possibly Dominion) sound amazing though. The source says there would be a "Journey to the Center of the Earth" like ride (w/ a dragon) “Roaring Rapids" in Australia (large croc ride) and "Bald Mountain" (chernabog) and a "Fantasia boat ride" in Fantasia
Pretty much. If they would lose the Chester and Hester area and actually build The Excavator Roller Coaster, the coaster in Dinoland that was scrapped, I'd be much happier with the park. The C&H area is ok for what it is, but it really ruins the fairly organic feel of the entire park with its cheapness/tackiness. Off the shelf wild mouse coasters and a spinner really have no place in DAK.
And while I'm at it, please, please, PLEASE lose the name Dinosaur and go back to the original COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION as the name for attraction. The movie failed and has been long forgotten. The original name and more exciting/intense show elements were superior and need to return.
That was absolutely fascinating! Thank you for making such an interesting video with so much neat things to learn! i mean it's a freaking huge bummer that such an awesome idea for a park never really came to be (at least not by Disney like they had envisioned it) but it's very interesting to know what could have been!
Avatar is such a weird phenomenon. Yes, it is the highest grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation), but no one talks much about it. Other than the visuals of the environment/Pandora, no one remembers the names of the characters, or an iconic scene/sequence, or a memorable one liner. Compare it to other Cameron movies. When someone says "Colonial Space Marines", or "Get away from her, you bitch!", or "I'm the king of the world!", or "I'll be back", or the strip tease scene with Jamie Lee Curtis, or "Hasta la vista, baby", the T-1000, everyone knows which movie(s) you are talking about. When someone says "Sully" it's more likely people with think of Monsters Inc.
I don't think it's a good idea either, *but* like the movie's story not mattering, it may not matter that no one really cares about Avatar as a franchise *if* the Land of Pandora itself is as mind-blowing, original and immersive as the special effects were in the first film itself. While I'm sure Disney was just looking for a popular franchise to establish a new 'land' in as a way to generate interest, I would not be shocked if Disney's imagineers and cast members make the land amazing and filled with wonder that ultimately they end up being the ones generating interest for the new Avatar franchise movies.
magnumcornetto Avatar land is so interesting. It's the highest grossing movie of all time but as a movie, it's not very interesting or spectacular. I think Disney decided to make Pandora for the same reason I think Avatar was made; to show off its visuals. The movie is gorgeous, and pandora is supposedly amazing as well. I definitely wish Beastly Kingdom had become a reality, though.
If I was in charge of Beastly Kingdom, I'd probably do something like this: Hercules Hero Academy: This here is a response to the disturbing lack of Hercules in any Disney park,lol. The way I imagine it is a "shoot 'em up" arcade-style ride in the tradition of Toy Story Mania or MiB: Alien Attack. The queue welcomes "rookie heroes" into Phil's hero academy, where the muses would explain (in song :P) after Hercules became big, Phil went into business with Chiron the centaur. After wandering through halls of trophies and mythological memorabilia (including an entire wall of mounted Hydra heads as a gag), you're introduced to your instructor. From the start it's clear they don't get along. After exchanging some jabs, they make a bet over who's the better trainer and divide the groups before making you compete in their "hero training course" (inspired by "One Last Hope"). You'll hear them yell advice ("Hero rule #95 Concentrate!"), before finally Hades shows up and steals the show, hoping to make things interesting and get some revenge for "Wonderbread" possibly even taking things to the underworld. It naturally ends with the scores tallied up and a rendition of "A Star is Born" done by the muses,lol.
Wondering if the beastly kingdom/Jurassic logo you created is available for download or on a t shirt? I'm dying to have it...and wear to the opening of PANDORA 😅
I would have liked Beastly Kingdom more than Pandora, and I would have liked it a lot more than Dinosaur land. Don't get me wrong, I like Dinosaur land, it's just Beastly Kingdom looked really cool compared to the carnival design they went with for Dinosaur land. I also noticed when I went to Animal Kingdom for the first time quite a few years back, that dock which at the time had a meet and greet with Winnie the Pooh. I thought to my self, "Gee, this sure looks like a boat dock, almost like the jungle cruise", today, you confirmed my old theory. Neat. :)
I think if they had originally build beastly kingdom they couldn't of have gone down in marketing issues, it would've without a doubt been bigger than Dinosaur kingdom and drew in more guests. But sadly enough they hadn't thought I out long enough or better, and lost what could've been their most famous and favorite attraction.
I went in the opening year 1998. I was desperate to see the beastly kingdom. I thought Animal Kingdom was awful the first year with 3 rides? Dinosaur, safari, and bugs life? Boo. I hope Pandora is awesome but beastly kingdom would have been showstopper!
I feel bad and sad that we didn't get beastly Kingdom I would have loved to see it because I love dragons and other things like that, but for the part about Universal making their own before Disney you know what they say you snooze you lose😥😥
I love love LOVE all of your videos-- please post more, especially on the theme park front!! The addition of Avatarland makes soooo much more sense now given all this history... thank you!!
Amazing! Thank you for making this video! I used to have one of those mythical toys from micky dees. It was the purple dragon with the moving wings. I miss that thing
there are going to be 3 or 4 more Avatar movie sequels released over the next few years so I don't believe that Pandora in animal kingdom will be so short lived
For everyone complaining about Avatar Land, I'm not going to say you're wrong. It's an entire land based off of what's shaping up to be a one hit wonder of a franchise. However, it did make sense at a point. After Universal opened Harry Potter world all eyes were on Disney to do something just as grand. And remember, they didnt own Star Wars, and Marvel had yet to prove themselves as a money making machine. Then what comes out but the highest grossing film of all time with a director interested in making sequels and working with Disney. With Hollywood thinking that they might just be witnessing the next Star Wars, this was a no brainer. Unfortunately by the time Avatar missed it's Mark for it's sequel, Marvel had proven themselves, and Star Wars was now property of the mouse, it was much too late to stop production.
