A Spirited Perfect Ten

[hopemax]

I kinda see Nintendo as the "Oswald the Rabbit" of video gaming. Theyre still relevant, but have been passed and then lapped a few times by Xbox and Playstation.

What about handhelds? I know Nintendo is, despite the late entry, entering the smart phone app market. So even though kids go home and load up a game on one another system or the computer, if Nintendo can get momentum in the games you play while sitting in the backseat of the car, waiting in a checkout line, or waiting for your sibling's activity to end, can't they still remain a major player?

 

[danlb_2000]

They've kept ET in pretty good condition compared to how Hollywood's was at the end. Hopefully that bodes well for its future.

^ Nothing a few gates can't solve- think Splash Mountain. Besides the boats are only floating under their own power for more than a short distance as they approach unload (which will be stacked with boats anyway) after the switch track, which is a gate in itself. It's just a gate that'll be getting a heavier work load when more boats are passing through. The rest of the ride more consists of "rolling" than "floating" at a high rate of speed which isn't going to slow a heavy vs. empty boat like the other canal rides.

Yes, but Splash has a whole lot more track to spread boats out over.

 

[Tony Perkis]

What about handhelds? I know Nintendo is, despite the late entry, entering the smart phone app market. So even though kids go home and load up a game on one another system or the computer, if Nintendo can get momentum in the games you play while sitting in the backseat of the car, waiting in a checkout line, or waiting for your sibling's activity to end, can't they still remain a major player?

The Nintendo 3DS is a major player. It's been a license to print money for the past 2+ years.

 

[BrianLo]

Been waiting for this for a while. Nintendo will be a big part of Beijing and is, indeed, the Kidzone replacement.

I don't have a particular fondness for the IP (although some of the games are old enough that I actually have played them!) but how it will impact UNI-FL is multiple new family/dark rides. This will be replacing a kiddie land with a family one. A small, but very important distinction. One of the attractions, as described to me, sounds incredibly cool and with a bit of a thrill, which Disney wouldn't do on family rides (unless you find the drop on Pirates -- now known as Soak Hill -- to be thrilling).

Exactly, and that's what's important here. It may not be everyone's favourite by any means, but IP that generally is well loved by tweens/adults that can be used for children is far and few between. Kidzone in its current state is designed for children and arguable only for children...

Now the problem with Beijing... Nintendo is not, nor has been in the Chinese market. I'm concerned that a major reliance on that IP as a launching ground for their park is a little misguided.

 

[realdizfan]

Yes, but Splash has a whole lot more track to spread boats out over.

True, but Splash has a slower flume and holds fewer riders per vehicle. Splash has several periods of multiple logs between gates that are held/timed when needed, I'm not sure if Frozen will need to do the same except for heading back to unload.

 

[hopemax]

The Nintendo 3DS is a major player. It's been a license to print money for the past 2+ years.

That's what I thought, but considering how down some are on Nintendo's hold on the kids today, I was wondering. Nintendo has more than one way to skin the cat.

Brain rambling again, so Nintendo smart phone apps...could they potentially be used to to trigger things in the family land a la wands in HP...I need to stop...but the possibility of Nintendo and interactive elements seems a lot more interesting to me, and successful at achieving their intended purpose than the things Disney has put in the HM, Mine Train, or Little Mermaid queues as of late.

 

[BrianLo]

Does anyone HONESTLY think that Frozen's capacity will have any affect on the queue times? Can someone tell me, with a straight face, that Frozen wouldn't have a 150 minute queue even if they doubled or tripled the capacity? It's going to be a 2-3-4 hour queue regardless of the capacity. If guests are going to pitch a fit over a 150 minute queue, who cares what the capacity is going to be- it's still going to be a 150 minute queue. Frozen is going to accommodate most guests per day than Toy Story Mania will even after they expand it. Radiator Springs Racers still has a huge line years later and it's got decent capacity.

Little Mermaid is an overbuilt elaborate queue for a C/D ticket Fantasyland dark ride that has monster capacity, so the queue times fluctuate between short and reasonable.

I know I'm not supposed to feed trolls...


I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or just completely contradicting yourself in the same post. Capacity determines wait times... end stop. It is THE MOST IMPORTANT factor in wait times since no one is going to change park attendance in a significant way.

I have no idea what the actual capacity will be on Frozstrom, and I suspect neither, truly, do you.

 

[DC0703]

I kinda see Nintendo as the "Oswald the Rabbit" of video gaming. Theyre still relevant, but have been passed and then lapped a few times by Xbox and Playstation. There is plenty of nostalgia to build upon, but I also agree and dont think Disney views this as one that "got away".

