A Spirited Perfect Ten

[CaptainAmerica]

So because there is a nature theme it belongs at DAK and some majestic natural environments that the star wars universe has isn't?

Yep, exactly. A natural "theme" in the source material is the bridge necessary (though not sufficient) to justify its presence in DAK. Otherwise, you could put anything at DAK on the basis of "it takes place outside."

And Dinorama fits how?

I never said it did, so what's your point? Avatar will fit MUCH better from a theme and flow perspective than Dinorama does.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

PUSH was popular for years, and people liked Lucky when he was around, so it's not unheard of.

Just to add one more, Muppet mobile lab was nothing short of a marvel.

Those things are all temporary "roll them out to meet the guests and then back inside for maintenance." They were also extremely simple compared to the alien/humanoid AA marketplace that @BrerJon suggested initially. It's much easier to maintain a talking trash can that's on stage for a couple of hours a day than it would be to maintain a meet and greet with Mr. Lincoln that's expected to be operational from park opening to park closing.

 

[bhg469]

Yep, exactly. A natural "theme" in the source material is the bridge necessary (though not sufficient) to justify its presence in DAK. Otherwise, you could put anything at DAK on the basis of "it takes place outside."


I never said it did, so what's your point? Avatar will fit MUCH better from a theme and flow perspective than Dinorama does.

Avatar will have better flow than Dinorama for sure but so would a landfill effecting nature exhibit.. My point, el capitan, is that there is already very sketchy stuff that is in DAK that sticks out like a sore thumb, where Endor's forest moon would not.

 

[bhg469]

Those things are all temporary "roll them out to meet the guests and then back inside for maintenance." They were also extremely simple compared to the alien/humanoid AA marketplace that @BrerJon suggested initially. It's much easier to maintain a talking trash can that's on stage for a couple of hours a day than it would be to maintain a meet and greet with Mr. Lincoln that's expected to be operational from park opening to park closing.

Mobile lab was far from simple. As far as what @BrerJon suggested, why not? If it will wow people, and they don't expect it then do it. Why should they hold back because it may be difficult? They still view themselves as the best theme park in the world right?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Avatar will have better flow than Dinorama for sure but so would a landfill effecting nature exhibit.. My point, el capitan, is that there is already very sketchy stuff that is in DAK that sticks out like a sore thumb, where Endor's forest moon would not.

Yes, Endor, Kashyyyk, Dagobah, Tatooine, Hoth, etc. might "feel" just fine in DAK, but they wouldn't "feel" any different than the redwood forests of northern California, the Louisiana bayou, the Sahara desert, or the polar ice caps. The "natural" elements of the Star Wars universe are redundancies of places that exist in our real universe. Pandora is something entirely different.

Further, and perhaps more importantly, Endor is not what most people think of when they think "Star Wars." They think x-wings and death stars. Like it or not, that means no DAK.

 

[BrerJon]

Those things are all temporary "roll them out to meet the guests and then back inside for maintenance." They were also extremely simple compared to the alien/humanoid AA marketplace that @BrerJon suggested initially. It's much easier to maintain a talking trash can that's on stage for a couple of hours a day than it would be to maintain a meet and greet with Mr. Lincoln that's expected to be operational from park opening to park closing.

That's true, although I imagine any all-day animatronics would be indoors, or at least protected from the elements, Sonny Eclipse style.

You could also accomplish a lot just by having lots of creative costumed characters... short actors as Ewoks, stilt walkers as Kaminoans... you only have to stroll around Star Wars Weekends to see lots of great characters and creative make-up. A mixture of face humans, character humans, short-appearance animatronics and permanent installations would be quite do-able and really give a feeling of life. And if that was the gateway to an amazing ride or two, they'd be all set.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Mobile lab was far from simple. As far as what @BrerJon suggested, why not? If it will wow people, and they don't expect it then do it. Why should they hold back because it may be difficult? They still view themselves as the best theme park in the world right?

I didn't say "don't do it because it's difficult." I'm saying "don't do it if it's impossible." I personally think it would be awesome.

 

[NearTheEars]

In other news, PotC is down again today.

I posted in the refurb thread but ...

I was shocked last night over a few things

1. POTC was open during our visit for the first time in ages. It's been down so often lately we rushed in just to make sure we'd catch it while we could.

2. The mist projection was working.

3. The mermaids were on.

4. The boats did not stack up at the treasure scene. Not kidding. This was the first time in years this has not happened to us.

As far as the rest of the effects, I sadly couldn't tell you because I live in a world where my first ride was in 2010.

I am told there are too many to list that aren't working. So I hope the upcoming refurb catches many of them.

P.S. We asked to ride in the back to avoid the soaking. Learned our lesson the hard way after the new boats were launched.

 

[doctornick]

Disney needs the equivalent of a hobbit village, a richly detailed area with shops, houses, and tons of things inspired by the films but not literally trying to reproduce them. Make it better than what was on screen. I could see a nice Tatooine village with market traders, animatronic salesmen, houses you can explore, Droids rolling around... if they made it all about the streetmosphere, then before you know it people wouldn't notice if the sets were a bit bland.

To be fair, there actually was more details of Tatooine in Ep 1 -- it's just that the movie sucked and everyone wants to forget about it.

We'll see what they do with Avatar, but animatronics outdoors in that heat and sun in an uncontrolled environment and in close proximity to guests screams "red flag."

