The Old KidZone Thread

[Cupcakes]

It must have done well enough for the studio to make a sequel though.

I think what he means is that the Smurfs sequel has underperformed domestically so far. It only made $18 million on its opening weekend.

EDIT: Got beaten to it.

 

[Oscar9545]

I would be sad if The Smurfs is not in talk with Disney.

Disney can fix Smurfs popularity than Universal and Sony.

 

[Shadow Carelli]

If Smurfs replace anything in Kidzone :fist: :bang: :saw: :censored:

 

[IzzyB]

There is no way they put adult only rides in kidzone. They will all be kid/family oriented. I also think like others, they will put additional kid/family rides like Twirl and Hurl around the park before kidzone is re-done. Kidzone redo is going to be a HUGE marketing campaign for Uni. It is going to be their way of telling people we are for kids and families too and not just for thrill ride junkies (what it is known for now). Once those families come from this marketing, they will need more than just kidzone to ride. So the key here is get families with small children to come to the park (kidzone marketing) and then once there give them enough that they will return their next trip to Orlando (additional stuff throughout the park). Smart move by Uni. Because right now, even if they happen to get a family to come from say DM marketing, they will most likely not return their next trip until their kids are older. My husband HATES going to Uni with kids, because he feels the kids cannot ride enough to make it worth it. As things like Twirl and Hurl get added, his opinion will change. But I can guarantee you there is no way I get to renew my passes when they expire in October until next Spring when phase 2 opens. But when Disney passes are up, he will renew right away. Same with Sea World.

 

[mahnamahna]

There is no way they put adult only rides in kidzone. They will all be kid/family oriented. I also think like others, they will put additional kid/family rides like Twirl and Hurl around the park before kidzone is re-done. Kidzone redo is going to be a HUGE marketing campaign for Uni. It is going to be their way of telling people we are for kids and families too and not just for thrill ride junkies (what it is known for now). Once those families come from this marketing, they will need more than just kidzone to ride. So the key here is get families with small children to come to the park (kidzone marketing) and then once there give them enough that they will return their next trip to Orlando (additional stuff throughout the park). Smart move by Uni. Because right now, even if they happen to get a family to come from say DM marketing, they will most likely not return their next trip until their kids are older. My husband HATES going to Uni with kids, because he feels the kids cannot ride enough to make it worth it. As things like Twirl and Hurl get added, his opinion will change. But I can guarantee you there is no way I get to renew my passes when they expire in October until next Spring when phase 2 opens. But when Disney passes are up, he will renew right away. Same with Sea World.

Twirl n' Hurl is step one for their plan to make themselves kid-accessible :thumbs: and based on the theming, I'd be perfectly fine with more flat rides of that level of theming coming to IOA and USF! Personally I'd like to see a London Eye ferris wheel come along the non-Springfield side of the lagoon, and see Shrek or Blue Man Group bull-dozed for a Super Silly Fun Land area with a flat ride, a fun house, carnival games, a Unicorn play area, and possibly move Nuthouse Coaster to the area as a kiddie coaster of sorts. It'd make room for a bigger family coaster where Woody/Curious George are now.

The Hogwarts Express will be a MAJOR plus since everyone can ride it so it'll be Uni's first POTC/HM sized all-family E-ticket - plus I'd wager Kong won't have a height requirement either since Kong 360 doesn't have one. Jurassic Park is supposed to get a family coaster, some games, and enhancements to Camp Jurassic and the Discovery Center which will be another big step.

But 2016 will be the year both parks will have a family-centric marketing campaign - since the big KidZone redo will most likely be USF's major attraction of 2016 while over at IOA, a Lorax dark ride is supposedly under development and I wouldn't be surprised if a flat ride came to Sneetch Beach, maybe the Grinchmas soundstage could be annexed into SL for a permanent year-round show?

Personally, I think family rides are perfect for Universal to be building at this moment in time. Gringotts, the JP family coaster, and whatever E-ticket goes on the MIB/Springfield plot are the only thrill rides I want to see. If they ever want a shot at beating out Disney, they need a few family dark rides here, a family coaster there, a parade in IOA, some shows and flat rides thrown in for good measure.

