A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Lee]

Dude, Give me one reason why Dagobah and or Endor wouldn't have fit instead of the coveted giant cat smurfs...

Not related to animals or the earth, or conservation.
Same reason, in my not so humble opinion, Avatar doesn't fit. I don't buy the "it's about nature and conservation, just on another planet" argument.

 

[Phil12]

No it's very likely that Russian and Chinese hackers are randomly trying to get in to everyone's computers. It's happening.

In reality it's far more likely that you'll be hacked by a computer in the USA. The United States is the number one country for hack origins. We're number one! We're number one!

 

[Phil12]

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.

That's the perfect attraction for AK! Disney would have no problem getting the NRA as a sponsor.

 

[BrianLo]

Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter on the other hand spent millions crafting tiny details, props and things that lend themselves well. I can see exactly how Universal could do Rings - you have the Hobbit village, with all the shops and hobbit houses crammed with detail to explore, then the main ride which takes you off to Mount Doom, facing the dragon etc.

The Shire set is so translatable to a theme park that it hurts. I went to the farm set in New Zealand this summer. A berm to hide a ride show building in? Check. Over the top details? Check. A working pub that serves alcohol/food remarkably similar to the oh-so-popular Harry Potter food items? Check. A 'party field' on which to host a nightly fireworks spectacular perfectly in keep with the theme? Check.

The only potential downside is how perfect it already is in New Zealand that either UC or WDI cutting corners might be a disservice to something that already legitimately can be visited.

If I get enough pressure and am not lazy I'll share photos.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Not related to animals or the earth, or conservation.
Same reason, in my not so humble opinion, Avatar doesn't fit. I don't buy the "it's about nature and conservation, just on another planet" argument.

The protection of the Earth message of Avatar is the same as Pocahontas which had a home in Camp Minnie Mickey. Avatar isn't a perfect fit but in terms of bad fits for attractions in Disney World it's not top 5 for me.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The protection of the Earth message of Avatar is the same as Pocahontas which had a home in Camp Minnie Mickey. Avatar isn't a perfect fit but in terms of bad fits for attractions in Disney World it's not top 5 for me.

The Pocahontas show was a tiny little affair that couldn't survive in a land of cheap fluff.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The Pocahontas show was a tiny little affair that couldn't survive in a land of cheap fluff.

It was a bad show. That doesn't mean it was a bad fit thematically.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It was a bad show. That doesn't mean it was a bad fit thematically.

It was a bad fit for the same reasons its fancy knock off is a bad fit.

 

[Lee]

The protection of the Earth message of Avatar is the same as Pocahontas which had a home in Camp Minnie Mickey. Avatar isn't a perfect fit but in terms of bad fits for attractions in Disney World it's not top 5 for me.

Top two for me.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Top two for me.

Really, you have it ahead of two of these three? Frozen in Norway, Nemo in Seas and Monster's in Tomorrowland?

 

[Lee]

Really, you have it ahead of two of these three? Frozen in Norway, Nemo in Seas and Monster's in Tomorrowland?

Yep. Second only to Frozen in Norway.
The other two, along with Stitch, round out my top five...I think.

 

[MommaMindy]

Long time listener, first time caller here.

Admittedly I am a huge SW fan, so I will be in line to open DHS (or whatever it's going to be called by then), as soon as any SW expansion is added to the park. Whatever it may be. And I guess I agree with the "SW is all landscapes, not places" argument. However, I do believe that there are specific places you could pull from each planet that could work.

1. Tatooine: Mos Eisley. DUH. Make it a QS. Even have an animatronic band a la Cosmic Ray's. Just you know, better & less Showbiz Pizza. I mean, Chuck E. Cheese.
2. Tatooine: Could also do Pod Racers ride.
3. Hoth: Rebel Base.
4. Endor: Ewok village. Could make this a play area. A relevant Tow Sawyer/Swiss Family area. You could add a speeder ride so no one gets their panties in a bunch about having a child specific area in WDW. (Although I think that last part would be stupid, I think pod racers would be a better attraction & I think the rides would be too similar).
5. Coruscant: Jedi Temple. Move JTA to it. How awesome would it be for the little younglings to have JTA in the temple? Ok, I may have just had a slight fangirl moment there. Forgive.
6. Could City.
7. Dagobah: I agree I'm at a loss here. It's just a swamp. Now, you could do some type of 'Turtle Talk' rip-off with Yoda. And before you all kill me, I'm not saying I would like that.
8. Naboo: The Palace. Although this would be a complete waste of space, because it isn't heavily covered in the films.

