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

[DashHaber]

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.

Oh, wow. Those are some great ideas out of the gate.

Honestly, I really like the idea of There and Back Again. I feel like the main Lord of the Rings stuff would have more of an epic and sweeping feel, so I like the idea of this ride preserving the more "children's book" element of The Hobbit. That would offer a distinctive feel, separating it from what the other attractions could be like.

 

[PerGron]

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).

Personally, I say we set it During the events of the films/books. Make it feel like you’re a part of the Fellowship experiencing the adventure with them.

 

[montydysquith-navarro]

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.

Now that I think of it (and do more research on LotR in general), I'm kinda backtracking on the idea of establishing the timeline in terms of the books/films. Since the Third Age occurs during the timelines of both The Hobbit and LotR, what if we just set the land in this specific age? We can still have the Fellowship of the Ring go around doing their business, and still have an attraction/encounter with Smaug. We'll just have to suspend disbelief somehow (since a younger Bilbo would have to be in the Smaug encounter, and an older Bilbo would have to be with the LotR characters).

 

[goofyyukyuk]

So I’m thinking that now that we have 3 IPs that we’re trying to decide between, we should have another vote—everybody votes for one IP, and the winner is the one we go with. After we decide what IP we go with, we can take a day or so to have people put out their ideas for the land and then we have discussions/voting for which overarching idea we want to go with. I’ll start... I vote for Lord of the Rings.

 

[Orange Cat]

I vote for Lord of the Rings.

Me too

 

[DashHaber]

So I’m thinking that now that we have 3 IPs that we’re trying to decide between, we should have another vote—everybody votes for one IP, and the winner is the one we go with. After we decide what IP we go with, we can take a day or so to have people put out their ideas for the land and then we have discussions/voting for which overarching idea we want to go with. I’ll start... I vote for Lord of the Rings.

Sounds good.

I'll throw in my vote for Star Trek.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Sounds good.

I'll throw in my vote for Star Trek.

I'll also put down a vote for Star Trek.

 

[montydysquith-navarro]

I admit I have some apprehension about doing a Star Trek-themed land, given how recent SW:GE opened in DHS (though that would be a creative challenge for us as a team: how would we differentiate the Star Trek Land experience over Disney's SW:GE?) Even though both franchises have their differences, they're more-or-less confused with each other by the normal guest (in my opinion).

(This is not me casting a vote yet, by the way. I'll wait for someone to bring up a Star Trek idea since we've been developing the LotR idea more than Star Trek).

 

[PerGron]

I think before we vote we should hear from the Star Trek camp. Remember, the IP is only half the battle, we still have to have a basic idea going into it. If you’re on team Star Trek, what would you suggest for our land? Same thing with team Blade Runner but I think I was championing that one and it’s fizzled our.

 

[PerGron]

I admit I have some apprehension about doing a Star Trek-themed land, given how recent SW:GE opened in DHS (though that would be a creative challenge for us as a team: how would we differentiate the Star Trek Land experience over Disney's SW:GE?) Even though both franchises have their differences, they're more-or-less confused with each other by the normal guest (in my opinion).

(This is not me casting a vote yet, by the way. I'll wait for someone to bring up a Star Trek idea since we've been developing the LotR idea more than Star Trek).

I agree. I feel like you couldn’t get away without being able to pilot the USS Enterprise in the vein of Smuggler’s Run as Trekkies would demand it. Trekkies are notoriously hard to please, I mean, they hate Picard which I thoroughly enjoyed. I fear Star Trek would either be too similar to Galaxy’s Edge or not be able to please Trekkies while also not drawing in other guests since Star Trek isn’t as popular to the regular crowd as Harry Potter, Star Wars, and LotR.

 

[Outbound]

It's easy to please Trekkies. There should be a new dark ride where you board a giant tribble. Inside the tribble you shoot to create more tribbles (virtual screen). The plot is you need to ruin Kirk's day. If you ruin Kirk's day enough a bunch of red shirts die.

 

[Outbound]

I think before we vote we should hear from the Star Trek camp. Remember, the IP is only half the battle, we still have to have a basic idea going into it. If you’re on team Star Trek, what would you suggest for our land? Same thing with team Blade Runner but I think I was championing that one and it’s fizzled our.

I think we should put Blade Runner as a surprise tool that could help us later in the competition. Right now I feel more inspired by a LOTR land, so I vote LOTR.

 

[goofyyukyuk]

If you all wanted, maybe everybody does a concept for their favorite IP option that’s available and we vote on those? Or are you just wanting a couple ideas from each IP?

 

[goofyyukyuk]

I think we should put Blade Runner as a surprise tool that could help us later in the competition. Right now I feel more inspired by a LOTR land, so I vote LOTR.

