So, You Want to be an Imagineer Season 15: Uniting Universal (Official Hub Thread)

[spacemt354]

If Nintendo Misc was placed on the other side I would suggest a Metroid/ Star Fox Experience, as either of them treads between science fiction and fantasy.

Yeah Nintendo Misc is because I'd rather the hardcore Nintendo fans just go wild and design it (even redo the whole land layout if it comes to that) -- all I ask is there's a Mario Kart Radiator Springs style ride somewhere

 

[kmbmw777]

Yeah Nintendo Misc is because I'd rather the hardcore Nintendo fans just go wild and design it (even redo the whole land layout if it comes to that) -- all I ask is there's a Mario Kart Radiator Springs style ride somewhere

Haha! I agree with the Mario Kart ride. That is long overdo. Also, I think Star Fox would fit well there, as its a more lighthearted franchise. Also, Fox McCloud could compete with one of Disney's furry space-mammals.

 

[Suchomimus]

A rough sketch of the park (all subject to change)

(just click once on the image to zoom)

Based on the suggestions so far - but I didn't go too in depth with the small items in each area. Just the main attractions and scenery so everyone can get a feel of the park. I'm picturing a lot of trees and unique styles of trees especially on the left side of the park -- transitioning into cartoon and video game foliage as you go into Suess and Nintendo, with the cyberpunk street being the gateway to the sci-fi land.

Thoughts and feedback welcome! Going to try and sketch the UniSea concept now.

Is the Whomping Willow a spinner ride?

 

[D Hulk]

A rough sketch of the park (all subject to change)

(just click once on the image to zoom)

Based on the suggestions so far - but I didn't go too in depth with the small items in each area. Just the main attractions and scenery so everyone can get a feel of the park. I'm picturing a lot of trees and unique styles of trees especially on the left side of the park -- transitioning into cartoon and video game foliage as you go into Suess and Nintendo, with the cyberpunk street being the gateway to the sci-fi land.

Thoughts and feedback welcome! Going to try and sketch the UniSea concept now.

This is a good start! Some thoughts. The horror area seems very large, like two lands. I think IT could switch over to the empty slot between Overlook and the entry area, and the Pet Semetary walkthrough can go to the Overlook hedge maze location perhaps. Jaws remains where it is. This way, we have room for a jungle adventure area on the west side, perhaps using Kong and/or Jurassic Park.

Also for horror specifically, let's provide a path so squeamish guests don't have enter and to face its terrors.

I was picturing Hogsmeade as the anchor for UniSea, but let's see what you decide for that. I have some distinct ideas for that park.

The north and east sides look strong. I support the inclusion of Seaame Street. Perhaps there could be an urban part of the park, able to transition from science fiction to Sesame Street, able to do the un-represented action genre at least in part. It can run parallel to the Nintendo areas, but closer to the park's center. (I'd do a quickie map, but I'm shoulder-to-shoulder on Tokyo metro now.)

Fast and Furious (action) needs a ride due to popularity, and since Mario Kart is getting the Test Track treatment, maybe it can be the park's SCOOP ride.

What's the building facade for Great Movie Ride?

 

[spacemt354]

This is a good start! Some thoughts. The horror area seems very large, like two lands. I think IT could switch over to the empty slot between Overlook and the entry area, and the Pet Semetary walkthrough can go to the Overlook hedge maze location perhaps. Jaws remains where it is. This way, we have room for a jungle adventure area on the west side, perhaps using Kong and/or Jurassic Park.

Also for horror specifically, let's provide a path so squeamish guests don't have enter and to face its terrors.

I was picturing Hogsmeade as the anchor for UniSea, but let's see what you decide for that. I have some distinct ideas for that park.

The north and east sides look strong. I support the inclusion of Seaame Street. Perhaps there could be an urban part of the park, able to transition from science fiction to Sesame Street, able to do the un-represented action genre at least in part. It can run parallel to the Nintendo areas, but closer to the park's center. (I'd do a quickie map, but I'm shoulder-to-shoulder on Tokyo metro now.)

Fast and Furious (action) needs a ride due to popularity, and since Mario Kart is getting the Test Track treatment, maybe it can be the park's SCOOP ride.

What's the building facade for Great Movie Ride?

