News Round Up 2016

[rteetz]

looks like three resorts are destroyed including the famous ober gatlinburg

I saw a video of someone evacuating with fire blazing on both sides of the road. Not exactly a fun situation. I just hope everyone is okay and this doesn't take human life.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Just read an article about Gatlinburg that made it sound as though many reports were over stating how many properties had been destroyed, so don't lose hope yet. Unless you liked hillbilly golf. Which has apparently been confirmed as gone. Then lose hope.

This says Ober is OK.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.usatoday.com/story/94591254/

 

[SonicSunglasses]

Ober Gatlinburg is still there.
http://wate.com/2016/11/29/ober-gatlinburg-still-standing-animals-safe/

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I apologize for going back to this, and the rumor forum probably doesn't seem like the best place to mention this, but seeing as how the game is dead and there is talk as to how or why, I felt inclined to add my perspective.

I also bought all three versions, after initially not having any interest in the game. But my daughter, who was 4 at the time, saw it and seemed interested. And it seemed like something we could do together. So I picked up the base game, Elsa & Jack (NMBC), and fired it up with her. For the most part, we had a decent amount of fun, but the primary limitation was that neither Elsa nor Jack could participate in any of the story modes. So I bought a few of the Cars, Sully & Mike, and some Toy Story characters and we started the main adventure mode. But really, all she ever wanted to do was just play as Elsa in the world hub. So, we spent hours there as she ran in circles, froze me, and giggled.

Fast forward a few years. I not only bought all three games, I bought every character, all the power discs, etc... It was *expensive*. But she enjoyed playing, and I slowly amassed a collection of female characters that she enjoyed playing as.

Ultimately though, that same problem kept rearing it's head. In a game that is all about having characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars all in the same place, it had a horrible habit of forcing you to only pick "compatible" characters to play any of the actual story content. As someone with no time, or desire really, to create my own toy worlds, the story mode was the main bread and butter for me & the kids.

By segregating characters from each other in the main missions, they totally missed out on the primary potential the game had.

Using Lego Dimensions, another Toys-to-Life product, you can see everything Disney did wrong. Infinity felt like a collection of stand alone games that sat within a larger world. Dimensions feels like a singular game with tons of places to explore.

In Dimensions, any characters can be used at any time. This leads to often funny dialogue and situations, such as Batman meeting the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz and assuming he needs to arrest him as he must be the same Scarecrow from Gotham. Or Lego Batman meeting DC Batman. Or Batman doing just about anything really

Now my daughter is a bit older and she is currently all about Harley Quinn, and she can be Harley Quinn in any level at any time. Adventure Time, Harry Potter, Simpsons, Sonic the Hedgehog, etc etc etc etc. She can bonk characters with her over sized mallet anywhere she wants.

It's my hope that with Disney pulling out of the video game space, and Lego having the rights to all the same Disney IP's that used to be in Infinity, that we see Disney characters and worlds begin to show up in Lego Dimensions eventually. Then, finally, I could explore any Disney world with any Disney (or whoever else for that matter) characters. What happens with Sloth from the Goonies and Gizmo the Mogwai show up in Halloween Land? So many great things, that's what.

just to add - we had very similar experience in that I thought it was something fun that we played as a family ... or at least my kids played together rather than fighting over something. my daughter loved to build worlds so at least in those works you could play as every character ... but fully agree about how in the missions it would have been better if every character could participate

Also would say that if they did port the characters over to Lego Dimensions we would definitely buy that game

 

[skier_pete]

It's my hope that with Disney pulling out of the video game space, and Lego having the rights to all the same Disney IP's that used to be in Infinity, that we see Disney characters and worlds begin to show up in Lego Dimensions eventually. Then, finally, I could explore any Disney world with any Disney (or whoever else for that matter) characters. What happens with Sloth from the Goonies and Gizmo the Mogwai show up in Halloween Land? So many great things, that's what.

I agree with you 100%. The "Story modes" were limited. They improved this slightly with 2.0 and 3.0 in that you could bring SOME characters from the different game worlds, but it was still Star Wars in Star Wars, Marvel in Marvel. My daughter loved playing as Violet Parr (incredibles) and would also run around the world and build stuff. Some of the Toy Boxes were fun but a lot were more buggy than anything.

LEGO Dimensions has some issues - but overall the way you can use ALL the characters in all the worlds - and especially the way you can have ready access to multiple characters (up to 7) at the same time is lots of fun. Dimensions has its problems too - I don't like that the expansion level packs cost so much - I spent $25 for the Back to the Future level to finish it in like 45 minutes - I don't get as much pleasure playing in the "Worlds" that come with them, as you just kind of wander around looking for stuff without always knowing how to find it. However, overall it is a much better gaming experience.

I also would hope there's a chance now that Traveler's Tales can get the rights to Disney characters. I'm not completely sure this happens though since I have a hard time believing the rival sides (Disney vs WB/Universal) would allow a mixing of Marvel and DC, Harry Potter and Mickey Mouse, Princesses and Wizards.

