Theme Park Apprentice 3: Signups
This summer, Theme Park Apprentice returns where it will take its annual spot starting in June.
From Tim W
Posted May 18, 2011 at 11:25 AM
The wait is over Theme Park Insider. This summer, Theme Park Apprentice returns where it will take its annual spot starting in June. I will no longer be doing multiple games throughout the year, in order to keep from having repetetiveness and redundancy. This year we have new challenges, new parks, and new surprises as we head into this year's Theme Park Apprentice. For Theme Park Apprentice 3, we will be visiting international countries, along with the old favorites. Ideas for challenges are more the welcome. The tentative start date for the competition is June 5th. Signups begin now.
Here's a few notes about the game:
You will have from Monday to Saturday to post any ideas. Polls will be uploaded every Sunday and will last for one day. Elimination will occur on the following challenge's thread, every Monday.
The game is designed to have about 10 to 15 people submit their own ideas once a week for various theme parks on weekly threads. The public will then vote on which they think is the best idea, and the lowest will be "Fired". I have always done weekly commentary.
DO NOT SIGNUP IF YOU ARE GOING TO DROP OUT! I have had numerous (much to much to count) contestants drop out on me in the competition, either as a formal withdrawl or they become unresponsive. You are simply eliminated from the competition if you do not respond. No emails or reminders will be sent out. You miss the deadline, you are fired. Try your hardest not to do this, the competition will last about all summer and you have to submit a design for an attraction once a week. I do this for fun, and for the visitors of this site; I do not need added stress.
You must be a registered user on the site to participate, no anonymous posters with ip addresses. I respect your privacy if you wish to not use your real name.
I understand that summer is a busy time for vacations and I do respect that. Unfortunately, I cannot delay voting by a week's time. However, you can make arrangements with me to submit your idea early.
I would like to mention one change to the finale, however. I have faced difficulty in the past with having a singular poll finale, as well as getting all past apprentices to submit their vote for the winner. So this year, I will be casting one vote, I will be asking our sitemaster (Robert Niles) for his vote, and we will have the poll which will constitute as the 3rd vote.
If there are any more questions, feel free to email me and to check out the past competitions.
Thank you everyone for your participation.
Tim, I'm in. If for nothing else to defend my title from THE NEXT WALT DISNEY tournament.
I have a couple ideas for challenges as you requested, I'll fire them off soon.
Haven't played before.....but I think I would compete well...
Count me in.
Thanks!
Boy, I am torn (I know, pull myself together!). I know I "officially retired" after the last TPA, but reading Next Walt Disney and not taking part was really frustrating! I'm going to have to think about this. Tim, if I do decided to enter this one, I promise no e-mails and no whining! Two questions, though: 1) are you planing on having a "partner" competition challenge? If so, I think I'll pass. It was just too hard to organize and come to a meeting of minds. In my case I don't think either of us liked what we came up with. 2)exactly on what days of the week will you post the challenge and want submissions? I'll be on vacation from Sunday, June 12 until late Friday, June 17th and will not be able nor willing to post between those days (we're going to- of all places- Universal Resort Florida and WDW).
I'm going to have to think about this, but boy , is it tempting.
From Tim W
Posted May 18, 2011 at 11:22 AM
No partner challenge this year. I don't want to cause anyone headaches again!
Arrangements can be made in that case of vacations. I will just need some advance notice if anyone will be going on vacation and will need an to write up the challenge idea at an earlier date.
As with last season, polls will be posted on every sunday and will run for 1 day. The following challenge will be posted as well on every Sunday. You will have from Monday until Saturday to post your ideas.
Excellent, I'm extatic to see some new blood in the game with some people coming from the Next Walt Disney. This will surely make for an interesting season if this persists.
James, keep in mind that I am making this a ONCE a YEAR event. There will not be another competition until the summer of 2012.
Tim, thank you for the no Partners Challenge ruling. This is a load off my mind, getting my own thoughts together is hard enough, heaven help me if I have to do it while shackled to someone else.
