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Dark PerGron’s Manor of Mysteries [Game Thread] {Finished}
- Thread starter PerGron
- Start date
Lord Fozzinator
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Maybe what I could have changed with fly inside was turn the combat scenes into flight checks. Also for the combat scenes we were not a part of the action we were merely observing.
Disney Warrior
Well-Known Member
Let me preface this by saying something controversial: I have never seen Avatar (both of them) and I have no intentions of watching it anytime soon, unlike @cdunlap .
Anyways, time for the review. ATLA is a good concept for a land, as it’s one of the Nick IPs (besides Spongebob and TMNT) that I think could get its own land. I like the map. I hope I don’t need to know too much about the show to enjoy this land.
I’m not gonna say too much because I’m unfamiliar with the og show but Dueling Fires is a good, feels like a homage to the old coaster that I never got to ride. Sky Bison Soar is a much needed family ride. The other rides seem like fine rethemes of existing Toon Lagoon rides. I think the decision of having this be a TL retheme instead of a Lost Continent one, while last minute, fits quite well (plus, there’s still space to retheme LC to Zelda or some other IP). I like the addition of entertainment. The food places look pretty good, ditto the shop. All in all, nice job team.
mickeyfan5534
Well-Known Member
Team Lore: NiftyFive Boulevard
I'm genuinely in love with this idea and the concept you are proposing here. The 50s is a genuinely thrilling and kinetic time period and there's a lot of love for the aesthetics of it, which I think is fully on show in this project. I love that you didn't choose to stick yourself with one IP and instead went for a wider theme and the project is all the stronger for it than if you had settled on just Muppets or Indiana Jones or what ever else have you. That being said, there are some high highs and there are some low lows that, all said and done, make this project a bit of a rollercoaster. There's a lot to cover here, so let's get to it.
I want to start with a critique before I get into the nitty gritty: If there's one thing I genuinely think you miss here, it is that the land misses that kinetic energy of the 1950s aesthetic and a lot of that really comes from the types of characters you get in that setting. I know, I know, entertainment guy is getting on you for not putting any entertainment in the land. However, just operationally, consider what you're replacing here. Indy and Frozen are both MASSIVE people eaters for that side of the park. To the point that, speaking from personal experience, when Indy was still closed and park attendance was back at pre-pandemy levels Studios could be absolutely miserable to visit. A well placed theatre show, while they can be difficult to write and develop, can take a land like this to the next level. And in complete honesty, there are two weak links in this project I would have rather seen replaced with a theater and the land would be stronger for it, in my opinion. I'll also extend this to wanting a bit of atmosphere entertainment as well. NiftyFive Boulevard feels like a land that should be populated. It feels like there should be a cast of greasers, jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and whatever else have you that the land just doesn't have and it ends up feeling empty because of it, especially (long story) knowing the amount of extremely talented performers on both the Indy and Frozen stages that could help bring this land to life.
Okay, getting off my "entertainment is really important and it often needs more attention in these projects" soap box, let's get to the actual project.
Jukebox Jam might be the star of this project. Everything about it from concept to execution is such an enjoyable experience. Combine that with an evolved omnicoaster system, already cool in itself and you have a really wonderful take on a story coaster that gives a really fun, solid timeline of some of the greats from this era and beyond. In fact, I think my only critique is that I wish you centered more hard on the 50s rock n roll with artists like Fats Domino. There are so many artists within the 50s itself, I think moving into the 60s and 70s kind of muddles that initial rock n roll sockhop concept. Additionally, more so a nitpick but this covers a lot of the same ground as Rock n Rollercoaster, that being said, does it significantly better and more on theme than Aerosmith.
With Muppets American Grafitti, am I upset we are loosing MuppetVision 3D and Jim Hensen's final project? Yes. Do I think this perfectly matches that energy as a quasi-spiritual successor? Absolutely. This was kind of a stroke of genius. (Despite American Grafitti actually being a Universal property but we're going to deal because this is so good) My actual critique here is more to do with placement. I understand looking back on your brainstorming thread that Tiki wanted this to go into the MuppetVision plot to help serve as something of a thematic transition from 50s to 60s to the 70s sci-fi in Galaxy's Edge, plus George Lucas. I can't help but agree with him there that the land's flow really could have been improved with a flip-flop of the two sub-lands. Regardless, everything about this ride itself is kind of perfect. The casting is on point, the humor is there, the way the movie's been condensed works really well. Jukebox Jam might be the star of the show, but MAG is the scene stealer. I'll also give Tiki major props for going outside his comfort zone and doing some sketches (and a very blursed edit). I always enjoy seeing our mainstays try something different and it really does make me happy to see an old dog learn some new tricks.
Now we're going to go from two of the project's highlights to what I unfortunately have to call one of the things that very much brings the project down. Fly Inside is a very cool concept. A Soarin' type ride that simulates a fighter jet through the decades. Unfortunately, I don't see an execution that makes this work. It's hard for something like this to come across as anything more than propaganda, regardless of what the actual intent of it is. Cool concept, but one that I don't think belongs in this land, Hollywood Studios, or Walt Disney World in general. That being said, for what it is, I don't hate it. It's very much a ride that Joe Normal from Topeka, Kansas (he's baaaa-aaaack) would think is the best ride in the park. And that's not knocking Joe, but it's something that isn't to my taste and doesn't really appeal to me.
Monster Mania is a blast. I love a tribute to schlocky B-movies and this hits that specific desire so wonderfully. To combine it with your arcade shooter style ride just increases the fun and I can see this just being a massive sleeper hit for the land. That's all. Not much substance but I had so much fun reading through this that I don't care.
Amazing Aliens is incredibly charming and another really strong addition to the land's attraction line up. I love a classic Fantasyland-style dark ride and you produced a zany and fun tribute to those. Just overall incredibly fun and, while I don't have a ton to talk about with it, it's a very well done piece and one you should be proud of.
Alien Invasion: Under New Management is... something. What was the point of the anime crossover? Was there a point to the anime crossover? I can feel the love you have for the property in here. I just kind of question why it's in here. It feels superfluous and just kind of a weird excuse to shoehorn anime and Alien Encounter into the project, especially when everything else feels so deliberately set in the time and place of NiftyFive Avenue. I forget who did this part of the project but I'd like to offer some advice to you and extend it out to everyone else as a reminder: stay on theme, don't go off and do your own thing. You all are responsible for the entirety of the challenge as a team and if one part sinks, then the whole ship may sink. While I wouldn't say the whole ship sunk, I do unfortunately think it drags the land down because of how out of place it feels. I hate saying it like that but I do hope that you have found this critique constructive because there is a lot of obvious affection for the property in the attraction.
Route 66 makes me so happy. I love charming flat rides and this provides some kinetics to the land that I've been tlaking a lot about. Dancing cars is such a simple idea but it works remarkably well and I just see this being yet another little sleeper hit for families specifically.
Shops and restaurants are all fine. Not much detail but they work in the land.
I've argued for years that Studios would probably have the absolute strongest line-up of the 4 parks at WDW if it had 3 or 4 solid C/D-tickets. This does exactly that and while I can't help but knock the emptiness and lack of kinetic energy that comes from the characters that would and should populate this land and despite a couple weak links and the operational headache I get seeing two massively popular people eating shows eliminated, the project is still well done. Good job Team Lore, you made something to be very proud of.
