What If…. Season 2 [GAME THREAD]

[Mr. Sullivan]

@Tegan pilots a chicken When you get a moment, check our team PM queen of the universe pls and thnx

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

We asked three times for a deadline extension and received no reply of any kind? Team Rouge, would it be breaking the rules if we mutually agree to have an extra day?

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

As the game's unofficial co-host, I'm guessing Tegan got really caught up with work stuff. Go ahead and take an extra day.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

As the game's unofficial co-host, I'm guessing Tegan got really caught up with work stuff. Go ahead and take an extra day.

Thank you so much, Tiki! Tegan, I hope you're doing ok

 

[ThemeParkPriest]

Speaking for Team Rogue, we will accept an extra day!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Teams, you all officially officially have an extension!!

Your projects will be due Monday, 11:59pm Disneyland time. ​

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

As the game's unofficial co-host, I'm guessing Tegan got really caught up with work stuff. Go ahead and take an extra day.

Yes. It’s the busy season and it was my “on” weekend and I also made the “mistake” of going to shows Friday and Saturday. Thanks for taking care of that, Tiki!

Thank you so much, Tiki! Tegan, I hope you're doing ok

Thanks! I am! It was just a busy couple of days at the most inconvenient time!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Alright teams, be sure to have your projects submitted by 11:59 Disneyland time tonight!!

A heads up; reviews and results for Round 01 will come Wednesday night, but I will have your second prompt ready to go tomorrow evening!! ​

 

[ThemeParkPriest]

Team Rogue...
...invites you to explore the
Tokyo Disneyland Resort Expansion
20,000 Leagues Hotel + Dreaming of Fantasy Springs Ride
Hang out at (but don't get eaten by)...

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

TEAM PHOENIX PRESENTS


Disney's Shambhala Palace Resort
at Disney's Animal Kingdom


The Eternal American Carnival
at Epcot's New American Pavillion​

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Okay! First of all, thank you teams for getting your projects completed! I am so, so excited to dig into these projects!!

Admittedly this may have been a bit too abstract as a first prompt especially with so many newer players in the game. But the second project will be a bit more “back to basics.”

Speaking of which,…

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

ROUND 2:
Paging Dr. Tom Morrow

Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland features an incredible lineup of beloved attractions representing the nostalgic past and the very best of modern imagineering. Brimming with kinetic energy and taking on a whole new life at night, there truly is a lot to adore here; Space Mountain with two tracks, TRON, the Carousel of Progress, and most importantly, the PeopleMover.

However, the front portion of the land, while aesthetically pleasing and perfectly exemplifying all that Tomorrowland represents, also feels a bit dated and jarringly out of place in terms of attraction offerings.

It’s time to bring Tomorrowland into the future.

Teams, you will be working in the front/westernmost section of Tomorrowland.

Your task is to replace Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and the now defunct Stitch’s Great Escape.

How you choose to do so is entirely up to you!! You may create new experiences with the existing infrastructure, completely gut everything and fill the buildings in as you wish, or even knock down every single wall and start over completely from scratch!

There is only one caveat; the PeopleMover must remain in tact!!

This project is due Thursday, November 7th at 11:59pm Disneyland time!!​

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

I’m working on reviews for round 1. But ohhhhhh my gosh I am already salivating over the brainstorming taking place right now for round 2!!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

REVIEWS

Team Rogue had a plethora of ideas in their brainstorming, but took a while to finally settle on the 20,000 Leagues Hotel and Fantasy Springs ride. I’ll circle back to this later.

Choosing Tokyo DisneySea as a location was a very bold choice! I’m not even sure how many people on the team have been to that specific park, but I can tell you that this will not be the last time we visit this park in the game.

The 20,000 Leagues Hotel is definitely the most fully realized portion of the project, and seemed to be the element the team was most passionate about. I really appreciate a lot of the tiny details here. The Giant Squid dining location is a personal highlight to me. I love that you went for something with a darker, almost sinister atmosphere, but without pushing it too far. This still feels very “Disney,” and I think it’s very successful.

There is some extremely charming concept art here as well. Especially the image made for the pool. Super cute! I love elements like this. There’s a lot of personality and expression in these works.

I really love the backstory for Fantasy Springs as a whole as well as the featured attraction. Unfortunately the write up itself reads more like a summary than a detailed ride through. There is a ton of potential here and what you do have is quite lovely. It just needed a bit more as ultimately the attraction was 50% of the prompt, but made up about 25% of your presentation. And this is where I’ll circle back to brainstorming.

Your team has a ton of creative energy! My advice is to try and organize those ideas earlier in the duration of the project as to give yourselves the most time to actually realize those ideas. Thus far your brainstorming in round 2 is already going much smoother, so nice job!!

Overall this is a great first effort and I really can’t wait to see what you do next!

Team Phoenix gave us not one, but two entire presentations!

I’m just going to come out and say it; I am absolutely blown away by Shambhala Palace!

