Disney's Animal Kingdom to Get New Inhabitants

 Hello again, friends!

If you haven't heard already, Disney made a big announcement last week. The creative forces at Disney have joined with the people behind "Avatar" to create Avatarland at Disney's Animal Kingdom starting in 2013.(If you want to see the full announcement, click here.)

The thing is; I just don't like this idea. I feel like there were tons of other directions to go. I mean, this movie (in all fairness, I didn't really like the movie, either) had a few things going in it that just aren't condusive to the Disney standards. There was a LOT of violence. Some would argue that Star Wars was violent too (shoot- they blew up a planet!) but I feel like Avatar was much more so. Second, the movie was VERY political. Even though this happened to be a message I appreciated, it's still too political to easily fit  inside a Disney park. Third, there's a freaking sex scene in this movie. Sure it's tails getting busy and stuff, but the point is- the sex was implied. No movie that Disney has featured in the parks (Star Wars included) had a sex scene. It's simply not keeping with Disney's family-friendly standards.

I'm very skeptical. I try to sign on to Disney's changes- with the exception of Toad- but I just don't think this is the best plan for the park. Plus, Animal Kingdom is about natural beauty in the world around you. Not about a magic planet that has some blue people living on it. How are the animals of Pandora going to live comfortably with the Lions of Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Yeti at Expedition Everest?

I think the thing that bothers me the most though are that so many of us Disney fans have been waiting patiently for the time when Disney would go back to the early conceptual plans and finally add in the "Beastly Kingdom" an area that was going to be based on animals of legends and mythology. Did you ever notice that there's a dragon on the Animal Kingdom Logo? That's why. Even now, a dragon fountain can be found near Camp Minnie-Mickey and a dragon sits atop one of the ticket booths at the park's main entrance. Does this mean we'll never get to see this long-awaited area? Will the world of Avatar now be housed where we once thought our friends from the Beastly Kingdom would roam?


So what are your thoughts? Are you excited about this new addition or are you upset that they're bringing in another company? Share your thoughts here!