I wrote way more in this than I expected. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
I'm genuinely in love with this idea and the concept you are proposing here. The 50s is a genuinely thrilling and kinetic time period and there's a lot of love for the aesthetics of it, which I think is fully on show in this project. I love that you didn't choose to stick yourself with one IP and instead went for a wider theme and the project is all the stronger for it than if you had settled on just Muppets or Indiana Jones or what ever else have you. That being said, there are some high highs and there are some low lows that, all said and done, make this project a bit of a rollercoaster. There's a lot to cover here, so let's get to it.
I want to start with a critique before I get into the nitty gritty: If there's one thing I genuinely think you miss here, it is that the land misses that kinetic energy of the 1950s aesthetic and a lot of that really comes from the types of characters you get in that setting. I know, I know, entertainment guy is getting on you for not putting any entertainment in the land. However, just operationally, consider what you're replacing here. Indy and Frozen are both MASSIVE people eaters for that side of the park. To the point that, speaking from personal experience, when Indy was still closed and park attendance was back at pre-pandemy levels Studios could be absolutely miserable to visit. A well placed theatre show, while they can be difficult to write and develop, can take a land like this to the next level. And in complete honesty, there are two weak links in this project I would have rather seen replaced with a theater and the land would be stronger for it, in my opinion. I'll also extend this to wanting a bit of atmosphere entertainment as well. NiftyFive Boulevard feels like a land that should be populated. It feels like there should be a cast of greasers, jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and whatever else have you that the land just doesn't have and it ends up feeling empty because of it, especially (long story) knowing the amount of extremely talented performers on both the Indy and Frozen stages that could help bring this land to life.
Okay, getting off my "entertainment is really important and it often needs more attention in these projects" soap box, let's get to the actual project.
Jukebox Jam might be the star of this project. Everything about it from concept to execution is such an enjoyable experience. Combine that with an evolved omnicoaster system, already cool in itself and you have a really wonderful take on a story coaster that gives a really fun, solid timeline of some of the greats from this era and beyond. In fact, I think my only critique is that I wish you centered more hard on the 50s rock n roll with artists like Fats Domino. There are so many artists within the 50s itself, I think moving into the 60s and 70s kind of muddles that initial rock n roll sockhop concept. Additionally, more so a nitpick but this covers a lot of the same ground as Rock n Rollercoaster, that being said, does it significantly better and more on theme than Aerosmith.
With Muppets American Grafitti, am I upset we are loosing MuppetVision 3D and Jim Hensen's final project? Yes. Do I think this perfectly matches that energy as a quasi-spiritual successor? Absolutely. This was kind of a stroke of genius. (Despite American Grafitti actually being a Universal property but we're going to deal because this is so good) My actual critique here is more to do with placement. I understand looking back on your brainstorming thread that Tiki wanted this to go into the MuppetVision plot to help serve as something of a thematic transition from 50s to 60s to the 70s sci-fi in Galaxy's Edge, plus George Lucas. I can't help but agree with him there that the land's flow really could have been improved with a flip-flop of the two sub-lands. Regardless, everything about this ride itself is kind of perfect. The casting is on point, the humor is there, the way the movie's been condensed works really well. Jukebox Jam might be the star of the show, but MAG is the scene stealer. I'll also give Tiki major props for going outside his comfort zone and doing some sketches (and a very blursed edit). I always enjoy seeing our mainstays try something different and it really does make me happy to see an old dog learn some new tricks.
Now we're going to go from two of the project's highlights to what I unfortunately have to call one of the things that very much brings the project down. Fly Inside is a very cool concept. A Soarin' type ride that simulates a fighter jet through the decades. Unfortunately, I don't see an execution that makes this work. It's hard for something like this to come across as anything more than propaganda, regardless of what the actual intent of it is. Cool concept, but one that I don't think belongs in this land, Hollywood Studios, or Walt Disney World in general. That being said, for what it is, I don't hate it. It's very much a ride that Joe Normal from Topeka, Kansas (he's baaaa-aaaack) would think is the best ride in the park. And that's not knocking Joe, but it's something that isn't to my taste and doesn't really appeal to me.
Monster Mania is a blast. I love a tribute to schlocky B-movies and this hits that specific desire so wonderfully. To combine it with your arcade shooter style ride just increases the fun and I can see this just being a massive sleeper hit for the land. That's all. Not much substance but I had so much fun reading through this that I don't care.
Amazing Aliens is incredibly charming and another really strong addition to the land's attraction line up. I love a classic Fantasyland-style dark ride and you produced a zany and fun tribute to those. Just overall incredibly fun and, while I don't have a ton to talk about with it, it's a very well done piece and one you should be proud of.
Alien Invasion: Under New Management is... something. What was the point of the anime crossover? Was there a point to the anime crossover? I can feel the love you have for the property in here. I just kind of question why it's in here. It feels superfluous and just kind of a weird excuse to shoehorn anime and Alien Encounter into the project, especially when everything else feels so deliberately set in the time and place of NiftyFive Avenue. I forget who did this part of the project but I'd like to offer some advice to you and extend it out to everyone else as a reminder: stay on theme, don't go off and do your own thing. You all are responsible for the entirety of the challenge as a team and if one part sinks, then the whole ship may sink. While I wouldn't say the whole ship sunk, I do unfortunately think it drags the land down because of how out of place it feels. I hate saying it like that but I do hope that you have found this critique constructive because there is a lot of obvious affection for the property in the attraction.
Route 66 makes me so happy. I love charming flat rides and this provides some kinetics to the land that I've been tlaking a lot about. Dancing cars is such a simple idea but it works remarkably well and I just see this being yet another little sleeper hit for families specifically.
Shops and restaurants are all fine. Not much detail but they work in the land.
I've argued for years that Studios would probably have the absolute strongest line-up of the 4 parks at WDW if it had 3 or 4 solid C/D-tickets. This does exactly that and while I can't help but knock the emptiness and lack of kinetic energy that comes from the characters that would and should populate this land and despite a couple weak links and the operational headache I get seeing two massively popular people eating shows eliminated, the project is still well done. Good job Team Lore, you made something to be very proud of.
I wrote way more in this than I expected. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
First off, I wanted to congratulate both teams on your hard work this round. We purposely selected such an open-ended prompt for the first one to let you all stretch your legs creatively and show off what you can do, and I do think for most of you, that was a success. Everyone was able to do something they were passionate about or tackle something to show off their skills creatively and I think you should all be proud of yourselves no matter what. This wasn’t an easy prompt, it was so open-ended it could have been anything, so again, good job.
One piece of advice going forward, however, would be assigning a group leader for the round. Someone especially passionate or with the time to manage the minutia leading the group and clarifying decisions would have been immensely beneficial to both teams this round as the communication got flimsy and hotter heads did prevail here. I know we just switched up the teams, but this point still remains.
Also, I had no idea where to put this in this review, so I'll slap it here. Please make sure to credit people so we know who did what part of the project going forward. Sometimes it's hard to find that info in the chats! Thanks!
Anyway, let’s get to the reviews.
Team Lore- NiftyFive Boulevard
So Team Lore settled on a theme rather quickly, something I was worried about when you decided on it, and it seems my worries were valid. The idea of a land celebrating the pop culture of the 1950s from sci-fi B-movies to sock hops was an interesting one and one with precedent set in your chosen park as well with 50’s Prime Time and Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater both fulfilling your theme rather well. Yet, with those two pieces already set in place, you seem to have cut them entirely from your plan for something else entirely.
