SYWTBAI Season 18 - Round One: Team Next Gen Brainstorming Thread

[CookieMouse]

I’ll go first and pitch my pros and cons of each

Lord of the Rings
Pros
- Very familiar property. All generations are at least somewhat familiar with it. Incredibly iconic characters, landmarks, etc.
- Family-friendly but with the ability to go darker with it should you choose.
- Six films to choose from (LotR Trilogy & Hobbit Trilogy) giving a lot more opportunity for different attractions.
- Tons of locations, giving option for expansions at the other three parks in the vein of Harry Potter.
- Storyline fits “epic” theme very well
- Potential upcoming animated show keeping the IP fresh.
Cons
- Not owned by Universal, meaning they have to pay for theme park rights.
- Younger audiences may not be as familiar with the property.
- May be too expansive?
- May be the easy and “unoriginal” option
- “Fantasy” Already featured with HtTYD


Blade Runner
Pros
- Tons or opportunity for creativity
- Beloved IP that inspired modern-day science fiction as it is.
- Sequel came out in 2017 keeping the IP fresh in many people’s minds
- More out-of-the-box idea
- Sci-Fi added to the park
Cons
- R-Rated property, less accessible to younger audiences.
- Attraction ideas have to be more creative as there isn’t much inspiration in the film itself
- Land would almost have to be inside as outside would ruin the aesthetic
- IP is more thought-provoking than most others, possibly making it harder to add the nuances into the land
- Not owned by Uni so theme park rights need to be purchased.

Star Trek
Pros
- Beloved IP with tons of dedicated fans and currently running shows with films that wrapped up not too long ago.
- Iconic set pieces such as the USS Enterprise that could be in the same vein as Galaxy’s Edge and the Millennium Falcon
- Merchandising opportunity with shirt colors, phasers, etc.
- Automatic audience upon opening as Trekkies will happily come to the park like Potterheads did already with WWoHP.
Cons
- Younger audiences may not be familiar with the property
- Generally considered the “nerdiest” of the popular IP, possibly not interesting some groups of guests.
- World is less “epic” than the other two ideas.
- Not owned by Uni so theme park rights need to be purchased.

In the end, I think Lord of the Rings is our best option, but I personally prefer Blade Runner. Taking the criteria into account, I think LotR would get us higher points in Realism but Blade Runner would score us higher in creativity, so that’s where I’m at. Personally Star Trek doesn’t do it for me, but I’m excited to hear from all of you.

I know it might be a little too late, but how about a Cartoon Network land, based on the old cn city bumpers? It’s Owned by Warner bros, but Harry Potter is too, so their previous collaborations would make it possible. You could have a lot of cn properties represented, with maybe an idea being an infinity train themed escape room attraction! I know Cartoon Network isn’t really a property per se, but I believe that cn city is.

 

[Outbound]

I agree with everything @PerGronStudio says. LOTR is the safest and easiest to make. Just having slept on it overnight I’ve woken up with a new idea for a Rivendell themed ride. Where I’m not sure yet what to fill for a Blade Runner and Star Trek IP. Not to say we couldn’t do it, but it comes less naturally. I’m kinda shocked LOTR isn’t in a theme park yet.

 

[CookieMouse]

I'll allow Nickelodeon as an IP since there's some crossover potential in the properties in stuff like video games. If you go this route, just be sure to stick to NickToons and don't work in other cartoons that aren't considered in that canon.

Can you allow cn city as an ip?

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Can you allow cn city as an ip?

Yes, if you stick to the Cartoon Cartoon side of things since those are the ones that crossed over with each other.

 

[CookieMouse]

Yes, if you stick to the Cartoon Cartoon side of things since those are the ones that crossed over with each other.

Ok ko had an episode in cn city that had almost every show from cn in there, so i think they should count too.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Ok ko had an episode in cn city that had almost every show from cn in there, so i think they should count too.

I'm not too up to date on modern Cartoon Network, so that's fine. When I say Cartoon Cartoon I mostly just mean in-studio stuff so no Total Drama, Johnny Test, Hannah Barbera etc.

 

[PerGron]

I know it might be a little too late, but how about a Cartoon Network land, based on the old cn city bumpers? It’s Owned by Warner bros, but Harry Potter is too, so their previous collaborations would make it possible. You could have a lot of cn properties represented, with maybe an idea being an infinity train themed escape room attraction! I know Cartoon Network isn’t really a property per se, but I believe that cn city is.
View attachment 472511

Personally I’m against this one. We shut down ideas for a Nicktoons area as well as SpongeBob and a few others for being too “kiddie” as we already have How to Train Your Dragon and Nintendo coming to the park. I also feel CN doesn’t fit the “epic” mantra we’re going for in this park.However, if the rest of the group overrules me on this one, I’ll go with it. However, I am gonna stick to my guns and say LotR or Blade Runner

 

[Orange Cat]

In the end, I think Lord of the Rings is our best option, but I personally prefer Blade Runner. Taking the criteria into account, I think LotR would get us higher points in Realism but Blade Runner would score us higher in creativity, so that’s where I’m at. Personally Star Trek doesn’t do it for me, but I’m excited to hear from all of you.

