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Nintendo coming to Universal parks


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I've said it time and time again, Nintendo Land would be an awesome land for a theme park.  Way back on one of these threads, I had even mentioned an idea I had to convert Boo Blasters into a Mario Castle dark ride.  Even though I knew KI didn't have near the funds to license a brand like Nintendo, I still thought it would be a great idea to implement these themes and characters into some kind of theme park.  Looks like Universal had the same idea.  This should make an awesome new addition!

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I'm guessing this could be a retheme of Marvel Superhero Island at IOA?

 

EDIT: I saw in the picture that there was a Charizard and Pikachu. I would LOVE to see a Pokemon attraction and I would also love it if some of the Pokemon were walk-around characters (specifically Blastoise or Hariyama!)  :D

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That would be cool, but then most likely Universal loses that to Disney.  I could see this being done in either the Lost Continent area as that part of the park is often skipped over as people run to Harry Potter, or maybe the Toon Lagoon area?  Many of the cartoons are a bit out of date with the main public?  Or maybe they go with a new area off of the original park, similar to the new Harry Potter world over there.

 

 

EDIT:

 

OR see this rumor for a who knows...

 

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2015/04/rumor-is-disney-nearing-a-deal-with-universal-for-marvel-theme-park-rights/

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That would be cool, but then most likely Universal loses that to Disney.  I could see this being done in either the Lost Continent area as that part of the park is often skipped over as people run to Harry Potter, or maybe the Toon Lagoon area?  Many of the cartoons are a bit out of date with the main public?  Or maybe they go with a new area off of the original park, similar to the new Harry Potter world over there.

 

 

EDIT:

 

OR see this rumor for a who knows...

 

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2015/04/rumor-is-disney-nearing-a-deal-with-universal-for-marvel-theme-park-rights/

The problem with changing Lost Continent would be a possible change to Mythos and I don't think they would want to do that.

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Toon Lagoon is a contender, but it would need to be wiped and built from scratch. Its two rides (Popeye and Dudley Do-Right) are huge, though, and wouldn't be easily re-adapted for new characters. I think they'd seriously need to close the land and re-build it from the ground up, which seems a little silly. The park needs those two water rides and there's no sincere impetus to get rid of them, necessarily. Even though Nintendo would make a worthy replacement, I don't think it's where they'll go.

 

Lost Continent will eventually disappear, which makes me a little sad. But I'd watch for Potter to creep into the Sinbad's Bazaar area of it first (maybe the Forbidden Forest could take over there?), and maybe eventually the Lost City area. But thematically it still fulfills an important position in the park's creative roster. To eliminate it turns 5/7 of the park's island's to cartoons, which is a little heavy. Lost Continent helped balance that and provide something "different" so I don't think it would be the first place for Nintendo.

 

My big bet? The kids area in the studios.

 

It's currently got Fievel and Curious George play areas, an animal show theater, a Barney theater, and an ET dark ride. Especially as the Studio park pushes to both update and build themed lands, I think this property is PERFECT for expansion.

 

Barney Theater becomes Pokemon Battle Gym with a live Pokemon battle show. The associated playground, gardens, etc. become a little village from the show / game with a Pokecenter gift shop, etc. with a classic spinner of flying Pokemon.

 

ET dark ride building becomes Mario & Luigi's Adventure dark ride.

 

The two playgrounds (Fievel and Curious George) become a Hyrule Adventure play area leading to a new Legend of Zelda dark ride.

 

For a long time, I assumed that kids area would get the Dreamworks overlay, but that apparently can't happen (because if it could, I think it already would've). So Nintendo would be marvelous there. What a perfect theme for a kids area. And three little distinct sub-sections within: Pokemon, Mario, and Zelda.

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I was thinking the other day about creating a Pokemon park on Roller Coaster Tycoon and the kid's area would be Pichu's Playground and would feature baby Pokemon like Togepi, Pichu and Wynaut. I think something like this would go great at Universal.

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People thought Avatar at AK was irrelevant??  Nintendo hasn't done anything of note in 20 years! At least when Disney announced Avatar, it also released a ton of concept art.  All this announcement says is that Nintendo will be involved in future projects.  Harry Potter-overwhelmingly yes! This-not so much.