Where I think the theme falls off is with the attractions. You guys really wanted to cram a lot of stuff into this land, a lot of which I think you could’ve done way better without. That’s not to say anything on its own in a vacuum is bad, but rather they didn’t exactly compliment the land. That’s also not to say that’s the case for everything, some things really meshed well here.
Starting with Jukebox Jam, I love the idea of jukebox musical attractions, something akin to a Great Movie Ride but with music, and this definitely fits that niche and does so rather well. Honestly, the part that I liked the most was actually the queue and facade with the idea of entering a high school being something I never really thought of for a theme park, but would create a really unique experience. As for the music selected, I think some of the choices were great and made a lot of sense, particularly Elvis who really was the defining act of the 1950s. Miles Davis and The Supremes also made a lot of sense, though the acts after them had me a bit confused, with The Beatles, Grateful Dead, and Beach Boys being much more prominent in the 1960s than the 50s. I know the attraction covers both decades, but with a land focusing so heavily on the 50s aesthetic, I feel like it would’ve been more interesting to focus on that specific generation of music, and there’s plenty of it too. I would’ve loved to see some love for Dion, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Sam Cooke, etc. etc. These would’ve really spiced up the attraction to fit the theme.
The other minor issue I had with this attraction was it wasn’t entirely clear what ride system this attraction was. In the introduction, the attraction was a dark ride, but when discussing the ride system it was a coaster. Then each scene, it’s not clear if this is animatronic based or projection or film or how it’s all done. I think this ride could’ve used some fine-tuning and a bit more detail to really flesh it out. Still, for what it is, I definitely think it was a highlight of the project. A lot of great music is represented in this large E-ticket that I think many of us would be excited to ride.
As for Muppets American Graffiti, unlike @JokersWild, I do think The Muppets belong in every given property and absolutely want to see it all, the weirder the better. So when I saw the idea of Muppets American Graffiti I was pretty intrigued to see what could be done with it. The placemaking here with it being on the outskirts due to its early 1960s setting made sense and I liked it. There’s also a lot of inspired characterization of the ride, from the characters themselves being very true to themselves throughout the experience to the gags feeling wholly “Muppets.” The Muppet-isms in this attraction really are top notch, my favorite bit being the exit “gift shop.” This was definitely the highlight of the project for me personally, and alongside Jukebox Jam made for a really compelling opening to the project.
Unnnnnnfortunately, this next attraction is where you guys completely lost me. Fly Inside was a major misstep in my personal opinion, both in terms of the theming of the land and the overall thesis of the attraction. Now I don’t want to be too harsh here because it was clearly a labor of love and I don’t want to detract from what is clearly a passion by the creator. If your thing is military aviation history, more power to you, but as my fellow judges have already pointed out, I find this ride is in really poor taste.
I get the idea of a military base in this “city” that you guys have founded, and that’s not the worst idea ever. Still, the idea of a WWII fighter jet attraction set in a 1950s idealistic town is a strange fit. Add into that the fact this attraction really does serve as a military propaganda machine and pro-war statement, I just couldn’t see it being done at any major theme park, but especially not Disney. I do think you all could’ve done something really unique and creative with a fighter jet attraction, like Jokers said with breaking the sound barrier or even just doing a Soarin’-like flight simulator in a different vehicle. Touching on Pearl Harbor, the war in Germany, and the Korean war is just in poor taste in my humble opinion and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.
I just want to recommend to everyone, even if you have a super strong passion for something, try to communicate with your team and see if what you’re doing fits the vibe you’re going for. If this land was at a Six Flags or something like that a little less family friendly, I could maybe see a Top Gun like fighter jet simulator, but even then, the amount of violence and implied deaths here just don’t feel right to me. Sometimes, the right thing to do when working as a team is setting aside your ideas for the greater good of the project.
(And not for nothing, I thought this had something to do with The Fly based on the name and discussions in the group. I wish it had been.)
With that, we jump to two very similar attractions being Monster Mania and Amazing Aliens. These two attractions, both being sci-fi B-movie schlock dark rides, could’ve easily been the best part of this project.
Unfortunately, I feel like both got a little bit bogged down by how much action was slammed into them. Add onto that an additional second track for the alien ride and you’ve got a pretty convoluted experience. I don’t think either attraction is necessarily bad, but I do think had you guys selected one of the two to put out, it would’ve greatly benefited the project. I think both aliens and monsters sum up the B-Movie vibes of the 50s well, so either option would’ve been great, but I still think one ride would’ve done it.
Also, not for nothing, but the monsters ride is focusing mainly on classic monsters from movies of the 20s-40s. Vampires, mummies, etc. weren’t as prevalent in the 50s as giant mutant creatures and aliens really filled much of the horror of the time, so I think both attractions could’ve been combined into one really efficient, scary, and fun dark ride experience. But for what it was, it wasn’t by any means bad, but definitely a tad redundant. Another reason to communicate with your group to make sure the project is as tight as possible.
Now, I’m not at all an anime person. I enjoy the works of Studio Ghibli, I watched plenty of Pokemon as a kid, but that’s about where my familiarity with anime ends. Not to say it’s not valid, it absolutely is, but seeing it show up in Alien Encounter: Under New Management kind of left me scratching my head. I assume that this was a follow up to ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter based on similar characters showing up, and so the big question is: why an anime character? And more importantly, why not pick an anime alien that looks like an alien? I’m sure there are some out there. This scantily clad alien woman who looks like a human as the alien in an alien encounter attraction was just a misstep unfortunately.
But it’s not just about the property chosen either, I can’t lie, this crossover thing with other attractions and history alongside the anime characters and story, all wrapping up in a dance party at the end, it gave me some pretty severe whiplash. I hate using this term to describe someone’s hard work and please know I value this as a creative contribution from a player who did their absolute darndest, but this really felt like a Wattpad fanfiction crossover and I just didn’t get it. It also just doesn’t fit the vibes of a 1950s land at all, with the futuristic tech, anime influence, robots, all of it just felt off. I get that the idea was to get anime in before Universal, and as noble a goal as that is, to sacrifice a spot in this land just to fulfill that where it could be done better somewhere else was a strange endgeme.
I don’t have a lot to say about it, but I loved Route 66. To be honest, with a 1950s themed land, I think this, Jukebox Jam, Muppets, and a combo between Monster Mania and Amazing Aliens would’ve really come together to form a pretty stacked attraction roster. Throw in some kinetic energy like streetmosphere performers, a large stageshow like @mickeyfan5534 mentioned, and some restaurants it would’ve been perfect. Still, that’s not what we got, so c’est la vie.
Shopping and dining definitely seemed like an afterthought, but who am I kidding? They always do, so I won’t knock you all for that. It’s all solid and efficient, though a part of me wants to see what that initial 10 shop plan would’ve looked like. On this end, I just feel that not maintaining 50’s Prime Time and/or Sci-Fi was the final misstep of the project.
In the end, I want to give you all major props for two things. 1. How creative everybody got with this. Whether I or the other judges personally liked every piece of the project is irrelevant. You all stretched your legs and showed off your passions and what drives you, and in a round without eliminations, that’s a great thing to do. Just learn from it and move forward!
2. I loved how this wasn’t a whole-IP land. As much as I enjoy those, seeing a theme with different IP and original stuff laced throughout was pleasing.
Great job Team Lore!
