Bob Iger, thank us later
Is there something more amazing than spending an entire day at the theme park? Yes, there is. You could win the lottery or find out that the Star Wars sequels were nothing but a fever dream, but let’s forget about that for a minute. What I mean is that visiting either Universal or Disney is an amazing experience, made even better if you’re doing it with your family, the love of your life or that group of college friends that have been with you for a long time.
We all know that theme parks rock, but what could make them even better? Sure, “more rides'' is the easiest answer, but let’s try to go deeper than that. It’s time to brainstorm some ideas that might be easier to implement than creating a new ride from scratch, so let’s gooo…
Virtual tour
VR is on the rise. Oculus, Valve and a lot of huge tech companies are investing heavily in the virtual world. We have even seen AR being used in Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, which could be a hint that we might see VR used in rides in the future. For now, let’s take a step back. How about Disney and Universal come up with an official game/app where you can stroll around parks like Magic Kingdom, Islands of Adventure and all others using the power of virtual reality?
This would be really fun, even more so for people that can’t afford to visit a park in person, or people that suffer from any kind of special disability. Imagine putting on your VR headset and then walking around a virtual representation of your favorite theme park? It could be something simple at the start with just a few buildings so you can see them from the outside, but this app could become bigger and bigger, offering you the chance to actually ride an attraction from the comfort of your home.
The use of VR could also be amazing for ride previews. Remember the hype behind Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Disney could create something that gives us a virtual preview of the construction site, and even let us ride the attraction before it officially opens. There are certainly a lot of options that could work pretty well with a VR headset when we are discussing theme parks.
One big show per park
I love big shows in theme parks. Sometimes I feel like some parks need to approach the idea of a “circus” more than just trying to be a huge blockbuster with modern rides. It’s funny that most theme parks in Universal and Disney miss a big, mind-blowing show that happens once a day (or even a week) and makes you look forward to it for the entire day.
Sure, there is Fantasmic in Disneyland and Hollywood Studios, but we need more! Imagine if each theme park had its very own big show to close out a special night. I still think it’s crazy that there isn’t a huge Harry Potter show in Universal that could use some ideas from Fantasmic. Maybe they lack the space? Just imagine an open theater with characters from Harry Potter fighting against Voldemort on stage! They could not only use some of the most classic spells but even play a game of Quidditch, visit Hogsmeade, and much more. There are endless options.
Rare character Sightings
Imagine if character meet & greets was turned into some sort of game inside Disney and Universal. Sure, you can still meet the Minions and Mickey Mouse during the usual hours, but what if some characters only appeared randomly during special hours, or even during a specific day? More, what if meeting them granted you some sort of achievement or a stamp that you could apply to your profile on Disney and Universal parks?
There are, in fact, some rare character sightings at least in Disney World. Launchpad McQuack sometimes appears in Magic Kingdom next to Scrooge McDuck, but he is crossing the river and you can’t actually approach him for a picture. Pocahontas also sometimes appears, mostly during the events that take place at Disney After Hours.
Why not increase the number of characters that appear randomly and have them walk around the theme parks? Make it so they appear for a very short amount of time, and you can get some sort of special stamp or pin if you stop to talk to them and take a picture. I’d love to see more of Lilo & Stitch at Disney, so this could be a good opportunity for that. At Universal, they could even have Voldemort walking around or Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. Yep, even characters from rides that don’t exist in Universal are fair game. We still have Doc Brown from Back to the Future making appearances in Universal Studios, after all.
What else?
Do you also have any idea that could be used in theme parks to make the experience overall better? We’d love to hear from you! We still have more ideas to share, like removing The Fast & the Furious Supercharged from Universal Studios. This would probably make not only Universal better, but the entire state of Florida. You are welcome, Universal.