Avatar is meh. *shrug* The concept of the land and the idea is a good one, but tbh not many people give a shit about that movie these days. It's dated and people have moved on to bigger and better movies since then. I see it being popular for like, a year then people going, "Meh." and losing its charm. At least give some credit to Universal Studios, they actually picked a strong and memorable franchise like Harry Potter who is able to stand the test of time. And I was excited for Harry Potter-I'm not excited for Avatar, since I don't care about it. Also side note, different Avatar but WHO THE FUCK ELSE WANTS TO SEE A THEME PARK BASED AROUND THE LAST AIRBENDER SERIES?? CAUSE I WOULD BE ALL OVER A LAST AIRBENDER THEME PARK!
I almost want to cry. Exploring the smoldering remains of a partly ruined castle and coming face to face with a 30-foot animatronic dragon? That would have been *SO FREAKIN' AMAZING!*
Seriously, when reading about the details of what they had in mind for Dragon Tower, it sounds freaking incredible.
Yesterworld Entertainment As if we needed another reason to dislike Eisner....
As much as I love dinosaurs and love the dinosaur ride there, the land itself always felt unfinished and a whole lot of nothing. Its just a parking lot with dinosaur themed carnival games and a small carnival wooden coaster. Its no wonder its now slated to be remade into Zootopia, while keeping the actual Dinosaur ride. Even though its my favorite ride there, I would have much rather had Beastly Kingdom as a whole.
Amen.
"Most people liked the idea of fantasy creatures in the park so we decided to not build that."
- Michael Eisner
Fucking Michael Eisner! Ruins everything!
The fact Beastly Kingdoms was going to be a really open, fairy tale-ish place seems like it would've lent well to new rides and updates. Pandora's just going to be Pandora, with little change.
Well, Avatar has 2 or 3 sequels in the works, so they can add new attractions and updates based on those films in the coming years. But yeah, I agree Beastly Kingdom would have probably been a better land overall. I just hope after Pandora opens they fix the broken yeti in Expedition Everest and refurbish Kali River Rapids. So many broken things on that now.
If they were to add in a ride that would allow you pilot one of the various aircraft or mech suits I'd be all for it. Otherwise I'm saddened by the fact that beastly kingdom never came to be.
Philip Ellwell I went to the Pandora attraction for my dad it was dope when we got on the simulator it was the best part but it will also be cool if they had beastly kingdom
I agree that in the long run Beastly Kingdom would have been better. Sure, when it opened Pandora might have great attractions, but already they don't have an audience. I don't know anyone who would go to Pandora's kingdom outside of curiosity or boredom, especially not for a passion in the franchise. When it opened, Pandora had breathtaking new technology, but that technology is going to age, and I think in 10 years everyone will have all but forgotten Avatar, and the impressive technology won't be as impressive. All Disney attractions face this problem because all IPs age. Meanwhile, if they had done something like Beastly Kingdom, which used unique ideas and interesting concepts, telling a new story that has already proven to be timeless, they would have had something much more substantial. I would visit Beastly Kingdom a thousand times, but, even though I've only visited once, I think that's enough of Pandora for me. Also sure, Avatar might have sequels but the sequels probably won't really reinvigorate audiences into adoring avatar, unless they pull a star wars and have it going forever, but Avatar, imo, doesn't have the fan base nor brand recognition to do something like this.
Problem with the Avatar sequels is, unless the scripts are really good the movies aren't gonna have staying power. Which means the park won't either. Avatar is notable not only for making so much money, but for making so much money while also having almost no impact on pop culture or the film industry. I'm sure the sequels will make money, but unless it also has a lot of true fans, and continues to get new fans as time goes on, the park area is gonna have a short lifespan.
3:46 *shakes fist to the sky* EISNERRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRR!
Eisner is probably the reason why some of the best and beloved Disney rides were replace and the remodeled by him making them horrible.
Anthony Clay blame McDonald’s
@@altarush no
Interesting piece. I would love to see Beastly Kingdom move forward with some really well-done dark rides, There's so much mythology to play with, and it could overlap existing Disney films, introducing some of the mythos of the cultures, such as China, France and Nordic countries. Can you imagine visiting a cave where dragons from different cultures are talking?
I would love to see Beastly Kingdom, in some way, move forward.
I agree that it left its self open to a lot. And to go along with your idea they did release one ride that featured a mythical creature the yeti is in Everest. I just wish they would do this with more creatures,
And fix the Yeti, which was originally more animated. Plus the mythology of different cultures doesn't get dated the way a film franchise can, and can be updated when there is a relevant film out. The tech exists to do something great. Speaking of which, The Great Movie Ride is overdue for a tech upgrade.
IdeaJonesJoey That Dragon idea sounds interesting as crap.
Exactly. If Disney wants to draw in all those Chinese tourists, why not redo the burnt-down castle with evil Western dragon as a ride through the air or underwater to the Dragon King's Palace of East Asian mythology. If they still have any props from Norway's Maelstrom ride, remake it in Beastly Kingdom for the all the people who enjoyed Norwegian trolls more than the forced Frozen rebranding. Make a ride overlapping the Good and Evil sections about the Firebird and Spirit of the Forest from Fantasia 2000. Hell, most people forget Disney translated and distributed Studio Ghibli films for the US and therefore have some rights to the properties. Give us stuff based on My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away!
...man I wished I lived in the alternate universe where Beastly Kingdom was developed and opened as planned. That and the universe where Westcot was built instead of DCA.
What is DCA?
@@caiotheduck5640 “Disney’s California Adventure”
@@tastiGMmaster2099 Thank you
I wish Beastly Kingdom became a reality, this would have been amazing for Animal Kingdom.
DISNEY EXPLOTATION ANIMALS FOR MONEY , DISNEY HATE ANIMALS
It's very simple. Instead of their own kind of fantasy, Disney decided to go with overrated scifi.
Samuel Solomon meh. I like some elements of avatar, but it needs an actual story to make it a movie
I worked at Disney when Animal Kingdom was about to open and remember ALL of this! I was so excited because there were going to be mermaids, dragons , unicorns and a sea serpent too! The designs were on maps and I still have one. I was also lucky enough to open Islands Of Adventure and my home was Lost Continent and we all knew the secrets Bethune the design there too. Very magical times indeed ✨
I bet Disney would be able to make some amazing swimmable mermaid costumes.
