Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery
Blog.
One of the great things about this new Nintendo land in the Orlando,
Florida, is that it can easily dominate and eliminate the Marvel Island section
of Universal’s Islands of Adventure. They could do this because there’s no need
for it to exist since Disney has already purchased Marvel a few years ago. Disney
could very well create their own Marvel Island somewhere on their property –
they have more than enough space to do so, especially since in a few years or
so we’ll be receiving
Avatar
Land in Animal Kingdom.
So far no attractions have been announced for Universal
Studios’ newest addition, but I have a few ideas as to what they could do.
1. A Starfox Roller Coaster
In Universal Studios, Florida we have the iconic Incredible
Hulk roller coaster. It’s one of the first things you see and hear when you
step into the Islands of Adventure. It’s one of the most epic and famous rides
of Universal Studios. With the new Nintendo land, this roller coaster could
very well be transformed into a roller coaster based on the Starfox franchise. Riders
would board cars fashioned to look like Starfox’s ship and have the same over
the head harnesses and seatbelts to secure them. The cars’ color would be
changed from Hulk green to ivory and violet to match Starfox’s craft.
The track could be kept the same, but repainted with a nice
black or grey shade to imitate space. The
only change that should be made to the track is that there has to be a barrel
roll sequence with Peppy’s famous “do a
barrel roll!” quote being played as riders enter the barrel roll.
The lift hill would have to be replaced with audio and a new
design, changing the dialogue of Bruce Banner to Starfox and his pals
conversing, making sure that all systems are good to go before the speed picks
up in the lift hill. The overall look of the lift hill’s interior would be the
launch shoot of a spaceship pertaining to the Starfox franchise.
During the ride, you would hear Starfox’s voice as well as
the other members of the crew giving orders to the ship, replacing the Hulk’s
roars. At one point riders encounter a
covered section with fog; this could easily be replicated with a large, spinning
tunnel that looks like space complete with moving images of Starfox’s ship
firing at an enemy’s craft and sound effects to match.
2. Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing is a cute video game which has won the
hearts of many (myself included) and it could easily be designed like Disney’s
It’s a Small World. The music would feature various tunes from the game. Your
car would be themed after the car that initially transports to the town.
Each room focuses on the interior of the iconic buildings
from Animal Crossing: New Leaf – the latest addition to the franchise, complete
with their characters. It will also feature other famous characters from some
of the other Animal Crossing games. Each room will also feature a sky coordinating
to that room (Ex.: the Observatory/The Roost room features a glittering night
sky with constellations, the Able Sisters’ shop/ Kicks would have a ceiling of
draping fabric).
Riders are welcomed by the town tree which towers over them,
surrounded by a blue sky which often changes to seasons as well as the tree.
Riders go through a large hole cut out under the tree, accompanied by the main
score of the game. The first room would be the mayor’s office to the left,
complete with Isabelle welcoming you to the town. On the right would feature
the post office with Pelly and Phyllis exchanging conversation. The second room
would be Re-Tails with Reese and Cyrus on the left with Nookling Junction to
the right, featuring Timmy Nook and Tommy Nook. The third room features the
Able Sisters’ shop with Mable, Sable, and Labelle sewing various fabric and
displaying it to the left while Kicks would be on the right. In the fourth room
would be Nook’s Homes to the left with Tom Nook and Lyle, while on the right
would be the garden shop with Leif. In the fifth room riders will encounter the
museum; this entire room is solely devoted to this main building because there’s
so much to it. On the left would be Blathers, dozing on and off, surrounded by
dinosaur skeletons in the front most part and bugs further onward. A brontosaurus’ neck towers over the riders, shifting
their gaze to the right half of the room where fish dominate the front most
section with paintings just beyond it.
The sixth room features the Observatory on the left,
complete with the gigantic telescope and Celeste occasionally dozing on and off
beneath a starry filled sky with constellations and shooting stars that
twinkle. To the right is The Roost, complete with Brewster and K.K.Rider
jamming out on his guitar to The Roost’s tune. The seventh room features Katrina
who takes a different approach to the characters who are on the ground. Katrina
floats a few feet off the ground, her eyes glowing as she chants some strange
words while a crystal ball floats in her hands beneath a table. Around her,
seals and symbols glow as Egytpian themed items and objects ( tarot cards,
candles, instruments, etc.) float about her as a starry sky shines overhead
with a full moon. To the right is Crazy Redd surrounded by paintings and
sculptures; he hides behind a sculpture to avoid Katrina and only focus on you.
