The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Season 7: Fantasmic Journeys [CONCLUDED!]

Orange Cat

Orange Cat

Well-Known Member
DlpPhantom said:
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Presents:
A Universal Journey​
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It looks like Team Time has Groundhog Day joke
 
tcool123

tcool123

Well-Known Member
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Right off the bat all teams, in my opinion, flourished within the constraints of the Minion plot of land. I feel like it added an extra way of being creative while handling the IPs. On top of that not a single team used the same IP! Take that Dubai ;)

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Doctor Who: Timewarp

Team Reality once again you have been able to produce a really detailed project, and have presented on something that has never been used as a means of presenting! Doctor Who was a smart choice as it was popping off in popularity in 2011/2012, and as a person who has never seen any of it I can tell you it has still stayed within the public mind so it has the longevity that some Universal attractions lack.

Presentation
When your team brought up the idea of TUMBLR of all things to present I was immediately skeptical, but you were able to prove me wrong. I appreciate the nice flow of the posts, and I know it's hard to get it right on Tumblr given the most recent posts go to the top. Thus making it so you would have to go from the ending upwards in posting. This could have been an issue, but you guys took a chance and it paid off! I love the ride layout and love the stacked effect with the elevator that was used! I also think it was clever to host the ride on the second floor, and the queue and shop on the first.

Ride
The queue set up had me slightly miffed as we enter through MOMA, but the queue is set within the Guggenheim? Aside from that point I think it is a really well done queue with the famous pieces of artwork being manipulated by the Time Lords being a nifty touch that would provide a fun Where's Waldo style game throughout the queue.

The TARDIS and that effect would be memorizing to many guests, and would act as a Hogwarts Express Platform 9 3/4 moment to guests. I would like to quickly take a moment to appreciate the custom Gallifreyan that was made for each team member this stanza, great work and a nice touch! While I enjoyed the preshow with an IP as old as Doctor Who with so many unique characters I feel like it should have explained things like a Dalek and more of the world of Doctor Who to guests who would likely come in with 0 knowledge.

I love the vehicle concept art. The Pooh ride system is very unique, and I think would add something vastly different from the parks offerings at the time. The dialogue throughout the various scenes are rather cute and humorous to read so I'm sure it will be engaging for the guests. I appreciate the arrows pointing to the flow of each vehicle as it aids in visualizing how the scenes will interact with guests down to the little Daleks helping to make out their position.

The action scenes flow really well, and make clever use of practical effects while intertwining them with screens which is something that Universal has struggled with over the years. The space segment is inspired and would be visually great to see after so many screens, but I'm concerned on all the show stops throughout the ride as while they are great to tell the story it makes the ride feel longer than it actually is. However the speed tunnel craziness is some real run, and the constant wackiness throughout the ride seems to capture the spirit of Doctor Who perfectly.

Torchwood Hideaway
This was a similar issue with Team Space's giftshop where we start in one location in the store, but then turns into another. However the store itself carries some great merchandise that seems like it is perfect for the fans of the show with a few cool objects around for those, like me, who likely know nothing of the show. The DIY Sonic Screwdrivers were a great touch, and honestly I have no clue what they are but they look cool. Plus the experience sounds really fun, and a homerun for fans!

Overall
This project has plenty of charm and personality within the ride through and gift shop. However incontinences with the location, the overreliance of stops in the ride, and a slightly murky explanation of the world of Dr Who during the preshow may be enough to throw things off. At the same time fun scenes like the DALEK battle and space scenes would provide for an exciting and fun attraction. The question is, will these wibbly wobbly timey wimey issues hold back the team from a win?

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Charlie's Chocolate Factory

Team Space I think you have found yourselves a golden ticket with this project! Out of all the concepts so far I find this the team's most cohesive and quite possibly strongest proposal. Wonka was a smart move in my opinion as it's just an evergreen IP in my opinion which lends itself to theme parks.

Presentation
The presentation of the proposal was incredibly unique, and I think a smart move on your team's part. I don't think I have ever seen a project been submitted as a Wikipedia article, and honestly it's such a fun way to present something! I found this to be easily navigable and very 2011 internetty, but still professional. I absolutely love the Planet Coaster model for the façade, and it's these little things that help set apart this project apart from the others. On top of that I just think visually it will add something interesting to the rather drab Production Central while still meshing well with the boxy style of the land.

Ride
Setting the ride right after the plot is a smart play as it avoids the many pitfalls that book report rides fall into, and honestly fits really well with what Universal does with their rides typically providing timeless adventures set either after of in between the films. Furthermore you catch guests up on who's who during the queue for the attraction which allows the freedom to continue the story in the ride through.

