What will replace Looney Tunes River Ride?

[WED99]

This is my first post so sorry if I has been discussed already but I got to wondering what will take the place of the huge show building housing Looney Tunes River Ride now that it's closed? I'd like to see something Scooby-Doo (Cartoon not Movie) and then replace Spooky Coaster with Harry Potter (Hogwarts Castle Facade). Any Ideas?

[Reanimated35]

I don't think you'll make too many friends here saying you'd like to see Australia's best (if not only?) indoor coaster removed. AFAIK there's been no movement on LTRR yet (as far as a replacement goes) as they were sorting out batman first. All in good time. I'd still like to see something in the area themed to Looney Tunes as it's becoming more and more a forgotten brand it seems. Yes it's old, but it is a classic. I would have been happy if they just fixed up everything in there and kept the ride, but hopefully they do something with water again, maybe It's a small world or Pirates of the Caribbean (yes I know, Disney blah blah blah)

[AllegroCrab]

No! Not the Scooby Doo! D: They wouldn't get rid of that anyway, it is too popular. The queue line building is massive, and I've seen it filled on days where the rest of the park seems empty. I guess it is the family coaster of the whole lot, not for little kiddies, but not too intense. Even a great ride for those of us who aren't put off by what are supposed to be the scariest of rides. I would like to see another big coaster, but maybe that's too much to ask. It is in the kids' zone, so they could probably fit multiple kids' attractions in the space left behind. But who are we to speculate without any evidence whatsoever, I guess we will find out.

[WED99]

For the LTTR replacement, maybe something to let folks know where the looney tunes live? like an elevator drop ride in their apartment tower? And Scooby-Doo is great, but the movie is dated. I kind of always wanted Harry Potter indoor coaster for their, it baffles me why Warner Bros aren't utilizing their most popular franchise!

[rac2703]

You won't be seeing any Harry Potter themed rides any-time soon, Yes WB owns the rights to the film elements of Harry Potter, but JK Rowling still has a major say in what happens. Besides Universal Studios would have a exclusive rights to to Harry Potter Themepark attractions (yes we have a Harry Potter shop at MW, but thats really only by name). I think they should keep it as it was, a dark water ride- just with an new storyline and updated anamatronics.

[westical]

No, don't give it more thrills. It needs to be a family ride like LTRR.

[CruiseSF]

You won't be seeing any Harry Potter themed rides any-time soon, Yes WB owns the rights to the film elements of Harry Potter, but JK Rowling still has a major say in what happens. Besides Universal Studios would have a exclusive rights to to Harry Potter Themepark attractions (yes we have a Harry Potter shop at MW, but thats really only by name). I think they should keep it as it was, a dark water ride- just with an new storyline and updated anamatronics.

WB doesn't own MW and all the properties that are depicted in the park have had the right to us purchased. Thats the reason why the superhero rides are themed after the comic books instead of the movies, even though WB has the rights. In terms of HP it would be to expensive for MW even if JKR did allow it. The HP store has been there since the early days of HP so things were cheaper then.

[rac2703]

WB doesn't own MW and all the properties that are depicted in the park have had the right to us purchased. Thats the reason why the superhero rides are themed after the comic books instead of the movies, even though WB has the rights. In terms of HP it would be to expensive for MW even if JKR did allow it. The HP store has been there since the early days of HP so things were cheaper then.

Yes I know Warner Bros. doesn't own the Park. It is owned and operated by Village Roadshow (which is in very close partnership with Warner Bros.) and yes the Superhero rides in the park are all themed to the Comic books and not the films (except for Arkham Asylum - which is themed to the video game), It is mainly due to royalties. Warner Bros. owns the rights to both the film and Comic versions of all DC Hereos - as they own DC Comics. However it is much cheaper for example to theme the ride to Green Lantern Comics as apposed to the film as there are less royalties involved - for example they do not have to pay the actor - Ryan Reynolds for usining his "likeness" in the park. A simular thing happed to Disney with Amy Adams - the princess Gisselle (from Enchanted) no longer appears at the Disney Parks or on any merchandise as the Actor who originally portrayed her (Amy Adams) would have to receive payment everytime she did appear.