The horror area was really big (probably just because we had the most ideas for it so far)

If HP moves over to UniSEA - perhaps Jurassic Park and Kong could slide into the IT/HP area on the map and then transition into the Fantasy area.

Would love to hear your thoughts for the UniSea area before I dive into it (was caught up in some stuff until now anyway so I haven't even started it) Would Fast and Furious be able to be in UniSea - in perhaps a desert/Dubai port? If not maybe it can slide in as a transition zone from the sci fi to an action location.

As for Great movie ride -- originally I was thinking Rockefeller Plaza, as the headquarters for NBC Comcast - but that was also when the main street was all art deco/NYC based. Since we shifted to a California locale, it's up to interpretation and could be taken out/replaced if needed!

 

[spacemt354]

Is the Whomping Willow a spinner ride?

Yep! But a bit more bumpy than Dumbo - I think it would be a perfect location for a spinner!

 

[kmbmw777]

I was picturing Hogsmeade as the anchor for UniSea, but let's see what you decide for that. I have some distinct ideas for that park.

Perhaps we could have two Harry Potter lands, that connect both parks together. Hogsmede, Diagon Alley, an indoor Ministry of Magic, Newt's Briefcase are some ideas.

Fast and Furious (action) needs a ride due to popularity, and since Mario Kart is getting the Test Track treatment, maybe it can be the park's SCOOP ride.

What is a SCOOP ride?

 

[spacemt354]

What is a SCOOP ride?

So Cool Other Operations Panic?

 

[D Hulk]

What is a SCOOP ride?

Like Spider-Man or Transformers, motion base with screens. It'd be interesting to develop a new one, I think, in favor of just cloning Transformers.

 

[D Hulk]

Perhaps we could have two Harry Potter lands, that connect both parks together. Hogsmede, Diagon Alley, an indoor Ministry of Magic, Newt's Briefcase are some ideas.

This is a good idea. I'm just about to outline doing Hogsmeade in UniSea. Maybe a new Potter land for UniMK, as you propose, Ministry of Magic or something from Fantastic Beasts?

 

[Suchomimus]

Like Spider-Man or Transformers, motion base with screens. It'd be interesting to develop a new one, I think, in favor of just cloning Transformers.

The Spiderman vehicles were called S.C.O.O.Ps.

 

[spacemt354]

This is a good idea. I'm just about to outline doing Hogsmeade in UniSea. Maybe a new Potter land for UniMK, as you propose, Ministry of Magic or something from Fantastic Beasts?

Eagerly await your outline! In the meantime I'm going to rework and condense the horror area on the previous map

 

[kmbmw777]

This is a good idea. I'm just about to outline doing Hogsmeade in UniSea. Maybe a new Potter land for UniMK, as you propose, Ministry of Magic or something from Fantastic Beasts?

If it were up to me, I would vote for the Ministry. An Elevator drop ride could be incorporated as well as an Azkaban "excursion."

However, corporate would probably like to rush a Fantastic Beasts land in order to promote the upcoming movies.

 

[D Hulk]

The horror area was really big (probably just because we had the most ideas for it so far)

If HP moves over to UniSEA - perhaps Jurassic Park and Kong could slide into the IT/HP area on the map and then transition into the Fantasy area.

Would love to hear your thoughts for the UniSea area before I dive into it (was caught up in some stuff until now anyway so I haven't even started it) Would Fast and Furious be able to be in UniSea - in perhaps a desert/Dubai port? If not maybe it can slide in as a transition zone from the sci fi to an action location.

As for Great movie ride -- originally I was thinking Rockefeller Plaza, as the headquarters for NBC Comcast - but that was also when the main street was all art deco/NYC based. Since we shifted to a California locale, it's up to interpretation and could be taken out/replaced if needed!

Fast & Furious works better for UniMK. A contemporary city setting (especially Dom's hometown, L.A.) doesn't fit the UniSea feel. For "action," Uni also has the Bourne movies, which like F&F can go anywhere in the world. For the land, after some thought, I propose a modern Asian city such as either Hong Kong or Shanghai. This keeps it exotic, and a city's sleek and gritty sides can fit the two franchises' tones. An Asian setting also lets us bring in Asian action cinema if we wish, say something like a John Woo stunt spectacular.

