Making Unleash the Villians a Hard Ticket Event

[Thrill Seeker]

Friday the 13th's Unleash the Villians event at DHS was either a huge success or disaster depending on who you talked to. The biggest complaint was that the park was overcrowded and guests had to wait 3 hours for character meet and greets. Well I have a solution for ya: make it a hard ticket counterprogram to Mickey's No So Scary.

Now, an important factor to keep in mind is that in order for this to work, certain things must be accomplished.

1. It must be different from Not So Scary

2. There must be more to do to make it worth paying a hard ticket price

3. It must be better organized

I'm here to post my suggestions on how to accomplish this.

First off, in order to make it a good counterprogram to Not So Scary, it needs to appeal to a different audience. Teens and Adults makes the most sense. However, we're not making the next Halloween Horror Nights here (unfortunately), so it can't be too adult.

Here are a few suggestions on how to take what was offered for Unleash the Villians and add more/improve it to make a solid hard ticket event.

1. Spread out the characters/add more: The 13 from this year's event were good, but confining them all to a single area was bad planning. Spead them out similar to Star Wars Weekends so it's not as cluttered around Echo Lake. I'd also add some additional roaming characters such as minions/sidekicks and additional villians to enhance the experience.

2. Once Upon a Time: Once has been a huge success on ABC and really hasn't been tapped into for the parks. Unleash the Villians is a great excuse to bring Once to DHS. A great way to do that is by doing a Welcome to Storybrooke maze. Now, I'm not talking about something like HHN's haunted houses, I'm thinking more of a creepy ambiance. Guests would enter the town and walk through many of the town's landmarks, encountering famous townsfolk along the way. Suddenly, a portal opens taking guests to the fairytale eorld and beyond. The idea is through a combination of impressive sets and special effects, this creepy walk through attraction would serve as Disney's version of a haunted house without being as scary. I'd also throw in a 3-D screening of a popular episode in the ABC Sound Studio and possibly meet and greets with a few of the popular characters.

3. Dance Party/Villians Show: The Hat Dance Party was a big success. Bring that back, but also include a show in the Premiere Theater featuring the Villians and their plots to take over the park. Added attractions are always welcome additions!

4. Treats: Not So Scary has free candy, Very Merry Christmas has free cookies and hot chocolate. Unleash the Villians should have it's own free treat as well as pay for treats found only at the event. Poision Apple (aka Sour Apple) themed food comes to mind. How about Poision Apple Popcorn or Cupcakes for free, with special themed apples and, of course, villians themed drinks for kids and adults.

5. Enhance Tower of Terror: Haunted Mansion is always one of the highlights of Not So Scary because the exterior is enhanced and a ghost performs on the lawn. Tower of Terror could recieve a similar treatment. Boost the fob and add creepy lighting to the exterior, have ghostly bellhops wonder the queue and lobby area inviting guests to check in. I'd also enhance the ride itself by adding some new special effects to make the ride experience a little different.

Well that's most of what I can come up with for a new hard ticket event. I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything. Thanks for reading!

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

Friday the 13th's Unleash the Villians event at DHS was either a huge success or disaster depending on who you talked to. The biggest complaint was that the park was overcrowded and guests had to wait 3 hours for character meet and greets. Well I have a solution for ya: make it a hard ticket counterprogram to Mickey's No So Scary.

Now, an important factor to keep in mind is that in order for this to work, certain things must be accomplished.

1. It must be different from Not So Scary

2. There must be more to do to make it worth paying a hard ticket price

3. It must be better organized

I'm here to post my suggestions on how to accomplish this.

First off, in order to make it a good counterprogram to Not So Scary, it needs to appeal to a different audience. Teens and Adults makes the most sense. However, we're not making the next Halloween Horror Nights here (unfortunately), so it can't be too adult.

Here are a few suggestions on how to take what was offered for Unleash the Villians and add more/improve it to make a solid hard ticket event.

1. Spread out the characters/add more: The 13 from this year's event were good, but confining them all to a single area was bad planning. Spead them out similar to Star Wars Weekends so it's not as cluttered around Echo Lake. I'd also add some additional roaming characters such as minions/sidekicks and additional villians to enhance the experience.

2. Once Upon a Time: Once has been a huge success on ABC and really hasn't been tapped into for the parks. Unleash the Villians is a great excuse to bring Once to DHS. A great way to do that is by doing a Welcome to Storybrooke maze. Now, I'm not talking about something like HHN's haunted houses, I'm thinking more of a creepy ambiance. Guests would enter the town and walk through many of the town's landmarks, encountering famous townsfolk along the way. Suddenly, a portal opens taking guests to the fairytale eorld and beyond. The idea is through a combination of impressive sets and special effects, this creepy walk through attraction would serve as Disney's version of a haunted house without being as scary. I'd also throw in a 3-D screening of a popular episode in the ABC Sound Studio and possibly meet and greets with a few of the popular characters.

3. Dance Party/Villians Show: The Hat Dance Party was a big success. Bring that back, but also include a show in the Premiere Theater featuring the Villians and their plots to take over the park. Added attractions are always welcome additions!

4. Treats: Not So Scary has free candy, Very Merry Christmas has free cookies and hot chocolate. Unleash the Villians should have it's own free treat as well as pay for treats found only at the event. Poision Apple (aka Sour Apple) themed food comes to mind. How about Poision Apple Popcorn or Cupcakes for free, with special themed apples and, of course, villians themed drinks for kids and adults.

