Why so few rides??

[kpgclark]

I was just looking at the Universal brochures and it looks like there are only 20 rides or so at each of the Universal parks. Can this be right? Wouldn't that mean 2000 people lined up for each ride on average??

 

[damo]

They're not rides, they're experiences! Most of them take longer than the normal 20 seconds at other parks. So you have a queue, a pre-show and then the actual show. You'd be surprised at the capacity of some of these "rides".

 

[BarryHom]

In comparison, Cedar Point in OH has over 60 rides and Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ. However, a lot of these rides are off-the-shelf flat rides. Six Flags and Cedar Point are known for their roller coasters, so they tend to be more unique. Six Flags has about 10 coasters and Cedar Point about 16 (soon to be 17). At Universal, very rarely will you have an off the shelf flat ride there. There is Storm Force Acceleratron, but that ride is themed up so it's not a typical flat ride. So most of Universal's rides are unique and have a very different experience than a typical flat ride. Just because a park has a lot of rides doesn't make it better necessarily.

 

[Dznefreek]

IOA:
MSHI - 4 (Spider-man, Doom, Hulk,Storm Force)
Toon Lagoon - 2 rides (Popeye, Dudley) and 1 attraction (Olive)
JP - 2 rides(JPRA, Pteranodon Flyers) Discovery Center, Camp JP, Trike Encounter
TLC - 3 rides,(DD; 2 sides, Flying Unicorn) 2 shows (Poseidon, Sinbad)
SL - 3 rides (Caro-suess-el, CITH, 1 Fish, 2 Fish) 1 attraction (IIRTZ)
14 rides and 7 Shows/Attractions

USF:
Hanna (closed)
Hitchcock (closing)
Boneyard (closed)
Twister
Kong (closed)
Xena and Herc (closed)
BeetleJuice
Earthquake
Jaws
WWW Stunt Show
MIB
BTTF
ET
Woody's Coaster
Barney (show)
Fievels playland
Curious George Play area
Animal Planet
T23D
Lucy, A Tribute
Nick Studios

6 rides, 10 shows/attraction, 5 closed or closing

 

[damo]

Isn't there a kiddie coaster in USF as well as the whole barney what used to be Fievel's playland area? I'm pretty sure we rode that last year.

There's also Storm Force at IOA.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Originally posted by damo
Isn't there a kiddie coaster in USF as well as the whole barney what used to be Fievel's playland area? I'm pretty sure we rode that last year.

there is, it's in kidzone. fievel is still there, kidzone/barney is just behind it.

 

[ParkHopperUO]

You forgot:

IOA:
MSHI - Super-hero motorcade & meet/greet
Toon Lagoon - Beach Bash show (now a Christmas show), plus the character meet/greets (Betty Boop, Boris & Natasha, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and the other 'toons)
SL - Character meet/greets (Cat in the Hat, Things, etc.), plus currently Grinchmas (show), Grinch's Lair (attraction), Mt Crumpet Snow Plummet (attraction)

USF:
Ghostbusters (show)
Lucy & Ricky show
Street Breaks (show)
Kidzone character appearances (Scooby & Shaggy, Rugrats, Spongebob, Curious George & Man in Yellow Hat, etc.)
Hollywood character appearances (Flintstones, Popeye & Olive)

Don't forget, to kids these character meet/greets are just as much a show as the others.

 

[fboy9287]

please, the meet and greets only count if your 4. What some themeparks consider a ride (kingpins arcade) I might just consider some stupid ploy to get 4 year olds and 11 year olds happy.

 

[ParkHopperUO]

hmmm... I was under the impression that theme parks were just as much for 4 and 11 years-olds as they were for adults, therefore it's only logical that some of the attractions (such as meeting Spongebob) are geared toward them and might not necessarily appeal to older visitors such as yourself.

Then again, given the number of adults that flock to take their photos with some of the characters, perhaps their appeal is more widespread than you think.

 

[Robinrs]

I see this as a better option than what EPCOT MGM and AK offer, two rides that most people want to go on in the ENTIRE park and 2 hours waits for both.

I have not seen this at USF except for Spiderman which is more of an experience than anything. I've found the throngs are split among the rest of the parks.