@@StarlightPrism They've actually done that in the past with the submarine ride! The swimmers ended up having issues with the water quality over time. I know Defunctland has a really good video on the 20000 leagues under the sea ride that's got some info about the mermaids.
Man, Dinoland kinda sucks, such a shame that Beastly Kingdom never came to fruition. Great video dude, keep it up
Even more disappointingly, Dino Land was supposed to have a coaster on par with Thunder Mountain. But, as is the theme with the Disney Park Eisner Era, it was drastically simplified to cut costs.
they built avatar land where beastly kingdom would be
adder birdo he literally said that in the video lol
RoastFish 88 what?! have you even BEEN on dinosaur?!
PokeGamer Studios I remember closing my eyes throughout the whole ride
Beastly Kingdom sounds so cool, it's really sad it never got built. Nobody really cares about Avatar anymore, so I hope one day it will be replaced with Beastly Kingdom.
All those choices made to promote Dinosaur, one of the most bland and forgettable Disney movies.
Way to go, Eisner. That's like canceling Frontierland to promote Home on the Range.
Holy fuck Home on the range is literally the most forgettable Disney movie... XD
aGuyInaBearSuit Dude that movie was amazing
To be fair, he was probably just trying to make the choice that would be the cheaper option in terms of building cost, and was anticipating the Dinosaur movie to be a commercial success, so believed that the film's popularity would bring in more revenue for the park. Not an easy decision, I'm sure. It's hard to say what I myself would have done had I been in the same boat looking at the business side of things.
Also, Home on the Range was not that bad.
aGuyInaBearSuit I agree, but the Dinosaur ride is honestly one of my favorite rides in Disney World lol
aGuyInaBearSuit But Dinosaur is actually really good
I feel like given the choice between dinoland and Beastly Kingdom, a ball was dropped. Beastly Kingdom would have been the better option. more money making opportunities that could be utilized toward the construction of Dinoland; and seeing as how Dinosaur got its own ride in another park, it's an unnecessary redundancy in my personal opinion. Especially seeing as I would prefer Beastly Kingdom over Dinoland- and yes, even Avatar. But can't change the past, unfortunately.
Linda in 1993, we were two years from Jurassic Park, and Eisner may have known about it back then.
The thing is, Disney was expecting dinosaur to be as successful as jurassic park. The problem is the movie didn't feel unique in any way. Most of its plot was about a migration! And the ride was strictly a time travel experience with animatronics, completely forgetting that it was supposed to be based on a movie. You could have put in clips directly from the movie into the preshow, and nobody would notice. When we could have gotten a land that was basically fantasia, we got something based on a movie that was forgotten veeerry quickly. And we are stuck with pandora, which feels like it was based more on a final fantasy spinoff than a movie. When we see what could have been, we don't have anyone to blame but Michael Eisner.
In terms of profitability it made way more sense to go with Dinoland. Beastly Kingdom would’ve been probably the most expensive section of any Disney Park, save for New Fantasyland. Chester and Hester’s Dinoland is themed to be a roadside attraction and as such was not expensive at all to produce or maintain, and the many shops and carnival games are easy money makers.
I would have loved seeing this
Linda it would have been a lot more unique that's for sure
I think the avatar land is a good idea, however, beastly kingdom is more vague and they would have more room to add and play with ideas. I also think it would draw in more people. The avatar fan base is basically dead in my opinion and I think the need something more fresh to draw people in. I never even knew about beastly kingdom before this video and I'm kinda bummed that it never came to be.
I'm thinking (and hoping) that there are some things up James Cameron's/Disney's sleeves, because building a $500 million dollar land off a SINGLE film (as of now) that came out 8 years ago and 5 planned sequeles (that haven't even started shooting yet) is a BIG gamble.
Yesterworld Entertainment Agreed. But if there are films in the making and if they are successful, more power to them. I just would hate to see this part of the park be a flop.
avatar is highest selling though? someone liked it.
adder birdo yes it is successful. But I just think Disney could have chosen something else.
they probably took it cause avatar was popular. disney is about money so whatever they think will be most rewarding.
Avatar. they got rid of dragons and mythical creatures for Fern Gully in space.
"Fern Gully in space." Ok then, where's my corporate businessman Tim Curry singing about Unobtanium?
I wouldn't mind the movie if they gave it an actual plot.
+Reep 22 A fallacious conclusion. FernGully was hardly the first movie to contain a green aesop. +Pietro Lucchese Assuming Disney cares about park experience. At the end of the day, Pandora's making money and that's all they care about. +Samuel Solomon Watch the Extended Edition. For starters, we actually get to see Earth in it.
Simple Weirdo I agree 100% 👏👏👏👏
Fern Gully in Space is also the highest grossing movie of all time, which is really attractive to a CEO like Bob Iger, who prefers to invest big but play it safe
It still hits me hard cause I love mystical and fantasy stuff to see Beastly Kingdom never take fruit.
Though I'm an Avatar fan, adding Pandora seems such a big central focused idea, something Disney has had trouble with in recent years with stuff like Cars Land where they just focus on one property and don't consider if that'll work in the long run when that franchise falls out of favor. I suppose in years to come Avatar, if the partnership with Disney and Cameron ever ends, can be phased out of the land and it be rebranded as a more generic alien world the imaginears can play with, but I still much would have loved to have seen Beastly Kingdom.
Maybe with the Lost Continent now having lost nearly everything of that was similar to the idea for Beastly Kingdom, Disney can start to reconsider it? Please? D:
Ted Bishop what did the lost continent lose?
It became Hogsmede from the Harry Potter series which is pretty much still the same as the Wizarding World still has all of the mythical stuff
QuesoGr7 I see... IMO that opens the door for a Beastly Kingdom. I'm in the camp that hates them choosing Avatar, although I will still enjoy iy.
Blake Wittenberg
Same here man
QuesoGr7 personally I think Animal Kingdom is a bit underdone. It could really use some work, even if it is still my favorite park.
