A Spirited Perfect Ten

[PhotoDave219]

Thanks Stephen Hawking, for explaining the complicated equation that 5 trains on BTMR will allow more riders than 3 trains. Did you have to consult with the physicists at CERN to solve that one?

Your still only suggesting that they will cut intervals by nearly 50%. Speeding up the lift or switching load/unload seem like fundamental basics of dispatch interval, but again, you only make claims with no evidence. And the smart azz patronizing attitude does little to improve your credibility. (not that you had much to begin with)

Dont feed the troll.

 

[Lee]

Ask and Ye Shall recieve!

^
Better than Frozen.

 

[Funmeister]

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.

Omnimover ride system capacity > most all stop load and unload attractions

Ride system can and does affect capacity. Many factors come into play including special needs guests. Much easier to load a guest traveling with a wheelchair in a Splash Mountain log then it is a Small World or Pirates boat...or in this case...a Frozen boat.

You have to take everything into consideration and you are not.

Why would the dispatch rate of Frozen be any different than Maelstrom? I think with the increase of kids riding the dispatch time could actually take longer.

 

[WDW1974]

More Major Uni news (Just mentioning it here, there are already other threads about it):

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150507005307/en/Nintendo-Partners-Universal-Parks-Resorts-Create-World’s#.VUtVQJNu6wk

"Nintendo Partners with Universal Parks & Resorts to Create World’s First-Ever Theme Park Attractions Based on Nintendo’s Beloved Games and Characters"

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).

Fun family rides are fun family rides. Again, how many people know the source material for Mr. Toad, Splash Mountain etc. Does it really matter?

Oh, and bank it that you'll be riding these attractions (or making fun of them here because the Pixie Dust is strong in you!) before Bob Iger's replacement gets around to opening any new Star Wars product in the swamps.

 

[wdisney9000]

Dont feed the troll.

Your right. Ive got some yard work to do and afterwards Im goin full tilt Drunkytown like World Showcase. All these Labatts arent gonna drink themselves. I cant promise anything after that, (Blame Canada)

 

[WDW1974]

I suspect Disney is more focused on making sure their parks in China succeed (and their brand) before worrying about sending new DCL ships to China/Asia. The Brand after all is what brings people to cruise with Disney.

Companies like Carnival and Royal Caribbean have lots of brands and ships; no shortage of vessels to move into the area. Disney isn't a major player, they serve a niche market. One willing to pay extra for a perceived special experience and the Disney customer attention.

Exactly, which is why folks not knowing the BRAND in China, or understanding it, is a huge problem that Bob Iger doesn't want people in the USA to know exists.

It's also why he failed miserably, no matter that SDL will eventually be a huge success, by not getting access to the airwaves in the form of a Disney Channel.

But by the time Disney decides to attempt the China market in cruising, it will be far behind others.

 

[wdisney9000]

Oh, and bank it that you'll be riding these attractions (or making fun of them here because the Pixie Dust is strong in you!) before Bob Iger's replacement gets around to opening any new Star Wars product in the swamps.

Judging by the pace of Skull Island, Id say thats a fair assessment. (not to mention the detail)

 

[WDW1974]

I can't wait for the theme police to tell us how perfect a fit it will be to have Super Mario alongside The Boy Who Lived and King Kong while in the same breath decrying the abomination of Frozen in Norway. Honestly, I've seen people here say that Frozen, Star Wars, and Marvel would be inappropriate "fits" in a Disney park. But Nintendo is met with nerdgasms. Seriously? Who's excited about this besides 12 year old boys and those who have been in a state of arrested development since 1999?

Honestly, you can't see the difference?

One is a theme park with a movie studios conceit, which it has had for 25 years.

The other is EPCOT's World Showcase.

You REALLY don't see any difference? The real Captain America would!

And I'm excited. Because I know that a few attractions that will largely be considered 'minor' in UNI's menu will be considerably more fun and entertaining than things like the Little Mermaid that get blown up by Disney fans here with their own 'nerdgasms' when the rest of us not blinded by Pixie Dust see crap for what it is.

 

[realdizfan]

It doesn't take 100 seconds to load two 15 passenger boats. If you dispatch them at a normal canal ride interval, Frozen's capacity increases dramatically (which is what's going to happen). Again, Frozen's capacity is dependent on riders x dispatches, and they're aiming to speed up those dispatches by a lot, the ride system is irrelevant. Wheelchairs hurt the capacity of all attractions regardless of their ride systems as do a bunch of other delays/factors- even on Omnimovers (though as you pointed out, some are more affected than others) which is why rides don't hit theoretical numbers or intervals. But the amount of boats that leave the load platform each hour will be much higher than that of Maelstrom, I can assure you that.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Exactly, which is why folks not knowing the BRAND in China, or understanding it, is a huge problem that Bob Iger doesn't want people in the USA to know exists.

It's also why he failed miserably, no matter that SDL will eventually be a huge success, by not getting access to the airwaves in the form of a Disney Channel.

But by the time Disney decides to attempt the China market in cruising, it will be far behind others.

