Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks

[sbdipp]

I think this also has implications for the "too many screens" crowd. Universal's properties in USF are mostly live action, and so it is inherently difficult and even borderline impossible to effectively tell the fast paced stories through the medium of animatronics. Could you imagine seeing a Harry Potter animatronic? It would look too wonky and not do the property justice.

Nintendo characters such as Mario, on the other hand, I feel could be much more effectively used in the form of animatronics. Nintendo could pull off these animatronics and have the characters look no different than they appear in their respective games. I mean, could you imagine a "tall grass" play area replete with hidden pokemon animatronics? This announcement was amazing and I can't wait to see what's next. Very exciting

 

[Milla4Prez66]

I'm a fan of Zelda games, but I have a hard time seeing how a land dedicated to it would work personally. The games have a lot of fields, dungeons, castles, etc. but there isn't anything iconic you could build like with Potter. The Mushroom Kingdom is better for it's own land because of the unique design and creative possibilities IMO. Pokémon is kind of tough too, I can see them easily recreating a PokeCenter/Mart to sell merchandise in but rides and attractions seem pretty tough, let alone a land dedicated to it. I don't want something like MSHI with a bunch of cardboard cutouts of Pokémon either. But Universal is the best at what they do now, so we'll see how they do this. Exciting possibilities though, can't wait.

 

[wizwit]

I can't believe people are still talking smack about this. At the end of the day, it's an IP that is coming to life. And this one happens to be a pretty big one, and resonates with many peoples childhood. It's awesome that Universal is wanting to take risks with IP's like this, and is continuing to push the limits even after the success of DA.

At the end of the day, this is great news for Universal, theme-park goers, and Orlando as a whole! (Japan as well) The future is looking bright, and I can't wait to see what Universal does.

Agree! I'm 45 and grew up playing Donkey Kong in the arcade. I have an 11 year old son who is growing up playing Mario Kart on his Wii.

Nintendo is huge. Looking forward to see what Universal does with it.

 

[grizzlybarely]

At first I was really against having a Mario Kart attraction, since people keep comparing it to Tomorrowland Speedway. However, it would be cool if it was a dark ride using a "lite" version of Scoop/Evac. Think Cat in the Hat with a motion base. Two rows of three, smaller scenes/screens, tamer movements. I can picture hitting a banana on one screen, spinning out to transition to the next screen.

I'd still prefer a "saving the princess" story out of a Mario dark ride though.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

If they end up going with Mario Kart, it needs to be a best of tracks utilizing a coaster or RSR style ride. There's no other way you can do it.

 

[kingcooger]

Pokémon is kind of tough too, I can see them easily recreating a PokeCenter/Mart to sell merchandise in but rides and attractions seem pretty tough, let alone a land dedicated to it. I don't want something like MSHI with a bunch of cardboard cutouts of Pokémon either. But Universal is the best at what they do now, so we'll see how they do this. Exciting possibilities though, can't wait.

The funny thing is, I was thinking that Pokemon would be great for its own land and should be the one that gets a new land in the rumored third park. Granted, if I were Uni and the third gate was still a ways off, I would want it in this first expansion for the merchandising alone.

 

[cameronw99]

I feel like a Donkey Kong ride would be a little strange considering a huge King Kong ride. I definitely see a Mario and Zelda ride though. So many possibilities...

 

[Milla4Prez66]

The funny thing is, I was thinking that Pokemon would be great for its own land and should be the one that gets a new land in the rumored third park. Granted, if I were Uni and the third gate was still a ways off, I would want it in this first expansion for the merchandising alone.

I like the idea of a Pokémon Stadium style attraction using special effects to bring a Pokémon battle to life. But I'm personally having a hard time visualizing an entire land dedicated to Pokémon. I'm a fan of it too, I've recently played Pokémon Y as well as Alpha Sapphire. A little town with a Pokémon Center/Mart, a gym and things like that maybe, but I couldn't imagine it being very big or to the level we'd expect.

 

[kingcooger]

I like the idea of a Pokémon Stadium style attraction using special effects to bring a Pokémon battle to life. But I'm personally having a hard time visualizing an entire land dedicated to Pokémon. I'm a fan of it too, I've recently played Pokémon Y as well as Alpha Sapphire. A little town with a Pokémon Center/Mart, a gym and things like that maybe, but I couldn't imagine it being very big or to the level we'd expect.

