1/29: All About Kim

[Al Lutz]

Everything, and I mean everything, you'll ever want to know about the new Kim Possible interactive game at Epcot is in Kevin's column today. Discuss it here...

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney...

[kcnole]

As someone who has criticized your articles in the past I think its only fair to praise you on this one. I really enjoyed this article and even had many of the same concerns you did just while reading it. When I first heard about this "attraction" coming to the parks I thought it was an awful idea. But it seems it has been really well done and I'm excited to try it next time we're there. I doubt we'll spend all day doing missions, but one or two could be quite fun.

One of my biggest complaints with World Showcase has always been that many of the pavilions offer nothing other than pretty sites, restaurants, and shops. I'm glad to see that they're getting an attraction through the use of this system. While I would still like to see 2 new C ticket attractions in World Showcase, this does seem to make that issue a bit better.

[ni_teach]

Thanks for the great review. We shall have to wait to see how it impacts the world showcase over the summer season.

I'm just glad to see Disney once again trying something new and different. I have never head of anything on this scale tried before and it seem really cool. I which I could make it out to WDW this year to give it a try.

[TheDude]

wow... sounds like geocaching, Disney style! Any word on Disneyland getting something like this?

[Nancywitt]

We were at Epcot on Saturday and played the game three times! My two boys, ages 8 and 12 just loved it!

Thanks for the great article!

[Jspider]

Originally Posted by TheDude

wow... sounds like geocaching, Disney style! Any word on Disneyland getting something like this?

it'd be better served in the undercrowded DCA but honestly I don't see it fitting well with either of the California parks, they don't have the space or correct theming scheme (maybe for a third park)

Kevin's got it right for concerns on crowding and events, I can't see this functioning well, or at all durring times like what I experienced this last new years.



oh yeah as far as concerns about noise and other such things, I really wish Disney would go the extra mile with these things and eventually mold them into units that actually resemble the kimmunicator from the show, doing such a thing would give them the freedom of their own design, so the speaker could be oriented more directly at the user and the scanning and other such things could be handled more easily.

I like your ideas for a parental unit but I think that would probably require more technology and investment but really a casemod would do wonders for getting the thing looking unique and having nice volume control.

If they were to get custom units they could still keep the moded phones as backup for when the system's running low on units.


Either way, I'm an older person and you've actually got ME curious about how fun the game could be or if it'd be worth checking out next time I visit.

[AliKzam]

That sounds great! Thanks for the story, Kevin. I don't see myself going to Florida any time sonn, but the game sounds as though it fits perfectly at Epcot. I also wonder if a version of it could be put in DCA, but it would definitely have to be a downsized version, with only two or three adventures, tops.
A way to cut back on the noise might be to have the Kimmunicators interract with your bluetooth device. I realize not everyone has one of these, let alone everyone in a group. But if something like that could be developed then the game could be kept a little more intimate.
And unfortunately "Kim Possible" is not available on DVD, save for a few episode compilations and made-for-tv movies. I hope they release it season-by-season soon. The voicework on that show was awesome!

[Mr. Yeti]

I got to do the Germany mission last weekend and loved it! I am really excited to do the other countries when I return soon. I loved all the little animations. It's cool how pretty much all of them (at least the ones I experienced) were not obvious and you always got that little surprise. Also I like how you are not timed, so you can always take a break or something and it's good that it does have to take up your whole day.

[tloolgb]

I agree with Kevin's review. Including about the potential problems (noise). But I want to add two complaints to it.

1) While some of the props are cool (singing steins in Germany are sure to become a favorite of mine, I made them play like 4 times, much to the confusion and enjoyment of the guests around me!) other props are cartoony and horrid. Those two pictures you showed in Germany, the zombies in the mini-train display and the glockenspiel girl chasing the bad-guy are complete cartoonizations that are very out of place in World Showcase.

It is definately a kick in the groin to the elegance and class of World Showcase, something they had managed to not screw up yet. I liked my quest up until that glockenspeil in Germany.

2) My other big issue is they completely dropped the ball as far as making this game relevent to World Showcase. I know people chringe at the thought of education, but this game could have been educational about the respective pavillions and still enjoyable. The ages of the kids that were enjoying this game would still eat up this game even if it were also teaching them. It can still be fun and quirky like it is (just less cartooning).

Maybe I am dating myself but I remember how fun "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" was. And they had a big chance to create their own version here and they didn't. Instead I was in Germany trying to stop someone

Spoiler

from making mind control pretzels

. Honestly? I went into this thinking there will be something educational about the pavillion...not a stereotype making fun of it.