OK, I talked to my family about this, and they gave me the green light to come out of retirement for this. I had to promise to not get obsessed and to stay on my medication during the run of the competition. I'm in. And I am also glad to hear that we won't be doing a partner challenge. I wouldn't want to be "shackled" to Joseph and have him dragging me down! ;+b.. (I think Joseph knows that I'm kidding).
Last season, I bowed out due to the pressure of other projects.
BUT THAT'S LAST YEAR!
Count me in, and this time... I'm Going All the Way!
WOOOOOOOOOO!
In all seriousness, I'm in.
From Tim W
Posted May 18, 2011 at 2:05 PM
Glad to see you back Thomas!
Bring it Jim, bring it.
Hey, Thomas, welcome back! And Joseph, I'm looking forward to finally going head-to-head with you (that is, if your head hasn't gotten too big after Next Walt Disney!) It's interesting that there has not been a repeat champion in any of these competitions. Will this be the one for a repeat, or will it continue the trend for new champions every competition? Whatever happens, I have a feeling that this will continue the trend of every competition being better than the last. I can't wait!
Well, it looks like I'm going to have to return for this one.
Count me in.
Count Me in
From David L.
Posted May 19, 2011 at 3:53 PM
Tim, I'm in, but if the challenges aren't announced within a couple of weeks i may not be able to play as i'm on vacation quite a lot in june.
Ideas:
-a new dark ride for HK Disneyland's Fantasyland
-a design of Shanghai Disneyland's Tomorowland(or Adventureland)
-A new land for Europa Park
-A design for some part of the once proposed Busch(or, whatever they're called now) resort in Dubai
-A new Universal or Disney park in Dubai
-A new coaster for Alton Towers(to Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
I'm in! It starts 2 days after I'm out of school, so I have the whole summer to work with. After a major disappointment in WPA, a 4th place win in TPA 2, and a loss in my very own contest, I feel that I need redemption and need to pull out a 1st place win. Can't wait!
.....Ok, I'll stop my speech now :P
Hmmm, should I or shouldnt I, defend my TPA 2 title?
Easy answer.....YES!!!
Im in.
Dominick, Yes, it is definitely fun, but it's also a lot of work. Looking at who has signed up, there is a lot of experience and a lot of people who have won in the past and/or want to win this one. I think it's great that you have signed up, but be ready to bring your "A" game every week. If you do that, you'll do fine. I strongly recommend that you go back and read some of the past challenges, especially the winners, and get a feeling of what does well and what doesn't get the votes. Good luck! I'm looking forward to seeing your work.
I would like to participate if I can... being a bit new to the site, I have only seen runs TPA in mid-swing, but have wanted to try it out.
From Tim W
Posted May 22, 2011 at 10:31 AM
Alright 11 people! Sounds like a fairly good number, but I will be giving it until Tuesday to officially close the signups. After that, our challenges will be starting June 5th and that 1st challenge will end June 11th. I will be posting the complete lineup of challenges on June 1st when I do get back from WDW.
Can I be in
From Tim W
Posted May 22, 2011 at 5:29 PM
Yes, Manny.
i have a lot more ideas for rides and if there arent to many people already i would love to join in!
Tim, as you requested, here are some challenge ideas:
Design a replacement for Epcot's Journey Into Your Imagination being sure to still incorporate Figment into the design in some way.
Design a new Island for Universal's islands of Adventure.
Design a third park for Universal Orlando.
Replace Universal Hollywood's Earthquake attraction with another natural disaster theme in the same building.
Design a maze for Universal Halloween Horror Nights.
Design a third park for Disneyland Paris resort.
Redesign the Land pavilion at Epcot.
Design a new World Showcase pavilion at Epcot, must include a ride.
Design a DC superheroes land for a Six Flags park of your choice.
Design a new coaster for Kings Island.
Design a new animal exhibit for Sea World.
Some concepts anyway. I know its a tad Disney and Universal centric, but those capture my imagination the most.
