Sunday, November 14, 2021

The Indoor Hero Zone

I'm not a huge fan of sports, but I am a pretty big fan of DCL's sports decks.  The Wide World of Sports Deck on the Magic and Wonder and Goofy's Sports Deck on the Dream and Fantasy are among my favorite DCL features.  I love to play foosball and Goofy Golf in the warm breeze at the sports decks, and looking out and taking pictures of the ocean or whatever port the ship is stopped at is a lot of fun.  Recently, DCL announced more information about the Wish's sports deck, the Hero Zone.

The Hero Zone is a new area on the Wish that's in place of the traditional sports decks we've seen on Disney's other ships.  It'll have many of the same features as the existing sports decks, like a basketball court and foosball tables.  The biggest change is that the Hero Zone is an indoor area, not outdoor like the other sports decks.  

I was surprised to learn this.  The Hero Zone will be a 2-deck tall area on Deck 12 and Deck 13, and since those are some of the highest decks on the Wish, I assumed that it would be an outdoor area like the existing sports decks.  I was wrong, though, and I'm a little disappointed about this.  This sports deck is getting rid of one of my favorite parts of the other sports deck.  No warm breeze, no amazing views, and the Disney Parks Blog post doesn't say anything about mini golf!  Also, it doesn't look like the Hero Zone will have any sports simulators (these are at Goofy's Sports Deck on the Dream and Fantasy, but they cost extra to use, and I've never tried them out).  Since the Hero Zone won't have one of my favorite sports deck features, I don't see myself spending as much time there as I have at the other sports decks.

While I'd prefer it to be outside, being indoors enables the Hero Zone to have features that wouldn't work outside.  For example, it'll have air hockey tables and ping-pong tables (the outdoor sports decks used to have ping-pong tables, but they've been removed.  I think they were removed because it's really hard to play ping-pong in the wind and because the wind likely blew many of the small plastic balls into the water, which DCL doesn't want).  The Hero Zone will also have shuffleboard, but it looks like it'll be tabletop shuffleboard.  On the current DCL ships, the promenades have shuffleboard courts on the floor, so the Wish may have both versions.  However, as we've already learned, the Wish's promenade will be significantly different from what we've seen on the other DCL ships, so tabletop shuffleboard might be the only option.  Interestingly, the Hero Zone will have a giant screen, similar to Funnel Vision by the pools.  Instead of viewing the ocean, we'll be able to view movies.  Maybe the screen will also play live sports games.  

Another very important benefit of moving the sports deck inside is that bad weather won't impact games at the Hero Zone.  Wind and rain are no longer a problem, and "The sun was in my eyes" is no longer a valid excuse for losing a game.

While these additions and benefits are nice, the Hero Zone's biggest addition is the Incredi-Games, a competitive, excercise-based game show.  This event will feature six challenges, each based on a different super hero from The Incredibles.  All six challenges take place inside an inflatable obstacle course.  Live camera footage of the players will be broadcasted onto the Hero Zone's screen during the competition, which will increase the pressure and fun.  The obstacle course looks pretty condensed, so many families or groups should get to participate within the event window.  The Incredi-Games are geared toward families, so the obstacle course will probably be easy enough for young kids but still fun for teenagers and adults.  Maybe Edge, Vibe, and the Hideaway will hold their own Incredi-Games in the Hero Zone at night.  

The Incredi-Games obstacle course won't be running all the time that the Hero Zone is open, but I'm sure it'll draw a sizeable crowd.  It'll probably happen multiple times during each cruise so everyone who wants to participate can play.

Since it's inflatable, the Incredi-Games obstacle course can be changed.  Maybe it'll be expanded with the Wish's first dry dock renovation.  Or, maybe Disney will create a completely different obstacle course to replace it with in the distant future.  

In addition to being an indoor sports deck and the location of the new Incredi-Games, the Hero Zone is where Jack-Jack’s Incredible Diaper Dash will take place on the Wish.  On the other ships, this cute baby race has taken place in the atrium, but it'll fit in incredibly well with the Hero Zone.  

I have mixed feelings about the Hero Zone.  I'm disappointed that it's indoors, but I suppose what it adds makes up for it.  At least the other ships' sports decks aren't going anywhere.  I'm interested to check out the Hero Zone and to learn more about it.  We may get a bit more information about it before the Wish launches, and I'm hoping that DCL answers the question that Frozone fans have been asking since 2004.  "Where's my super suit?"

1 comment:

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