Universal Strikes Back! well maybe

[DDLand]

They've become better, that's for sure. However, what has really improved their game is that they are collaborating with the right people. They hired Stuart Craig, the production designer for every Harry Potter film (who in my opinion is brilliant) to do every single piece of architecture in both HP areas. They also collaborated with Peter Jackson for Kong. And they didn't invent Forbidden Journey's ride system, but they were clever enough to make an exclusivity deal with Kuka... I'm not quite sure that Universal's creative team has gotten better. In my opinion, they are just collaborating with the right people.

Interesting. It makes sense though. The whole thing was born out of collaboration with Steven S. I also think that there's a bit of that just give them a budget and they can do great things just like Imagineering.

EDIT: Nvm, I realised you were talking about the staff, right? In that case, yeah, they are better than they used to be. There's a new sense of pride in the employees that wasn't there before.

This was what I was talking about, and the word you used is exactly the word I've heard people use to describe the staff right now. Pride.

 

[MissPrincessKendall]

I have not had any great experiences eith their cast as soon as just this past Saturday. While they have gotten better it still is irritating to be treated certain ways. I just feel like the rides and shows will all be great between the two but the staff service is not where I think universals needs it to be and for my personally that affects how often I go there, no matter what attractions they add. If it were revered I would be saying the same thing for dinsey.

 

[YouthfulGent]

B: Videogameland (either replacing ToonLagoon or getting shoehorned into Woody Woodpeckers KidZone)

I have heard that NintendoLand would be going on that empty piece of land next to Men In Black in USO. Along with an Avengers ride replacing Dr. Doom in IoA.

 

[rteetz]

I have heard that NintendoLand would be going on that empty piece of land next to Men In Black in USO. Along with an Avengers ride replacing Dr. Doom in IoA.

That's different. Nintendo was supposed to be tabbed to replace toon lagoon. Dr. Doom was supposed to get rethemed and then an avengers attraction would be new altogether.

 

[YouthfulGent]

That's different. Nintendo was supposed to be tabbed to replace toon lagoon. Dr. Doom was supposed to get rethemed and then an avengers attraction would be new altogether.

I heard a employee talking to, what looked like, a group of his buddies. He said the doom ride would be coming out all together and the avengers ride would be replacing and brand new. Along with some changes in Jurassic Park and Seuss Areas.

 

[rteetz]

I heard a employee talking to, what looked like, a group of his buddies. He said the doom ride would be coming out all together and the avengers ride would be replacing and brand new. Along with some changes in Jurassic Park and Seuss Areas.

Not saying the employee is wrong but if they are a front line team member they likely don't know much more than we do in the fan community. Things also change a lot and it's possible the information that I have and even the employee could be wrong. It will be interesting to see nonetheless

 

[YouthfulGent]

Not saying the employee is wrong but if they are a front line team member they likely don't know much more than we do in the fan community. Things also change a lot and it's possible the information that I have and even the employee could be wrong. It will be interesting to see nonetheless

I agree, I am actually kind of excited to see what they do with Nintendo. Plus, I still have my fingers crossed for Toon Lagoon being replaced by Middle Earth!

 

[Josh Hendy]

I have heard that NintendoLand would be going on that empty piece of land next to Men In Black in USO. Along with an Avengers ride replacing Dr. Doom in IoA.

Those are both good ideas. In the satellite photos the space between MiB and Simpsons looks like it's been cleared or left mostly empty specifically for a new ride. No backstage buildings, just parking lots and temporary sheds.

If they're looking for even more space, they can bulldoze the Sindbad Stunt show and Poseidon's Fury any time they want ... I need it to be something good so I can get back the 1 hour of my life that I wasted on those attractions ...

 

[PuppyJonathan]

I wanted Nintendo to replace Marvel. Seemed to make a lot of sense to have Hulk become Rainbow Road and Spiderman becoming a Mario-adventure of sorts.

