Movieworld, or rather Comic World?

[Louis.sayer3]

I've been noticing that Movieworld, has become more Superhero/Supervillan world. Two of the main attractions out of seven are in fact movie related, whilst the rest are super hero or supervillan themed. I believe that if they want to make profit and draw in diverse crowds VRTP needs to focus on Movie Based attractions! For example at Universal studios in the Untied States have created vast amounts of movie themed attractions like: Harry Potter World, Jurassic park water ride or even the Mummy dark ride. I believe that if VRTP followed down this path opposed to the Super Hero one that are choosing; they could make some serious money and create a larger and more reputable reputation.

Share your thoughts, i want to know everyone else's opinions on this. 

[djmcbell]

Universal Studios featuring stuff like Harry Potter and Jurassic Park - so Universal are becoming "Book World"?

Super heroes are one of the "in" things at the moment and I guess Movie World is just trying to cash in on them. Can't really blame them for it, and they are still viable films. However, it would be better to also mix things up, but then I guess Movie World would need to look at:

1 - what films are popular, or are going to be popular, and

2 - what can they actually get the rights to? A lot of them will be taken

I guess it probably does smack a little of laziness that they're milking the DC licence for all it's worth...

[joz]

^ I think one of the key differences with the Universal example, is that for the most part, Movie World is basing their rides off the comics, not the Movies.  It's not something that's bothered me, but I think it's getting a bit out of hand with this ride and (I bet) the next ride being DC themed.  I think they missed a real opportunity by not making this current development based around Mad Max.  

 

What I'd love to see as an attraction is a Movie Museum, (much like the one at the Warner Brother's Studio Tour in LA).  There's some really cool bits of stuff still in storage if you know the right people, and I think you could squeeze something into the front of the park quite nicely, just to fill the movie void until they do an attraction actually based on a movie.

Edited April 11, 2016 by joz

[djmcbell]

Yeah, definitely. Movie World are basing their DC stuff off the comics, and not really the movies it seems. IoA kinda gets away with it, but when Movie World has MOVIE in the name...

... and yes, there is rather a lot of DC stuff. When I went last year, the major theming seemed 60% DC, 30% Warner Bros, and the remaining 10% given to Scooby Doo and the wild west area (which was cunningly hidden somewhere).

Mad Max could definitely work, as I think it's mainly done in Australia. One would argue they've already got a western / mountain area, but then they've already given a huge amount of the park over to DC - do they really need ANOTHER area?

[joz]

No I mean Mad Max would have been a great transition theme between the 'Classic Hollywood' theme and Western Town, taking over the area of Western Town that Doomsday is taking over, and if you really want the Villans area, put it in the Lethal Courtyard near Arkham where it would fit with the area. 

[themagician]

^That would've been a good idea. And would fit perfectly with AA. But I don't think the footprint would've been big enough for the ride, let alone, the whole area that they are making. Let's just hope this area is awesome, otherwise people may complain more. It would be nice to have rides/area themed to something else, but if they do it right, then I'm not going to complain.

[Theme Park Girl]

I used to love, love, LOVE Movie World back when it first opened and everything was relevant to the park's name.... the movie themed rides, the backstage & special effects studios tour, heck even the original 3D movie played in Roxy was also movie themed (two kids travelling through time and visiting movie sets from different eras). The DC stuff back then was also based on the flim counterparts ie. Batman Returns & Forever. Everything just fit, and they did a marvelous job with it.

These days, I have to admit it just doesn't appeal to me the same way anymore. I feel the plot has been long lost with the DC comic direction the park has been plowing down over the past few years, almost as if they are trying to draw in a younger audience - or alternatively, the adult geeks out there who love comic books - instead of catering for all ages. Movie World has lost the plot they started out with, including what seems to be their Warner Brothers licence as well, given even the Looney Tunes characters are also few and far between now. When was the last time you saw Marvin the Martian, Taz Devil or Pepe Le Pew (not counting the once-off valentine's day appearance) or any of the others? And also Gizmo the Mogwai from Gremlins? They have since been replaced with DC counterparts like Green Lantern, Wonder Woman & the Joker. 

Remember they also used to do movie walkthrough experiences like Harry Potter & the Matrix? Why don't they do those anymore to continue to push the park's movie theme?

Honestly I felt nothing but disappointment when they announced the new area to be, once again, DC themed. Not what I had hoped to hear at all, and as joz stated above, another missed opportunity to redirect the park back toward the movie theme it allegedly prides itself on... despite barely living up to it nowadays.

It's a shame  

Just my 2c anyway from a Movie World fan. Will always love the park, but yeah, very disappointed with it these days and I think it now lacks the heart it started off with back when it opened and was dedicated to bringing "movie magic to life"  

Edited April 11, 2016 by OceanGirl

[djmcbell]

Yeah, I was disappointed too when I heard that the new area would be DC. I just wanted some more variety really. That said, I can't really talk as I've only been there twice...

[Brad2912]

Well firstly, the parks revenue and visitation has been growing year on year, and given DC rides have been the mainstay of the park for a while now, I'd say claiming that adding more movie themed rides would increase revenue is probably fairly baseless. 

When you choose a movie (Lethal Weapon, for example) to theme a ride, you are banking on that license or property to stay relevant for the foreseeable life of the ride, that's what makes a movie-based ride difficult. LW became an obsolete property, and i doubt you'd find anyone under the age of 16 who would even know what Lethal Weapon is unless they have raided their dads Dvd collection. 