It's already been mentioned, but they could certainly do droids that operate like PUSH in order to create "streetmosphere". In fact, I'd be disappointed if they didn't do such things. They can of course also have real AA robots under cover or in queues.

(And I'm also expecting some sort of "use the Force" interactive elements like the wands at HP or at least in a game setting like SOTMK/Agent P.)

 

[BrerJon]

(And I'm also expecting some sort of "use the Force" interactive elements like the wands at HP or at least in a game setting like SOTMK/Agent P.)

I'm pretty sure the storyline will be that Luke has come up with a way to let non-Jedi use the Force, by buying special lightsabers that activate things throughout the park. If they don't, that's a real missed opportunity.

 

[lazyboy97o]

So because there is a nature theme it belongs at DAK and some majestic natural environments that the star wars universe has isn't? And Dinorama fits how? Please, Im really wanting to know how theme and flow totally matter until they don't. World showcase theme is going down the porcelain throne, why not DAK too?

The conservation message is the single point that links Avatar to Disney's Animal Kingdom. While heavily landscaped, the park is not about landscapes.

 

[bhg469]

To be fair, there actually was more details of Tatooine in Ep 1 -- it's just that the movie sucked and everyone wants to forget about it.



It's already been mentioned, but they could certainly do droids that operate like PUSH in order to create "streetmosphere". In fact, I'd be disappointed if they didn't do such things. They can of course also have real AA robots under cover or in queues.

(And I'm also expecting some sort of "use the Force" interactive elements like the wands at HP or at least in a game setting like SOTMK/Agent P.)

Definitely more like agent P and and pirates adventures and not like sorcerers! I loved what they did with the interactive elements for those games. Such a unique way to interact with the park and explore. Its one thing that the potter stuff could have done better. Its all really cool but there is no motivation for the potter wands other than make things move.

 

[BrerJon]

The conservation message is the single point that links Avatar to Disney's Animal Kingdom. While heavily landscaped, the park is not about landscapes.

Star Wars has a great message too.

It's the story of a once great republic that does one too many deals with traders and merchants and ends up a shadow of its former self. Its leaders keep getting promoted for spurious reasons, until one of them manipulates events until he's the ruler of a massive empire.

Despite being a ruthless dictator, nobody seems to notice as they're too busy praising what a good job he's done in bringing order and planning where there was once chaos. Eventually, his hubris goes too far, and a small group of often-mocked rebels find a weak spot, resulting in the empire crashing down, new leaders trained in the old ways taking charge, and the glories of the old republic once more restored.

Well, we can dream, right?

 

[bhg469]

The conservation message is the single point that links Avatar to Disney's Animal Kingdom. While heavily landscaped, the park is not about landscapes.

But that message should be across the board. It hasnt been since the park opened with dinorama taking up a huge chunk of real estate.

 

[Mike S]

I didn't say "don't do it because it's difficult." I'm saying "don't do it if it's impossible." I personally think it would be awesome.

Not doing something because it's impossible? Where's the fun in that?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Dude...no.

But in the fantasy space universe, the moon of Endor is really close to Pandora. And can't you just see Ewoks and Na'vi having a great nighttime dance party? Throw in Stitch and Buzzlightyear for good measure.

Oh, what the hell. Get Wall.E in there too.

 

[ford91exploder]

Star Wars has a great message too.

It's the story of a once great republic does one too many deals with traders and merchants and ends up a shadow of its former self. Its leaders keep getting promoted for spurious reasons, until one of them manipulates events until he's the ruler of a massive empire.

Despite being a ruthless dictator, nobody seems to notice as they're too busy praising what a good job he's done in bringing order and planning where there was once chaos. Eventually, his hubris goes too far, and a small group of often-mocked rebels find a weak spot, resulting in the empire crashing down, new leaders trained in the old ways taking charge, and the glories of the old republic once more restored.

Well, we can dream, right?

Hmm - sounds familiar.

 

[ford91exploder]

Not doing something because it's impossible? Where's the fun in that?

It's only impossible till someone DOES it!

 

[lazyboy97o]

But that message should be across the board. It hasnt been since the park opened with dinorama taking up a huge chunk of real estate.

I think it is an incredibly poor justification, and I would say that conservation is not the over-arching message of the park. Dinorama is still an example of how people have related to animals of this world. It's not an overly romantic example, but it is one.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Avatar will have better flow than Dinorama for sure but so would a landfill effecting nature exhibit.. My point, el capitan, is that there is already very sketchy stuff that is in DAK that sticks out like a sore thumb, where Endor's forest moon would not.

But that message should be across the board. It hasnt been since the park opened with dinorama taking up a huge chunk of real estate.

I think it is an incredibly poor justification, and I would say that conservation is not the over-arching message of the park. Dinorama is still an example of how people have related to animals of this world. It's not an overly romantic example, but it is one.

Gonna beat my dead horse again and say while the execution of Dinorama sucks, the basic idea of having a "Cheesy Roadside Dinosaur Attraction" in an area dedicated to America's love of all things dinosaurs has always been a fitting one. Dino-Rama is just too fake to be a roadside attraction: The art is too "Clearly done by Disney Professionals" and the carnival attractions don't match that theme either.

What would be pretty rocking is if they replaced the carnival with a new Chester and Hester's attraction that's part sculpture garden of dinosaurs saved and restored from abandoned dinosaur parks around the country and part Jungle Cruise-style family attraction in the vein of this "Tram Ride with toy guns" from an old park called Prehistoric Forest.