Come on, Joseph, this is International Theme Park Apprentice! Most of your ideas are Califlorida-based (sorry,buddy, I just love jerking your chain!) ;+) How about:
1)Create Disneyland Australia
2)Develop a new land for Expoland in Osaka, Japan
3)Redesign,retheme or create a new attraction for an area at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England
4)Design Six Flags over Britain
5)Create a year-round amusement/theme park for Moscow, Russia
6)Create a dark ride for Tivoli Gardens in Denmark
7)Create Epcot China for Hong Kong Disneyland
8)Create a unique, independent major theme park for India in any city of your choice. No "Six Flags over Mumbai", no "Walt Delhi World".
I'm getting excited to get started (as if you can't tell!).
"Walt Delhi World..."
That's a keeper.
I can see that there would be a problem designing an attraction for Six Flags or Cedar Fair since most of their attractions are a little shy on the theming element. While I understand that someone has to do the designing, I thought the whole idea of this contest was to come up with the best "package".
^ I think any of us could design a nice attraction for Cedar Fair or Six Flags. In fact, I hope we do so, because imaginative rides don't always have to be excessively themed. There are many rides at the CF and SF parks that provide impressive features and aren't very themed.
You could make a semi-themed ride like Intimidator 305 or a completely unthemed yet unique ride like X2.
I agree with Nick. Let's face it, nothing we design is every going to be built (or at least none of us are going to get credit for it!). There is nothing wrong with starting with the premise that Cedar Point/Six Flags/fill in your park of choice has decided to start doing a major push into the theme attraction world and is going to create the best themed coaster/dark ride/fill in the blank attraction in the world. I try to find the middle road of realism and imagination. I'm not going to propose a 1000ft drop wooden coaster- that is not realistic. I'm also not going to expect to win with a 45 foot 20 degree steel coaster that overlooks the parking lot of Cedar Point. That is not imaginative. Does my rambling make any sense?
Your rambling makes a lot of sense. Basically you are saying if we were to have a CF/SF challenge, we wouldn't propose some kiddie coaster, but we wouldn't make some crazy impossible coaster like the mega-looping-inverted-wooden-reverse-launch coaster we've always thought about...
Jim, just like the Allman Brothers, lord you were born a ramblin' man.
hehehehe...got you back. ;0)
From Tim W
Posted May 23, 2011 at 7:28 PM
Its not a stict International Apprentice as I intended, but we will have a few international challanges in the mix. I want to stay away from keeping it with IOA, MK, and Epcot eccentric attractions that has mainly been the pattern. I realized that I have never done one Animal Kingdom challenge at all, so I would like to include that in this year's competition.
And of course you can joing Damond. I'm capping this years limit at 13 so I can begin finishing the challenges! Thanks everyone!
Oh, this one's going to be international? Awesome!
From Tim W
Posted May 23, 2011 at 8:05 PM
Originally, it was supposed to be a full International theme. However, instead, there will be a few international challenges included.
Joseph, you've been waiting to pounce, haven't you?! Evil...you're just pure evil..I respect that. Even the lucky number of 13 contestants gives this competition a sinister feeling. I hope that doesn't give Dan Babbitt a foot-up on this competition, considering his Evil Kingdom win in TPA2!
Tim, you wanted an Animal Kingdom challenge? Maybe we could design our own "Beastly Kingdom"
From Tim W
Posted May 24, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Andy, you must have read my mind.
Here is the tentative schedule:
Challenge 1: Epcot Ride for Country without ride
Challenge 2: Beastly Kingdom Ride for Animal Kingdom
Challenge 3: Toon Studio Character Dining
Challenge 4: Disneyland Paris TBA
Challenge 5: Blackpool Nickeloden Coaster
Challenge 6: Movie World Australia - DC Comics
Challenge 7: Tokyo DisneySea Water Ride
Challenge 8: Tokyo Disneyland TBA
Challenge 9: Universal Studios Japan Simulator Ride
Challenge 10: Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
Challenge 11: Shanghai Disney land
Challenge 12: Dubai
I still need some help on the Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris challenges
From Eric S
Posted May 24, 2011 at 12:45 PM
I didn't notice this until today, but if there's room I'd definitely love to jump in.