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Team Legend- The World of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Alrighty, taking the absolute opposite path of Team Lore, we see Team Legend making the dreaded single-IP land that we’ve all been accustomed to for the last decade plus. While I think this style works generally, it is exhausting, so when a team pitches this, there is an uphill battle for me at least. With that being said, you guys absolutely picked one of the best IP for this treatment as I absolutely think Avatar: The Last Airbender not only deserves, but desperately needs some theme park representation.
Jumping right into the site, the artwork is already great. For any Team Lore people still reading this, another recommendation for you guys, try out art. I know y’all did a map which was very good, but art is a key part of any project and even if you’re not the best at it, some custom art goes a long way. Anyway, yeah, the art here is great. Between @MonorailRed ‘s artwork and the map (who I’m not sure did it), this stuff is great! I also love the tongue-in-cheek name. Feels very Universal.
Starting off with Dueling Fires, I think this is a great way to bring back Dueling Dragons and makes a ton of sense. Coasters are tough to write so I won’t get on you about the detail issues because I really would do the exact same thing. Writing out “it turns left. It goes down a hill.” That’s kind of the amount of detail I expect from coaster write-ups and unless someone whips out Planet Coaster for the project, it’s kind of par-for-the-course. I will, however, say that reviving an attraction with a new theme, while making sense, was a tiny bit disappointing just thinking of what could be done with an ATLA coaster, but that’s neither here nor there.
As for Sky Bison Soar, this is definitely an expected themed attraction and well-deservedly so. As a kid Appa was my absolute favorite and I wanted to ride on him across the sky same as many others. My big concern here is: what is the ride system? The track layout is there, but it’s unspecified if this is a coaster? A dark ride? Something new entirely? Going forward, try to make that part of a ride the most clear part of it. Theming and story goes a long way, but if we are unclear on what we’re actually riding, it makes it harder to enjoy in the ol theater of the mind. Even if it’s a new system, just a quick diagram of how it works would have plussed this a ton.
As sort of a last minute edition Ember Island River Run works as a completely functional ATLA river raft ride. Seeing all the cool and kooky hybrid creatures would be a lot of fun and seeing Aang and the GAang would be a highlight of the ride. My biggest critique here comes from the overall biggest issue Team Legend had this round and that is in the disagreement of where the land will be placed. This ride really came about, not out of passion for the idea, but out of “oh shoot, we are doing Toon Lagoon not Lost Continent, we need to replace Popeye and Dudley Do-right” which led to these attractions feel more like reskins to fit the new theme than wholly new ideas.
Now, I’ll give you all the major props in the realism department there. That absolutely feels like a realistic thing Disney or Universal would do with a new land, but in terms of creative ideas for a game where the world is your oyster, it felt a bit lazy if I’m being wholly honest. It’s serviceable, yes, and I’d ride it, yes, but I would’ve rather seen better communication which would have led to better and more inspired attractions. Just food for thought.
Another huge naming credit to whoever came up with the name Avatar: The Path of Water, you killed it once again. Unfortunately, my sentiments from Ember Island echo here. This feels like a reskin of Dudley Do-Right because you needed one more than a wholly original and inspired attraction. If Team Lore took the very ambitious and out there route, Team Legend definitely took the more conservative route here and changed little and didn’t extend past their comfort zone all that much. This is all fine and good, the rides aren’t bad at all, if maybe a little under-detailed, but these are things to remember when going forward as it could hurt come deliberation time.
The Bending Academy sounds like some really solid streetmosphere and the shopping and dining are all decent enough as well. Again, definitely an afterthought, but it is what it is. The idea of a fully plant-based restaurant is one I’ve thrown around for a few different projects in the past and one that means a lot to me. I’m not plant-based, but my girlfriend is, so going to theme parks or other places where her options are super limited compared to mine, I’ve always wished there was something for her to really enjoy rather than just putting up with the one menu item per stop if that. So great choice on that one, as well as it fitting very thematically.
Overall, I had less to say about Avatar, but that’s not to discredit you guys, you just took the safe route where Team Lore took the dangerous route. We’ll see how that all plays out soon, but for now, everyone pat yourself on the back, breathe easy, and get ready because project 2’s prompt releases tonight!
One piece of advice going forward, however, would be assigning a group leader for the round. Someone especially passionate or with the time to manage the minutia leading the group and clarifying decisions would have been immensely beneficial to both teams this round as the communication got flimsy and hotter heads did prevail here. I know we just switched up the teams, but this point still remains.
Also, I had no idea where to put this in this review, so I'll slap it here. Please make sure to credit people so we know who did what part of the project going forward. Sometimes it's hard to find that info in the chats! Thanks!
Anyway, let’s get to the reviews.
Team Lore- NiftyFive Boulevard
So Team Lore settled on a theme rather quickly, something I was worried about when you decided on it, and it seems my worries were valid. The idea of a land celebrating the pop culture of the 1950s from sci-fi B-movies to sock hops was an interesting one and one with precedent set in your chosen park as well with 50’s Prime Time and Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater both fulfilling your theme rather well. Yet, with those two pieces already set in place, you seem to have cut them entirely from your plan for something else entirely.
Where I think the theme falls off is with the attractions. You guys really wanted to cram a lot of stuff into this land, a lot of which I think you could’ve done way better without. That’s not to say anything on its own in a vacuum is bad, but rather they didn’t exactly compliment the land. That’s also not to say that’s the case for everything, some things really meshed well here.
Starting with Jukebox Jam, I love the idea of jukebox musical attractions, something akin to a Great Movie Ride but with music, and this definitely fits that niche and does so rather well. Honestly, the part that I liked the most was actually the queue and facade with the idea of entering a high school being something I never really thought of for a theme park, but would create a really unique experience. As for the music selected, I think some of the choices were great and made a lot of sense, particularly Elvis who really was the defining act of the 1950s. Miles Davis and The Supremes also made a lot of sense, though the acts after them had me a bit confused, with The Beatles, Grateful Dead, and Beach Boys being much more prominent in the 1960s than the 50s. I know the attraction covers both decades, but with a land focusing so heavily on the 50s aesthetic, I feel like it would’ve been more interesting to focus on that specific generation of music, and there’s plenty of it too. I would’ve loved to see some love for Dion, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Sam Cooke, etc. etc. These would’ve really spiced up the attraction to fit the theme.
The other minor issue I had with this attraction was it wasn’t entirely clear what ride system this attraction was. In the introduction, the attraction was a dark ride, but when discussing the ride system it was a coaster. Then each scene, it’s not clear if this is animatronic based or projection or film or how it’s all done. I think this ride could’ve used some fine-tuning and a bit more detail to really flesh it out. Still, for what it is, I definitely think it was a highlight of the project. A lot of great music is represented in this large E-ticket that I think many of us would be excited to ride.
As for Muppets American Graffiti, unlike @JokersWild, I do think The Muppets belong in every given property and absolutely want to see it all, the weirder the better. So when I saw the idea of Muppets American Graffiti I was pretty intrigued to see what could be done with it. The placemaking here with it being on the outskirts due to its early 1960s setting made sense and I liked it. There’s also a lot of inspired characterization of the ride, from the characters themselves being very true to themselves throughout the experience to the gags feeling wholly “Muppets.” The Muppet-isms in this attraction really are top notch, my favorite bit being the exit “gift shop.” This was definitely the highlight of the project for me personally, and alongside Jukebox Jam made for a really compelling opening to the project.
