The Future of Lost Continent

[TheUniC6]

While I don't know what the current rumor is, the early rumor was its reusing the busbar track layout, but will use a different ride vehicle. And if there's some sort of interactive element, be it catching Pokemon or training/battling them, I firmly agree that I don't think this ride is going to be the same as Spider-Man.

Back when Pokemon was widely tipped to be replacing Springfield, it was confirmed it would not be a clone of Japan's for whatever reason my mind gravitated towards some sort of omnimover or maybe the infrared trackless ride patent.

 

[DOOMBOT]

Someone on here suggested it and I think it's a perfect idea: Pokemon Snap style ride.

Getting your cameras in the ride to sim and take pictures of the Pokemon as you spot them while traveling through many locations. Obviously it would be the 150 Pokemon with some extra thrown in.

They could incorporate parts where the ride gets fun like a big Pokemon shaking the car.

If you look back at any blog or forum talking about Nintendo Theme Park rides from before the Nintendo x Universal partnership was announced, they all very consistently had the same few ideas. Mario Kart, DKC Mine Cart rollercoaster, maybe a Metroid or Star Fox shoot-em-up ride cause it was the 2000s, and Pokemon Snap. Despite a lack of high sales for that specific Pokemon sub-series, Pokemon Snap is a very popular and appealing ride idea that goes back just as far as the rides we ended up getting for Super Mario Land.

Both the N64 and Switch Pokemon Snap games are essentially designed like theme park attractions to begin with. It is the exact perfect concept for a project like this. I can only hope they don't overthink it.

 

[Mike S]

If you look back at any blog or forum talking about Nintendo Theme Park rides from before the Nintendo x Universal partnership was announced, they all very consistently had the same few ideas. Mario Kart, DKC Mine Cart rollercoaster, maybe a Metroid or Star Fox shoot-em-up ride cause it was the 2000s, and Pokemon Snap. Despite a lack of high sales for that specific Pokemon sub-series, Pokemon Snap is a very popular and appealing ride idea that goes back just as far as the rides we ended up getting for Super Mario Land.

Both the N64 and Switch Pokemon Snap games are essentially designed like theme park attractions to begin with. It is the exact perfect concept for a project like this. I can only hope they don't overthink it.

They overthought Donkey Kong.

 

[pumpkinbot343]

They overthought Donkey Kong.

How?

 

[Mike S]

How?

I’ve said before, all they needed was a Big Thunder Mountain type ride. It would’ve been more reliable and had more capacity. After experiencing the attraction the jumping effect isn’t worth losing those two things. It’s honestly barely noticeable and doesn’t give the “umph” you’d expect.

 

[jseal777]

After being disappointed by both Nintendo rides (despite loving the area and content) I really hope whatever they do for the next Nintendo land/ride knocks it out of the park. Be a shame to have one of the biggest IPs going and not build a single great ride for it.

 

[Mike S]

After being disappointed by both Nintendo rides (despite loving the area and content) I really hope whatever they do for the next Nintendo land/ride knocks it out of the park. Be a shame to have one of the biggest IPs going and not build a single great ride for it.

My opinion on the big Nintendo rides flipped after actually experiencing them. I ended up loving Mario Kart but disappointed by Donkey Kong.

 

[HHN Maddux]

My hot take- Nintendo is the land in most need of help, not HP. Ministry may not have much to do, but what there is to do is great. A (IMO) incredible high-tech ride, an impressive and charming show, spells, and lots of fun characters to interact with.

Meanwhile Nintendo has 3 mediocre rides, games that are down half the time with a poor payoff (the Bowser Jr. boss battle was horribly unresponsive when I did it), and kinetic energy that would make the land nicer but unfortunately are already in poor show conditions.

Long and short of it and I guess what I'm trying to say is Pokemon really needs to deliver.

 

[Clive]

My hot take- Nintendo is the land in most need of help, not HP. Ministry may not have much to do, but what there is to do is great. A (IMO) incredible high-tech ride, an impressive and charming show, spells, and lots of fun characters to interact with.

Meanwhile Nintendo has 3 mediocre rides, games that are down half the time with a poor payoff (the Bowser Jr. boss battle was horribly unresponsive when I did it), and kinetic energy that would make the land nicer but unfortunately are already in poor show conditions.

Long and short of it and I guess what I'm trying to say is Pokemon really needs to deliver.

Even if Pokemon delivers, Epic's Super Nintendo World will still be what it is. I agree with you that it's disappointing beyond the aesthetic pleasures that come with being in the Mushroom Kingdom... when the show elements are actually running.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I’ve not experience SNW, or Ministry, I do have a thought exercise however. Forbidden Journey is largely liked but makes people sick, Gringotts seems to disappoint on a screen heavy level for most, Hagrid’s is universally loved but has down time, yet the lands all of those rides are set in are the best on the planet.

Does Universal have a ride design flaw? They know how to build immersive lands to a top tier perfection, but the rides largely never seem to match as a whole for public perception. Interesting as we head into Pokémon.

 

[DOOMBOT]

My hot take- Nintendo is the land in most need of help, not HP. Ministry may not have much to do, but what there is to do is great. A (IMO) incredible high-tech ride, an impressive and charming show, spells, and lots of fun characters to interact with.

Meanwhile Nintendo has 3 mediocre rides, games that are down half the time with a poor payoff (the Bowser Jr. boss battle was horribly unresponsive when I did it), and kinetic energy that would make the land nicer but unfortunately are already in poor show conditions.