For UniSea, there needs to be a central icon and ride to be seen from every land, to fit every land. I suggest Hogwarts Castle, showbuilding for Forbidden Journey. (Which work like DisneySea's Mount Prometheus and Journey to the Center of the Earth, respectively.) Existing Potter rides have hidden showbuildings; in the park's center, we'd have to dress the building's backside with rockwork, which from the opposite side can appear like an ocean crag before a lagoon, with the castle spires hidden from this side. Lands near Hogsmeade will be able to see the castle atop the rocks, and will fit its look.

The entry is Victorian as space describes, perhaps turn-of-the-century London with both a posh theater district and the seedy docks nearer to the lagoon. A distant Scottish castle (Potter) fits nicely here, perhaps incorporated into a panoramic lagoon view.

From here, transition is easy to a Universal Monster land, still in castle view. Very Gothic, a Transylvanian village and forest, fits the nearby lands.

Next is Hogsmeade. (Layout can be generally a circle around the castle crag, with some more complex routes like DisneySea as the plans develop.)

Then is the park's Nintendo area, Zelda's Hyrule. Again, the Potter castle fits this fantasy setting nicely.

I can see a nearby Lord of the Rings land also transitioning from Potter and Zelda pretty seamlessly. For now, since LOTR park rights are a huge controversy, let's just leave a big empty expansion pad where it (or something else) could go.

Next door to Hyrule, we need a dedicated land for smaller children, perhaps based on a timelessly popular animated property. Dreamworks is out, so I'm not sure yet what IP to use here. UniMK so far has no Despicable Me, which maybe fits there better. I could see the Seuss Whoville land as exists now in UniMK working here instead, with Mt. Crumpet complimenting the crag's snowier side (castle itself wouldn't be visible from here hopefully).

Not sure what comes next in the circle. We need one more single-IP land here.

But on the lagoon and crag side opposite from Hogsmeade, where the castle is hidden by the big iconic rockwork, a jungle land would work. Either Jurassic World or King Kong (maybe with WB Monsterverse versus Godzilla even). Whichever one doesn't go into UniMK should go here, and either works...though I'm leaning towards Kong right now with the central crag complimenting a Skull Island landmark.

There's no single-IP sci-fi land yet. If we can think of one which fits the Old World tone of the other lands, I'm all for it!

So that's a rough idea of UniSea, all using single-IP lands, all sort of Old World feel with the castle crag as a central element. Thoughts?

 

[kmbmw777]

There's no single-IP sci-fi land yet. If we can think of one which fits the Old World tone of the other lands, I'm all for it!

Rick and Morty! (speaking of which are you caught up)

Maybe Universal could build a land based of off the Fallout games. Or even that aesthetic of the games. 1950s retro futuristic.

 

[spacemt354]

Fast & Furious works better for UniMK. A contemporary city setting (especially Dom's hometown, L.A.) doesn't fit the UniSea feel. For "action," Uni also has the Bourne movies, which like F&F can go anywhere in the world. For the land, after some thought, I propose a modern Asian city such as either Hong Kong or Shanghai. This keeps it exotic, and a city's sleek and gritty sides can fit the two franchises' tones. An Asian setting also lets us bring in Asian action cinema if we wish, say something like a John Woo stunt spectacular.

For UniSea, there needs to be a central icon and ride to be seen from every land, to fit every land. I suggest Hogwarts Castle, showbuilding for Forbidden Journey. (Which work like DisneySea's Mount Prometheus and Journey to the Center of the Earth, respectively.) Existing Potter rides have hidden showbuildings; in the park's center, we'd have to dress the building's backside with rockwork, which from the opposite side can appear like an ocean crag before a lagoon, with the castle spires hidden from this side. Lands near Hogsmeade will be able to see the castle atop the rocks, and will fit its look.

The entry is Victorian as space describes, perhaps turn-of-the-century London with both a posh theater district and the seedy docks nearer to the lagoon. A distant Scottish castle (Potter) fits nicely here, perhaps incorporated into a panoramic lagoon view.

From here, transition is easy to a Universal Monster land, still in castle view. Very Gothic, a Transylvanian village and forest, fits the nearby lands.