The two parks are overloaded with E-tickets at the moment - they need B-tickets, C-tickets, and D-tickets (Cat in the Hat, E.T. and Doom are what solid D-tickets can be) to spread out crowds and give the parks more kinetic energy and more character

 

[Hockeyman55]

I believe this was the sequel. It's been a while since I saw the USA box office numbers on the first one but I don't think they were very good either. It's probably more of a European box office draw. And I've really never seen much Smurf merchandise anywhere.

Gotcha, I misunderstood. My kids do enjoy the movies but its not something we would run out and go to see in theaters or buy a whole lot of toys of either

 

[sbdipp]

Just gonna share some info I gleaned from some other websites (mostly WDWMagic) today:

1). Supposedly, How to Train Your Dragon was considered to be an anchor attraction in the new KidZone, but due to some trouble between Uni and Dreamworks, the idea is far fetched at best now.
2). Within the next 5 years, Uni will have at least 2 new slow moving, animatronic centric, family friendly dark rides; one in seuss landing (presumably Lorax) and one in KidZone (your guess is as good as mine). Also, one must consider that Twirl n Hurl, HE, and even Gringotts are presumed to have a very low height restriction to none at all.
3). I don't know exactly if this is the appropriate thread but for those who believe that 3D is being overdone, an insider on WDWMagic responded by saying "just wait for Shrek's replacement." I'm SURE that whatever inevitably replaces the ogre will also be family friendly.

My point being: Universal seems to be broadening its offerings and knows which direction it needs to follow. Now if they could only fix up the Seuss Trolley Train ride. What a sick excuse for an attraction IMO, and it has such (family friendly) potential too.

 

[UNIrd]

Twirl n' Hurl is step one for their plan to make themselves kid-accessible :thumbs: and based on the theming, I'd be perfectly fine with more flat rides of that level of theming coming to IOA and USF! Personally I'd like to see a London Eye ferris wheel come along the non-Springfield side of the lagoon, and see Shrek or Blue Man Group bull-dozed for a Super Silly Fun Land area with a flat ride, a fun house, carnival games, a Unicorn play area, and possibly move Nuthouse Coaster to the area as a kiddie coaster of sorts. It'd make room for a bigger family coaster where Woody/Curious George are now.

The Hogwarts Express will be a MAJOR plus since everyone can ride it so it'll be Uni's first POTC/HM sized all-family E-ticket - plus I'd wager Kong won't have a height requirement either since Kong 360 doesn't have one. Jurassic Park is supposed to get a family coaster, some games, and enhancements to Camp Jurassic and the Discovery Center which will be another big step.

But 2016 will be the year both parks will have a family-centric marketing campaign - since the big KidZone redo will most likely be USF's major attraction of 2016 while over at IOA, a Lorax dark ride is supposedly under development and I wouldn't be surprised if a flat ride came to Sneetch Beach, maybe the Grinchmas soundstage could be annexed into SL for a permanent year-round show?

Personally, I think family rides are perfect for Universal to be building at this moment in time. Gringotts, the JP family coaster, and whatever E-ticket goes on the MIB/Springfield plot are the only thrill rides I want to see. If they ever want a shot at beating out Disney, they need a few family dark rides here, a family coaster there, a parade in IOA, some shows and flat rides thrown in for good measure.

The two parks are overloaded with E-tickets at the moment - they need B-tickets, C-tickets, and D-tickets (Cat in the Hat, E.T. and Doom are what solid D-tickets can be) to spread out crowds and give the parks more kinetic energy and more character

Agreed! Love this post. How do I give positive reputation? Is that the Star of David thing on the bottom?

 

[Disneyhead]

Agreed! Love this post. How do I give positive reputation? Is that the Star of David thing on the bottom?

Yes.

 

[Cupcakes]

So if Dreamworks is out, and supposedly everything Nickelodeon besides SpongeBob and Dora is out, what does that leave us with?

I mean, I suppose there's The Smurfs, and possibly some Hasbro properties...

Gah, the suspense of what the heck will be in this area is killing me.

 

[Oscar9545]

So if Dreamworks is out, and supposedly everything Nickelodeon besides SpongeBob and Dora is out, what does that leave us with?

I mean, I suppose there's The Smurfs, and possibly some Hasbro properties...

Gah, the suspense of what the heck will be in this area is killing me.

Whoa, Whoa!