For Disneyland Paris, we could design our own Toy Story ride for that area of the park
If participation is still open, I would like to join. I was in the Next Walt Disney competition, but was out of the running pretty quickly. I'd like to see if I can do better here.
I was hoping to join as well. Exams all this week have kept me from logging on and I was so disppointed to see that the sign-ups were already posted. Anyways, hope you can addd me in.
From Tim W
Posted May 24, 2011 at 8:39 PM
Ok Guys, I will be letting the three of you join, as I did give tuesday as the deadline. NO more contestants will be joining this season everyone. There will however be double eliminations, as I do not want to run this for 14 weeks this summer!
So this summer there will be 16 contestants, 10 challenges. The first 5 will be double elimination, and then we will have our top 6. After that, it will be single eliminations.
Yes! The challenges look tough, and the challengers look tougher!. Tim, this is going to be one exciting competition.
Sorry to interrupt, but 'Blackpool Nickelodeon Coaster' strikes a chord. Nickelodeon isn't massively known over here and Blackpool is a classic British fairground-cum-seaside destination. I can't see anything to do with Nickelodeon having a place at the Pleasure Beach.
Think traditional but tacky, cold, gritty, dull but in a rustic kind of way. Flickering neon and hook-a-duck style games. Not bright orange, 3D-solid , loud and garish American cartoons. (No offence, I love Nic toons! Just wonder if it would fit the Blackpool challenge.) If you're looking for a kids TV theme, look for something classic and British; Bananaman, Tracey Beaker, The Famous Five, Dennis and Gnasher, Thomas and Friends, Basil Brush, Rupert the Bear, Wallace and Gromit, Bob the Builder, Brum, Wind in the Willows, Just William, Sooty and Sweep… Just a suggestion.
The other challenges sound brill!
From Tim W
Posted May 25, 2011 at 5:18 AM
According to their website, A Nickelodeon land just opened this month.
Random. And cool! I stand corrected :-)
From Tim W
Posted May 25, 2011 at 7:26 AM
As a lack for better challenge ideas for Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris challenges, they will porbably be eliminated as we will be having 10 challenges.
After today I will not be available until May 31st, at night. I will not be looking at this site, nor answering my email. Thanks and I will be back from Disney World soon!
Darn, I was hoping you would have eliminated the restaurant challenge. That and store challenges always leave me cold.
Still, I'm all fired up and ready for the challenges, June can't come soon enough.
From Tim W
Posted May 25, 2011 at 7:46 AM
I have always thought my apprentices have done some of their best work on their restaurants, especially in the first year. There were some truly amazing ideas for restaurants that year, and I have kept it ever since. I was not so impressed by the store challenge I included before, so that one was eliminated for this season.
Here is the updated schedule:
Challenge 1: World Showcase Ride - 16 Contestants
Challenge 2: Beastly Kingdom Ride - 14 Contestants
Challenge 3: Toon Studio Character Dining - 12 Contestants
Challenge 4: Blackpool Nickeloden Coaster - 10 Contestants
Challenge 5: Movie World Australia, DC Comics - 8 Contestants
Challenge 6: Tokyo DisneySea Water Ride - 6 Contestants
Challenge 7: Universal Studios Japan Simulator Ride - 5 Contestants
Challenge 8: Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel - 4 Contestants
Challenge 9: Shanghai Disney land - 3 Contestants
Challenge 10: Dubai Park - Final 2 Contestants
Lauren, of the characters you mentioned (are they all of British origin?).. The only ones that would have much name recognition on this side of the pond are Bob the Builder,and..to a more specialized audience..Wallace and Gromit.
*EDIT* ..and Thomas, of course.
Ive kept up with the past challenges always loving to see what people submit and now i feel like its my turn to show what ive got! Im aiming for the top!
Can I claim a certain theme for my ride now or must I wait till June 5th? I just want to make sure nobody takes my idea.