Unnnnnnfortunately, this next attraction is where you guys completely lost me. Fly Inside was a major misstep in my personal opinion, both in terms of the theming of the land and the overall thesis of the attraction. Now I don’t want to be too harsh here because it was clearly a labor of love and I don’t want to detract from what is clearly a passion by the creator. If your thing is military aviation history, more power to you, but as my fellow judges have already pointed out, I find this ride is in really poor taste.
I get the idea of a military base in this “city” that you guys have founded, and that’s not the worst idea ever. Still, the idea of a WWII fighter jet attraction set in a 1950s idealistic town is a strange fit. Add into that the fact this attraction really does serve as a military propaganda machine and pro-war statement, I just couldn’t see it being done at any major theme park, but especially not Disney. I do think you all could’ve done something really unique and creative with a fighter jet attraction, like Jokers said with breaking the sound barrier or even just doing a Soarin’-like flight simulator in a different vehicle. Touching on Pearl Harbor, the war in Germany, and the Korean war is just in poor taste in my humble opinion and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.
I just want to recommend to everyone, even if you have a super strong passion for something, try to communicate with your team and see if what you’re doing fits the vibe you’re going for. If this land was at a Six Flags or something like that a little less family friendly, I could maybe see a Top Gun like fighter jet simulator, but even then, the amount of violence and implied deaths here just don’t feel right to me. Sometimes, the right thing to do when working as a team is setting aside your ideas for the greater good of the project.
(And not for nothing, I thought this had something to do with The Fly based on the name and discussions in the group. I wish it had been.)
With that, we jump to two very similar attractions being Monster Mania and Amazing Aliens. These two attractions, both being sci-fi B-movie schlock dark rides, could’ve easily been the best part of this project.
Unfortunately, I feel like both got a little bit bogged down by how much action was slammed into them. Add onto that an additional second track for the alien ride and you’ve got a pretty convoluted experience. I don’t think either attraction is necessarily bad, but I do think had you guys selected one of the two to put out, it would’ve greatly benefited the project. I think both aliens and monsters sum up the B-Movie vibes of the 50s well, so either option would’ve been great, but I still think one ride would’ve done it.
Also, not for nothing, but the monsters ride is focusing mainly on classic monsters from movies of the 20s-40s. Vampires, mummies, etc. weren’t as prevalent in the 50s as giant mutant creatures and aliens really filled much of the horror of the time, so I think both attractions could’ve been combined into one really efficient, scary, and fun dark ride experience. But for what it was, it wasn’t by any means bad, but definitely a tad redundant. Another reason to communicate with your group to make sure the project is as tight as possible.
Now, I’m not at all an anime person. I enjoy the works of Studio Ghibli, I watched plenty of Pokemon as a kid, but that’s about where my familiarity with anime ends. Not to say it’s not valid, it absolutely is, but seeing it show up in Alien Encounter: Under New Management kind of left me scratching my head. I assume that this was a follow up to ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter based on similar characters showing up, and so the big question is: why an anime character? And more importantly, why not pick an anime alien that looks like an alien? I’m sure there are some out there. This scantily clad alien woman who looks like a human as the alien in an alien encounter attraction was just a misstep unfortunately.
But it’s not just about the property chosen either, I can’t lie, this crossover thing with other attractions and history alongside the anime characters and story, all wrapping up in a dance party at the end, it gave me some pretty severe whiplash. I hate using this term to describe someone’s hard work and please know I value this as a creative contribution from a player who did their absolute darndest, but this really felt like a Wattpad fanfiction crossover and I just didn’t get it. It also just doesn’t fit the vibes of a 1950s land at all, with the futuristic tech, anime influence, robots, all of it just felt off. I get that the idea was to get anime in before Universal, and as noble a goal as that is, to sacrifice a spot in this land just to fulfill that where it could be done better somewhere else was a strange endgeme.
I don’t have a lot to say about it, but I loved Route 66. To be honest, with a 1950s themed land, I think this, Jukebox Jam, Muppets, and a combo between Monster Mania and Amazing Aliens would’ve really come together to form a pretty stacked attraction roster. Throw in some kinetic energy like streetmosphere performers, a large stageshow like @mickeyfan5534 mentioned, and some restaurants it would’ve been perfect. Still, that’s not what we got, so c’est la vie.
Shopping and dining definitely seemed like an afterthought, but who am I kidding? They always do, so I won’t knock you all for that. It’s all solid and efficient, though a part of me wants to see what that initial 10 shop plan would’ve looked like. On this end, I just feel that not maintaining 50’s Prime Time and/or Sci-Fi was the final misstep of the project.
In the end, I want to give you all major props for two things. 1. How creative everybody got with this. Whether I or the other judges personally liked every piece of the project is irrelevant. You all stretched your legs and showed off your passions and what drives you, and in a round without eliminations, that’s a great thing to do. Just learn from it and move forward!
2. I loved how this wasn’t a whole-IP land. As much as I enjoy those, seeing a theme with different IP and original stuff laced throughout was pleasing.
Great job Team Lore!
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Team Legend- The World of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Alrighty, taking the absolute opposite path of Team Lore, we see Team Legend making the dreaded single-IP land that we’ve all been accustomed to for the last decade plus. While I think this style works generally, it is exhausting, so when a team pitches this, there is an uphill battle for me at least. With that being said, you guys absolutely picked one of the best IP for this treatment as I absolutely think Avatar: The Last Airbender not only deserves, but desperately needs some theme park representation.
Jumping right into the site, the artwork is already great. For any Team Lore people still reading this, another recommendation for you guys, try out art. I know y’all did a map which was very good, but art is a key part of any project and even if you’re not the best at it, some custom art goes a long way. Anyway, yeah, the art here is great. Between @MonorailRed ‘s artwork and the map (who I’m not sure did it), this stuff is great! I also love the tongue-in-cheek name. Feels very Universal.
Starting off with Dueling Fires, I think this is a great way to bring back Dueling Dragons and makes a ton of sense. Coasters are tough to write so I won’t get on you about the detail issues because I really would do the exact same thing. Writing out “it turns left. It goes down a hill.” That’s kind of the amount of detail I expect from coaster write-ups and unless someone whips out Planet Coaster for the project, it’s kind of par-for-the-course. I will, however, say that reviving an attraction with a new theme, while making sense, was a tiny bit disappointing just thinking of what could be done with an ATLA coaster, but that’s neither here nor there.
As for Sky Bison Soar, this is definitely an expected themed attraction and well-deservedly so. As a kid Appa was my absolute favorite and I wanted to ride on him across the sky same as many others. My big concern here is: what is the ride system? The track layout is there, but it’s unspecified if this is a coaster? A dark ride? Something new entirely? Going forward, try to make that part of a ride the most clear part of it. Theming and story goes a long way, but if we are unclear on what we’re actually riding, it makes it harder to enjoy in the ol theater of the mind. Even if it’s a new system, just a quick diagram of how it works would have plussed this a ton.
As sort of a last minute edition Ember Island River Run works as a completely functional ATLA river raft ride. Seeing all the cool and kooky hybrid creatures would be a lot of fun and seeing Aang and the GAang would be a highlight of the ride. My biggest critique here comes from the overall biggest issue Team Legend had this round and that is in the disagreement of where the land will be placed. This ride really came about, not out of passion for the idea, but out of “oh shoot, we are doing Toon Lagoon not Lost Continent, we need to replace Popeye and Dudley Do-right” which led to these attractions feel more like reskins to fit the new theme than wholly new ideas.
