Future of Toon Lagoon

[WebHead1138]

Possible replacements for Toon Lagoon

-DreamWorks Lagoon
-SpongeBob

That’s all I got lol

 

[TheUniC6]

Possible replacements for Toon Lagoon

-DreamWorks Lagoon
-SpongeBob

That’s all I got lol

If they redid TL with a DW IP it would not be a catch all area as we got that in USF. But I wonder if maybe it could be themed to Shrek assuming Shrek 5 is a hit and gets the franchise back its feet.

 

[Imperius]

Dreamworks isn’t taking over toon lagoon.

 

[TheUniC6]

Dreamworks isn’t taking over toon lagoon.

That more than likely true. Maybe when the time to replace TL comes, there will probably be some sort of other IP Universal will want to use.

 

[Legacy]

I still think Universal should buyout Cartoon Network and replace it with that. Then it simply becomes “Cartoon Lagoon.”

Or buy the Looney Tunes and turn it into “Looney Tune Lagoon.”

There are a lot of options if you give it 10 years.

 

[WebHead1138]

If they redid TL with a DW IP it would not be a catch all area as we got that in USF. But I wonder if maybe it could be themed to Shrek assuming Shrek 5 is a hit and gets the franchise back its feet.

I would love to see the Mount Rushmore(from Dudley) become re-themed to Shrek characters.

As for the comic strip area with the cafe and shops, I would re-theme it to various DreamWorks properties.

Popeye? I would completely re-theme that entire area to Kung Fu panda.

 

[TheUniC6]

I would love to see the Mount Rushmore(from Dudley) become re-themed to Shrek characters.

As for the comic strip area with the cafe and shops, I would re-theme it to various DreamWorks properties.

Popeye? I would completely re-theme that entire area to Kung Fu panda.

On a Future of Shrek at Universal Orlando thread I created a while back, a hypothetical idea pitched for a Shrek ride involved a log flume ride where Shrek and Fiona would go on a journey to save their kids. There is so much potential for Shrek beyond water based rides as well.

 

[WebHead1138]

On a Future of Shrek at Universal Orlando thread I created a while back, a hypothetical idea pitched for a Shrek ride involved a log flume ride where Shrek and Fiona would go on a journey to save their kids. There is so much potential for Shrek beyond water based rides as well.

You know the scene at the end of the Dudley ride where it’s a small parody of the pirates ride with the key? Imagine instead it’s donkey holding the key with Puss n Boots in jail lol

Universal NEEDS to do this!

I’m excited for DreamWorks land. But I feel that DreamWorks deserves even more representation in the parks. Epic is doing this perfectly. DreamWorks Land is a stepping stone.

 

[TheUniC6]

You know the scene at the end of the Dudley ride where it’s a small parody of the pirates ride with the key? Imagine instead it’s donkey holding the key with Puss n Boots in jail lol

Universal NEEDS to do this!

I’m excited for DreamWorks land. But I feel that DreamWorks deserves even more representation in the parks. Epic is doing this perfectly. DreamWorks Land is a stepping stone.

I seem to remember reading an interview with someone from Comcast talking about growth with the Universal parks, and it was mentioned more Dreamworks and Illumination attractions are in the works for Universal parks. So beyond HTTYD, actual Dreamworks attractions have to be in the works.

 

[WebHead1138]

I seem to remember reading an interview with someone from Comcast talking about growth with the Universal parks, and it was mentioned more Dreamworks and Illumination attractions are in the works for Universal parks. So beyond HTTYD, actual Dreamworks attractions have to be in the works.

You have to remember that at the time when Islands was being built, Uni had no big animated IP’s to compete with Disney. That’s why the park has Toon Lagoon and why they so desperately fought hard to get DC comics and Loony Tunes. Universal is so much bigger now. It really blows my mind that Toon Lagoon is still around in 2024.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I still think Universal should buyout Cartoon Network and replace it with that. Then it simply becomes “Cartoon Lagoon.”

Or buy the Looney Tunes and turn it into “Looney Tune Lagoon.”

There are a lot of options if you give it 10 years.

Listen, I'd love a Cartoon Network land on the scale of Toon Lagoon more than a solid chunk of people here; Powerpuff, Dexter, Eds, Johnny Bravo, Ben 10, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Looney Tunes, all included in a massive detail-rich theme park land? It'd be a dream.
But you make "buying the Looney Tunes" or CN/Adult Swim sound like going out to nab groceries haha. Even with the current anti-animation executives over there, I think it'd be pretty difficult for Comcast to pull off a purchase of properties so thoroughly entwined with the Warner Bros brand. Plus with Universal's continued relationship with rival Nickelodeon/Viacom, I just don't see it happening.

I kinda see any talk on Toon Lagoon replacements, especially Dreamworks in TL, to be almost purely Blue Sky armchairing for the time being. Toon Lagoon as it exists is honestly really great and doesn't need a retheme. The greater park it resides in also doesn't need too much expansion or improvement for awhile, and the places where it does are not related to the bulk of Toon Lagoon. Zelda in LC, Grinch mini-land/Mt. Krumpit, River Adventure -> Jurassic World will all happen years before they lift a finger on retheming Dudley imo.