It is quite clear that a ton of love and effort was put into this from top to bottom. The map is beautifully detailed and does a lovely job of placemaking. You created a wonderful backstory and have a reason for every single element. There are plentiful details to be found in every corner of the resort, much more than I can go over here. But I especially appreciate the train transportation to Animal Kingdom and the storytelling show. The resort almost feels like a World Showcase pavilion! I did find the idea of playing catch with an AA to be a bit far fetched even with modern technology but it is a very fun concept. You even featured room rates which is a nice detail.

This is probably my favorite hotel project ever. Outstanding job!

My heart was warmed when you selected Boardwalk as the inspiration for your attraction. When I conceptualized this prompt, Boardwalk was my primary inspiration.

So. I had a lot typed out about this attraction choice and about how messy American history is. Ultimately I deleted all of it. I am simply going to focus on the attraction itself.

A turn of the century Boardwalk featuring a coaster with retro aesthetics dominating the World Showcase lagoon is a wild idea and I absolutely love it. The funhouse aesthetic lends itself perfectly to a ride like this. The dark ride style scenes are charming and fun. This would definitely become an instant hit and a major fan favorite. Neptune’s Treasure Trove features plenty of immaculate details on its own, and many unique and charming offerings.

A fantastic project all around!

​

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

RESULTS

…


..

.

Team Phoenix strikes first!

The team was able to organize their brainstorming and settle on a direction rather quickly, and that ultimately made the difference in the final projects. Team Rogue had truly fantastic ideas, they just did not have enough time to fully realize them.

But from a pure creative standpoint, these teams are very evenly matched and every round is sure to be closely contested!​

 

[DisneyManOne]

Guest Reviews

Hello, everyone! I'm really happy to be here as a guest judge for the first round!

Team Rogue
Honestly, I think you guys landed on a goldmine when you chose to base a hotel around 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The Jules Verne Steampunk vibe is perfect for a themed Disney hotel, and I'm honestly surprised Disney hasn't really done that for real yet. I love the way you carried over the Mysterious Island design motif into the hotel. It definitely feels like a natural extension. However, I do have a question about the concept art: Is the giant squid thing meant to be a painting or a "window" that looks out into the sea, like what they tried to do with the Galactic Starcruiser?

I really enjoyed the idea of a restaurant themed around a giant squid attack. Honestly, it sounds like it could be the Tokyo equivalent to Trader Sam's Grog Grotto! I do wish there were more details about The Galley, though. Maybe a blurb about the decor and theming of the area would have made much more of a difference. The pool definitely intrigued me. I admit I have never read the book, nor have I seen the movie -- I really must at some point -- but the idea of an underwater city inhabited by frogmen does sound like a perfect setting for a pool. And you did do a good job describing all the amenities of the pool. I can definitely picture something like that working as a hotel pool.

Regarding the ride, Dreaming of Fantasy Springs, I love the backstory you came up with. We've all heard so many ideas about how the Disney films are interconnected, but the magic river makes so much sense for a theme park attraction. In fact, it even reminds me of the Storybookland Canal Boats at Disneyland. I guess you could say the whole ride itself is basically a next-generation "plussing" of that classic attraction! However, I do wish there could have been more detail in the ride storyline. The Disney canon -- particularly the "fairytale" features -- have so many places that could work in this ride, so I was a bit disappointed to see only a select few scenes mentioned here. Then again, it does remind me of the ride descriptions you find on the official Disney theme park websites, so maybe it's for the best that you didn't go all-in. After all, you don't want everything to be spoiled right out of the gate.

All in all, despite a few scant places where I felt there could have been more detail, this was a very good project and a very strong start for your endeavors in this game.

Team Phoenix
~ Shambhala Palace ~
Right off the bat, the concept art for Shambhala Palace really stands out. Everything is laid out beautifully, and I love that you included the rockwork in there, as well. The backstory you came up with was also pretty well laid out. It is a fascinating idea: theming a resort around famous mythical Asian creatures.

At first, I thought that this train would be an extension of the existing Wildlife Express. But honestly, I think this train blows the Wildlife Express out of the water. I love the details and the pictures you included. It really did help to flesh out the description. Incidentally, what would happen to the Wildlife Express here? Would it remain open or would it close?

The marketplace and the palace also caught my eye. Reading this, I could feel as though I was actually there. The rooms were described well, and the room rates are surprisingly cheap for what is supposedly a deluxe resort; especially the rate for a stay in the King's Quarters! Even nowadays, the average Contemporary room with a view of the Magic Kingdom is well in the $800 range per night! Were you guys inspired by how the Helios Grand Hotel, the flagship hotel of the Epic Universe expansion, had surprisingly cheap rates for its first batch of tickets?

CrossMountain sounded appetizing...however, I do have one nitpick: Since you mentioned dishes based around Emperor's New Groove, I'm honestly shocked you didn't immediately bring up Kronk's spinach puffs. And also, that DuckTales-inspired character dinner sounds incredible! I'm still shocked that the only major presence that show has in the parks these days is the updated World Showcase Adventure at EPCOT.

