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Everything posted by bkroz
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AVATAR Is Going To Animal Kingdom
bkroz replied to Avatar's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
To be fair, though, while people hang on to the "it's not Disney!" argument, no one has the same worries about Star Wars or Indiana Jones, which - until recently - were present in Disney Parks through very similar deals with their rights-holder. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is far darker and more violent than Avatar in many ways. Sure, it's rated PG, but it's famous in cinematic history as the inspiration for the MPAA's PG-13 rating to begin with, which debuted two months after Indy's release. The film inspired the equally dark Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye ride at Disneyland (not even at a Studios park.. at the original Disneyland!), which would've absolutely traumatized me as a kid. ("Do not look into the dark and corroded eyes of Mara or be sentenced to the Gates of Doom... beyond which lie lava pits, striking snakes, and a flaming eye that shoots at you as you drive along cliffs.) In retrospect, we all go, "Disney should stick to their own stuff! They shouldn't bring in outside stories! Well, except Paramount's Indiana Jones... and Fox's Star Wars... Okay, and CBS's The Twilight Zone... and their Jules Verne stuff is pretty cool... and keep Pixar rides... and I'm glad they brought in the Muppets..." etc etc. The truth is that Disney is able to reach out of their own catalogue and produce great things that are neither about princesses nor fantasy nor happy endings. In other words, the fact that it's "not Disney" wouldn't even be in my top 5 reasons for keeping Avatar out of Disney Parks. -
Mantis Getting Repainted?
bkroz replied to GamesAndRides's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
Yep, being discussed here! As expected, we've taken it to mean that the coaster is also being renamed and getting new trains and new everything and shiny new ride and big budgets and anything is possible. -
Falcons Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa
bkroz replied to Colonel_SoB_fan's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
If nothing else, it seems all the downtime provided the tower with a really cool paint job that it wasn't originally planning to get. I only say so because concept art shows it half blue, half yellow, period, and it was those two colors alone when testing started. Probably while they were waiting for that replacement part, they decided to keep people occupied on it. It looks great. Definitely the lesson to learn here (and from the horrendous "Year of the Tower" when every WindSeeker and Mach Tower stalled) is to not set opening dates or even seasons for prototype rides. Not sure how that works from a marketing point of view, but man is it better than a whole lot of disappointed guests when spring 2014 passes with no drop t0wer... Then summer. The new rumor, I guess, is that it might manage a soft-opening in late August, and hopefully will be running for Howl-o-Scream. At least Pantopia looks incredible! -
At this point, they're just playing games. For a very long time (up until a week ago) the park teased with Roman columns and an ancient motif, pointing to Centurion. A centurion was the military leader of a Roman century. It's a perfect name for a ride with a Gatekeeper aesthetic. Centurion, to me, conjures images of a Wing Rider soaring over the park's entrance - maybe through ancient columns - like a protective gate. The competing idea was for Fury 325. All we really know there is the park featured a haunted house at their Scarowinds event called "Fury," which was more or less about a chemical injected into test subjects to make super soldiers. That storyline fits the more recent "you can't contain it" viral outbreak messaging. To me, Fury 325 would probably be a neon green coaster of substantial height and speed. Now, the bee-keepers and the quasi-honeycomb backsplash paired with the "containment" thing makes it seem like this could actually be Hornet themed. If so, hopefully it's done tastefully and not an obnoxious advertisement for the Charlotte Hornets. It's possible that it can be well-done, too... see Thorpe Park's The Swarm, which is a very cool Wing Rider that has incredible scenic interactions and is themed to a swarm of flying insect-type nanobots. But c'mon. To go from Roman columns to bee-keepers? Either they have no idea either and are pulling together a last-minute deal with the sports team, or they're just messing with us. EDIT: Oh man, and then there's White Lightning, which could be the real answer that they're just trying to throw us off of. SMART.
