Ok here's my take on the project, and yes, it's long.
First of all I would like to say that both teams did a great job creating restaurants that I would love to dine at. With that said it’s time to get to the judging. I broke up this project into three categories, each with a maximum score of 5 points. These categories were Design and Creativity, Food, and Placement within the land (which includes story). I’ll start with Chip & Dale’s Imagineering Rangers.
Choosing Pixar Place was a great decision, as it’s on the complete other side of the park from most of the table service restaurant. Your team obviously has a great amount of creativity, and it clearly shows through your idea. However, with everything put together it seemed very mismatched. I’m not sure you all ever really decided on one specific vision for the restaurant, and the result is a place that is a mess of all things art deco. One thing to remember is that not all art deco goes with all art deco. As for choosing art deco itself, I’m torn. Though I love the idea of art deco, I don’t think Pixar was the theme to use with it. Pixar, to me seems that it would be more well suited if it were done in a modern and minimalistic way. As for your reception room, the idea is good, but getting said idea across to guests would be incredibly difficult. Your idea for rooms is fantastic, especially your future release area. An ever-changing room will bring guests back to see what’s up with America’s most beloved animation studio. The idea for a bar tied to Finding Nemo is a great idea as well. Now, on to some more of the bad. The furniture selection is, once again, a hodge-podge of everything, and none of it meshed. If an all-white room is what you’re after for the reception area, don’t fill it with wooden and cream-colored chairs, and especially keep single chairs to a minimum. This is a high-class restaurant, not a doctor’s waiting room. Also, I have to really question the idea of using dividers instead of walls. What you put in them is great, but the way you have them spaced out in the floor plan irks me. If I were sitting by those dividers I would feel very weird about people spying on me and listening in to my conversation during the meal. Also, unless your ceiling is going to have some major art or display on it, there is really no need for it to be as high as you make it seem. Your placement of the kitchen was also rather poor, in my opinion. Finally, if you are trying to make the dining area feel as open as you possibly can, pillars do not really help that illusion.
We now move on to food. I’ll start with lunch. Honestly, I would not eat at Luxo’s for lunch if all you offered was a collection of sandwiches, a salad, and a steak and eggs dish. These are meals that I either would be eating at breakfast, or at the quick service place across the way. It also doesn’t scream daring enough for me. Your dinner menu, on the other hand, is absolutely fantastic, and exactly what I want to see in a meal. It is varied, and the names are just oh so cute! (Except for Roast Kevin. That one’s rather disturbing.)
Finally, your placement is rather odd. I understand that the SS is a great open spot to use, but I feel that it would be much better suited as a space for a new attraction. Also, it seems you are not going with the brick-style that Pixar Place is known for, which completely destroys the illusion for me. Also, building the restaurant a few feet higher because you wanted stairs is, in my opinion, a very expensive waste of money that could be used for more decorations inside the establishment itself. Your story, as well, seemed very clunky. Sometimes, the best story is the simplest one possible. Overall, however, your project went over incredibly well with me, and I scored you as such: Design/ Creativity: 3, Food: 4, and Placement: 4, giving you a total score of 11/15.
Now, it’s time to score Goofy’s Brainstormers. Your design and creativity for me were a big hit. Pulling inspiration from some great films, and creating not one, but two dining destinations is a great feat. From the elevator to the two dining rooms, each with a completely different, yet similar feel are incredible. The only thing I would say is to place a cushioned back on your chairs, which are phenomenal as well. I only have two things to say (I would lavish you with more praise, but it’s not my style. Just know that it’s there.). One, your bathrooms are a bit small, and in a bit of an awkward place, and two, if you could have one room that cycled through a different movie every week, that would really give some more incentive to guests to come back, even on their vacations. It should be said, however, that you all worked wonderfully as a team, creating a single, sweeping vision for the entire complex.
As for your food, I thought your lunch offerings did not vary much from your dinner ones, which really put me off. It’s never smart to serve those heavy meals that are usually hallmarks of dinner during lunch, especially with your lighter atmosphere during the lunch service. Your menu as a whole, however, looks absolutely scrumptious, and I would order most everything off of it. Yum!
Finally, your placement is incredible. Building up, instead of out, is a very smart move that takes up the least space, yet still ends up offering a great view, for both people looking at and from the restaurant. Your story really works for you, and though I said previously that a simple story works best, in this case, yours just feels right. My last criticism is the blue lighting on the building itself. While blue lighting does look pretty, I feel you could really hit it home with something like the castle lighting that slowly changes colors, to truly make the entire place a work of art. I scored you all as such: Design/ Creativity: 5, Food: 4, and Placement: 5, giving you a total score of 14/15.
Once again, you all did an incredible job and I really did like both of your ideas, but the winner for me is Goofy’s Brainstormers. Good luck to everyone and see you all after the next round!
.. But no i cant see who votes, unless i make it public to see who EVERYONE votes for, which i think is kinda creepy haha
