Into the Dragon's Lair

When Disney's Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, it was missing one of the key original concepts. The park was supposed to focus on the animals that exist today, those that are extinct, and those that are mythical and legendary. Those mythical and legendary animals were designed to have a home in the Beastly Kingdom area of the park. Unfortunately, when the budget grew too large, the land was cut and Camp Minnie Mickey was built in its place. However, you can still see evidence of the plans throughout the park as seen here:

Mythical animals in the park were to include unicorns, dragons, and sea monsters. These animals would be divided into two realms: good and evil. The main attraction on the evil side would be the Dragon Tower. This rollercoaster thrill ride that would put guests in the middle of a battle for treasure with an evil fire breathing dragon. There would be two attractions in the good section of the land. One would be called Quest of the Unicorn. This was a maze of mythical creatures that sent guests on an adventure to find the hidden grotto where the unicorn lives. Fantasia Gardens would be the other ride in the land. It would be a musical boat ride through many animal scenes from the Disney animated classic Fantasia. Unfortunately, none of these attractions have been realized in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

I believe this land would be the boast that Animal Kingdom needs to be considered in the same light as the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. However, I realize that adding a new land to an already existing theme park would be a quite expensive venture. So, I present you with my own idea for a new ride in the spirit of Beastly Kingdom.

Into the Dragon's Lair would take you on a fantastic journey through a village haunted by two fire breathing dragons that happen to be brothers. Temero Draco (Latin for to darken/to defile/dishonor and drgaon) would be the evil dragon and Amplus Draco (Latin for great/important/honorable and dragon) would be the honorable dragon. Early in their lives, their family suffered a great tragedy when the dragon's father killed their mother in a fit of rage. This particularly bothered Temero Draco and he blamed his brother for their mother's death. Thus, he vowed to make his brother suffer from a fate worse than their mother's. So, as the years passed and the brothers grew up, their rivalry continued to escalate. Eventually a village was built up between the brother's respective lairs. This is where guests will enter the story.

Guests would approach the attraction through the village of Acies Agellus (Latin for a little battlefield). The village would be designed in medieval style architecture and be home to the peasants caught in the middle of the dragon's battle. All throughout the village the shops and restrooms would have subtle artifacts of the mythical battle. This would be similar to the Yeti's presence in the Expedition Everest queue. As you wander through the village, you will approach a dead end. At this corner of the road, all the buildings have been leveled. There would be a path of burnt and dried up grass leading out of the village and into a massive cave that would serve as the queue for the ride.

This cave is actually the home of Amplus Draco. As guests traveled farther into the cave, they would see the reminants of past battles with his brother. All along the walls there would be also be warning signs posted by the villagers. They would warn those who dare to enter the cave not to travel into its final room or risk being caught up in the fierce rivalry. However, being so bold and brave, the guests decide to venture into the dangerous territory. This is when they discover that they are in the lair of Amplus Draco. Instead of running from the dragon, guests are encouraged to join him in taking on his brother. At this point, guests would board their ride vehicles.

The attraction would have a specially designed ride vehicle. It would be a hybrid of a enhanced motion vehicle with a rollercoaster car. This would allow guests to feel like they really are really flying on the dragon's back. The car would look like a giant wooden box with seats on it. While in the station, the car would be on a moving conveyor belt. This would allow a big skin to rolled in front of the car to make it seem the guests are actually climbing into seats of the back of Amplus Draco.

After pulling away from the station, guests would be shot out of the cave. From there, they would fly over a recreation of the village in search of Temero Draco. Guests would see a flash of flame by there car. Temero would be flying up from behind the car. This would be followed by an intense chase sequence with tons of daring maneuvers and sharp turns. Eventually, Amplus would lose Temero and would begin to take guests back to his lair. However, as the guests were about to enter the cave, Temero would attack Amplus. This would cause Amplus and the guests to crash into the cave. From here, another chase would begin.

Soon after, the cave would begin to collapse. Temero would be caught in the destruction, but Amplus and the guests would narrowly escape to safety. Amplus would then take guests to the unload station close to his now destroyed lair.

What do you guys think? Does Animal Kingdom need Beastly Kingdom?