I know the most about Star Trek personally. But I agree that LOTR and Blade Runner fit better

 

[montydysquith-navarro]

I agree with everything @PerGronStudio says. LOTR is the safest and easiest to make. Just having slept on it overnight I’ve woken up with a new idea for a Rivendell themed ride. Where I’m not sure yet what to fill for a Blade Runner and Star Trek IP. Not to say we couldn’t do it, but it comes less naturally. I’m kinda shocked LOTR isn’t in a theme park yet.

I'm also agreeing with Per and Outbound here. LOTR hits a lot of the checkboxes required from the lands of Epic Universe, though Per raised some interesting points that we would have to address, especially the fact that the fantasy and adventure genres will also be represented in HtTYD land. Looking from the list of rumored attractions for this land, there seems to be a plan for a Soarin'-like attraction (as the main anchor for the land I guess), as well as a rollercoaster, a boat ride, and a sky flyer (which would admittedly take me out of the immersiveness of the land). We'd have to take these (albeit rumored) attractions into account while planning the ones for LOTR land so that it wouldn't be similar.

 

[PerGron]

I think if we do LOTR, our most important decision is what part of Middle Earth our land will cover. I’d say Middle Earth has more iconic locations than any other Fantasy world. Between The Shire, Rivendell, Moria, Mordor, Helm’s Deep, Gondor, Isengard, etc. there are so many places in the property that we’d need to pick the one (or few) that best fit our land. Of course, we could combine them and just suspend your disbelief of the distance between the Shire and Mordor, or we could choose one or two areas and build them, announcing future expansions at the other parks.

I could easily see Mordor being an expansion that replaces The Lost Continent at IOA, with possibly an expansion at Universal Studios Florida as well. But this decision will dictate the way our attractions go. If we decide to build Mordor, sure we could have a drop tower in the Eye of Sauron and maybe a roller coaster through Mount Doom, but we don’t get to do a Barrel Log Flume or an Escape from the Mines of Moria attraction. So if we were to go the LOTR route, what do you think we should do here?

 

[Outbound]

I think if we do LOTR, our most important decision is what part of Middle Earth our land will cover. I’d say Middle Earth has more iconic locations than any other Fantasy world. Between The Shire, Rivendell, Moria, Mordor, Helm’s Deep, Gondor, Isengard, etc. there are so many places in the property that we’d need to pick the one (or few) that best fit our land. Of course, we could combine them and just suspend your disbelief of the distance between the Shire and Mordor, or we could choose one or two areas and build them, announcing future expansions at the other parks.

I could easily see Mordor being an expansion that replaces The Lost Continent at IOA, with possibly an expansion at Universal Studios Florida as well. But this decision will dictate the way our attractions go. If we decide to build Mordor, sure we could have a drop tower in the Eye of Sauron and maybe a roller coaster through Mount Doom, but we don’t get to do a Barrel Log Flume or an Escape from the Mines of Moria attraction. So if we were to go the LOTR route, what do you think we should do here?

My pitch is three sublands.

• Entry Land: The Shire
  • Bag End sit-down
  • Green Dragon quick service
  • "The Carnival" - lots of fun tents set up
    • Kiddie ferris wheel, made of wood
    • Kiddie carousel themed to ponies
  • There and Back Again: Kiddie boat ride taking you through a cartoony retelling of the Hobbit (lore being that this is Bilbo telling the young Hobbits his adventures from 60 years prior)
  • Gandalf's Firework Show -- at night
• Transition Land: The Dark Forest
  • The Prancing Pony restaurant
  • Take a picture with the three trolls turned to stone
• Final Land: Rivendell
  • Sit-down elvish restaurant
  • Flight of Eagles: e-ticket hybrid of Soarin and Forbidden Journey. You are flown by one of the Eagles all across the various sights of Middle Earth, ending with a trip to Mordor and witnessing the destruction of Mt. Doom first hand.
  • The Mines of Moria: more practical e-ticket where you must escape the horrible Balrog.

If we were to replace the Lost Continent, I think a more Hobbit focus would be better. I just feel like we can do a lot more with the Forests of Mirkwood, Laketown, and Erebor than we can with Gondor and Mordor.

 

[montydysquith-navarro]

I think if we do LOTR, our most important decision is what part of Middle Earth our land will cover. I’d say Middle Earth has more iconic locations than any other Fantasy world. Between The Shire, Rivendell, Moria, Mordor, Helm’s Deep, Gondor, Isengard, etc. there are so many places in the property that we’d need to pick the one (or few) that best fit our land. Of course, we could combine them and just suspend your disbelief of the distance between the Shire and Mordor, or we could choose one or two areas and build them, announcing future expansions at the other parks.

