Theme Parks and IPs

General theme park and attraction industry chat, along with the world of theme park gaming.
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Justin
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Today, I read a really interesting article from Attraction Management about parks and their attitudes to IP and unique storytelling ideas, created in-house. It is a great read and a topic which is good for debate, so please post your views about the article below as I'd be really interested to hear your views :D
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Creating Your Own IP


With global IPs opening rides and attractions at an increasing rate, is there still room for theme parks to develop and establish their own unique story worlds?

When done well, investing in an IP license partnership for an attraction can increase visitor numbers and boost revenues.

It can be a ride, like the popular Justice League: Battle for Metropolis rides that Six Flags has been introducing to its US parks (DC Comics/DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. Entertainment); or a zone inside a family leisure park, like Peppa Pig World at Paulton’s in the UK (Astley Baker Davies/Entertainment One); or a whole facility licensing agreement, like Cartoon Network Amazone Waterpark in Thailand (Turner Broadcasting/Time Warner). There are many ways to work with established and often globally recognised IPs.

Yet investing in such a partnership comes with costs and risks; for example, the costs of licensing the product and building the attraction, and the risk that the IP may not do as well as expected, or may suffer a dip in popularity or go out of fashion. Cedar Fair may have just extended its license agreement with DHX Media for exclusive use of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts characters – a relationship that dates back to 1983 – but not all IP partnerships are necessarily guaranteed the success and longevity of this one.

So, is it possible to develop your own attraction with a narrative world that has the same charm and pulling power of a big-name IP? How do you go about developing a fresh and exciting experience that is unique to your own operation? How would your customers react to and engage with something original? We asked the experts.

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http://www.attractionsmanagement.com/de ... none&ref=n
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Dom
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If done correctly, I have nothing wrong with IP's being used, but like said in the article, getting it right can be difficult. I can think of quite a few success stories in the UK where an IP has really been a good thing for the park. Peppa Pig was such a game changer for Paultons Park, and Saw The Ride was for Thorpe, so it is possible to have a successful IP. But I also like seeing parks do their own idea more than I do seeing an IP. I think generic can give a much wider coverage for ideas, it opens up what could be a mini world. I'm so undecided this as both are beneficial for parks.
ThemeCrafter264

I did actually write a blog post about this topic fairly recently so here's the link. https://ckdiscord.wordpress.com/2018/02 ... ustry-ips/
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Dungeon-X-Smile
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There is an interesting balance between IPs and Attractions which must be struck, and isn't exactly easy. For an IP to be truly successful, then the creators of the attraction have to understand what made the IP so likeable in the first place. And, if that wasn't a tall enough order on its own, they should create a unique story arch for the ride itself that branches off of the original IP. The problem with most attractions is that they rely too heavily on their IPs, sucking away any charm or soul they could have had to begin with. When done incorrectly, they can isolate guests and hinder their enjoyment. But, when done correctly, they can enhance an already existing property and fully immerse guests. I rather dislike Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, but even I can admit that it is a very well done IP based attraction. It has realised that GotG is loved for it's lighthearted nature and use of music, which are two elements that are very heavily present in the ride. All successful IP based attractions in my opinion seem to be inspired by their IPs without relying entirely on people knowing them. 

I think the most successful use of IP doesn't come from Universal or Disney, rather Thorpe Park. Saw: The Ride is one of the most detailed, layered and ingenious uses of IP I've ever seen. And I never even realised how well done it is until I saw the films. Starting off with no knowledge of the property, I saw the ride as only an exciting and appealing rollercoaster that offered a ton of fun. Then, when I learned more about the traps within the films, I realised how ingenious the idea of the ride is, how it's playing off of the fact that there are similar qualities between rollercoasters and saw traps. Finally, I saw most of the films, and learnt a new appreciation for the ride in its easter eggs. The ride is so layered, and works to people of all different levels of investment in the Saw franchise, that I think it's a real master piece. The level of attention and care, merged with pairing of an IP ripe for a roller coaster, make for a memorable attraction that always has new aspects to notice and admire each ride. 
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Robert.W
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While attractions based off of IP's are an evermore tempting option for many theme parks, it is definitely a tough balancing act to get them right. There are so many things which need to be taken into consideration in order for it to just "work". 

Like saw-x-smile has said, one of the vital things that needs to be got right is the story aspect of the experience. Attractions can't rely on people already being familiar with the IP that it is based on, because inevitably many people just won't be, and if the attraction requires people to already know and understand the story, then it's ultimately going to fail. The attraction, while taking some of the core themes and characters from the IP, must still be an accessible experience for those who haven't before seen anything about the IP in question.

Another thing which I think is very important, and something I've brought up in the Disneyland Resort topic numerous times recently, is how well the IP relates to the overall theme of the park, and also that of surrounding attractions and buildings etc. Example – Disney California Adventure's Tower of Terror was a ride which fit in seamlessly with the area in which it was located as well as being relevant to the overall concept of the park. And, it used an IP! When Disney senselessly rethemed the ride into Guardians of the Galaxy: MISSION BREAKOUT, absolutely no consideration was taken as to how the new theme would relate to the overall concept of California Adventure, or the visual impact the new ride would have on neighbouring themed areas. The result is something that sticks out like a sore thumb, is extremely intrusive and conflicts with the rest of the park. IP's must always be to complement the existing themes and aesthetics of the park they are being incorporated in to.

Something else that needs taken into consideration is the popularity and longevity of the IP. Is it an IP that is popular now, but might not be so popular in the future, or is it something that could be described as "timeless", so wouldn't easily become outdated? If an attraction is to feature an IP that has a high possibility of becoming outdated and unpopular, is it a good idea to use it? Maybe not. IP's have to be selected and used carefully so that the chances of them becoming outdated and loosing popularity are minimised for as long as possible.

It's a massive, and extremely difficult balancing act, but the results can be phonomenal if got completely right. Look at the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure, Pandora: The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom, Cars Land at California Adventure. These are all examples of where designers managed to strike the right balance and get it right. They are extraordinarily immersive and highly accessible experiences which all fit seamlessly within their respective parks. 
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Cobby
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I was thinking about this the other day and I think that if an IP can be done right it can actually be amazing. Take for example Tower of Terror this obviously uses the Twilight Zone IP but it uses it in such a way that it hasn't become a dated IP, which becomes a major issue for most parks. The reason for this in my opinion is that it uses the ideas of the Twilight Zone whilst still telling an original story. This is something that I feel most parks miss out on with Charlie and Gruffalo being two major examples of this. These two rides do not tell an original story and so the IP quickly feels dated as they are just a retelling of a story everyone knows. If these rides told an original story whilst still being based on the an IP the park can potentially get the best of both worlds as they can have the easily recognisable IP ,which can help with marketing, whilst having the longevity on a non-IP ride as long as the licence is renewed of course. Another way a park can avoid the IP becoming irreverent/old is to make an investment in a whole collection of IP's, like Cbeebies or Nickelodeon. For Towers that was very clever in my opinion because if for example In the night garden goes off air making the ride become dated Towers can easily swap out INTG for a newer more up to date IP, providing that they can I'm not 100% sure how these contracts work  :lol I'm still in camp non-IP though but there is a place in parks for IP rides provided they are done correctly!
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