3. Westworld and Jurassic Park – for real

Lance Hart, editor-in-chief of Screamscape:

I’m not sure is "touch" is the right way to go… at least not in America, where "personal space" is always such an issue. It can work in a haunt for certain, as being touched ties into the fear aspect that they crave, but for the mainstream theme park industry, I think they'll go another direction entirely.

Taste has been coming into play quite a bit in the latest big-budget expansions from Universal (Potter and Simpsons) and Disney (New Fantasyland/Cars Land), and I think it may be just a matter of time before the second-tier players try to capitalize on this in some fashion, as well, by creating their own signatures dishes, deserts, beverages, and so on.

This will be a great thing, in my opinion, as I think all the parks on this level, from Six Flags to Cedar Fair, have spent years turning their food options in their parks into the equivalent of a generic mall food court and even bringing in generic name brands off the streets into their parks (Panda Express, Johnny Rockets, Subway, Chick-fil-A) rather than embracing their creativity and trying to offer guests something new and unique that they can't get anywhere else.

Staying with the food concept, I think we could see a return to the idea of the themed dinner theater show that has been slowly dying off, even in Orlando. Medieval Times had the idea right when they tried to serve simple food without forks and knives that you had to eat with your hands, and I think someone could get really creative with this concept and try to push it to the next level, even, perhaps, with just a concept that may focus more on the food and restaurant aspect within a heavily themed atmosphere, and less on the live performance side of things – make it more personal and intimate.

If only. Image © MGM.

I wouldn't mind seeing some hotels get into the act, as well, and trying to create themed environments within a resort aspect. Of course, you can see the ultimate end-game of all this thinking put into play in Michael Crichton's classic sci-fi film, Westworld.

For those who haven't seen it, it was the ultimate theme park resort, as guests arrived in plain clothes, were taken to wardrobe to be dressed up into the theme of the “world” they were going to visit during their stay, which ranged from Westworld to Roman World to Medieval World. They would stay and play in the resort and interact with robotic cast members who make it all seem real. Crichton followed this idea up later in Jurassic Park… but are we ready for that kind of idea yet?

Marc N. Kleinhenz, freelancer:

Yes. =)

4. Doubling down on the basics

Derek Burgan, writer at Touring Plans:

For me, the concept of “touch” is a catch-22.

On the one hand, I see the benefits. Most of the biggest smiles and joy at the theme parks are seen on kids at play areas. Design all the new technology you want with Escape From Gringotts or develop the most immersive possible experience with Hogwarts Express, and it’s still going to be almost impossible to drag kids out of Camp Jurassic, Barney’s Backyard, or Curious George Goes to Town because they are having that tactile experience that you can’t replicate with the sharpest 4K screen or thrilling drop.

The concept of “touch” in these play areas also encourages actually playing with others, a stark contrast to the world of adults in theme parks (how many pictures from the single-rider line at Gringotts had every single person staring directly at their smart phone?). In short, kids are having the pure, unadulterated fun that the older set are not having, except for short moments of ride time where we are forced to put down our phones and become a passive guest in an experience.

That said, history shows that when we can touch something, we destroy it. See the marking up on Tony Baxter’s painting in the Big Thunder Mountainqueue. See the Knight Bus outside the London Waterfront at Universal Studios Florida, which almost immediately had markings carved into its windows.

Oh, noes! Photograph taken by Ricky Brigante.

On a private tour I had last year at Halloween Horror Nights, the guide went through the elaborate measures that Universal Creative has to go through to make sure everything in the houses isn’t completely destroyed because, even in the few seconds of interaction guests have within each room, many are grabbing, ripping, and defacing whatever they can get their hands on. Are they the majority? Certainly not, but it doesn’t take many to almost ruin the entire themed environment for everyone else.

Adults are often also given the choice of directly being in several experiences across Disney and Universal, with the vast majority of theme opting out. When they ask for volunteers at Disaster! at USF or the Studio Backlot Tour at USH, there is usually not a sea of hands that come up, and most of the ones that do are kids.

On my experiences at Enchanted Tales with Belle at Magic Kingdom, adults are almost goaded into performing by the cast members, even though this attraction has something you can’t get anywhere else in the park: an opportunity to meet Belle if you perform in the show. We may think we want a more active experience, but when push comes to shove, we have been trained to expect a passive experience and most generally feel comfortable with that.

Personally, I do not believe touch is the next frontier after the Wizarding World so beautifully developed and expanded upon taste. J.K. Rowling had created a world in which food and drink was a factor from the very beginning. This wasn’t Star Wars, where literally the only item any fan can name is blue milk; each Potter fan had their own dream item and was able to see it brought to life via Butterbeer, Chocolate Frogs, Florean Fortescue’s, and more.

The mother of them all. Image © Universal.

Cars Land tried to replicate this with their “cones,” and Disney also did across the board with LeFou’s Brew/Red’s Apple Freeze/Boysen Apple Freeze, and I don’t think even the staunchest of Disney fans would make the case that they come close to doing what WWOHP did. Just as Avatar’s success didn’t prove that everyone wanted to see 3D movies, I don’t think the food and drink success at WWOHP means that’s what guests want or expect with their theme park lands.

What should Disney and Universal be working on? All focus within the parks should be spent on making a better, more immersive experience than what guests had previously.

While Disney has atmosphere in spades with Cars Land and New Fantasyland, both, in the end, feel mostly shallow, where you go from experience to experience rather than being “lost” in the environment. While Radiator Springs Racers is beyond reproach, the rest of Cars Land could have used a bit more building out to approach how guests at Walt Disney World feel in Frontierland and, even, Liberty Square.

Universal needs to work on plusing and replacing existing experiences to bring them up to reflect the standards which have been brought under Comcast management. Shrek 4D, Twister, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, and KidZone need major overhauls or possibly need to be shown the door. With Springfield, WWOHP, Despicable Me, and even Transformers (from meet ‘n greet, queue, and ride to and gift shop – all well thought-out and executed) showing the playbook of how it can – and, more importantly, should – be done.

And just as movie theaters should have realized it was 3D that made people want to see Avatar, Universal needs to understand that an HD 4K projection system is nice as long as it is there to support practical effects, such as audio-animatronics.