Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[magicallactose]

Hate the concept art. Decorated, not themed.

Agreed. Stark Industries should feature jaw-dropping, state-of-the-art, futuristic architecture.
What we see in that concept art is tired, dated, and drab. (And if they were going for 1960's retro cool, I think they lost their way somewhere)

 

[Bairstow]

It feels empty, emotionally uninvolving, doesn't it? I'd say there is theme without placemaking.

Disney is getting in the habit of theming individual rides, plus their immediate surrounding. Instead of the old way of creating a place, a themed land.
That is a mistake. Individual rides need to be subordinate to the overall 'story' (that maligned term!) of the land. Instead of the story of the ride taking preference and the area around it being themed to that. That is the world upside down.


This is why NFL falls so flat too. That is a collection of several areas themed as BatB, Mermaid, Snow. But, in the immortal words Gertrude Stein spoke about Oakland: 'there is no 'there' there'.
Like LA it estranges the visitor. Unlike San Francisco, which is a proper 'place'. Or old European towns, or classic FL, which was a very strong place, a mediaeval town square.

Until we see more artwork about what Hong Kong's Tomorrowland... or whateverland this is going into, it's a bit early to condemn the approach. It wouldn't surprise me if this artwork was ginned up solely for the benefit of the Chinese owners/investors who want to see that something new is in the works for the park. A facade that only obliquely hints at the guest experience inside would be unsuited for this task. When investors are antsy is not the time to come up with some sort of clever "Stark Industries Expo" concept, especially if you're having to work through a language barrier.

As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out for New Fantasyland until they finish the dwarf hill. Until you can turn around and not see construction walls it's too early to see if they succeeded in the place. From what I've seen already, it looks as though the Beauty and the Beast area is going to interplay quite well with the boundaries of the town square, as will the hill. The Mermaid grotto I'm more concerned about, though taken by itself it's a really nice piece of rockwork.

Storybook circus is excellent, though, as it spans and ties together several different attractions. Trying to fold it in with the rest of Fantasyland, whatever its aesthetic is would probably have been overkill.

 

[articos]

Any of the insiders hear anything about this info? @marni1971 @Lee @WDW1974 @articos @whylightbulb

Can't comment on this. Sorry. Nothing's anywhere near final on this, however.

 

[asianway]

Agreed. Stark Industries should feature jaw-dropping, state-of-the-art, futuristic architecture.
What we see in that concept art is tired, dated, and drab. (And if they were going for 1960's retro cool, I think they lost their way somewhere)

I thought I was looking at a KwikEMart for a minute

 

[PirateFrank]

Uh... I'm well aware of what happened in Florida. But your comparing buying undeveloped land in the 60s to buying developed urban properties in the age of online access to electronic records. Adding to that... In a vision of just buying whatever becomes available vs an agressive strategy

Agreed. However, we're also talking about a *much* smaller scale of land purchase. Like I said, DLR doesn't need 40sq miles. a few hundred acres will do.

If DLR wanted to start picking up adjacent plots, instead of increasing the stock in their treasury, they'd be able to do so....especially in a bad economy.

 

[Fe Maiden]

I thought I was looking at a KwikEMart for a minute

My first thought was that they're repurposing a bank building. They've certainly captured the feel, uniqueness, and excitement of going to a TD Bank which you can find on almost every corner in South Jersey. I guess theming it to a Wawa would have thrown the budget out of whack.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Agreed on 'decorating, rather than theming'. That doesn't say Disney to me, it
could be any modern shopping mall . . .

Then again, it also looks like it could be a modification from a certain
DL Tomorrowland overlay that was being considered. Just a hint of that in there.

And, yes, Disney is spending money on Attractions . . . just not in Florida.
Well, we'll see. Someday, we'll see. Hope I'm alive to see it.

What would Stark hand-dryers look like? Would they stop the endemic spread
of urine? Only time will tell! You know that Stark had to have some awesome
urine tech in his suit, otherwise, yuck. Right?

 

[marni1971]

You do not need any insider to tell you that. Of course it's going to be outdoors. It will be utilizing the peoplemover tracks.

Well there you go!

 

[lazyboy97o]

And, yes, Disney is spending money on Attractions . . . just not in Florida.

I am very curious as to who is paying for this attraction. The recent wave of expansions were financed 100% by The Walt Disney Company because the Government of Hong Kong felt they were cheated on the initial build out of the park. I'm wondering if the financing for this now follows the ownership or is still a special arrangement.

 

[marni1971]

Can't comment on this. Sorry. Nothing's anywhere near final on this, however.

Tell me about it. Innoventions. Innoventions and PM. PM only. PM demolished. Innoventions demolished. More twists than a DHS RSR and door coaster put together.

 

[menamechris]

Considering how Disney likes to space out major announcements, I'm guessing Disney just bought themselves a good 6-9 more months before announcing anything coming to WDW.

I am absolutely blown away at how indifferent and passive the company is with WDW. Any excuse not to improve their parks, even though all but one are falling apart.

 

[aladdin2007]

Considering how Disney likes to space out major announcements, I'm guessing Disney just bought themselves a good 6-9 more months before announcing anything coming to WDW.