5. Enhance Tower of Terror: Haunted Mansion is always one of the highlights of Not So Scary because the exterior is enhanced and a ghost performs on the lawn. Tower of Terror could recieve a similar treatment. Boost the fob and add creepy lighting to the exterior, have ghostly bellhops wonder the queue and lobby area inviting guests to check in. I'd also enhance the ride itself by adding some new special effects to make the ride experience a little different.

Well that's most of what I can come up with for a new hard ticket event. I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything. Thanks for reading!

Where do i get my ticket ????

 

[Tip Top Club]

Lotso takeover of Toy Story Mania....

 

[Master Yoda]

When I heard of the attendance, hard ticketed event was the first thing that came to mind. However, I do not think that they will be able to have as many of them as they do with MNSSHP. This would require them to only run it once or twice a year and they will have to do it on non-MNSSHP nights to avoid cannibalizing guests from that event. Sadly this is also going to mean a higher ticket price. I was thinking somewhere in the $75 range like they did for the one of a kind Last Tour to Endor event.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sorry if this point has been made in other threads...just getting back to reading a little after 2 weeks away...but my thinking is that a lot of the crazy turnout was CMs and guests taking advantage of a late night offering that didn't cost extra. The MK closed early that night. The parks don't typically stay open to regular guests all that late anymore as (it's my understanding) evening EMHs have been paired-down in frequency and duration. It makes sense to me that these things are what made the turnout so huge that one night. Certainly I think TDO would be remiss if they didn't explore a 2nd hard-ticket option for the studios that's villian-centric. But, for the most part, I think the turnout screams to what WDW's locals and guests crave: more variety in character experience and some true late night fun.

 

[DisneyJoe]

The MK closed early that night.

Yes, it did, for the Halloween party.

 

[DisneyJoe]

When I heard of the attendance, hard ticketed event was the first thing that came to mind. However, I do not think that they will be able to have as many of them as they do with MNSSHP. This would require them to only run it once or twice a year and they will have to do it on non-MNSSHP nights to avoid cannibalizing guests from that event. Sadly this is also going to mean a higher ticket price. I was thinking somewhere in the $75 range like they did for the one of a kind Last Tour to Endor event.

I could see them doing it once a week for each week in October and perhaps some in September; but on different nights than MNSSHP as you said.

 

[Bairstow]

Rock n' Roller Coaster starring Gwar?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Yes, it did, for the Halloween party.

Yep. We thought about going to the Halloween party that night. I never considered the villains thing because I knew it'd be a zoo. Has there been any mention anywhere of how the event at the Studios affected the hard-ticket at MK? Was it less turnout that night? That was our thought-process although we didn't act on it: the no additional charge Studios event would draw some of the guests who were happy to have an option that they didn't have to pay extra for making MNSSHP that night a little lower in attendance.

 

[doctornick]

When I heard of the attendance, hard ticketed event was the first thing that came to mind. However, I do not think that they will be able to have as many of them as they do with MNSSHP. This would require them to only run it once or twice a year and they will have to do it on non-MNSSHP nights to avoid cannibalizing guests from that event. Sadly this is also going to mean a higher ticket price. I was thinking somewhere in the $75 range like they did for the one of a kind Last Tour to Endor event.

I think something could work on the days when MNSSHP is not scheduled. Maybe doing it on Wed and Sat in October. I would agree that having too many events would be overkill, but I think something like 8-10 or so a year could work.

Alternatively, they could just do a hard ticket every Friday the 13th. But that would only be 1-3 times a year (I think) and no necessarily around Halloween when people are "in the mood".

I'd also add that a special "Villains" show instead of Fantasmic! (but in that theater) would be a big benefit. I would do that in addition to a fireworks show. You've got to have some unique entertainment options for the guests.

Edit: I would also agree that a Halloween overlay of TSMM would be a great addition and easy to do. It could even be done just for the hard ticket in theory since it would just involve running a different program on the screens. There is a Halloween Toy Story special coming out this year (Toy Story of Terror) that could be an inspiration....

 

[Disvillain63]

It could still be a ticketed event but keep the premise...only when there's a Friday the 13th...maybe consider other dates such as March 15th (Ides of March); October 31st (obvious); November 13th (eye of the devil...13 days after Halloween)

 

[emcclay]

There was definitely a abundance of CMs at UtV. It would still be worth it to me to pay for a ticket.

 

[marni1971]

Move it from DHS. It has to be at DHS, but can't be. The smallest park with worst access and egress?

For those lucky to be there early it was a zoo but enjoyable if you didnt need to queue for anything. For those who walked from Epcot since the busses were stuck or those who sat on Osceola for two hours (friends did both) it was a nightmare.

 

[Figments Friend]

I like this idea.
A Villians themed Event would go over big, as was proven a couple of weekends ago.

It does not have to happen as often as the MNSSHP...actually, this would be to it*s advantage.
Attending it would make it seems more special since there are less showings.
Demand would go through the roof...

Guests love the Villians. This is a area Disney could surely exploit to their benefit, and not just in Merch sales.

 

[JoeCamel]

They could do it again this year, they have the costumes, the CMs to put in the costumes all they have to do is announce it. Lots of time before the lights start and with its success in drawing a crowd why not? Just have the vendors stay open this time!