Area Super Nintendo World
- Thread starter MikePat
- Start date
This was my least anticipated announcement of the project since it’s already been done in their other parks, but watching the videos and seeing the passion and excitement of the UC team really sold it for me and made me excited for the land.
paintervision
Coasters: 653 🎢
I think they have a good mix of stuff here. I am a little worried about Mine-Cart Madness (low height requirement of 36-inches combined with smaller cars/lower throughput, will make this one popular), but at least it looks like a singles line will be worked in from the start.
I feel like an old grumpy man (I'm still in my mid-20s..) but I don't see the appeal to IP lands like that. I'm trying to figure out why I feel that way, maybe it could be that I grew up with BGW and its generic, non-IP European theming. I think I'm a bit anti-consumerist, at least when it comes to merchandise, I don't buy much that isn't practical, you probably wouldn't know my "fandom"/IP interests after spending time in my personal spaces (except maybe for the guitars everywhere...LOL).
I've been to the Universal resort in Florida and I think I've done every operating attraction at least once. I don't think ANY of the IP made a difference in my enjoyment of an attraction. Most of the rides were/are fun, but I didn't enjoy Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure because of it's connection with HP (even as someone who watches the films once~ a year and read the books many years ago). I loved the mummy ride because it was fun, but I would have gotten the same enjoyment from a generic "mummy" ride with the same production value even if it wasn't attached to "The Mummy" IP.
Maybe it's the way I enjoy theme parks... ride the rides I want and go home. I feel like I would MUCH rather be at home playing a Mario game than deal with crowds while trying to do Mario-themed "interactables" in the hamlet/world. However, I cannot get the same feeling of a rollercoaster at home. I cannot help but see interactables as anything but crowd sponges/crowd management that keep the actual attraction's queues from overflowing.
I'm not trying to derail the thread by any means, but if anyone wants to discuss this further, it might be better off in another thread. I understand how this stuff has appeal to other people, it just doesn't do anything for me. I promise I'm not trying to be a hater and affect anyone else's enjoyment of this stuff.
I've been to the Universal resort in Florida and I think I've done every operating attraction at least once. I don't think ANY of the IP made a difference in my enjoyment of an attraction. Most of the rides were/are fun, but I didn't enjoy Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure because of it's connection with HP (even as someone who watches the films once~ a year and read the books many years ago). I loved the mummy ride because it was fun, but I would have gotten the same enjoyment from a generic "mummy" ride with the same production value even if it wasn't attached to "The Mummy" IP.
Maybe it's the way I enjoy theme parks... ride the rides I want and go home. I feel like I would MUCH rather be at home playing a Mario game than deal with crowds while trying to do Mario-themed "interactables" in the hamlet/world. However, I cannot get the same feeling of a rollercoaster at home. I cannot help but see interactables as anything but crowd sponges/crowd management that keep the actual attraction's queues from overflowing.
I'm not trying to derail the thread by any means, but if anyone wants to discuss this further, it might be better off in another thread. I understand how this stuff has appeal to other people, it just doesn't do anything for me. I promise I'm not trying to be a hater and affect anyone else's enjoyment of this stuff.
paintervision
Coasters: 653 🎢
The nice thing is, the land's interactive features are optional. I feel the same way with the Potter wand magic - it's cool but I don't need to pay to do it. That doesn't stop people from going to the wand magic stations all day long. It takes a few minutes standing nearby of each of them to see what they do (triggering effects or projections, etc), but some people feel the need to do it themselves.
There will still be three real rides (Mario Kart, Yoshi's Adventure, Mine Cart Madness) and the extra features that track coins/progress are optional.
As someone who doesn't care for them, I'll be glad they exist as they keep crowds away from actual attractions.
It's not a selling point to me, as a coaster enthusiast, and Universal knows that, but having them does so much for the experience for other guests that it IS a selling point.
Sorry to sound like I was advocating against it, I was just throwing my thoughts out there.
IP lands are moneymakers. Harry Potter pretty much proved that people want to visit Universal just to see Harry Potter. Uni essentially went from a side trip during a week at Disney to the main reason people will fly to Orlando thanks to Potter.
The average person will have a greater connection to Superman or Mario or Harry Potter than some generic theme. That connection drives people through the gates and sticks easy money into the park's pocket through merch sales.
Am I a fan of this whole overuse of IPs in parks? I feel Uni and Disney could definitely be more creative if given the chance, but right now those parks are following what's popular right now and it looks like IP-based lands will be a thing for a while.
The Universal Orlando parks pre-Potter didn't come close to sniffing the attendance numbers that the Disney parks were pulling in. Nowadays, IOA is currently the second most visited park in Orlando placing them ahead of all other Disney Parks except Magic Kingdom. This goes to show the marketing power of the park's IPs and the revenue stream it brings them.
Technically this footage is from Universal Japan (please relocate this post accordingly if that part of the forum is better for it), but this Donkey Kong area will also be coming to Orlando next year. The theming is really impressive; clearly a lot of thought was put into it.
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I am not a Nintendo person (Atari 2600 is the only game system I ever owned), but the land is so much fun!
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
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I’m concerned with many of the “portals” that they are really tight especially this SNW with what looks to be two standard escalators. Spells a lot of potential issues with so many people through there. Especially if people try to get pushy.
The entry portal isn't the only way in and out of the land. Most theme park lands are connected to backstage areas with hidden exits all around. In the case of emergencies or overcrowding, they'll open up backstage areas to help move people.
There are connecting paths to the sides of each portal that will help with guest flow too. It looks like they encourage guests to enter the lands though the portal entries, then exiting parties go back into the center of the park though the side paths next to the portal.
Epic is fantastic— I can’t wait to get back (some day). I live that it’s captured the imagination of so many artists already:
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SATURDAY SIX Presents: Artists Inspired by EPIC UNIVERSE | TouringPlans.com Blog
Theme parks are many things to many people. For some they provide thrill in the form of E-Ticket attractions. Others enj
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They should do the Potter idea and keep Epic Mario/DK, put Zelda in IOA, and then Pokemon at Simpson/BTTF area in US Park.
