Celestial Dreamin' - Game Thread

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

This was the view you would see driving down Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim, California back in the 1940s:

Here is a picture taken from roughly the same spot in the 1980s:

We are all here for the same reason: because we love the art of theme park design! Themed entertainment might not have started there, but Disneyland is where theme parks as we know them began.

And where did Disneyland's sister park, DCA begin?

Disney's California Adventure began as Disneyland's parking lot.

To quote Eisner: This unique place (the parking lot) embraces the richness and diversity of California: its land, its people, its stories and, above all, the dreamers it continues to inspire.



Welcome, to the 261-page pitch of...
Disney's Asphalt Adventure
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Spoiler: Click to get Rick rolled

 

[Pi on my Cake]

Attention Voyagers
As a heads up, review writing has been going slower than hoped. I don't want to rush them considering how much hard work you have put in throughout the whole game. I want to make sure I give your incredible final projects the dues they deserve!
So, while I do still hope to finish tonight it is looking more likely as if reviews and results will be posted tomorrow evening after work.
Thank you for your patience​

 

[Pi on my Cake]

Empire Bay/New York Disneyland - @Outbound

• First Impressions
  
  • That was the first prompt I made for the first large scale game I ever hosted so seeing it here was a real nostalgic blast from the past! This definitely is more realistic than the giant lagoon on the second floor and definitely seems more fully thought out. I’m excited to see how the project comes together because what you have here is a super fun start! I love the ideas you have here for the park as a whole and a lot of super creative stuff. I’m gonna mostly focus on Empire Bay for the review as well as some of the overview stuff, but very excited to see Cosmic Wharf and the surprise land someday
  • Also, have to shout out the map. Incredible job!
  • Loved the focus on the land itself and the area details over just the attractions. You did a fantastic job with the atmosphere and tone.
  • When I wrote this prompt, there were four angles I saw in my mind that players could take it. Looking back at your own legacy on the forum and doing your first prompt or another meaningful prompt is likely what I would have done and is a great angle to take!
  • I love a good self imposed challenge, so leaning into the small compact space available was a great call. Adds an interesting angle to the park
  • Love the realism of the location. The detail you go into, the clear thought and care, you have. The way Downtown Disney perfectly transitions between the real city and the park. The creative layout. The thought put into how to distinguish this from other Disney parks. The place it could have in the company’s legacy. Oliver & Company as a clever parking garage theme. It’s great seeing how grounded it is without compromising how creative it is. Perfect balance between blue sky and realistic!

 

[Pi on my Cake]

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Superstar Limo - @ThemeParkPriest

• First Impressions
  
  • Love how your sense of humor shines here! I think you’ve really come a long way as an imagineer, but especially in how you let your personality shine through your writing. As your work has gotten more “you” its gotten better and better and seeing your style on full display here was great!
  • The presentation was very nice. Short, sweet, to the point without missing any needed details. Lots of little touches that add to the project. Good use of reference photos and the gilded slides!
  • When I wrote this prompt, there were four angles I saw in my mind that players could take it. Having another shot at a team project where the team went a way I wasn’t in to or I missed partly from being out of town is likely what I would have done and is a great angle to take!
• Intro
  
  • Again, the humor here is a big part of what sells it. The highlighting throughout “lame original version vs Supercharged version” is great and starting it with Google Translating the intro from Eisner to English was incredibly funny
• Location/Facade/Ride Vehicles/Celebrities
  
  • Eating up a larger area is definitely worth it for your new take on the ride. Blending some thrills and the fun comedy dark ride s great!
  • The new facade highlighting actual Hollywood landmarks instead of the stylized postcard facade of the original is great. Possibly less exciting for locals, but for sure better for tourists visiting the park and for establishing a more grand tone. Plus, the test track loop over the hollywood sign is an incredible weenie/icon for the ride!
  • As much as part of me love the idea of stylized figures, your call to use more realistic animatronics is definitely better than the horrifying ugly puppets of the original lol
• Scene 1
  
  • Setting the ride around the red carpet/Acadmy Awards is a great way to get right to the hollywood glitz and glamour
• Scene 2
  
