Team Soul - Tron and Live Action Studio
If I could describe this team in 2 words it would be organized chaos. Not that DM pages say everything, but this team had more pages in the main thread than the other two teams combined or double just the second team. I love the chemistry of the team but it also makes it easy for things to get lost in the mix with all the posts. That being said, I really think the team came together on all of this! Early on, your team made the decision to go with IP’s that may not be the most realistic, but IP’s that you were the most comfortable with. Having the passion behind the IP instead of going with one of lower familiarity can be risky but I think you nailed it! The passion in these projects is clearly there and it shows through the whole project!
Getting into the project, I love the site! It’s organized nicely and the video is a great touch
@spacemt354 ! For the land choices, I think the idea of the Live Action Studio makes sense. It allowed you to take a few IP’s and put them in a medium that makes sense. It allowed there to be more IP’s that still all tied together very well! Tron, I am more torn about. I absolutely love the IP and both movies. But I don’t know if the IP makes sense. 2008 was the same year that Tron: Legacy was first teased. Would we get a whole land themed to a 26-year-old movie with an unknown sequel in the works? Potentially, but it is a tiny bit of a stretch.
All the maps and map-related artwork is incredible. The new areas flow onto Doug's map great so nice work there
@Disney Dad 3000 . All of them are a great touch.
I know I mention concerns about the IP choice, but that being said, all fears about TRON were pretty much eliminated reading the project itself. The work here done by
@Lora Baines Bradley was insane! It was a passion project within a competition and it was really knocked out of the ballpark! The amount of love and detail into the area was outstanding. Starting with the STS, I love the narration and accompanying audio version! It’s a definite great touch! The STS gives guests a great bird’s eye view of the area which I think is a vastly underrated thing in parks so it is a great touch there. One thing I am confused about with the STS is what “ticket” level it is. It mentions comparables to the PeopleMover but then uses Test Track technology and has larger show scenes like Nation Treasure. Outside of that tiny thing, it’s great! Getting into the rest of The Grid, I think it is very solid. The additions in here make sense, and they fit the theme. If there was no Arcade, this area would have been significantly flawed so I think it was good to have a hardcore TRON fan work on this area! I think Trials of the Grid is a really fun attraction! It takes Star Tours (pre-Adventure Continues) and adds more interactiveness with it (the main thing it is missing in my opinion). There is so much detail it is clear this ride has been fully thought out. My biggest concern is the use of newer technology with a movie that is very visibly from the early ’80s. That being said, I think this area as a whole is very solid and adds a unique flair to the park!
Moving to Live Action Studio, the main thing missing that I would have loved is a general area description. Initial thoughts make it feel the Original Streets of America were just moved a little further West and used as facades instead. That being said, I love the IP’s used here. While they may not still stand as strong today (baring a third National Treasure movie), they were definitely fitting at the time. If I were playing in this prompt, I would have definitely pushed for National Treasure to be one of the IP’s (Pirates of the Caribbean being the other one). Doing this more non-descript land allowed multiple large ideas to be combined into one which I think was a lot better than the 3 lands that was initially discussed.
Getting into National Treasure: Mystery of the Lantern, I absolutely love it! There is a lot of great detail in here. The queue area reminds me a lot of Mission Breakout or Tokyo’s Tower of Terror with all the artifacts/ easter eggs. The ride itself is an absolute blast. I think there are a ton of great aspects to it and as a huge fan of National Treasure, I know I would ride this multiple times. It feels like a “modern” version of Indiana Jones Adventure. The one tool I am confused about with this ride is the use of the guide. This is a story coaster but also has things like a large dive to it which means the live guide wouldn’t stand at the front like in Great Movie Ride. A guide met in the pre-show that then came through overhead speakers would be just as fitting here in my opinion while allowing for an extra row of seats in the ride.
Moving on to An Enchanted Voyage, I think this is a smart use of the ride system. A water ride is definitely missing from the park and was a definite need for the expansion. I think using Enchanted for that IP was unexpected but it also worked really well. It fits the idea of the old swan boats perfectly to still give such a great sense of “whimsy” while fitting in a more city environment. One slight miscommunication here is how the ride flows through the land. As based on the map and full park sketch, it makes it seem completely indoors. But based on the first scene, it is outside. It’s just a minor thing but something to make note of for future stanzas. The transition to Andalasia and all those scenes are very fitting and true to the movie. I think it is a very fitting and true re-telling of the movie as a ride. The inclusion of cartoon Robert is a nice touch as well and would lead a lot of fans to ride it and count down the days until the sequel (less than 2 years away)!
