The Sorcerer's Apprentice Season 4: Homecoming Edition

[AceAstro]

Ouch...

Jokes aside, I’m always excited to see new team
Members as everyone has different skills/ bring a new dynamic! Can’t wait to finally work with you and @Pionmycake

 

[AceAstro]

You're in the Board Room too now

If you think I'm kidding just wait

 

[DisneyFan18]

I’m happy to be teaming with Pi ‘n’ Pix. She can be Black Widow if she likes, and Pi...hmm...Star-Lord!

I’m sure you’ll need to explain to them everyone’s role at some point! It’s great to see more Avengers join the team! I’m sure we will all have fun together! And it’s also always nice to see some familiar faces!

 

[Pi on my Cake]

I’m happy to be teaming with Pi ‘n’ Pix. She can be Black Widow if she likes, and Pi...hmm...Star-Lord!

That's not a bad choice haha. Guardians is my favorite marvel movie!

 

[spacemt354]

Stanza III Board Room is underway!​

 

[AceAstro]

Stanza III Board Room is underway!​

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Not to play sour grapes or anything, but did you really have to take our strongest player in Pi? I honestly feel kind of overwhelmed right now as Team Brava is clearly such a well oiled machine at this point I really think Team Castle has the deck stacked against us with Pi over there. I'll say this much, I'm NOT going to have a huge amount of time to commit myself to next project so I'm getting anxiety right off the bat. Could we at least get some reasoning for why Pi in particular was chosen to switch over?

 

[spacemt354]

Not to play sour grapes or anything, but did you really have to take our strongest player in Pi? I honestly feel kind of overwhelmed right now as Team Brava is clearly such a well oiled machine at this point I really think Team Castle has the deck stacked against us with Pi over there. I'll say this much, I'm NOT going to have a huge amount of time to commit myself to next project so I'm getting anxiety right off the bat. Could we at least get some reasoning for why Pi in particular was chosen to switch over?

Certainly - it was for a few very important reasons.

#1 - Pi has essentially had to take the leadership (or a leadership role) in the first 3 projects, and has taken on a large work load which will lead to him being burnt out eventually if it continues. It's my personal decision to not see that happen to someone who has shown that he cares a lot about this competition and imagineering.

#2 - We've been pretty forgiving with the Board Room (and once again nobody from a team who didn't even complete the project is going to the Board Room) that is because we are trying to encourage individual imagineering growth. We're giving people multiple opportunities to shine. If you seriously think Pi is the only strong member on your team, or the strongest, you are mistaken and it's a bit of an insult to your entire (talented) team.

#3 - The only way you improve is if you participate, and there are a few people on Castle (not you, and not interested in calling out names) who have not even scratched the surface of their potential. And I'm sure they know it and they've already mentioned how they strive to do better. This is a great opportunity for them this round to step up. They have more of a voice, they have the skills to do it, now is the time to improve.

In sum, personal well-being and an opportunity for new voice(s) to step up on Castle to their potential were the determining factors.

 

[Pi on my Cake]

our strongest player in Pi?

I am flattered, but I don't think that's true at all. I'm a solid player who can crank out solid enough work wherever I'm needed.

I'm like Maroon 5. Sometimes I can make something really great every once in a while, but my main talent is being consistently good enough.

But the stand out moments of each Castle Project has not been my parts. It's a great team! Full of great people who are usually a lot more than just good enough! Just needs to be a bit more active and organized.

 

[MonorailRed]

MonorailRed's Reviews

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Backstory

I Absolutely love the logo! It stays true to the DVC pattern you see with giant letters, following the resort and the placement of the Disney logo. I enjoyed the added flair of the golden plate to accent the wording as well. Excellent font choice. Excellent Design.

I enjoyed the integration of the First Nations in this resort, I think it really is a way to keep true to the land, this really made me think of Aulani’s theming. I think the length of the backstory isn’t too long and isn’t too short - and truly ties into explaining the resort. Excellent.


