Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks

[IOAGuy]

I hope they find a way to integrate the 3DS into the parks. That'd be awesome.

 

[kingcooger]

Good list, but I don't see Metroid happening. Metroid has never really been a big seller.

During the Parkscope recording last night (which featured Drew from OU, hope you all listen when it comes out Saturday) I theorized we'll see 3 main properties featured first: Mario, Pokémon, and Donkey Kong. If it's a Potter-like smash hit, I think we could see a large expansion themed to Legend of Zelda.

I can get behind that. Given that rumors of a third gate are starting up again, I could even see them incorporating Zelda into that just to have an all ages area from the get-go and a major selling point for guests.

 

[princeinc]

If anything, I see it replacing Toon Lagoon, but would I get crucified if I added my two cents of maybe the first Nintendo attractions might not go into the two existing properties in Orlando, nor a complete third gate...but as it's own separate entity down U Blvd? Wet n Wild might be on its way out. We all kind of expected Universal to build a resort and another City Walk over there but what if they do that and a Fun Spot sized Nintendo Land? Add it as a bonus package deal with the water parks? Just my idea but I just want to think completely outside the box here, since that is the Universal way. Now if we get another announcement of another IP deal being made then all signs point to them stocking up for that full third gate.



A- Could be a parking deck.
B- existing Wet N' Wild
C -Other shops and restaurants
D - existing amusement area

BCD could be used to build the Nintendo land. They could demolish the existing restaurants and make agreements with them to put them back in the new City Walk 2.0. Take over those hotels around the area and theme the heck out of them. D already has rides. That multistory go kart track just screams Mario cart.

They would have the market from their own resorts, the new West Inn resort that's going on the next corner, and all the tourists that are going to be there anyways since that area of I-Drive is just bustling with people all year long. Alot of people come to Orlanod and can't always afford to pay the $100+ for a Universal ticket, thats why these smaller parks get business. This way they can enjoy Universal's quality without necesarrily paying Universal's price. In the end, merchendise is going to be CRAZY so Universal would have a large income coming back in without the huge expense of operating a full theme park behind it. Again. Just my sitting at work thinking. :look::shrug:

 

[anihilnation]

I've been wondering the same thing Cole; I mean, a Mario ride seems like a no-brainer, but how do you make a ride out of it? I can't wait to have a photo opp with Captain Toad though
Zelda seems like a no-brainer as well, series is just as successful and as known as Mario

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If it's a Potter-like smash hit, I think we could see a large expansion themed to Legend of Zelda.

Makes sense, especially since Legend of Zelda would be better if it had it's own land fully themed to Hyrule.

 

[JungleSkip]

I've been wondering the same thing Cole; I mean, a Mario ride seems like a no-brainer, but how do you make a ride out of it? I can't wait to have a photo opp with Captain Toad though
Zelda seems like a no-brainer as well, series is just as successful and as known as Mario.

Mario you can go with Mario Kart, some sort of trackless dark ride, or something we haven't seen before.

As for Zelda being just as successful as Mario, I have to disagree with that. Zelda is big, but Mario is way, way bigger.

Makes sense, especially since Legend of Zelda would be better if it had it's own land fully themed to Hyrule.

Right, that's my thinking. I have a hard time believing you can do Hyrule as a miniland. Needs to be its own thing.

 

[anihilnation]

I barely grew up with Nintendo, I wish I had that sense of nostalgia, but I get it with Sega. It's what I grew up playing more than anything. Though, now when I see a N64 I play it and have a great time. Can't wait to see what UC is gonna do.

Nintendo vs Sega, now that was a console war ... what we have know is just, I don't know specs and prestige perhaps. Anyway, when I was 11 I bought myself a small CRT TV and an 8-bit Nintendo, the games you could play on them still remain relevant today, stuff like the original Mario trilogy, original Castlevania, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon ...

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Mario you can go with Mario Kart, some sort of trackless dark ride, or something we haven't seen before..

Makes sense, that would be cool. I am getting my daughter Mario Kart for her Bday

 

[Macfr3ak]

You say that but I've seen things I thought dead come back. All someone has to do is take a renewed interest and recycle it in Hollywood.