Now, I’ll give you all the major props in the realism department there. That absolutely feels like a realistic thing Disney or Universal would do with a new land, but in terms of creative ideas for a game where the world is your oyster, it felt a bit lazy if I’m being wholly honest. It’s serviceable, yes, and I’d ride it, yes, but I would’ve rather seen better communication which would have led to better and more inspired attractions. Just food for thought.
Another huge naming credit to whoever came up with the name Avatar: The Path of Water, you killed it once again. Unfortunately, my sentiments from Ember Island echo here. This feels like a reskin of Dudley Do-Right because you needed one more than a wholly original and inspired attraction. If Team Lore took the very ambitious and out there route, Team Legend definitely took the more conservative route here and changed little and didn’t extend past their comfort zone all that much. This is all fine and good, the rides aren’t bad at all, if maybe a little under-detailed, but these are things to remember when going forward as it could hurt come deliberation time.
The Bending Academy sounds like some really solid streetmosphere and the shopping and dining are all decent enough as well. Again, definitely an afterthought, but it is what it is. The idea of a fully plant-based restaurant is one I’ve thrown around for a few different projects in the past and one that means a lot to me. I’m not plant-based, but my girlfriend is, so going to theme parks or other places where her options are super limited compared to mine, I’ve always wished there was something for her to really enjoy rather than just putting up with the one menu item per stop if that. So great choice on that one, as well as it fitting very thematically.
Overall, I had less to say about Avatar, but that’s not to discredit you guys, you just took the safe route where Team Lore took the dangerous route. We’ll see how that all plays out soon, but for now, everyone pat yourself on the back, breathe easy, and get ready because project 2’s prompt releases tonight!
mickeyfan5534
Well-Known Member
Team Legend - The World of Avatar: The Last Airbender
This was a really fun project to watch develop. If I hadn't been watching the chats, I'd have thought you were smooth sailing the entire time. And there were some bumps in the road that I saw. Avatar is an incredibly special franchise to a lot of people. I remember Tiki going full in on a land for it in SYWTBAI in the judges vs players round and it ended up being something really impressive. This is just as impressive. I like the idea of turning Toon Lagoon into this land. Much as I love the Comic Strip, I feel like there's a significantly stronger and more beloved connection with this IP.
I'm genuinely impressed by how you condensed the massive world of A:TLA into a single theme park land. That being said, I feel like had you focused on one single environment and fleshed it out, the placemaking would have been that much stronger.
Dueling Fires is a clever little callback to Dueling Dragons. It's a remnant of the original plan for this to replace Lost Continent but at the same time, it balances the spread of coasters in the park: Hulk and Dragons on one side, Velocicoaster and Hagrid on the other. Just a good job overall.
Sky Bison Soar is Pteranodon Fliers but anyone can ride it. Automatically good.
Ember Island River Run and The Path of Water are solid rethemes of the current water attractions in Toon Lagoon. I'd like to point out that Ember Island River Run has the exact same 3-act structure of peaceful opening, something goes wrong, finale that Jurassic Park has. This isn't a critique just something I noticed and got a chuckle.
Bending Academy is the exact type of atmosphere I want in a land like this. Something that just makes the land feel a bit more alive and lived in. I'd have honestly really appreciated if you had expanded this concept to include all 4 elements. I'm imagining a fire breather as a fire bender and some fun fountain work with water benders that would be incredibly unique and something you could ONLY do in this land.
Dining and Retail are all fine and exactly what I want out of this kind of land.
Overall, this is a pretty solid land. What gets me here is the consistency. I definitely don't have as much to say as I did about Team Lore's project but that doesn't diminish the fact it's just incredibly solid. It's all good. Good job Team Legend.
This was a really fun project to watch develop. If I hadn't been watching the chats, I'd have thought you were smooth sailing the entire time. And there were some bumps in the road that I saw. Avatar is an incredibly special franchise to a lot of people. I remember Tiki going full in on a land for it in SYWTBAI in the judges vs players round and it ended up being something really impressive. This is just as impressive. I like the idea of turning Toon Lagoon into this land. Much as I love the Comic Strip, I feel like there's a significantly stronger and more beloved connection with this IP.
I'm genuinely impressed by how you condensed the massive world of A:TLA into a single theme park land. That being said, I feel like had you focused on one single environment and fleshed it out, the placemaking would have been that much stronger.
Dueling Fires is a clever little callback to Dueling Dragons. It's a remnant of the original plan for this to replace Lost Continent but at the same time, it balances the spread of coasters in the park: Hulk and Dragons on one side, Velocicoaster and Hagrid on the other. Just a good job overall.
Sky Bison Soar is Pteranodon Fliers but anyone can ride it. Automatically good.
Ember Island River Run and The Path of Water are solid rethemes of the current water attractions in Toon Lagoon. I'd like to point out that Ember Island River Run has the exact same 3-act structure of peaceful opening, something goes wrong, finale that Jurassic Park has. This isn't a critique just something I noticed and got a chuckle.
Bending Academy is the exact type of atmosphere I want in a land like this. Something that just makes the land feel a bit more alive and lived in. I'd have honestly really appreciated if you had expanded this concept to include all 4 elements. I'm imagining a fire breather as a fire bender and some fun fountain work with water benders that would be incredibly unique and something you could ONLY do in this land.
Dining and Retail are all fine and exactly what I want out of this kind of land.
Overall, this is a pretty solid land. What gets me here is the consistency. I definitely don't have as much to say as I did about Team Lore's project but that doesn't diminish the fact it's just incredibly solid. It's all good. Good job Team Legend.
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Lord Fozzinator
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
You were right that fly inside was a passion project. I did not mean for the ride to be a propaganda machine. I really like the idea of combining monster mania and amazing aliens. I can’t wait for the next project.First off, I wanted to congratulate both teams on your hard work this round. We purposely selected such an open-ended prompt for the first one to let you all stretch your legs creatively and show off what you can do, and I do think for most of you, that was a success. Everyone was able to do something they were passionate about or tackle something to show off their skills creatively and I think you should all be proud of yourselves no matter what. This wasn’t an easy prompt, it was so open-ended it could have been anything, so again, good job.
One piece of advice going forward, however, would be assigning a group leader for the round. Someone especially passionate or with the time to manage the minutia leading the group and clarifying decisions would have been immensely beneficial to both teams this round as the communication got flimsy and hotter heads did prevail here. I know we just switched up the teams, but this point still remains.
Also, I had no idea where to put this in this review, so I'll slap it here. Please make sure to credit people so we know who did what part of the project going forward. Sometimes it's hard to find that info in the chats! Thanks!
Anyway, let’s get to the reviews.
Team Lore- NiftyFive Boulevard
So Team Lore settled on a theme rather quickly, something I was worried about when you decided on it, and it seems my worries were valid. The idea of a land celebrating the pop culture of the 1950s from sci-fi B-movies to sock hops was an interesting one and one with precedent set in your chosen park as well with 50’s Prime Time and Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater both fulfilling your theme rather well. Yet, with those two pieces already set in place, you seem to have cut them entirely from your plan for something else entirely.
Where I think the theme falls off is with the attractions. You guys really wanted to cram a lot of stuff into this land, a lot of which I think you could’ve done way better without. That’s not to say anything on its own in a vacuum is bad, but rather they didn’t exactly compliment the land. That’s also not to say that’s the case for everything, some things really meshed well here.
