Major Rehab Planned for Poseidon's Fury

[CoasterFEV]

Here's the big news of the week folks:

Poseidon's Fury will be CLOSING at the end of the day on Saturday, April 21st for approximately 2 months.

Tentative date for reopening is June 22nd.

Here's what I can release on the rehab:

- Major retheming of the entire attraction
- Complete change of the storyline and films
- Major effects will remain (Cartouche, Vortex, and Room Drop)
- New theme will be an archeological dig site - complete retheming of all interiors and some to the exterior
- Poseidon will be the good guy
- Keeper will be an archeologist (new costuming)
- Rehab will include ALOT of work to improve current effects.
- Don't be surprised if the name changes as well

I am REALLY excited about the new storyline and effects - this new show will BLOW AWAY the old one.

And that's all I can say at this point.

So! Come see us on or before April 21st to see Poseidon's Fury: Escape from the Lost City - for one of it's final performances. To those of you with scheduled trips between April 22nd and June 22nd, I'm sorry you won't be able to see one of the best hidden secrets of Universal.

Now you can discuss the topic all you want, unfortunately, questions on the new show, etc, can not be elaborated on by people like Earl and I. Most important is the information on the temporary closure to help you better plan your trips. :cool:

[WebmasterBarry]

Wow! Sounds cool!

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Barry Hom
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[goofypal]

I am so upset. My fiance and I were looking forward to seeing the show but we're arriving April 22nd. One day late - what luck do we have? I'm sure we'll have a great time anyway!!!!!!!!!!

[MrNonacho]

Thanks for the heads up! Sounds interesting..

Any tips on how to catch the last show of the day on the 21st?

[anne60]

All I can say is, phew!! Last year, we missed Poseidon's fury. The saturday that we came home, there was a show about Universal on TV, and they did a spot on PF. My son was so ticked that we had missed it. We are going back in two weeks and I'm so relieved it will still be there!....and, of course this adds yet another reason to go again next year!!!!

[Dave Cousins]

I'm really really dissapointed that PF is being closed on the 22nd April. My then wife and I will be visiting Orlando for 3 weeks for our honeymoon and we have planned on going to IOA for 3 days and US for 1, it is such a great shame that PF is closing as this was one of the rides my other half really wanted to see.

I often complain that the parks here in England close for a few months in the year because of our pathetic weather, but atleast it gives them a chance to make changes to the rides without effecting the guests. I'm not having a go at the way things are run in Orlando because you guys are the masters at it, but it is very dissapointing to have rides shut down when guests are in the park.

Oh well, these things happen :(

Dave

[fervour]

Thanks for the heads up, CoasterFev. I'm a little bummed tho. I too am going to be at IOA starting 4/22. Somehow, it seems more tragic to miss the show by a day. But I really appreciate the early information.

Guess I'll just have to see the new show in September!!!! :)

[IOATech]

Yes it's true. Just found out yesterday. I think it's a great idea. I can verify that everything in Coaster's post is true. Things can change fairly quickly sometimes...

[RhondaS]

sniff...sniff...

I guess I'll be missing one of my favorites shows for this upcoming May trip. :(

Now I need to start planning another trip. :D

RhondaS, Co-Moderator of the Community Board (http://wdwinfo.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y&a=frm&s=40009993&f=55009194)
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"3" God speed.

[Letsbgoofy]

Am I the only person who didn't care for PF? There were some cool special effects, but the story itself was rather lame. I think the new show sounds much more interesting!

[fishman]

I'm sorry to here that Poseidon will be down when we visit in May. I have never seen the show, since it was down the last time we visited.

[canda]

do you think that it could be changing to The Mummy since the new film will be out by then? and that they are getting rid of the keeper and replacing it with an arch.

[suz1414]

hey guys i went in 2000 and missed that show can anyone tell me if it was good cause i wont be going for a while.

[Mouser]

We thought the old show was pretty awesome..hope this new show is as good.....Universal parks are so good in our opinion..... :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

MOUSER

GOING TO WDW IN SEPTEMBER FOR OUR 12TH TRIP AND LOVING IT!!!!
8/86, 4/88, 8/90, 8/92, 4/94, 3/96, 3/97 8/98,
12/98, 12/99, 12/00, 9/01

[Earl]

No, it's not changing to the Mummy. CoasterFev's description is correct. Sorry, but that's all there is to say.