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AVATAR Is Going To Animal Kingdom
bkroz replied to Avatar's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
^ On that note, another frightening and odd aspect is that Disney has nothing whatsoever to do with the filmmaking or distribution. Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment creates the films, and 20th Century Fox is contracted to distribute them. Disney's only role is their agreement with Lightstorm that they have exclusive rights to build rides, themed areas, and attractions based on the film [series], probably with a healthy group of Lightstorm individuals contracted to work for Disney Imagineering. (This, by the way, is exactly the relationship Universal has with Harry Potter, which is produced by Heyday Films and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Universal simply secured international theme park rights and partnered with key Potter-creatives for their Universal Creative division.) For all Disney's input, the next Avatar could be an R-rated violence extravaganza full of foul language and nudity. I don't think it will be, but the point is that Disney has little input into the brand's direction (except through de facto means, like threatening to break contract if they do x, y, or z in the films...) For what it's worth, Cameron is supposedly a real stickler when it comes to his way or the highway. At least a few times, insiders said he was throwing temper tantrums over what Disney was asking. Consequently, Disney flew in executives representing a competing brand as a power play, to show Cameron that they could and would walk if he dared buck up against them... Point is, I'd bet that all three sequels get made. James Cameron will find a way. He may make some enemies in the process, but he'll find a way! -
I bet a HUSS Giant Frisbee would fit nicely.
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While getting the swirled Banshee soft serve last week, I couldn't help but notice that the young man who takes your filthy, sweaty, germ-infested, water-ride-water-soaked money is the same one who turns around and fills your cone. Yum! If you touched something else that was as dirty as money is, you'd run to the nearest bathroom and scrub for a while. But since it's money, you think little of it and go right to the mouth. Don't get me started on laminated menus, either. Basically just don't touch anything and you'll be okay.
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AVATAR Is Going To Animal Kingdom
bkroz replied to Avatar's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
I'm the one who came up with those 7 lands, so I don't find it sad at all. Haha! Thanks. If only Disney would hire me so I could have my dreams crushed by executives. -
AVATAR Is Going To Animal Kingdom
bkroz replied to Avatar's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
^^ Too late for that. Ground is moving and foundations are being poured. Avatar Land is coming. The article I linked to above brings up all your issues, though. Avatar earned record box office (the highest grossing film of all time; much farther down when accounting for inflation, much less merchandising, home release, etc.), there's no denying it. However, it is also true that Avatar was really the first visual-spectacle film (and one of the first wide-releases period) to come out in 3D. When people were saying, "Have you seen Avatar? Oh man, you've got to see it," they weren't necessarily talking about the story or characters. Remember that Disney secured worldwide exclusive rights to create Avatar attractions just a few months after Universal's Wizarding World opened. No doubt, Disney took that massive box office as a surefire hit property that had a chance of being a "Potter-swatter." They believed that Avatar merchandise would go flying off the shelves and that people who queue for hours to get into Avatar-themed restaurants and shops the way they do at the Wizarding World. In retrospect, that's obviously a foolish thought. My article lists 7 alternatives to Avatar Land, ALL of which would probably have more enticing shops and restaurants than Pandora will manage. What Disney COULDN'T have foreseen is exactly what you said: that Avatar has since disappeared from public consciousness. It left no roots in pop culture. It's not remembered or loved or celebrated today. It just... disappeared. Which, as the Slate article linked to above points out, is due to the fact that the visuals were the selling point, and off the big screen, they're not as impressive. Can you remember the lead characters' names? Probably not. It's not a timeless story that'll be beloved generations from now. It's just not. And yep, three sequels in the pipeline. Again, the Slate article says that the announcement of which was met with a collective shrug. Who cares? Not many. Without the "wow" factor of brand-new digital 3D, those movies have little chance of living up to their predecessor at the box office. Worst case scenario, they actually do POORLY, with sour critical reception. In that case: This was a huge gamble for Disney. But at this point, they've had has plenty of chances to back out of the Avatar deal so they have no one to blame but themselves. For those two full years of deafening silence between announcement and concept art, many fans thought and hoped that they had left the deal. But here we go... Three more years. -
AVATAR Is Going To Animal Kingdom
bkroz replied to Avatar's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
