Future of Toon Lagoon

[Mad Dog]

I am very curious what the ideas are for the (rumored) redo. Like I said before, there’s no chance in hell it will be a full knockdown and rebuild, probably a retheme of the existing attractions.

The obvious answer is SpongeBob, since they have licensed the character for years and have a whole land dedicated to it in Texas. Plus, the two water rides lend themselves well to an underwater IP.

Toon Lagoon is just such an oddball in that it is themed to cartoon characters, and thus kid friendly, but the characters themselves had lost relevance by that time for well over a generation and only had recognizability in adults.

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

What rumor ? All I've ever heard was 'speculation' from posters that want it changed. And, that's been happening for about 14 or 15 years now.

 

[mccgavin]

What rumor ? All I've ever heard was 'speculation' from posters that want it changed. And, that's been happening for about 14 or 15 years now.

There actually was a rumor posted yesterday, although I am uncertain about its credibility. Unisounds has claimed that the licensing agreement for the properties featured within Toon Lagoon are set to expire in 2029, and that Universal has decided not to renew. This person has uploaded a lot of source audio and video from Universal attractions that was not previously available publicly. That may suggest that they have some connections, but they have no history of providing information like this previously. Obviously, we have been hearing that the Simpsons contract is going to expire for ages now, so I would approach this with a fair degree of skepticism.

 

[HHN Maddux]

There actually was a rumor posted yesterday, although I am uncertain about its credibility. Unisounds has claimed that the licensing agreement for the properties featured within Toon Lagoon are set to expire in 2029, and that Universal has decided not to renew. This person has uploaded a lot of source audio and video from Universal attractions that was not previously available publicly. That may suggest that they have some connections, but they have no history of providing information like this previously. Obviously, we have been hearing that the Simpsons contract is going to expire for ages now, so I would approach this with a fair degree of skepticism.

Do you have a link? I know what channel you're talking about and haven't seen this at all.

 

[mccgavin]

Do you have a link? I know what channel you're talking about and haven't seen this at all.

They use a different handle on Twitter, but this is the person behind Unisounds

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I am very curious what the ideas are for the (rumored) redo. Like I said before, there’s no chance in hell it will be a full knockdown and rebuild, probably a retheme of the existing attractions.

The obvious answer is SpongeBob, since they have licensed the character for years and have a whole land dedicated to it in Texas. Plus, the two water rides lend themselves well to an underwater IP.

Toon Lagoon is just such an oddball in that it is themed to cartoon characters, and thus kid friendly, but the characters themselves had lost relevance by that time for well over a generation and only had recognizability in adults.

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

Toon Lagoon is the only land of OG Islands that can be looked back upon as a bad choice of IP. JP was super obvious, Marvel they couldn't have had any idea at the time how good a choice that would be, Seuss remains a solid property and I'm sure they're glad they had the original land to slot HP into (grumble grumble).

 

[Brian G.]

Toon Lagoon is the only land of OG Islands that can be looked back upon as a bad choice of IP. JP was super obvious, Marvel they couldn't have had any idea at the time how good a choice that would be, Seuss remains a solid property and I'm sure they're glad they had the original land to slot HP into (grumble grumble).

Bad choice?

 

[mccgavin]

I wouldn't go as far to say that Toon Lagoon was a bad choice. For the time the park was built in, it served the purpose it set out to accomplish. That being said, it definitely has not aged gracefully in terms of cultural relevance. It's still a fun little land though, and I will be a bit sad if it eventually goes away.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Bad choice?

I mean I love the water rides there and they serve an important purpose. I’m purely talking about the IPs.

 

[ChrisFL]

when IOA was being developed, newspapers were still a thing and the internet was still "new" (remember the AOL kiosks around the parks? Pepperidge Farm remembers) so I'm not really blaming them, but yeah cultural relevance was declining. Also, I believe some comics were only regional. I used to read a lot of newspaper comics in the Orlando Sentinel but several of those weren't in there.

 

[Brian G.]

I mean I love the water rides there and they serve an important purpose. I’m purely talking about the IPs.

Just think there are more appropriate adjectives/descriptors to use than bad.

Dated. Antiquated. Etc.