  • Love the rapid fire celebrity gags. Keeping the focus on the comedic parodies of the celebrities over in-jokes only funny to SoCal locals is a smart move. Makes it a lot more relatable. Plus, easy to swap out stars when needed since scenes aren’t built around them. So, it is easy to update if anyone has a major controversy or is no longer relevant
• Scene 3
  
  • Eddie Murphy needing a ride is a fun excuse to kick off the thrill section. Especially for 2001 when he’d be fresh off Shrek and about to start filming Haunted Mansion
• Scene 4
  
  • Love the loop outside around the Hollywood sign! Having a thrill section is great! Really adds a good new element to the ride to add some action and excitement to make sure its enjoyable even to people who don’t care for the celeb jokes
• Scene 5
  
  • I wish there was a bit more detail on the environments driven through on the ride. Most of the scenes are pretty plain aside from the celebrities. But while I want more, what you have is great and what I love is that you don’t go overboard and you keep things focused! You let your humor shine through and made something really fun and great!
  • Definitely choosing the super-charged version!

 

[Pi on my Cake]

Disney Chronos - @Lizzy May Bee

• First Impressions
  
  • I remember back when we were planing SAVI that I wasn’t fully sold on the idea of a cruise prompt as cruise ships had never seemed interesting to me. I never really was into hotel prompts and this seemed like just a hotel on water. But (if memory serves) Outbound and PerGron liked it and it fit nicely into the story so I didn’t fight it even if I wasn’t sure how it would go. Then it became one of the most memorable rounds, players loved it, and watching the three teams slowly start to make three Disney Adventures was one of the most fun weeks I had as a host lol. Point of the story is that pergron and outbound are better hosts than me (wonder if they might be working on any games coming soon. Hmmmmmm)
  • Anyways, the response to that round and reading the projects gave me a new appreciation for the cruises both IRL and as a subject for imagineering. So, seeing a new take on that prompt now and seeing you go all out is a blast!
  • I love the use of colors and fonts in your presentation to keep it fresh.
  • The artwork is fantastic as always (love the clockwork Hidden Mickey)! Also need to shout out the writing and the detail! You’ve grown so much as an imagineer over the years and have become a true heavy hitter and a well rounded threat in any game
  • You do a lot here to bring classic Disneyland vibes and experiences to the cruise without just copying anything. All while adding a new framing device to sort of bridge the gap between modern “immersion” style design and classic “fun first” style design.
  • When I wrote this prompt, there were four angles I saw in my mind that players could take it. Going back to one of the prompts that has become a meme or a super memorable moment for the forum like this is likely what I would have done and is a great angle to take!
• Intro
  
  • I really do love the chronos name and theme. A really fun way to tie it all together for theme park nerds while staying accessible and hitting all the highlights for general public guests.
• Adventure Deck
  
  • “On an expedition to… wherever Adventureland is set” is a great line that really captures the fun mashup of tropes/locales that makes Adventureland so iconic.
  • Tarzan as a pool theme is genius with some incredibly fun play elements here and a great water slide theme! Plus, the visual of a giant tree over the main pool would be a great way to sell this ship as special off the bat
  • Tiki Room Live is one of those things where I read it and it just sounds so perfect that I am shocked I haven’t seen it a million times! Such a great twist on a classic attraction and such a fun idea for some live entertainment for the ship. Plus, puppets! Which I’m a well documented sucker for lol
  • The Journeyman’s Waypoint as the obligatory Adventurer’s Club homage works really well. I love the little twists to make it stand out though
  • The other entertainment options are great and as I’ve been reading and writing reviews for a few hours now I appreciate not going over all of them in detail lol. Jokes aside sometimes less is more and these brief descriptions do a good job selling the concepts as much as is needed without slowing down the pacing or distracting from the highlights
• Pirate Deck
  