Tim said he wouldn't be answering anything in here until late on May 31st. I don't really have a problem with claiming an idea, but there aren't enough countries at Epcot that don't have a ride for everyone to have a unique country. Some of us are going to have to share a country. I would be surprised if anyone came up with the same idea as anyone else- this group has lots of imagination, and I'm confident that nobody is going to try to copy someone elses concept. This is something that Tim might want to clarify. Anyone else have an idea/opinion?
Well, I don't care if anyone takes my country, I just care if somebody takes my ride theme...
Nick, I don't know what to say. Darn that Tim, going to Orlando and leaving us behind!! Personally, I'm not going to claim an idea until Tim clarifies this, but I am going to take my chances and start coming up with an idea (or two)and be ready to make changes if someone else posts something similar to it before I do. There really are two components to these competitions: 1) the idea, and 2) the presentation of it. The best idea will go nowhere if it isn't presented well, and a great presentation can make a so-so idea sound great. We've all seen both of these things happen in past competitions.
From Eric S
Posted May 26, 2011 at 9:19 AM
I know the schedule is pretty much finalized... But how about a Marvel-based ride for Tokyo Disneyland? Or just a Marvel-based Disney ride in general?
BTW this is a reply comment from way up the thread, but I think the competition will be fierce and I predict at least one previous winner out in the first couple weeks. I think there will be a totally new winner, not necessarily me but I wouldn't turn it down. :)
From Tim W
Posted May 26, 2011 at 5:32 PM
Hello apprentices. Greetings from bay lake tower. You may claim a ride theme. Unfortunately Colin, signups are closed. You may still post, and if someone drops out, you r in! I like the idea of a marvel attraction, I really do. I have to see if I can possibly fit it in. We will see. There is always next year too! Thanks. I will probably not be posting nemore this trip, but ya nor know. I will try to look at the thread if there are any serious questions.
First of all Tim, you didn't have to mention ypour location. Now I am sure all of us TPI members will go to bed tonight crying ourselves to sleep, wishing we were there. ;D
Anyway, I will just go ahead and uniquely reveal my theme:
Coming Soon to the France Pavillion in EPCOT!
Nick, no fair!!! I wanted to do Ratta...Rattit..Rat...uh...never mind. Actually, I have no idea what I'm going to do. It's too early to have writer's block! I usually don't get that until the second or third challenge.
^There are many ideas. I actually had one other idea that I was going to do, but decided to take on an area that I haven't had the opportunity to explore yet.
I mean, if you look at each country, one could come up with at least 2-3 different ideas per country. There is a lot of themes you can tackle in Mexico and United Kingdom, as well as a few in Germany and China.
If you need help James, there is a certain explorer who has found his way to California though not yet to Florida, but would be a perfect fit for Mexico...
My theme is Canada / Lumberjacks / Roger Rabbit / Trail Mix-Up
Still thinking this one through...
I know it will be important for this competition....so......
.....How do you post pictures? Please and thanks!
From David L.
Posted May 27, 2011 at 7:32 AM
I will go ahead and claim a dark ride with a small roller coaster section set in the Atlas mountains of Morocco.
Nick, stop showing off (big grin!). I've had several ideas, but when I put myself in the ride and imagined what it would be like, I didn't like any of them. I considered Great Britain- I've been there twice- but I couldn't figure out how to make an attraction out of the two things I remember most- bad coffee and rain. I keep going back to this one, so I might as well claim it. I'm going with the United States, with a flight across America.
So, the challenge is to create a ride for a country at EPCOT that doesn't have a ride. I initially took this as a broader definition, meaning a country with no attraction. However, since we're taking this literally as no RIDE (meaning that Mexico and Norway are the only ones off limits....I thought it would only leave Germany, Italy, Japan, Morocco and the United Kingdom as candidates, guess I was wrong).
I'm going to have to think this one through. I'm usually loathe to use Disney cartoons and established stories for EPCOT, we'll have to see where I go with this....hmmmmm.
Joseph, I thought about that also, but I couldn't consider sitting (or standing) and watching a movie as a ride. It's at Universal Studios where you "ride the movies".
Gonna go ahead and stake my claim for challenge 1. I intend to revisit to add my own personal vision to the long lost proposed Godzilla attraction for the Japan pavilion.
