JokersWild
Well-Known Member
Hey, guys. So, here are my reviews for the projects. I would like to apologize beforehand if I come across as harsh. That is absolutely not my intention; I'm doing this a bit off the cuff so I'm kinda just writing notes as I read the projects. Anyway, reviews!
Disney Dad 300 - Wonders
First of all, great project overall. I don't mean to start off with what is essentially a nitpick, but I would like to say that the font you used was a bit small. I don't know if it was an unintended format issue, but I had a lot of trouble reading this project. Just for future reference, please use the normal font, or at least make the font size bigger.
On to the actual park, it was really good. I would like to say right off the bat that I worry that your park might be too similar to World Showcase. Of course, there are distinct differences, but I feel that the overall theme of the park was a bit close to WS. I'd also like to quickly mention that I feel that the name "Wonders" sounds a bit incomplete. It's a great name, no doubt, and I see exactly where you're coming from, but it's just missing something. Perhaps something like "Wonders of..." or something to that extent. Or even a pun like Disney's World. You Passport concept is also a great concept, though, also, might be a bit close to some World Showcase ideas. Also, a lot of the ideas you present for the Passport are also already being used by Disney through Photopass.
Getting into the park, I'd like to get something straight. What is the Transportation Hub exactly? It sounds like a second TTC of sorts, which, while it's an interesting idea, is a bit redundant.
World Avenue sounds great. The only thing I would suggest is maybe focus on a bunch of different aesthetics, rather than just Parisian. It could possibly really help put people into the ideas of the park if multiple cultures are represented. That's just me, though. There aren't really any problems with this land, it was really just a nitpick. In terms of the hub, it sounds...interesting. Let me get something straight: the hub is comprised of a bunch of fountains? I'm not entirely sure that this hub works. A hub is supposed to draw people in and get them to want to explore the rest of the park. Not only do I think this fountain concept may be too small for a park icon, I also feel that it might be too abstract: it's not a focal point, I feel. Other than that I have one other question: What is Wonders Lake? I saw it mentioned once, but never again.
South America sounds great. Indiana Jones is a much needed, and long rumored, addition to the parks, and it's a great and very realistic addition. The Donald Duck show is also very solid, but I feel it would have benefitted from a Three Cabelleros focus. Or even a Saludos Amigos approach. The South American Experience was probably the most solid concept in the park, honestly. It really captured the spirit of the continent, which I thought was really great.
Moving on, I'm not entirely sure how realistic The Tube is. With the water table in Florida, you would have to build the park up to allow for the tube to be built. The Big Ben Drop also doesn't sound very much like a Disney ride. Frankly, it sounds more like a Six Flags or Universal attraction. Not that that's a bad thing. It just doesn't quite fit in for Disney, I feel. 101 Dalmatians sounds like a great addition. Especially with the Toad elements.
Arendelle doesn't quite fit with the rest of the park. It's just a weird juxtapose seeing Arendelle among all of these real places. The attractions looked great, though.
North America is oddly large. Also, how does Stitch fit in Alcatraz. I see what you're going for, but it just doesn't work. Alcatraz is a great concept, as you could have really dug into the history of the island, but Stitch just doesn't fit. I'd also like to quickly mention that Lady and the Tramp already has a restaurant in MK, which might make it redundant to put one into your park. It sounds like a great restaurant. It just might be a bit redundant.
Overall, I really enjoyed this park. Most of my critiques were honestly nitpicks, and I did fully enjoy this park. Your park was definitely the most fully realized as well, which is a definite plus. Overall, great job!
DSquared - Forbidden Peak
First off, great name, and concept. Before we get into it, I don't have a ton to say as this project was a bit smaller than Disney Dad's.