[Gazza]

Replace Spooky Coaster with Harry Potter (Hogwarts Castle Facade).

I don' think you'd get licencing for a wild mouse coaster to become a Harry potter theme...Maybe if it were Gringotts themed? Anyway, the current castle facade is nothing like Hogwarts. I mean, if you really wanted a potter ride, why not just make the whole Looney Tunes building a potter ride / indoor potter themed area?

[WED99]

I don' think you'd get licencing for a wild mouse coaster to become a Harry potter theme...Maybe if it were Gringotts themed? Anyway, the current castle facade is nothing like Hogwarts. I mean, if you really wanted a potter ride, why not just make the whole Looney Tunes building a potter ride / indoor potter themed area?

I meant re-do the facade as Hogwarts, much taller in scale. And the LTRR building would work but would break the theme of the WB Kids area. That's why I said Scooby. Maybe they could even add some Happy Feet and make it a complete animation area?

[jjuttp]

Happy Feet belongs at SW. LT, however belongs at MW because its not animal based as it may seem. It's actually comedy based. And also the HF franchise is no where big enough to warrant something to be done by MW.

Edited December 17, 2012 by jjuttp

[WED99]

Happy Feet belongs at SW. L, however belongs at MW because its not animal based as it may seem. It's actually comedy based. And also the HF franchise is no where big enough to warrant something to be done by MW.

What's L? And Happy Feet is a popular Aussie Film, I think MW could profit from adding a small attraction based on the films. They had the 4D show for a while.

[Gazza]

But you could work it such that upon entering the building, that marks leaving the WB kids area and the start if the new themed area indoors, so not breaking the theme at all. Also, how would you make the Scooby doo coaster fit a Hogwarts theme?

[jjuttp]

Fixed. Happy? It was a typo. But what at MW comes off such a small brand? DC Comics The wild west LT Shrek PA LW Scooby Hell even Gremlins had a cult following.... And even though JTTCOTE could be classified as small, it was just a temporary cash cow....

[WED99]

But you could work it such that upon entering the building, that marks leaving the WB kids area and the start if the new themed area indoors, so not breaking the theme at all. Also, how would you make the Scooby doo coaster fit a Hogwarts theme?

That makes sense, good idea! And I was talking scrapping everything but the building, then changing Facade.

Fixed. Happy? It was a typo. But what at MW comes off such a small brand? DC Comics The wild west LT Shrek PA LW Scooby Hell even Gremlins had a cult following.... And even though JTTCOTE could be classified as small, it was just a temporary cash cow....

Happy Feet isn't small, not in Australia at least. What about Ice Age then? That's huge! And it could still follow the same type of attraction.

[smash210]

I still think that the "whats up" looney toon stage show should be in the old river ride building and then that frees up that shed for a indoor ride which would give that area an additional ride. (Which is more then needed)

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

One thing people forget is that the show stage (where they currently run 'what's up rock?' isn't a flat floor. The tiered seating is concreted in, and the 'stage' building was constructed around it (it used to be open air, with a cover on the actual stage only). INstalling an indoor ride in there would need to account for the specific 'lay of the land', and would also waste a purpose built show venue, while requiring that a brand new one be constructed just 250 metres away...

[Jobe]

And surely Movieworld can do much better than a static walk through attraction like the Matrix and Harry Potter exhibition of yesteryear. These were never meant to be permanent attractions. In my mind, the space could be far better utilized. However if it was an interactive dark walk through attraction like a haunted house type scare attraction- something akin to Dracula's Haunted House on the Gold Coast - then this could have some merit.

[AllegroCrab]

Movie World has turned more towards DC as an influence recently. Not saying a Looney Tunes attraction is impossible, but if it is to be a kids attraction, it should be something that is current. While the comics are outdated as well, the new movies are made with the same recognisable characters, characters that the children will relate with, even if they are too young to have seen the movies, there is a whole market for selling related products to kids who are too young to watch the movie. No matter how nostalgic a Looney Tunes Attraction would be, the only reason for building one is to fit with the theme of the area. MW is more likely to theme it to something modern, that the general audience (in this case kids) will relate with. I wonder if kids these days would know who Pepe le Pew is?