Also they have earned the right to gloat about new attraction opening because... they're actually opening new attractions.

True, but like I always say to myself: "It's only in the one park to replace something dated and then the cycle will repeat a couple years from now." On the other hand, Kong is only the sixth new ride since the park opened. Trying to compare that to Animal Kingdom, not counting Theater in the Wild (Tarzan and Nemo). they've only opened 5, so it's not that much better

 

[Disneychick75]

Jimmy Fallon not Kimmel. Also yes the fast and furious ride has been rumored for a while now.

Thanks, lol.

 

[Disneychick75]

I personally do not think it even matters what they add. Universal can't stand up to disney is many aspects, one major thing is their guest service. It is subpar at best, and that's why I gladdly give disney much more of my attention and therefore money. I think they may come up with more rides or areas before the disney expansions but I personally do not think it wil matter all that much.

A lot of the same people work at both Disney and Universal. Do they magically turn good or evil when they walk through the park gates?
I've been very happy with Uni and Disney's customer service, for the most part.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that all of this is very exciting. I love seeing BOTH resorts announcing things and busy building new attractions. This is great for those of us who love the parks.

As for the CM's and TM's, I think that both groups are super. Sure you can run into bad ones occasionally (and don't we continually hears about CM's lately too) but overall the customer service is great.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

Let's compare shall we?

Disney:
Soarin' around the world
Other minor Star Wars stuff
Toy Story Land
Star Wars Land
Frozen
Avatar
Rivers of Light

Universal Orlando:
King Kong
Incredible Hulk Extreme? Makeover (details still not out entirely on that)
Fast & Furious
Fallon ride
Nintendo Land (no details besides announcement) but still probably opening by 2017-2018 if I was to guess
Volcano Bay

I think we'll see at least 2-3 more other unannounced attractions, Avengers is a good possibility.

You might look at that and think it's about even but although I prefer the Disney experience (I love the ambiance more), Universal has been bending Disney over a barrel and spanking them when it comes to creating new attractions. Universal has actually been innovating while Disney has not.

Soarin' around the world is just a new video, not a new ride.
Toy Story Land - I stand by my prediction that this will be an upscale playground for kids to run around and get squirted with water. Maybe Barnstormer Part 2
Star Wars Land should be good whenever it is finished.
Frozen - I expect this to be a simple boat ride with some dancing fairies on the wall
Avatar - Jury is still out. Has potential to be a hero or a zero.
Rivers of Light - Not Excited for this

King Kong - This looks good but I would have preferred them just bring back the original
Fast & Furious - Would likely blow Test Track out of the water if Universal actually goes through with this
Fallon - Seems okay, nothing to get crazy over
Nintendo Land - Would likely blow away Toy Story Land
Volcano Bay - Water Park Game Changer?

 

[twebber55]

You might look at that and think it's about even but although I prefer the Disney experience (I love the ambiance more), Universal has been bending Disney over a barrel and spanking them when it comes to creating new attractions. Universal has actually been innovating while Disney has not.

Soarin' around the world is just a new video, not a new ride.
Toy Story Land - I stand by my prediction that this will be an upscale playground for kids to run around and get squirted with water. Maybe Barnstormer Part 2
Star Wars Land should be good whenever it is finished.
Frozen - I expect this to be a simple boat ride with some dancing fairies on the wall
Avatar - Jury is still out. Has potential to be a hero or a zero.
Rivers of Light - Not Excited for this

King Kong - This looks good but I would have preferred them just bring back the original
Fast & Furious - Would likely blow Test Track out of the water if Universal actually goes through with this
Fallon - Seems okay, nothing to get crazy over
Nintendo Land - Would likely blow away Toy Story Land
Volcano Bay - Water Park Game Changer?

