The interesting theme park news from the last few days is that the company that owns SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa have purchased the rights to use DreamWorks' Madagascar in their parks in the Orlando area. This is interesting on a number of fronts.
Firstly, Universal have traditionally worked with DreamWorks in a number of parts of the world. This includes Shrek in all of the Universal parks, and even a quite popular Madagascar ride in Universal Studios Singapore. Now we have their cross town rivals buying IP rights from underneath them.
Secondly it shows that not only are DreamWorks happy to play the field to get best value for their content. Not only that, but they are not simply bundling all their IP into one basket. This is an intriguing move. This gives them immediate value for their property but it means they will only continue to get returns while each piece of IP remains current.
Interesting from an Australian perspective as we have just seen an ugly IP switch between our two major chains. The IP for Nickelodeon was not wanted by Dreamworld who held the rights to it up until 2011. They wanted to switch to DreamWorks. Rival Sea World bought out the rights to Nickelodeon, leaving Dreamworld in the lurch for a number of months. Dreamworld was forced to remove all Nickelodeon branding and retheme Nick Central to a generic "Kid's World" until the rights for their DreamWorks Experience was available. Having said that they finally opened a wonderful area dedicated to Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. Without question the best themeing Dreamworld has added in many years.
Could we see this kind of situation happening in the US or Singapore? Probably not. However it does make you wonder if parks will continue to invest the same way if the next big movie might be sold to their competitors.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Friday, 8 February 2013
DCA vs EPCOT
So it is DCA's 12th birthday today. Lots of people are very excited that, as this is a park that has added a number of fans in the last few years.
An innocent comment by a DCA fan on Twitter has sparked some debate over the popularity of two of the Disney parks. The claim was that DCA is now the best 2nd gate. Being the pedant and party pooper I am, I immediately said, what about Tokyo DisneySea, Islands of Adventure and EPCOT. Clearly DisneySea is in a different league. IoA's ranking seems to depend on your theme park religion.
So let's simplify. What is the best US Disney 2nd gate today?
This is a very contentious issue. My personal view is EPCOT by a nose. For me there is no doubt that 10 years ago it was EPCOT hands down. But DCA has massively improved over that time, while EPCOT has been on a noticeable slide. My view is based on which I'd rather go to, since I haven't been to either in a long time.
It is close. EPCOT is a better structured park and is more unique, but has weaker attractions. Whereas DCA doesn't have a great layout, but has a strong set of attractions.
I'd love to to know what other fans think. Which park is better DCA or EPCOT?
An innocent comment by a DCA fan on Twitter has sparked some debate over the popularity of two of the Disney parks. The claim was that DCA is now the best 2nd gate. Being the pedant and party pooper I am, I immediately said, what about Tokyo DisneySea, Islands of Adventure and EPCOT. Clearly DisneySea is in a different league. IoA's ranking seems to depend on your theme park religion.
So let's simplify. What is the best US Disney 2nd gate today?
This is a very contentious issue. My personal view is EPCOT by a nose. For me there is no doubt that 10 years ago it was EPCOT hands down. But DCA has massively improved over that time, while EPCOT has been on a noticeable slide. My view is based on which I'd rather go to, since I haven't been to either in a long time.
It is close. EPCOT is a better structured park and is more unique, but has weaker attractions. Whereas DCA doesn't have a great layout, but has a strong set of attractions.
I'd love to to know what other fans think. Which park is better DCA or EPCOT?
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Seal Harbour at Sea World
So in August last year we brought you news of a new planned Seal area at Sea World. Sea World has had an excellent show starring their Seals and Sea Lions, but there was not a permanent display for them inside the park. Initially slated to open before Christmas last year, and then reportedly to open on Boxing Day, we finally got a glimpse of this area in mid January.
Seal Harbour officially opened on January 25th. Reports that I had heard from the soft opening period were that the area was big and well designed but only held a handful of Seals. Hopefully more seals have been brought in now the area is up and running.
I look forward to seeing this area as they are beautiful animals and a fitting addition to Sea World's current lineup.
Seal Harbour officially opened on January 25th. Reports that I had heard from the soft opening period were that the area was big and well designed but only held a handful of Seals. Hopefully more seals have been brought in now the area is up and running.
