Team TMNT Brainstorming Thread - Project Eight: New Islands, New Adventures

[mickeyfan5534]

Project Eight: New Islands, New Adventures

There's ten of you on the merged team. That means it's time to throw a real challenge your way, one that will require you to think on multiple levels of the park you're working with. The park in question is Islands of Adventure. Let's just go ahead and time travel to a few years past the opening date of Epic Universe. With Epic Universe as the big new draw and the original Studios park as the "classic" of Universal Orlando, Islands of Adventure has been left as the awkward middle child, or even worse, "the place you pop into to ride Hagrid's from time to time...". Needless to say, something drastic needs to be done. Something on an even bigger scale than California Adventure 2.0. For this project, teams will take a TWO billion dollar budget and rework three lands in Islands of Adventure.

Because of increasingly stressed copyright negotiations, Marvel Super Hero Island and Toon Lagoon will for sure be two of the lands that require a top to bottom retheme. The other land you work with is between Seuss Landing and The Lost Continent. Both have their pros and cons. Seuss Landing is easily the most whimsical and kid friendly land in the park, but also by far the least popular and thematically consistent land in the park. Not to mention the ever growing problem of the bright paint colors rapidly fading year by year in the Florida heat. The Lost Continent on the other hand features some of the most acclaimed architecture and exteriors in the entire theme park industry and the park's flagship table dining location, but the lack of IP and awkward attraction set up make it prime for a redo. Good luck teams, this project is due Monday, July 20th at 11:59PM Eastern.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

@TheOriginalTiki come on down!

 

[mickeyfan5534]

@Tux come on down!

 

[mickeyfan5534]

@NateD1226 come on down!

 

[mickeyfan5534]

@mickeyfan5534 come on down!

Oh wait... that's me.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

Fam, imma throw this out: Marvel > DC. Toon Lagoon > Avatar. Lost Continent > ???

For now: it's been real, it's been fun, some might even say it's been real fun, but I'm tired so I'm out.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Alright, you guys already know what I'm going to pitch. I want a solid 4th of this park to be Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show is turning back into a cultural phenomenon almost two decades after it originally aired. That in itself proves that it's an iconic, dare I say timeless franchise with atmosphere and sensibilities that I think fit really in line with the mission statement of the park. General outline is as follows....

Spider-Man side of Marvel - The North Pole. Spider-Man replaced with a thrill ride based on the legend of Zhao the Moon Slayer from the season one finale.

Hulk side of Marvel - The Northern Air Temple. Dr. Doom and Storm Force rethemed to airbending. Hulk replaced with a high tech "airbending" flying coaster.

Stadium behind Marvel - Ember. Island. Players

Toon Lagoon - Omashu, with a mail delivery system coaster replacing Dudley Do Rights and a slow moving boat ride through the spirit world replacing Popeye.

This way all four elements are represented. I also think another next level thing we could do is to have "bending gloves". Imagine being able to "bend" the water in the lagoon, seemingly split boulders in half, conjure a powerful gust of wind or transfer flames from one torch the other. It'd all be possible with built in sensors. In a perfect world you could only ever buy a glove for one element per guest so it'd maintain the lore of the show, but there's probably no way to realistically regulate that haha.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Fam, imma throw this out: Marvel > DC. Toon Lagoon > Avatar. Lost Continent > ???

For now: it's been real, it's been fun, some might even say it's been real fun, but I'm tired so I'm out.

I'm cool for not ENTIRELY devoting the front quarter of the park to Avatar as much as I'd like to, especially with my vision of the four elements being represented with four different "mini lands" ala the Lord of the Rings project, but I'm really not on board for DC replacing Marvel. I think whatever we replace Marvel with SHOULDN'T be a city setting. I think we should go out of our way to make all three of our expansions feel as naturalistic as possible. Plus, we all know Six Flags is holding the rights to those characters hostage.

 

[Tux]

I think we can all agree that we're definitely going to have to do something with The Lost Continent that isn't going to be connected to Avatar even if Tiki's pitch is chosen since it's so far away and we can't just update it because there isn't enough space and basically there's no reason to currently. Maybe we could turn the area into a Wicked based land with just one E-Ticket? I've consider HTTYD, but Epic Universe is in the works and adding it would probably be too redundant. Maybe Jaws, but Jaws feels too urban and I have no idea how'd it fit into the area. Maybe Dragonheart but Dragonheart doesn't have a book based source material so it doesn't really fit. Maybe we could turn it into an expansion for Harry Potter? That or maybe something Stephen King based...hm.

As for the Avatar vs DC clash, I'm going to have to say that I'm neutral but slightly agreeing with Tiki, because yeah, DC's urban setting does feel a bit out of place, but at the same time, Marvel was already there, it's just that DC can be grittier than Marvel at times, and I think it could cause a tonal clash.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

I'd strongly argue to get rid of Seuss Landing over Lost Continent. I think Lost Continent works perfectly fine as a bit of a "hub" land with a flagship dining location and a show that still impresses people and has a fanbase. Seuss Landing on the other hand is going to feel even more out of place than it already does once we get rid of Marvel and Toon Lagoon.

Hhhmmm...Bikini Bottom, perhaps? It'd still be the most kiddie land in the park, but it'd be a bit more of a naturalistic setting compared to Seuss and at the very least fits more in with the "island" motif.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

I'm cool for not ENTIRELY devoting the front quarter of the park to Avatar as much as I'd like to, especially with my vision of the four elements being represented with four different "mini lands" ala the Lord of the Rings project, but I'm really not on board for DC replacing Marvel. I think whatever we replace Marvel with SHOULDN'T be a city setting. I think we should go out of our way to make all three of our expansions feel as naturalistic as possible. Plus, we all know Six Flags is holding the rights to those characters hostage.

