Future of Toon Lagoon

[Dinoman96]

I always did feel like securing the rights to Garfield would have definitely gone a long way in making the Comic Strip Lane part of Toon Lagoon feel a bit more timeless. Growing up going to IOA, I was always a bit confused to why neither him nor Calvin & Hobbes were anywhere to be seen there (though obviously for the latter it should be pretty obvious to why).

 

[AustinT]

I wonder if Universal is doing the mental math on how adults would react to a SpongeBob themed land.

They don't have to do any mental math. It would be super well received, even if it was just an overlay of all the current attractions. SpongeBob has surpassed popularity within one generation and is now an evergreen IP. However I do think whatever weird decisions or reasons that forced them to dial back on the accurate Krusty Krab in the Frisco Kids park will hurt that land's adult reception overall. Hope there's no food licensing issues related to all the brand deals Paramount constantly does...

Heck, just today some tweets showing off some SpongeBob pineapple house walkthrough attraction somewhere were trending. People of all ages would kill to walk into the environments from the show, but the food for this IP is more essential than any other aside from Potter, so if there's licensing issues there, I'd honestly think they should consider a different IP for any Toon Lagoon re-theme.

 

[mccgavin]

However I do think whatever weird decisions or reasons that forced them to dial back on the accurate Krusty Krab in the Frisco Kids park will hurt that land's adult reception overall.

I don't believe an "accurate Krusty Krab" was ever in consideration for Universal Kids. What was seemingly planned was an outdoor counter-service location that was shaped like the building. Its unclear if if was ever even intended to sell burgers.

 

[AustinT]

outdoor counter-service location that was shaped like the building. Its unclear if if was ever even intended to sell burgers.

A Sponge land without a Krusty Krab or burgers is just about the stupidest thing anyone could ever do. That's almost like a Harry Potter land without Hogwarts. The concept art up until the most recent ones at least showed a Krusty Krab facade. Now if they were not allowed to build a Krusty Krab or sell burgers for whatever reason, that's a different story.

 

[Mad Dog]

I always did feel like securing the rights to Garfield would have definitely gone a long way in making the Comic Strip Lane part of Toon Lagoon feel a bit more timeless. Growing up going to IOA, I was always a bit confused to why neither him nor Calvin & Hobbes were anywhere to be seen there (though obviously for the latter it should be pretty obvious to why).

Be careful what you wish for when it comes to Garfield. Palace Entertainment had the rights and put a Garfield Dark ride in Kennywood
Park. Trust me, it was probably the 'worst' dark ride of all time. And, Kennywood officials said Garfield creator Jim Davis was terrible to
work with. He was arrogant, contributed very little input, and would rarely show up for meetings when they were creating the attraction.

 

[Disneyhead]

Be careful what you wish for when it comes to Garfield. Palace Entertainment had the rights and put a Garfield Dark ride in Kennywood
Park. Trust me, it was probably the 'worst' dark ride of all time. And, Kennywood officials said Garfield creator Bill Davis was terrible to
work with. He was arrogant, contributed very little input, and would rarely show up for meetings when they were creating the attraction.

Garfield's Nightmare was so bad. I was fortunate enough to ride it when it was still The Old Mill. I love the story of how, when it was built in 1901, to make sure the water trough went down all the way through the attraction, they rolled a bowling ball into the start of the ride and waited until it rolled out at the end.

 

[Andysol]

All I know is that whatever IP takes over, they can demo the entirety of the land for all I care.

But if they touch Popeye's Bilge Rat Barges beyond an overlay; I'm going to riot.