Statistics

Space may be more pick-y about this, since he’s the stats judge, but I think this was a great summary. Seemed reasonable for the room amount.


Why Vancouver?

You sold it. - I’m impressed, because I didn’t know if I could sell it.

I didn’t think you could sell it as much has you guys did. This part was…. Phenomenal.

In the beginning paragraph, it seemed the international basis seemed a bit weak, though I could see more Canadians buying into DVC if there was a resort they could go to without their passport.


The Walt Disney’s Mineral King reasoning was strong. Great historical note!

The explanation slowly got me onboard with the whole project and then the Chinese tourism market really hit it home with the target audience Disney is looking into since Shanghai and HKDLR updates.


Budget

Sounds good to me. Bob approves!



DVC Points Chart

I really enjoyed this added touch. Sounds like a similar pricing scale to Aulani. I like how you made higher price season in the winter months, while summer was less – makes perfect sense for a ski resort. Every little detail was noticed!



Resort Layout

I truly enjoyed the Sketchup designs! It really helped put into perspective what the resort would look like. The Lifts, the Base Camp, Main Camp, and Borealis Camp. I do wonder if the resort is a little too large though. It’s not just one massive structure, it’s many. This layout reminds me of Fort Wilderness – Vast, but properly themed.



First Nations Lobby

Loved the concept art – The hidden Tintin is hilarious. Also the Country Bear nod keeps true to the Mineral King concept, very nice.

Tim Hortons is a great partnership! I also love Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post!



Room Details

The 3D floor planner was a nice touch! I think it really made the presentation much more immersive! I love the Cabins – I think it’s obvious with a ski resort and it works well. Amenities seemed reasonable.



Room Service

Great options – nothing crazy. Loved that poutine was included! I think that was a really unique option.


Transportation to the Resort

Nice touch on directions. Love the Gondola’s making an appearance at the ski resort!



Pahkopē Village

Nice shops and atmosphere! I really enjoyed Harold’s. I think it’s a nice nod, with an opportunity to sell sports gear in the mountains. The Snowboards and T-shirts were a nice touch - 10/10 in my book!

I find it interesting that this resort took more of a character spin, rather than the lore of the land with Aulani. I think it works with where the Disney company is heading – and it woud absolutely help with the popularity.

Borealis’ Steakhouse sounds very simiar to Le Celilar – I wish I saw something a little different here.

I love Canuckaoke. The name. 11/10 for the High School Musical picture.

I wish Gonzo’s was themed a little more to something more winter themed rather than the Muppets oddly ending up in….a Ski Resort….in Canada? I do like the idea of a Pizza restaurant though.



PAHKOPÉ RESORT ACTIVITIES

I truly enjoyed all the activities. The art tour reminded me of the Kidani tour. The Adventure trails reminded me of Aulani.

I love that the Country Bears made it to the Resort – very nice!

The create your own totem pole activity was nice! As was the Olad Snowman creation activity.

I love the idea of including an ice festival – Disney really hasn’t gone into that and I feel it would bring in many people similar to Festival of the Arts.

The Spirit lights really bring the story of the resort together – great work in my opinion.


Overall, phenomenal work everyone! Great presentation – Bravo, Brava!

Introduction

I really enjoyed a Walt Disney Studios Resort in Disneyland Paris! I feel the need for another resort could be there since Marvel is coming to the Studios. Very nice choice for a hotel addition!

I think it meshes well with Main Street and the studios nearby. Great choice!

The Map truly reminds me of the Grand Californian DVC in the way it meshes in with DCA – I think it works, and it sort of mirrors the Disneyland Hotel in front of the Disneyland Park.

I question the demolition of Studio 1 with the weather in Paris – but at the same time, it’s showing its age, and the demolition is sort of is similar to the Buena Vista Street expansion to DCA. I think this could work well to reinvent the park identity. Overall, nice touch. I wish it was “sold” a bit more though. Rather than just saying we tear down a building to do X, really sell why your tearing down that building and why spending that money is important. A sentence or two describing the taste of the dining experiences or the eclectic shops would’ve helped this slide dramatically.



