OK, I think the problem with us discussing this topic is that we are not the age group they are trying to target. Of course you all want spongebob, scooby, and other things. Because they are either cartoons we can watch today in our age group or we remember from our childhood. I think Uni is going to be looking at the demographic of 3 to 13 (and their parents) and seeing what is popular and what has staying power. I question Dora a little, I think it is at the end of its run. I see less and less Dora merchandise out there when shopping for cloths, toys, books, etc for my LO. So that tells me it might be on a downward trend. Not something Uni is going to want to do, especially if this is not opening until 2015/2016 time frame. That is the issue with most preschool IPs, which is why I don't think they will go for a preschool IP. Look at Disney, they have one attraction geared towards the preschool age kids TV and that is an attraction that they can change easily (and do) to get rid of the old IPs and bring in the new IPs. The rest of their IPs are movie based which have a broader reach to adults, but also have more staying power in the end. There also may be a trend just starting that could really shake up the preschool age IPs. There have been some recent studies done about the type of shows we let our LOs watch. Shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are really good because it is adventure based, but shows like Strawberry Shortcake are not. Because they show kids behaving badly for 20 minutes and then nice for the last 2 to 3 minutes. The studies are showing the kids are picking up on the bad behavior more than the moral the show is trying to teach. If this study starts to gain traction it could really turn TV programming upside down. I had already had this belief myself and don't let my LO watch TV shows like that and my friend from across the country came in and started talking about the same thing and even gave me the research they have done. So to me if someone from a different part of the country also has this belief (and studies to back it up) and friends who also share this belief, then I can see this starting to gain traction. She has preschool/K kids and has many friends with the same age kids. I don't base trends off of what I think, because honestly do not have a ton of friends in Orlando with preschool age kids. We just started daycare and I haven't gotten to really meet a ton of parents. But seeing other friends from not Orlando talk about this stuff, it really started me to think. You think mom's took the violence on shows trend too far, think of this, the study shows that kids who watch strawberry shortcake became more violent more quickly than kids that watch violent programs. You don't think soccer mom's aren't going to latch onto that type of thing?
So basically I am saying, I think it will be more movie based than show based and I don't think the IP will be aimed at preschool kids. I think it will be an IP that appeals to the grade school kids with rides in it that preschool kids will enjoy. Lets face it, preschool kids don't have much of an opinion. They like things with bright colors and what is put in front of them. My kid has never watched a sponge bob episode in her entire life, but she LOVES the store and always wants to go into it. Because it has the colors she likes. She has never watched Dumbo, but she sure loves and asks to go into the dumbo area. You don't need an IP they have been exposed too, you just need the right ride and/or colors that will attract them. Grade school/teens are more the kids that need the IP to be interested in it. And parents just need something they can enjoy, they won't be the ones pointing at the rides saying lets go on it, that will be the kids, the parents just need to want to go back on it a second time, to make it worth it to plan another one of these trips.