I know that 7 & 8 are complete trash, I just added them to the list for kicks & giggles. Do I know exactly what type of attraction could be in each location? Nope. But I've obviously done enough armchair imagineering for the night. Plus, it's all probably moot, because aren't they planning on using stuff from the new films?? I do believe that SW certainly has enough "places" to be able to pull off a fantastic area. And I don't see a problem with transition, for reasons that other have stated, but I don't feel like quoting.

 

[bhg469]

Long time listener, first time caller here.

Admittedly I am a huge SW fan, so I will be in line to open DHS (or whatever it's going to be called by then), as soon as any SW expansion is added to the park. Whatever it may be. And I guess I agree with the "SW is all landscapes, not places" argument. However, I do believe that there are specific places you could pull from each planet that could work.

1. Tatooine: Mos Eisley. DUH. Make it a QS. Even have an animatronic band a la Cosmic Ray's. Just you know, better & less Showbiz Pizza. I mean, Chuck E. Cheese.
2. Tatooine: Could also do Pod Racers ride.
3. Hoth: Rebel Base.
4. Endor: Ewok village. Could make this a play area. A relevant Tow Sawyer/Swiss Family area. You could add a speeder ride so no one gets their panties in a bunch about having a child specific area in WDW. (Although I think that last part would be stupid, I think pod racers would be a better attraction & I think the rides would be too similar).
5. Coruscant: Jedi Temple. Move JTA to it. How awesome would it be for the little younglings to have JTA in the temple? Ok, I may have just had a slight fangirl moment there. Forgive.
6. Could City.
7. Dagobah: I agree I'm at a loss here. It's just a swamp. Now, you could do some type of 'Turtle Talk' rip-off with Yoda. And before you all kill me, I'm not saying I would like that.
8. Naboo: The Palace. Although this would be a complete waste of space, because it isn't heavily covered in the films.

I know that 7 & 8 are complete trash, I just added them to the list for kicks & giggles. Do I know exactly what type of attraction could be in each location? Nope. But I've obviously done enough armchair imagineering for the night. Plus, it's all probably moot, because aren't they planning on using stuff from the new films?? I do believe that SW certainly has enough "places" to be able to pull off a fantastic area. And I don't see a problem with transition, for reasons that other have stated, but I don't feel like quoting.

The only problem is if you cram all in, it's bound to overlap in a distracting way. I'd love more star wars but if they just do A really really convincing tatooine, I'd be ok. It would have to match or best Diagon though. I just don't think disney is going to try that hard.

 

[Cesar R M]

I agree wholeheartedly. U.S. domestic news channels many times simply act like cheerleaders and fail to objectively look at issues. International news is on life support here... if that. As an American, I choose to watch and read news from TV channels and publications abroad to get an much fuller and accurate view of the world.

or just read both sides and make a median on what is told.

 

[Cesar R M]

I dont know why I imagine him as a black guy a la Sargeant Murtaug from Lethal Weapon.
going for his famous line "Too old.. for sh...t"

 

[Cesar R M]

Great location doesn't mean great cohesion. And that's what a theme park needs. Not an eclectic variety of terrains that don't fit together.

Lord of the rings has great locations as well. Where is its land in a theme park?

Sure Star Wars has plenty of matierial. And yes I would love to see a fully fleshed out hoth or Endor, etc. But in order to make a cohesive land, you have to pick one planet and flesh it out. Not a much of random planets mixed together. It wouldn't make sense.

or a single planet and various ships stationed.

Id honestly use either Endoor or the Empire's capital.

both can have the death star, plus a few destroyers and famous rebel ships stationed.

The problem with your logic is if Star Wars takes over two or more lands in DHS, it would tip the balance scale of IPs and attractions in the park.

Harry Potter works because not only are the lands in two separate parks, they don't overpower the parks they are in. If you put two Star Wars lands in an already small DHS, you've now tipped the park scale.