Next is Hogsmeade. (Layout can be generally a circle around the castle crag, with some more complex routes like DisneySea as the plans develop.)

Then is the park's Nintendo area, Zelda's Hyrule. Again, the Potter castle fits this fantasy setting nicely.

I can see a nearby Lord of the Rings land also transitioning from Potter and Zelda pretty seamlessly. For now, since LOTR park rights are a huge controversy, let's just leave a big empty expansion pad where it (or something else) could go.

Next door to Hyrule, we need a dedicated land for smaller children, perhaps based on a timelessly popular animated property. Dreamworks is out, so I'm not sure yet what IP to use here. UniMK so far has no Despicable Me, which maybe fits there better. I could see the Seuss Whoville land as exists now in UniMK working here instead, with Mt. Crumpet complimenting the crag's snowier side (castle itself wouldn't be visible from here hopefully).

Not sure what comes next in the circle. We need one more single-IP land here.

But on the lagoon and crag side opposite from Hogsmeade, where the castle is hidden by the big iconic rockwork, a jungle land would work. Either Jurassic World or King Kong (maybe with WB Monsterverse versus Godzilla even). Whichever one doesn't go into UniMK should go here, and either works...though I'm leaning towards Kong right now with the central crag complimenting a Skull Island landmark.

There's no single-IP sci-fi land yet. If we can think of one which fits the Old World tone of the other lands, I'm all for it!

So that's a rough idea of UniSea, all using single-IP lands, all sort of Old World feel with the castle crag as a central element. Thoughts?

I'm going to take all of these thoughts into consideration for the next designs! The UniSEA one will be a bit vague (similar to the first draft of UniMK) but it'll give us something!

Should have them up within a few hours. I'm in a creative mood

 

[D Hulk]

Rick and Morty! (speaking of which are you caught up)

Maybe Universal could build a land based of off the Fallout games. Or even that aesthetic of the games. 1950s retro futuristic.

I'm up through Atlantis, babyyy!

These are good suggestions! Another idea which just occurs - If we can claim the rights, a super popular sci-fi land that'd work perfectly right next to a Victorian England area is...Doctor Who!

 

[spacemt354]

Based on Douglas' and everyone's suggestions - I tried to siphon off the IPs for the respective parks

UniSEA
- Victorian Village Entrance
- Transylvania Village (Uni Monsters)
- Whoville and Mt. Crumpet
- Hogsmeade Village and Hogwarts Castle (Icon)
- Zelda's Hyrule
- Expansion Pad - possibly for Lord of the Rings. I'll through Westeros in there as long as we are tossing in non-Uni IPs
- Kong Skull Island
- Untitled Old World Sci-Fi land - could it be based on old Sci-Fi literature? Or Les Mis as suggested earlier - a quaint Parisian village, yet dark and battered to fit the play?

I really think this park is shaping up well - however, my concern turns to UniMK - where it seems to me more of a dumping ground now for IPs rather than IPs that can connect together in genres

Here's what I had for an updated map (I stopped because I'm not too big of a fan of it)

I wanted to try to take out the Great Movie Ride - as it seemed kind of redundant. In DHS - it was great because it showcased many films that weren't present in the park. However a Uni Great Movie ride would be showcasing scenes of the films that will be in the parks more often than not.

So with that - I also took some influence from the Grand Avenue entrance into Star Wars Land if anyone has kept up with that. Apparently it is going to be a tunnel entrance, to transition you into Star Wars. So In the plaza center, rather than have a central weenie, I placed the Universal Studios banner at the front of the park as others have done, continued the Californian theme up until Universal Plaza, where you the guests travel into the different realms of Universal entertainment, Adventure, Mystery, Action, and Fantasy - in clockwise order from left to right

For Adventure - you'd travel to Isla Nublar and the land of the dinosaurs - for an E ticket, C-ticket, and walkthrough/dining experiences reminiscent of scenery from Jurassic World

As you travel north, you enter the dense forest of California and visit E.T. - continuing the Stephen Spielberg influence. A lagoon will separate Isla Nublar from other areas of the park, making it feel more remote and Pandora esque.

