Jambo. assignment on the animal kingdom lodge at wdw

JAMBO Animal Kingdom lodge Disney’s animal Kingdom

Assignment 3, report Walt Disney World 2017-2018.

Karin Ramaker Studentnumber: 2808188 PCN: 343698

Introduction Jambo! Swahili for Hello!

Welcome to this report, the final product from Walt Disney World.

Disney’s Imagineering department has been creating experiences for Disney theme parks for a long time. They create an immersive world in which a person can forget about their daily slur. This immersive world we’re talking about is best described as ‘a place or world in which guests van become fully absorbed or engaged.’ From the immersive worlds handbook

by Scott Lukas (Lukas, 2012). Disney creates these worlds that people love and even incorporate into their life traditions. There are many examples, however, for the purpose of this piece I will solely focus on Disney Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I will look into how these two places created the immersive world by the look and feel of the location. By looking at different aspects both locations have I can research if staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge will have effect on the experience in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

To start off I would like to go over a brief summary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. To continue I will show all aspects of the park and resort and compare these. This will be done by showing pictures. Last I will conclude this research. I hope you enjoy this project as much as I did.

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table of content Animal Kingdom Lodge 6 Disney’s Animal Kingdom 7 First Entry 8 Adventure 14 Recognizable Elements 18 Merchandise 28 Location 30 Music 32 Conclusion 34 Sources 35

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Animal kingdom lodge

disney’s animal kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is, in my opinion, one of the best themed resorts at Walt Disney World. Capturing the feel of an African savanna lodge, this resort is the perfect combination of nature and architecture. Zebras, giraffes, antelopes, elks, kudus, gazelles, wildebeest’s and exotic birds come incredibly close to the resort.

Starting the ideas of animal kingdom was difficult. Zoos weren’t making any money at the time and the idea had to be very different for it to become a success. In January 1990 the imagineer Michael Eisner had a first meeting with Joe Rohde to go deeper into the idea of the Animal Kingdom.

The initial members of the imagineering team are Zofia Kostyrko, Kevin Brown, Christopher West, Tony Marando and Joe Rohde.

The park was to be a park for animal and human emotions. Not an information park like zoos or an issues park, but a park about the love between species.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is separated into two main areas: Jambo House, which is the main guest resort area, and Kidani Village, the Disney Vacation Club villas. To get back and forth between the two, you can either make the 5-10 minute walk or use the Disney bus system. From Jambo House, the Downtown Disney bus will stop at Kidani Village first and from Kidani Village, any of the theme park buses will stop at Jambo House first.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge has an 11,000 square foot zero-entry pool which features a small water slide, a children’s pool and two hot tubs. More impressive is the location of the pool alongside the Uzima savanna. Here you’ll find fascinating flamingoes as well as the other animals that this resort is noted for.

The resort has a full service spa and fitness center. Guests staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge can use the exercise equipment for free. There are sauna and steam rooms available. For a more relaxed luxury vacation, schedule a massage, body treatment or facial. (Disney Resorts, N.D.)

Building a theme park consist of a lot of questions and possibilities. At the Animal Kingdom big questions were which animals should be here? Where would they be seen? How would they be housed? Where would they come from? Who would take care of them?

The most important thing about the Animal Kingdom quoted from: “The making of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park” by Melody Malmberg: “The Walt Disney Company realizes one of the greatest contributes it can make to global conservation is raising awareness. Walt Disnye Attractions president Judson Green says Disney’s partners in conservation are eager to join forces because “they recognize a company that can reach millions and millions of people.” Advisory Board member Michael Hutchins of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association feels certain that Disney can make conservation “a household word”; Terry Maple of Zoo Atlanta thinks Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme park will effect a global change in the way people think about animals and their environments. “Animals are timeless, fascinating, moving” he says. The Animal Kingdom park, isn’t scared of traditional barriers, incorporates human-animal conflicts, adds a sense of fun, has the opportunity to transform guests into conservationists. Judson Green thinks a new generation of Eco Heroes will rise: “We’ll have the opportunity to tell the stories about people who have the passion. I think we’ll be motivating children by hundreds every day.” Advisory Board member Karen Allen, a conservationist and mother, says: “Even the littlest kids can get the message. They may not be able to articulate it, but they will leave with a conservation conscience, knowing there is something big out there that can be part of their world.

