Joe Rohde Continues His Tour of Animal Kingdom – Part 4

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks

Imagineer Joe Rohde has been taking Disney fans on an online digial tour of Disney’s Animal Kingdom through his Instagram, providing deep backstory on its ethos and culture. He’s discussed the Tree of Life and Africa, and today we follow him through Asia as he discusses the beautiful Anandapur and Maharajah Jungle Trek!

Joe begins by discussing what region Animal Kingdom’s Asia represents…

“At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Asia really means South Asia and Southeast Asia, where you find Tigers….We have styled the entire thing as The Kingdom of Anandapur. It’s something like India something like Nepal and something like parts of Indonesia.

As with Africa, we want everyone to have a sense of going on an adventure, so even if you were from India, you walk around here going “I haven’t been to this part of the country”… A purist could criticize this as being kind of expropriation and amalgamation, but we try to be careful and we really do want to transcend any particular country and stick with the idea of animals and the people they live with.

Joe continues in another post…

“It’s important to remember that all of these lands are fictional. And because they are fictional, they have been edited and focused in an artificial way….

Our Asia is focused on the harmony and disharmony of use of space. Habitat competition vs accommodation. The tigers live in an abandoned hunting lodge. The white water raft trip goes through an illegally logged Forest. The train in Expedition Everest cuts through a forbidden part of the mountains. The Gibbons and Siamangs live right in the middle of town amidst ruins under restoration. This is a bit of design hyperbole, but it’s meant to indicate this idea of humans and animals living cheek by jowl in the same spaces.”

Ever take a picture next to that ruined shrine with the big paws? Joe fills us in on its history...

“This was inspired by multiple sources. One was Sigiriya in SriLanka where there is a truly huge set of claws left over from a giant lion. One is Mahabalipuram in India where there are colossal stone animals. The other is at Angkor Wat, colossal human sculptures in ruins with roots overgrown.

Ours is a tiger. So it could have been an old Hindu shrine of Dawon the tiger-lion who is variously ridden by Durga, Kali or Parvati. Or a Buddhist shrine to Padmasambhava who also rides a tiger. But it’s in ruins so we cannot tell.”

Moving one, Joe gives us a little insight into the queue for Kali River Rapids…

“In the queue for the Kali River Rapids attraction are murals on the ceiling depicting traditional Buddhist parables in which animals act out moral precepts. These are called the Jataka Tales. The ceiling of this building, indeed the entire building is loosely based on a building on the island of Bali called the Kerta Gosa. It too has a lavish painted ceiling with a very similar carved ornament at the very peak.

All the murals that you see in the building are original. They were painted by an old Balinese master painter. When we started the work, I brought him a full set of western watercolor brushes as a gift. He chose to paint all those murals with his traditional tools…Split pieces of bamboo which he cut with a knife and smashed to create a brush.”

Let’s head into the Maharajah Jungle Trek with Joe to look at, not only the animals, but the artistry…

“There are three distinct mural sequences in the Maharajah Jungle Trek. There are the tiger murals, which if you look closely reveal antique scenes of tiger hunts, making it clear that there used to be way more tigers. By the way, some of these shots are from inside the tiger area…when the tigers were not there. The second group in this sequence are the carved stone murals (real stone carved in Bali) representing a little moral tale in which man comes into the forest, cuts down the forest, and disaster follows. In the final frame the animals and the man have reconciled and nature begins to bloom again. The last set of murals are meant to depict the four great kings of Anandapur.”

Before we leave, we must check out the Tigers!

“When we opened, we had Bengal tigers who had grown up together. I believe they were all sisters….. The Tigers you see today are Sumatran Tigers, which are an important Conservation challenge. For those who are concerned about where animals like these come from…Rest assured they are not captured in the wild. Ironically, there are almost none left in the wild. At any legitimate accredited Zoological facility, ours included, those animals are part of international networks committed to maintaining healthy and genetically Viable populations.

When we started conceptual work on Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1990 estimates are there were as many as 100,000 tigers in the wild. Today there are maybe 3500….Thanks to global effort’s some tiger numbers are stabilizing. That doesn’t mean much unless we do a lot more to protect jungle habitat with enough animals in it for Tigers to eat.”

Join is soon in Part 4 as Joe take us all to the thrill of Asia – Expedition Everest!

Tour Through Animal Kingdom With Joe Rohde – Part 2

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks

Joe Rohde, Imagineer and creative force behind Animal Kingdom, has been taking Disney fans on a digital tour through some of his favorite areas of the park. Today, we showcase his thoughts on the African portion of the park including Harambe village, the Kilimanjaro Safaris, and the Gorilla Falls Nature Trail. Be sure to check out his Instagram for the full posts.

Joe starts us off with a little history on Harambe.

“None of our lands are supposed to be geopolitically real like say, Kenya. Harambe looks a lot like Lamu in Kenya, but not in a replicative way, and there are substantial stylistic departures. It’s more like a smash-up of Lamu-Kenya and Arusha-Tanzania. Both are a kind of mercantile border town, as is Harambe. The word Harambe means “let’s work together or pull together.” Implicitly on behalf of wildlife.

What can we read in this environment? Clearly multiple levels of history and conquest, as with Lamu. There’s a Portuguese fort, some remnants of Omani reign, a British Colonial era, and Independence in 1961. Must be a valuable place. The building are old and weathered, but not intended to look neglected, and there’s lots of evidence of reutilization and upcycling…from economic stress? So people are striving here. I mean, the municipal logo is a Maasai shield and an industrial gear with the word ”enterprise.”