Not to be a jerk, but regarding a Godzilla ride, can you really claim a ride concept that already exists and call it your own?
In this situation you really have to be careful and make sure you're NOT plagiarizing someone else's work. Good luck if you can do it.
Where does it say that we can't do a ride for a country that already has one? I thought of a good one for Norway and I'd be disappointed if I couldn't use it.
Adam, Tim posted on May 24, 2011 at 10:13 a.m.
"Challenge 1: Epcot Ride for Country without ride"
Tim would be the one to override that.
Joseph, you can't take this competition that seriously. He should be fine with the Godzilla attraction. Disney didn't release anything, in fact I am pretty sure it could very well have been a rumor.
There is literally nothing he can do that would plagerise Disney, as there was nothing released.
I didn't mean to make it sound like I was stealing anything.
As I recall, I read an article YEARS ago that mentioned a proposed Godzilla based attraction for the Japanese area of Epcot. The attraction, would have been a roller-coaster or a motion simulator themed to a Bullet Train crossing Tokyo Bay when Godzilla attacks.
I've been a Godzilla fan and a WDW fan since I was a toddler, so I have scoured the internet for years since then, searching for concept art or anything associated with the ride. To the best of my knowledge, nothing more materialized of the ride save for the small description.
I can assure everyone that my attraction will NOT be themed to a Bullet Train crossing Tokyo Bay. Without giving too much away, it will be a two part attraction with the first part being a SFX show, followed by a motion simulator themed to a G-Force Flying Vehicle. (The G-Force are the Japanese Defense Force Against Godzilla.)
I'm just trying to fulfill my dream of seeing two of my most beloved properties come to life together.
I think I read in Wikipedia about Godzilla, a Mt. Fuji coaster and a bullet train simulator for Japan at Epcot. I really don't think the legals at Disney care what we write, but I would be careful in using ideas that have been printed simply because it does sound like copying,and that might turn-off the voters. It's sometimes hard to come up with completely original ideas, so we all need to do our homework and check out just how original our ideas are, and be sure that if something similar is found, we make our proposals as original as possible.
(Exasperated Sigh)
Very well, if it's going to affect the competition.
I hereby remove a Godzilla attraction from my table.
Might take me awhile to figure out a new idea...
No, Thomas don't feel you have to take out your proposal. Just have fun, but be original. They say there's nothing new under the sun, and that's ABSOLUTELY true. I can absolutely guarantee you, knowing a number of imagineers over the years, that ideas we think are original hardly ever truly are. An example, Imagineer Tony Baxter on arrival to Imagineering for the first time presented a Mary Poppins dark ride where you'd ride on merry go round horses...and was dumbstruck when he was then shown a very similar idea(s) that were in the archives and thought of years prior. It just goes to show that creative minds tend to think alike.
So....go for it, bring Godzilla to life. Go crazy, have fun and be ORIGINAL!
Just one note. You've got to bring Mothra and the other TOHO studios monsters into the mix here...and please, make it man in a rubber suit Godzilla and not the Matthew Broderick abomination.
oh and by the way....the last version of this contest featured in the finals a Villains Disney park. This was not an original concept as it has been rumored and talked about for years (and trust me, there are numerous Imagineering blue sky versions of a Villains land and park in the archives). This idea was great though as it took a dream project and fleshed it out. It was a concept the fan community has known about for years and made it a reality (at least on these boards). So, there is your precedent. Bring that big, green, nuclear powered monster to life.
Thomas, I agree- don't jump the gun on this. I'm sorry if what I said came off wrong. We have all probably proposed something already thought of. It is how you present it and make it unique that is important in this competition. I read your idea and thought,"Wow, what a great idea!" I still think it is. Thomas, nobody is going to sue you. I'd love to read your proposal.
Moving on..... I hereby claim a boat ride for the Japan pavilion that will explore and celebrate the people of Japan through their art and mythology.
This will NOT be a history lesson but a celebration of the art of the Japanese people through the ages, from dry brush Zen paintings to Japanese shadow puppetry to modern day Anime.