The Animal Kingdom park will change how they’ll view the world for the rest of their lives.”

There is a lot of detail in the park and resort. Kevin Brown and his team were in charge of the detail in the Animal Kingdom.

In order to take the first step in this immense project there is a lot of inspiration needed. To collect all inspiration needed the team traveled down to Africa to visit the national parks, homes of the locals and get as much information on the area as possible. (Malmberg, 1998)

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Nowadays Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the most natural park of Walt Disney World. There are attractions, shows and animals to discover in the 6 worlds. With one trip to Disney’s animal Kingdom you can discover Africa, Asia, Oasis, Discovery Island, Pandora, Dinoland USA.

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First entry

Walking into Jambo House at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, it’s tough not to be totally blown away. The lobby alone induces the kind of awe and magic that Disney is known for. There are comfortable seating areas for relaxing and a large mud fireplace with a cozy fire always burning. You’ll also find a number of televisions playing classic Disney cartoons which makes it easy for families with children to rendezvous without the little ones getting bored. Once you go up to the entrance you are welcomed by a sign saying: “Welcome home”. All Disney resorts have this saying, as they want to make their guests feel like they are at home.

Walking into both of these locations, the first thing I noticed was the colors. Both themes use different colors, but both with a natural feel to it. In the buildings/ entrances the main material is wood. Also an element of stone is added to the design. These two looks do not look like each other, at first aspect they are completely different. Once I kept looking I realized the same material was used, same as the basic color.

The dark brown base is very much the same.

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Once you leave the main entrance you step into the magical world. Both experiences are different, for one you step inside of a building or theme park. However, once you look past the dark interior the trees stand out. In the Animal Kingdom lodge this huge window is created to give an overview of the nature outside, this lures the guests out. The way the window is divided looks like branches covering the glass. These create a natural feeling.

Walking into Disney’s Animal Kingdom the first thing you see is a wall of trees. You get the full experience with nature. This is where the guests decide which way to go even though all ways lead to the same place there are different aspects to see in the trails.

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The next thing the guest sees as they walk into the park is the Tree of Life. This tree is huge and the center point of the Animal Kingdom park. There are different animal species carved on this big statue. To get to the tree the guest does have to go through the big crowd. There are always so many people here, as it is the middle of the park.

In the Animal Kingdom Lodge this is the aspect of the building from the garden. Once you went through the building and look back at it, this is what you see. I wanted to show this here because I think this give a whole other perspective of the building. With this view of a combination of nature the building shows all the natural elements perfectly. As it is shown the roof is thatched, there is ivy growing on the side and the colors blend perfectly with the gardens outside.

In both places the first thing the guest sees is nature, or at least the plants and trees. These aren’t always real but the use of colors and texture sure make it look realistic.

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Adventure

One word frequently comes to mind as you explore the Animal Kingdom Lodge: adventure. Everywhere you go, you’ll find something new and interesting. The presence of wild animals on the grounds of the resort adds a sense of unpredictability to what would otherwise just be a place to sleep in between visiting Disney parks. The resort has different routes to explore both in- and outside.

The park is about the same way. All throughout there are little routes you can explore. The path you walk isn’t jus there to bring you to the next world the quickest, it is there to let you explore the surroundings and instead of walking through an attraction park it almost feels as if you walk through a village. The Animal Kingdom is a complicated park if you like following maps. The other parks have a route designed to get you through the park, the Animal Kingdom has roads to the worlds but then you can figure out yourself how to get to the next location.

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This feeling of exploring and adventure brings out the child in you. The guest look around and see so many elements that give them hints about the world they’re in. In both park and resort the guest have the opportunity to explore the surroundings and find animals, hidden spots and enjoy the adventure.

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In the resort around the Arusha savanna there are triangles placed who turn around to reveal more information about the animals which you can see right in front of you. Every guest can figure out which animal they are seeing by matching up the picture. There is information on all the animals which can possible be seen in the savanna. This is not the only source of information for the guest. There are cast members straight from Africa on hand to answer your questions.

The park has a different system with the same outcome. The park offers a trail of the wilderness explorer. In the beginning of the park the guest can ask for one of these books to make the journey even more exciting.

In this little book there are badges to earn once you finish an assignment. Guest have to go around the park looking for little signs saying that there is a badge to be earned here. These assignments get guest too think about the elements they are seeing. They explore every little detail of the park and learn about all the cultures presented.