 

[WebHead1138]

Listen, I'd love a Cartoon Network land on the scale of Toon Lagoon more than a solid chunk of people here; Powerpuff, Dexter, Eds, Johnny Bravo, Ben 10, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Looney Tunes, all included in a massive detail-rich theme park land? It'd be a dream.
But you make "buying the Looney Tunes" or CN/Adult Swim sound like going out to nab groceries haha. Even with the current anti-animation executives over there, I think it'd be pretty difficult for Comcast to pull off a purchase of properties so thoroughly entwined with the Warner Bros brand. Plus with Universal's continued relationship with rival Nickelodeon/Viacom, I just don't see it happening.

I kinda see any talk on Toon Lagoon replacements, especially Dreamworks in TL, to be almost purely Blue Sky armchairing for the time being. Toon Lagoon as it exists is honestly really great and doesn't need a retheme. The greater park it resides in also doesn't need too much expansion or improvement for awhile, and the places where it does are not related to the bulk of Toon Lagoon. Zelda in LC, Grinch mini-land/Mt. Krumpit, River Adventure -> Jurassic World will all happen years before they lift a finger on retheming Dudley imo.

I personally believe the biggest problem with TL is the shops and restaurants. The theming there is dreadful. Besides Betty Boop and Popeye, none of the characters are recognizable or relevant. Does anybody really know who Hagar the Horrible and Heathcliff are? I think maybe a slight retheme of the comic strip area would do wonders. Get Garfied, SpongeBob and Scooby-Doo in there. Keep the Dudley and Popeye areas intact. That’s just my perspective.

 

[Jake S]

I think Toon Lagoon is pretty lousy as an aesthetic or thematic experience. It certainly looks crummy when compared to Hogsmeade or Jurassic Park — and I'd argue it looks rather cheap compared to Seuss Landing and Lost Continent, which is now functionally extinct. There are absolutely other, more pressing, matters to deal with but I think Toon Lagoon more and more feels like a product of a time long since past.

 

[HHN Maddux]

I still think Universal should buyout Cartoon Network and replace it with that. Then it simply becomes “Cartoon Lagoon.”

Or buy the Looney Tunes and turn it into “Looney Tune Lagoon.”

There are a lot of options if you give it 10 years.

Both would be completely viable should Universal purchase Warmer Bros (which has been a rumor for a bit now, although I'm really not sure how strong it is).

 

[GA-MBIT]

I suppose agree to disagree. I think it remains a really charming tribute to a medium that often get overlooked with lots of cute photo-ops, varied artstyles, and a ton of water effects and fountains allowing even younger guests not up for Popeye's or Dudley to enjoy a little cooldown. I think the Viking ship and Dog Fountain sets are a lot of fun, Broomhilda flying into the pole is pretty cute, The Olive is a well made splash play area for families that has some nice and oft missed walking paths that take you up to the IoA Lagoon, and I will always argue positively for the Dudley Do-Right facade. The designers went unneccesarily hard on that ride/IP and I always stop for a few moments to watch it go whenever I pass by. The ride itself is...rough, but that mountain is gorgeous. The sound design on the bridge is top notch too! The whole land has cool dynamic audio that changes depending on how close to any given comic strip facade you are, it's really cool and I've not seen that concept pulled off anywhere else to my memory!

It's definitely 90s/2000s-y and not the most polished ever, but it's fun, very kinetic, and works well for what it's trying to do. I'd argue Seuss Landing has way more areas that look plainly unkept than Toon by a wide margin.

 

[TheUniC6]

Both would be completely viable should Universal purchase Warmer Bros (which has been a rumor for a bit now, although I'm really not sure how strong it is).

Many people on the Warner Bros lot apparently believe that in the long term WBD will go to NBCU. And who knows maybe some deal is being worked out behind the scenes.

A problem with Universal about their parks is the amount in-house IP represented. Outside of F&F, Illumination (primarily Despicable Me), Some Dreamworks, and Jurassic, the rest is licensed. Buying WB would be a game changer for the parks in so many ways.

 

[belloq87]

I like Toon Lagoon. I don't often do the rides (because River Adventure usually fills my "Ride I'll accept getting soaked on" quota), but I enjoy the look and vibe of the land quite a bit.

All I think it could use would be a semi-significant non-water attraction (a C/D-ticket level dark ride on the theater plot, for example), and I think "Toon" is a loose enough name that almost any animated/drawn property -- newer or classic -- could fit alongside the rest of the existing land just fine.

But again, Lost Continent and USF first.

 

[Magic-Man]

I like your optimism... but let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Hey, I did say hopefully lol

Whatever replaces Rockit will probably be more themed and more reliable than it, so that's a plus. The park will be losing a simulator and gaining an animatronic heavy dark ride with Pokemon (even if there's still screen technology implemented), plus potentially a second dark ride or a new show alongside it. Then Supercharged going for pretty much anything else is a win.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Very early, but the Wild Robot looks extremely promising from Dreamworks so who knows, maybe that’s in the cards too.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Toon Lagoon is a cheap-looking land with questionable theming that just so happens to have arguably the 2 best water rides in the country lol