Details and the name of the attraction will be coming.
I'd like to sign up as a contestant. Since I have the summer off and work is no longer attempting to murder me :)
From Tim W
Posted May 28, 2011 at 4:15 AM
So sorry that it's beencrazy during my leave. I will let you design rides for any country, but it does say country without a ride. Just to make myself clear, it can be an attraction.
Carrie,I'm sorry but I have said before that signups are closed. You may post your idea and in the event of a dropout, You would be second to join the competition.
If nobody has already, I'll claim a Mt. Fuji coaster for Japan
I will claim Tangled, Rapunzel, and Germany, and Frying Pans ;).
By the way, thatnks for clearing up the problem of making an attraction for a country that already has one.
Well, as for my Ratatouille ride, I plan un using the concept art leaked for the proposed DLP ride, but my ride will be completely unique. The only part of my idea that involves the ride proposed for WDS would be the outside architecture, and also the rumor that it might be using the same robotic arm technology as Harry Potter.
I just want to clear all of that up. I want to use those two things, but will create my own idea for the storyline of the attraction (based on the movie of course) as well as just how the queue and the theming will all interact.
Oh dear, I seem to have come off as slightly juvenile in that last post. Terribly sorry about that.
And taking everything into consideration, I'm once again staking my claim on a Godzilla attraction for Japan.
And yes, Joseph, there will be a ton of other Toho Monsters featured in the attraction. After all, it IS called 'Godzilla: All Monsters Attack!'
as the Blue Oyster Cult said....
Go go Godzilla!
Thomas, glad to hear that you reconsidered!
I'm changing my mind, I'm designing an Escape from Mt. Vesuvius roller coaster, or dark ride. I'm still pondering that.
From Tim W
Posted May 31, 2011 at 8:51 PM
Hello apprentice, I am back from my glorious stay in WDW! I should be posting a trip report tomorrow. This trip has led me to be inspired a bit. I have thought of new challenges and have been rejuvinated. In fact I was thinking of implementing the "design your own tour" challenge in place of challenge 2 "beastly kingdom". Lemme know what you think, I have felt this year to be extremely attraction eccentiric!
Trip Report
Day 1- Arrive at Bay Lake Tower, relatively late (10 pm) as plane was delayed a bit. In awe over gorgeous resort! Beautiful Rooms, hotel, and view!
Day 2- Our first real day, we headed to Chef Mickey's for our breakfast, followed by our trip to Magic Kingdom. We expereienced a few things such as the missing "waving Dopey" from the last scene of Snow White; an AWFUL rendition of Jungle Cruise by a cast member who stayed straight to the script; a new, yet ho hum, sequence with Blackbeard; the Tiki Room closure; we didn't get wet on Splash Mountain; Gaping holes and the removal of the moving rock sequence in Big Thunder Mountain; the non-functioning clock in its a small world; the new queues for Winne the Pooh and Haunted Mansion are very good. In all, a little dissapointed Magic Kingdom. All these distractions kind of made the park a "Hot Mess". We later saw Wishes (The best view ever!) from the Top of the World Lounge, while having some good food and drinks.
Day 3- This day we spent entirely at Epcot. We accomplished all of the attractions we wanted to see, especially Captain EO. I have to say it was not bad, definately better than HISTA. I enjoyed it. Great day, spent at my favoirte park, regardless of the hr rain storm at night!
Day 4- DHS was incredible busy and weird! I have to say I will never ever do Star Wars Weekends again. The park was filled with people in robes, galactic hairstyles, and a ton of crazed fans. Don't get me wrong, I am a star wars fan. But certainly not this devoted, especially to wait in a 100 min line. We got fastpasses, 2 that day. 1st ride, was just ok, 2nd soooo much better! Great ride and graphics!
Day 5- Animal Kingdom, we accomplished the usual, saw the shows, and did it all by 1 o clock. Need I say more Disney...We then headed to Downtown Disney where we had impecable sandwhiches at Earl of Sandwich. Seriously great! We then headed back to Magic Kingdom to see the Main Street Electrical parade (not better than Spectromagic!) and saw the Magic, Memories and You show, not too bad of a show and some cool scenes! Caught the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, enjoying some of the new bits included.