The eighth room features Shampoodle to
the left with Harriet humming the main theme as she cuts a villager’s hair. On
the right is Club LOL displaying Dr. Shrunk telling jokes on a stage surrounded
by tables with villagers eating and laughing. The final room showcases various
styled houses with neighbors in front waving to you beneath a firework filled
sky as a UFO flies across. The houses give way as you get closer and closer to
a beach themed area, complete with shells, coral, and bottles dotted along the
shore. As riders are led into the loading dock, Mr. Resetti bids them a fond
farewell, reminding them to always save their game or else he’ll appear.
3. Luigi’s Mansion
Every theme park has a haunted house ride. Luigi’s Mansion
would make the perfect haunted house attraction. Your trackless, wifi vehicle
is supposedly made by the famous Professor E.Gad, who has sealed it with a
protective force field that will allow you to observe the ghosts, but in no way
will the ghosts harm you or your car. The vehicle’s mechanic is just like the
Hong Kong cars from Mystery Manor. It’s a dark shaded car with the mansion’s
designs on it, that can seat about four people. As you enter the mansion, the
ghosts’ presence surprisingly overpowers the force field and you are left
defenseless to roam in the mansion. The ghosts are the bosses from the game as
well as minor ghosts that roam about the hall. Ghosts will randomly strike your
car, causing a slight swerve as you stay on the guided path. Various objects
will interact with an invisible force; vases will spin, pictures will come to
life, candles will flicker, etc.
4.Metroid Shoot Em Up
Take a seat in a four person car built with Samus’ iconic
arm gun which you will use to shoot down various metroids and other enemies.
The cars are designed to that of Toy Story’s Midway Mania, but colored and
detailed to look like Samus’ iconic orange suit. The miniature dashboard will
keep track of your score and your targets will be painted with the Metroid
logo. When the target is struck you will hear a Samus’ gun fire. You will fight
two bosses in this ride, the first one being Mother Brain which you will meet halfway
during the ride after encountering hordes of Metroids. The final boss is Ridley
who is trying to steal a contained Metroid. At the end, your points will
determine your rank. There will be five ranks: Zero, Prime, Hunter, Super, and Fusion.
5.Mario Karts
Because who doesn’t want real life Mario Kart? Pick your cart
based on Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Wario, Daisy, Boo, Yoshi, Waluigi, and
Toad. The cars that are used are the standard Mario Karts. There will be four roads
to choose from : Rainbow Road, Mario Kart Circuit, Toad Harbor, and Sherbert
Land. Each track will bear the theme in
every single detail, even down to the music. The pick ups are cubes embedded in
the track read by a sensor that’s located beneath the car. The item is randomized
and you can activate it by pressing a button on the dashboard and choosing
which player you would like to hit. The item screen will also tell you what
item/items you and other riders have. Once you have selected one of your items/item, it will
be sent over a wi fi transmitter, and the player’s car will receive it. A
screen will appear on their dashboard that a player has hit them with an item
and their car will react to it.
The car will move forward slightly when they are struck with
the Boomerang Flower, the car will vibrate and lose its items when it is blasted
with the Super Horn, the car will gain speed (which the player can apply to by
pressing the gas pedal) when they receive an item that powers up their speed,
the car will go slow when struck by Lightning and loses any item, the car will
jerk slightly to the side whenever they are hit with an item that knocks them
over, the car will negate any item when the rider has any sort of protection
items, the other rider’s car will make a chomping sound if they are struck with
a Piranha Plant, the car will follow a guided path that’s only activated when
they receive a Bullet Bill and alert other players to move out of the way if
they are on the path, the rider in first place (as well as others who happen to
be in the way) will swerve slightly when a Spiny Shell is cast, and the other
player’s car will make an exploding side and swerve slightly when a Bob-omb is
released on them.
There will also be another screen to show you your current
ranking and where everyone else is. The winners will be determined after the
race which consists of 5 laps. The first place winner gets a little trophy. There
is no possible way for anyone to physically be knocked off the track because each
track will be walled in. At best, if a player should hit the wall, they will
meet with foam padding to prevent injury. There will be an automatic register
over the finish line as you complete your laps.
6. Donkey Kong Log Flume
So you decide to take a little trip through the jungles of
Donkey King, fantastic choice! Your vehicle is shaped like a log adorned with
bananas and your adventure takes you through the jungle, following Donkey Kong,
Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and all of their friends. Along the way you run into
King K Rool who tries to drown you and your vehicle by various means of wetting
you (sudden little drops, water cannons, things that shoot water at you, etc.).
Your final drop will take you into the Jungle Japes where we see Donkey Kong
fighting King K Rool for trying to harm you.
The final scene of the attraction will feature Donkey Kong celebrating
his triumph over a now defeated King K Rool while everyone rejoices the iconic
gorilla.
