Is a Zootopia land the next big expansion planned for Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom?
According to Disney rumor-meister Jim Hill, Disney is looking at the possibility of bringing Zootopia to Animal Kingdom. Rather than a brand new expansion like Pandora – The World of Avatar, “Zootopia Land” would replace Rafiki’s Planet Watch.
The Academy Award winning animated film is a natural fit for Animal Kingdom, and we’ve often wondered aloud if it wasn’t specifically designed to be a potential theme park land.
Rafiki’s Planet Watch is currently accessible via train… much like how Judy Hopps took a bullet train into Zootopia in the film. We could totally see this working to transition guests into the proposed new land if they’d update the train with something akin to a monorail.
Let’s face it, Rafiki’s Planet Watch isn’t exactly the most exciting part of Animal Kingdom, and I don’t think too many guests would be sad to see it go. However it does fit with the conservation theme of the park, and here’s hoping that they’d at least keep that aspect of it.
Right now any further additions to Animal Kingdom are likely many years away, as Imagineering has their hands full with Star Wars and Toy Story in Hollywood Studios, and the rumored upcoming re-imagining of Epcot. Don’t expect any additions to Animal Kingdom for at least another 5-7 years.
It’s possible that there will be an announcement for Zootopia at D23, but unlikely. This is all pure speculation at this point, but it certainly makes more sense than (the admittedly awesome) Avatar Land did.
Source: Jim Hill