The major DC properties however, are iconic pop culture references, have been for 30+ years, and still will be in another 50. Theming a ride to these priorities, which are continually and actively refreshed and revisited in film, comics, tv, animation etc means the themes relevance never expires (granted I think Doomsday isn't a great choice given the great breadth of iconic DC villains available). 

I think MW should increase their 'genre' based presence to enhance the park, such as Wild West area, which is generic to movies without being tied to an individual property. I think a post apocalyptic area would have been fantastic, and transitional from Mad Max to another property at a later time it necessary. I'd absolutely love to see HWSD rethemed to Mad Max, and I think it could be a truly exceptional attraction if done correctly. 

Edited April 11, 2016 by Brad2912

[iwerks]

Yeah the choices that 6 Flags DC World has been making lately haven't been great. We all know what rides and themes excite us and, for me, DC isn't it. I won't be travelling the continent to ride a spin and spew either. There are plenty of family pleasing staples that DCW just doesn't address anymore.

Like SW - let Joz run the.place!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

There is nothing wrong with theming to a movie for a season or two before returning to generica - you get the hype train of the new film, without the ongoing longrunning cost of perpetual licensing and relevance issues.

Six Flags is actually a great example of this - with things like Terminator = Apocalypse, or even Magic Flyer = Percy's Railway = Wile E Coyote Coaster - Moving with the times and themes is perfectly acceptable in my opinion, so long as you plan ahead for it so the replacement story isn't too disjointed (another great example is the retheme of Nick Central to Dreamworks).

As for the characters in the park - Bugs and the gang still have relevance and appear regularly. Marvin is not such a common character admittedly, but as for Mogwai (I have a photo of me and the character sitting on a bench outside Ricks from 1994) - I really don't think Gremlins has relevance these days, and I can't blame them for not trotting out a character that would be mostly unknown to people under 30. The park said goodbye to Gizmo when it started construction on Scooby Doo.

Rumor has it they're making a third Gremlins film, and if so, it would be a good opportunity to bring him out of mothballs.

[MaxxTheMonster]

This topic and most of the posts are exactly what I have been saying regarding this for ages but people kept saying I was complaining and needed to get with the times...  Apparently I was ahead of the times?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

^But Brad's comment is the most telling of this thread - visitation has increased with the additions. When you're on a winner, why would you change?

TBH, the park could do with rebranding, and drop the 'movie' related title all together. The only real movie relevance the park has anymore is that it is next to a studio.

[MaxxTheMonster]

It is a no brainer though...  Over the next several years there is a bunch of DC movies coming out...  Why would they not jump on that train and ride it to profits?

[BNErider]

See, I think the problem with overworked DC tie-ins is that people are getting a bit used it to. It's no longer exciting - IMHO. For example, Superman and Batman are strong brands and they were the first of the DC rides.

But now there's Green Lantern, Doomsday, Arkham, JL, Green Landern, Batman, Superman... I just think it is going to start being less and less exciting and 'new'. I don't see Doomsday being a strong pull to the park.

Definitely agree that Mad Max was a lost opportunity for something great.

Edited April 12, 2016 by ash.1111

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I think regardless of the theme, the new flat ride is a sorely needed addition to the park and I don't care what character is slapped on the side of it, i'm just thankful we get a new flat!

[joz]

In Movie World's defends I think the other problem is there really aren't many movie WB/Village releases that lend themselves to theme park attractions, and those that would work quite well as a theme park attraction (Harry Potter, Lego, Kong) someone else already has the rights to.  Those films that could work quite well as a theme park attraction aren't exactly films that will stay relevant for long either, so I can't say I really blame them for sticking with DC comics as much as they have, because the characters are not going anywhere, and there are a ton of DC movies coming out.  

[coasterdude44]

Maybe MW didn't do Mad Max because the franchise isn't really that suitable for young children. Two of the films in the franchise are MA15+ and the first one is R18+ even though I really don't think the first film was nowhere near violent enough to deserve that rating tbh

But if the did choose to make a MM themed attraction... What would they do?

[Reanimated35]

8 minutes ago, coasterdude44 said:

But if the did choose to make a MM themed attraction... What would they do?

Well I guess Dreamworld has some old driving simulators lying around...

[djmcbell]

I guess the obvious one would be to give the Driving School a Mad Max overhaul, or possibly some dodgems...

[Reanimated35]

3 minutes ago, djmcbell said:

I guess the obvious one would be to give the Driving School a Mad Max overhaul

Admittedly I haven't seen the latest one, but I didn't think it was "Mad Max: Beyond Retirement Home"

[djmcbell]

18 minutes ago, reanimated35 said:

Admittedly I haven't seen the latest one, but I didn't think it was "Mad Max: Beyond Retirement Home"

Not seen any of them, but I don't think it would be much of a stretch to do out the Driving School. Add in a few canyons, bridges, fit the cars with spikes on their wheels and flames coming from the exhaust...

... of course, the location next to the children's Loony Tunes area may have to be rethought.

[Reanimated35]

^ You're not concerned with the 6km/h speed...?

[coasterdude44]

15 minutes ago, djmcbell said:

Not seen any of them, but I don't think it would be much of a stretch to do out the Driving School. Add in a few canyons, bridges, fit the cars with spikes on their wheels and flames coming from the exhaust...

... of course, the location next to the children's Loony Tunes area may have to be rethought.

Yes..... but that would be extremely lame

[djmcbell]

1 hour ago, reanimated35 said:

^ You're not concerned with the 6km/h speed...?

That would make it even better. My image of the Mad Max franchise is something like this:

 

EDIT - well I suck at this whole YouTube business, don't I?

EDIT - not quite so much.

Edited April 12, 2016 by djmcbell