Belated reviews incoming!
@NigelChanning09 - WALL-E Preshow Elevator
I’ve loved seeing your growth these past few weeks and, with 100% honesty, I think you came into this really unprepared for the competition and you’ve established some awesome building blocks that are only setting you up for success in the competition. I genuinely can’t wait to see what you do here and how you grow further with your team.
Creativity: 7/10 - I feel like I would have scored this higher but your concept feels very much like ThatGuyFromFlorida’s from round 1 which is a bummer to be honest. I really like the idea of a WALL-E-ticket (see what I did there?) but when we saw it earlier it kind of feels like it’s aping on someone else’s idea when I know that wasn’t your intention.
Realism: 7/10 - I was kind of puzzled about how to score this part for you. I think the biggest failing here, what really brought this down, was one thing. Celebrity choice. I like the idea of a celebrity being the one to introduce this ride’s universe. It feels like a very good choice for Wall-E. But celebrity is REALLY hard to get right. It can date a ride in an instant or it can feel shoved in and unfitting and I think that happened here for you. Jimmy Fallon is great but when he has a ride right down I-4 and is well known for being in a product that is not Disney, that’s a real issue, especially when you think about how important that kind of integration is for Disney.
Detail: 9/10 - Your saving grace: you focused almost entirely on the elevator which is exactly what we wanted.
Presentation: 7/10 - I appreciate the slides and your experimentation with different presentation styles, but I think in this case, you would have done better with a nicely formatted forum post. It needs saying: presentation is not an exact science. Certain things don’t need to be gone all out for and I honestly might have scored this higher if it were a different style.
Total: 30/40
@JokersWild - Rocky and Bullwinkle
I had such a stupid smile my entire time reading this. It really gets Rocky and Bullwinkle as an IP and for that, it elevated the concept.
Creativity: 9/10 - An oddball IP choice but one that works and on top of that, the pre-show concept fits it like a glove.
Realism: 8/10 - I see it. I know what you’re going for, if some random Rocky and Bullwinkle renaissance happened I see it happening but the likelihood of that is low which is what brings this down.
Detail: 9/10 - The entire thing was about the elevator, exactly what we wanted and while I could have used a bit more about the effects, this was overall a great piece and a perfect pre-show.
Presentation: 8/10 - A well-formatted forum post is a well-formatted forum post. I could have maybe used an extra reference image
Total: 34/40
@Pi on my Cake - The Elevator of Elevators: A History of Elevators!
Another goofy smile of a project. I really like this. But I needed more and to your own admission it was unfinished.
Creativity: 10/10 - World of Motion is such an underrated part of classic Epcot and there’s such a sense of humor to it in that as opposed to things like Horizons, The Living Seas, and Spaceship Earth, it doesn’t take itself super seriously like the rest of Epcot Center did. This is such a great extension of that concept and one I wouldn’t think of in addition to the alternate universe concept.
Realism: 9/10 - Purely for the alternate universe concept, I think this adds a lot to the realism score. The effects all seem reasonable to the timeframe as well.
Detail: 5/10 - Again, to your own admission it was unfinished.
Presentation: 7/10 - This could have been far worse presentation-wise so the formatting was definitely appreciated.
Total: 31/40
@Pufflefan - California Ocean Expedition
Creativity: 8/10 - I like this concept. I think it’s very basic but it embraces the basicness of the concept
Realism: 6/10 - Despite liking the concept, I like it for Knott’s. I think Knott’s does a very specific thing and that’s that everything is fun and lively but I don’t see them embracing that idea for this. If you had gone for an alternate universe idea of a Living Seas re-do for Epcot or something at DCA or Sea World this would have worked far better for me.
Detail: 7/10 - I wish you came in this with a different approach. There was a lot of buildup for not much payoff. The elevator was interesting and the layout was welcome but… I’m missing a lot here for as much good as it is.
Presentation: 6/10 - I’m sorry, I keep feeling like I tear you apart in these reviews and that genuinely is not what I want to do. Formatting seems to be your fatal flaw and there are a lot of some really bad formatting mistakes here. Page breaks where there shouldn’t be page breaks, difficult to read font and color choice, some grammar errors. It’s really hard to ignore when it keeps happening.
Total: 27/40
@DashHaber - My Hero Academia
For my sins, I am unfamiliar with this IP. It’s on my list. I think you get across the premise of this IP and what’s going on with it so well though. That’s a hard thing to do.
Creativity: 9/10 - An oddball IP is always going to rank higher creatively than an obvious one and My Hero Academia is certainly an oddball choice. One that I actually really like and you really sell the world for the outsider and get all the characters' personalities in a very short amount of time.
Realism: 8/10 - I think it’s just so niche that I don’t see it happening outside of Japan but it works so well.
Detail: 9/10 - Everything I wanted out of this project was here. The fact that the elevator worked into the story so well was just gravy.
Presentation: 8/10 - A well-formatted forum post is a well-formatted forum post and it was exactly what this project needed. Simplicity is not a sin.
Total: 34/40
@Basketbuddy101 - Batman
It’s always bummed me out that Six Flags has its stranglehold on the DC IPs. Characters like Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman could make for some spectacular E-ticket rides and instead they just have roller coasters. There’s nothing wrong with a roller coaster but there could be so much more with them and this is along the lines of what I think of when the idea of “Batman Ride” occurs.
Creativity: 8/10 - Batman is an obvious choice for an E-ticket and the setup is brilliant. I don’t think I know a single person who doesn’t love the DCAU (still the best Batman on screen, prove me wrong) so this works so well in terms of mass appeal.
Realism: 9/10 - It’s an older IP but one with such mass appeal and with so much nostalgia I can see it going in somewhere on that strength alone.
Detail: 10/10 - Everything’s here right down to the elevator setup. The focus was on the elevator, the effects, and the buildup to the ride. Awesome job.
Presentation: 8/10 - Like I keep saying, a well-formatted forum post is nothing to turn your nose up at. A simple, straight-forward presentation was all that this project needed and you got it right there.
Total: 35/40
@Outbound - The Great Muppet-Vator
The Fozzie Bear Trilogy completes and wow does it finish with a bang. I don’t have much else to say so onto the scores!
Creativity: 8/10 - You took the general Great Muppet Movie Ride concept, crumpled it up, said “RIP but I’m different” and shoved it in the trash and went with a totally different concept. The elevator works so well and it’s all so well built up.
Realism: 7/10 - I love it. It ain’t gonna happen, but if Disney cared about the Muppets I could see it happening.
Detail: 10/10 - Perfect amount of detail both for the project itself and the presentation website. So, so good.
Presentation: 10/10 - Were it possible I’d give you over 10 points. The buildup with the websites has been something I looked forward to all week with each successive project and you ended on such a high note. I can’t wait to see where it all goes from here in the competition proper.
Total: 35/40