And Disney won't have the advantage of having a product that is of a significantly higher quality than the exisisting competition like they did back when DCL launched. The stakes have been raised, can Disney keep up in what will become crushing largest market?

 

[mahnamahna101]

Yes.
I have heard nothing that would indicate Nintendo being anything other than a replacement for the existing Kidzone.

This is not a Potter-level acquisition, and is certainly not viewed as such by Universal.

Honestly, t's better than any non-Potter/Marvel/Star Wars IP except LOTR.

Mario, Pokemon and Zelda are pretty huge. In terms of unused four-quadrant IPs, only LOTR is bigger. Star Trek doesn't quite equal Nintendo's impressive IP library

Either way, similar to Splash Mountain/Mr. Toad, the colorful environments and family-friendly nature is more than enough to make Nintendo a worthwhile KidZone replacement. A high-quality land can do well regardless of how relevant the theme.

Glad to see some great family additions!

Is E.T. getting axed by this replacement?

 

[Lee]

Is E.T. getting axed by this replacement?

Last I heard...no.

 

[burgess]

I hope this results in at least one cool ride. I've wanted to see a Nintendo theme park land for years, and KidZone seems like an area ripe for replacement. I always thought Nintendo would make a good replacement for Toon Lagoon (Dudley becomes Mario mountain, etc), but I guess that's not in the cards.

Whatever people think about Mario, Donkey Kong, etc, I think they're at least more relevant these days than Woody Woodpecker. Not that I care about relevance!

I hope this leads to them doing something more substantial in Universal Japan.

 

[FigmentJedi]

He's finally back to kick some tail!

I gotta say when I posted this yesterday, I had no idea it would be predicting today.

 

[Tony Perkis]

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.

Sorry, but no. Mario and Zelda are console sellers on their own. Wii U sales dramatically increased with the releases of Mario Kart and Smash Bros.

GTAV is a bigger deal, but Mario is a bigger character than Trevor Phillips.

 

[FigmentJedi]

I hope this results in at least one cool ride. I've wanted to see a Nintendo theme park land for years, and KidZone seems like an area ripe for replacement. I always thought Nintendo would make a good replacement for Toon Lagoon (Dudley becomes Mario mountain, etc), but I guess that's not in the cards.

I could see Toon Lagoon becoming home to whatever Nintendo stuff doesn't show up in Kidzone, possibly some of the older audience stuff like Zelda.

Sorry, but no. Mario and Zelda are console sellers on their own. Wii U sales dramatically increased with the releases of Mario Kart and Smash Bros.

GTAV is a bigger deal, but Mario is a bigger character than Trevor Phillips.

Hell, the Amiibo have been absurdly popular too and 3DS has been dominating the handheld console market.

 

[danlb_2000]

It doesn't take 100 seconds to load two 15 passenger boats. If you dispatch them at a normal canal ride interval, Frozen's capacity increases dramatically (which is what's going to happen). Again, Frozen's capacity is dependent on riders x dispatches, and they're aiming to speed up those dispatches by a lot, the ride system is irrelevant. Wheelchairs hurt the capacity of all attractions regardless of their ride systems as do a bunch of other delays/factors- even on Omnimovers (though as you pointed out, some are more affected than others) which is why rides don't hit theoretical numbers or intervals. But the amount of boats that leave the load platform each hour will be much higher than that of Maelstrom, I can assure you that.

The problem with a boat ride like Maelstrom is that if you dispatch to fast you get boats bunching up and bumping into each other.

 

[realdizfan]

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.

 

[hopemax]

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).

Fun family rides are fun family rides. Again, how many people know the source material for Mr. Toad, Splash Mountain etc. Does it really matter?

Oh, and bank it that you'll be riding these attractions (or making fun of them here because the Pixie Dust is strong in you!) before Bob Iger's replacement gets around to opening any new Star Wars product in the swamps.

Really glad to hear kiddie land will become family land, and dark rides. I know I've been hoping Universal would find something so they could flex their creative muscle with the traditional dark ride. Love ET, but the property is a bit stale for me, and I was 6 when the movie came out. Cat in the Hat isn't quite there for me, but I never got to ride it with the full spin.

Someone mentioned Mario Kart, and while I know armchair imagineering isn't fond here, I did think that if I could ride in a Yoshi car down something like the old Knott's Soap Box Racers, I don't know what I'd do. But then I thought of Mario Kart + a trackless ride system, so you could "crash" into something...

I'm sure that is not what Universal is thinking, but it's just really nice to be anticipate new, as you say, fun family rides.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Honestly, you can't see the difference?

One is a theme park with a movie studios conceit, which it has had for 25 years.

The other is EPCOT's World Showcase.

You REALLY don't see any difference? The real Captain America would!

And I'm excited. Because I know that a few attractions that will largely be considered 'minor' in UNI's menu will be considerably more fun and entertaining than things like the Little Mermaid that get blown up by Disney fans here with their own 'nerdgasms' when the rest of us not blinded by Pixie Dust see crap for what it is.

Describing Little Mermaid as crap is really degrading crap. Heck, some crap is better than Little Mermaid.