  • Yay pirates!
  • The treasure hunt is perfect! I love the idea of a multi-day hunt blending escape room with exploration. Feels almost like a more practical way to incorporate some of the stronger elements of Galactic Starcruiser without it taking over the whole trip
  • I’m not sure Disney lawyers would ever allow kid sword fight club even with your safety features, but if you can bribe them enough to get them to sign off then this would be incredible and something I would’ve gone nuts for! Heck, I’d still go nuts for it if adults are allowed lol
  • Using Treasure Planet to transition to the Future Deck is a genius touch
• Future Deck
  
  • Arcades are in fact kiddie casinos. I remember a Fun Spot trip (chuck e cheese but bigger) with my church’s kid group. They had a slot machine to win tickets. Me and all the other 10 year olds kept ignoring the actual games for the slot machine because it seemed like the best bet to win tickets until the kid’s pastor had to step in because the parents were worried we were getting hooked on gambling. But jokes on them, I got a stuffed Mario out of it.
  • The retro 80s scifi arcade aesthetic was a great unexpected choice. I like that you highlighted the fun and the “play” here instead of going for the easy Star Wars style space fantasy
  • The stitch show is a great way to add some entertainment aside from the games found here. Plus, the unique games/experiences aside from the show that keep this from being just an arcade. This is something you could only get at Disney!
  • Minus 50 points because the game is named Fix-it Felix Jr. not Wreck-It-Ralph
• Rooms
  
  • Short sweet and to the point. A bit light on details for the living quarters, but also what more do you really need. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Gimme the Tron room please!

 

[Pi on my Cake]

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Disney’s Asphalt Adventure - @Architectural Guinea Pig

• First Impressions
  
  • California Adventure is a such a fascinating topic for armchair imagineering. There’s so much that went wrong and so much squandered potential. Even the worst of it is incredibly memorable and fascinating and the best of it is some of the best Disney has ever done (There is a reason Soarin has been brought to basically every Disney resort). I could read infinite new takes on DCA and have been tempted for a long time to really go all in on my own take one day.
  • I’m definitely cool with you using projects from past games as attractions to round it out with how clearly marked they are. Especially since your focus is very much on the park as a whole over any individual attraction (which was a smart idea to keep the focus primarily on the big picture). Only note I’d give is you could have just linked their projects and offered a sentence or two description rather than copy the projects here. Not because I have a problem with them being included when properly cited, but because this is already such a large project that having extra stuff here distracts from the main focus. A project this broad makes it tough to see the highlights shine as bright as they could if it was more focused in scope. That being said, your work here is so incredible that even with the HUGE scope for a single week you still manage to make it shine!
  • Especially that map! Incredible work for such a short time! When I first read this on my phone it was glitching a bit and I thought your project was just the map on its own and honestly the map by itself is so strong that I could’ve seen that as a project in its own right lol
  • When I wrote this prompt, there were four angles I saw in my mind that players could take it. Going back to a prompt where time/life got away from me and I wasn’t satisfied with the results is likely what I would have done and is a great angle to take!
• Theme and parkwide Consistency
  
  • Love the self imposed rules and your dedication to growing/updating the park without sacrificing thematic integrity. It is clear how much thought and care was put in not just to the writing but to the meaning behind it. Everything here feels intentional in a way that can be missed in park wide projects
• Entering the Park
  
  • One bell being a C Note and another being an A note… chef’s kiss detail
  • Love the tranquility of the entrance area and I love that it now has its own personality instead of being a copy of Hollywood Studios
• Sunshine Gardens
  
  • Gardens and courtyards and sunning vistas. Quaint yet exciting. Adventure just around the corner drawing guest in. Great entrance area
  • Flat ride right near the entrance that also teaches California history. Great touch! I question if Disney of today would do a ride about wine aimed at kids/families. But also it is so key to california history and culture that I feel they could get away with it. Plus, it establishes your unique tone right off the bat.
  • The Tower of the Sun is a great new icon and I love its tie to history. The focus on the skyline across the lake is great
  • Always a very good touch to have zoomed in maps for lands as you go through. Really drives home the details and helps readers see it clearly while reading without needing to swap between tabs constantly
• Golden Dreams
  