 

[Dznefreek]

please, the meet and greets only count if your 4

I agree!

was under the impression that theme parks were just as much for 4 and 11 years-olds as they were for adults

They could build attractions for them.

I see this as a better option than what EPCOT MGM and AK offer, two rides

MGM- Catastrophe Canyon, Rock N'Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Muppets, Fantasmic, Little Mermaid; uh I think that is more than 2. I agree about Epcot and AK.

 

[Aisling]

I love the meet and great. To me, that's what keeps it a theme park and not just an amusement park.

 

[Judge Doom]

MGM- Catastrophe Canyon, Rock N'Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Muppets, Fantasmic, Little Mermaid; uh I think that is more than 2.

Most people don't consider Catastrophe Canyon, Muppets, Little Merrmaid and Fantasmic rides.

 

[ParkHopperUO]

quote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
was under the impression that theme parks were just as much for 4 and 11 years-olds as they were for adults
------------------------------------------------------------------------
They could build attractions for them.

Well, we already have the entire KidZone and the Game Lab show @ Nick and Jimmy Neutron and Shrek are on their way.

Believe me, I'm not saying the character appearances are as high-profile as the rides or major attractions/shows, I'm just saying that - to a kid - they're an equally exciting reason to visit the parks, and a lot of adults enjoy the heck of 'em, too.

 

[Robinrs]

Originally posted by Dznefreek
MGM- Catastrophe Canyon, Rock N'Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Muppets, Fantasmic, Little Mermaid; uh I think that is more than 2. I agree about Epcot and AK.

FYI, the only two rides I like at MGM is RnR Coaster and Tower of Terror. The rest either are juvenile, not worth seeing more than once or make me motion sickness sick.

As with everything, this is just MHO.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Originally posted by ParkHopperUO
Believe me, I'm not saying the character appearances are as high-profile as the rides or major attractions/shows, I'm just saying that - to a kid - they're an equally exciting reason to visit the parks, and a lot of adults enjoy the heck of 'em, too.

very true. i worked in USF one day and i learned that spongebob has a meet & greet similar to how Spider-man does in IOA. i told this to one family that had some spongebob merchandise. when they found out, their eyes lit up. this was to a family where the youngest child was like 13.

 

[Bchamp]

my son was 3 1/2 last april when we went and he absolutely LOVED meeting every one of the characters, gosh when we saw tommy and chuckie from rugrats, he ran down to meet them and grabbed their hand to walk them back up the street. And when he met crash bandecoup (sp?), well, he has played that game on playstation for the last year, and to meet this character was awesome for him. He was very upset that Angelica would not come out to the greet one day, until the man told him that angelica was feeling a little bratty today. Then he remembered how bad she really is!!
On the other hand, the big green slime maching in front of Nick studios scared him to deaTH. He was positive that it was going to explode and slime him. He would not even walk down that street. Hopefully now that he is a little older he will be able to understand it more.
Countdown........6 days till we go back, can't wait.

 

[sha_lyn]

I think the problem here is trying to compare a Theme Park to a Thrill park. Sure US isn't full of thrills but it is well themed and very entertaining. I love coasters, thrill rides etc but I can also appreciate US. As for IOA it too is a Theme park but with plenty of Thrills thrown in. I always say IOA Out Disney'ed Disney with that park" The theming is so well done, right down to the piped in "converstaions" etc. A line at US/IOA isn't a line it is a show all in its self .... Spiderman, ET (I can't FOTL at ET, I have to walk thorugh the Q) MIB, BTTF etc.

 

[joe]

I think theme parks are very different than amusement parks and it's unfair to compare them. Also, quality is more important than quantity, IMO. I'd rather ride 4 good rides 3 times each than 10 mediocre rides once each.

Also, character greetings dont't count as attractions. Even amusement parks have characters walking around. Just because they don't have a designated area to meet them doesn't mean they have one less attraction. If you count a character meet an attraction you might as well count another attraction at your local Six lags every time your kid sees a character walking around and gets his picture and autograph. It's definitely a very important part of the park experience, though.

Also, just because you don't find an attraction fun doesn't mean others feel the same and don't bother with them.