Well, it depends. I could see a Pokemon themed splash battle ride, a Pokemon fight show, a Pokemon shooter ride, tons of possibilities with flat rides, and a roller coaster would not be difficult. Nevermind walkthrough attractions of Team Rocket Tower, the various gyms, or a playground. From a marketing perspective, the more Pokemon and Mario the better as the merch sales alone will probably fund a new park.

Also, imagine if Universal is allowed to create its own Pokemon that can only be transferred to your system through a one time use special card found only at Universal? That idea would kill.

 

[grizzlybarely]

If they end up going with Mario Kart, it needs to be a best of tracks utilizing a coaster or RSR style ride. There's no other way you can do it.

I just explained how you can do it :inquisitive:

RSR is an enormous attraction. Making something that size would take up way too much space, even if the expansion plot is big enough. What do you want out of a Mario Kart attraction? Bright colors, bumping and boosts, big jumps, racing against recognizable characters, right? All of that works better as a dark ride. The only advantage of an RSR-style attraction is physically going faster. It's a necessary sacrifice.

 

[JungleSkip]

So I'm getting the feeling, just from some discussions I'm having, that Pokémon may only be merchandise, while the land focuses on some combination of Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong.

 

[kingcooger]

So I'm getting the feeling, just from some discussions I'm having, that Pokémon may only be merchandise, while the land focuses on some combination of Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong.

Interesting. Do you get the feeling they might be trying to save Pokemon for a third gate? I honestly believe Pokemon is such a big deal it could EASILY be its own land in a third gate.

 

[canobie#1]

Mario Kart and Supersmash Bros should be the biggest attractions IMO. They could really create awesome rides with those games.
Kirby, Donkey Kong and Pokemon could also be a hit.

 

[kingcooger]

I just explained how you can do it :inquisitive:

RSR is an enormous attraction. Making something that size would take up way too much space, even if the expansion plot is big enough. What do you want out of a Mario Kart attraction? Bright colors, bumping and boosts, big jumps, racing against recognizable characters, right? All of that works better as a dark ride. The only advantage of an RSR-style attraction is physically going faster. It's a necessary sacrifice.

Well the thing is, they might already be doing that with a Fast and Furious ride. Also, there is a lot of land for them to work with and if they work on multiple levels then they could conserve a lot of the space (see Test Track). The reason we are using RSR as our example instead of TT is merely due to the fact that the darkride portion of RSR makes it a far superior experience and could be done with MarioKart.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

I just explained how you can do it :inquisitive:

RSR is an enormous attraction. Making something that size would take up way too much space, even if the expansion plot is big enough. What do you want out of a Mario Kart attraction? Bright colors, bumping and boosts, big jumps, racing against recognizable characters, right? All of that works better as a dark ride. The only advantage of an RSR-style attraction is physically going faster. It's a necessary sacrifice.

Turning it into an EMV sim dark ride just makes it a bigger version of the home game like Toy Story Mania. These tracks and enviorments require racing by full sets IMO, it'd be much more impressive. They have tons of space to work with.

 

[Macfr3ak]

so just a random WILD thought... but would i be WAY off in thinking what if nintendo is part of a "japanese" land?

 

[*Q*]

I feel like a Donkey Kong ride would be a little strange considering a huge King Kong ride. I definitely see a Mario and Zelda ride though. So many possibilities...

Calling it now, a King Kong vs. Donkey Kong vs. Gorilla Grodd ride.

I just explained how you can do it :inquisitive:

RSR is an enormous attraction. Making something that size would take up way too much space, even if the expansion plot is big enough. What do you want out of a Mario Kart attraction? Bright colors, bumping and boosts, big jumps, racing against recognizable characters, right? All of that works better as a dark ride. The only advantage of an RSR-style attraction is physically going faster. It's a necessary sacrifice.

It's not a Mario Kart ride unless it allows me to throw a banana peel at another rider.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

so just a random WILD thought... but would i be WAY off in thinking what if nintendo is part of a "japanese" land?

Would be cool if Sony was involved

 

[JungleSkip]

so just a random WILD thought... but would i be WAY off in thinking what if nintendo is part of a "japanese" land?

Nah. Nintendo didn't sign up to share the spotlight. This is their time to shine.

 

[Macfr3ak]

Would be cool if Sony was involved

YES!!!! :died:

but of course this could be and more than likely is huge dreaming lol




Anyone remember the success of Angry Birds? and how it was the next Mickey Mouse?


Here comes the REAL game changer.. again.