Chip N' Dales Imagineering Rangers, R2, Project 7

[figmntal95]

OK team, I guess I'll start by getting the basics down.

We already know the exterior will be themed to the tent, correct?

Also, the vehicle is a carriage?

I guess I'll just get together a list of scenes and characters we can use.

Or, we could create an all new storyline. It's up to you guys.

But for now, I'll start with the characters:

Main Characters
-Robin Hood (Fox)
-Maid Marian (Fox)
-King Richard (Lion)
-Lady Kluck (Chicken)

Merry Men
-Alan-a-Dale (rooster)
-Little John (bear)
-Friar Tuck (badger)

Villains
-Sheriff of Nottingham (Wolf)
-Sir Hiss (Snake)
-Prince John (Lion)
-Nutsy and Trigger (Vultures)

And then there are all the little animal children.

I think there should maybe be a scene featuring all the villains together.

Songs we can use:

1. "Whistle-Stop"
2. "Oo De Lally"
3. "Love"
4. "The Phony King of England"
5. "The Phony King of England Reprise"
6. "Not In Nottingham"
7. "Love Goes On/Oo-De-Lally Reprise"

Scenes we can use:
-For the first scene, an Alan-a-Dale (who can be our narrator throughout the attraction) AA can sit on a stump inside of Sherwood forest, explaining the basics of the story (acting as sort of a prologue). He tells the riders about Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and of course that the heroic King Richard was hypnotized into fighting for the Crusades, and the evil Prince John has taken over, and begins collecting taxes from the citizens of England.
-The next scene can be sort of a transition between the first and second scene, where Robin and Little John are dressed as fortune tellers, clutching bags of money (stolen from Prince John) that they are going to deliver to the poor.
-The second large scene takes place at the archery contest, where Alan-a-Dale first explains Robin and Maid Marian's relationship. Prince John can then be seen announcing an archery contest, the winner receiving a kiss from Maid Marian and a golden arrow. All the other contestants can try to hit the bullseye, yet miss (the bullseye can be on the opposite side of the track from the AA's, making it seem as if the riders are being shot at). Then, Robin, disguised as a stork, can enter, and immediately hit the target. Most likely, Sir Hiss will try to get Prince John's attention beforehand, for he has discovered the stork's true identity, but is grabbed by the Merry Men. After, however, Prince John will discover the true identity, and order Robin to be executed. John will then send his men on Robin and the Merry Men, and the villagers can retreat into the forest (with the riders in tow.)
-The next scene can be Sherwood Forest, in all it's glory, where Robin has been reunited with Maid Marian, and he and his men are plotting against Prince John. They also deem Prince John as "The Phony King of England."
-The following scene can be Prince John in his castle, with himself and Sir Hiss discussing his new nickname. He is enraged, and decided to raise the taxes. He also decides that anyone unable to pay will be put in prison.
-The next scene can be the prison, in which Alan-a-Dale, Friar Tuck, and various other townsmen. The Sheriff enters, proclaiming that Friar Tuck is to be hanged. Robin Hood and Little John seem to have heard about this quickly, because Little John rescues the prisoners and we move onto the next scene.
-This scene can take place in the castle, where the Sheriff confronts Robin, and soon sets the castle on fire. Robin attempts to escape, but falls from a castle spire, falling into a river, presumably dead. The remainder of the scene can show the destroyed castle, and Prince John completely outraged by the news of Robin's survival, and the destruction of his mother's castle.
-The final scene can be the heroic return of King Richard, where he excuses Robin and Little John of any crimes they commited, and sends the Sheriff, Prince John, and Sir Hiss to prison. Then, Robin and Maid Marian's wedding can be shown.

So that's just our basic storyline, unless of course we do want to choose a new storyline.....

 

[figmntal95]

We (TrevorA and I forgot to tell you this), this Round (the 2nd round) takes place 5 years AFTER the Fantasyland Expansion is complete, so around 2018... Just a frame of focus!

That may even give us the opportunity to use some technology that is currently being developed.

 

[figmntal95]

Also, the whole Fantasy Forest thing is a perfect segway into a Sherwood Forest area, with this dark ride and maybe a flat ride or two. I'm suprised this isn't even being done now.

 

[stitchcastle]

I don't necessarily want to do a full on book report of Robin Hood. We can change things up, the same way the French Little Mermaid ride had the songs jumbled up. We could even use elements from the actual Robin Hood story and incorporate it into the ride.