How about a Johnny Test dark ride to replace E.T. Adventure, a My Little Pony live to replace A Day in the Park with Barney.

Susan and Mary Test's Laboratory Playground to replace Fievel's Playland and Curious George Goes to Town will be demolish to make way for a replica of Porkbelly. Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster will stay.

The NEW Kidzone will be part of an agreement between NBCUniversal and DHX Media.

I Would like to see Disney having an agreement with The Smurfs to attract more Kids, better than Universal.

How about a The Smurfs Live (A Live show similar to Madagascar Live: Operation Vacation) to replace Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios or The Smurfs 4D to replace Muppet-Vision 3D or Captain EO.

 

[blue180]

I mean if this is planned for 2016, there is a chance it could be something that isnt out yet....

 

[Milla4Prez66]

Johnny Test? Really? Honestly, I like the idea of bringing down Shrek to expand the minions across the street and make that the kid-friendly area of the park. Turn KidZone into something else while keeping ET.

 

[TylerDurden]

Guys, guys, guys........

We can play guessing games all day, there are hundreds of kid-friendly properties that will all be popular and make money because they all attract the same audience, and one thats not particularly picky.

The key to a good childrens attraction is its timelessness and its appeal to people besides children--ET is a good example of this; Fievel and Curious George (the properties and the playgrounds) not so much. I think a show like Barney (totally kid-centric) is ok, but the majority of the area has to be devoted to things everyone can enjoy and that can last a long time.

Shrek and Despicable Me are good properties that can attract the family audience Universal wants--not these random Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network shows. Even the Smurfs arent a good guess--the rebooted series lacks box office appeal as has been said. Id say Spongebob is the only legitimate contender for a new KidZone ride, and apparently Nick is out.

The other thing to consider is that children can enjoy attractions based off properties not specifically catered to them (ET, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Simpsons), as long as they have few restrictions and non-threatening theming). Any property with universal themes and the ability to relate to people of all ages can be turned into a solid family attraction. It doesnt have to be any old cartoon with a G-rating slapped on. I think that direction is more what Universal is headed for anyway...a 'Kid'Zone is just as unappealing to families as the thrillseeker aim is in that it isolates older family members. Rides and properties that everyone can enjoy is what Universal wants, because thats what families want. So I mean, these random guesses with no merit are just wasted space I think.

 

[Cupcakes]

To be fair, the whole guessing game is what's really keeping this thread alive at the moment. For now I'd say it's alright for people to let their imaginations run wild until we get actual news on what's going to happen.

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

To be fair, the whole guessing game is what's really keeping this thread alive at the moment. For now I'd say it's alright for people to let their imaginations run wild until we get actual news on what's going to happen.

Sometimes you aren't allowed to take wild guesses on this forum, I know from experience...:look:

 

[Hedwig201]

I think Madagascar would be great, it could go where Animal Actors is and a new show based on the circus from the 3rd film would be good too. A Hello Kitty Store wouldn't be too bad either, there aren't many things that attract young girls as it is and I believe I saw Hello Kitty Merch being sold in CityWalk last time I visited. Or even a Hello Kitty Cupcake shop???? Anything to widen the demographic for kids is needed now in my opinion.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

I think Madagascar would be great, it could go where Animal Actors is and a new show based on the circus from the 3rd film would be good too. A Hello Kitty Store wouldn't be too bad either, there aren't many things that attract young girls as it is and I believe I saw Hello Kitty Merch being sold in CityWalk last time I visited. Or even a Hello Kitty Cupcake shop???? Anything to widen the demographic for kids is needed now in my opinion.

Most people were hoping for the Crate Adventure Madagascar ride from Singapore, but those hopes were killed when Busch Gardens Tampa landed a live action Madagascar show. So that is out of the question for Universal.

 

[Hedwig201]

That's a shame, Madagascar would have been a good draw for Uni...

 

[Milla4Prez66]

That's a shame, Madagascar would have been a good draw for Uni...

Agreed. It would be perfect, but it works for Busch Gardens and SeaWorld too with the animal themes. Those penguins would go great in SeaWorld.

Also, I wonder if the Universal/DreamWorks relationship isn't the same now that Universal has it's own popular animation studio. The minions have taken over as the popular animated figures in film.