  • I’ve always said that Golden Dreams was a strong show, but lacked a specifically Disney touch to make it a must do experience. Turning it into a dark ride is the perfect way to elevate it and make it a must do rather than something you could just watch on youtube later
  • I don’t have a ton to say about the ride itself, but you did a good job translating the show and updating the premise. It is a great ride that stands on its own even if you know nothing of the original show and if you know the original show then it serves as a great revival! Also, love the preshow as a fun bait and switch for fans who might be expecting just another movie here
• Golden Vine Terrace
  
  • Love this as the signature restaurant. Great and fancy but in that over the top theme parky kind of way where it feels both genuinely nice and performatively classy. Exactly what you want from a Disney park table service. With the option for outdoor seating as a great touch.
• Hollywood Boulevard
  
  • Moving Carthay Circle to Hollywood Boulevard definitely makes more sense.
  • The whole retro timeless style is definitely more Disney and more special feeling than the original.
  • The focus on entertainment, shows, and people eaters is really smart and the kind of stuff Disney needs. A good way to build off of what works there irl like the ampitheater and the MuppetVision and animation academy.
  • Fantasia 2026 and Passage to the Stars (one of my favorites from citrus Dreamin’) both fit nicely in here and add to the land’s vibe
  • The Zone does a great job evolving the idea of the Animation Academy screen room. I don’t know if it says more about me or DCA, but that screen room was one of my favorite things in the park when I visited!
• Electromania!
  
  • Blending Tron and Rockin Rollercoaster for a new music coaster is a great idea and a great way to evolve the concept!
  • I adore the queue and I adore Unit 808! Honestly my only critique with either is that we could’ve seen Unit 808 in the queue to set him up earlier or even had a pre-show to really establish him as a character and mascot
  • Using the Tron canopy is a bit on the nose, but also it is such a great feature and would be a very enticing way to try to draw Disneyland guests into the second gate
  • Your showscenes and set pieces are great and I love the focus on large imagery/passive sights so it can all play well even for a high speed ride
  • I’m torn on the three different themes/genres. On one hand that adds a lot to re-rideability and you do a great job realistically differentiating the three while still feeling like the same ride. But also, I feel like they are so different that instead of encouraging re-rides it would just disappoint someone if they get the “wrong” one. It might have been better to scale back and focus on one track. Or even use the three act structure you have to give each genre it’s turn in the spotlight with Unit 808 changing the track mid-ride. What you have is great. I’m just not sure if what you gain by having more options is worth what you lose from a more focused experience.
  • Either way though this is an incredible ride and a great upgrade to the music coaster format!
• Embarcadero Bay
  
  • The Golden gate Bridge back as a park icon is a greta touch and is a really fun way to add the iconic structure to the lake
  • Embarcadero Park is the exact kind of small scale park/garden space for guests to just vibe in that every theme park should have near its hub.
  • The China Town area is a nice touch and I love the focus on the stunning icons like the redone Tower of Terror and the theater of the Stars. The focus on timelessness is great and I love the blending of flat rides like aquatopia with the grander experiences
• Transportation
  
  • Optons like the trolley and the boats would do a LOT to help the whole park feel connected and alive. Between these and the focus you place on flats/outdoor coasters this park would have a great sense of kinetic energy!
• Theater of the Stars
  
  • Love the upgrades to the lightly themed Hyperion! Also love that you focused on the theater itself rather than worrying too much about the show. Makes the structure feel timeless and able to evolve as the park down. The theater doubling as a concert hall that can be accessed without a ticket is a really nice touch
• Fireworks Factory
  
  • Love the S.E.A. inclusion in a way that feels really fun and natural rather than overpowering the experience or distracting from it
  • The ride sounds super fun and a great unique take on the concept. A few fun scenes, but the focus stays on being a coaster weaving through the land. High energy and exciting. A great way to round out this corner of the park and a great family thrill to ease young guests into ToT
• Chinatown Night Market
  
  • I love a good quick service location that is really 4 food stands standing on each other’s shoulders wearing a trench coat. Good mix of snacks and street food options. Plus, a great theme
• Bayside 1949
  