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^ Nintendo's IPs are VERY recognizable to today's youngins. And - perhaps even more importantly - to those in their mid to late 20s, conveniently the demographic most likely to bring small children to an amusement park.

...and those of us a little older than that were just the right age when the NES first came on the scene and introduced many of those classic characters. I love this idea and am happy to see Nintendo getting creative with the use of it's IP. 

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People thought Avatar at AK was irrelevant??  Nintendo hasn't done anything of note in 20 years! At least when Disney announced Avatar, it also released a ton of concept art.  All this announcement says is that Nintendo will be involved in future projects.  Harry Potter-overwhelmingly yes! This-not so much.

 

Whoa! Disney did NOT release concept art of Avatar. They made the same exact announcement that Universal did today: that they'd secured the rights to build attractions based on Avatar / Nintendo, and that they would begin developing attractions. Disney did specifically announce that the first of those attractions would be a land at Animal Kingdom (whereas Universal hasn't announced which park specifically will be the first to get Nintendo). But no art. No ride announcements. No timelines.

 

It was two years and a few weeks later that Disney finally released concept art of Pandora. Deal signed September 17, 2011. Announced three days later. Concept art released October 12, 2013. Two years later. And the project will open in 2017, six years after it was announced.

 

At each progressive revelation, it was met with a sigh of disinterest from fans and GP. Compare that to this announcement, which is going viral online.

 

Nintendo is a HUGE coup for Universal. Not quite Potter sized yet, but a HUGE acquisition. Enormous. And incredibly relevant... Especially compared to Avatar.

 

Mario Kart ride? Kirby? Mario? Pokemon? Zelda? Donkey Kong? Metroid? Just because you've aged out of it doesn't mean everyone has. The "Tumblr" crowd and early twenty-somethings will be very impressed by any E-tickets that come of this.

 

And think about the "Peanuts" effect. Twenty-something couples or early thirties couples with young kids... Guess who they grew up on? And guess who pays for the tickets? Those folks would show up in force for a Zelda ride.

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Another thought: should they desire to expand beyond kid's rides, the theme still works incredibly well.

 

Imagine a coaster using the Star Fox license. I just hope it begins with a launch so you can "use the boost to get through!" It had also better "do a barrel roll" at some point. Or possibly "try a somersault". And preferably at the end of the coaster, it will "use the brakes!" I think a ride that combines all of those elements would really be pushing the Outer Limits of what a modern coaster is capable of.  :ph34r:

 

Oh, also, F-Zero themed Strata coaster with each car painted to look like a different one of the F-Zero machines from the games. I'm sure the line for the Blue Falcon will be always be ridiculous, but I'll stick with the Fire Stingray because Samurai Goroh > CRAPtain Falcon.

 

Other possible attraction ideas include a Donkey Kong mine train coaster, a Loftwing-themed Wing coaster, Mario Kart go-kart track... And GYK, I expand on your Mario & Luigi dark ride idea and submit for your approval the idea of a Luigi's Mansion dark ride instead (with no Mario). They could even have a Metroid-themed attraction (an indoor, dark Top Spin, perhaps?). The themeing writes itself. Absolutely perfect license for a theme park. I have waited a very, very long time for this, and if it comes to fruition, a trip (or heck, even a MOVE) to Orlando may very well be in my future. Nintendo literally influenced my life in a profound way. I would not be in the career I am in if not for them, my circle of friends would be entirely different, and I probably wouldn't even like roller coasters and therefore wouldn't be posting on this site right now (I grew up playing the SNES version of SimCity, which caused me to want to play RollerCoaster Tycoon, which is a big part of why I love the things so much today). With all that in mind, visiting a Nintendo theme park, even if it's just a small section inside of a bigger park, is literally one of my wildest dreams come true.

 

I would hope for an attraction based on the Mother series, but I'm far too jaded to expect Nintendo of America to give fans of that series even the tiniest hat tip. I have little doubt that if Nintendo of America could have completely removed Ness from the new Smash Bros. game, they would have in an instant...

 

Honestly, as far as multigenerational appeal goes, Nintendo is the best idea I can think of besides Looney Tunes, and even then, Looney Tunes aren't on TV as often as the used to be. And what great timing. The first American kids to grow up with Nintendo are raising kids of their own now.

