Is Disney Imagineering digging up a fossil of the 1990s? With all the talk of potential changes Disney may bring to Animal Kingdom (most notably re-theming Dinoland U.S.A. as Indiana Jones) another rumor has surfaced regarding a jettisoned coaster concept.
Long before Expedition Everest, another coaster was proposed for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Originally planned as an opening day attraction, The Excavatar coaster would find guests taken on a thrilling ride through a fossil excavation site. According to Jim Hill, the coaster featured in early Animal Kingdom marketing materials, and parts of its storyline — involving mischievous college students — were referenced in Hester and Chester’s Dino-Rama.
It was apparently dropped, along with Beastly Kingdom, in an effort to cut costs as maintaining all those animals on property was crazy expensive. Who knew!
It was briefly revisited as a potential attraction for Hong Kong Disneyland, before once again being dropped due to budgetary constraints.
But now, could a version of this coaster be back on the table? According to a new thread on WDW Magic, insiders have been whispering about the possibility. But would The Excavator even fit in an Indiana Jones themed land? It might make for a good case to change Dinosaur into Indiana Jones Adventure, as the park really wouldn’t need two dinosaur themed attractions.
Again, this is all rumor and speculation, but where there’s smoke there’s (usually) fire. And it’s clear that Disney isn’t done with Animal Kingdom yet. But when it will get some more attention is anybody’s guess, as they have a full slate of projects planned for the other three parks before the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World.
[Source: WDW Magic]