Long and short of it and I guess what I'm trying to say is Pokemon really needs to deliver.

SNW needs a different kind of help than Potter does, but yes, it does need help pretty bad.

I can understand why they wouldn't want to immediately rush into building Luigi or something like that. The morning rush into SNW is already a madhouse. No need to add to that with a brand new attraction.

It's potentially better for those morning / afternoon crowds to be spread away from Nintendo and towards Potter on the other side of the park. At the moment, there just isn't much to do over there besides wait in a 180 minute queue line or watch the show, and I'm sure that's not helping crowd balance park-wide.

I mean hell, they could utilize SoundStage next door for some kind of daily operation showcase available to the general public, and that could potentially help in luring people away from the SNW portal as they walk through that side of the park.

 

[Andysol]

Outside of coasters, the spider man scoop or the Harry Potter kuka… has Universal used any other ride system great? Everything not scoop or kuka is average at best for final use. They really need to innovate and do something beyond their two big hits. They’re tried with Gringotts. They tried with Mario Kart. They tried with Battle at the Ministry. But they just haven’t hit yet.

I’m not expecting anything revolutionary with the new HP attraction based on needing capacity and speed. But they really need to find a new home run and swing for the fences with Pokémon. Something fresh and unique and new.

They’re in the big leagues, so they should be compared to Disney in this category. And it isn’t even close.

 

[Legacy]

Outside of coasters, the spider man scoop or the Harry Potter kuka… has Universal used any other ride system great? Everything not scoop or kuka is average at best for final use. They really need to innovate and do something beyond their two big hits. They’re tried with Gringotts. They tried with Mario Kart. They tried with Battle at the Ministry. But they just haven’t hit yet.

I’m not expecting anything revolutionary with the new HP attraction based on needing capacity and speed. But they really need to find a new home run and swing for the fences with Pokémon. Something fresh and unique and new.

They’re in the big leagues, so they should be compared to Disney in this category. And it isn’t even close.

I mean… their water rides have mostly been fantastic… (Dudley, Popeye’s, Jurassic Park, Jaws).

And I actually think their omnimovers are good as omnimovers. Pets suffers from being too small (which is a problem) and Yoshi suffers from being too young (which purely a perspective problem).

EDIT - FWIW, and this is really a different discussion, I think Universal suffers more from a desire to push the technological envelope at the expense of a solid ride experience. BttF, T2:3D, Spider-Man, all the Potters, Mario Kart… even coasters like Dueling Dragons and Hulk. It feels like (and I know this isn’t necessarily true) they over complicate the delivery mechanism for the story they want to tell instead of slightly tweaking the story to a more reliable system.

Ministry could have been a Kuka. It would have been more reliable if it was. DK could have been a standard coaster and would be reliable if it was. But, because of a constant expectation to push push push for new and different, we got a park of new and different. And all the risks associated with that.

Disney is, generally, the opposite. They tend to go familiar in their ride systems, and only rarely attempt multiple groundbreakers at once (how many years was it between Avatar and Ride of the Resistance).

 

[ChrisFL]

Disney is, generally, the opposite. They tend to go familiar in their ride systems, and only rarely attempt multiple groundbreakers at once (how many years was it between Avatar and Ride of the Resistance).

There wasn't really anything groundbreaking on Rise of the Resistance as much as a combination of existing ride systems.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Outside of coasters, the spider man scoop or the Harry Potter kuka… has Universal used any other ride system great? Everything not scoop or kuka is average at best for final use. They really need to innovate and do something beyond their two big hits. They’re tried with Gringotts. They tried with Mario Kart. They tried with Battle at the Ministry. But they just haven’t hit yet.

I’m not expecting anything revolutionary with the new HP attraction based on needing capacity and speed. But they really need to find a new home run and swing for the fences with Pokémon. Something fresh and unique and new.

They’re in the big leagues, so they should be compared to Disney in this category. And it isn’t even close.

I mean… their water rides have mostly been fantastic… (Dudley, Popeye’s, Jurassic Park, Jaws).

And I actually think their omnimovers are good as omnimovers. Pets suffers from being too small (which is a problem) and Yoshi suffers from being too young (which purely a perspective problem).

EDIT - FWIW, and this is really a different discussion, I think Universal suffers more from a desire to push the technological envelope at the expense of a solid ride experience. BttF, T2:3D, Spider-Man, all the Potters, Mario Kart… even coasters like Dueling Dragons and Hulk. It feels like (and I know this isn’t necessarily true) they over complicate the delivery mechanism for the story they want to tell instead of slightly tweaking the story to a more reliable system.

Ministry could have been a Kuka. It would have been more reliable if it was. DK could have been a standard coaster and would be reliable if it was. But, because of a constant expectation to push push push for new and different, we got a park of new and different. And all the risks associated with that.

Disney is, generally, the opposite. They tend to go familiar in their ride systems, and only rarely attempt multiple groundbreakers at once (how many years was it between Avatar and Ride of the Resistance).

Agree - I've been saying this ad nauseum for a while now. Universal is just as capable as Disney... but they love to force technology when the payoff ultimately isn't that great. Battle at the Ministry has, arguably, one of the best physical scenes in any dark ride... but the overall ride experience it let down by focusing too much on sections that rely solely on technology.

Fallon is actually a great motion simulator that is smooth and you can hardly tell you're in one... but it's placement in a park with a handful of similar experiences takes all that advancement away.

Technology for the sake of technology is not always the solution. They literally host a very popular event each year that is known for taking people into impressive physical environments. Do more of that.