The mythical creature encounters sound wonderful, and I really do love the technology used to bring them to life. I have a feeling those Snow Lions would be mighty popular -- probably among the most famous cute animatronic animals in the Disney pantheon (alongside the likes of Chandu, Rover and Figment). And I really did like the idea of presenting a more tranquil, gentle version of the Everest Yeti. Hopefully, this animatronic won't be permanently broken down. And all the amenities and secrets sounded intriguing, too.

The Snow Lion Pool sounded really nice, but I really liked the Yeti Pool all the more. Something about its all-indoors cave aesthetic really stood out to me. I can definitely imagine people visiting that pool just to take in the calming lights of the icicles up above. As someone who loves the Holiday Storytellers at EPCOT, the storytellers here gave off similar vibes. I really would get a kick out of this, if this place existed in real life. I also liked the idea of having guests be able to sponsor the artwork in the gallery. And the Ice Gardens...I've heard about that hotel that offers ice sculptures every Christmas, so it would be cool to experience it whenever you wanted. Plus, I bet that would make the Shambhala Palace quite a popular place to be when the summer comes.

~ The Eternal American Carnival ~
The idea of having a boardwalk replace The American Adventure at EPCOT is a rather interesting one, but one that proves could work if implemented in real life. Boardwalk Blast was an absolute hoot. It worked both as a fantastic tribute to the classic boardwalks and as a tribute to the classic Mickey shorts. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, only themed around the classic shorts compared to Railway's focus on the Rudish shorts. Was it your intention to have it be something of a partner attraction with the Hollywood Studios staple?

I love how each coaster train has its own unique theme; and I also really got a laugh out of having an animatronic seal be the one to send the cars off. That's like something straight out of an old Disney cartoon! You mentioned how the underwater scene was reminiscent of "small world", but I think the use of a Little Mermaid image caused me to associate the scene with the "Under the Sea" room on Ariel's Undersea Adventure. I actually was expecting to find an easter egg to the Little Mermaid ride in there -- like a dig at Ariel's "Dole Whip hair" or something. And that circus finale...wow! All in all, this was pure fun to read. And the gift shop was very nice, too; especially the carnival ride kits and painted shells.

Without a doubt, this was easily my favorite of the two projects. The detail was incredible, the worldbuilding was incredible. You guys really did go the extra mile in making me feel fully immersed in these places. Well done!

 

[Lizzy May Bee]

However, I do have a question about the concept art: Is the giant squid thing meant to be a painting or a "window" that looks out into the sea, like what they tried to do with the Galactic Starcruiser?

Painting

 

[WaltWiz1901]

I really love the backstory for Fantasy Springs as a whole as well as the featured attraction. Unfortunately the write up itself reads more like a summary than a detailed ride through. There is a ton of potential here and what you do have is quite lovely. It just needed a bit more as ultimately the attraction was 50% of the prompt, but made up about 25% of your presentation. And this is where I’ll circle back to brainstorming.

Your team has a ton of creative energy! My advice is to try and organize those ideas earlier in the duration of the project as to give yourselves the most time to actually realize those ideas. Thus far your brainstorming in round 2 is already going much smoother, so nice job!!

Regarding the ride, Dreaming of Fantasy Springs, I love the backstory you came up with. We've all heard so many ideas about how the Disney films are interconnected, but the magic river makes so much sense for a theme park attraction. In fact, it even reminds me of the Storybookland Canal Boats at Disneyland. I guess you could say the whole ride itself is basically a next-generation "plussing" of that classic attraction! However, I do wish there could have been more detail in the ride storyline. The Disney canon -- particularly the "fairytale" features -- have so many places that could work in this ride, so I was a bit disappointed to see only a select few scenes mentioned here. Then again, it does remind me of the ride descriptions you find on the official Disney theme park websites, so maybe it's for the best that you didn't go all-in. After all, you don't want everything to be spoiled right out of the gate.

Regarding the bolded:

• The reason my writeup wasn't as detailed as it could've been (and, in retrospect, should've, though I am flattered by DisneyMan likening it to an official website description) can be traced back to us devoting too much time to tossing potential ideas around. Tegan is absolutely right when she said we should pick what we want to do earlier on in the brainstorming process
• The backstory "[we] came up with" is actually the official backstory for Fantasy Springs as given by Disney themselves; I thought it bore the seeds for a pretty good ride
• I had intended to showcase canon films that had no major representation in either Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea, so that meant not featuring Frozen, Peter Pan, Tangled, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, or Beauty and the Beast to name a handful. It was, however, a bit of a challenge figuring out what hadn't been used as of when Fantasy Springs was developed and built (fun fact: many of the films I name-dropped, while limited to the characters' likenesses being engraved in the rockwork and in-hotel portraits in the port itself, are featured in its merchandising)

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Teams, you’re getting an extension. Project 2 is due Friday night at 11:59pm. 🩷

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Teams, you’re getting an extension. Project 2 is due Friday night at 11:59pm. 🩷

Tegan and I will also be doing a review podcast for the first two projects the following night!