Quite frankly, I'm shocked that Looney Tunes is kinda just sitting there collecting dust for the most part media wise.

I always though there was a at least a land for a theme park based on popular toys. I mean a coaster based on Hot Wheels is a no brainer as is a foam ball factory based on Nerf. We've seen what Lego has done.

Ive always wondered this as well.. i mean just looney tunes and the Hanna-Barbera collections alone is enough IMO to power a theme park or atleast a big portion of a theme park. Even more if they revived those cartoons. But hey, maybe this is just me wishful thinking and stuck in the bubble of the times i grew up in. Todays cartoons are FAR from what they used to be, the same can be said about video games but who knows, i mean all of this comes from the idea that if a park can be based on building block toys any park can be based off many other things lol

 

[JungleSkip]

the same can be said about video games

I don't want to get too off topic...

But no. Video games have never been better. :thumbs:

 

[Milla4Prez66]

This just makes too much sense for a KidZone replacement. There is a lot of space to do cool things with this there and it's the giant family friendly IP that Universal needs in USF and there is enough with the IP to make an immersive, Potter like land.

I mean, we will see but the Toon Lagoon or 3rd gate talk doesn't make sense to me as this IP is perfect for what was talked about replacing KidZone.

 

[JungleSkip]

This just makes too much sense for a KidZone replacement. There is a lot of space to do cool things with this there and it's the giant family friendly IP that Universal needs in USF and there is enough with the IP to make an immersive, Potter like land.

I mean, we will see but the Toon Lagoon or 3rd gate talk doesn't make sense to me as this IP is perfect for what was talked about replacing KidZone.

It's KidZone. 100%. No question. We (Parkscope) were told Nintendo was the goal for the KidZone replacement last year when we originally reported the rumor that KidZone would close post HHN. We were off on the timetable, but this is the plan for KidZone.

 

[anihilnation]

How will this land most likely be done? A singular Nintendo Land entrance that leads to a hub which then forks into the different games/mini-lands?
Actually, what would be nice, is if you'd have to go through a pipe in order to get to the different mini-lands.

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It's KidZone. 100%. No question. We (Parkscope) were told Nintendo was the goal for the KidZone replacement last year when we originally reported the rumor that KidZone would close post HHN. We were off on the timetable, but this is the plan for KidZone.

Did it take an entire year of negotiating to get the partnership, or do you think that they also have concrete plans already of what they want to do?

 

[kingcooger]

Right, that's my thinking. I have a hard time believing you can do Hyrule as a miniland. Needs to be its own thing.

I posted this in the future Universal Thread but I figured it works just as well here:

Assuming there is a third gate, what if they made a Zelda area there as their all ages zone (plus it would give each park a castle) and maybe brought in the long rumored Star Trek? Right off the bat they would have two massive selling points to bring people in.

Would they be looking to divide the brand in such a fashion?

 

[JungleSkip]

Did it take an entire year of negotiating to get the partnership, or do you think that they also have concrete plans already of what they want to do?

I went over what I assume happened in negotiations on the Parkscope podcast, but I'll give a short overview of what we heard through the past year.

April/May 2014: We heard that KidZone would be replaced soon-ish. We were originally told it would close after last HHN, but that clearly didn't happen. We were also told that Universal was in talks with Nintendo and that they were going after them hard. Nintendo was Universal's first choice.

2014-2015: KidZone talk shifts to Nick/DreamWorks here. We still hear that Universal wants Nintendo. Another source, different from the first, tells us he's hearing "video games" for KidZone. This is when I posted in the KidZone thread "speculating" on what could happen if Universal built a Nintendo land. When I went back to our first owl on whether or not Nintendo was still in play, all I got was, "No comment."

My feeling is Universal was talking to DreamWorks and/or Nick as backup plans incase they failed to secure the Nintendo rights. They ended up impressing Nintendo enough where that wasn't necessary. They won big and got their first target. This should excite all of us.

I posted this in the future Universal Thread but I figured it works just as well here:

Assuming there is a third gate, what if they made a Zelda area there as their all ages zone (plus it would give each park a castle) and maybe brought in the long rumored Star Trek? Right off the bat they would have two massive selling points to bring people in.