I am absolutely blown away at how indifferent and passive the company is with WDW. Any excuse not to improve their parks, even though all but one are falling apart.

They are dining-dvc-magicbands-realestate-merch sales obsessed is one problem. As long as they are focused on all that making a buck they dont care about new attractions or current ones for that matter that need updating, which is pathetic.

 

[Lee]

Any of the insiders hear anything about this info? @marni1971 @Lee @WDW1974 @articos @whylightbulb

Yep. That's the version I've been hearing about for a little while. Not 100% sure that version is greenlit, though

You do not need any insider to tell you that. Of course it's going to be outdoors. It will be utilizing the peoplemover tracks.

No, it won't. If they go with the outdoor version, it will replace Autopia..

 

[stlphil]

It feels empty, emotionally uninvolving, doesn't it? I'd say there is theme without placemaking.

Disney is getting in the habit of theming individual rides, plus their immediate surrounding. Instead of the old way of creating a place, a themed land.
That is a mistake. Individual rides need to be subordinate to the overall 'story' (that maligned term!) of the land. Instead of the story of the ride taking preference and the area around it being themed to that. That is the world upside down.


This is why NFL falls so flat too. That is a collection of several areas themed as BatB, Mermaid, Snow. But, in the immortal words Gertrude Stein spoke about Oakland: 'there is no 'there' there'.
Like LA it estranges the visitor. Unlike San Francisco, which is a proper 'place'. Or old European towns, or classic FL, which was a very strong place, a mediaeval town square.

Just curious what you think the theme (without placemaking) is? To me, the big signs advertising what's inside say "no theme".

This "might" be okay in a Studios-type park but certainly not in a Magic Kingdom type park. Although even at that I'm not convinced, like the facade for Transformers at Uni takes away from the immersion provided by the ride inside.

BTW, agree with the rest of your post.

 

[Travel Junkie]

so which is it, an endor or outdoor coaster?

According to Miceage this morning, both! They claim the plan is to rip out Autopia and put an outdoor speeder bike ride on that land that races through endor.

Also they are reporting the Astro Orbiter will be relocated from the hub and placed on the Space Mountain Concourse and the Millenium Falcon will go on the old People Mover platform with a meet and greet location inside.

So if this is true it looks like DL's Tomorrowland will be turned into Star Wars land plus Space Mountain.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Just curious what you think the theme (without placemaking) is? To me, the big signs advertising what's inside say "no theme".

I am assuming, based on prior rumors regarding Disneyland, is that it will have a sort of exhibition theme. It's like Paradise Pier or a studio park where a lack of "theme" (really a lack of place) is the theme.

 

[muteki]

That is the worst name ever.

The <insert IP here> Experience.

I thought I was looking at a KwikEMart for a minute

Can't unsee this.

 

[FigmentJedi]

According to Miceage this morning, both! They claim the plan is to rip out Autopia and put an outdoor speeder bike ride on that land that races through endor.

Also they are reporting the Astro Orbiter will be relocated from the hub and placed on the Space Mountain Concourse and the Millenium Falcon will go on the old People Mover platform with a meet and greet location inside.

So if this is true it looks like DL's Tomorrowland will be turned into Star Wars land plus Space Mountain.

Which really freaking sucks.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Just curious what you think the theme (without placemaking) is? To me, the big signs advertising what's inside say "no theme".

This "might" be okay in a Studios-type park but certainly not in a Magic Kingdom type park. Although even at that I'm not convinced, like the facade for Transformers at Uni takes away from the immersion provided by the ride inside.

BTW, agree with the rest of your post.

The theme to me is 'Ironman'. Which, incidentally, is what my wife said last night too!

Absolutely abysmal jokes aside, everything seems to be themed after the Ironman tech. The place (term used losely here) is build up from elements from his suit. It is as if a giant Ironman was caught mid-air by an even larger giant, who peeled out Robert Downey Jr. for a snack, then bended and twisted the individual parts of his suit to build a playground for the little people.

http://www./wp-content/uploads/2013/10/iron-man-experience-hong-kong.jpg


We really need some sharp definitionts of theme, placemaking, and decoration. My theory is failing me. Meh, theme parks are my hobby, not my study, I lack precise terminology.

You don't need elaborate set dressing to have a strong theme. You can also do without virtually any decoration. Classic MK TL has a very strong theme, little decoration, no ornamentation, and reasonably good placemaking.
One of the differences between classic WED and modern WDI, is that in the old MK TL you can replace any attraction for a new one, and the theme remains intact. Whereas it is inconceivable to replace Iron Man with The Hulk, or Cars with Ratatouille, in their lands. The difference between place and theme/decoration.

 

[TalkingHead]

That is the worst name ever.

The <insert IP here> Experience.

POTC = The Pirates Experience
HM = The Haunted House Experience
Space Mtn = The Space Experience
Big Thunder = The Mine Train Experience
TOT = The Haunted Hotel Experience
Star Tours = The Star Wars Experience
Everest = The Broken Yeti Experience
SSE = The Golfball Experience
Avatar = The Coming in 2017 Experience
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train = The Still-Under-Construction Experience