We can armchair imagineer all we want to say what we would like to see in a Star Wars land(s). But if a Star Wars land ever gets built, it's inevitable that some part of the passionate fan base will be annoyed that their favorite planet isn't being included. You'll never be able to create a Star Wars presence big enough to please all fans. So with that in mind, I would veer away from trying to include transitions that are going to be very abrupt, and just make the best land you can.

unless they build Tatooine in DHS and Endoor at AK ? lol!!

 

[Cesar R M]

Actually, they do.
City Hall gets a message that "Space Mountain has broken down" and they spring into action.

If they are too slow, they get another message:
"Space Mountain has still not been fixed. Check where your mechanics are, or consider hiring extra mechanics."

and I imagine City Hall answering "Good 'Ol Iger cut our Maintenance Budget again, we only have one 70 year old Engineer guy.. wait for 20 minutes for him to walk from Thunder Mountain to Space Mountain"

 

[Cesar R M]

My slightly bigger concern with Star Wars is how easily it can be adapted to appeal to the non-Star Wars fans (and yes, this is important - having a land people that alienates people and that people don't identify with is probably worse, from an experience point of view, than not having the land at all - look at Dino-Rama).

I'll be the first to admit being amazed by Hogsmeade/Diagon Alley, despite not really following the world of Harry Potter in any great detail. I can sort of visualise Avatar Land being a great success as well just because of the amount of visual interest.

I just find it a bit hard to visualise Star Wars Land working beyond "preaching to the converted"... especially if it doesn't have the benefit of a huge budget.

I definitively was in Awe at the detail..

I was in a convention that had a private party.. we had the Hogsmeade area (castle , flight of hippogriff and dueling dragons plus the restaurant and shops) for us all night.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Long time listener, first time caller here.

Admittedly I am a huge SW fan, so I will be in line to open DHS (or whatever it's going to be called by then), as soon as any SW expansion is added to the park. Whatever it may be. And I guess I agree with the "SW is all landscapes, not places" argument. However, I do believe that there are specific places you could pull from each planet that could work.

1. Tatooine: Mos Eisley. DUH. Make it a QS. Even have an animatronic band a la Cosmic Ray's. Just you know, better & less Showbiz Pizza. I mean, Chuck E. Cheese.
2. Tatooine: Could also do Pod Racers ride.
3. Hoth: Rebel Base.
4. Endor: Ewok village. Could make this a play area. A relevant Tow Sawyer/Swiss Family area. You could add a speeder ride so no one gets their panties in a bunch about having a child specific area in WDW. (Although I think that last part would be stupid, I think pod racers would be a better attraction & I think the rides would be too similar).
5. Coruscant: Jedi Temple. Move JTA to it. How awesome would it be for the little younglings to have JTA in the temple? Ok, I may have just had a slight fangirl moment there. Forgive.
6. Could City.
7. Dagobah: I agree I'm at a loss here. It's just a swamp. Now, you could do some type of 'Turtle Talk' rip-off with Yoda. And before you all kill me, I'm not saying I would like that.
8. Naboo: The Palace. Although this would be a complete waste of space, because it isn't heavily covered in the films.

I know that 7 & 8 are complete trash, I just added them to the list for kicks & giggles. Do I know exactly what type of attraction could be in each location? Nope. But I've obviously done enough armchair imagineering for the night. Plus, it's all probably moot, because aren't they planning on using stuff from the new films?? I do believe that SW certainly has enough "places" to be able to pull off a fantastic area. And I don't see a problem with transition, for reasons that other have stated, but I don't feel like quoting.

If Star Wars has places then why is the word in scare quotes? There being locations and activities associated with those locations is not the issue. You started off the list right away with the Cantina and jump right to an activity, not the built space itself.

 

[Cesar R M]

I think it's a given. They need to crank out a sequel before they lose the attention of the youngsters.

I am no surprised on this move. Anyone remembers how to dragon your dragon 2?
It didnt do very well in the first weeks at the box office.
They took WAY TOO LONG to deliver the sequel.

No it's very likely that Russian and Chinese hackers are randomly trying to get in to everyone's computers. It's happening.

I dont think its only Russians and Chinese.
Indians and Iranies as well.

I manage 2 servers on my job, and the amount of brute forces they get every day is annoying.
sometimes it gets infuriating (like we got a 2 week row of around 500 approximate zombie bots or more, targetting our servers)
of course, Also got Ukranians and a ton of Canadian/USA zombie bot machines.