- Jun 30, 2014
- 72
- 26
Nintendo is still making waves on theme park sites and rumors are STILL all over the place! "It's going into KidZone at USF!" "No! It's replacing Toon Lagoon at IOA!!" "NO! It's replacing Marvel Super Hero Island AND Toon Lagoon!!" (Yeah, that one is pretty ridiculous, but it's out there.)
Certainly there are a dozen blue sky ideas for this IP, so it all really comes down to what's more important: building specific rides or building up a specific park? So does one of the parks need it more than the other?
USF has several holes to fill. Twister will probably be something C-Ticket soon, so let's assume that is taken care of. Fear Factor is the obvious hole, which will undoubtedly be filled with the Ministry of Magic. KidZone is fine, but it's no Fantasyland, and USH really does need an IP here famous enough to make families aware that they do have their own high-quality version of Fantasyland. And Disaster is just a time-waster at this point. Shrek will be considered antiquated in a few years, but it's a needed family attraction until KidZone gets some update. For now, that's really all USH has to focus on. The hole between The Simpsons and Men in Black isn't important, yet, and there's still interest in the other attractions here.
IOA doesn't have a lot of holes to fill, more like entire lands to retheme. We all know that Universal has long wanted to retheme Toon Lagoon - and it needs it desperately. Across the lagoon the Lost Continent, while much better themed, has probably the least-beloved attractions (not counting Dr Doom or Storm Force Accelatron) in the park.
Because IOA does have the greatly themed Seuss Landing, it would seem it wouldn't need Nintendo. Plus, it has a greater concentration of rides than USF. Spidey, Hulk, Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Popeye & Bluto's, Dudley Do-Right (the ride itself, not the theming) and probably Kong. There's not a lot of attractions over at USF that can compare to most in this list. The Mummy, Gringott's and Men in Black?
The problem here is that IOA is STILL considered the "thrill" park. Even with Seuss Landing, Sindbad, Poseidon, Spidey and all the Harry Potter stuff, this park cannot shake the way it is viewed by people who haven't been here. "It's not a family park!!!" And Kong probably isn't going to change this. It's going to be a slow ride with movies, but it'll still be seen - and advertised - as a thrill ride. USF, even with a big roller coaster that can be seen from CityWalk, is still seen as the more family-oriented park. And that's probably true.
Even with IOA opening the big new attraction, I still think it's the park that needs the next big thing. Especially considering USF could build the Ministry of Magic and for a minimal investment, it could go up quickly, and that park would soar for three more years. There have been a million proposed additions to IOA over the years - Grinch coaster, Lorax dark ride, Jurassic Jeep Adventure, Amber Mine coaster, JP Aviary coaster, JP dark ride, SOMETHING to replace the Toon Lagoon Theater! But the success of Jurassic World could put one of the JP ideas on the fast-track. Which obviously doesn't solve this perception issue, even if they did the dark ride. Seuss rides just aren't sexy, but ignoring them isn't the way to attract their problem demographic.
One solution is to retheme Toon Lagoon - Yoshi can take over Dudley and Donkey Kong can take over Popeye - and I'd tear down the theater and put up a Mario Kart and one other ride here. This would be cheaper than building a whole new land in USH. It's not sexy but it immediately puts a new HUGE family IP into IOA. In fact, it would be easier as no kiddie rides would have to close to build it. Build the two new attractions, open them and then the other two can go down for retheming.
The biggest problem with this is the little fact that Nintendo was obviously shown SOMETHING to make them agree to a deal. Is there a plan for an attraction that wouldn't fit in Toon Lagoon? Then the only places are Lost Continent and KidZone or the open area in USH. Personally, I would prefer that, because I would love to see Hyrule take over Lost Continent. But I would also love to see a Mario/Yoshi/Donkey Kong land in Toon Lagoon, a Pokemon land could go into KidZone and Hyrule could go into the third gate!
If KidZone is the answer, then IOA STILL needs a big family IP for Toon Lagoon. Why SpongeBob hasn't been better utilized is beyond my comprehension. RERUNS of that show routinely top the Cable Ratings Charts. The shows are viewed by more than 100 million people around the world. Why wouldn't the water rides of Toon Lagoon be a perfect fit for him??
Even more important, Minion Mayhem is going to get old really quickly. Look how fast everyone got over the new Star Tours movies. A funny, family ride will have a longer life, but motion simulators are still low-rent attractions. If Universal wants the Minions to stand the test of time, they need a Super Silly Fun Land with something beyond flat rides or that Minion island, which would be easier to slide into Toon Lagoon. But wouldn't Super Silly Fun Land also fit easily into the current KidZone lineup?