Would they be looking to divide the brand in such a fashion?

I could see Hyrule being a land in another park, yes. As long as it's successful, I don't see them shying away from treating it like Potter.

 

[Donald Razorduck]

Ive always wondered this as well.. i mean just looney tunes and the Hanna-Barbera collections alone is enough IMO to power a theme park or atleast a big portion of a theme park. Even more if they revived those cartoons. But hey, maybe this is just me wishful thinking and stuck in the bubble of the times i grew up in. Todays cartoons are FAR from what they used to be, the same can be said about video games but who knows, i mean all of this comes from the idea that if a park can be based on building block toys any park can be based off many other things lol

Six Flags has rights to HB and Looney Tunes and are increasingly moving away from them. Several Scooby-Doo themed dark rides are being converted to Justice League.

There's a Bugs Bunny straight to DVD movie being released this year but that's not much.

Also, there's a Cartoon Network themed water park in Thailand but nothing stateside.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

It's KidZone. 100%. No question. We (Parkscope) were told Nintendo was the goal for the KidZone replacement last year when we originally reported the rumor that KidZone would close post HHN. We were off on the timetable, but this is the plan for KidZone.

That's awesome, it just makes too much sense for KidZone and USF. The park needs more family orientated IPs, and KidZone is the perfect place to put one like Mushroom Kingdom in. I'm just getting annoyed by all the Disney fanboy wet dreams of this being a Marvel replacement.

 

[Cupcakes]

2014-2015: KidZone talk shifts to Nick/DreamWorks here. We still hear that Universal wants Nintendo. Another source, different from the first, tells us he's hearing "video games" for KidZone. This is when I posted in the KidZone thread "speculating" on what could happen if Universal built a Nintendo land. When I went back to our first owl on whether or not Nintendo was still in play, all I got was, "No comment."

My feeling is Universal was talking to DreamWorks and/or Nick as backup plans incase they failed to secure the Nintendo rights. They ended up impressing Nintendo enough where that wasn't necessary. They won big and got their first target. This should excite all of us.

So the whole idea of a SpongeBob ride is basically DITW now?

 

[JungleSkip]

That's awesome, it just makes too much sense for KidZone and USF. The park needs more family orientated IPs, and KidZone is the perfect place to put one like Mushroom Kingdom in. I'm just getting annoyed by all the Disney fanboy wet dreams of this being a Marvel replacement.

I said on twitter yesterday that Universal could announce that they were opening a McDonald's on property and Disney fanbois would say it was replacing Marvel.

It's best just to ignore them.

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So the whole idea of a SpongeBob ride is basically DITW now?

I honestly have no idea. I really don't care about SpongeBob, so I haven't inquired much about him.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

So the whole idea of a SpongeBob ride is basically DITW now?

I've been under the impression that anything Nickelodeon was kind of dead in the water, but I'm no insider. Just a lot of talk about the Universal/Nickelodeon relationship being broken, same with DreamWorks.

 

[*Q*]

Good list, but I don't see Metroid happening. Metroid has never really been a big seller.

During the Parkscope recording last night (which featured Drew from OU, hope you all listen when it comes out Saturday) I theorized we'll see 3 main properties featured first: Mario, Pokémon, and Donkey Kong. If it's a Potter-like smash hit, I think we could see a large expansion themed to Legend of Zelda.

This makes the most sense to me, as well.

It's KidZone. 100%. No question. We (Parkscope) were told Nintendo was the goal for the KidZone replacement last year when we originally reported the rumor that KidZone would close post HHN. We were off on the timetable, but this is the plan for KidZone.

Say "KidZone" again.

 

[tielo]

Mario is uber popular but like Mickey he doesn't need a ride pre se. Sure Mickey had a home and is in 3D in a movie but not a ride. Having him there walking around or be availeble for meet and greet could be enough.
Hyrule with Zelda has a better possibility to tell a story.

I know Bayonetta isn't a Nintendo property but number 2 was a exclusive on the WiiU so can I hope for a meet and greet with her?