well since we dont know what the rides will be in Star Wars its hard to make a comment. Frozen is an overlay, im excited for Avatar but again we dont know much about the rides, river of light looks great. i do think the additions to DAK will be a game changer in Orlando

really looking forward to Kong as much as anything, fast and furious if its the same ride as Hollywood no thanks that looks lame
Volcano bay will be huge for Universal

all in all an unprecedented time for growth should be fun

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

well since we dont know what the rides will be in Star Wars its hard to make a comment. Frozen is an overlay, im excited for Avatar but again we dont know much about the rides, river of light looks great. i do think the additions to DAK will be a game changer in Orlando

really looking forward to Kong as much as anything, fast and furious if its the same ride as Hollywood no thanks that looks lame
Volcano bay will be huge for Universal

all in all an unprecedented time for growth should be fun

I guess my overall point on Disney is that their recent track record on rides is terrible. The only thing of note they've done in the past 5 years (again in terms of rides) is 7D and that's not that great, just a cute little ride. While Disney was building that, Universal was building Harry Potter World.

 

[KayKayJS]

Its a great time to be a theme park fan.

 

[SalutemyShorts]

Those are both good ideas. In the satellite photos the space between MiB and Simpsons looks like it's been cleared or left mostly empty specifically for a new ride. No backstage buildings, just parking lots and temporary sheds.

If they're looking for even more space, they can bulldoze the Sindbad Stunt show and Poseidon's Fury any time they want ... I need it to be something good so I can get back the 1 hour of my life that I wasted on those attractions ...

The area behind is MiB is cleared out " for the staging of the new track pieces and set pieces for the queue along with Contractor Staging, Parking, laydown, trailers etc."

This is from a legit source who has posted A LOT of details about upcoming projects, including pictures and info later proven to be true. It's the same insider that eXo was talking about.

 

[twebber55]

I guess my overall point on Disney is that their recent track record on rides is terrible. The only thing of note they've done in the past 5 years (again in terms of rides) is 7D and that's not that great, just a cute little ride. While Disney was building that, Universal was building Harry Potter World.

Oh i agree at least here at WDW...they re due thats for sure
i really think now that Shanghai is wrapping up we are seeing an increase in domestic spending at the parks
2016 Disney Springs, ROL, Night Safari, Frozen
2017 Pandora
2018 Toy Story Land
2019 Still think we will see more DHS stuff
2020 Star Wars

 

[eXo]

I think it's a funny a few people were complaining about Universal announcing Nintendo just to steal Disney's thunder, when the reality is that a Universal/Nintendo partnership was announced a good month or 2 before D23.

While Volcano Bay may very well be the third park, it doesn't change the fact that Universal is acquiring land in the area. Now, this could be simply for backlot facilities, or for moving some of the current backstage operations offsite (in order to free up some of that room for the existing parks). But either way, Universal would be silly to not be looking towards the future. The fact of the matter is they have a very limited space. And even though Disney is likely to never open a 5th gate (at least in any foreseeable future), they *can* if they wanted to. Even when you remove the land that is earmarked for conservation, Disney still has TONS of free space for hotels, DVC shopping, third party experiences, etc....

To continue with their aggressive new attraction campaign (1 per year), there is a point where they have to start cannibalizing their current rides (Jaws, Kong, BttF, Lost Continent...) And obviously there is more money to be made in the overall park experiences by adding rather than replacing. At their current pace, 10 more years of expanding at this rate essentially knocks out ALL the old rides, all the dead spaces, and all the available room they can squeeze out of the backlot. At that point they *need* more space. Lucky for them there is just some run down old lots directly to the south and east of their property. They would do well to grab that land now before the economy picks up and some company moves in and decides to build.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

At their current pace, 10 more years of expanding at this rate essentially knocks out ALL the old rides, all the dead spaces, and all the available room they can squeeze out of the backlot. At that point they *need* more space. Lucky for them there is just some run down old lots directly to the south and east of their property. They would do well to grab that land now before the economy picks up and some company moves in and decides to build.

Maybe I should jump in and buy them first.