[suz1414]

hey i am kinda glad to hear you say that earl i dont think the mummy would fit into that island to good and i haven't seen the first show yet so i hope they just make that one better.

cant wait for royal pacific resort !!!!
:D :D

[cotye]

:cool: :D

<IMG width="107" height="123" SRC="http://members.home.net/huangkw/meeko.gif"</IMG> <IMG width=74 height=64 SRC="http://members.home.net/huangkw/mariah.jpg"</IMG>

<font size=4 color=blue>Kevin</font>
<font size=2 color=navy>Mariah: The Collection - 74 CDs and Counting.</font>
<font size=2 color=dark red>Newest CD: Sweetheart 2-Trk U.S.</font>
<font color=purple size=2>A Strength to Survive, A Desire to Dream - All That
Glitters September 2001</font>

[suz1414]

coasterfev what do you mean when you said about you wont be able to see one of universals best hidden secrets?

cant wait for royal pacific resort !!!!
:D :D

[xl]

Coaster, we will be at IOA, ironically, on June 22. Are the refurbs usually on schedule, or do they typically exceed the target date as do many projects regardless of the company responsible? I assume the completion date estimate includes test runs to work bugs out?

In other words, do you think we will get lucky on the 22nd? <IMG SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif" alt="confused">

[suz1414]

hey xl is it is back up could you tell me how it was i will be going back in 2002.

cant wait for royal pacific resort !!!
:D :D

[suz1414]

hey coasterfev do they have any new names for it and when it gets closer to reopening after it closes can you tell us the new name. will this new theme fit in better with the lost continent better than PF.

cant wait for royal pacific resort !!!
:D :D

[suz1414]

coasterFEV is there new things going on at the parks every week?
I was also wondering if want someone said on here is true. they said that universal will have a new attraction based on nickelodeon is this true?

cant wait for royal pacific resort !!!
:D :D

[The Green Goblin]

Thank Jebeesus this is changing, it was one of THE WORST SHOWS I HAVE EVER SEEN! ...It was worse...than that movie "Bats".

http://www.samruby.com/Villains/GreenGoblinI/GreenGoblinMadThrow.gif It's Not easy being green......and everyone saying you wear pink.

[kellymonaghan]

One item in Coasterfev's description piqued my interest: new costiming for the Keeper.

I was a big fan of the old PF (I know a lot of people didn't like it) but one thing that always bugged me was the Keeper's tacky wig and beard. Here was an attraction that cost millions and they couldn't even come up with a few hundred extra bucks to give the Keeper a decent hairpiece and beard. All the more amazing because Universal is a movie-based theme park.

I was even tempted to start a movement here to collect money to pay for it.

Let's hope this time around they don't decide to save pennies in all the wrong places..

Kelly Monaghan
Author of "Universal Orlando: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure" and
"The Other Orlando: What To Do When You've Done Disney & Universal""

[madduck]

im glad that they are changing the show. i was so disappointed the first time i saw it that ive never gone to see it again because i dont want to waste the time.

[WebmasterBarry]

What was the reason for the change? Guest reaction? Bad Keeper wig? :)

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Barry Hom
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[ChrisFL]

Wow. I can't believe so many people didn't like it, I thought it was great, though a bit short.

[Molokai Gram]

Couldn't see much the first time we went. Was happy with the new platforms in the last room on our visit last month, but still don't really like the show. A change could be good.

[TJA]

We couldn't see most of the show. We were smashed next to people the entire time (sweat touching sweat is disgusting!). Every time we had to switch rooms, it was like a stampede (sp.?). I vowed I would never go back. Maybe the changes will fix these problems. I guess I'll have to give it another try in August! Thanks for the heads-up.