7. Bayonetta’s Descent
Bayonetta’s ride could be a 3-D adventure where you ride
around in a car. The story is simple, once again Jeanne has somehow found
herself in Hell and needs rescuing. Bayonetta decides to get some help this
time (the riders) in her quest to save her friend. Riders follow Bayonetta as
she takes on larger than life demons and angels while the area around them
crumbles and their car spins and swerves around. Her final boss is the God of
the Underworld himself as she takes him on. At one point you’re recklessly
tossed about by this angered deity and Bayonetta saves you with the aid of one
her demon hands as she summons one of her ultimate demons to take out the God.
I notice Universal has a lot of rides like these such as
Terminator, Transformers, and at one point they even had a Back to the Future
ride similar to this. Surely, a Bayonetta one can’t hurt, right?
8. Pokemon Snap
This ride, similar to Disney World’s Dinosaur design, will
feature something that players have been wanting to make a comeback for years:
Pokemon Snap. Pokemon Snap is an old game for the N64 where you take pictures
of Pokemon. The ride will be the mobile,
real life version of this game. Your car is the vehicle you rode in the game
merged with the vehicle from Disney’s Dinosaur attraction. Each rider will be
given an ipad like device that’s built into the ride and can be raised with a
cord holding it in place. They will be able to take pictures of Pokemon on the
right, left, above, and in front.
The more pictures you take of Pokemon, the higher your rank
goes up; your rank will be determined when the ride is over. There are five
ranks in total: Trainer, Leader, Elite, Champion, Pokemon Master. Sure, this sounds like an easy venture, but in
order to reach the Master level you have to take pictures of all 750 Pokemon that
are littered throughout the ride. Pokemon will be dotted with a large, Pokeball
that your “camera” must trigger to get the picture. When it registers, you will
hear a click like a Pokemon being captured in a Pokeball.
9. Legend of Zelda: Castle Adventure
Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure already has one
castle (Hogwarts), so let’s add a few more. This ride could be an indoor,
family roller coaster that leads to an outdoor track. The cars would be themed
to look like Epona and bear Hylian seals on the sides. The inside track introduces
Link pulling forth the Master Sword in a fairy temple and Zelda playing the
harp. It then relays a story of Princess Zelda and Link receiving a letter from
a mysterious enemy who threatens to kidnap the princess and obtain the ultimate
power of the triforce. The unknown enemy shows up later and summons a horde of monsters
that Link and Zelda fight. The enemy is then shown stealing Zelda, followed by
Link promising he will save her leading into a downward drop inside the castle.
The track leads into the outside of the castle.
The outside portion of the ride shows Link fighting off more
of the enemy’s monsters in a forest the. This continues for at least two drop
hills, riders are launched into a few air time curves and they see Link
encountering the mysterious enemy who is holding Zelda hostage and is removing
his hood, revealing himself to be Ganondorf. The scenery changes from forest to
the exterior of Ganon’s Castle, where riders are sent into the palace. First,
they are in the dungeon, then the throne room where Ganondorf is dragging Zelda
to a room where he claims all the power of Hyrule will be his. Then, they enter
a temple like room where the Hylian crest shows itself just as Link emerges, trying
to attack Ganondorf. As riders reach the top spire of the palace, they see all
three pieces of the triforce glowing, and Ganondorf claiming he now has power.
Once more, they are launched downward and witness Link fighting Ganondorf.
Ganondorf is slain after more sharp turns, leaving riders on their sides, and
they straighten out as Link retrieves Zelda. The station they return to is
Epona’s stable.
10. Kirby’s Sky High Adventure
Kirby has granted you the power of flight in this little
ride that could easily replace Dr. Doom’s Fearfall. It’s extremely possible to
change the overall color of green and purple to a pastel blue sky dotted with
clouds and stars carrying characters from Kirby’s games. Tower one would be
called Kirby’s Ascent, the cars would be changed to a soft pink with red harnesses
and the track would be a bright pink. Tower one’s door would bear Kirby’s face
as he welcomes the riders aboard. Tower two would be called King Dedede’s Triumph,
the cars would be changed to crimson with blue harnesses and the track would be
a bright yellow. Tower two’s door would
feature King Dedede’s face, telling riders that his tower is much faster and more
fun than Kirby’s while welcoming them aboard.
11. Nintendo’s Carousel
This isn’t just a carousel themed after one character. This
is a carousel based on a collective of Nintendo creatures such as Epona,
Ponyta, the Ultimate Chimera from Earthbound, Yoshi, Bulborb from Pikmin, and
many more.
Among other things that could be found at Nintendo Land
could be another Nintendo Tower similar to the one in New York, concessions
featuring foods based off of video games (yes, we finally we get to taste Peach’s
cake), an arcade filled with old style Nintendo games and virtual reality games
that allow you to take on the Super Mario Bros. levels and fight as Link, and many
more attractions.
Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it,
feel free to comment, share, and critique.
So tell me, what would you like to see in Nintendo Land?