 

Nintendo is smart. Very smart. People think they're struggling, but they aren't at all. Their business is much more multi-faceted than people realize. They just entered the incredibly lucrative smartphone gaming arena. They have IPs that are worth millions, if not billions of dollars. Now they are licensing out their characters for theme park attractions. Heck, their North American subsidiary even owns a Major League Baseball team (remember Ken Griffey, Jr. Baseball on the N64?). And that's only scratching the surface. Oh, and unlike the other manufacturers of gaming hardware, they don't have to initially sell their consoles at a loss to keep the prices reasonable...

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A Luigi's Mansion dark ride would be awesome

A Luigi's Mansion dark ride would have all of the pieces in place to be just like Phantom Theater. Although, while Phantom Theater was great for a regional, seasonal park, I'd expect at a park like Universal to get something more along the lines of DarKastle

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Toon Lagoon is a contender, but it would need to be wiped and built from scratch. Its two rides (Popeye and Dudley Do-Right) are huge, though, and wouldn't be easily re-adapted for new characters. I think they'd seriously need to close the land and re-build it from the ground up, which seems a little silly. The park needs those two water rides and there's no sincere impetus to get rid of them, necessarily. Even though Nintendo would make a worthy replacement, I don't think it's where they'll go.

 

I beg to differ; either one of those two attractions would be ripe for a Donkey Kong re-theme, using the infamous DK barrels as ride vehicles. Of course, the issue would be having a second Kong-themed attraction literally a stone's throw away from the just-announced Skull Island attraction, but then they could pull off a fairly subtle transition area between Jungle Japes and Skull Island/Jurassic Park.

 

The thing about using Kidzone, though, is space. I see the idea of having multiple game-themed areas better suited to a much larger piece of land like Toon Lagoon, as it already has four somewhat separately themed zones (Ripsaw Falls, Popeye's, Comic Strip, and the Theater...thing...place). Having a Luigi's Mansion dark ride and a Mario Kart racetrack would be the perfect answer to Disney's Haunted Mansion and Tomorrowland Speedway.

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A Luigi's Mansion dark ride would be awesome

A Luigi's Mansion dark ride would have all of the pieces in place to be just like Phantom Theater. Although, while Phantom Theater was great for a regional, seasonal park, I'd expect at a park like Universal to get something more along the lines of DarKastle

 

 

So, along the lines of Universal's Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, which DarKastle is a budget version of. :P 

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While we are talking about rides based on Nintendo IP's, I'd love to see a Pokemon themed flying coaster (or wing coaster) themed to Aerodactyl flying through ancient ruins (also featuring Xatu and Unown) and a Windshear (like a Top Spin, but with independent arms) themed to a battle between the 1st and 2nd generation legendary birds (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Ho-Oh and Lugia) that is a bit reminiscent of Tomb Raider: The Ride. These rides could all fit in The Lost Continent. Probably won't happen, but a guy can dream, right?  :D

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Wow- Nintendo has so many characters and franchises at this point, you could do an entire world-class theme park with just their stuff. Mario (+Spinoffs), Zelda, Metroid, F-Zero, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Pokemon, Star Fox, much more...they literally have so much to work with. It will be very interesting to see what Universal does with this. Nintendo could work with nearly any type of ride too- Roller Coasters, Flat Rides, Dark Rides, Water Rides...

 

Video Games and Amusement Parks put together. Wow...I'm so happy this is happening. Disney World had better watch out, because Universal means business with additions like this and Harry Potter.

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Universal's on it.

 

First, a brilliant 21st century park of themed IP islands: Marvel, Jay Ward, Jurassic Park, Seuss, and two outstanding, Disney-quality original concepts. Now, they've redoubled their efforts and have acquired the rights to Harry Potter, The Simpsons, Nintendo... Recently added outstanding E-tickets based on Transformers, Despicable Me... Skull Island is on the way... They've added two islands to IOA and are now focused on updating the original Studios park by adding themed lands.

 

Truly, Diamondback96. Trade a single day of your family vacation to Walt Disney World for a day of Universal. I promise you that you'll wish it had been two. And the year after, it probably will be. Me? I grew up with Walt Disney World and went year after year after year. Now, if I go to Florida, it's for Universal. Period. If I want to visit a Disney Parks property, I can get more at Disneyland. Really

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