Beastly Kingdom was a section that was to be built in Disney's Animal Kingdom. The section was never built and the land that was to be used for this area was turned into Camp Minnie-Mickey.
Design
The Animal Kingdom park focuses on three types of animals: today's existing animals, extinct animals and animals that don't exist. The latter has not been featured in the park (with the exception of Expedition Everest), but plans for a section of their own were made during the creation of the park. The area was to feature such animals as dragons, unicorns and sea monsters. The section never came to fruition mostly due to budget cuts. It was soon replaced by Camp Minnie Mickey, a section mostly filled with character meet-and-greet areas.
Planned Attractions
The section was to feature realms surrounding "good" and "evil" creatures. The good realm would have been home to an attraction called Quest of the Unicorn, which would have been a mythological maze leading to the grotto where the unicorn lived. The good realm would also have featured Fantasia Gardens, an attraction based on the movie Fantasia, that would have been a musical boat ride that takes you the animal scenes of the movie. The idea, similar to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, would have featured hippos and crocodiles from "Dance of the Hours" along with pegasuses, fauns, and centaurs from "Pastoral".
On the evil side would be feature an attraction called Dragon's Tower ruled by a greedy fire-breathing dragon that housed a treasure in the tower's chamber. The attraction would also involve a group of bats threatening to take the dragon's throne and riches. The bats would enlist the guests help and take them on a wild roller coaster to do so. The climax, similar to other Disney rides, would involve an encounter with the dragon himself, resulting in a near-charred train of guests.
Remaints
Remaints of the never-made land can still be found in the park. Though, like with Hidden Mickeys, you have to look close. For example, there is a section in the parking lot labeled "Unicorn". The Animal Kingdom logo also features a silhoutte of a dragon. Inside the park, a dragon-shaped stone fountain can be found in Camp Minnie Mickey. A detailed dragonhead statue is found atop one of the ticket booths at the park's entrance. By far the biggest examples of remaints, would be a cave in Camp Minnie Mickey that exherts blasts of fire. Guests are often told that a fire-breathing dragon lives there. Outside the cave, suits of armor are displayed.
Future
Despite Disney regaining a bigger budget, the idea for Beastly Kingdom was scrapped. In Spring 2011, James Cameron of Titanic and Avatar fame was approached by Bob Iger to talk about the possibilities of attractions or, possibly, a land dedicated to Avatar. The idea was made official in September, where a long-term exclusive deal was signed between Disney and James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment and Fox Filmed Entertainment that said an Avatar-themed area was able to be created. More specifically, a land to be built on the land that Beastly Kingdom was to have occupied. The land would also feature more mythical creatures to inhabit the park.