That both park and resort offer this give the guest no reason to stop exploring. If you learned anything in the resort and you see the animal walking around on Kilimanjaro Safaris in the park you are reminded of this. All the knowledge one has gained can immediately be used in the park, or the other way around.

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Recognizable elements

This chapter is about some sights in the park and resort that reminded me of each other. I tried to capture all these in pictures and would explain them further on.

The first thing I noticed was the use of water, waterfalls and little ponds. There were little sights of these all through the park and resort. This was not the only thing. Every fence looks almost the same, apart from color. They are lined up little wooden sticks with one on top. I noticed in these pictures the buildings having the same color scheme. The colors used for buildings are brown, red, orange and yellow. Looking at these pictures there is a comparison which shows they fit together. If any other resort was placed next to these the theming would be off. By having the same theming, the guest does not get distracted and they can fully immerse into the world.

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The park and resort have different animal prints incorporated. These are not always right in front of you. The picture above left, I took this as an overview of the resort. Looking at it later I realized the zebra print on the roof. Even on the balconies the zebra print is incorporated in the fence. I kept looking for these detail while going into the park.

I noticed on the ground throughout the whole park were different footprints. Animals and humans combined. This not only created a fun texture but also influenced the adventure as mentioned before. There were trails to follow and the challenge to discover which footprint belonged to who. Of course an element not to forget is the Tree of Life. When talking about textures and animal prints, shapes and furs this is the place to look. There are so many detailed animals portrayed on this tree. I can keep looking and spot animals I’ve never seen. In the resort there also are animals carved on stone, much less detailed but very recognizable creatures. On the grounds there are animal footprints to be spotted. This theming transfers great from park to resort.

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One of the very specific findings I had was the Satu’li Canteen and the lobby of the resort. As discussed before the resort has a very impressive window which gives you a clear view of the nature outside. The canteen is one of the new buildings in Pandora, world of Avatar. As you can see on the pictures these looks are very similar. They both portray the bin window which gives you a sight of the nature outside. The lamps are hanging from the ceiling and are made from the same material. This also gives them the same colors.

The interior is dark, while the window brings in all the natural light.

At first I was expecting to only find similarities between the location Africa in the park and the resort.

However, I discovered that everywhere in the park little aspects match with each other and with the resort.

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The Savanna and Kilimanjaro safaris are presented on these pictures. Both are an open field with animals.

Because animal inhabit this area it is all natural. There are lots of plants, water sources and sand. I thought this was a good way to show that both park and resort offer this kind of entertainment to their guests.

Talking to one of the guest staying at the resort I learned that they come here every year. They want the whole family together at least once a year and try to do this at Disney, usually around Christmas time.

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He said that they made a family trip to South-Africa when he was younger and that the savanna and safari remind him of these memories. This is what the resort and park wants to accomplish. As Scott Lukas describes it: “Creating a world that people love and incorporate as part of their life traditions.” (Lukas, 2012). I think it is amazing to see how Disney accomplishes this and to learn how to create this myself.

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Overall look of the park and resort is very similar. Especially the location Africa in the park is similar to the resort. This place has the same types of road, same color scheme and same sounds. As if you walk into the village near the hotel you are staying in.

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As Scott Lukas said in the Immersive World: “An immersive world will take you in such that you won’t want to leave.” (Lukas, 2012) I think by having so many elements of park and resort with similarities the guest won’t experience any distractions from the immersive world. They will become totally absorbed and engaged. Feeling of familiarity between the two locations will give them the opportunity to truly explore and learn about the cultures.

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Merchandise stores

The picture on the left page is the Zawadi Marketplace. This is the merchandise store in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. They sell original artwork inspired by the resort, African-themed sculptures and percussion instruments, and even resort-specific t-shirts, something that has become increasingly rare. Of course, there’s also a section dedicated to all of the toiletries and non-prescription medication you may have forgotten while packing. (Disney Resorts, N.D.) All the merchandise (except the resort specific items) sold here can also be found at the park. The African artwork has nothing Disney related and is only found in the resort and park in this report. This connects the two location by offering their guest limited edition items.

The stores design is both just like the rest of the park with the base colors, brown, red, orange and yellow.

The stores are not just selling products, they are also presenting art and culture. With the products from Africa a backstory is told. The cast members teach the children how to use the bongo’s and encourages the guest to try out the products. This makes the experience interactive.