I agree with that... I think that LotR is something I’d be really excited to work with right now but that’s not to say that the other IPs wouldn’t be great to work with later in the competition.

 

[PerGron]

If you all wanted, maybe everybody does a concept for their favorite IP option that’s available and we vote on those? Or are you just wanting a couple ideas from each IP?

Right now I just think we wait for the Star Trek camp to give us an idea and then we vote from there. Obviously we don’t have to go with the first idea thrown out, but it gives us an idea to begin working with.

 

[Disneylover152]

So personally, I think a Star Trek could turn out pretty cool, plus it fits the park's loose theme and it's an environment that can distinct itself from the other areas in the park, which I can't say the same about LOTR.

On the other hand, LOTR could be cool as well, but I think it's not timeless like the other IPs in this park are. It also feels similar, at least as someone who has never seen the movies and knows nothing about it, to The Lost Continent & Wizarding World.

Then again, Star Trek feels similar to Star Wars. I know the Star Trek camp still has to give ideas, but I think whatever is has to be very different. Maybe we can take everything wrong with Galaxy's Edge (land being lifeless, not enough free stuff to do, it being a huge mall, no elaborately themed sit-down or even quick service, etc.) and change that. We can take aspects of Sci-Fi City at Singapore, modernize the previous Star Trek attractions at Universal Studios. I think Star Trek is the way to go. It's a timeless IP.

As I started writing my thoughts out here, originally I was going to vote for LOTR, but now it seems I can find more good in Star Trek than LOTR. My vote is Star Trek.

 

[PerGron]

The conversation has gone quiet. I’d like to hear some ideas from our Star Trek voters as to what your ideas are.
@Disneylover152 @DashHaber @Sharon&Susan
since you all voted Star Trek, I’d like to hear what you all have to say about it. We’ll try to decide between the two tomorrow once we have a Star Trek idea mapped out

 

[DashHaber]

The conversation has gone quiet. I’d like to hear some ideas from our Star Trek voters as to what your ideas are.
@Disneylover152 @DashHaber @Sharon&Susan
since you all voted Star Trek, I’d like to hear what you all have to say about it. We’ll try to decide between the two tomorrow once we have a Star Trek idea mapped out

Sorry about not responding sooner.

Well, part of the reason why I vote for Star Trek is to diversify some of the world selection of Epic Universe. There is already going to be a strong showing of fantasy content in the park already, with How to Train Your Dragon and Nintendo (to a degree) running with these styles. Star Trek would add some science fiction to the park, carving out a distinct look of its own.

Also, some might wonder if this would just feel like a copy of Star Wars over at DHS? Personally, I say no. Whereas Galaxy's Edge is a worn-down home of smugglers and threatened with the presence of the First Order, I envision a Star Trek section as being a sleek city of the future that is home to a Starfleet Command base. This is a place where you can see the wonder of interplanetary cooperation, where sights and wonders from across the planets can come together in a united mission.

I'm not sure of all the ride ideas I'd have right off the bat, but one thing that could be interesting is the Kobayashi Maru. Probably one of the most famous tests in Starfleet Academy, prospective recruits (like visitors to the park) can take their chance and see how they handle themselves in a thrilling test of character.

 

[Tux]

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 )

True, the only way I can see anyone failing so far is if someone becomes inactive farther on in later prompts or if an idea is truely cluttered or under developed from the beginning, which seems like it would be rare as everyone seems to have plenty of ideas and there are enough people that roles can be split so projects can be larger without overwhelming people. The only way I can see a project failing so far is it being too ambitious for everyone to complete by the deadline but even then that doesn't warrant eliminate in the first round. Also, quick correction but i'm pretty sure @gam3rprincess uses they/them pronouns, oof. However, I'm not sure if they use multiple pronouns or not, sorry for this if so.

 

[pix]

True, the only way I can see anyone failing so far is if someone becomes inactive farther on in later prompts or if an idea is truely cluttered or under developed from the beginning, which seems like it would be rare as everyone seems to have plenty of ideas and there are enough people that roles can be split so projects can be larger without overwhelming people. The only way I can see a project failing so far is it being too ambitious for everyone to complete by the deadline but even then that doesn't warrant eliminate in the first round. Also, quick correction but i'm pretty sure @gam3rprincess uses they/them pronouns, oof. However, I'm not sure if they use multiple pronouns or not, sorry for this if so.

I do use they/them pronouns thanks for bringing that back up. And I didn't expect the comp to start till the first and with everything going on I had my notifs muted until I was done so I am glad I decided to check in. I haven't caught up on any of the posts other than this yet so I have no imput quite yet but I will get back to you guys once I have read the prompt and earlier brainstorming.