How can a dark ride concept in the Town Square Theater work?

[mharrington]

This is a continuation of another thread on the WDW General Discussion page: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/main-street-theater-questions.980959/.

At first, my questions related to the old Main Street Theater concept were answered (evidently that parking space was for more higher-ups in the company than for cast members), but they lead to newer questions. I had asked if that space connected to the back was a dressing room for the characters, and I was told it was:

I had tried to avoid asking the question because I thought that I would get answers without having to be more direct, but it was not to be, apparently.

One reason I had brought up the question of that parking spot being taken over by something not parking is actually because I had wondered if the space could have been utilized for a dark ride as well as a theater (one or the other, obviously, not both at the same time).

I say this because I was impressed by an Imagineering concept from years ago that had come up for a dark ride themed to Mickey as magician, as extending the theme of his meet-n-greet next door and replacing the Tinker Bell meet-n-greet in the process. The link for that is here: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...open-brainstorming.924777/page-4#post-7600592.

One reason I ask is because, as I've often said, I like to be realistic with my armchair Imagineering, and so apparently did the person who came up with the initial concept, as evidenced by the rough layout of the ride, which, as you can see, would have cut right into the parking spot up there as well as cut off the connecting dressing trailer:

I'm not really sure how this concept can work without also having to contend with the dressing area, which sticks out weird. The person playing Mickey would have to traverse across the queue or exit space to get to and from the meet-n-greet spot.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

Great idea, maybe we could finally get a Classic Mickey dark ride. Instead of just the new version. I wanted a Walt and Mickey ride to go in Hollywood, but instead they gave us Runaway Railway. A decent ride, but I think it could have fit the park much more with a different storyline.

My idea was to tell the story from the beginning, showing each iteration of Mickey starting with Steamboat Willie. I believe I called it "It all started with a Mouse."

 

[mharrington]

Great idea, maybe we could finally get a Classic Mickey dark ride. Instead of just the new version. I wanted a Walt and Mickey ride to go in Hollywood, but instead they gave us Runaway Railway. A decent ride, but I think it could have fit the park much more with a different storyline.

My idea was to tell the story from the beginning, showing each iteration of Mickey starting with Steamboat Willie. I believe I called it "It all started with a Mouse."

What I want to know is how a ride can compliment the meet-n-greet without cutting off the access to the dressing room. That's why I put up that floor plan. The green area of the ride clearly cuts off the white area of the dressing room. How can that be rectified?

 

[MickeyMouse10]

What I want to know is how a ride can compliment the meet-n-greet without cutting off the access to the dressing room. That's why I put up that floor plan. The green area of the ride clearly cuts off the white area of the dressing room. How can that be rectified?

It looks like there's space near the train tracks.

You could even show it on WDW Railroad. To give park guests a preview of the attraction before going on it. Like Splash Mountain used to do when it was still around. It could be a nice welcome back to the Main Street area.

With a voiceover from Walt Disney as the added cherry on top.

 

[Miru]

Great idea, maybe we could finally get a Classic Mickey dark ride. Instead of just the new version. I wanted a Walt and Mickey ride to go in Hollywood, but instead they gave us Runaway Railway. A decent ride, but I think it could have fit the park much more with a different storyline.

My idea was to tell the story from the beginning, showing each iteration of Mickey starting with Steamboat Willie. I believe I called it "It all started with a Mouse."

Indeed. Much like the DL version of runaway railway, the entrance and exit could add references to even more of his history than what is possible to squeeze onto the ride proper. I think the Omnimover works best for the Mickey ride, with the vehicles shaped like Mickey heads, maybe enclosing a bit like on AUA.

 

[MickeyWaffleCo.]

What I want to know is how a ride can compliment the meet-n-greet without cutting off the access to the dressing room. That's why I put up that floor plan. The green area of the ride clearly cuts off the white area of the dressing room. How can that be rectified?

Could the dressing room not move? Seems like it would be trivial to create a new space for that if needed.

 

[mharrington]

Could the dressing room not move? Seems like it would be trivial to create a new space for that if needed.

I suppose it could be, but it would have to be connected to the actual meet-n-greet space itself.

Indeed. Much like the DL version of runaway railway, the entrance and exit could add references to even more of his history than what is possible to squeeze onto the ride proper. I think the Omnimover works best for the Mickey ride, with the vehicles shaped like Mickey heads, maybe enclosing a bit like on AUA.

