Disney Dad Reviews
Congratulations teams on successfully finish this land stanza! A few words before getting into my reviews:
- I have to say when we were thinking Dubai and Fox, and I will not speak for @D Hulk, I do not think I pictured a NY themed land, let alone 2-3. That is why we do this stuff though. Who knows what the heck will happen? Apparently, some Futurama fans in the mix. I fully expected we would see some sort of animation proposal and then some mixture of a FF4/X men land, various alien franchises (Alien/Predator/Ind Day) or even Power Rangers (no one?). That said, there are at least some key differences in the projects
- I may be alone in this, but I am not a huge fan of the split brainstorming within teams. I get the reasoning but think too often you can miss out on a comment or something from the larger team that will spark an idea. I could cite too many examples but that would clutter this long review even more. We all brainstorm different, so I will not pretend to decide what works best for everyone. Just something to think about.
- First page right away puts me in a good place. It was not a challenge requirement and you did not spend a ton of time on it, but picking a location (Dubai Parks & Resorts an ideal location even with the other parks there) and providing a snapshot at the other lands that would be in the park spells out how your land will fit amongst the five
- Really great work on the entry
- Animation Dominion – interesting name, but an animation focused area makes sense. There are similar animation themed zones in the other Dubai/Abu Dhabi parks so fits the marketplace and a likely choice by 20th/Disney execs. Popularity of these franchises in the UAE is a tricky one, but you have a clear direction this is going
- Full disclosure, I am not a Fox animation fan besides episodes of the Simpsons here and there so a lot of this will be an education for me
- Love the map – side note, there were nice maps from all the teams. It is funny how I can instantly tell without being told who made a map. Everyone has their own style/look
- Quahog – So this is a short and sweet section with no major rides/attractions. Not sure if that was design all along and I do not know enough about Family Guy to give you an idea for a ride. You make clear though this is a Main Street style set up and a smallish area without rides is not unprecedented
- Nice touch with the currency on The Drunken Clam
- Simpsons – Using Simpsons is a little bold with them having a presence in Uni parks, but obviously ok here in the UAE.
- Custom music. Nice!
- Duff Brewery Tour/Shop – I am all about Brewery Tours and considering Homer and the show, this makes sense though alcohol is a tricky thing in the UAE, but we will assume you work around that. There is a solid base here to the attraction. Just wish we had some more detail on the ride through especially. A Duff Shop makes a ton of sense attached to the ride
- Waterpark of Doom – This sounds like such a fun idea for a ride and would be a unique one in the area. Would love to have seen this fully detailed out.
- Soarin’ over Springfield – this is such a solid use of the ride system when you consider the show’s intro and various shots that take place in the series.
- Overall, the Simpson’s area has several nice ideas, just would have loved to see at least one of them a little more developed breaking down the story, maybe a layout, etc.
- Futurama – The show that binds them all throughout reality, space, and time. Lol
- Did not mention this before, but the brief backstory on the toons themselves is a nice touch
- Buggalo Roundup – This seems like a fun little ride for the family. A quick sketch of the ride vehicle would go a long way here or a comparable spinning coaster of this type, but a nice story for the coaster
- Zapp to the Future – MMRR crossed with MIB is a clear idea of the ride here. I will assume this is not the same @TheMom (lol)
- Zoidberg or that other long name show – solid addition to the land providing a nice variety with the 3 attractions
- Futurama dining – lots of detail in all these menus. Really great job coming up with full menus for all. Just watch some of the local dietary issues (pork)
- Bob’s Burgers – no attractions here? Another full menu here (great job taking the time to pull these menus together) and even a menu card which I appreciate. Nice details with the restaurant here as well.
- Really nice job overall Team Space. I think of the 3 teams, yours was probably the cleanest direction using animation and again, I love that you spelled out, even briefly a vision for the park. Great extras to this presentation in the form of the Minecraft, music, and menus. On the flip side, the land just felt like it could have used another attraction or two, or a little more detail in the proposed ones themselves probably would have gone a long way There are some good ideas here. And this goes for everyone, but do not be afraid to sketch something out. Even a 5-10 min quick sketch goes a long way (for me at least) in conveying and personalizing an idea.
- Where is the larger land map?
- Classic New York – this is your smallest NY area, but I feel like maybe your best overall consistent theme from the attractions to the dining and shopping which were all well done
- Festival of Films – whether it is sucking up to me or not, this is a really good idea for a theoretical Fox Studios Park. It was great as well to see many different people working on this together from across the team doing various scenes. This ties back as well into the teamwork that was on display all week. Oh, here’s the IP’s you did not use elsewhere.
- Greatest Showman – really cool idea turning the ride into a circus act of sorts, inside the tent, etc.
- Modern NY – These films all make sense here, though the inclusion of Bob’s Burgers threw me off a bit as a toon vs these mostly live action films (is it in NY?)
- Die Harf Tower Attack – I am not sure anything but a drop tower makes sense for a theoretical Die Hard ride. This might be my favorite attraction in your overall land mostly thanks to how it was presented. The write up itself is not overtly long, but does not need to be as the POV video created is both well done (is this in google slides?), funny and clearly conveys the ride
- Home Alone 2 – I prefer Home Alone 1 over 2 by a mile, but for a H.A. attraction, 2 makes a lot of sense and obviously, NY. While it is a book report ride, details are there in the write up. I question the vehicle choice instead over maybe a 2-seat ride of some sort as I do not think this would convey the Mr. Toad’s type experience you are looking for.