So, ignore the rumors. After Kong opens, which park needs the Next Big Thing? How can IOA become a "family-friendly" park? Will Universal wait to see how attendance is affected by Kong before even making a Nintendo decision? Sound off...
Certainly there are a dozen blue sky ideas for this IP, so it all really comes down to what's more important: building specific rides or building up a specific park? So does one of the parks need it more than the other?
USF has several holes to fill. Twister will probably be something C-Ticket soon, so let's assume that is taken care of. Fear Factor is the obvious hole, which will undoubtedly be filled with the Ministry of Magic. KidZone is fine, but it's no Fantasyland, and USH really does need an IP here famous enough to make families aware that they do have their own high-quality version of Fantasyland. And Disaster is just a time-waster at this point. Shrek will be considered antiquated in a few years, but it's a needed family attraction until KidZone gets some update. For now, that's really all USH has to focus on. The hole between The Simpsons and Men in Black isn't important, yet, and there's still interest in the other attractions here.
IOA doesn't have a lot of holes to fill, more like entire lands to retheme. We all know that Universal has long wanted to retheme Toon Lagoon - and it needs it desperately. Across the lagoon the Lost Continent, while much better themed, has probably the least-beloved attractions (not counting Dr Doom or Storm Force Accelatron) in the park.
Because IOA does have the greatly themed Seuss Landing, it would seem it wouldn't need Nintendo. Plus, it has a greater concentration of rides than USF. Spidey, Hulk, Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Popeye & Bluto's, Dudley Do-Right (the ride itself, not the theming) and probably Kong. There's not a lot of attractions over at USF that can compare to most in this list. The Mummy, Gringott's and Men in Black?
The problem here is that IOA is STILL considered the "thrill" park. Even with Seuss Landing, Sindbad, Poseidon, Spidey and all the Harry Potter stuff, this park cannot shake the way it is viewed by people who haven't been here. "It's not a family park!!!" And Kong probably isn't going to change this. It's going to be a slow ride with movies, but it'll still be seen - and advertised - as a thrill ride. USF, even with a big roller coaster that can be seen from CityWalk, is still seen as the more family-oriented park. And that's probably true.
Even with IOA opening the big new attraction, I still think it's the park that needs the next big thing. Especially considering USF could build the Ministry of Magic and for a minimal investment, it could go up quickly, and that park would soar for three more years. There have been a million proposed additions to IOA over the years - Grinch coaster, Lorax dark ride, Jurassic Jeep Adventure, Amber Mine coaster, JP Aviary coaster, JP dark ride, SOMETHING to replace the Toon Lagoon Theater! But the success of Jurassic World could put one of the JP ideas on the fast-track. Which obviously doesn't solve this perception issue, even if they did the dark ride. Seuss rides just aren't sexy, but ignoring them isn't the way to attract their problem demographic.
One solution is to retheme Toon Lagoon - Yoshi can take over Dudley and Donkey Kong can take over Popeye - and I'd tear down the theater and put up a Mario Kart and one other ride here. This would be cheaper than building a whole new land in USH. It's not sexy but it immediately puts a new HUGE family IP into IOA. In fact, it would be easier as no kiddie rides would have to close to build it. Build the two new attractions, open them and then the other two can go down for retheming.
The biggest problem with this is the little fact that Nintendo was obviously shown SOMETHING to make them agree to a deal. Is there a plan for an attraction that wouldn't fit in Toon Lagoon? Then the only places are Lost Continent and KidZone or the open area in USH. Personally, I would prefer that, because I would love to see Hyrule take over Lost Continent. But I would also love to see a Mario/Yoshi/Donkey Kong land in Toon Lagoon, a Pokemon land could go into KidZone and Hyrule could go into the third gate!
If KidZone is the answer, then IOA STILL needs a big family IP for Toon Lagoon. Why SpongeBob hasn't been better utilized is beyond my comprehension. RERUNS of that show routinely top the Cable Ratings Charts. The shows are viewed by more than 100 million people around the world. Why wouldn't the water rides of Toon Lagoon be a perfect fit for him??
Even more important, Minion Mayhem is going to get old really quickly. Look how fast everyone got over the new Star Tours movies. A funny, family ride will have a longer life, but motion simulators are still low-rent attractions. If Universal wants the Minions to stand the test of time, they need a Super Silly Fun Land with something beyond flat rides or that Minion island, which would be easier to slide into Toon Lagoon. But wouldn't Super Silly Fun Land also fit easily into the current KidZone lineup?
So, ignore the rumors. After Kong opens, which park needs the Next Big Thing? How can IOA become a "family-friendly" park? Will Universal wait to see how attendance is affected by Kong before even making a Nintendo decision? Sound off...