One of the best channels on RUclips.
Wow, thank you so much!! Truly appreciate it!
Xycron No doubt, this channel and Defunctland are hands down the best amusement history themed channels, and totally up there for the best overall channels! I recently watched a collaboration they did together, I loved to see two competing channels team up. Such respect for each other, and it seems to me just out of a love for what they do.
Oh shit beastly kingdom would have been lit!!
Jared B literally because of the dragon
It's strange and kinda sad how so many Disney parks have such a strong identity either at the conceptual stage or upon opening and over the years this erodes to obscurity. I mean the idea of animals of the present, animals of the past, and mythical creatures was effortless in its simplicity, yet what we're left with is a bit of a hotch potch. I think the same about California Adventure where, love it or hate it, at least it had a unified theme, yet with Guardians of the Galaxy and a lot of the recent changes it's become bit of a mess theme-wise there, too.
Marcus I hated it when they announced Guardians over tower of terror
Marcus They're sort of fading out the California theme because it just didn't work. Sure it was consistent, but it was only really consistently shit. They're probably just going to convert it into a generic Disney Adventure park, since the company has realized that such a specific theme doesn't allow for much, while Disneyland allows for all kinds of different ideas.
Honestly, Disney keeps changing their parks strictly to keep up with popularity. Mythical creatures in Disney would have been the most beautiful thing. Besides, there wasn't any specific tie in with mythology, so they could grow and improve in new, unexpected ways.
I don't even know why there is an avatar land. It wasn't originally created by Disney and the movie wasn't even that good. Sure, it looked spectacular, but it was nothing more than a rehash of Pocahontas. Beastly Kingdom sounds like it would have been awesome.
Because they were scrambling to find something to combat Harry Potter at Universal and Bob decided Avatar would work because it made a billion dollars.
Nope, still owned by Fox and James Cameron.
It is coming because they are trying to push the next movie that is coming out. Avatar was a terrible movie, but people bought the hype and went to see it and are embarrassed to say they made a mistake.
i want to see how much Avatar 2 will be like FernGully 2
Me I kind of think that it has alot more in common with Starcraft than Pocahontas myself... Basically the Pandorens are prettier looking, nicer and less destructive of the Zerg...(With the Hometrees functioning as their over-minds.)
I wish Disney had used the Avatar money to build Beastly Kingdom -- Avatar has nothing to do with Disney and Beastly Kingdom is much more original!
I worked at DinoLand last year -- and I can say I'm totally disappointed they didn't pick Beastly Kingdom over DinoLand!
And what happened to the Aladar animatronic?
It's just scrap metal in the backlot tour in Disneyland Paris
kristenx0 Really?! Sad.
Moments with Molly Yeah! Then they could really make a movie based on that ride.
Really?! DINOSAUR over BEASTLY kingdom?!!!?! REALLY?!!?
I know right!?
QuesoGr7 crazy!!
SpiderBite90x little miscalculation especially since the Jurassic Park area in Universal is pretty much the same idea
SpiderBite90x I am strikingly conflicted...
SpiderBite90x Eh...it kinda makes sense when you think about it though. There's no changing it.
I wonder what Walt Disney himslef would think of Beastly Kingdom being replaced by a thempark based off a movie from a rivaling studio
Probably his company is not doing a good job making movies.
Probably rolling in his grave
Well, fox now is a disney studio anyway. They probably was thinking about buy them this whole time.
He would have been fine walt isnt sensitive like these othe people
Don’t forget that Star Wars and Indiana Jones were not Disney properties yet when their rides and attractions opened at the parks.
I have that purple dragon Happy Meal toy! Nice to finally know why it was included.
ahaha i did too!
As a kid in the 90's saw all of these ads with dragons and also was a huge fan of Spyro at the time: I was kinda bummed that I didn't get to see any when my grandparents took me
I never knew about this
Beastly Kingdom is a great example of a literal rollercoaster ride. I swear there were so many ups and downs in the development of it. I heard a rumor that Disney was also going to create a land all about the Villains, with Maleficant's castle in the middle. That concept reminds me a lot of Beastly Kingdom
Hey All! I've gotten quite a few messages regarding a way to get my unofficial 'Beastly Kingdom' logo as a shirt or some other item of clothing. Coincidentally, I've been working on putting together a shop with some of my logos and designs, so feel free to check it out! Also, feel free to check out my patreon to help support the making of future videos!
www.patreon.com/Yester_World
www.shop.spreadshirt.com/YesterworldEntertainment
This video broke my heart. It is such a shame that such a fantastic idea would go to waste because of two movies people have long forgotten about. I have no doubt that if They chose BK over Dinosaur, it would have been a bigger hit, a success. Either Disney steps up their game and creates Beastly Kingdom, or they sell the idea and somebody else creates a new theme park based around this concept. Because this is such an amazing vision that NEEDS to be realized.
The fact that eight-year-old me did not get to go and see high quality animatronic unicorns and dragons makes me unbelievably sad.
The Dueling Dragons roller coaster was recently removed from Universal Islands of Adventure. I wonder if that could open the door for a dragon ride once more in the Animal Kingdom someday. Universal may have used the idea first, but they don't have a copyright on dragons and castles. The idea for the Unicorn Labyrinth sounded amazing too, really innovative and different. I'd love to see it come to life one day.