Now the ride through was well done, and honestly reminds me of Peter Pan's Flight meets Living with the Land which is not a bad thing in my boat or rather Wonkavator. I appreciate the new takes on the classic Oompa Loompa songs, and the small transition scenes involving the shadows of the characters as it's able to convey the story in a classy way without taking up much room. Onto the scenes themselves I think they're all smartly chosen. When I think of Wonka immediately I think of the Candy Room with the chocolate river and waterfall, and I love how it is the big wow moment in the beginning. Choices like the Ames and Inventing rooms were nice to see, and the Juicing room is a nice way to show guests the place where Violet got squeezed. I think the Maze room will be a really fun addition to the Wonkaverse with the changing shapes and colours, but are these screens or possibly projections? Finally we have the overlook of the village while I love this scene I feel like it may be too similar to the flight scene in ET, but at the same time it just is the perfect way of tieing in the glass elevator storyline. It's just one of those Wonkaisms that make the Wonkaverse so fun.

While I did enjoy the Minecraft ride video it felt a bit incomplete to me? It was the video through grassy fields when I had expected some of the scenes recreated, but it was meant to be more of the flow. I do wish to acknowledge the work put it as I know Minecraft projects can be very time consuming, but in something like this it may have been more affective to travel through one show stopping scene built out somehow? With that said I do enjoy it to see how the track would flow and rise.

Wonka Test Kitchen
It could just be me but I found it odd we'd be in the candy store from the film while being within the Wonka factory? Funnily enough my roommate and I were debating about Wonka candies a few weeks ago so I'm oddly familiar with them right now. I wanted to note that the Ferrara Candy Company did not own the Wonka products at the time, this stanza is set in 2011/2012 and Wonka was still under Nestle. However, that is just a small nitpick. I'm glad you gave brief descriptions to less popular and even the specially created Wonka candies, and I honestly feel like this could do Potter levels of candy sales.

I would love a Nerds plushie tbh I always thought they were so adorable, but one thing is missing from the Nerds section. WHERE IS THE NERDS ROPE! I kid it's not that big of a deal to miss one of the like 50 Nerds products that exist in the world. For the rest of the factory floor it is all very nice, and I throughouly enjoyed enjoyed the whole store. My one last thing is I kinda wish that the Golden Tickets in the Wonka Bars would actually do something maybe be an Express Pass for the family, or something cute like that.

Overall
This was a really strong project that stood out with an evergreen IP, unique presentation style, a fun and charming ride through, and a cute and really nice gift shop. However will the small nitpicks hold this team back from winning the stanza?

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A Universal Journey

A Universal Studios take on the Great Movie Ride concept is a great idea, and the fact it hasn't been in real life boggles my mind. I also think this is a great way to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the company, and makes a great thematic fit to start off a guests day at the movie park. Additionally, I think the concept of the ride lends itself to featuring new movies and classics that while beloved don't necessarily a full on ride.

Presentation
Don't let the Tumblrs and Wikipedias in the world discourage you as your Slides are still great and easy to read and navigate. I love how each scene is broken into images giving everything a form of heading and separation, but I do wish that some of the slides had well more slides as putting all the text into one text made it a bit hard to see at times given the smaller font. Also for some reason a few random scenes are randomly highlighted, but other scenes had no highlight? For myself I found entire scenes highlighted paragraphed to be a bit harder to follow when compared to the regular grey box background. I did get a chuckle out of the Budweiser Zero bandit striking once again.

Ride
The queue is nicely done with the posters and overhead monitors showing trailers and trivia. It's nothing crazy, but fits the footprint well. Meanwhile the preshow is nicely written, and gets the point across of what guests are to expect on the ride and the gist of C.L.

The Star Tours method of screen based ride is a smart move for the space, and is rather realistic given how closely this attraction utilizes the space of Jimmy Neutron/Minions. One of my main issues with the ride is the films selected. They are definitely great choices, but I wish more films that had no presence at all in the two parks were chosen. Outside of that Woody Woodpecker was a head scratcher not because he wasn't deserving of being in the ride, but because he was the only animated selection. It just kind of stuck out from all the other live action films.

Both Frankenstein and Woody Woodpecker were nicely written, and had plenty of action within them. They elevated potentially older films that may not have translated as well to modern audiences into something new and exciting while keeping that classic feeling at heart. I'm so glad we got to see the Universal projector, and it's so cute! The Jurassic Park scene while nicely done reminds me of Jurassic Park River Adventure with the tour on the river followed by the T-Rex attack, but the addition of the crew from the film is a nice touch. The Jaws segment once again is nicely done, but feels slightly different from the ride as this isn't some Jaws offspring and feels more dynamic than the existing ride.

