Pardon Our Dust - Disney's Animal Kingdom
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As we approach the park’s eighth anniversary will Everest change the perception of DAK amongst vacationing families and what else will (and should) the park’s Vice President Dr. Beth Stevens be doing to lengthen visitors’ time at Joe Rohde’s marvel?

There is no doubt that Everest is a return to WDI’s E-ticket-laden past. A thrilling coaster attraction entwined with a rich fabric Disney of storytelling that dominates the landscape (although I recommend standing on the bridge to Africa where Everest can clearing be seen and listening to the comments of regular guests who I guarantee will proclaim it Blizzard Beach’s Summit Plummet!). This ride is the most eagerly anticipated since Tower of Terror over a decade ago. A massive investment of capital expenditure into an existing park (the price tag is nearly 20% of the cost of building the entire park back in the ‘90s) whose attendance needs a jolt. Undoubtedly Everest will become a “must-see�? for all guests and will ensure that DAK benefits from a significant bump in numbers during 2006. However will it be enough to sustain guests’ interest for years to come?

Both Dr. Stevens and the park’s creative supervisor Joe Rohde are keen for Everest to become the start of DAK’s “second coming�?. Stevens want to see guests spend more time and more money inside her gates. This requires some significant changes for DAK to return to those initial 12- and 13-hour days that were so typical in 1998 and 1999.

Beyond Everest Michael Jung creative director at Disney Creative Entertainment is busy working with the team behind Broadway’s Avenue Q musical to create a new Finding Nemo musical for the Theater in the Wild. The show will feature new music and the show’s signature song (“The Big Blue�?) is so popular within WDI that Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage show producer Kathy Mangum has added it to the finale of that attraction currently under construction at Disneyland (opening in the spring of 2007). The theater itself is being remodeled and enclosed to allow the show’s producers to immerse guests in the undersea world of Marlin, Dory and Nemo.

Even further into the future Rafiki’s Planet Watch (originally Conservation Station) is to be extensively refurbished. The attraction is often missed by guests who are confused as to how to reach it. The train was meant to act as a regulator of guest numbers within the facility (much as pre-shows used to smooth the flow of people into Future World pavilions) but numbers were never sufficient to justify the train’s existence. The train option will remain but DAK managers are considering adding a footpath that will lead to the remodeled pavilion. No word as of yet as to the changes planned.