I look forward to seeing this area as they are beautiful animals and a fitting addition to Sea World's current lineup.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Tony Baxter quits WDI
In the biggest news of this year, Imagineering legends Tony Baxter has resigned from WDI. He will continue on in a consultative role, but there is definitely going to be a huge hole left behind.
It was particularly interesting to read the leaked memo that was sent out to his fellow imagineers. It shows that he was deeply unhappy with some of the directions the company has taken, which really means something from a 47 year veteran.
If you want to check out some expert opinion on this huge story, I highly recommend this story from @ProgressCityUSA.
It was particularly interesting to read the leaked memo that was sent out to his fellow imagineers. It shows that he was deeply unhappy with some of the directions the company has taken, which really means something from a 47 year veteran.
If you want to check out some expert opinion on this huge story, I highly recommend this story from @ProgressCityUSA.
Monday, 31 December 2012
A Nutty Theme Park Christmas
What do you get a guy who is nuts about theme parks for Christmas? Well there is a lot of park gear and passes available in the various parks around the world. But I am a slightly different nut to most. So here is a selection of the awesome theme park related gifts I got this Christmas from my awesome wife and daughter:
- Stories from a Theme Park Insider - Robert Niles
- Walt Disney World Hidden History - Kevin Yee
- Walt and the Promise of Progress City - Sam Gennawey
- Disney Sing-A-Long Book
- Retro Mickey Mouse T-Shirt
- Awesome Star Wars Christmas Jumper (Disney owns Star Wars you know)
- Simpsons DVD Boxset (it's at Universal, so it counts!)
- Kinect Disneyland Adventures Game
- Epic Mickey 2 Game
Monday, 3 September 2012
The Myth of Story: Response
Just read a fascinating article from 2006 on The Myth of Story from the Reimagineering Blog. The basic hypothesis of this article is that the attitude of "It's all about story" hasn't had the great affect on Disney theme parks that the wider community thinks it has. It is an interesting theory, which I am very much sympathetic too. I definitely agree that story is not the be all and end all of theme park rides and can be used badly. However, I must admit that most of my favourite theme park rides, contain a story or at least story elements.
There is a lot made in the article about the difference between rides with story elements, and rides with a conventional linear story. My view is slightly different to the authors of The Myth of Story article. They maintain that the first generation of imagineers didn't frame everything as being part of a story. This may be true. My reading tends to suggest that they used the phrases experience and show; which are undoubtedly looser terms than story. However, I find it hard to believe that they never used the word story. My view is that what we describe as a story has subtly changed over time, particularly in the American film and television industry, and by extension the American theme park industry.
When people use the word story, it is very normal to think of a conventional linear stories, with a begining, a middle and an end. There is no doubt that this is the dominant form of story in literature and film these days. But this hasn't always been the case. Indeed you only need to look to other international film industries, like the French industry for example. For me the last 15 years of the American film industry has been centred around more and more similar stories. Structures are similar, plot lines are similar, even the characterizations are similar. Even more frustrating for me is the rise of sequels and reboots. This combined with the increase of analysis and criticism of the entertainment industry, and the corporatisation of creative decision making has lead us to where we are now. We now have an extremely narrow definition of story.
For me, the focus should not be whether Walt used the word story, or whether story elements forming an experience are always better than conventional linear stories for theme park rides. The focus should be that there are many rich types and structures of stories that should be being used as the basis for theme park attractions. It shouldn't always about having to search for something. An attraction can be just about things you fear, or about the wonder of beuty, or the joys of other cultures, etc. I totally agree with The Myth of Story article, that we have plenty of major attractions with conventional linear stories. That doesn't mean it can't be done well, it just means people want a more varied experience. While I feel this is clear in the world of theme park attractions, where we constantly speak of story versus thrill, it is also true for the entire entertainment industry.
I don't always want a story. When I do want a story, I don't always want it spoon fed to me. Sometimes I want to marvel and not understand. Sometimes I want to be surprised or confused. Sometimes I want gags without structure. And sometimes, just sometimes I want the conventional linear story.