I could easily see Mordor being an expansion that replaces The Lost Continent at IOA, with possibly an expansion at Universal Studios Florida as well. But this decision will dictate the way our attractions go. If we decide to build Mordor, sure we could have a drop tower in the Eye of Sauron and maybe a roller coaster through Mount Doom, but we don’t get to do a Barrel Log Flume or an Escape from the Mines of Moria attraction. So if we were to go the LOTR route, what do you think we should do here?

I would also like to raise the timeline issue: at what point in the books/the films are we visiting the LOTR land? As soon as Frodo's journey begins in The Fellowship of the Ring, during the War of the Ring in Return of the King, or after the books/films when everything has settled? I think our resolution of the timeline issue will impact our selection of the locations, as Mordor is said to be "filled with bright light" as the shadows fled after Sauron's death. This could greatly reduce the "epicness" of that section, seeing as the main draw for Mordor is really the pre-war (but not First Age) environment and its sinister atmosphere, which we could juxtapose with the warmth and cheeriness of The Shire.

 

[Outbound]

I would also like to raise the timeline issue: at what point in the books/the films are we visiting the LOTR land? As soon as Frodo's journey begins in The Fellowship of the Ring, during the War of the Ring in Return of the King, or after the books/films when everything has settled? I think our resolution of the timeline issue will impact our selection of the locations, as Mordor is said to be "filled with bright light" as the shadows fled after Sauron's death. This could greatly reduce the "epicness" of that section, seeing as the main draw for Mordor is really the battle and its rather sinister atmosphere (which we could juxtapose with the warmth and cheeriness of The Shire).

Well, probably whatever works so that you end up running into the Fellowship on the attractions. Like how it's pretty awesome to run into Harry Potter on his rides, running into Gandalf would be lots of fun. So if we have a Moria ride, it should be set while the Fellowship is entering Moria (just from my pitch the Eagles ride could technically be set over a few months while you are flying in the clouds, that way we can get the Battle of the Black Gate without messing the timeline).

 

[CookieMouse]

I just had another amazing idea! How about a legend of Zelda themed land?

 

[Orange Cat]

My pitch is three sublands.

• Entry Land: The Shire
  • Bag End sit-down
  • Green Dragon quick service
  • "The Carnival" - lots of fun tents set up
    • Kiddie ferris wheel, made of wood
    • Kiddie carousel themed to ponies
  • There and Back Again: Kiddie boat ride taking you through a cartoony retelling of the Hobbit (lore being that this is Bilbo telling the young Hobbits his adventures from 60 years prior)
  • Gandalf's Firework Show -- at night
• Transition Land: The Dark Forest
  • The Prancing Pony restaurant
  • Take a picture with the three trolls turned to stone
• Final Land: Rivendell
  • Sit-down elvish restaurant
  • Flight of Eagles: e-ticket hybrid of Soarin and Forbidden Journey. You are flown by one of the Eagles all across the various sights of Middle Earth, ending with a trip to Mordor and witnessing the destruction of Mt. Doom first hand.
  • The Mines of Moria: more practical e-ticket where you must escape the horrible Balrog.

If we were to replace the Lost Continent, I think a more Hobbit focus would be better. I just feel like we can do a lot more with the Forests of Mirkwood, Laketown, and Erebor than we can with Gondor and Mordor.

I like this proposal because of how many restaurants there are. As basically all I did in Sorcerer‘s Apprentice S6 was make restaurants

 

[Orange Cat]

I just had another amazing idea! How about a legend of Zelda themed land?

It would be too much Nintendo in one park

 

[Sharon&Susan]

I just had another amazing idea! How about a legend of Zelda themed land?

I'd save Zelda for another park or as a mini land expansion to SNW.

 

[spacemt354]

I just wanted to say great job by the new players here - truly; it's so nice to read an active brainstorming thread with fresh faces, I think you're off to a terrific start to the season!

 

[goofyyukyuk]

I would think it being set during the events of LotR would probably be best... granted, it eliminates the use of Smaug, which would be super epic, unless... what if in the Lonely Mountain, there was an attraction taking guests through the history of the dwarves? They have a pretty epic history and that would allow us to use Smaug (most epic part of the Hobbit imo) and still maintain continuity with the rest of the land.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

I just wanted to say great job by the new players here - truly; it's so nice to read an active brainstorming thread with fresh faces, I think you're off to a terrific start to the season!

I second this. I can't even FATHOM how were going to widdle this cast down from 18 great players to one winner. Eliminations this season are going to be brutal, haha. So far the only person to not show up yet is @gam3rprincess so it looks like by all intents and purposes we can keep the cast of 18 in tact moving forward even if she acts as an early elimination assuming she never shows up. (Big "if" of course )