If we were talking Grand Theft Auto Land, it might be a different story. Or I guess you can just hit the OBT for that kind of action.

I too disagree with this, and I'm a bigger fan of Playstation and Xbox than Nintendo. Nintendo operates in its own realm, focusing on a family-based demographic. Even the Wii, which was enormously popular, didn't exactly occupy the same space as the other two, with their focus on more mature series like Grand Theft Auto. Nintendo's characters are still incredibly popular - enough so that they can sell systems, despite the fact that the Wii/Wii-U have few of the other big blockbuster game series appearing on them. If Mario and Zelda went multiplatform, the sales would be enormous.

I agree that Disney probably doesn't see them as a threat, but I could see this as a surprise hit. They have a great deal of name recognition, a dedicated fanbase and a lot of whimsical IPs that could make for interesting attractions.

 

[burgess]

Any chance of a Reign of (Donkey) Kong ride?

Actually, it seems like a missed opportunity that they didn't announce this yesterday with some kind of Donkey Kong fakeout during the King Kong announcement. Neat that the companies are working together now, though, considering their history.

 

[realdizfan]

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or just completely contradicting yourself in the same post. Capacity determines wait times... end stop. It is THE MOST IMPORTANT factor in wait times since no one is going to change park attendance in a significant way.

So you're claiming that a Frozen attraction with 900 per hour capacity will have a different line than a Frozen attraction with 1800 per hour capacity... okay

And if you don't think that one attraction can't change attendance paterns, I have some bad news for you regarding EPCOT.

As many people here have been crowing about, TSMM's third track and Soarin's 3rd theater won't do much to reduce queue times. Of course they'll get more people per day on the ride (which is their focus for the additions), but the queue times won't change much at all. Most 90+ min queue times are complete hogwash anyway designed to signify "this ride is full, go away"- capacity won't change that. If Frozen did 3,000 per hour it still wouldn't enable everyone to ride it on a light day. It's just the way things are. I'm glad that they're at vey least going to be able to give more rides per hour than Maelstrom- which is the only point that I've been attempting to make.

Everyone doesn't get to ride Splash Mountain or Space Mountain or Tower of Terror, or Honey Hunt, or Journey to the Center of the Earth, or Harry Potter, or the Hulk, or Gringotts, or Journey to Atlantis, or any ride at a Six Flags, or any other large scale park on earth. It sucks, but no amount of capacity isn't going to stop 120+ min queues and angry parents of kids that didn't get to ride Frozen.

 

[gmajew]

I agree that Disney probably doesn't see them as a threat,

Why does Disney need to worry about them as a threat? Both parks wants people coming to Orlando the more people that come the more people go to both parks the more they spend.

This goes after the same market as the comic book does though. It does not hurt disney core of the 2-7 aged kids and families.

Disney still gets the first stop by most if not all in that bracket.

 

[GoofGoof]

When Maelstrom manages approx 60 second intervals and Frozen is shooting for 35 seconds, yeah the capacity will be different. Seriously, do some people really not have the mental capacity to infer anything? Nearly every ride's capacity is dependent on the ride vehicle's capacity x dispatch interval. It has nothing to do with the ride system. When Test Track opened, intervals were nearly twice as long, thus it had horrid capacity until they got intervals cut down significantly. If you double an interval length, capacity is halved. If you cut the interval in half instead, capacity doubles. It's why Thunder Mtn with 3 trains isn't going to have the same capacity as Thunder with 5 on line. Frozen will be no different. It's just more boats on line, an upgrade load/unload procedure and modifying the timing on the lift and switch track. It's not complicated at all. I thought everyone understood such a simple concept without needing to have it explained to them.

Not all of us have been published in the library of Congress on the subject so explaining your point without the snark would actually be nice.

So the ride will cut dispatch intervals by almost 50% and the show scenes will moving by faster than Maelstrom. So essentially the entire ride will be sped up beginning to end. This actually makes sense and would be the only way to increase capacity without altering the layout of the ride. Will the boats be new? Will they hold more than 4 people?

The only issue I see with this is Maelstrom was a short ride. Around 3.5 minutes. So if the ride moves 50% faster it will likely be under 2 mins. That's a short ride for a 2 hour wait, but it does solve part of the capacity issue.