Overall, the ideas were great, but the execution left a lot to be desired. You had WAAAY too many clones. That is my main critique with this project. When the rides were original, they sounded great, but the park is made up of A LOT of clones. What concerned me more was your habit of moving attractions from MK, and putting them into your park, seemingly for the sake of putting them into your park. It doesn't make sense to have Haunted Mansion and Mystic Point because Mystic Point was designed to be the Haunted Mansion of HKDL. You moved a ton of Mk attractions to your park. I feel that that really ruins part of the point of MK. Magic Kingdom is the main park. It's where all of the beloved classic rides reside. It's the park that many go to first, and rightfully so, to experience the classic attractions that have been ingrained in our pop culture for decades. Moving these rides out of the castle park really gives MK less impact.
The Gravity Falls additions sounded very solid. Definitely the highlight of your park, I feel. Darby O'Gill was also an incredibly interesting addition. It was a gamble, but I honestly like the idea.
In the end, this was a great park, but you need to realize that, while clones are good, you shouldn't/ can't design a park around them. Especially when you're moving so many attractions from MK.
Flippin'Flounder - Walt Disney's Dream
Interesting name, but, like Disney Dad, it doesn't quite sound like a park. The concept I feel also needs tweaking. It's a great idea, but is pretty damn dark. Perhaps focusing on the dreams of the masses rather than Walt Disney's dreams could help round the park out better. It's practically there in the Dreamfinder story.
Speaking of Dreamfinder, it's great to see him back in a park.
Tomorrow's Child is an interesting concept with a strange name, though I feel it's slightly disjointed. Perhaps if you focused on Walt's original dream of EPCOT rather than what EPCOT became. As it stands now, Tomorrow's Child is a weird conglomeration of concepts from the Tomorrowland of multiple eras, and EPCOT Center. Perhaps focusing on one of those ideas would help the land feel more coherent.
I also feel that the park loses its focus halfway through. We go from a Main Street dedicated to Walt Disney and his dreams, followed by Tomorrow's Child, a land based on his dreams of the future, followed by Cherry Tree Lane and Fairytale Gardens, which are based on...Disney films.
There are definitely great concepts here, and I know that you had trouble finishing this on time, but if the park was a bit more coherent with a few tweaks, you would be in much better shape. I'd love to see the rest of your park, if you ever get around to it.
Again, great job all around. I apologize if I came across as harsh at any point, as that was in no way my intention. Good luck to all of you.
Disney Dad 300 - Wonders
First of all, great project overall. I don't mean to start off with what is essentially a nitpick, but I would like to say that the font you used was a bit small. I don't know if it was an unintended format issue, but I had a lot of trouble reading this project. Just for future reference, please use the normal font, or at least make the font size bigger.
On to the actual park, it was really good. I would like to say right off the bat that I worry that your park might be too similar to World Showcase. Of course, there are distinct differences, but I feel that the overall theme of the park was a bit close to WS. I'd also like to quickly mention that I feel that the name "Wonders" sounds a bit incomplete. It's a great name, no doubt, and I see exactly where you're coming from, but it's just missing something. Perhaps something like "Wonders of..." or something to that extent. Or even a pun like Disney's World. You Passport concept is also a great concept, though, also, might be a bit close to some World Showcase ideas. Also, a lot of the ideas you present for the Passport are also already being used by Disney through Photopass.
Getting into the park, I'd like to get something straight. What is the Transportation Hub exactly? It sounds like a second TTC of sorts, which, while it's an interesting idea, is a bit redundant.
World Avenue sounds great. The only thing I would suggest is maybe focus on a bunch of different aesthetics, rather than just Parisian. It could possibly really help put people into the ideas of the park if multiple cultures are represented. That's just me, though. There aren't really any problems with this land, it was really just a nitpick. In terms of the hub, it sounds...interesting. Let me get something straight: the hub is comprised of a bunch of fountains? I'm not entirely sure that this hub works. A hub is supposed to draw people in and get them to want to explore the rest of the park. Not only do I think this fountain concept may be too small for a park icon, I also feel that it might be too abstract: it's not a focal point, I feel. Other than that I have one other question: What is Wonders Lake? I saw it mentioned once, but never again.