Both smaller rides in the area really compliment both the land, as the park as a whole. With the 2001 expansion, there were a lot of E-tickets added so flat rides and similar were definitely needed. Great RCT work by the way
@Tegan pilots a chicken and I love the Herbie Planet Coaster models
@Disney Dad 3000 !
I had completely forgotten Disney had made an Annie movie until this was being discussed. I think it is a very safe bet for the show, however. With Festival of the Lion King already in Animal Kingdom and Aladdin in DCA (even though the Broadway show wasn’t out yet), it took maybe the two more obvious shows. Truthfully, my initial thought was Mary Poppins. It would have been not long after the Tony’s. But that show also would have been a lot harder to fit the area and to turn it into a 30-minute show than Annie - and I think this is a great 30-minute show. All the key songs are used and some of the more “slow” parts are cut. It’s a nice, short, and sweet version of a musical that I think rounds out the land beautifully.
Now for the boldest IP tie-in, Jeopardy.
After a fun little discussion about Potpourri, I am glad it made the final project. Little jokes like that always add to the project. And when you have a great video from
@Homemade Imagineering , it is hard to not fall in love with an imaginary pizza place! The rest of the dining and shopping options fit the area perfectly and I think they give a lovely range of options fr guests to choose from. Streetmoshere-wise, I think Step Up makes sense for the time period. By purposely not setting up anything permanent, it allows the streetmosphere to easily rotate in and out based on what movie is popular at the time.
Disney’s Metropolitan Resort… When making this prompt with Outbound, I can honestly say I did not expect someone to include a hotel. It wasn’t even in my wildest thoughts about the prompt. But I love this inclusion! It makes a lot of sense from a realism point of view (it’s not far from where the Star Wars one will be) and the time period (Disney could see the success of the MiraCosta and Grand Californian by this point). It’s a simple write-up here, but it wasn’t the main focus so it doesn’t need a ton of crazy details to work. I think it is a great finishing touch.
All in all, I think this team took what they learned from the first stanza and applied a ton of it here. Overall, this is a very solid project and the whole team should be proud. I wish you luck in the next stanza!
Team Power - Halloween Town and the World of Narnia
First, we should talk about the Discord server. I think Discord is a great tool for a lot of things but made this whole thing very confusing for your team. Team Soul also used Discord this round but used it to compliment what they were already doing. They already had most of the area done being worked on and it was just a voice call to get quick back and forths on a few ideas. If you want to use Discord more in the future, I think something like how SOul did it could work for smaller examples, but not a full-scale shift over to Discord.
On to the IP choices, these are probably the two most realistic choices. NBC and Narnia both fit extremely well considering the time. And I love the land gifs! Great touch!
A great set up on the Google Site! You took the feedback from the last round and applied it here so I think it is very well done! That map is also perfect! Everything is easy to read and clear what it is so I think it helps the overall expansion a lot!
Getting into Halloween Town, I love the entrance to the land! Using the Holiday Doors as a sort of “statue” to the entrance is great and a fun photo op chance! Having the only two entrances to the land being connected could lead to some traffic issues but it wouldn’t be awful. I love the inclusion of the trash cans through the land! They are a great touch!
I love Jack’s Christmas Sleigh Run. I think it is the perfect use of that ride system - 6 years before Seven Dwarfs did it
That being said, while I love the ride, I wish there was more detail. If this is the main “E-ticket” of the land, I would have loved a lot more. It could have gone into the queue, more of the ride, etc. Oogie Boogie’s is great! I think it would be a fun attraction and takes a simple carnival ride and really raises its theming levels! I think it uses animatronics perfectly and really sets a whole ton for the area. The same can be said for the Halloween Town Hijinx ride. It’s a simple ride that with solid theming, it really adds to the land. This is great work.
All of the dining is solid. Sally’s Potions is nicely themed and fits the land. Oogie Boogie’s Carpet is stunning. When you consider Golden Mickey’s as well, I think this park has a ton of great “Dinner and a show” options now! I would definitely go a few times just to take it all in (even not as a huge NBC fan) so I can’t imagine how hardcore fans would love it all! The retail is in a similar vein. While there isn’t a huge “standout”, I think they are all great options and really add to the land! Great work on Halloween Town!
Transitioning to Narnia, I want to be upfront that I haven’t watched any of the movies or read the books. So I am going in “blind” to this.
That being said, the entrance to the land already has me sold! This team put a heavy focus on the entrance areas and it is clear in the final project. It’s a great description of how the entrances would work and I think they look great and are very realistic because of it! The trash cans themed here are another great touch! The map is amazing! It is absolutely great work! This team put a huge focus on the little details such as continuity or forced perspective which I think is awesome! It’s a little detail that really adds to it all!