I've never seen a single Bourne movie, but when I read this scene I found it very enjoyable. It brought in a new and upcoming IP while still making it action packed, and a perfect representative of the franchise. The dialogue of C.L. in particular got a laugh out of me because you know "Cheese and crackers, it's Jason Bourne!". The Fast and the Furious scene is another great example of this with another new and upcoming IP being highlighted perfectly. This scene gives the franchise the high octane respect it deserves, and hopefully is enough to persuade Universal from never doing Fast & the Furious: Supercharged.

I think the ET scene is well done, but I feel like the whole experience was better captured in the first half of the ET ride even if it isn't a 1:1 comparison of timeline events. King Kong on the other hand might just be my favorite scene out of everything so far. Being a part of the iconic plane vs Kong scene is something that everyone and their dog is familiar with, and the little attentions to detail such as the floor shaking with Kong's movements being great touches. You were even able to get in the banana scented air from Kongfrontation which is well bananas! Back to the Future was neat and the most unique of all the scenes in my opinion. It wasn't very action packed, but it allowed for guests to attend the iconic homecoming/prom (it's been a while 😅) which was great especially with the twist and turns mimicking dancing. The subtilty of the ending scene was a neat little touch.

Moving Pictures LTD.
The post show is a nice touch and a fun way to include even more films that were missed out on in the ride itself. The description of the gift shop is wonderful building up this luxurious environment which is missing from the park, and the amount of detail within would cause guests to just walk in to admire its beauty. The merchandise is nice as well fits the ride, but wish there was some like cool film memorabilia that would be exclusive maybe prop replicas, miniatures, etc.

Overall
This is a great concept and very realistic for Universal to do. The amount of IPs that could be and were worked in great, but playing it safer with using various IPs within the resort may hold the team back from the win.
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Seriously you guys all did great this stanza! It is going to be so tough deciding the placement as it is getting down to the nitty grittiness of it all. With that said you should all be proud of what you all done as every project came out amazing! There weren't any real duds, and every concept is fleshed out really well :D

Now go to bed, results and the next stanza will be revealed in like nine hours :p​
 
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Shannoninthemagic

Shannoninthemagic

Well-Known Member
tcool123 said:
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Right off the bat all teams, in my opinion, flourished within the constraints of the Minion plot of land. I feel like it added an extra way of being creative while handling the IPs. On top of that not a single team used the same IP! Take that Dubai ;)




Ride
The queue set up had me slightly miffed as we enter through MOMA, but the queue is set within the Guggenheim? Aside from that point I think it is a really well done queue with the famous pieces of artwork being manipulated by the Time Lords being a nifty touch that would provide a fun Where's Waldo style game throughout the queue.
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That's on me, It's not actually in the guggenhiem, just the " gallery"( Queue) is set up like their main one, short, small winding pathway,( In the Guggenhiem(when it's not under renovation)it's like going up a spiral and art lines the walls) as compared to MOMA's open ones.
 
James G.

James G.

Well-Known Member
Team Space

Charlie’s Chocolate Factory

Guest Review from James G.​



I got a strong cup of coffee this morning, spiked it heavily with Godiva liquor (until Wonka comes out with something adult to add to it) and dove into Charlie’s Chocolate Factory. I also don’t work today, so I’m double-treating myself.

General thoughts, not in any special order:

  • I thought this presentation was absolutely multiple extra-large boxes of Wonka Chocolates above anything I’ve seen you present so far. I thought that your use of Wikipedia as a presentation style was inspired, as it both kept your presentation organized and made it easy for the reader to follow.
  • You paid attention to those things that especially bother me, such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. I think that I might have noticed a few things that I would have crafted differently, but I am a bit AR about that. 99% of your presentation was professionally presented, written and checked ahead of time.
  • Your team does tend to struggle a bit in keeping a focus on who is doing what, when and where. You have a core of talent that you rely on too much, and if they can’t contribute (or decide to not contribute, therefore forcing others to step up to the task) I wonder what would happen. I admit that working with multiple time zones across multiple continents can be challenging, but as you proceed ahead 1) keep organized; 2) keep focused; 3) keep organized; 4) keep organized; 5) keep on your timeline/deadline schedule religiously; 6) keep organized (see what I did there?).
  • I thought that the storyline you chose to take your visitors through was, while at first glance not especially original, was appropriate. You combined the change in ownership of the chocolate factory with a review of all the familiar scenes from the various movie versions, and that would mean that your riders could take in all the scenes they were familiar with and not have to wonder what was going on. As an example of what could happen if you decided to add something too outlandish to an IP that is already so well known and loved, look to a roughly similar genre, the Wizard of Oz. If visitors to a park saw a new attraction with the word “Oz” in it, they would assume they would be seeing familiar scenes from the movie or even from “Wicked,” but if instead they were taken on a magical ride that showed them the Ozian lands where the Quadlings, the Flatheads, the Gillikins and the Skeezers lived, they would be completely baffled- and probably both disappointed and upset. While a theme park ride experience could, in theory, present a new story based on a familiar IP, it would have to be done very carefully and with much more time in working through the challenges than you had in preparing this proposal. A trip through the familiar scenes of Charlie’s Chocolate Factory via the Wonkavator was an excellent decision, familiar, welcoming to visitors as they first enter USO, and a family experience that all ages and all families could enjoy together.
  • The Wonkavator. If I had anything to gripe about, it is that, and that gripe is small. Small is the word. It should be able to seat two adults and two children. That would give you much more capacity. If you have mom, dad, brother and sister, they’d have to use two Wonkavators, and part of the magic of this ride is that all ages could share the magic of flying through the chocolate factory. Don’t force the family to split up and not be able to share what is a magical experience for all ages. Also, all the buttons, etc. inside the Wonkavator would practically beg kids to push and play with them, and when they’re doing that, they aren’t paying attention to the amazing sights just outside the windows. Don’t give them distractions, or at least keep them to a bare minimum. A few lit buttons by the door, like in a regular elevator, but perhaps with the Wonka touch of the “down” button being above the “up” button, and arrows showing how the elevator can move diagonally, left and right, with all the directions reversed. A subtle theming touch that would “plus” the experience.
  • You paid close attention to the sights that riders would see. You paid close attention to the sounds they would hear, both in background music and the scenes presented. There is one thing that, either you forgot or that I completely missed in the proposal, one that is absolutely essential to a ride experience involving chocolate, one that anyone who has ever been to Hersheypark will fondly remember...YOU FORGOT THE SMELL OF CHOCOLATE! The smell of chocolate (and other appropriate smells to the scene) should be omnipresent, and by the time riders reach the gift shop they can’t resist buying Wonka products!
Charlie’s Chocolate Factory shows just how talented Team Space is, and as you continue to grow and pull together as a unified team there is no reason you can’t win this thing! You’ve already shown how you are able to create a delightful experience that, as I read it, listened to it, examined the graphics and watched the ride-through, I felt that I could imagine riding it myself.

You created an outstanding proposal, one that you should be proud of. Now, go back and dissect it, figure out what you should have done that you didn’t and what you did that you shouldn’t, and use that knowledge to continue your growth as a team and as individuals.

Excellent proposal! I hope someday the people at USO read it and build it (with the smell of chocolate).
 
JokersWild

JokersWild

Well-Known Member
Hey, guys. While we're all waiting for reviews, I just wanted to put out a general casting call for voice acting in an upcoming...something for SA. There are a few people who I'm planning on reaching out to directly, but I figured that I'd open it up to everyone as well so I know who I'm writing for. So, if you have a mic, ten minutes, and want to be involved in the SA story, shoot me a PM.

I haven't read the projects yet, but everything looks great when I skimmed them. Great job, everyone!
 
Evilgidgit

Evilgidgit

Well-Known Member
Evilgidgit's Reviews: Team Time, Stanza IX​
  • I do love the concept of the attraction: Universal Great Movie Ride using Star Tours technology. There are a lot of similarities between TGMR and A Universal Journey, but that's to be expected.​
  • ...is the Budweiser Zero ad slide with the Safari Alert security box meant to be a joke? I don't get it.​
  • The presentation is okay, but shoving so much text into one slide makes it a bit of a task to read in one go.​
  • Using a classic movie theatre as the exterior fits in very well with the 100th anniversary celebration.​
  • The queue line and preshow are grounded with delight.​
  • C.L. makes for a colourful host (even though he is in black and white). Reminds me a bit of the theatre hosts they used to have in cinemas who would come onstage and warn audiences about the picture they were going to see.​
  • The roster of films is primarily good, but Woody Woodpecker as the sole animated character seems a bit weird, and Jason Bourne never really struck me as a major IP that works for an attraction (CONSIDERING THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THOSE FILMS ARE HOT !"@#!) There were other cartoons that could have been added in, like the Don Bluth films, Prince of Egypt, maybe DreamWorks, etc.​
  • Jurassic Park, Jaws, Kong, and E.T. are probably my favourite scenes in the ride, though Back to the Future is a unique spin on what would probably be expected.​
  • Banana breath! -- The use of additional sfx helps the ride experience feel more authentic.​
  • Moving Pictures Ltd is a good gift shop, and I like how it is split between eras of Universal's legacy.​
 

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