South America sounds great. Indiana Jones is a much needed, and long rumored, addition to the parks, and it's a great and very realistic addition. The Donald Duck show is also very solid, but I feel it would have benefitted from a Three Cabelleros focus. Or even a Saludos Amigos approach. The South American Experience was probably the most solid concept in the park, honestly. It really captured the spirit of the continent, which I thought was really great.
Moving on, I'm not entirely sure how realistic The Tube is. With the water table in Florida, you would have to build the park up to allow for the tube to be built. The Big Ben Drop also doesn't sound very much like a Disney ride. Frankly, it sounds more like a Six Flags or Universal attraction. Not that that's a bad thing. It just doesn't quite fit in for Disney, I feel. 101 Dalmatians sounds like a great addition. Especially with the Toad elements.
Arendelle doesn't quite fit with the rest of the park. It's just a weird juxtapose seeing Arendelle among all of these real places. The attractions looked great, though.
North America is oddly large. Also, how does Stitch fit in Alcatraz. I see what you're going for, but it just doesn't work. Alcatraz is a great concept, as you could have really dug into the history of the island, but Stitch just doesn't fit. I'd also like to quickly mention that Lady and the Tramp already has a restaurant in MK, which might make it redundant to put one into your park. It sounds like a great restaurant. It just might be a bit redundant.
Overall, I really enjoyed this park. Most of my critiques were honestly nitpicks, and I did fully enjoy this park. Your park was definitely the most fully realized as well, which is a definite plus. Overall, great job!
DSquared - Forbidden Peak
First off, great name, and concept. Before we get into it, I don't have a ton to say as this project was a bit smaller than Disney Dad's.
Overall, the ideas were great, but the execution left a lot to be desired. You had WAAAY too many clones. That is my main critique with this project. When the rides were original, they sounded great, but the park is made up of A LOT of clones. What concerned me more was your habit of moving attractions from MK, and putting them into your park, seemingly for the sake of putting them into your park. It doesn't make sense to have Haunted Mansion and Mystic Point because Mystic Point was designed to be the Haunted Mansion of HKDL. You moved a ton of Mk attractions to your park. I feel that that really ruins part of the point of MK. Magic Kingdom is the main park. It's where all of the beloved classic rides reside. It's the park that many go to first, and rightfully so, to experience the classic attractions that have been ingrained in our pop culture for decades. Moving these rides out of the castle park really gives MK less impact.
The Gravity Falls additions sounded very solid. Definitely the highlight of your park, I feel. Darby O'Gill was also an incredibly interesting addition. It was a gamble, but I honestly like the idea.
In the end, this was a great park, but you need to realize that, while clones are good, you shouldn't/ can't design a park around them. Especially when you're moving so many attractions from MK.
Flippin'Flounder - Walt Disney's Dream
Interesting name, but, like Disney Dad, it doesn't quite sound like a park. The concept I feel also needs tweaking. It's a great idea, but is pretty damn dark. Perhaps focusing on the dreams of the masses rather than Walt Disney's dreams could help round the park out better. It's practically there in the Dreamfinder story.
Speaking of Dreamfinder, it's great to see him back in a park.
Tomorrow's Child is an interesting concept with a strange name, though I feel it's slightly disjointed. Perhaps if you focused on Walt's original dream of EPCOT rather than what EPCOT became. As it stands now, Tomorrow's Child is a weird conglomeration of concepts from the Tomorrowland of multiple eras, and EPCOT Center. Perhaps focusing on one of those ideas would help the land feel more coherent.
I also feel that the park loses its focus halfway through. We go from a Main Street dedicated to Walt Disney and his dreams, followed by Tomorrow's Child, a land based on his dreams of the future, followed by Cherry Tree Lane and Fairytale Gardens, which are based on...Disney films.
There are definitely great concepts here, and I know that you had trouble finishing this on time, but if the park was a bit more coherent with a few tweaks, you would be in much better shape. I'd love to see the rest of your park, if you ever get around to it.
Again, great job all around. I apologize if I came across as harsh at any point, as that was in no way my intention. Good luck to all of you.
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