How complex should interactive theme park rides be?

I definitely prefer the in-between approach of midway mania. I enjoy trying to unlock the deeper "levels" of each mini-game but don't want to fuss with the hassle of connecting my phone to the attraction. I'd probably feel differently if this could be done more quickly or more easily, say... by using your park ticket.

of course, I won't try villain-con until next month, so there's still time for my mind to be changed.

For me, it comes down to "Is this an interactive ride or a ride-through game?" as in a theme park environment I much prefer the former. For example, Men in Black is what I consider to be the ideal level of interactivity, as the blasters and competitive element are used to enhance a solid dark ride while being simple enough that those with zero prerequisite knowledge can understand them. By comparison, Mario Kart is something I consider to have too high of an interactivity level for an average guest as while it is a lot of fun from a game perspective, those who aren't gamers will be so distracted by everything to really enjoy the ride, and it's not a particularly compelling attraction without the interactive components.

I'd rather it just be a shooter since I already struggle maintaining a phone battery during a day at the parks and don't need anything else to drain the charge.

I LOVE both Toy Story and MIB. I would 100% be interested in a more video game like experience where I can level up and unlock more. That was the most exciting part of Toy Story, and now that I know the tricks and don't have another level to get to without a second skilled player, the novelty is starting to wear off.

I have not played Minion Blast or Treasure Hunt, but I did get to play the Mario Kart Ride. I found myself frustrated by Mario Kart, not because it was too complicated, but simply because the onboarding was lacking. The steering system was not intuitive, and perhaps this would have been obvious if I had played Mario Kart more than 3x in the past decade, but I had to google after the first round to understand that spikey turtle shell creatures are all bad, and that I should not shoot at other Mario family characters... but if I remeber correctly from the actual game, it's every man for themself and you throw turtle shells at anyone. After googling tips between rides, although the game play mad a lot more sense, I was very disappointed to find very little to "unlock" in my next ride.

Perhaps having the wristband/app would have unlocked the extra layers I was craving, but the description doesn't imply it unlocks anything in the Mario Kart Ride, and I did not want to pay for an expensive upgrade to an already expensive park ticket. If it was free (or at least half of the current $40 price) I certainly would be interested. It does unlock some games and keeps track of points, but I haven't seen anything about those games to peak my interest enough to justify the upgrade imho.

Done right, I am excited about this future, but am wary of level ups that feel like a cash grab without the payout.

I would be interested to know what proportion of theme park visitors are what we could call 'regular' and what proportion is essentially 'one-off'. I'd classify as the latter anyone who visits no more frequently than once a year. For many visitors trips to Orlando, whether for Universal or Disney, are so expensive they are once-in-a-while events. The significance of this is that attractions with a high level of interactivity that can be gamed to increase scores but only, essentially, with practice and repetition, are effectively appealing to and targeting that proportion of visitors who can be there on a regular basis. My hunch is that irregulars greatly outnumber regulars. It's not wrong to devise and attraction that will repay pass-holders who can go back again and again, but if that is done by making the one-off visitor feel overwhelmed then ultimately it's likely to be a negative for the park. There is a balance to be struck. Living in the UK the cost of 'doing' Disney or Universal is now astronomical so it's becoming a very rare thing and the last thing I want having invested all that money is to ride said attraction for what will probably be my one and only time and come away thinking 'meh - what the hell was that all about?'. That's why Midway Mania is so great for those occasional visitors - you can understand it the first time and have a great time riding it. From what I've seen of the Mario Cart ride I can see myself being totally bemused by it, especially as I am not familiar with the world of Nintendo in the first place.

@Bryn .... indeed, but what is regular? Twice a year?, once a month?

And then again, how many regular visitors are going to be interested in the game. Because let's be real here, this is an immersive game, not a ride.

TM's will be the real winners on VillainCon, with regulars, like myself, coming in a distant second. Until that is we have upgraded all of our perks, and become 'over-powered' to use a gaming term.

Saying I'm regular doesn't necessarily mean I'll go on it when I'm in the park anyway. 30mins wait time tops, or I'll walk by.

It'll be interesting to see what wait times become midweek after Labor Day.

I want to sit there and be entertained.

Switch my logical brain off and let fantasy take over...no scores, no missions, no stress, no increased blood pressure...just good old fashion storytelling.

Theme parks have always had arcades for those who want that adrenaline rush. Oddly enough, I am a gamer and have owned all the Nintendo units, had 3 Playstations, and currently have an Xbox One. But I don't want to interact with attractions. Well, except for voting on which Horizons ending we'd get! THAT... was the birth of attraction interaction.

I'm looking forward to trying Minion blast but I definitely prefer traditional shooting gallery. MIB for me is perfect and I have no interest in linking a ride to my phone.

I guess it all comes down to how much I enjoyed the attraction / experience overall. I'm ALWAYS up for more variety in theme park offerings.

Interactivity lends itself to certain IP's better than others, and if done well, provides a unique experience compared to the traditional ride.

If it is a high quality interactive attraction, I'm down for it...if the "tech work" involved doesn't enhance the experience or seems more trouble than its worth...its a pass.

No it’s been done and redone to boredom

Having done Mario Kart Bowser's Challenge 4 times on the same day (with wrist band integration to the app), the integration is absolutely the best if you can play multiple times. My family has never talked about our scores on a shooting ride and the different aspects of it so much. We all scored higher each time we played, and we loved it.

However, for people who can only do the ride once and aren't willing to purchase the wrist band, they will absolutely find the experience frustrating. The regular standby queue was 90 minutes plus for nearly the entire day, which means most people only experienced Mario Kart once that day. We were fortunate enough to have a VIP pass, which allowed us to lap it for the day.

Overall, if people can play multiple times on the same day (with reasonable wait times), interactive shooters are absolutely the future. The more you play, the more you enjoy them.