 

[Nubs70]

When Maelstrom manages approx 60 second intervals and Frozen is shooting for 35 seconds, yeah the capacity will be different. Seriously, do some people really not have the mental capacity to infer anything? Nearly every ride's capacity is dependent on the ride vehicle's capacity x dispatch interval. It has nothing to do with the ride system. When Test Track opened, intervals were nearly twice as long, thus it had horrid capacity until they got intervals cut down significantly. If you double an interval length, capacity is halved. If you cut the interval in half instead, capacity doubles. It's why Thunder Mtn with 3 trains isn't going to have the same capacity as Thunder with 5 on line. Frozen will be no different. It's just more boats on line, an upgrade load/unload procedure and modifying the timing on the lift and switch track. It's not complicated at all. I thought everyone understood such a simple concept without needing to have it explained to them.

To be precise, the cycle time must include both time to load and unload. which must be less than the TAKT time of 35 seconds. Will the individual load and load times average less than 17.5 seconds? 17.5 seconds will be not long enough for loading, safety checks, unloading, and minor cleanup. On the off chance the cycle time is achieved, the experience will be sub par.

 

[Skip]

So you're claiming that a Frozen attraction with 900 per hour capacity will have a different line than a Frozen attraction with 1800 per hour capacity... okay
As many people here have been crowing about, TSMM's third track and Soarin's 3rd theater won't do much to reduce queue times. Of course they'll get more people per day on the ride (which is their focus for the additions), but the queue times won't change much at all. Most 90+ min queue times are complete hogwash anyway designed to signify "this ride is full, go away"- capacity won't change that.

This is the most insane thing I've ever heard.

If a ride has double the capacity, it can handle double the people. This means it's far more efficient and it'll be more difficult for lines to accumulate. This means a ride can hover around 30 minutes instead of 60 (just for example). Or, in the case of a new attraction with crazy demand, 60 minutes instead of 120 minutes.

So, yes. There will be a different line based on the capacity. That's kind of how capacity works.

Are you realizing that your hilariously silly argument about Frozenstrom garnering a 2000+ capacity makes no sense, so you're trying to say the capacity doesn't matter? Just... c'mon. It'll have a very similar capacity to Maelstron unless they completely change the ride system.

 

[asianway]

To be precise, the cycle time must include both time to load and unload. which must be less than the TAKT time of 35 seconds. Will the individual load and load times average less than 17.5 seconds? 17.5 seconds will be not long enough for loading, safety checks, unloading, and minor cleanup. On the off chance the cycle time is achieved, the experience will be sub par.

Between wheelchairs, other special needs, and the stupidity of your average WDW guest I can't see anyway to get cycle time down that low

 

[ford91exploder]

Why does Disney need to worry about them as a threat? Both parks wants people coming to Orlando the more people that come the more people go to both parks the more they spend.

This goes after the same market as the comic book does though. It does not hurt disney core of the 2-7 aged kids and families.

Disney still gets the first stop by most if not all in that bracket.

It hurts them in the tween bracket, If you have boys over 8 and the choice is toddlers and princesses OR Nintendo where is your money going, Not to the princess parks...

 

[gmajew]

It hurts them in the tween bracket, If you have boys over 8 and the choice is toddlers and princesses OR Nintendo where is your money going, Not to the princess parks...

Disney already has that problem. That is not a new problem. That is why the fix is the expansion of Pixar and Star Wars. They have the IP just need to roll it out.

 

[ford91exploder]

Disney already has that problem. That is not a new problem. That is why the fix is the expansion of Pixar and Star Wars. They have the IP just need to roll it out.

Agree, I'm guessing we'll see Nintendo in O-town far before Disney moves on the first permit for construction for those IP's I would not be surprised to see Nintendo based stuff at UNI this year even if it's only parade characters and M&G. One thing about UNI is they are not slow to utilize IP.

 

[Captain Chaos]

 

[DDLand]

This is the most insane thing I've ever heard.

If a ride has double the capacity, it can handle double the people. This means it's far more efficient and it'll be more difficult for lines to accumulate. This means a ride can hover around 30 minutes instead of 60 (just for example). Or, in the case of a new attraction with crazy demand, 60 minutes instead of 120 minutes.

So, yes. There will be a different line based on the capacity. That's kind of how capacity works.

Are you realizing that your hilariously silly argument about Frozenstrom garnering a 2000+ capacity makes no sense, so you're trying to say the capacity doesn't matter? Just... c'mon. It'll have a very similar capacity to Maelstron unless they completely change the ride system.

Interesting thought, and maybe what he's getting at is if they did increase capacity then more people would just ride the attraction pushing the wait up further again. It's actually very similiar to a conversation we had about road congestion on another thread, add capacity to a road, and more people drive it instead of something else. The same likely holds true with attractions. That doesn't mean that everything is okay though, fewer people will get to ride it in the end with the lower cap. That leads to guest unhappiness.