There is a lot made in the article about the difference between rides with story elements, and rides with a conventional linear story. My view is slightly different to the authors of The Myth of Story article. They maintain that the first generation of imagineers didn't frame everything as being part of a story. This may be true. My reading tends to suggest that they used the phrases experience and show; which are undoubtedly looser terms than story. However, I find it hard to believe that they never used the word story. My view is that what we describe as a story has subtly changed over time, particularly in the American film and television industry, and by extension the American theme park industry.
When people use the word story, it is very normal to think of a conventional linear stories, with a begining, a middle and an end. There is no doubt that this is the dominant form of story in literature and film these days. But this hasn't always been the case. Indeed you only need to look to other international film industries, like the French industry for example. For me the last 15 years of the American film industry has been centred around more and more similar stories. Structures are similar, plot lines are similar, even the characterizations are similar. Even more frustrating for me is the rise of sequels and reboots. This combined with the increase of analysis and criticism of the entertainment industry, and the corporatisation of creative decision making has lead us to where we are now. We now have an extremely narrow definition of story.
For me, the focus should not be whether Walt used the word story, or whether story elements forming an experience are always better than conventional linear stories for theme park rides. The focus should be that there are many rich types and structures of stories that should be being used as the basis for theme park attractions. It shouldn't always about having to search for something. An attraction can be just about things you fear, or about the wonder of beuty, or the joys of other cultures, etc. I totally agree with The Myth of Story article, that we have plenty of major attractions with conventional linear stories. That doesn't mean it can't be done well, it just means people want a more varied experience. While I feel this is clear in the world of theme park attractions, where we constantly speak of story versus thrill, it is also true for the entire entertainment industry.
I don't always want a story. When I do want a story, I don't always want it spoon fed to me. Sometimes I want to marvel and not understand. Sometimes I want to be surprised or confused. Sometimes I want gags without structure. And sometimes, just sometimes I want the conventional linear story.
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Movie World Fright Night 2012 Rumours
Okay, so there has been talk of a leak of information on this years addition of Fright Nights at WB Movie World on the Australian theme park blogs for a number of days now. The story is that a page on the MyFun website was accidentally made public while it was still under development. I've ignored the rumours at this point because you can't really tell how accurate a leak can be. However, Thrill Zone International have posted on their facebook a number of images relating to shows and mazes for this years event, so I thought I might share the rumours.
So the talk is that there will be a zombie based maze (no surprises there) called the Walking Dead maze. There is no indication yet whether this will be related to the tv show Walking Dead, as the mae in Halloween Horror Nights is going to be. There will also be a Film Vault maze, which will have villians from movies past (very fitting for Movie World, and undoubtedly cheap for them too). The other new maze will be based on a hillbilly psychopathic killer preying on completely suspecting victims (I mean how many hillbillies do we really have around here, if it was a psycho bogan maybe..). Finally, we will be seeing a return to the maze that just won't die, the Psycho 3D maze! Thrill Zone has also posted that there will be a show called "Death Derby" in the Hollywood Stunt Driver arena. Zombies and car stunts, sounds about right. Rumour has it that this years Fright Nights has been done entirely in house by Movie World, which should mean it is at least a little different to previous years!!
I will keep you posted as real news becomes available, and I'll let you know when tickets are on sale!
So the talk is that there will be a zombie based maze (no surprises there) called the Walking Dead maze. There is no indication yet whether this will be related to the tv show Walking Dead, as the mae in Halloween Horror Nights is going to be. There will also be a Film Vault maze, which will have villians from movies past (very fitting for Movie World, and undoubtedly cheap for them too). The other new maze will be based on a hillbilly psychopathic killer preying on completely suspecting victims (I mean how many hillbillies do we really have around here, if it was a psycho bogan maybe..). Finally, we will be seeing a return to the maze that just won't die, the Psycho 3D maze! Thrill Zone has also posted that there will be a show called "Death Derby" in the Hollywood Stunt Driver arena. Zombies and car stunts, sounds about right. Rumour has it that this years Fright Nights has been done entirely in house by Movie World, which should mean it is at least a little different to previous years!!
I will keep you posted as real news becomes available, and I'll let you know when tickets are on sale!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)