2014... "Avatar Land" (as it's still referred to with no better information than that) was announced in 2011. Due to open in 2017. That's 6 years from announcement to opening. Shouldn't be surprised - I kid you not, Disney made a deal with James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment on a Saturday. That Tuesday, they announced Avatar Land at Disney's Animal Kingdom, seemingly with no idea of what they'd actually do. Two years later, they released concept art... Two years later. And in Japan, while the U.S. was asleep. In 6 years (2010 - 2016), how many Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter will Universal have opened? Four. Plus two Springfield USAs, two Transformers: The Ride 3Ds, two Despicable Me: Minion Mayhems, King Kong 360 at Universal Studios Hollywood, Fast and Furious: Supercharged, HD Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, a massive King Kong E-ticket at Universal's Islands of Adventure, possibly a new Jurassic Park family dark ride, and a supposed Disney-quality themed water park ready to break ground any day now. Three years post-announcement, three years from opening. A nice middle ground to ask... do people actually want "Avatar Land" yet? More than they did three years ago? At least Disney has a finger on the pulse of pop culture! This post is really four things: A reminder that a massive, permanent land themed to James Cameron's Avatar is still coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom, and that Disney secured worldwide exclusive rights to the franchise (which has three sequels in production) so it could reasonably appear at any Disney Resort in the world... so far, though... A reminder to flash back on The Beastly Kingdom land that was originally earmarked for the same spot and how it would probably STILL be better than "Avatar Land." (LINK) A reminder that Universal is relentless and is not going to stop. Disney's internal culture tells it that it's undefeatable; the best; the most current; the only real contender; an obvious victor when this dust settles. Similar thought processes, as Interpreter mentioned elsewhere, have seen the downfall of K-Mart, IBM, AOL... There's a changing tide in Orlando, folks... Let's hope Disney notices. An elaborate ad for a new, just-for-fun, Blue Sky type Imagineering feature I've written on seven lands that make more sense than Avatar in terms of fitting into Disney's Animal Kingdom - it's a fun read if you're in an imaginative state of mind, and a couple of them are downright fun ideas. The article also kicks off with the details of Avatar Land in case you're still not sure what the land is supposed to entail. (LINK) -
Oh the missed polling opportunities they could've done with this: "Excuse me sir, are you leaving the park today? Would you mind answering a quick question? SkyRider... Would you like that to stay or togo?"
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SkyRider closing at Canada's Wonderland
bkroz replied to Vortex lover's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
Well... SOMETHING like that. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/29434-canadas-wonderland/?p=638361 -
It worked too! I'm not saying it was a bad thing! Now if Kings Island's trash can rolls up to you and starts a conversation...
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Disney purchases Lucas Films for $4 billion
bkroz replied to Colonel_SoB_fan's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
This scares me tremendously. Iger makes no apologies and firmly believes that any major addition at the parks Disney owns must be tied to an existing and proven film franchise. On this most recent conference call, he was proud to say that any parks additions will be based on successful franchises. Dangerous, dangerous path. It's exactly where Eisner went. It degrades both the Parks and Studio division - films are forced to be "epic" franchise starters that sacrifice story for that larger-than-life forced-saga appeal (see Lone Ranger, John Carter, etc) and ingenious original ideas and lands are absolutely and entirely off the drawing board, period. After all, if it's not tied to a successful film, how can you be sure that the ride will be a success?!?!? That would be a crazy gamble, and Walt would NEVER do that! Man is that a scary mindset. Especially when rumors swirl that Disneyland's Tomorrowland will be entirely cast as a "Star Wars Land." Oh man... Tomorrowland 2055 would've been so cool... (see #2 at link above). -
I haven't noticed them recently (maybe I'm just desensitized) but Cedar Fair's thing early on seemed to be that you were never more than a few steps from a trash can. You could often stand in place and count 30, 40, 50 around you. Maybe they need to invest in spittoons instead. They would fit in Rivertown! ... I think??
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Knott's scary farm unveiling tonight!
bkroz replied to pkifreak23's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
They do look cool, but it makes sense. You answer to your competition and nothing more. Knott's Haunt competes with Universal's. Even Knott's during the day competes with Disney and Universal (hence the incredible attention put into their two stellar dark rides... neither of which feature guns... well, laser guns). Kings Island's Haunt competes with local haunted attractions, and maybe Cedar Point's Halloweekends. *shrug* -
Knott's scary farm unveiling tonight!
bkroz replied to pkifreak23's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
Knott's event hasn't been included with season passes. Their Haunt is serious business - competing directly with Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, and more than holding its own. It's a MAJOR event for the park. "Boo fests" have become the big money-maker at seasonal parks, but Knott's is the original. It's a huge, massive event that has always had its own hard-ticket entry. It deserves it. -
Knott's scary farm unveiling tonight!