Resort Description

The Entryway is very nice, very similar to the Disneyland Hotel across the street in Paris.

I think the train platform is highly immersive. I think this was my favorite effect of the entire resort! It fits well with the DLRP quality in theming. Very nice!

The lobby sounds nice, though I wish I had an art piece or some sort of visual to differentiate the lobby from Disney's Sequoia Lodge’s lobby. The wood tones made it sound very similar. Room size was a nice touch as well, I think that was important to address with cultural differences. Villa descriptions were appropriate – I would’ve loved to see an image of the layout of the rooms! Whenever my family looks at DVC, we really weigh were we stay with the layout of the rooms, I think that’s an important part that would’ve brought the presentation to the next level.


Special Resort Features

Juilis’s sounded like a great restaurant! Awesome work. Does Disney have the rights to Julius, though? Not a critique, I’m just curious. Menu sounded like classic Hollywood, nice touch.

I love the pool design! This was amazing! I can totally picture this as a “next level” DLRP hotel pool. The indoor pools over there don’t have much of a “Disney” feel, and I think this would bring that there.

The Museum in this location was an excellent feature. I think it ties into Main Street, the new makeover, and the DVC additions. Great work on including that! I think it adds more to the “Disney Village” area as well – giving more to do on property. The Museum’s intricate details were phenomenal. I truly enjoyed this part. Great work!

The Arts program was excellent! I think it adds a little bit more to the experience by adding cell paintings. It also accents the historical theme of the resort and the new entrance.

DVC Information

Oswald Park Pool

Great DVC exclusive! I’d want to pay extra for the Resort just to go there!


Overall I truly enjoyed this project, but I wish more DVC details were included, such as the room layouts and how DVC would be implemented into the European audience. I wish I had more depictions and illustrations of main areas such as the lobby and pool. Even a pencil sketch to see the layout would’ve been great, just to see how you would implement these elements indoors. The pools, entrance, and Museum were my favorite elements in the resort, and I think this would be a great addition to DLRP. Though, I do feel like the little information on DVC made this more of a park hotel than a DVC resort. It felt like – Oh, we added DVC! Rather than making DVC the star.

 

[Fox&Hound]

Team Brava Review:

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Can I go there right now? This DVC is BEAUTIFUL! You guys knocked this one out of the park. It feels so quaint and grand at the same time. It feels completely Disney and yet completely new. Love the Country Bears show, the night show themed to Aurora Borealis is a stunning idea! Gonzo and Rizzo My only tiny, miniscule nitpick is Al’s Toy Barn. To me, it just does not fit the themed experience you have created and it stick out like a sore thumb. I would retheme that store, but besides that, this is a grand slam in my eyes.

 

[michmousefan]

Team Castle Guest Review:

Coolness! Lots of fascinating detail in this proposal. The museum branch alone makes this a must-see hotel. Love the "train" entrance into the hotel; kind of Westworld-inspired. The museum details are fantastic; perhaps a bit too much so, as the other resort details seem to pale in comparison, but the art classes are a great hotel perk. I'd like to see more of how the resort and the museum are an integrated piece, like maybe some rooms look out onto the Progress City model. I really like that you designed it to be a showstopper; make the rooms that overlook it — "Progress City View" rooms — the premium rooms at the hotel. They could even have PC theming inside the room.

A few bullet points:
• I dig the concept behind the name for Julius's... but that name is tough to roll off the tongue
• Watch for typos and word choices... a few errors here and there
• Looks like you intended to add DVC details but ran out of time

 

[Sam Magic]

Sam4D23's Review

​

I'd like to begin by taking a moment to recognize this team for really coming together this week to create what has really been one of the best proposals done by this team. I think it's fair to say there were some concerns about whether or not this team would be able to pull through, but after a quick intervention and outstanding leadership on behalf of @Pionmycake this team came together and created a wonderful project. You guys learned one of the most important lessons this contest can teach; this teams succeed and fail together as teams, not as individuals. So a huge round of applause to you guys for doing that.