Considering there's a lot of archery involved in the story, why not make the ride interactive ala Toy Story Mania and make it so that the guests are part of the Merry Men?

and if we want to up the re-rideability factor, we could also use the Hunny Hunt trackless system and pretty much make the different sets of guests have to work together as part of Robin Hood's band. Like they have to shoot at certain things to get things into motion.

I see it this way: The pre-show introduces the basic story of robin hood and at the end we are "recruited" to be part of his merry men.

first phase of the ride is a sort of target practice through sherwood forest using a sort of simulated paint arrows, this in turn ends up becoming an initiation ritual when we all have to help rob the King's carriage.

Now the actions we did in the first scene leads Prince John to hold the archery competition from the movie. We all then join the competition, and whoever the guest with the higher score wins!

This leads to a scene involving all the ride vehicles "celebrating" our victory in Sherwood Forest by spinning around in a sort of dancing room.

But, all doesn't end well when we hear that Prince John has raised the taxes and imprisoned all the townspeople, Robin asks us to go undercover and free the towns people with him. (we use our arrows on the chains).

We then come to a screen where we must shoot at charging Rhino Guards as we let the town's people run away.

This leads to the feiry climax where we have to shoot buckets of water and shoot at money bags all the while the entire castle is set on fire (we shoot the buckets to clear the way for the ride vehicles). The vehicles then "leap" into the moat with Robin and company.

This leads to the celebration ending with the imprisonment of the Sheriff, Prince John and Sir Hiss along with the return of King Richard and the marriage of Robin and Marian.

 

[Chrononymous]

Oh wow...you guys are brilliant!

I Love these ideas...can we maybe combine the traditional AAs of a Disney dark ride WITH the Midway Mania tech?

I see the opening scene with Alan a dale as well...as our host and narrator like he is in the film...an AA sitting on the stump strumming his guitar...and as we go through the different scenes...we have opportunities to shoot at stuff.

I can picture the fortune teller scene with Robin and Little John as AAs dressed as gypsies, and then when the chase occurs, the carriage vehicle spins around and we have to throw coins(via the TSMM tech) back at the sherriff...

If we hit enough targets...mayebe the vehicle heads off to a bonus room, with a different part of the story!

And I would love to see this used in the archery contest scene...again the AAs set up the story...and then it's our turn to try and hit the bullseye.

And different effects can occur on the digital screens...
BUT we could also get "real" effects that occur with the AAs around us as well...

different dialogue, different motions, smoke or lighting effects! Kind of like what happens when you hit a target at the frontierland shooting gallery...and something pops up or changes around you!

My question...do we have to make the building a tent?

can it look like a keep or castle? I have this idea for the queue...a maze of painted and cut out flats that are Trompe L'oi painted to look like trees...so as you move through line you get deeper into the cartoon world of Sherwood Forest.

 

[Chrononymous]

I can see this ride being interactive in a whole new way. really changing each time you ride

Instead of being rewarded with "points" like on the other toy story rides...you are instead rewarded by seeing something in the attraction that no one else sees! (a new scene, a new piece of music...an AA that does something cool and unexpected...or a special effect that is triggered by hitting something just right)

 

[stitchcastle]

yeah, why themed to a tent? We have a chance to make a really dramatic entrance with a full on Keep or Castle.

 

[stitchcastle]

Chrononymus, you think you can draw the ride vehicle? It would pretty much look like the TSMM vehicle but with a sort of bow and arrow rather than a gun and a 4 giant wheels around it making it look like a cart.

I'll draw an etrance and ride layout later tonight.

Mewhunter, can you do a write up that combines what I and figmntal wrote? I'll see if I can draw some storyboards for the different scenes as well.

Figmntal, see if you can find some reference photos of the different scenes from the movie that could help a lot with our presentation.

 

[Chrononymous]

No problem! I can draw up a ride vehicle...and draw up a scene or two if you want as well!

 

[mewhunter67]

a little busy today, but sure, i'll try to do what i can tonight!

btw, loving what is available atm. not totally sold on the arcade shooter design idea again (i feel like it's becoming the cop out for interactivity) but i know it actually fits here well but i'm still sold on it. and yes, the keep is a must!

 

[Chrononymous]

I think the arcade shooter design is great...IF it's not overused...and if it works alongside the traditional darkride show scenes!