bkroz replied to pkifreak23's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
Updated website: https://www.knotts.com/what-s-new/knott-s-scary-farm Returning Mazes: Black Magic Gunslinger's Grave The Witch's Keep (Calico Mine Ride) Trick or Treat Dominion of the darned (with a new twist) Forever More Pinocchio Unstrung (with a new twist and Skeleton Key) New Mazes: Voodoo (choose-your-own-path, with Skeleton Key) The Tooth Fairy (with digital projection texture mapping) Trapped: Lock & Key Scare Zones: Ghost Town Streets (Ghost Town) CarnEvil (Boardwalk) Fiesta de Los Muertos (Fiesta Village) Special Ops: Infected (Camp Snoopy?) New this year... "Interactive zombie experience." Laser tag with teams and missions, included with admission! So no Necropolis scare zone in Camp Snoopy this year. Big news is Knott's Scary Farm season pass, available exclusively to season pass holders for $65. Good for every night of the event. -
Cedar Fair Quarter Two Results
bkroz replied to thedevariouseffect's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
Yep, that's the one I was calling an admission + Express bundle. For $55 more per person, your Park-to-Park access with Universal Express Unlimited also includes a continental breakfast, backstage access, priority show seating, souvenir lanyard, and complimentary valet parking in the form of the VIP Experience. https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/VIP-Experience.aspx Honestly, it's a great go at the Wal-Mart "for a few dollars more" scheme. "Say, admission is cheap! We may as well add Park-to-Park admission! Well, if we're doing that, why not add Express? It's only $60 more per person, and if we're only going one day it's a must-have! And for $55 more, we get breakfast, free parking, a tour guide, exclusive meet-and-greets, and reserved show seating too...! I mean, at that point, we might as well, right? We'd spend $55 on parking and breakfast either way!" And so it goes... -
With Cartoon Network, that, too, would need updated before the end of the decade. A 9-year old who watches "The Amazing World of Gumball" today (which I had to Google search) will be 15 in 2020. Chances are that the show won't still be being made in 2020, so the new generation of 9-year-olds will have no idea whatsoever that show was. Or worse, they'll know it's an "old" show that used to be that no one watches any more.
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Peanuts characters are at least engrained in pop culture. You know who Snoopy is even if you haven't seen one of their films. You know Charlie Brown. Even if you don't know their names, you could probably easily identify a character as belonging to the Peanuts franchise from a lineup of a dozen cartoon characters. It's got a nice timelessness to it, where even if you don't love Peanuts, you recognize them and you get the gist of them. Nickelodeon was fatally flawed in that not enough of its shows were timeless. It catered wonderfully to the children of the 90s, and thus many of us who are now in our early 20s valiantly defended its staying in the park, even if we knew we wouldn't visit Nickelodeon Universe ourselves. It's natural to assume that your era is clearly the best. We felt that way about Nickelodeon - it was totally on the pulse of our generation and feels timeless to us. The quality of Nickelodeon's current programming notwithstanding, who would Danny Phantom be to today's kids? Jimmy Neutron? Wild Thornberry's? Lazytown? Even Rugrats aren't around today like they used to be. Hanna-Barbera is the same - beloved by its generation (which crosses into the 90s, too) who are certain it is timeless and wonderful and unforgettable, if only because it's unforgettable to them. But now... Grape Ape? Hong Kong Phooey? Winnie Witch? Baba Louie? Wonderful programs, and very important to the generation they inspired. But today? Scooby-Doo aside, those characters are meaningless to kids. (Which isn't necessary bad... better Hanna-Barbera's forgotten cast that almost comes across as "original chracters created for the park" than Nickelodeon's not-quite forgotten, so it feels dated cast).
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Another thing worth considering: how many folks would leave without tipping since the meal was covered by a Dining Plan? Servers would rely on those tips as an inseparable part of their wage, and I can see it being an issue.
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Cedar Fair Quarter Two Results
bkroz replied to thedevariouseffect's topic in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
Universal doesn't have an unlimited option, unless you have a hotel room key from a deluxe on-property resort hotel or bundle it with an admission package for big bucks - sort of a VIP tour equivalent. Back when Fast Lane was first announced, I was STUNNED that the ONLY option was unlimited. Now that the system is in effect, I can see why. To limit once-per-ride means more work for the park. On the low end, they'd follow SeaWorld Parks' lead and use physical cards that employees punch or mark off at each ride. On the high end, they'd do what Universal Parks do and provide guests with bar-code cards and scanners at each entrance to virtually mark off one time on each ride. Both of those systems require more employees than the "unlimited" plan where one person (usually who would stand at the ride entrance anyway) checks to make sure you have a wristband and that's about it. Talk about pure profit. No infrastructure changes, few extra employees, and a premium version of a premium product that commands big bucks. -
Plenty of places to go for that. Kings Island isn't one of them, and god willing it never will be. Mr. Disney thought families deserved better, and that parents and children could have fun together. Ever since, many parks have been following his lead, to mixed results. Nothing wrong with carnivals if that's what you like. But parks like Kings Island are an evolution of that, and in what I would call the right direction.