I was thinking of something a little more wild, kind of like Mr. Toad or Roger Rabbit.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

I think the Omnimover works best for the Mickey ride, with the vehicles shaped like Mickey heads, maybe enclosing a bit like on AUA.

Great idea, that would look really cool.

 

[mharrington]

Indeed. Much like the DL version of runaway railway, the entrance and exit could add references to even more of his history than what is possible to squeeze onto the ride proper. I think the Omnimover works best for the Mickey ride, with the vehicles shaped like Mickey heads, maybe enclosing a bit like on AUA.

I think the only way to do it like what you had suggested would be for it to be set in a movie theater (with you going in), like the Main Street Cinema, which is technically on Main Street still, even though it's mostly a store.

Unfortunately, however, the movie theater concept is already used for Runaway Railway.

Besides, I'm not really sure how the Disneyland version of Runaway Railway could work on Main Street (a period setting, I might add), as it contains stuff from the 1950s onward later in the queue. Before Toontown was overhauled, I had thought that the land was set in the 1940s, given the Roger Rabbit ride. Now the time setting is very much present day (albeit toonified).

 

[Miru]

I think the only way to do it like what you had suggested would be for it to be set in a movie theater (with you going in), like the Main Street Cinema, which is technically on Main Street still, even though it's mostly a store.

Unfortunately, however, the movie theater concept is already used for Runaway Railway.

Besides, I'm not really sure how the Disneyland version of Runaway Railway could work on Main Street (a period setting, I might add), as it contains stuff from the 1950s onward later in the queue. Before Toontown was overhauled, I had thought that the land was set in the 1940s, given the Roger Rabbit ride. Now the time setting is very much present day (albeit toonified).

Maybe base it off of an animation studio/desk atmosphere, with the queue being about “jumping into the page”, sort of like how that one DCA store has characters jumping off the page?

About the ride being a bit wild, Omnimovers can spin, as we see on rides like the various Buzz Lightyear rides. Omnimover spinning could be used to make the ride wilder despite being an Omnimover.

 

[mharrington]

Maybe base it off of an animation studio/desk atmosphere, with the queue being about “jumping into the page”, sort of like how that one DCA store has characters jumping off the page?

About the ride being a bit wild, Omnimovers can spin, as we see on rides like the various Buzz Lightyear rides. Omnimover spinning could be used to make the ride wilder despite being an Omnimover.

I don't think it's a good idea to cannibalize the Buzz Lightyear ride, especially if it's in the park already.

What's more, I'm not sure how a 1920s or '30s animation studio would fit in a turn-of-the-century setting. It's a bit anachronistic, I think.

 

[Miru]

I don't think it's a good idea to cannibalize the Buzz Lightyear ride, especially if it's in the park already.

What's more, I'm not sure how a 1920s or '30s animation studio would fit in a turn-of-the-century setting. It's a bit anachronistic, I think.

It isn’t technically cannibalizing Buzz, as the spinning is not user-controlled and there is no shooting element included.

About the latter… maybe a farmhouse or train station would work better?

 

[Rambozo]

I'd love to see an attraction added to one of the main streets. It's an untapped location. But I do think it might be a bit of a cluster in the morning when people are rushing in.

 

[mharrington]

It isn’t technically cannibalizing Buzz, as the spinning is not user-controlled and there is no shooting element included.

About the latter… maybe a farmhouse or train station would work better?

How would a farmhouse fit physically? Also, a train station is already right next to the Town Square Theater.

The reason I brought this up is because I wanted to know how a dark ride could fit without having to inconvenience the cast member playing Mickey. I would think that the meet-n-greet would have to be altered to accommodate the ride.

Once again, look at the floor plan, with the dressing room area (shown in white) sticking way out on the end of the building, which is mostly green for the ride:

Another idea I've had was simply to do the whole area as a dark ride and give Mickey another meet-n-greet spot someplace else, maybe in Fantasyland someplace.

 

[The Great Gonzo]

I don't see why they couldn't do one. It seems like a money in the bank prospect.

Plus it would be nice to have Classic Mickey in a park and not just the anorexic version.

 

[mharrington]

I don't see why they couldn't do one. It seems like a money in the bank prospect.

Plus it would be nice to have Classic Mickey in a park and not just the anorexic version.