That’s so sad! I LOVED Dueling Dragons! It was one of the best roller coasters I’ve ever been on!
they should bring beastly kingdom back since universal has basically scrapped lost continent for HP
Thomas Martinez it’s not like Disney to take scraps from a competitor park
The fact that the key feature, the Dragon, ended up in Paris and Tokyo (temporarily) is enough for me. I enjoy seeing it when I visit France.
wow, so disappointing. the more I learn about WDW's history the more I realize how these parks lost their vision after Walt. I would love to see a video on the Western River Expedition, that too had completed designs and had the potential to be the next pirates. ;(
Roy oversaw most of the funding for Magic Kingdom and EPCOT but Walt himself was heavily involved in the creative part of Disneyland in his later years. In fact, during his late 50's and early 60's Walt mostly worked on Disneyland exclusively and had little hand in his films beyond greenlighting them and looking them over from time to time. Walt was extremely enthusiastic about the park, he had his hands personally a lot in the Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean ride, even going so far as to pull some of his studio's best artists away to work on artwork for it. For example the Haunted Mansion stretching room portraits which were originally painted by one of the 9 old men, Marc Davis. Mary Blair was one of his leading art directors and was pulled away to design the entirety of "It's a Small World". He loved it so much he had a living place built there for himself. It was a special apartment built above the Main Street Firehouse where he could go and do work in private while on the premises. A replica of it still stands in Main Street USA. You can sort of see it from the light that always shines from the window above.
Gracie Sullivan if you go bCk to 60 yrs ago it seem like Disneyland could be one of those ideas that don't pan out and another company could have bought them out
Thats why i love Disneyland Paris its way smaller but i do feel like its more focus on original Disney and more magical in that sense...no avatar or safaris or stuff like that
Eric JB a lot of people blame Eisner for it's downfall. He thought about profit only and didn't give any thought towards guest experience.
Eric JB I agree, but there’s also always a part of me that’s so sad he’s gone. That he didn’t get to see how much it has grown, and some of the amazing things Disney is doing. While I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy with some and might have done something different, I also think he would have been proud ❤️
I’m glad we have Expedition Everest, which includes a fantasy beast, and I love that ride, it’s probably my favourite
Actually the more I think about it, this kind of makes sense with AK's persistent insistence that it's "Nahtazu." You really needed both the Dinosaur and Beastly Kingdom themes to round out that idea that it was more theme park than zoo. Without Beastly Kingdom, AK is just "a zoo with dinosaurs."
Andria Barratt if you think Animal Kingdom is a zoo then you don't like AK. Besides, what is erong with zoos?
It actually is a zoo for the most part. Let's not kid ourselves.
QuesoGr7 except it isn't. Besides that, I fail to see what is wrong with zoos? It is a mix of a theme park and zoo, but the safari is anything but a zoo exhibit.
Huh? I don't like AK if I think it's a zoo, but it's perfectly okay to like zoos? How does that work?
For the record, I didn't make any claims in the above statement, but I will right now and say if Disney didn't want AK to be seen as a zoo, they shouldn't have launched the park with nothing but animal attractions and one Dinosaur themed ride... You know, basically a zoo. (You could say "It's Tough to Be A Bug" is a ride but I don't think a 4D show should count as I've seen those in zoos...)
Andria Barratt your implications seemed to be that you did not like the park much, as it is "just" a zoo. Furthermore, they working on it. Be patient.
I remember when it first came into marketing the toys you got in McDonald's happy meals had a purple dragon who flapped it's wings. When we went to the actual park when it opened though, it wasn't there at all. I have to admit I was kind of disappointed to see it absent.
I never understood the Disney push toward Avatar as a themed land. While the movie did well, I can't think of much else in the franchise. I know these things have a long development life, but it almost seems as if it is dead on arrival. Avatar never really caught on in pop culture. Not to mention it's been 8 years since the movie came out, and no hot sequel near by. I really think they should have gone in a different direction. IMHO.
Doug K did Disney even make avatar?
+Flapjack the American penguin No, they didn't.
Doug K it was a knee jerk reaction to potter combined with the current company leadership not understanding box office dollars don't always translate to park experience. Once they saw the success of potter and that they could pay for an entire land with butter beer sales, they jumped on the biggest property that they could get. Cameron is a dreamer and an over achiever but I think he didn't realize that Disney of today is not as talented or willing to take risks. Pandora should be pretty neat but it will not be close to what they wanted from beastly kingdom.
Reading these comments after Pandora opened is hilarious. I don't like Avatar but it's the best themed part of Animal Kingdom with the most technologically impressive rides and it will likely hold up just fine.
It will hold up for a while, but not in the long run.
This is all absolutely crazy. I'll never look at Animal Kingdom the same way again.
Seriously Fantasia land would have been fucking bad ass I went in January and animal kingdom wasn't bad just the line for the roller coaster and the safari was fucking long!
Really think that there was so much potential there. Potential that Pandora just doesn't have. I wish we could see more originality . Lately it seems like Disney is just trying to pander to select groups, loosing originality and cutting corners. Perfect example is the replacement of TOT with Guardians in California.
This actually upsets me. Beastly kingdom looked so beautiful and fun
This is so sad! I'm glad some of the concepts from Beastly Kingdom found a home at Universal Studios, but at the same time there was something magical about that juxtaposition between living, extinct, and imaginary animals (and the celebration of all three) that was lost when the project fell apart. Seeing those little remnants around the park like the stone dragon and the dragon in the logo is really spooky to me, like I'm seeing a ghost.
Thank you for this video. I love the story of beastly kingdom. I also like how imagineers laid off from Disney went and worked for their competitors eventually rolling abandoned ideas from Disney into new and exciting attractions. I don't know what DIsney expected these employees to do when they laid them off. Go into a pit and die?
Awesome work on this. I subscribed and I can't wait to see more of your content.
I was mildly amused by the idea of Avatar land when I first heard of it. now that I know what we SHOULD have had!!?? I am FURIOUS!! about it! I mean, don't get me wrong I didn't hate Avatar. it was an entertaining movie, but I have NO clue why it is this big "end all, be all" measure of what a "great" movie should be. it's no Star Wars. no Pirates of the Caribbean. it has no "franchise" legs in my opinion. it was a one time "good" movie. it shouldn't have a LAND!! at anybody's theme park. maybe one ride or stunt show I guess, but not a whole land! and especially now that I know what they were originally going to do?!...ugh. Beastly Kingdoms would've been so freakin' awesome!
Reading this after the second Avatar movie is so funny to me because you were so right, the second movie was visually good but bad story wise and just sad they keep trying to push it as a franchise because they built the Pandora park. I wish they made Beastly Kingdom! It would have been so much cooler
Tbf, I do think Avatar does fit the concept of the park (the whole fictional creatures thing) and is quite a good area, but all in all Beastly Kingdom would have so much better.