**This is when we transfered to Tree House Villas. Nice rooms, awfuly located. I wasnt a big fan of being lost in the Wilderness after enjoying the posterity of Bay Lake Tower. Not for us. Waited wayyyy too long for buses to take us to an actual bus stop!
Day 6- Our last day, we headed back to DHS, and saw the American Idol, Scotty McCreery. No offense, but he shouldnt have won. He won because of 1) country roots, 2) TEEN GIRLS. I still enjoyed him, but he didn't deserve to win. Sorry. We caught a few things we missed, and rode Star Tours again, now seeing every sequence that is included in the ride.
All in all, great trip, very hot, and crowded. I look forward to going in January next year!
I like it!
Sounds Great!
Thanks for the trip report! We're heading to Orlando mid-June and will remember some of your warnings/suggestions. As far as the "design-your-own-tour" idea, I have some reservations. It might be hard to realize, but some of us here don't get to WDW/DLR/(fill-in-the-park-here) as often as others and would be at a major disadvantage. I'm not sure how we could really be original and bring our imagination into a challenge that really would not have a level playing field for everyone. Plus I don't want Dan Babbitt kicking my butt again ;+)
I really want to go on star Tours 2!!!!
Great trip report, Tim!
I agree with James....unless "tour" is ambiguous enough that it could be a tour of anything....but then you almost devolve to the point of the Hershey "Factory Tour" across from the park, being a "tour" when it is more like an explanatory dark ride with a huge retail shop...and not really a tour at all since they don't actually make anything right there...
From Tim W
Posted June 1, 2011 at 7:17 AM
Alright everyone, I suppose Animal Kingdom will stay. I did however eliminate a few ride challenges however. The Tokyo DisneySea ride, is now a show challenge. And I'm thinking of changing the ride challenges for Challenge 4 and 5 to something different. The parks will remain the same.
Remember apprentices, the competition does start Sunday, June 5th. Anyone who does not post by friday will automatically vanquish their seat to one of the three people in line to replace anyone who drops out.
From Tim W
Posted June 1, 2011 at 2:01 PM
I will be posting the first challenge now. Make sure anyone who needs extra time during any challenge EMAIL me immediately. I will send you them a week ahead of time, privately.
Welcome to Theme Park Apprentice 3, where we will be focusing on international parks. Before we begin our voyage across seas, you will be creating a ride for an international pavilion at World Showcase. So choose a pavilion, and base a ride or show on it, simple right? In your attraction, you must include the name of the attraction, the type of attraction it is, attraction specs, and details. Hopefully this challenge will get us in the traveling mood and inspire some great attractions for future challenges!
Here are our apprentices: Joseph Catlett, Jeff Elliot, James Koehl, Thomas Crain, Nick Markham, Tyler Bell, David L, Andy Milio, Dan Babbitt, Dominick D, Mike Seary, Manny Rodriguez, Damond Harris, Eric S, Adam Nodjomian, Randall Peek
Following them are our contenders to be admitted in case of a dropout. First responder was Colin Sullivan, followed by Alan Hiscutt (who sent me an email), and then by Carrie Hood. They will be able to post during the first week, and will be admitted if any of our 16 apprentices do drop out.
Thanks Tim, do you think you could post a separate thread for this challenge so that it is easier to follow entries?
From Tim W
Posted June 1, 2011 at 6:02 PM
A separate thread will absolutely be posted. Just not until Saturday, and hopefully will be up by Sunday.
How would you go about posting pictures?
I am pretty excited. However, this being my first try at this, was wondering if someone could post a cheat-sheet showing how to do nifty stuff like pictures and whatnot in forum replies... seems like it will make our presentations more clear and entertaining.
Thanks!
Jeff, you're gonna have to get the HTML code of the picture you want to use. I use Photobucket, it allows you to upload pictures and get the HTML code from them.
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