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

As much as I'd love a demo/rebuild using an IP better suited for 2025, I love the rides here. Makes Spongebob a no brainer, but I feel like there must be something that has made Universal refrain from making the change over the last several years

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Toon Lagoon's design and structural foundation is solid as a theme park land. 2 fantastic water rides (arguably the best of their kind) and a well-themed/sized retail/dining area with a large quick service eatery. Not too mention a large venue for stage shows.

The problem is that the IPs chosen became quickly outdated and the land is rather useless/uneventful if you're not interested in getting wet. Just like Lost Continent, it's a beautifully themed walk-through to get between Marvel and Jurassic Park. With no stage show, it's virtually insignificant to most guests who visit the park.


I'd love for them to reuse the existing locations/facilities without a complete tear down. It's doable. Whether it's giving it a complete theming overhaul (transition to SpongeBob or another IP) or simply updating the characters featured to give it more life but retain the general Toon Lagoon atmosphere.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

when IOA was being developed, newspapers were still a thing and the internet was still "new" (remember the AOL kiosks around the parks? Pepperidge Farm remembers) so I'm not really blaming them, but yeah cultural relevance was declining. Also, I believe some comics were only regional. I used to read a lot of newspaper comics in the Orlando Sentinel but several of those weren't in there.

People forget this park was designed in the mid 90s.

 

[Tbad556]

People forget this park was designed in the mid 90s.

The youth have forgotten that Ripsaw Falls was merely Universal's first step toward a Brendan Fraser Theme Park Universe. Shoutout to the Dudley Do-Right movie that came out the same year as IOA's grand opening.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The youth have forgotten that Ripsaw Falls was merely Universal's first step toward a Brendan Fraser Theme Park Universe. Shoutout to the Dudley Do-Right movie that came out the same year as IOA's grand opening.

And one year later...

It's like people complaining they made a land with Fievel in it. Yeah, he was popular/being pushed back then!

 

[SeventyOne]

Just think there are more appropriate adjectives/descriptors to use than bad.

Dated. Antiquated. Etc.

Maybe if Toon Lagoon had been built in EPCOT, but by 1997-99:

• the Fleischer toons were beyond antiquated, known only to animation junkies at that point, and both the live-action and animated attempts to revive Popeye in the 80s had flopped.
• the Cold-War-reference-heavy Jay Ward cartoons had a cult-following among Boomers, who were older parents, but had become pretty niche among Gen X, who were the younger and future parents -- and with the dismantling of morning/afternoon TV blocs for kids in full effect in favor of The Springer Show and its ilk, the animation syndication market was basically dead. (While Bugs and the Loony Tunes would've been the better choice for IoA, mostly because they were always exponentially bigger, even by 1998 you could reasonably have predicted they were on a downward slope as well. The Hanna Barbera ride would shut down in 2002, another casualty of this. And both those IPs had far more market penetration in their respective heydays than the Ward-verse ever did.)
• Comic strips were a dying artform -- Calvin & Hobbes and Outland (the already reduced to once-a-week Bloom County continuation) ended in 1995. To everyone but the Silents and aging Boomers, the writing was on the wall that the remaining comic strip IPs were as doomed as print media. Moreover, Universal didn't secure any of the three most famous, Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, or Garfield -- they always had the B team.

Once Looney Tunes were off the table, probably should've scrapped the whole animation idea all together. Maybe could've explored those hot new Nintendo video games, or reached out to New Line about that Lord of the Rings adaptation they were filming. Or wait ... the guys down the hall are developing a Pointe Break rip-off based on street racing ... can you feel the synergy?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Once Looney Tunes were off the table, probably should've scrapped the whole animation idea all together. Maybe could've explored those hot new Nintendo video games, or reached out to New Line about that Lord of the Rings adaptation they were filming. Or wait ... the guys down the hall are developing a Pointe Break rip-off based on street racing ... can you feel the synergy?

Nintendo had no interest in letting anyone handle their properties after they got burned in the late 80s and early 90s. The new LOTR films began writing a month before the park opened. Fast & Furious didn't enter pre-production till 2000.

 

[Viator]

Guys guys guys, clearly your not seeing the true new Toon Lagoon IP…/jk