Starting with Jukebox Jam, I love the idea of jukebox musical attractions, something akin to a Great Movie Ride but with music, and this definitely fits that niche and does so rather well. Honestly, the part that I liked the most was actually the queue and facade with the idea of entering a high school being something I never really thought of for a theme park, but would create a really unique experience. As for the music selected, I think some of the choices were great and made a lot of sense, particularly Elvis who really was the defining act of the 1950s. Miles Davis and The Supremes also made a lot of sense, though the acts after them had me a bit confused, with The Beatles, Grateful Dead, and Beach Boys being much more prominent in the 1960s than the 50s. I know the attraction covers both decades, but with a land focusing so heavily on the 50s aesthetic, I feel like it would’ve been more interesting to focus on that specific generation of music, and there’s plenty of it too. I would’ve loved to see some love for Dion, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Sam Cooke, etc. etc. These would’ve really spiced up the attraction to fit the theme.
The other minor issue I had with this attraction was it wasn’t entirely clear what ride system this attraction was. In the introduction, the attraction was a dark ride, but when discussing the ride system it was a coaster. Then each scene, it’s not clear if this is animatronic based or projection or film or how it’s all done. I think this ride could’ve used some fine-tuning and a bit more detail to really flesh it out. Still, for what it is, I definitely think it was a highlight of the project. A lot of great music is represented in this large E-ticket that I think many of us would be excited to ride.
As for Muppets American Graffiti, unlike @JokersWild, I do think The Muppets belong in every given property and absolutely want to see it all, the weirder the better. So when I saw the idea of Muppets American Graffiti I was pretty intrigued to see what could be done with it. The placemaking here with it being on the outskirts due to its early 1960s setting made sense and I liked it. There’s also a lot of inspired characterization of the ride, from the characters themselves being very true to themselves throughout the experience to the gags feeling wholly “Muppets.” The Muppet-isms in this attraction really are top notch, my favorite bit being the exit “gift shop.” This was definitely the highlight of the project for me personally, and alongside Jukebox Jam made for a really compelling opening to the project.
Unnnnnnfortunately, this next attraction is where you guys completely lost me. Fly Inside was a major misstep in my personal opinion, both in terms of the theming of the land and the overall thesis of the attraction. Now I don’t want to be too harsh here because it was clearly a labor of love and I don’t want to detract from what is clearly a passion by the creator. If your thing is military aviation history, more power to you, but as my fellow judges have already pointed out, I find this ride is in really poor taste.
I get the idea of a military base in this “city” that you guys have founded, and that’s not the worst idea ever. Still, the idea of a WWII fighter jet attraction set in a 1950s idealistic town is a strange fit. Add into that the fact this attraction really does serve as a military propaganda machine and pro-war statement, I just couldn’t see it being done at any major theme park, but especially not Disney. I do think you all could’ve done something really unique and creative with a fighter jet attraction, like Jokers said with breaking the sound barrier or even just doing a Soarin’-like flight simulator in a different vehicle. Touching on Pearl Harbor, the war in Germany, and the Korean war is just in poor taste in my humble opinion and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.
I just want to recommend to everyone, even if you have a super strong passion for something, try to communicate with your team and see if what you’re doing fits the vibe you’re going for. If this land was at a Six Flags or something like that a little less family friendly, I could maybe see a Top Gun like fighter jet simulator, but even then, the amount of violence and implied deaths here just don’t feel right to me. Sometimes, the right thing to do when working as a team is setting aside your ideas for the greater good of the project.
(And not for nothing, I thought this had something to do with The Fly based on the name and discussions in the group. I wish it had been.)
With that, we jump to two very similar attractions being Monster Mania and Amazing Aliens. These two attractions, both being sci-fi B-movie schlock dark rides, could’ve easily been the best part of this project.
Unfortunately, I feel like both got a little bit bogged down by how much action was slammed into them. Add onto that an additional second track for the alien ride and you’ve got a pretty convoluted experience. I don’t think either attraction is necessarily bad, but I do think had you guys selected one of the two to put out, it would’ve greatly benefited the project. I think both aliens and monsters sum up the B-Movie vibes of the 50s well, so either option would’ve been great, but I still think one ride would’ve done it.
Also, not for nothing, but the monsters ride is focusing mainly on classic monsters from movies of the 20s-40s. Vampires, mummies, etc. weren’t as prevalent in the 50s as giant mutant creatures and aliens really filled much of the horror of the time, so I think both attractions could’ve been combined into one really efficient, scary, and fun dark ride experience. But for what it was, it wasn’t by any means bad, but definitely a tad redundant. Another reason to communicate with your group to make sure the project is as tight as possible.
Now, I’m not at all an anime person. I enjoy the works of Studio Ghibli, I watched plenty of Pokemon as a kid, but that’s about where my familiarity with anime ends. Not to say it’s not valid, it absolutely is, but seeing it show up in Alien Encounter: Under New Management kind of left me scratching my head. I assume that this was a follow up to ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter based on similar characters showing up, and so the big question is: why an anime character? And more importantly, why not pick an anime alien that looks like an alien? I’m sure there are some out there. This scantily clad alien woman who looks like a human as the alien in an alien encounter attraction was just a misstep unfortunately.
But it’s not just about the property chosen either, I can’t lie, this crossover thing with other attractions and history alongside the anime characters and story, all wrapping up in a dance party at the end, it gave me some pretty severe whiplash. I hate using this term to describe someone’s hard work and please know I value this as a creative contribution from a player who did their absolute darndest, but this really felt like a Wattpad fanfiction crossover and I just didn’t get it. It also just doesn’t fit the vibes of a 1950s land at all, with the futuristic tech, anime influence, robots, all of it just felt off. I get that the idea was to get anime in before Universal, and as noble a goal as that is, to sacrifice a spot in this land just to fulfill that where it could be done better somewhere else was a strange endgeme.
I don’t have a lot to say about it, but I loved Route 66. To be honest, with a 1950s themed land, I think this, Jukebox Jam, Muppets, and a combo between Monster Mania and Amazing Aliens would’ve really come together to form a pretty stacked attraction roster. Throw in some kinetic energy like streetmosphere performers, a large stageshow like @mickeyfan5534 mentioned, and some restaurants it would’ve been perfect. Still, that’s not what we got, so c’est la vie.
Shopping and dining definitely seemed like an afterthought, but who am I kidding? They always do, so I won’t knock you all for that. It’s all solid and efficient, though a part of me wants to see what that initial 10 shop plan would’ve looked like. On this end, I just feel that not maintaining 50’s Prime Time and/or Sci-Fi was the final misstep of the project.
In the end, I want to give you all major props for two things. 1. How creative everybody got with this. Whether I or the other judges personally liked every piece of the project is irrelevant. You all stretched your legs and showed off your passions and what drives you, and in a round without eliminations, that’s a great thing to do. Just learn from it and move forward!
2. I loved how this wasn’t a whole-IP land. As much as I enjoy those, seeing a theme with different IP and original stuff laced throughout was pleasing.
Great job Team Lore!
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Team Legend- The World of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Alrighty, taking the absolute opposite path of Team Lore, we see Team Legend making the dreaded single-IP land that we’ve all been accustomed to for the last decade plus. While I think this style works generally, it is exhausting, so when a team pitches this, there is an uphill battle for me at least. With that being said, you guys absolutely picked one of the best IP for this treatment as I absolutely think Avatar: The Last Airbender not only deserves, but desperately needs some theme park representation.