Yet that's really the only thing I'm satisfied with on the map haha

After that - I like the genre's we have, but the IPs we are using are a bit scattered. In addition I'm not the biggest fan of Sesame Street, as there is already a Sesame Place in Pennsylvania (I went there a few times as a kid)

Anyway here's the list below (including Sesame Street)

UniMK
- Fast and Furious
- Possible Bourne
- Sesame Street
- Super Nintendo World
- Ministry of Magic/Fantastic Beasts
- Despicable Me
- Jaws
- The Shining/IT/Bates Motel
- Back to the Future
- Men in Black
- Jurassic World


My thought was perhaps the overarching themes are the 4 genres of film - yet the connecting line aside from two Islands on opposite sides in the Southwest and Southeast corners of the park (Jurassic World and Nintendo respectfully) are themed after Towns and Streets.

Hill Valley, CA (Back to the Future)
Derry, ME (IT)
Amity, MA (Jaws)
Estes Park, CO (The Shining)
New York City, NY (Men in Black)
Hong Kong (Fast and Furious)
London, England (Ministry of Magic)
(wherever Despicable Me takes place)

We have Isla Nublar and Nintendo World anchoring the two corners of Adventure and Fantasy. Then the rest of the park can morph and transition from location to location, separated by trees, bridges, streams, and the tunnels that transition you from the central hub.

If anyone has any thoughts - feel free to toss them out. Similar to the Club 32 projects, I think we may have to condense or redirect some of the attractions, in particular for UniMK. I think it's a bit too varied, and it's not even including all of the suggestions yet.

UniSEA on the other hand, seems almost perfect, with the eclectic villages and settings. So there is some positive to all this!

 

[spacemt354]

Another note for the UniMK park that I just realized...we've been continuously including Back to the Future, E.T. among other attractions in the lineup, only really because they were in the original prompts for the Season back in June. There's nothing forcing us to include those attractions, especially considering their age, I would doubt realistically a new Universal park would focus E-Tickets into decade old films, and instead focus on their newer properties that have been hits: Despicable Me, Nintendo, Furious series, Jurassic World, etc. That may help the planning of the park too.

It also might be more fun for a creative exercise to design attractions that haven't been in Universal parks before!

 

[D Hulk]

Based on Douglas' and everyone's suggestions - I tried to siphon off the IPs for the respective parks

UniSEA
- Victorian Village Entrance
- Transylvania Village (Uni Monsters)
- Whoville and Mt. Crumpet
- Hogsmeade Village and Hogwarts Castle (Icon)
- Zelda's Hyrule
- Expansion Pad - possibly for Lord of the Rings. I'll through Westeros in there as long as we are tossing in non-Uni IPs
- Kong Skull Island
- Untitled Old World Sci-Fi land - could it be based on old Sci-Fi literature? Or Les Mis as suggested earlier - a quaint Parisian village, yet dark and battered to fit the play?

I really think this park is shaping up well - however, my concern turns to UniMK - where it seems to me more of a dumping ground now for IPs rather than IPs that can connect together in genres

Here's what I had for an updated map (I stopped because I'm not too big of a fan of it)

I wanted to try to take out the Great Movie Ride - as it seemed kind of redundant. In DHS - it was great because it showcased many films that weren't present in the park. However a Uni Great Movie ride would be showcasing scenes of the films that will be in the parks more often than not.

So with that - I also took some influence from the Grand Avenue entrance into Star Wars Land if anyone has kept up with that. Apparently it is going to be a tunnel entrance, to transition you into Star Wars. So In the plaza center, rather than have a central weenie, I placed the Universal Studios banner at the front of the park as others have done, continued the Californian theme up until Universal Plaza, where you the guests travel into the different realms of Universal entertainment, Adventure, Mystery, Action, and Fantasy - in clockwise order from left to right

For Adventure - you'd travel to Isla Nublar and the land of the dinosaurs - for an E ticket, C-ticket, and walkthrough/dining experiences reminiscent of scenery from Jurassic World

As you travel north, you enter the dense forest of California and visit E.T. - continuing the Stephen Spielberg influence. A lagoon will separate Isla Nublar from other areas of the park, making it feel more remote and Pandora esque.

