Could Have, Should Have, Would Have- Disney's Animal Kingdom

Billed as a whole new breed of theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom certainly is. Rich with theming, Animal Kingdom brings visitors through realistic, modern Africa and Asia while showing humanity's impact on nature and the animal world, both positive and negative. The park also includes Rafiki's Planet Watch, a working veterinary hospital for the park with important messages about doing one's small, yet vital, part in conservation; Camp Minnie-Mickey, a character meet-and-greet area made to look like an Adirondack campground; and Dinoland USA, focusing on the fascination with extinct creatures. The park was given a large budget, but there is room for improvement in anything.

Could Have- Kept the "Countdown to Extinction" name

At first, the idea of a simple attraction name change seems foolish and pointless, but Dinosaur, formerly Countdown to Extinction, is in desperate need of such an adjustment. The interior of the prestigious Dino Institute not only houses exhibits based more on extinct animals than dinosaurs in particular, but also the CTX Time Rovers, based on the name Countdown To Extinction. The name was changed to tie in with Disney's computer animated film, Dinosaur, which did poorly at the box office. The name is not a draw, nor is the attraction inside based on the film, so a rename would not send conflicting messages. The story is about the supposed meteor shower that wiped out the dinosaurs, so Countdown to Extinction makes sense with the idea of a race against time to escape the past without becoming extinct. Also, the current name does not hold as much significance to the commitment to extinct animals as a whole, rather than specifically dinosaurs, as a mural of extinct creatures dons the wall of the ride's gift shop. Finally, Dinosaur conveys to guests that the ride is about dinosaurs, which is both bland and unrevealing about the plot of the attraction. Countdown to Extinction, however, is attention catching and briefly gives the idea that the ride is fast paced and thrilling, unlike the sedate Institute facade. While a name change is minor, it has an effect and could easily be done.

Should Have- The Excavator

Animal Kingdom opened with the promise to "pay tribute to animals live, extinct, and imaginary," so naturally a Dinosaur themed area would be a major aspect. Dinoland, USA ended up opening with only one major attraction, Countdown to Extinction; a restaurant(osaurus); and a play area, the Boneyard. While it ended up being only a McDonald's sponsored playground, albeit a detailed play ground themed to a dinosaur dig site, the Boneyard was planned to have much more. The area's focus, seen in the artwork above, was going to be "The Excavator," a wooden roller coaster in a mine cart over and under the land, including dramatic sweeps passed fossils. All seemed green lit for the coaster, but as costs began to rise and Animal Kingdom's budget got higher and higher, Eisner had to pull the plug on select projects deemed unimportant, the first and foremost being the Excavator. While Dinoland is much more completed with the addition of Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama!, and now has the Primeval Whirl coaster, the Excavator would be a thrilling, thematically correct way to improve park capacity and draw in more guests. Plans have not been made to build the Excavator, and the land originally planned for it has been developed, causing a problem over where to put the attraction should it be built. The best area would probably be behind Chester and Hester's, but that could provide problematic views of backstage areas. Also, the skyline would become unbalanced, with large Expedition Everest and the Excavator on the east side of the park, and no large structure to the west.

Would Have- Beastly Kingdomme

No conversation about planned Animal Kingdom is complete without mention of Beastly Kingdomme, alternatively spelled Kingdome and Kingdom. The Kingdomme was planned for the space now occupied by Camp Minnie-Mickey, along the Discovery River between Discovery Village and Africa. Beastly Kingdomme would have been split into two areas, the good side, with a Fantasia boat ride past the Greek/Roman gods of the "Pastorale Symphony" segment and a hedge maze to find a beautiful unicorn in a magical grotto, and the evil side, home to the charred ruins of the Dragon's Tower. Upon entering the castle, bats hanging upside down would tell guests of a great treasure in the fortress's charred remains, guarded by a fabled fire breathing dragon. Once the guests boarded, Kuka's robotic arm technology would carry them through the castle, past the treasure, and culminating with a climactic glimpse of the dragon, holding a charred roller coaster train and breathing real fire at visitors. Imagineers were excited about the area, so they gave the parking lot a unicorn area, adorned a ticket booth with a dragon's head, and put a dragon on the park's logo. Even the Discovery River Cruise would have featured an area with charred knight's armour and a dragon, based on the one beneath Disneyland Paris's castle, breathing fire at the guests. Unfortunately, budget cuts were made, first causing the dragon along the river to be replaced by a dragon-shaped rock formation. The cuts continued, and finally the entire area was dropped, replaced by the "temporary" Camp Minnie-Mickey, which proved to be more popular than the executives in Burbank thought. Beastly Kingdomme could be built, and it would draw many more tourists and thus make money for the park, while also giving the logo, parking area, and ticket booth more meaning. Disney's Animal Kingdom must fulfill it's goal to pay tribute to animals living, extinct, and imaginary.