Eisner really hit a nail in the coffin with that decision
Great video. KILLER JOB ON RESEARCH!
I really love all your videos, this one especially, and as I was re-watching it today something caught my eye. At 7:57 you mentioned e-ticket attractions being planned for all four parks and showed what I think is a poster that says 'The Great Villain Ride.' That seems like a really interesting thing, and I've never heard about it before-- if you have any more info about it, I'd love to see a video about that!
I know it's been 6 years, but the Villain ride thing is almost certainly a reference to the bizarre rumor of the Villains theme park that floated around for years. Never confirmed to be true, but sure seemed like a neat concept, it would be a theme park entirely dedicated fo Villains and their antics. Now, this never came to be but my wager was that it was born out of Disney's Idea for Harry Potter land back when they were trying to nab it from Rowling. Disney has proposed and was creating some concepts for a stand alone HP area that would fulfill Rowlings demands but in the end Uni managed to nab it from them.
When you mentioned Eisner had a habit of looking at something successful; then doing the exact opposite thing was spot on.
This whole thing upsets me so much. Beastly Kingdom had so much potential, and so much to offer. I cannot wait for Avatar Land to fail miserably.
Then you'll keep waiting because Pandora is a success.
kristenx0 It didn't fail alot of people were there in line. It took HOURS to get to the simulator
It didn't fail, it's actually one of the more visited parts of the park with the longest lines and Disney is making the sequels so sorry but Avatar is here to stay
Fast forward 3 years and Pandora is amazing and is the best land in Disney world
kristenx0 I agree with you. While the land is still strong to date, it’ll only take so long for people to get bored of the same rides. It’s been predicted countless times that the Avatar sequels aren’t going to go so well, so it’ll definitely be interesting to see how the land stays up 50 years from now.
One of the many great decisions made by Eisner, like choosing California Adventure over Westcot. Sigh good thing they replaced him eventually, after the damage was done.
Hey, California Adventure may have sucked then, but it's great now! It's so much less crowded than Disneyland because people only come in for a few things and don't just enjoy the park. So relaxing. Plus it's all about the golden state, baby!
I was disappointed when I found out they changed Tower of Terror though. I don't live in Florida so I've never experienced the superior MGM version, but ToT was a must-do for any Disneyland trip.
Interesting stuff
Guest votes: "We want Beastly Kingdom!!"
Eisner:"Say son, which would be cooler? Dinosaurs or dragons?"
Eisner son:"Dinosaurs!"
Eisner:"Dino Land it is!!"
Guests:"WHAT?!?!" >.
The editing in the video was great, especially the Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and X-Files edits were pretty funny! Anyway, Beastly Kingdom deserves a second chance. Perhaps someday, you never know.
You have no idea how much it means to read a comment like yours! There are so many little moments within these videos or my others (which I probably spend too much time on) that I think, "Will anyone really notice?". I truly believe Beastly Kingdom deserves a second chance as well, since it's not tied to a dated franchise but rather an original idea.
Yesterworld Entertainment I actually commented because no other comment mentioned how clever the edits were used. Keep up the good work! You just earned a subscriber!
Cool
Beastly kingdom sounds awesome! It would make me actually want to go back to Disney World.
God... what magnificence this could become.
I would 100% much rather have beastly kingdom that sounds soooo cool! I love the concept of good and bad and unicorns! And dragons! Maybe even through in a few mermaids! Man o man that would of been so amazing! F-ing Michael Eisner! As if i didn't like him already!! RIP beastly kingdom you would of been Amazing!
Fantastic work. The subtleties in the editing are incredible... I live the map inserted into the background of the AD clip at 9:01, hahaha.
After seeing this video, I literally felt 'Beastly Kingdom' was such a missed opportunity :'S Just sad to see how it could have bloomed to an attraction that could really hold up. I hope in the near future some aspect or inspiration from this concept will definitely see the light of day. That "Fantasia Gardens" and the "Unicorn Lair" would've been REALLY Awesome to see now! :"D
I can't stop thinking about that unicorn lair and how mystically beautiful it would have been
This sounds amazing. I'm bummed it never happened. I especially love the idea of a maze filled with mythical creatures and the room with the unicorn.
Honestly with Harry Potter coming out and the D & D / Magic idea, Disney sure has screwed up over and over. That park would have drawn so many people. But Disney is known to be excessively conservative when it comes to new ideas. They have no problem destroying new ideas for the future that would benefit them for long periods.
They will never change nor do they care.
Or because new ideas haven't worked well for them in the past
"you can choose either dinosaurs or mythical beasts"
"dinosauce"
"wait what,"
I think a Zootopia land would make better sense than Pandora.
Don't worry its coming next
Excuse me?
A Zootopia themed area for Animal Kingdom will be coming next to that park.
Source?
My response: "OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! TRY EVERYTHING! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH!"
"He's an iguanodon"- Dr. Steve Brule 5:53
Man, Beastly Kingdom sounds cool. I would love to ride that Fantasia ride.
The whole Avatar thing, sounds dull. Cool but dull...
i had gotten a lot of beastly kingdom visions from the toy and cup items at macdonalds was really looking forward to seeing it built so sad its over
love the use of Jurassic park
I can see why they did what they did at the time. A dinosaur movie was coming out and they wanted to capitalize. And it's not good business strategy to create a new land that looks very similar to what the competition is doing, especially when you're considered the leader of the industry.
I hope that, once the initial popularity from it being new wares off, riders in the Pandora area drop dramatically and the whole expansion is deemed a financial failure with most of the Avatar based merchandise just sitting unsold on the shelves. Maybe then Disney will finally and at long last build Beastly Kingdom. I don't even care if it is built using IPs instead of original ideas anymore, just so long as it is built.
Disney bought Fox now, so this make sense
These type of comments make me ashamed of the Disney fandom. Yall claim to love the park so much but yet wish for its failure in place of something that WAS ALREADY STOLEN AND BUILT. The flames are gone
I have watched at least 3 of your videos and they are great. You just earned yourself a subscriber. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see your other videos.