Will I go back? Yes. I want to try them all. But whether I am ready for repeats of the quests in the countries...well I'll tell you when I get to that point. But as it stands now, I have no desire to do Germany again, especially when I can just go to the shop to hear those singing steins without playing the game.

It is fun. It is worth doing. But it is not what it could or should have been.

Also: Going with that same thought...before your game they spend all this time customizing your Kimmunicator before they hand it to you...I would have thought it would have been easy to set up different levels of the game. Instead of telling me EXACTLY where to go and stand...I would like them to make me work a bit and find it. Give me an option for adults or advanced players. I know it is a "kid's game"...but I have issues with that. Having "just kids" things is Six Flagsish. It should be an "everyone" game, or have different levels.

[barnum01]

Great Article Kevin,

The characters you don't recognize on page 3 are Dementor, a German adversary of Kim's, and one of his porcelain folk dolls (animatronics) he controls remotely to wreak havoc on society or to blow up Kim and Ron (Kim's sidekick/boyfriend).

If you have a 22 minutes to spare, DisneyChannel-dot-com still has episodes of KP on its servers. You can't get there from the main page, but you can access it directly here. Just click on "videos."

Regards

[bfdf55]

Originally Posted by barnum01

Great Article Kevin,

The characters you don't recognize on page 3 are Dementor, a German adversary of Kim's, and one of his porcelain folk dolls (animatronics) he controls remotely to wreak havoc on society or to blow up Kim and Ron (Kim's sidekick/boyfriend).

If you have a 22 minutes to spare, DisneyChannel-dot-com still has episodes of KP on its servers. You can't get there from the main page, but you can access it directly here. Just click on "videos."

Regards

It's really too bad that they have cancelled Kim Possible. It was one of the few shows that actually drew me to the Disney Channel. And, especially since they are going to this effort to spread the KP franchise, they should REALLY rethink getting it back. Otherwise, this whole interactive effort will eventually fail. Synergy is fairly ineffective if it loses it's connections, especially if the connection is the actual inspiration.

[bfdf55]

Once they get all the bugs worked out, the next step would be for them to have the Kimunicator provide guidance to attractions that have short wait times when guests are in the area. That would allow guests to still take advantage of the rest of the park attractions without impeding their adventure.

[BrerBrian]

Originally Posted by barnum01

Great Article Kevin,

If you have a 22 minutes to spare, DisneyChannel-dot-com still has episodes of KP on its servers. You can't get there from the main page, but you can access it directly here. Just click on "videos."

Regards

Its still played daily on the Disney Channel and occasionally on Toon Disney(at least until its Disney XD). It was already brought back from the dead once with a fan outcry (ala Family Guy). But they managed to tie it all up nicely in the end with Kim and Ron graduating, the only step after that is sending them to College and if we learned anything from Saved by the Bell, we don't need a Kim Possible the College Years. Releasing the seasons on DVD might be a smart move on Disney's part though if they want people to know what the game is based on. Or they could sell the two direct to DVD movies and some of the video games in the parks...oh wait, they already do...scratch that last one.

I might also add, I chatted with one of the engineers behind the game and he mentioned he had no idea that Kim Possible even existed until he started on the attraction, and he still hasnt seen an episode to this day.

[bfdf55]

Originally Posted by BrerBrian

Its still played daily on the Disney Channel and occasionally on Toon Disney(at least until its Disney XD). It was already brought back from the dead once with a fan outcry (ala Family Guy). But they managed to tie it all up nicely in the end with Kim and Ron graduating, the only step after that is sending them to College and if we learned anything from Saved by the Bell, we don't need a Kim Possible the College Years. Releasing the seasons on DVD might be a smart move on Disney's part though if they want people to know what the game is based on. Or they could sell the two direct to DVD movies and some of the video games in the parks...oh wait, they already do...scratch that last one.

I might also add, I chatted with one of the engineers behind the game and he mentioned he had no idea that Kim Possible even existed until he started on the attraction, and he still hasnt seen an episode to this day.

First, the Simpsons have been on for YEARS without locking themselves into a particular timeframe. South Park, in spite of going on for years, only "aged" one year so far. If the quality of the program and intelligence of the writers is there, Kim Possible could also continue for years.

Second, as far as the engineers go, as they are focused on the nuts and bolts of the programming/hardware interface, it's not surprising (outside of his missing out on a good Disney program, and not being aware of the range of Disney properties) that he wasn't aware of the program.

[Mnemorath]

Originally Posted by TheDude

wow... sounds like geocaching, Disney style! Any word on Disneyland getting something like this?

Reminds me more of MAGIQUEST. Magiquest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Actually a lot of fun. Did it at the Great Wolf Lodge in WA when I was PCSing

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