Today, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is preparing for some major changes – including the reimagining of DinoLand U.S.A. into the Tropical Americas and a new Bluey experience at Conservation Station – however, Beastly Kingdom remains one of the most well-known lost lands in theme park history. Let’s take a step back in time and look at what once could have been at Disney’s youngest Orlando theme park.
Animal Kingdom is a theme park devoted to wildlife and the wonders of the natural world, but have you ever wondered why there’s a dragon front and center on the park’s logo?
When Imagineers initially conceptualized Disney’s Animal Kingdom, three lands were planned:
- one for animals of the earth – real
- one for dinosaurs from the past – extinct
- and one for mythical creatures – imaginary
Enter Beastly Kingdom. Two realms, good and evil. On one side, a majestic white unicorn welcomed all to the land, while the dark and terrifying fire-breathing dragon lived on the other side, within the ruins of a burning castle. (I could stare at this concept art all day)
The unicorn’s kingdom would have included a Fantasia-inspired boat ride, and an enchanted hedge maze similar to Disneyland Paris’ Alice’s Curious Labyrinth.
Upon finding your way through the Quest of the Unicorn hedge-maze, you’d meet the kind and majestic creature.
The really exciting part? The Dragon’s realm included a charred castle, complete with a terrifying fire-breathing dragon, glittering treasure troves, and what would have been Disney’s first inverted roller coaster.
Dragon’s Tower would have been Animal Kingdom’s largest E-ticket attraction, taking you on a sweeping journey through the castle aboard swinging, suspended bat-winged coaster cars.
Additionally, a small portion of the land was planned to feature mythical sea creatures, including a restaurant named Loch Ness Landing.
What Happened to Beastly Kingdom?
In short, due to financial shifts and management conflicts, the mythical land unfortunately never came to be. Disney’s Animal Kingdom ended up being way over-budget in order to care for their live animals and hire the proper teams. Then-CEO Michael Eisner was left with a choice: DinoLand USA or Beastly Kingdom? Oddly enough, he chose DinoLand, thinking this would be a perfect accompaniment for Disney’s first non-Pixar computer-animated film, Dinosaur.
Beastly Kingdom was postponed for Animal Kingdom’s “Phase II” before ultimately being completely taken off the drawing table, for good. But not before select pieces had already been built!
(Legend has it, the Imagineers who headed Disney’s Beastly Kingdom project took their plans to Universal’s Islands of Adventure for their Lost Continent. What was to be Dragon’s Tower at Animal Kingdom ultimately became Dueling Dragons, before Harry Potter moved in. You can’t deny the similarities!)
Remnants of Beastly Kingdom
These little bits of Beastly Kingdom can still be found at Animal Kingdom today. Have you spotted these?
- The unicorn parking lot section, and the matching Hidden Mickey series pin from years ago:
- One of the park’s ticket window facades still features a dragon head, and a pegasus can be found within the carvings:
- Anywhere the park’s original logo can be found, you’ll find the dragon centrally located – such as park benches, lanterns, and even some modern-day merchandise.
- Lastly, perhaps the coolest remnant of Beastly Kingdom is the dragon head rock formation, found along the Discovery River. This was built for the short-lived Discovery River Boats attraction, intended as a teaser for what’s to come in the park’s Phase II. You can find this toothy guy on your way into Pandora from the bridge, just past Tiffins and Nomad Lounge:
- Next time you visit the park, check out this early artwork found in the fitting room within the Discovery Trading Company gift shop:
Beastly Kingdom would have been where Pandora: the World of Avatar lives now. Banshees and dragons are similar, no?
Aside from these remnants of the lost land, Beastly Kingdom will just have to live on in our lost theme park concept dreams… In the meantime, we can catch a glimpse of another mythical being over at Expedition Everest.
In the end, I’m glad we can step back in time and visit the dinosaurs… if only for a few more months.