- Night at the Museum – when I knew a walk-through experience was coming, I was not expecting this. If the effects and cast members are up to snuff, a very nice attraction. This was really well done.
- Ice Age – I could see this fitting here even as an animation tie in
- Percy Jackson – did not think of a NY tie in though a play area of sorts is nice. Not sure about the Greek mythology WT with already having the NatTM area but I am fine with it.
- Shopping here makes perfect sense though a Master Chef shop but not restaurant?
- Future NY – For me of your 3 NY area, maybe the one that all the properties do not jive the best or warranted their own land
- Quicksilver – perfect amount of write up for a coaster of this type and the visuals (queue map, POV) round out a solid entry
- FF – I recently purchased an omnibus containing the first 25-30 issues of FF so getting a FF4 ride for me is good timing. Tons of detail here. Would have liked to see a little more info about the ride vehicles and how they work. Overall, the ride seems like a lot of fun, though the dialogue in ride may be a little heavy. Love seeing the additional layout details. Stuff like that really helps sell the attraction for me
- Danger Room – basic flat room with nice theming though I could see this being too much for those with any sort of motion sickness between the ride and the projections. Me personally I would love to ride this
- Planet Express/Copper Bottom – Nothing wrong with either of these ideas though could have used a little more detail on both, but also could have been candidates for cutting due to project size
- Alien – Love the idea of an Alien attraction, but anything with Alien really should be a headliner in my view with accompanying writeup and it has 2 other major attractions in its own sub land to compete with. Good visuals used though unsure on the exact type of ride this is.
- No idea what the heck Slurm is, but the custom visuals were a nice touch
- Overall, your presentation flowed very nicely from beginning to end. Lots of nice extras from various types of ride through videos, to a queue map or two. Biggest flaw overall flaw is the size of the land itself (it looks to be in the 20 acre + range from what I could figure?) While it was not part of the challenge, and you semi addressed it on the main page of your site, I would have loved to see your team spend a couple of minutes and talk about how the other lands would play out in your larger park. I think that would have really helped the scale of what you did here in cutting attractions. Creating a land is an inexact science and there's no right/wrong answer to the number of rides but really relies on the scope of the land and the local market place. Several of your IP's could either be their own land or headline another themed land. You actually had several good ideas for other lands, and I think it was your 2nd place vote even had a quick map and all and it would be have been super unique in addition to being a genre growing in the UAE. Again overall, tons of great work by your team in all facets. You worked well together, picking each other up, contributing and providing a lot of solid ideas for rides, dining and shops. Super fun team to watch work together.
- Central Park
- While the name (New York) is a little bland, the map starting out is A+ and how it is done really conveys the city vibe. Really nicely done
- NatTM – While Team Reality went the walk-through route you all went the actual ride experience, so it is nice to see that variety. There are several cookie cutter type dark ride/trackless rides in the area so do not know how well it would differ, but this was well thought out and super detailed. That said the ride system makes sense so no hate there. I love to see the various layout maps as it really helps sell what you are talking about. Ride vehicle art was a nice touch. Really nice ride through experience
- Die Hard – another Team Reality crossover here and the drop tower makes perfect sense. While Reality’s Tower experience extended above the roofline (due to height) I was not sure about yours with a 150 ft drop? Overall, the ride is well done. The detailed attraction map is spot on down to cast break room.
- Swan Boats – what a unique inclusion and helps sell the NY park vibe. Not a Fox/20th IP per se, but something that fits (sort of what Disney used to do)
- Cats – Wonder who did this?
- Holidays – The holidays in NY and Thanksgiving are a little interesting for me assuming most visitors are either local or from nearby countries. Not sure how well this would resonate though you did note avoiding religious symbolism. It seems a tricky line to balance but could see it working if done right
- Dining – both dining options seem pretty spot on and the food photos make me hungry. Empire State Club seems like a high-profile place and considering what is around Dubai and Abu Dhabi fits
- West Side Story and the shops all fit well here. Solid theming throughout
- Tons of great visuals for Central Park between the map, ride layouts and Planet Coaster
- Futurama – You all are going to make me watch this damn show aren’t you?
- Across All Dimensions – Took me a minute to get here as I kept ending up on NatTM. Thought I was losing it for a second. The Preshow did a nice job setting up the attraction and was well done but was longer than the actual attraction write up itself. Just would have liked to have seen more about the actual ride.
- Inferno – solid flat ride inclusion and just enough description with some of the on-ride experience. Seems like a fun little experience
- Dining – more Slurm. Nice. Seriously though, a nice variety of dining options here to meet guests needs. Again food visuals are a nice touch
- Shopping – the collectible robot is a nice feature here
- Team Time was steady from beginning to end and really worked well together by all accounts. While there was some crossover with other teams, your land had a really solid mix of attractions that balances out the overall land nicely and with a decent variety. Would have liked to seen a bit more in the Futurama attraction area but the dining was spot on and your Central Park area was nicely done from top to bottom with the visuals really helping sell this area.
Thanks again to all 3 teams for their work this week. While there was many similarities, there was plenty of unique idea between the 3 of you.