  • Another great restaurant! Love the care put into the dining to add to the atmosphere and themes of lands. The fusion focus is also a really nice touch
• Fantasia Pier
  
  • This is a great way to update the pier and make it feel both more unique in its theming with its own identity as well as turning it into a sort of seaside toontown!
  • Honestly, I feel like just the quick blurb for Phantom’s Revenge is perfect. Wooden coaster with some light villain theming is a simple concept and one that works best without complicated showscenes. What you have here is perfect! Same with the other updates to rides and the new Mary Poppins dark ride! Love the new take on the ferris wheel which definitely fits the big mickey face on the side more than the current pixar theme. The Coco area feels slightly tacked on as a subland given its lack of connection to the boardwalk or fantasia themes, but also I always appreciate more Coco and it would make a good sub-land
• Grizzly Peak
  
  • I love how close to the IRL land’s vibe you kept this. No need to fix what isn’t broken. The minetrain coaster from Hong Kong is a nice touch to add some extra thrills. The lighthouse on the water is a great additional icon for the skyline!
• Gravity Falls: Forgotten Dimensions
  
  • Possibly a bit large scale for what Disney would realistically do for a tv show, but also I feel like Gravity Falls has proven its staying power by now and definitely lends itself well to a ride. I feel like what makes this work so well is that someone could ride this without having ever heard of the show and still have a great time!
  • The ride system is a great fit and I love how it invites guests to join in on the “discovery” and “exploration” which ties it more into the themes of the park as a whole even with the show being set in Oregon.
  • A very fun ride full of easter eggs and fun visuals. Lots of nice details and care here. A smaller scale ride more focused on cryptids might have fit the DCA theme better, butthis would be the ultimate experience for a Gravity Falls fan! As a huge fan (I don’t have any tattoos but a Bill Cipher or a pine tree is pretty much the only one I’ve ever considered seriously) I adore this and really want to ride it!
  • Love the little touches like talking about what effects different targets trigger!
• Radiator Springs
  
  • Love the few changes you made here as they add a lot (the dark ride is a perfect touch).
  • Route 66 Adventure is the exact kind of attraction I would want to see at DCA and captures what I feel that park could be if done right!
• Avengers Campus
  
  • Love the new set up. Ties it into the park nicely and does a good job cleaning up the lore a bit while adding some more unique visual flair
  • The Amongus walking sound effects is such a fun source of inspiration and really does paint a picture lol. It sounds cheesey but honestly I think it is a great touch!
  • Adding a villain to WEB Slingers is a great touch
  • The hero training play area/rope course would be a great way to put kids into the action more
  • Once again, flat rides being a focus park wide is a great addition and between that and the waterfeatures this land would feel very alive
  • Lastly, the Doctor Strange Show is definitely an upgrade from the already cut streetmosphere option they did IRL. Love it!

 

[Pi on my Cake]

The Final Results

Thank you again to everyone who participated throughout this season. All of you made this game special. I hope you had as much fun as I have!

I want to be very clear, that each of you did an incredible job both with this final round and throughout the season. Whether you came in fourth or first, you earned your place here as a finalist and are a great imagineer. This was not an easy call. Ya'll did an amazing job.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for bringing your A-Game and making my decision so difficult

These results are primarily based on the final round, but I have also taken the season as a whole into consideration

Without further adieu, let's get to what you've all been so patiently waiting for...

In 4th Place...

Spoiler: Fourth Place

@ThemeParkPriest
I feel like you've come into your own more this game than I've ever seen before. Your humor has come through more and more. Your passion, your sincerity. You played a great game and I can't wait to see what you do next...

​

In 3rd Place...

Spoiler: Third Place

@Architectural Guinea Pig
You're an incredible imagieneer and a standout in any game you play! Honestly the only thing I ever see holding you back is that sometimes your ideas are TOO big which is a great problem to have. Your writing, your art, your concepts are all top notch. You're one of the most talented people I've ever seen here and I can't wait to see how you continue to grow...