Now lets get into the specifics of this resort.

Introduction:

I'll begin by saying I wasn't a huge fan of the location. Currently, DVC isn't just trying to expand its resort options, but also its global options. To a larger point, DLP is already over-saturated with hotels. Eastern Europeans still do not have that level of disposable income that will increase overnight stay's at DLP meaning that most visitors that come are coming from the UK, Germany, Spain, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), and France. These visitor's can and do make short day trips compared to the longer stays common in America. You guys also came up with some really good city ideas during the brainstorming idea. I still think a Barcelona resort could have gone a really long way (and from a business perspective would've been an extremely successful resort and successful in expanding DVC to North Europeans...who visit Barcelona and Spain in droves). With that said, this resort is executed to the highest degree and really enhances the feel of WDS.

This resort's saving grace is two things: Its perfect meshing with the park and its creation of a real entrance to WDS. This resort is integrated very well with WDS. It fosters a sense of place and a real entrance to the park. It works well with the intention to turn WDS into a real, legit park.

The resort is also rather large and has a diverse set of activities. Great addition there.

Resort Description and Resort Features:

This I think is where this resort sells. It certainly is where you sold me. I can't get over how well designed and thought out this resort is. If just half of this was ever built in the real world it would hands down be one of the best resorts at any Disney Resort. You guys had me questioning why this didn't already exist (which I think should be the point of armchair imagineering).

The incorporation of European standards is a nice touch. As is the train station entrance, the lobby, the street, the cafe, the everything. This resort holds all the necessary elements required of public spaces to make them vibrant and lively places. There are so many diverse activities going on in shared spaces that the atmosphere of this resort would be absolutely stellar. The lobby would not feel boring and antiquated. It would be immersive and interactive.

The museum is a real star as well. It incorporates some great elements of the actual museum while also expanding it, and introducing Walt in a more official and realistic capacity to Europeans. It's a great fit. But the star of this museum IMO is the massive Progress City model. Just yes. A thousand bloody times yes. With this museum and Progress City, you guys are telling a more real story of Walt. A story where Disneyland is only a small role, and a story where Walt is recognized for what he was; the greatest American innovator of the 21st century. Too often he's depicted as just a cartoonist and theme park builder; he was so much more. The Progress City model I think would also infuse this area and the larger resort (maybe even all of France and Europe ) with a sense of optimism and hope. Something it needs.

Final Thoughts

Overall I originally wasn't too sold on location. I thought the theme idea was great. What you guys created sold me. It was perfectly executed. The design is great. The team work obvious in the detail and beauty of this project. I actually think this resort is something DLP needs. And for that reason I think this is one of the best projects this season. It doesn't just fulfill the requirements of the contest, it goes beyond. It solves a true need for a Disney resort and does so in a way that is tasteful, and one that is authentically Disney, distinctly Team Castle.

Good job guys. Keep doing this kind of work.

 

[Pi on my Cake]

Does Disney have the rights to Julius, though?

I'm not a hundred percent sure, but he originates from the same cartoons and shorts that Pete did. So, I assumed Disney would be able to. The fact that he is a purposeful rip off of Felix the Cat kinda give Disney no reason to outside of small references. Like this facade in California Adventure

 

[v_k]

v_k's Team Brava Review
Once again, great work! I love the idea of a Disney ski lodge, and the theme of Canada through the ages is great!

• We all know Disney loves their synergy, and a ski lodge seems like a perfect opportunity to bring in Frozen characters
• The 'Why Vancouver?' section really sold me on the location for this resort
• I appreciated the breakdown you provided about costs and prices
• The art is very cute (don't think I didn't notice Tintin in The First Nations lobby!)
• I loved all the names for the various amenities and services.
• I've never heard of floorplanner.com, that's a really interesting and different way of visualising a floorplan
• The amenities sound great, although I'm not sure about Al's Toy Barn as it doesn't seem to fit quite as well as everything else.