 

[stitchcastle]

I'm not digging the arcade shooter concept, I was thinking more along the lines of full on AA's that you shoot at rather than flats.

 

[Chrononymous]

I'm not digging the arcade shooter concept, I was thinking more along the lines of full on AA's that you shoot at rather than flats.

But why not both? I think it would be so awesome to shoot at the AAs (and see different effects)...but also to have the opportunity to shoot at digital screens that are occasionally interspersed among the traditional darkride type scenes.

For instance...I can see it working really well for the archery scene...as the vehicle approaches the scene, all the AA archery characters (with robin in disguise) are around you...

and the screen ahead would feature the target...

You get to take a few shots to see if your digital arrow hits the bullseye.

 

[Chrononymous]

Here's quick watercolor sketches of the ride vehicle.

I based it as closely as I could on Prince John's carriage from the film.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/album.php?albumid=979&pictureid=13356

The wheels don't actually turn of course...and it could work on both a track, or a trackless ride system.

I couldn't base it perfectly on the TSMM one, because I think our ride would have more forward "story scenes" then side ways ones.

The interactive shooter...
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/album.php?albumid=979&pictureid=13357

Based on both the TSMM design...and a crossbow.

The arrow is fixed to the top of the tube that has the tech in it.(which I imagine could hold both the digital shooting ability...and the laser type shooting from Buzz or frontierland shootin gallery).

The string of the crossbow would be pulled for each shot by holding on to the red ball. (also like the cannons in the POTC game at Disneyquest)

The top would also be able to swivel on the base so you could aim shots in different directions

 

[mewhunter67]

just a real quick question...? why not have the wheels turn?

as long as the guests can't quite reach them, and they dont have to touch the ground, they should turn!

 

[mewhunter67]

I'm not digging the arcade shooter concept, I was thinking more along the lines of full on AA's that you shoot at rather than flats.

i think thats a great idea... how would the AI's react, tho? fall over, freeze, go unconcious? either way, makes sense.

i guess tho, if this will be a sensor intense ride, it should be difficult to switch between real and screen... it might be needed, depending on our scene.

 

[Chrononymous]

the AIs don't have to fall over... because it doesn't have to be a violent thing at all.
For instance...if you shoot the right spot, in say a scene that has the characters dancing (which honestly is kind of a boring scene...but merely used as an example here!)
then you set off a series of effects...like the characters twirl all the way around, and the foam from a beer stein shoots water into the air...little lights twinkle on and off...and the musicians play a slightly different tune...


That kind of thing.
You wouldn't have to have the digital arcade screen in that room scene...but for instance if you did...it could show something like musical notes on a scale...and you would aim to shoot each one and hear the musical note as you did so...while the screen would animate to show the notes becoming birds and flying away...

 

[Chrononymous]

Oh...and yeah...I guess the wheels can turn!
I just thought it would make the vehicle move easier if they didn't. They aren't actually connecting with the ground or guiding the vehicle in any way.

 

[Chrononymous]

It seems like I have made it my personal campaign to sell you all on my combination ride idea (shooting gallery plus arcade style mixed it.) LOL

We don't have to go this route...but I do think it would be an incredible blend of old school plus new school dark ride technology (especially if the aa's are done in that traditional flourescent light in the dark)

My last pitch...we could do so much more with the interaction this way!! Because some things you can animate on screens, and some things can be done with new aa technology...and disney (nor anyone else for that matter) had never done anything like it!

 

[figmntal95]

I'm gone for one day and you guys think of some crazy brilliant ideas. It kinda seems like we already basically have:

-Queue- Either The Castle or Sherwood Forest (Frankly, I prefer this because the ride would definitely begin in Sherwood Forest.)

-Scenes and Storyline- Done by Myself

-Love the TSMM archery idea. When I type up the final storyline and scene descriptions, I'll work it into the story.

-Ride Car w/ Crossbow- AWESOME!

But yeah I'm probably going to tweak the storyline a bit so it doesn't necessarily mirror the original. Actually, I just thought of something really awesome. I'll work on it now. A hint: an all new storyline but featuring the same lovable characters, and maybe some of the more memorable scenes can be recreated. Kind of like how Buzz Lightyear and Laugh Floor sort of have the "post-film" storyline, so will this attraction. Man, this is gonna be good.