Yet that's really the only thing I'm satisfied with on the map haha

After that - I like the genre's we have, but the IPs we are using are a bit scattered. In addition I'm not the biggest fan of Sesame Street, as there is already a Sesame Place in Pennsylvania (I went there a few times as a kid)

Anyway here's the list below (including Sesame Street)

UniMK
- Fast and Furious
- Possible Bourne
- Sesame Street
- Super Nintendo World
- Ministry of Magic/Fantastic Beasts
- Despicable Me
- Jaws
- The Shining/IT/Bates Motel
- Back to the Future
- Men in Black
- Jurassic World


My thought was perhaps the overarching themes are the 4 genres of film - yet the connecting line aside from two Islands on opposite sides in the Southwest and Southeast corners of the park (Jurassic World and Nintendo respectfully) are themed after Towns and Streets.

Hill Valley, CA (Back to the Future)
Derry, ME (IT)
Amity, MA (Jaws)
Estes Park, CO (The Shining)
New York City, NY (Men in Black)
Hong Kong (Fast and Furious)
London, England (Ministry of Magic)
(wherever Despicable Me takes place)

We have Isla Nublar and Nintendo World anchoring the two corners of Adventure and Fantasy. Then the rest of the park can morph and transition from location to location, separated by trees, bridges, streams, and the tunnels that transition you from the central hub.

If anyone has any thoughts - feel free to toss them out. Similar to the Club 32 projects, I think we may have to condense or redirect some of the attractions, in particular for UniMK. I think it's a bit too varied, and it's not even including all of the suggestions yet.

UniSEA on the other hand, seems almost perfect, with the eclectic villages and settings. So there is some positive to all this!

UniMK is the toughie, so thoughts on that first. I'm agreed that it's unrealistic to include E.T. or BTTF in a new park. In fact, USJ replaced their BTTF with a Minions clone just this year , so it'd be realistic and also disciplined if we forced ourselves to use Uni's hot properties (Minions, Fast & Furious, etc.) in their place.

For the "animation" area...Uni owns their own animation studio now, Illumination Entertainment. They've done Despicable Me, Minions, Secret Life of Pets, and Sing so far, with plenty more stuff in production. Let's follow the Fantasyland model for Illumination, with a cartoony modern city sort of combining Pets' NY and Sing's Santa Monica (and wherever Despicable Me is) serving as a unified setting like Fantasyland's Bavarian village. Do attractions for all of Illumination's big hits so far (they have several among Uni's top 20 worldwide grossers, including all I've listed), plus expansion space for future Illumination successes. Call the area Illumination Station maybe. They're a down-market Pixar with a unified aesthetic, could give this area some solid identity. And with this, we can remove Sesame Street.

(Illumination also does Seuss adaptations, like The Lorax already, and Grinch Xmas and Cat in Hat to come. With a Whoville area in UniSea, let's save this stuff for there.)

My only other thought to help out UniMK is to offer up space for certain IPs in UniSea as needed. Example, if Jaws doesn't fit UniMK, the seaside Amity Village would work well between the Victorian docks and then Skull Island. I see UniSea as a more "legacy" park in many ways, with its 1930s Monsters and 1930s Kong, so an older classic property like Jaws could work out well there if needed.

Regarding UniSea's Old World sci-fi area...Though I'd suggested Doctor Who as an option (which would require licensing ), I like space's suggestion of classic sci-fi literature. Since DisneySea has its Verne area, an obvious counterpart is to do H.G. Wells, with rides for The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, and The Island of Dr. Moreau (transition to Kong). (Uni Monsters boasts Wells' Invisible Man.) It's unusual for Universal, since it's not really a movie adaptation land (War of the Worlds ought to be Victorian vintage, not Spielberg's modern version), but it could be really cool, and it's guaranteed to be timeless!

Were there earlier suggestions for a Les Miz land or ride which I missed? No mattter, it might be simple enough to do a Paris miniland transitioning from Victorian London over to Transylvania. Use the Paris Opera House, home of the Phantom, as transition. (A Victorian London transition option - a mummy exhibit at the Museum of London.)

I'm fine with LOTR and Westeros both as possibilities for the expansion pad. Let's ponder properties Uni own which could work here instead of them.

Will continue to think on the UniMK dilemma. Nice ideas thus far everyone!