Great job man. I loved the use of Gob.
So happy for someone to point that out!
I've made a huge mistake. I'm actually living in Osaka, Japan now and by the way the Jaws ride is still fun even in another language. Also Back to the future WAS great too I was there for the last day of the ride, in August. It was a sad day. But one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen was when they did a cross between Back to the future and the grudge. I wish USJ would be ok with filming things because that was so bizarre.
Micheal Eisner had some sort of obsession with the iguanodon. He made the dumbest decisions just to promote a bad iguanodon movie thing. The park would’ve had much more popularity if Micheal made the decision to proceed with the construction for beastly kingdom. He also made the dumb decision to make the iguanodon animatronic instead of the dragon. I’m sure that if they added the beastly kingdom the park would have gained a lot of popularity, attention, and money. It really would’ve added some magic to the park.
As much as I would have loved Beastly Kingdom and was skeptical about Pandora, the alien planet seems much more... Fitting, some how. The way the land comes alive at nighttime compared to the daytime is something rather long lasting even if the Avatar IP has already been forgotten. Perhaps Beastly Kingdom should be in the Magic Kingdom to better fit the theme; Animal Kingdom really does benefit from primal, jungle-esche environments and nothing merges magic and biology more than a bioluminescent alien planet.
Great work, man. Discovered your channel last night and am really loving it. Quality video essays that present the information in a way that's super interesting. Love, love, love it.
why were the knights so graphic?! some scattered armor and maybe a couple bones would have been enough
I know it's PROBABLY never going to happen, but I am still holding out for Beastly Kingdom. COME ON, DISNEY!!!
They wont build it that concept is dead
@@jaydenchrist6152 don't be such a dream crusher! Let me live!
How many people are really going to enjoy Avatar? It's not a Disney movie, nor a kid's one. I just think the decision was done in haste and it won't be that great. With Star Wars coming in a couple of years Pandora and Avatar will be old news and no one will care for it.
Ashley Will I remember the Star Wars ride in Disneyland Orlando, it's was based on the Millennium Falcon.
Ashley If your 16 teen, you may not, most smart loving people will love Pandora. As well as the AVATAR Films to come.
Ashley Will you're right. The lines are gonna be empty always. Not a single person is going to enjoy it. Because going to Disney world is about how much I like the movies things are based, I mean that's why like.. Splash Mountain is a hit cause everyone loves song of the south right? Fucking get over it
I think Disney is just terrified of not keeping up with Universals franchises. .. lost their faith in their own brand/product. I hated this movie, I think the land will be stunning. However, future movies could also be terrible plots, and now you're stuck with this specific design and characters for 20 years.
Universal seriously ABANDONS THEIR OWN LICENCES FOR MORE SIMULATORS based on stuff they don't own. I mean they lost Back to the Future, Jaws, King Kong (The first one). Marvel isn't theirs to grow anymore, and they profit off of stuff that isn't theirs.
I heard a rumor they are making a 5th park right next to Animal Kingdom and it will be “Beastly Kingdom”. The lands would consist of a Dragon section, Egypt, Australia, a Stars Wars ice section and Fantasia.
That would actually be awesome, if it's true
Yeah, I know. I want Beastly more than the villain park. I'm not sure if it has enough IP's to keep Bob Iger satisfied though.
Some of the attractions for Beastly Kingdom (possibly Dominion) sound amazing though.
The source says there would be
a "Journey to the Center of the Earth" like ride (w/ a dragon)
“Roaring Rapids" in Australia (large croc ride)
and "Bald Mountain" (chernabog) and a "Fantasia boat ride" in Fantasia
Interesting to know if that ever happens
Dinoland would be a lot better without Chester and Hester mucking up the dinosaur theme.
Pretty much. If they would lose the Chester and Hester area and actually build The Excavator Roller Coaster, the coaster in Dinoland that was scrapped, I'd be much happier with the park. The C&H area is ok for what it is, but it really ruins the fairly organic feel of the entire park with its cheapness/tackiness. Off the shelf wild mouse coasters and a spinner really have no place in DAK.
And while I'm at it, please, please, PLEASE lose the name Dinosaur and go back to the original COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION as the name for attraction. The movie failed and has been long forgotten. The original name and more exciting/intense show elements were superior and need to return.
Tony Commodore THANK YOU
That was absolutely fascinating! Thank you for making such an interesting video with so much neat things to learn! i mean it's a freaking huge bummer that such an awesome idea for a park never really came to be (at least not by Disney like they had envisioned it) but it's very interesting to know what could have been!
I still don't think avatar land was a good idea
Avatar is such a weird phenomenon. Yes, it is the highest grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation), but no one talks much about it. Other than the visuals of the environment/Pandora, no one remembers the names of the characters, or an iconic scene/sequence, or a memorable one liner.
Compare it to other Cameron movies. When someone says "Colonial Space Marines", or "Get away from her, you bitch!", or "I'm the king of the world!", or "I'll be back", or the strip tease scene with Jamie Lee Curtis, or "Hasta la vista, baby", the T-1000, everyone knows which movie(s) you are talking about. When someone says "Sully" it's more likely people with think of Monsters Inc.
I don't think it's a good idea either, *but* like the movie's story not mattering, it may not matter that no one really cares about Avatar as a franchise *if* the Land of Pandora itself is as mind-blowing, original and immersive as the special effects were in the first film itself.