[jjuttp]

Comics are NEVER outdated...... Not as long as Stan Lee is alive anyways.... Besides the standard heroes that kids know are: Iron Man, Batman, Spiderman, Superman and the Hulk.... Yet, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye are now household names (Mainly Thor) thanks to The Avengers. They are not recognisable. And Pepe Le Pew is one of those ones that they would know by sight and not name.

[mba2012]

I have actually found that kids know more Looney Tunes than DC characters. At least that is the case with my 5 year old cousin.

[Jobe]

I agree also. Looney Tunes characters are iconic-in my experience kids of all ages are all too aware of these characters. I have a 7 year old and a four year old and they absolutely love the Looney Tunes cartoons. I feel that they are also more wide ranging in their appeal than comic characters such as those from the DC or Marvel universe, which tend to be more confined to a niche demographic. A new attraction based on Looney Tunes characters would have instant and universal appeal. However, a static, lifeless walkthrough exhibition would not.

[Gazza]

One thing people forget is that the show stage (where they currently run 'what's up rock?' isn't a flat floor. The tiered seating is concreted in, and the 'stage' building was constructed around it (it used to be open air, with a cover on the actual stage only). INstalling an indoor ride in there would need to account for the specific 'lay of the land', and would also waste a purpose built show venue, while requiring that a brand new one be constructed just 250 metres away...

Quoting this, because the notion of putting a dark ride in the show stage is one of those stupid ideas that just needs to go away.

[Gazza]

Point is, there is a difference between something being appealing, versus being appealing long term. Are you going to keep going into an exibit with the regularity that you reride the parks other attractions? Museums always rotate their exhibitions because that's what the whole concept is about, and yes SW got Dinosaur island, but that's only sticking around for a year or so isn't it?

[Jobe]

Well if they did put one in(not saying they will, in fact a ride is more likely), it certainly does not have to be "Static" or "Lifeless". And these type of attractions are always popular with kids, just look at the Narnia Exhibition currently touring(it's shifted to Melbourne's Docklands, so I'm probably going down to see it soon). Frankly you're talking about "Instant and universal appeal" for yourself. Only real issue is that they'd have competition from other organisations on exhibitions, which has risen over the years partly due to the popularity of these attractions(and state govrnments looking to get a slice of the tourism action), where as with a ride it would hopefully be quite unique to the park. In fact that's one reason they stopped having a walkthrough attraction in the first place(apart from their shift of focus to DC comics). The Matrix Exhibit and the Harry Potter Experience had less exhibitor competition, so they made sense back then. For WB or VR to maximise the profit from both of these exhibitions, today both would be touring attractions given that most major cities now have adequate exhibition spaces, like in Melbourne, ACMI(fairly recently opened when these two were both on, wouldn't have considered an exhibition as large as that at the time) and Docklands(developed as an exhibition space after both had gone, currently hosting the Narnia exhibition).

Both the Matrix and Harry Potter exhibitions were by their very nature, temporary attractions, brought in to maximise the attention on the respective film franchises they represented.They were NEVER intended to be a permanent attraction. You were comparing bringing in a new walkthrough attraction that would be comparable to these two previous exhibitions. I am merely pointing out that in that format, a ride as an attraction would be the far better choice. An exhibition has very limited REPLAY value when compared to a ride, hence the reason why we no longer have either The Matrix or the Harry Potter exhibit at Movieworld. And frankly do not put words in my mouth or tell me what I mean. You obviously do not have kids. I have seen the effects of the Looney tunes characters on kids of all ages.(including my own) All the proof you need is to venture to Movieworld and see the hordes of kids that throw themselves at each and every character EVERY day for a hug or a photo op. That is most certainly a good example of appeal, love and recognition that remain for people of all ages for these characters. However, if Movieworld decided to go in another direction rather than Looney Tunes for theming their new attraction, then that would be fine by me.