OK - I will leave this conversation be.

 

[rteetz]

News

No performances of 'Star Wars - A Galaxy Far, Far Away' for the next week

 

[Founders Fan]

News

While not Disney it is theme park related. Gaitlinburg, Tennessee is under massive wild fires right now, this is very close to Dollywood. That theme park resort has been evacuated as fires near.

I live about an hour and a half away from Dollywood in the upper east corner of Tennessee. The fires have been awful and have really been a detriment to the air quality. From what I've heard the resort and park haven't been hit by them, but there are cabins that are run by Dollywood that did get hit. There was some rain last night that helped and I believe more is on the way tonight.

 

[rteetz]

I live about an hour and a half away from Dollywood in the upper east corner of Tennessee. The fires have been awful and have really been a detriment to the air quality. From what I've heard the resort and park haven't been hit by them, but there are cabins that are run by Dollywood that did get hit. There was some rain last night that helped and I believe more is on the way tonight.

Thanks for the update

 

[mcd2745]

News

A little more info on the Universal and Nintendo partnership

http://universal.wdwinfo.com/news/breaking-not-breaking-nintendo-and-universal-news/

I'm very curious to see what they end up doing with Nintendo. To me, the potential is so great with what can be done.

 

[rteetz]

I'm very curious to see what they end up doing with Nintendo. To me, the potential is so great with what can be done.

My guess is something highly immersive, like Star Wars land or potter.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

My guess is something highly immersive, like Star Wars land or potter.

I suppose I'm a cynic but i wouldn't put sw land in the same category as hp until it's finished.

 

[rteetz]

I suppose I'm a cynic but i wouldn't put sw land in the same category as hp until it's finished.

Fine then pandora

I can't see Star Wars not being immersive like potter. If it isn't Star Wars fans will not be happy. That fan base is a much larger animal than the potter one.

 

[eXo]

I'm not completely sure this happens though since I have a hard time believing the rival sides (Disney vs WB/Universal) would allow a mixing of Marvel and DC, Harry Potter and Mickey Mouse, Princesses and Wizards.

That crossed my mind, but they do allow Lego to produce actual building sets and sell them on shelf space right besides these "competitors".

I remember last year buying a Yellow Submarine Kinex kit and lamenting how poorly put together the entire package was while also being disappointed that Kinect somehow got the license before Lego. So I was elated when I walked into a lego store last week and found they had a Yellow Submarine kit for sale now. That may not be exactly the same thing as Mickey and Harry Potter hanging out with Knight Rider, but it does show how fast things can change.

And yes, Dimensions is quite expensive - however there are often good deals if you are patient. This past week many stores had all characters, team packs, and level packs for half off. Meanwhile, across the aisle I was seeing "Buy One get Three Free" on infinity characters...lmao.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Fine then pandora

I can't see Star Wars not being immersive like potter. If it isn't Star Wars fans will not be happy. That fan base is a much larger animal than the potter one.

Oh I know. I count myself among the rabid fan bases of both those properties.

That's the thing, though. The SW fan base is so large that Disney might not even need repeat visits from that base to turn a huge profit from sw land.

I hate to be cynical about Disney. I kind of feel like I'm a parent whose disappointed in their kid because they know they're capable of doing much better.

I think the last thing Disney did that I was truly impressed by was cars land. Even then it wasn't so much ride mechanisms as it was the surroundings.

 

[Lee Matthews]

Wizzarding world is amazing as it's taken straight from the movies and re-created.

What I love about Star Wars land is that it's based on a new planet and not taken from the films so gives them some more freedom. It has to be as emmersive as Harry Potter or I won't be happy

 

[skier_pete]

Wizzarding world is amazing as it's taken straight from the movies and re-created.

What I love about Star Wars land is that it's based on a new planet and not taken from the films so gives them some more freedom. It has to be as emmersive as Harry Potter or I won't be happy

I would be very surprise if SWL is not on par with Harry Potter. I think they know they can't screw this up. (Toy Story Land I am not expecting so much from.)

 

[mikepizzo]

Super random question. Do we have official names of what these new lands are going to be? Is it officially Toy Story Land and Star Wars Experience? Like, is that what the area will be labelled on the maps?

 

[HeroOfWDW]

Super random question. Do we have official names of what these new lands are going to be? Is it officially Toy Story Land and Star Wars Experience? Like, is that what the area will be labelled on the maps?

I think the Star Wars experience will be named after the planet it is being built after. Toy Story Land is usually the name for the other Toy Story Lands in other Disney parks.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Maybe this is why we're getting all the lame upsells - they reek of desperation...
http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-loses-another-555-000-subscribers-per-nielsen-112916

 

[rteetz]

Super random question. Do we have official names of what these new lands are going to be? Is it officially Toy Story Land and Star Wars Experience? Like, is that what the area will be labelled on the maps?

So far yes.