Getting to the attractions, I think they great. Battle For the Throne gives me great Pirates of the Caribbean feels so I think the ride is solid. I wouldn’t mind a bit more of a synopsis but otherwise, I am fully on board with this ride. Getting to The Coming of the Spring, it does feel slightly basic as a log flume. It’s just one lift hill and then a few show scenes before one drop? I don’t know how well that would do. It feels very pandora-like. It is a decent attraction on it’s own but compared to the other ride in it’s land, it feels very anti-climactic. I also had slight concerns about the two rides being water rides but you cleared that up instantly!
Getting into the dining and retail, it’s very well done! For fans, they notice the easter eggs and franchise tie-ins. For people going in without knowing the franchise, it’s just great dining and retail options. It’s a win-win! I think Aslan’s Camp would be a major success! If you look at something like Pandora, I think a shop like this is what is truly missing. It takes up a lot of space but really elevates the retail experience so I think it works!
All in all, this team probably used the most realistic IP choices. That being said, I wish there was more detail in almost all of the attractions. As I read them, I was left wanting more. Great work on this project and I can’t wait to work alongside you for Stanza III!
Team Mind - Toho Town Hub and Surf Swell Beach
I think adding Japanese films made sense. Especially Godzilla. He was wanted in the parks for so long this is definitely logical (and now Godzilla vs. Kong can take place in Florida). I had minor concerns over how all these IP’s would fit together but I think it works!
I love the explanation of how Disney acquired Toho. It adds a lot to the realism and story of how this land makes sense (although with Pixar being bought in January 2006, this was an expensive fiscal year for Disney
). I think the simple sketch map here is huge to the area. It allows me to easily and clearly see more of the thoughts of the area than the main map. I think the entrances transition into the rest of the land beautifully so it definitely works quite nicely.
Getting to the Godzilla attraction, wow. This is beautiful. It takes the original Godzilla Epcot ride idea and plusses it tenfold. Initially reading it, I was very concerned it was just going to be a re-hash of that. But then I kept reading and it got more detailed and had an Earthquake like room too just expanding the attraction. I think it is a solid “homage” to the original idea while still standing the test of time.
Getting to Spirited Away, this attraction is flawless! The queue reminds me of Rise of the Resistance where it doesn’t feel like a true queue, but just another aspect of the ride experience. It also brings trackless rides stateside a lot earlier than when it currently is (how did Tokyo have one 21 years before WDW?) which I think is a major plus. I haven’t watched this movie in a little while but the ride through was so clear and vivid I didn’t need to watch the movie again to be transported into its world. It was a perfect synopsis. I think it is a fairly accurate and fair re-telling of the story that just adds to the storytelling of the land so amazing work here
@JokersWild ! As for the other two attractions of the land, they’re solid additions. I think A Tale of Trouble and Turmoil is a fun stunt show idea but the Seuppuku could lead to a lot of awkward family questions the rest of the day (maybe in the absolutely stunning Ghibli Gardens).
I absolutely love The Catbus Cafe! I think the theming of it is flawless and the menu is solid. You said on the site that hours could be spent here and I think I will take you up on that offer! All the dining and retail of the area is perfect. It fills out the land solidly. While reading them, there isn’t a single example of “oh this feels out of place” or “I wish they had this as well” so solid work!
If I am being honest, I wasn’t sure how Surf Swell Beach was going to go. It felt at first like it was going to be “Pirates without the Pirates”. But then it slowly shifted and adapted and I love the final product. I love the Teen Beach Movie jokes throughout the whole area. It’s a great movie so the tie-in makes sense. I also love all the details on this first page about the entrance, landmarks (King Tut definitely invented Surfing btw) and streetmosphere characters. They are all an awesome touch to the land as a whole.
I think the Creature Feature boats is a cute attraction! It’s cliche and corny but fits everything you were going for! The detail of the queue and attraction is unreal! There is so much going on the guests will have to re-ride it a few times just to be able to take everything in! Absolutely amazing work on the animations as well
@Pi on my Cake ! They turned out great! I think the Rebel Without a Cause ride is a great way to compliment the boat ride. It is two very different attractions so that guests of all ages have something that more aligns with what they like. It is a wide range of attraction options! A dance party? I didn't know we had Chapek playing the game! In all honestly, I think the attraction fits the theme of the land beautifully and really adds some "fun" to the area!
All of the dining and retail are great! Corman's has a ton of detail in it! A backstory on a dining place? Incredible. Menu? Delicious. I think these dining options, compared with Toho, really even out the new dining options coming to Disney Studios. Again with the retail options, they are all simple, yet really effective to the overall land.
In the end, I think this team might've taken the biggest risk with a land choice in Surf Swell Beach, but I think it was very well done! Great work all!