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

MickeyWaffleCo.

MickeyWaffleCo.

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Outbound said:
Midnight EST / 9 PST
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spacemt354 said:
Tonight at 11:59 PM EST
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Come On What GIF by MOODMAN
 
Orange Cat

Orange Cat

Well-Known Member
Honey Bee Reviews: @ThemeParkPriest’s The Seas Of Life

Okay first thing’s first (& this goes for all my reviews) I’m writing this as I read the project so if I get anything wrong please inform me.

  • Starting off, this is definitely a solid idea, nothing groundbreaking, but a good concept

  • I wanna note I appreciate how much context you provided

  • I’m not a big fan of the Nemo inclusion but it’s a fairly realistic PR decision so I’m fine with it

  • The inspirations part feels a bit unnecessary to me, I mean, I’m not saying it’s bad to have but it makes things feel a little less tight

  • The veterinary clinic is a good idea

  • The shell is a very good idea if one heavily inspired by something else
Alright now that I’m onto to the queue I’m gonna stop using bullet points & provide more of my overall thoughts on each section (definitely not switching cause I’m writing this in two sections).

This queue is (which I understand is done intentionally) rather plain, though it seems like a fun little thing to keep guests entertained, I mean, it’s definitely more interesting than some queues (I appreciate when queues have lots of detail but detail isn’t that interesting for that long). I’m kinda overall conflicted here, on one hand, this would be a fun queue, in fact I think this could be an opening day A-ticket, but despite that it probably wouldn’t make a too memorable queue. By the way, I really appreciate the reference image (that may appeal to me specifically since turtles are my favorite animal).

Well the ride through doesn’t have too much substance, I think I get the point, & from what I understand this would be a ride I’d enjoy, probably something I’d like to check out every trip, but I don’t know how many times I’d want to ride it per trip, that being said this is solid. I’ve been guilty of this myself but I noticed there was a good portion of text without images, though the use of reference images for all those animals mostly makes up for it.

In conclusion, I’d say I like this more than the entirety of Bee Movie vocoded to Gangsta’s Paradise, but to me it’s less interesting. This project is like plain toast, which mind you I like, but it lacks flavor, & what it has that makes it stand out feels pretty unnecessary.
 
MickeyWaffleCo.

MickeyWaffleCo.

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
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Team ThemeParkPriest
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Wow! This is a fantastic submission!

Overall impressions: The detail level here is good, but inconsistent. It feels like a lot more time is dedicated to the background of the pavilion and ride than to the E-ticket itself. This isn’t a bad thing, as the E-ticket is at its core a simple narration ride, and doesn’t need much detail. However, maybe a sample of Nemo and Dory’s narration script would be appreciated, to see how well the education and entertainment aspects are integrated.

Okay, let’s get into some more specifics.

The pavilion design is awesome! I like the sea shell imagery: it communicates what the pavilion is all about to guests outside, which is incredibly important for first-time visitors to the park! I like how you included a mix of reference imagery and hand drawn art to showcase the outside of the pavilion, as well!

A water ride at Animal Kingdom… Thank you! Animal Kingdom is a park that screams “give me a water attraction!” But ironically it hasn’t had a great history with water attractions. The Seas of Life would be a fantastic fit for AK. I especially love how you highlight how this addition fixes the veterinary infrastructure of Walt Disney World, by putting the sea creatures in a park suited to their needs.

The “edutainment” feeling of this attraction feels very fitting for early Animal Kingdom, as well, so you’ve earned realism points there! However, although you justify it with the “replacement for the Living Seas,” it still feels like a lot of the attraction is heavily inspired by the Seas. I would’ve liked to see you go in a bit of a more original direction, but I understand that it’s difficult when you’re working with a live animal attraction.

I like how you mention a lot of your thought process behind these decisions. Why it’s named the way it is, why the boat ride system was chosen, the needed replacement for the Living Seas, etc. It’s nice to see a project that shows a more “behind-the-scenes” (literally) picture of the attraction, instead of the usual “from the guest’s point of view” recap.

I like the choice of the boat ride system, and I agree with your thought process: a water ride system makes you feel that much more immersed in the underwater world.

On this point, though: This E-ticket is very unique. Typically, E-tickets fall somewhere along a scale that goes from “Immersive” to “Thrilling.” Things like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion are on the more immersive end of the scale; while attractions like Big Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and California Screamin’/the Incredicoaster lean more towards the thrilling side. Many attractions; like Splash Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, Space Mountain, and Star Tours; fall somewhere in the middle, combining thrill with immersive theming. Journey Through the Seas of Life doesn’t fit within this scale as well as most others. The edutainment aspect makes it more “wonderful” and “magical” than thrilling or immersive.

There are both pros and cons to this. On the one hand, it makes your attraction really stand out! It can’t be put in a box and it’s unique! On the other hand, some guests will come to an E-ticket like this with expectations of more thrill or a more defined (read "IP") theme. However, I think you managed this nicely by placing the pavilion in early Animal Kingdom, a park that (echoing the theme of early Future World) had a focus on edutainment. Journey Through the Seas of Life fits right in with the rest of 2003 Animal Kingdom, so I don’t think you need to worry about guests expecting a ton of thrill. I think the wonder of being “inside” an aquarium tank will handle that nicely.

The recycled aquarium water being used for the ride system is a fantastic detail! It even matches the conservation aspect of the ride nicely! Maybe it could be mentioned in the narration! I like the bioluminescent scene. It’s a nice touch that wraps things up nicely, with a peaceful ending touched with a bit of wonder, curiosity, and excitement.

The conclusion was great. It recapped all of the major points you made, from the reused aquarium water to the ride system itself and its incentive for the park.

Overall, this is a fantastic attraction and pavilion! I would’ve liked to hear a bit more about the details of the ride, but other than that I have few complaints!
 

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