 

[WEDImagineering]

TEAM BRAVA (MINI) REVIEW

I don't have much time to write a really in-depth review this evening, but I wanted to comment on it a bit!

Overall, I really like the premise. Reviving the idea of a Disney ski resort and really fleshing it out and getting in depth with the theme and location sounds like a great project. I actually think that having it based in Canada is a pretty good idea. It extends the Parks and Resorts division into a fresh, new area and provides a whole new Disney experience.

 

[P_Radden]

Team Brava Review:

What I like:
First off, I love the idea of an DVC Ski Resort, and you guys nailed the location. Great "business plan" style presentation in the beginning, particularly cost budget and consideration of the future Winter Olympics and China's overall growing impact on international tourism. I like the resort layout consisting of the 3 camps and various shopping/dining/activities being spread about. Speaking of activities, WOW. That list kept going and going which was really an added bonus. Country Bear Cabaret? Perfect tie in both historical as you mentioned but also in theme. Instant success here. Additionally I see Spirit Lights (if well executed) being a main pull for the resort. The show sounds awesome and very suitable for a Disney resort. I love the design elements proposed from the lobby illustration to the shoppe logos but most of all, the amazing pools . Restaurants are executed perfectly this round. Everything listed made me hungry, thank you.


What could have been better:
Should've included some sort of Magical Express to Vancouver International Airport. Granted I did not get time to visit Floorplanner, I would've liked to seen more art or illustrations showing overall elevations or details of the lodges, interiors & exteriors both. Even the images posted are small and I couldn't click them to enlarge. Such a great proposal in many ways, but with more graphics IMO, you could seriously pitch this to TWDC.

Final Thoughts:

• Love the ski lodge concept.
• Very well done with the 3 camps
• Well planned activities
• Excellent shows
• Great shopping & dining

The way this proposal is so well rounded suggests great team work to me. Great job!

 

[AceAstro]

Should've included some sort of Magical Express to Vancouver International Airport

Funny you say that. We had that in the initial plans but decided to scrap it due to the fact Aulani didn’t have a Magical Express. Guess we should’ve kept it in

 

[WowFactor]

:: WowFactor's Team Castle Review - Stanza III ::
Un Resort avec beaucoup d'histoire à raconter
​

This time I stop following the brainstorming thread to be surprised! It was...well...different!
The choice of the new DVC Resort in "Paris" could not be more timely, since much is planned to happen in that neighborhood, I believe they will definitely need more rooms over there.

I think this idea would fit well, the European people are very fond of history, they are accustomed to consuming culture and the Castle’s proposal adds value to Walt's heritage. It’d be great to see some atmosphere planned to the Disney Studios new entrance. To me was hard to imagine it working with the hotel facade…

I was surprised at the decision to encourage the use of cars since France has a good railway network that serves Disney. Did you even think about a train or a customized wagon that is exclusive to DVC members? I'm sure this would seduce a large public who would already be immersed in the Disney world as soon as he embarked on a station in Paris...

I loved the idea of the Mickey Mouse Park Pool & Play Area, this is really cool, I would love to float through the lazy river. The idea of the Museum was also pretty good, as I have already said, I believe that the public that travels to Europe is avid consumer of culture and is enchanted to know the origin of things.

Although I like the idea I was not at all impressed with the presentation it seems unfinished. Judging from what I saw before, I believe you had some unforeseen troubles… I realized that it had details but I felt a lack of impact, something that already caught the attention in the first moment. From what I've already witnessed, presentations for partners and shareholders are usually summarized in topics, with a strong emphasis on amazing images and - of course - numbers ;-). It is much more important that they “buy the idea" of the project as a whole before they begin to see the minutest details of the deployment (changes, demolition, construction, etc.).

Overall I can say that even with an execution that left me wanting to see more about the idea of the resort, I would definitely stay there.

 

[WowFactor]

And shout out to @Magic Feather for the amazing drawing with everyone in it as an easter egg! Wonderful job!

I didn't notice that! Pretty cool!