Jumping right into the site, the artwork is already great. For any Team Lore people still reading this, another recommendation for you guys, try out art. I know y’all did a map which was very good, but art is a key part of any project and even if you’re not the best at it, some custom art goes a long way. Anyway, yeah, the art here is great. Between @MonorailRed ‘s artwork and the map (who I’m not sure did it), this stuff is great! I also love the tongue-in-cheek name. Feels very Universal.
Starting off with Dueling Fires, I think this is a great way to bring back Dueling Dragons and makes a ton of sense. Coasters are tough to write so I won’t get on you about the detail issues because I really would do the exact same thing. Writing out “it turns left. It goes down a hill.” That’s kind of the amount of detail I expect from coaster write-ups and unless someone whips out Planet Coaster for the project, it’s kind of par-for-the-course. I will, however, say that reviving an attraction with a new theme, while making sense, was a tiny bit disappointing just thinking of what could be done with an ATLA coaster, but that’s neither here nor there.
As for Sky Bison Soar, this is definitely an expected themed attraction and well-deservedly so. As a kid Appa was my absolute favorite and I wanted to ride on him across the sky same as many others. My big concern here is: what is the ride system? The track layout is there, but it’s unspecified if this is a coaster? A dark ride? Something new entirely? Going forward, try to make that part of a ride the most clear part of it. Theming and story goes a long way, but if we are unclear on what we’re actually riding, it makes it harder to enjoy in the ol theater of the mind. Even if it’s a new system, just a quick diagram of how it works would have plussed this a ton.
As sort of a last minute edition Ember Island River Run works as a completely functional ATLA river raft ride. Seeing all the cool and kooky hybrid creatures would be a lot of fun and seeing Aang and the GAang would be a highlight of the ride. My biggest critique here comes from the overall biggest issue Team Legend had this round and that is in the disagreement of where the land will be placed. This ride really came about, not out of passion for the idea, but out of “oh shoot, we are doing Toon Lagoon not Lost Continent, we need to replace Popeye and Dudley Do-right” which led to these attractions feel more like reskins to fit the new theme than wholly new ideas.
Now, I’ll give you all the major props in the realism department there. That absolutely feels like a realistic thing Disney or Universal would do with a new land, but in terms of creative ideas for a game where the world is your oyster, it felt a bit lazy if I’m being wholly honest. It’s serviceable, yes, and I’d ride it, yes, but I would’ve rather seen better communication which would have led to better and more inspired attractions. Just food for thought.
Another huge naming credit to whoever came up with the name Avatar: The Path of Water, you killed it once again. Unfortunately, my sentiments from Ember Island echo here. This feels like a reskin of Dudley Do-Right because you needed one more than a wholly original and inspired attraction. If Team Lore took the very ambitious and out there route, Team Legend definitely took the more conservative route here and changed little and didn’t extend past their comfort zone all that much. This is all fine and good, the rides aren’t bad at all, if maybe a little under-detailed, but these are things to remember when going forward as it could hurt come deliberation time.
The Bending Academy sounds like some really solid streetmosphere and the shopping and dining are all decent enough as well. Again, definitely an afterthought, but it is what it is. The idea of a fully plant-based restaurant is one I’ve thrown around for a few different projects in the past and one that means a lot to me. I’m not plant-based, but my girlfriend is, so going to theme parks or other places where her options are super limited compared to mine, I’ve always wished there was something for her to really enjoy rather than just putting up with the one menu item per stop if that. So great choice on that one, as well as it fitting very thematically.
Overall, I had less to say about Avatar, but that’s not to discredit you guys, you just took the safe route where Team Lore took the dangerous route. We’ll see how that all plays out soon, but for now, everyone pat yourself on the back, breathe easy, and get ready because project 2’s prompt releases tonight!
Lord Fozzinator
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I feel like what could have been done is turn star tours into amazing aliens and turn muppets courtyard in to muppet American graffiti
Results are In!
Both teams did great and should celebrate their work! However, as our grandfather clock chimes, only one winner may be declared. After deliberation between the hosts, we have reached a consensus.
Again, congratulations to both teams! The second prompt will be posted later tonight onceyour host is out of his movie the spirits will it!
Both teams did great and should celebrate their work! However, as our grandfather clock chimes, only one winner may be declared. After deliberation between the hosts, we have reached a consensus.
Team Lore
mickeyfan said it best, if this was a round 4 or 5 project you all would’ve gotten the win. Celebrating the high highs of a project is so important and we all agreed your highs were ever slightly higher than Legend’s. That being said, in the beginning, it’s important to establish a sense of understanding and consistency that this project just wasn’t able to provide and Team Legend was. Don’t be afraid to take risks in the future, but make sure to communicate and make sure everything fits theme and flows together.
mickeyfan said it best, if this was a round 4 or 5 project you all would’ve gotten the win. Celebrating the high highs of a project is so important and we all agreed your highs were ever slightly higher than Legend’s. That being said, in the beginning, it’s important to establish a sense of understanding and consistency that this project just wasn’t able to provide and Team Legend was. Don’t be afraid to take risks in the future, but make sure to communicate and make sure everything fits theme and flows together.
Team Legend
While this may have felt like a safe victory based on our reviews, it was a tighter race than expected, so take this win in stride, but don’t get too cocky about it. Consistency is important and that’s what won you all the game, but the write ups left a lot to be desired and the originality was limited. Don’t be afraid to take risks in the future!
While this may have felt like a safe victory based on our reviews, it was a tighter race than expected, so take this win in stride, but don’t get too cocky about it. Consistency is important and that’s what won you all the game, but the write ups left a lot to be desired and the originality was limited. Don’t be afraid to take risks in the future!
Again, congratulations to both teams! The second prompt will be posted later tonight once
Lord Fozzinator
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I’m not surprised but I did like the fact that our highs were better than team legend
mickeyfan5534
Well-Known Member
Some Advice from Uncle mickeyfan: Words can not emphasize enough how hard I was wracking my mind to vote here. Ultimately, the decision genuinely came down to reward consistency and flexibility for the first project. Legend was definitely not rewarded for doing something on the safer side any more than Lore was punished for taking a risk. The highs from Lore just didn't make up for what ultimately were some deep lows.
I think there's something to be said about making the call on trimming the fat in these projects. Sometimes, you just need to look at something as a group and someone needs to say "Hey, I know you started work on this but it doesn't work with everything else. Do we have any other ideas?" It's hard and it can be tough to make that call sometimes, but your projects will be all the stronger for it.
I think there's something to be said about making the call on trimming the fat in these projects. Sometimes, you just need to look at something as a group and someone needs to say "Hey, I know you started work on this but it doesn't work with everything else. Do we have any other ideas?" It's hard and it can be tough to make that call sometimes, but your projects will be all the stronger for it.
Lord Fozzinator
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
It seems universally jukebox jam, muppet American graffiti, monster mania, and Route 66, and amazing aliens were the most liked attractions. The most disliked parts were fly inside and alien encounter.
cdunlap
Well-Known Member
But I liked them all.
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
Lord Fozzinator
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Wait did you cause the teams to switch
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
Nope, I'm just amused that this video just happened to be uploaded today haha.
I was actually bummed about the swap.
Lord Fozzinator
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
That makes 2 of us
cdunlap
Well-Known Member
Make that 3