[Tony M]

I am very interested to see the changes to this attraction. Although technically this ride appeared to continually improve, it always managed to leave you with the feeling that you missed something. It screamed for attention from it's creators in many areas including the highly important "Keeper" character. This one character had to carry the entire show. Too much emphasis on a redundant human performance in a theme park world, is like placing all of your hopes-for-ride-success eggs in one basket. Why do you think Walt Disney(et al) invented animatronics? There was too much risk that a "bad day" or even a "sick day" would cripple the attractions appeal/success. I can believe that this is one reason for the change of characters, "Keeper" to archelogical dig "worker". By doing this they are also not limited by the gender of the actor/actress that portrays that character.
I do not officially know how many actors actually played the keeper, but it had to be only a handful. With multiple shows, I would only speculate that the daily grind took it's toll on the very few "Keeper" actors.
Look over at "T-2,3-D" and you can tell that there are more than just a handful of actors that can play each of the parts. The lighting and proximity is such that just about any actor can be plugged in to any of the roles.
"Keeper" was a much more dramatically demanding role. He was right next to you. So close in fact that you could even see how bad his wig and beard were. He had to be good every time to make the story believable. Other actors, like in "T2,3-D" are essentially "human animatronics" and can just walk through their performance.
Now with the new "Archelogist" character, they are creating more of a tour guide type character(like the Jaws Boat Captains) that can be played by any person of any gender.
As far as effect improvements, I am interested to see how much better they will get. Upon first viewing(when it first opened) I knew that they had work to do, and they did. It has improved to be a very good effects driven show. I especially liked the vortex, water screen projections, the 3-d laser water screen projections, the explosive way they mixed water cannons/blasts and fire balls, and of course the mysterious finale.
However, the elements I did not like included most importantly the storyline. What a stretch. Like an idea that sounded good idea on paper but just could not be realized by it's screenwriter,director or show producer. I remember hearing RUMORS that prior to IOA's opening, this show went through a dress rehearsal for all of the park bigwigs and they were very unimpressed. And that's a BIG understatement. They delayed the opening and tried to re-work it but it seemed(again from an outside theme park fan, not a insider) like patch work and knowing this you felt like after viewing the attraction it was a "Lite" version of what it was supposed to be or maybe could have/should have been.
The show's whole set up was far fetched and too loosely based in legend/history to make such a giant leap from start to ending. And where the heck did the "Oracle" come from and why was it part of the show? The effect was even of lower quality than you can find in one of the travelling carnival laser shows. It just never created enough anticipation to lead to the incredible vortex effect. Then in the finale room(s?), the story fell short because there was just not appropriate set up. It was almost like each room was part of a separate attraction with it's only link being that they were under the same roof.
Maybe all of this is a little too much to expect of a marquee attraction that is the cornerstone of a heavily themed island in the best theme park in the world, but "They" are the one's that set our hopes so high to begin with.
Or maybe it just might be too much fan speculation mixed in with 20/20 hind sight, but news of this rehab/replacement is interesting to say the least.
Maybe next they will do the same(Rehab/Replace) to the Jurrasic Park River Adventure,
but that's another rant.
HAVE FUN

[suz1414]

yeah tony i heard that rumor to that is why i didn't see the show when i went and cause it was to long of wait.i guess that might me a reason why they are changing it.

cant wait for royal pacific resort !!!
:D :D

[jonathansullivan]

We made a point when in Orlando last week to visit PF. I have seen it 3 times previously, and love the attraction.

Whoever was doing the Thursday Morning show was VERY good. In the past the keeper character had stuck to the script a bit to much. This keeper took liberty with the part, adlibed and made jokes. It was great. This is also the first time that I have seen them hide the headset mic under the beard or in the Wig. (Earl/et all ...could you please tell me which mic they are wearing...I love the warmth of its pickup.)

I will miss this show, but am sure that Universal will come up with something even better. I can hardly wait.

One of the kids I work with wrote his own script for that show as part of an assignment for school. Interesting enough he wrote about an archeologist dig, and were transported to the story of Moses crossing the red sea...

Oh well...a final tribute to PF...
On to version 3.0

________________________
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If so, I am Doomed!

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[apanopio]

I liked Posiedon's Fury. I didn't think they needed to change a thing. It can't possibly be worse than the Steps In Time show over at Disney's California Adventure--Million Dollar Theater with a badly written stage show.

[suz1414]

no it wasn't worse then that. I guess they just need a way to waste more money.

cant wait for royal pacific resort !!!
:D :D