It's not a matter of why, but rather how. What I would like to know is how, based on the image I provided above, a dark ride could work without compromising the dressing room space for Mickey, which is shown sticking out in white while the dark ride space is green.

Does anyone have any ideas how it could work? If not, I may have to scrap the Mickey meet-n-greet spot there and put it someplace else.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's not a matter of why, but rather how. What I would like to know is how, based on the image I provided above, a dark ride could work without compromising the dressing room space for Mickey, which is shown sticking out in white while the dark ride space is green.

Does anyone have any ideas how it could work? If not, I may have to scrap the Mickey meet-n-greet spot there and put it someplace else.

Why are you assuming that a trailer must be treated as sacred and unmovable? Why are you limiting your solution the a two dimensional plane? Why can’t employees go over or under the exit corridor if you don’t want them trying to cross it?

 

[mharrington]

Why are you assuming that a trailer must be treated as sacred and unmovable? Why are you limiting your solution the a two dimensional plane? Why can’t employees go over or under the exit corridor if you don’t want them trying to cross it?

Because I'm trying to be realistic with my ideas, as I've said. I always try to take real-life constraints into account, as opposed to just being pure blue sky. I'm using the two-dimensional plane that I got elsewhere as a guide. It could help describe it better than I ever could.

As for the exit corridor, I'm still trying to figure out how not to make it inconvenient for the employees. How would employees be able to go above or below the exit corridor? I assume you're referring to stairs, but isn't it tough enough to just walk around as a character (what with the head mask and big shoes) without also having to go up/down stairs?

Of course, if a ride was in fact put in, then the whole area would probably need to be redone anyway. So the meet-n-greet spot would probably need to be altered to allow for the ride space no matter what, so it's probably a moot point.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Because I'm trying to be realistic with my ideas, as I've said. I always try to take real-life constraints into account, as opposed to just being pure blue sky. I'm using the two-dimensional plane that I got elsewhere as a guide. It could help describe it better than I ever could.

As for the exit corridor, I'm still trying to figure out how not to make it inconvenient for the employees. How would employees be able to go above or below the exit corridor? I assume you're referring to stairs, but isn't it tough enough to just walk around as a character (what with the head mask and big shoes) without also having to go up/down stairs?

Of course, if a ride was in fact put in, then the whole area would probably need to be redone anyway. So the meet-n-greet spot would probably need to be altered to allow for the ride space no matter what, so it's probably a moot point.

Designing a building around a trailer is not really a realistic constraint. A big reason for using such a structure is to not constrain future uses. They’re rather cheap and designed to be portable. Some modular prefabricated structures, such as those used for classrooms, are designed to be more permanent than true trailers but even they are used with the idea that they can be removed for future construction.

I wasn’t asking about the plan you were using, just why you weren’t considering going above or even the below the exit corridor. If stairs are a challenge, why not elevators? Why not expand the utilidor to provide more employee space below and have more in the parking lot for the attraction or other uses? While not wanting to inconvenience employees is a good goal it’s also something that happens and shouldn’t drive decisions that would hinder the guest experience.

 

[mharrington]

Designing a building around a trailer is not really a realistic constraint. A big reason for using such a structure is to not constrain future uses. They’re rather cheap and designed to be portable. Some modular prefabricated structures, such as those used for classrooms, are designed to be more permanent than true trailers but even they are used with the idea that they can be removed for future construction.

I wasn’t asking about the plan you were using, just why you weren’t considering going above or even the below the exit corridor. If stairs are a challenge, why not elevators? Why not expand the utilidor to provide more employee space below and have more in the parking lot for the attraction or other uses? While not wanting to inconvenience employees is a good goal it’s also something that happens and shouldn’t drive decisions that would hinder the guest experience.

The thing is, I don't know much about the (re)construction of the area. Moreover, I was under the impression that since the dressing room structure is connected to the main building, it's not a trailer. I also don't believe that the utilidors have ever been expanded in any way. I could be mistaken, but I think what's there now has always been there since the area was being constructed some fifty years ago. An elevator is an interesting idea, though. But even so, wouldn't you need to add a special entrance/exit to bypass the green space?

As I said before also, any changes to the area to accommodate anything new, especially a new ride, would probably need to be overhauled anyway, and that would include the meet-n-greet spot, so it probably doesn't matter.