In 2nd Place

Spoiler: Second Place

@Lizzy May Bee
You've been a frontrunner all season and leader for your team. You've always been remarkably creative with a unique voice and great art, but this game I've seen you come into your own and take your place as a true veteran of this board like never before with your writing taking center stage. When you're on a team with Tiki and Disney Man One who are both practically novelists on here, it can be tough to stand out as a writer and yet you managed to not just hold your own but even do some of the best writing in some of my favorite projects ever!

The Winner of Celestial Dreamin'

Spoiler: First Place

@Outbound
It was a very close race, but throughout this game you've done such incredible work and proven once again that you might be the best imagineers of E/D-Tickets on the forum. Your ability to create unique vibes and communicate those through multi-sensory experiences is incredible! You've done great work all season and I can't wait to see how New York Disneyland evolves! Congratulations!

Again, my sincerest thanks to everyone who participated. I'm honored that you trusted me to be your skipper as we sailed across the stars.

And with that our voyage comes to an end, but don't worry. Us imagineers are restless folk and we won't stay in one place for long. I bet a new adventure is waiting just around the corner!​

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Congrats to

Spoiler

@Outbound !!!!!!

That was an amazing game @Pi on my Cake - from the consistent reviews, the kind and amazing feedback, the awesome lore and interesting prompts, you hit another Dreamin' home run! Thank you for your work

 

[Lizzy May Bee]

Congratulations @Outbound ! When I read your project I thought to myself “Yeah, this is what I’d choose to be the winning project” haha.

I look forward to participating in, well, whatever’s next for the forums! And I hope to continue to see you all around these parts as well!

 

[Outbound]

Thank you! Truly an honor with such a talented cast this season (take a look back at the first post!) and such impressive final projects!

@ThemeParkPriest , you’ve really come into your own. Loved seeing Superstar Limo get the love it (deserves? ok, or at least the love park guests deserve for riding). Your project felt like a genuine sales pitch in all the best ways; also got a laugh out of me with the comparison of old and supercharged.

@Architectural Guinea Pig WOW that map is incredible! Absolutely insane scale and you kept it at the same high level of detail as you’re known for. Despite how I was dunking on it in the NY thread, DCA is actually one of my favorite parks because I really value its unique goal. Loved to see you work with that and ideal buildout DCA from scratch. I feel like we’ve seen park improvement plans, but most blue sky chooses Westcot or PortDisney — both nice, but I loved seeing DCA get the love it deserves!

@Lizzy May Bee fun seeing your own prompt be used! As it happens, this might just be my favorite prompt I made as a host. As Pi mentioned in the review, cruise ships aren’t seen often here, but I remember really wanting to try it out as one of my most anticipated rounds of that season. I love seeing what you did here! Exploring each of the decks and imagining what a sea day would be like, it’s really a theme park in miniature at sea! Great work!

As for me, I’m actually so glad for the final round pushing me to put out New York Disneyland. I love producing single projects round by round, but this is especially exciting because the project is only beginning. This is now something I can work on beyond the games and always come back to! So thanks for that prompt lol, as anything of a narrower scope would’ve ruled finally bringing this park to life!

Although I’ll take a brief break from updating the thread, I’ve already begun drafting additional posts to come soon. Empire Bay needs more polish, and following that, I’ll begin exploring the broader resort. If you are interested, I recommend watching the thread. I can also get into some BTS and talk about that map if any are interested!

Thank you again @Pi and on my Cake for a fantastic job hosting, I appreciate how you crafted this season around player feedback and were always around for timely + detailed reviews and game updates! This season focusing on open-canvas prompts led to so many big and exciting projects.

Looking back, this season had so many amazing projects — from the reimagined Epic Universe, Doug Walker / Roseanne Bar Cow Showdown, or redoing Celestial Park with everything together on a shared map. As always I really do appreciate this forum & community and am very excited for what’s to come!

Without getting to into it for spoiler’s sake…

This year will be a big one!

 

[Pi on my Cake]

I bet a new* adventure is waiting just around the corner!​

Upon further review, "new" May not be the correct word...

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