In such a palpably commercial place, where people are clearly striving to get ahead, what is the value of elephants vs elephant ivory and rhinos vs rhino horn? This is what wildlife conservation is – a value equation. And the value at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is The intrinsic value of Nature as supreme and untradeable. However subtle and nuanced, that is conflict, which drives narrative.”

Now let’s take off on a safari!

“The animals that you see on Safari represent the savanna ecosystem, but it would be extraordinary to see them all in one place or in one day. I’ve spent entire days on safari and seen almost nothing. And while there are many famous animals, there are also some rare animals that you might never see if you went on safari in Africa. Eland for example, are very shy and will not let you get within 1000 feet.”

Joe continues in another post…

[The safari} exists within a network of managed habitats stretching all around the world, which relate to each other in order to preserve the genetic pool of these animals, and in some cases, as we have done with White Rhinos, to re-introduce them to the wild.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom could not exist without the Disney Conservation Fund and it’s work out in the real world….I would never discourage someone from taking a real Safari trip to Africa. But I can assure you that the Safari that you might take here has certain advantages, and is not merely a show, it is a working environment engaged with the conservation of wild creatures.”

Now that we’re off our safari trek, let’s go with Joe over to Gorilla Falls!

“Gorilla Falls Nature Trail is a pedestrian experience into the jungles adjacent to our wildlife reserve….It features a family of lowland gorillas, which are sexy and impressive, yes, but I don’t know how often you’re ever going to get a chance to see an African Weaverbird make a nest, or ever see a naked mole rat, or a jacana. Because there is no ride system, people often undervalue these experiences.

But, at a place like Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where the best rewards come from slowing down and observing closely, the nature walks are some of the highest value for the investment that you can get. Data from zoos suggest that people spend an average of 30 seconds looking at an animal exhibit. That’s really not enough time. If you wait for mother nature, she will put on a show. But you have to wait.”

Again, make sure to check out Joe’s Instagram for his own pictures and full stories.

Tour Through Animal Kingdom With Imagineer Joe Rohde

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks

Have you ever wanted a personal tour of a park with an Imagineer? Well, we’ve got the next best thing! If you’re a fan of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, then you know the mastermind behind much of its ethos was Imagineer Joe Rohde, and he’s recently taken to Instagram (as usual) to share his detailed thoughts on many aspects of the park you may have overlooked. We’ve compiled some of those amazing details here for your easy reading pleasure with several more tours to come! Be sure to check out his Instagram for the full posts.

To start, Joe takes us to the front of the park, known as Oasis Gardens…

“The first thing you notice is not a presence, but an absence. What is not there is a human-based, urban, architectural environment. Instead there is a forest with two paths. Not to put too fine a point on the Robert Frostiness of this, but of course, we want you to take the path less traveled by, because that will make all the difference. Having more than one path is a simple metaphor for adventure… Even if nothing happens on the path you take… There’s always the mystery of that other path.

You cannot believe the number of versions of a park entry sequence we went through….[e]verything from empty zoo cages with their doors standing open, to a kind of 1960s organic hobbitish Village Trail. But this forest does the job. You are in a place about nature, and the priorities of nature, but you, being human, are also there so it must be about you too.”

Joe then takes us to the big centerpiece of the park – The Tree of Life!

“Because the park is dedicated to the themes of animals and their relationships to humans…we needed a non-architectural icon…something “natural.” Since nature is everywhere anyway, we also need to signify that this place is exceptional..in some way “magical.” Thus..a strange tree.

A tree whose body disappears under patient observation to become nothing but animals. A metaphor for the rewards nature can provide to the careful observer. But since we all know it has been made..it is a work of art…it also signifies the intent to communicate..to tell a story. In fact, the Tree promises two things. 1. This place is a story place about animals. 2.This place is a designed place full of virtuoso accomplishments.”

Joe also comments on the live animals you find out in front of the Tree of Life and their place in the overall story of the park.

“When we originally chose animals just around the tree, we chose them for their physical diversity, as demonstrations of the vast differences in shape as animals adapt to their various ecosystems. Kangaroos, porcupines, flamingos, macaws. Each of these animals has strikingly unique adaptations.

These are observations which can be made but are not required. Because this is not an educational facility per se, we want people to pursue ideas at their own pace. As they might do in nature.”

Joe finishes up this area, by discussing a place you may have always overlooked.

“We cannot leave the middle of the park without reflecting on one of my favorite places, the dining gardens of Flame Tree Barbecue. These have a very weird origin. Early in design of the park there was a shuffle of programming. The Tree originally had a restaurant under it with a view of the river. The Flame Tree location was an amphitheater. We decided to put a bigger show under the Tree so we abandoned the amphitheater and moved the restaurant to the amphitheater location. Because this happened after our landscape design was pretty well defined, we had to fit the restaurant into the amphitheater shape. That could have been a design problem, but it ended up creating a really wonderful space.

It’s loosely inspired by some of the places we visited in Bali – little pavilions surrounding a reflecting pond….The architectural ornamentation is inspired by colorful folk art mainly Oaxacan carvings, Peruvian Moche ceramics, and American folk art carvings…not Balinese at all. But the ensemble works somehow to make a very restful meditative space. If you haven’t hung out there it’s worth a visit.”

Again, make sure to check out Joe’s Instagram for his own pictures and many more adventurous stories.