What to do with Nintendo

So with the recent announcement of the deal between Universal and Nintendo, I am sure I am not alone in wondering what this means for the theme parks. Now of course the obvious would be to see Mario, Link and Pikachu walking around greeting and posing for pictures with park guests, but knowing Universal, that would only be a fraction of what they are most likely planning. Well until we get some sort of formal announcement of those plans, we can of course only speculate on all of the possibilities. 

The Orlando parks seems to be the most logical starting point for anything new as of course it has the largest competition in the mouse only a short distance away. This competition however could lead to an interesting scenario. One of the rumors going around is that supposedly talks in regards to the use of the Marvel characters have been heating up which could lead to a possible deal being reached.  As it stands now, Universal’s deal to use the Marvel characters essentially has no expiration date, so they could just leave it as is, however, I am sure that if a deal was reached, it would be extremely lucrative and offer a ton of new possibilities for Universal to use their shiny new toys. 

So let’s think for a moment. Let’s say that Disney and Universal do reach a deal which in turn would mean Marvel Superhero Island would need to cease to exist. Well wouldn’t a Nintendo Island overlay be a perfect fit? If you think about the theme they have now, it really could be a somewhat simple transition by theme park standards as most of it is just larger than life “Cutouts” and city looking buildings.  Depending on what direction they go, it shouldn’t be too hard to re-theme aesthetically at least. Then of course, we have the rides which include two of the resorts best in The Incredible Hulk roller coaster and The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. Repainting a coaster and midway rides are one thing, it’s done all the time, but Spiderman would present a challenge. Forget the fact that it’s one of the best theme park attractions anywhere, but practical set portions are so massive and detailed, a lot of the ride, sans the track layout, would essentially need to be rebuilt. This not even mentioning of course that a new ride film would need to be created. Another obvious factor would be that it would be a shame to lose such an amazing attraction.

Now another option being speculated is the revamping of Universal Orlando’s Kidzone section of the park. While this area had been on the rumor mill for years to be redone, the addition of Nintendo characters offers a new option, and have pushed this back to the forefront. The one Issue I see with this however, is the fact that there are Nintendo fans of all ages, they would certainly need to have the Nintendo presence elsewhere in the park to truly get the most out of the brand. Another thing to consider is what would happen to ET. Although still extremely popular and depending who you talk to it’s either been rumored to be on the chopping block or deemed untouchable. If a Nintendo re-theme is in the cards for Kidzone, the ride building real estate may be to good to pass up for a new hi-tech dark ride experience.

With nothing concrete out there, and I am sure I'm not alone in this, my mind has been racing with ideas that I would personally love to see end up in the Universal Parks. This list of 5 attractions in no particular order and stems from mostly my wild imagination. So, here we go….

Mario Kart Racers – This wildly popular franchise would be a no-brainer in my opinion and is a perfect choice to be the basis for an attraction. For one, it features a veritable who’s who of Nintendo’s greatest characters. So in one attraction alone, Universal can almost get their money’s worth! The attraction itself could feature practical sets mixed with simulator hi def screens. Hmm, sound familiar?

The Legend Of Zelda Spectacular – Universal is pretty good when it comes to elaborate shows. From the old Ghostbusters show to the popular current Eight Voyage of Sinbad. I bet a show featuring Link and friends could offer a very dynamic and exciting option.

Mario Party Experience – Even though the rumors are that the Fear Factor Live! Theater is earmarked as the home of the Ministry of Magic attraction in the next phase of the Harry Potter expansion, how cool would a giant audience participation game of Mario Party complete with physical challenges be?

Super Mario Brothers – In perhaps one of the most legendary console video games of all time, a ride based on it would be just too awesome for words! I personally would use the Kuka arm technology used flawlessly in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey to send riders through the exciting world featured in the popular game franchise. A nice touch on this ride would be a fake out ending where riders are told the princess is in another castle.

Nintendo Zap Attack! – Who doesn’t remember playing Duck Hunt and getting laughed at by that obnoxious dog? Well a dark ride shooter combo attraction would be either a nice addition or re-theme of Men in Black Alien Attack. Guests could be whisked through a series of events and scenes from popular and classic Nintendo games armed only with their wits and trusty Nintendo zapper gun! 

So while I definitely had fun making that list it does makes you really wonder what approach Universal will actually take. With so many options, they surely will have plenty of ideas to choose from. I, for one cannot wait for the next piece of news to come out and can pretty much guarantee that whatever they do decide on, will have us all gladly handing over our money to experience it.

Universal says it’s on like King Kong AND Donkey Kong!

So as everyone has heard by now Universal has made a couple of very exciting announcements recently. First, in what may be the one of the worst kept secrets in the industry, they finally officially announced the return of King Kong to the Florida resort in the all new attraction Skull Island: Reign of Kong. If that wasn’t enough, they must have felt one ape wasn’t enough as the next day Universal announced that they had signed a deal with Nintendo to feature their characters in their parks in the forms of rides and attractions. Universal, take my money now!

Let’s first talk about King Kong. Now of course the big ape has had a history at Universal parks. He first made an appearance on the world famous Hollywood Tram tour in 1986 and as a much more hands on attraction (pun intended) in Orlando. While both were extremely popular attractions, their runs would both come to an end albeit in very different ways. Orlando’s version closed in order to make way for the Revenge of the Mummy attraction while the Hollywood version, was tragically destroyed in a fire. Universal acted fast in Hollywood and within 2 years reopened a new Kong attraction in 2010. This one however was drastically different taking advantage of the greater technology of the time. This time through the use of 2 giant HD screens, guests were thrust into the middle of a fully immersive 3D Skull Island and Kong’s battle with ferocious dinosaurs.  Of course this lead to the question if everyone’s favorite banana breathed behemoth would find his way back to Orlando. While nothing was announced, not too long ago construction started on a site located between Toon Lagoon and the Jurassic Park sections of Islands of Adventure. Rumors were flying around about the attraction and what it would be like. The craziest, and coolest I might add was that a sequence would involve the giant ape appearing and somehow picking up the tour guide from the ride vehicle and taken away!  No matter what rumor you may have heard, we were all salivating for something official. We would all be rewarded on May 6^th when Universal officially announced Skull Island: Reign of Kong would be arriving at Islands of Adventure in the summer of 2016. It is described as a massive fully immersive attraction (in fact the longest in Universals history) and involves indoor and outdoor sections will brings guest face to face once again with the legendary Kong. I know I am not alone in saying a visit to IOA next year is a must!

So a day after the internet was set abuzz by the announcement of one Apes return, he could soon be joined by another. Yes, in another blockbuster announcement, Universal announced they struck a deal with Nintendo to use their vast collection of characters throughout their theme park properties. Donkey Kong, Mario, Link, Kirby and Pokemon just to name a few could be joining everyone’s favorite wizard before we know it. While no concrete details or plans have been announced, there are 2 prevailing ideas that have been floating around. With the talks between Disney and Universal in regards to the use of Marvel Characters supposedly heating up, this lead to speculation that a Nintendo makeover of Marvel Superhero Island was in the cards. While this idea is intriguing to me, and lead me to have a few suggestions of my own (more on that in a later post), the other possibility that has been floating around seems a little more plausible. The Kidzone section of the Orlando theme park has been rumored for a revamp for a while now so of course this would lead to guesses that Woody and friends would move out in favor of Universal’s newest family members. Well whatever Universal has planned, based on past history, we know it will be done to the utmost detail and immersion.