At the top of the shelves, in both stores, art is presented. This is for decoration but it gives the store a feel of African and Asia culture. It shows the natural materials and it gives an overview of the type of art used in

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location

The location of both the park and resort are located inside the red circle on the middle picture. They are located very close to each other.

This means traveling from the resort to the park is very easy and the trip is short. The resort is located all the way on the edge of Disney property, because of this traveling to any other park will take more time. This will take away from the experience at other parks. However, this also has the effect that because of easy travel Disney’s Animal Kingdom is more appealing to visit. Because of the similarities with the resort the park will be familiar and pleasant. This result in a memorable visit to the park.

The resort is laid out like a horseshoe with the lobby in the center and hallways extending out on either side. It can be a bit of a walk to get from the lobby to a room at the end of either hallway, but it’s all indoors and air-conditioned so it’s not too bad (Disney Resorts, N.D.).

Outside the pleasant smell of nature and animals is present, not the smell of cars or other animatronic. This is possible because the resort is located on the outskirts with no big roads near.

This smell is also in the park. They’ve managed to create the smell to enhance the experience of exploring nature. What I’ve learned from one of the key notes at the IAAPA conference is: “The way that we feel our environment being human the visual sense has the lead, but to get the full experience every other sense has to work.” (IAAPA, 2017)

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This is done with both park and resort adding smell and sounds to the locations other than visuals. I will go into the sounds the next chapter.

These senses are enhanced by the layout of the locations. Adding nature into the design of the park enhances the mind to smell the trees and plants.

The layout of the park and resort connect by having similar aspects. In the resort the pool is located at the right side of property, being surrounded by trees, plants and even animals. In the park on the right hand side the lake is located. This water is used to project the show Rivers of Light. There is also lots of trees around it, used not only for decoration but also as a curtain to hide the boats for the show.

At the top the safari and savanna are located. In both locations this is the same place. The open fields are space for animals to roam free and for visitors to watch these creatures.

When guests move between park and resort the layout is recognizable and way finding is easier. This gives the guest the opportunity to experience the park more.

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music

These pictures are all from the Animal Kingdom park, the Animal Kingdom Lodge does not offer live music. The music played is all in Swahili and other African languages. The music in the Animal Kingdom Lodge also has these languages with the same instruments. From listening to the music in both the park as the resort they are very much alike. The difference is that the park offers live music, while the resort doesn’t. The music makes you feel as if you are in the culture of Africa. Every song you hear the drum which becomes very recognizable between the park and resort. The other instruments sound like they are made from any material someone can find. There are only sounds produced from instruments someone can handmade from materials found in nature. These African instruments make for a very pleasing sounds, even with the singing which sometimes can sound strange in my opinion.

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conclusion By attending the collegiate course creativity and innovation taught by Ellen Tetlow, lots of information about imagineers was given. During exercises involving this topic I got to practice looking at Disney through an imagineering point of view. Thanks to these practices I was able to see the similarities between Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. Hereby I would like to conclude that guests staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge do have a very different experience while visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom then guests staying at other resorts or just visiting. The similarities created in the experiences in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge make that guests staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge feel more connected to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and therefor are more effected by the immersive world in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The experiences make the guests staying at the resort feel at home. As mentioned before walking into the resort you are ‘welcomed home’, the resemblance makes guests see their ‘Disney home’ in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Furthermore, if all touch points in Animal Kingdom Lodge were touched positively these memories will be awoken developing pleasant feelings in the world they are currently visiting. As mentioned by Scott Lukas in the Immersive Worlds handbook: ‘for some reason we attach our memories and feelings to certain places.’

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sources Disney Resorts. (N.D.). Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Opgeroepen op March 24, 2018, van WDW info: http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/ IAAPA. (2017). Creating exciting attractions by making spaces immersive, experiental and sensory. Orlando.

Lukas, S. (2012). The Immersive World. In S. Lukas, What is the immersive world? (p.

288). focal press.

Malmberg, M. (1998). The Making of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Hyperion.

WDW info. (N.D.). Animal Kingdom Lodge. Opgeroepen op march 24, 2018, van wdw info: http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/ Pictures are taken by Karin Ramaker and taken from Walt Disney World information website.

WDW info. (N.D.). Animal Kingdom Lodge. Opgeroepen op march 24, 2018, van wdw info: http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/

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