I'm okay with backing down on DC. However, Tux's idea for a Wicked area gave me the spark for this:

Who needs Wicked when Oz is SO MUCH MORE than the 1939 film. A really epic E-ticket could be made out of a journey through Oz. Additionally, it's public domain so no rights issues to worry about.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

I'm okay with backing down on DC. However, Tux's idea for a Wicked area gave me the spark for this:
View attachment 483062
Who needs Wicked when Oz is SO MUCH MORE than the 1939 film. A really epic E-ticket could be made out of a journey through Oz.

If we go the Oz route, I think we'd pretty much have to do Wicked though. Which honestly I'm not opposed to, but just saying Universal only has the rights to that story and that interpretation of the characters. We can still do something amazing with Wicked, but I don't think we should be venturing too far outside of that text. Maaaaaybe take some setting inspiration from the original novel at the most.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Plus in addition to the rights issue Wicked just "feels" like a Universal property, if that makes any sense. Classic Wizard of Oz feels more "Disney".

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Going to throw out a REALLY out of left field option...The Land Before Time.

Imagine having an epic scary thrilling dinosaur ride on one side of the park, and an epic family friendly slow moving E Ticket dinosaur ride on the other side of the park.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

Plus in addition to the rights issue Wicked just "feels" like a Universal property, if that makes any sense. Classic Wizard of Oz feels more "Disney".

The movie might feel more Disney but the books certainly not. And since they're public domain, no rights issues. Again, the Land of Oz would make for a really cool atmospheric E-ticket

 

[Tux]

I'd strongly argue to get rid of Seuss Landing over Lost Continent. I think Lost Continent works perfectly fine as a bit of a "hub" land with a flagship dining location and a show that still impresses people and has a fanbase. Seuss Landing on the other hand is going to feel even more out of place than it already does once we get rid of Marvel and Toon Lagoon.

Hhhmmm...Bikini Bottom, perhaps? It'd still be the most kiddie land in the park, but it'd be a bit more of a naturalistic setting compared to Seuss and at the very least fits more in with the "island" motif.

That's fair, although I do feel The Lost Continent still feels the least important land out of them all right now and that it could need more of an update. That being said, I can see why you would argue Seuss's Landing would be more important to renovate seeing as Marvel and Toon Lagoon along with it are all based on picture based books and it's going to stick out. I do think Bikini Bottom could work as long as we explain the context behind it fitting as it technically fitting as Spongebob was derived from The Intertidal Zone, which was a comic Stephen Hillenburg made in his earlier days.

Anyways, as for my stance on whether or not Oz would fit in with what I was aiming for with the Wicked suggestion, I chose Wicked because Universal Studios Japan already has the theme park rights to it, however, I should have realized that Copyright laws in Japan are a lot more lax compared to the Copyright Laws in the USA, and Theme Park rights often tend to vary overseas. All of the Disney parks outside of the USA having the Marvel rights but not the ones in the USA is an example of this. I do think that Wicked might not blend too well with the comparatively lighter tone of the rest of Oz, but at the same time, I think it could work okay if the rest of Oz is balanced well with the Wicked context. So, let's shelf Wicked/Oz for now since it's debatable on whether or not it's safe to use.

Going to throw out a REALLY out of left field option...The Land Before Time.

Imagine having an epic scary thrilling dinosaur ride on one side of the park, and an epic family friendly slow moving E Ticket dinosaur ride on the other side of the park.

Oh my god, you just reminded me that we could use any of the Jon Bluth films. I think The Land Before Time could feel repetitive/too Disneylike (quick reminder that Jon Bluth wanted to do what Disney was doing but do it in a way that he felt was better), but if done right, could actually transition pretty well with Jurassic Park.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

The movie might feel more Disney but the books certainly not. And since they're public domain, no rights issues. Again, the Land of Oz would make for a really cool atmospheric E-ticket

I still argue that there should be at least some sort of tie in to Wicked within the land, even if it's not the driving point of the E Ticket. Everyone knows Universal has the rights to Wicked and doing an Oz land without it would feel like a missed opportunity to a lot of people. You mind expanding on what you had in mind for The Land of Oz? I'm really not familiar with the books in the slightest.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

I still argue that there should be at least some sort of tie in to Wicked within the land, even if it's not the driving point of the E Ticket. Everyone knows Universal has the rights to Wicked and doing an Oz land without it would feel like a missed opportunity to a lot of people. You mind expanding on what you had in mind for The Land of Oz? I'm really not familiar with the books in the slightest.

I'm on board with a Wicked tie-in. I really don't have a strong idea atm I just have this mental image of a Haunted Mansion/Pirates-style ride through the Land of Oz past some vignettes. Maybe this could be the Seuss Landing replacement?

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Oh my god, you just reminded me that we could use any of the Jon Bluth films. I think The Land Before Time could feel repetitive/too Disneylike (quick reminder that Jon Bluth wanted to do what Disney was doing but do it in a way that he felt was better), but if done right, could actually transition pretty well with Jurassic Park.

DON Bluth, not Jon Bluth. Sorry, you're talking to a super fan here. If we wanted to do a Bluth property and didn't want to get repetitive with it, there's always Dragon's Lair. That would make one hell of a transition into Potter/Lost Continent.

Plus, watch this and tell me these visuals aren't just BEGGING to be put into a theme park attraction

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

I'm on board with a Wicked tie-in. I really don't have a strong idea atm I just have this mental image of a Haunted Mansion/Pirates-style ride through the Land of Oz past some vignettes. Maybe this could be the Seuss Landing replacement?

While I really have zero attachment to the Oz idea, I'd be willing to take on your vanity project if you can commit to taking on my full vision for Avatar.