While I'm sure Disney was just looking for a popular franchise to establish a new 'land' in as a way to generate interest, I would not be shocked if Disney's imagineers and cast members make the land amazing and filled with wonder that ultimately they end up being the ones generating interest for the new Avatar franchise movies.
magnumcornetto Avatar land is so interesting. It's the highest grossing movie of all time but as a movie, it's not very interesting or spectacular. I think Disney decided to make Pandora for the same reason I think Avatar was made; to show off its visuals. The movie is gorgeous, and pandora is supposedly amazing as well. I definitely wish Beastly Kingdom had become a reality, though.
yoked Predator it is now a good idea since Disney owns fox
It fits with the nature conservation theme that the park now has and Disney will release the Avatar sequels so that will keep the park relevant
If I was in charge of Beastly Kingdom, I'd probably do something like this:
Hercules Hero Academy: This here is a response to the disturbing lack of Hercules in any Disney park,lol. The way I imagine it is a "shoot 'em up" arcade-style ride in the tradition of Toy Story Mania or MiB: Alien Attack. The queue welcomes "rookie heroes" into Phil's hero academy, where the muses would explain (in song :P) after Hercules became big, Phil went into business with Chiron the centaur. After wandering through halls of trophies and mythological memorabilia (including an entire wall of mounted Hydra heads as a gag), you're introduced to your instructor. From the start it's clear they don't get along. After exchanging some jabs, they make a bet over who's the better trainer and divide the groups before making you compete in their "hero training course" (inspired by "One Last Hope"). You'll hear them yell advice ("Hero rule #95 Concentrate!"), before finally Hades shows up and steals the show, hoping to make things interesting and get some revenge for "Wonderbread" possibly even taking things to the underworld. It naturally ends with the scores tallied up and a rendition of "A Star is Born" done by the muses,lol.
leave it to the guy in charge to screw things up.
why would you NOT go with the idea that people liked more?
I have actually seen the decayed version of the dinosaur at the Disneyland Tram Tour when I was there
The movie Dinosaur is barely even remembered these days. Talk about betting on the wrong horse...
Wondering if the beastly kingdom/Jurassic logo you created is available for download or on a t shirt? I'm dying to have it...and wear to the opening of PANDORA 😅
Chloe Ferreira You could probably ask for a high-resolution download and get a company to print it for you. Just don't try to mass-produce it.
While I'm still working on the shop offerings and haven't made any sort of "official" announcement...
shop.spreadshirt.com/YesterworldEntertainment
Yesterworld Entertainment Perfect! Thanks so much ✨
I would have liked Beastly Kingdom more than Pandora, and I would have liked it a lot more than Dinosaur land. Don't get me wrong, I like Dinosaur land, it's just Beastly Kingdom looked really cool compared to the carnival design they went with for Dinosaur land. I also noticed when I went to Animal Kingdom for the first time quite a few years back, that dock which at the time had a meet and greet with Winnie the Pooh. I thought to my self, "Gee, this sure looks like a boat dock, almost like the jungle cruise", today, you confirmed my old theory. Neat. :)
i feel like if they were gonna add pandora they waited a bit too long after the hype. people barely remember the blue cat people movie now.
I think if they had originally build beastly kingdom they couldn't of have gone down in marketing issues, it would've without a doubt been bigger than Dinosaur kingdom and drew in more guests.
But sadly enough they hadn't thought I out long enough or better, and lost what could've been their most famous and favorite attraction.
I still have the McDonald's dragon advertising Beastly Kingdom XD
Beastly kingdom sounded like a good idea. I would definitely go to it. I love all of that stuff : dragons and mythical beasts.
I went in the opening year 1998. I was desperate to see the beastly kingdom. I thought Animal Kingdom was awful the first year with 3 rides? Dinosaur, safari, and bugs life? Boo. I hope Pandora is awesome but beastly kingdom would have been showstopper!
100% the most interesting and historically bad arse channel on RUclips! Thank you!
I feel bad and sad that we didn't get beastly Kingdom I would have loved to see it because I love dragons and other things like that, but for the part about Universal making their own before Disney you know what they say you snooze you lose😥😥
We got pandora so and universal got harry potter beastly kingdom wouldn't have competed well with harry potter
Jeez, Beastly Kingdom would've been awesome if they could've pulled it off. The animatronic unicorn would've been absolutely stunning
Beastly Kingdom really shouldhave been part of AK..so sad.
I love love LOVE all of your videos-- please post more, especially on the theme park front!! The addition of Avatarland makes soooo much more sense now given all this history... thank you!!
who misses the jaws ride
OMG ME!!!!! I MISS THE JAWS RIDE!!!!!!!
Never been on that ride
Jaws was old anyway harry potter is much better
Amazing! Thank you for making this video! I used to have one of those mythical toys from micky dees. It was the purple dragon with the moving wings. I miss that thing
1 like=we have alot of supporters to close dinosaurs ass and move it, and build beastly kingdom
1 comment=we send people to disney
there are going to be 3 or 4 more Avatar movie sequels released over the next few years so I don't believe that Pandora in animal kingdom will be so short lived
Pandora will prove to be a mistake.
Calm Springs the ride is amazing the park is amazing but I feel it will get old fast. Visiting one time is enough for a while
The attendance says other wise.
It's definitely not a mistake but can seem regretful.
Qnd a success
For everyone complaining about Avatar Land, I'm not going to say you're wrong. It's an entire land based off of what's shaping up to be a one hit wonder of a franchise. However, it did make sense at a point. After Universal opened Harry Potter world all eyes were on Disney to do something just as grand. And remember, they didnt own Star Wars, and Marvel had yet to prove themselves as a money making machine. Then what comes out but the highest grossing film of all time with a director interested in making sequels and working with Disney. With Hollywood thinking that they might just be witnessing the next Star Wars, this was a no brainer. Unfortunately by the time Avatar missed it's Mark for it's sequel, Marvel had proven themselves, and Star Wars was now property of the mouse, it was much too late to stop production.
Avatar is meh. *shrug*
The concept of the land and the idea is a good one, but tbh not many people give a shit about that movie these days. It's dated and people have moved on to bigger and better movies since then.
I see it being popular for like, a year then people going, "Meh." and losing its charm. At least give some credit to Universal Studios, they actually picked a strong and memorable franchise like Harry Potter who is able to stand the test of time. And I was excited for Harry Potter-I'm not excited for Avatar, since I don't care about it.
Also side note, different Avatar but WHO THE FUCK ELSE WANTS TO SEE A THEME PARK BASED AROUND THE LAST AIRBENDER SERIES?? CAUSE I WOULD BE ALL OVER A LAST AIRBENDER THEME PARK!