Universal's New Park/Site B Blue Sky Thread

[Parkscope Joe]

Woof, just catching up on all of this. I'll agree with @JungleSkip, this was a nightmare waiting to happen and I'm glad Uni seems to have changed course. It may be years off into the distance, but it was just baffling that they would even complicate things like this. I just feel that even if the tech worked flawlessly, the idea of your face being your ticket is kinda creepy and unsettling?

I can’t speak for the face scanning tech but I’d assume it would be a verification of entry using a depth sensing camera that then transcodes the model into a data string like the iPhone X. So not a true picture of your face.

 

[Ryan]

That's still pretty unsettling to use that as data. For the record, I think the iPhone stuff is also unnerving.

 

[Mike S]

No

It’s not exact but just outright “no?” You used have to buy either single tickets or ticket books to actually get on the rides but were able to walk around. How is that so different from what I bolded in your post?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

It’s not exact bu just outright “no?” You used have to buy either single tickets or ticket books to actually get on the rides but were able to walk around. How is that so different from what I bolded in your post?

You couldn’t just walk around, there was a small admission price for DL and MK and it included tickets for each attraction.

The History of Walt Disney World Tickets, Part 1 - AllEars.Net

This idea WOULD have been a totally free CityWalk idea then separate admissions to each land, not attractions.

 

[Mike S]

You couldn’t just walk around, there was a small admission price for DL and MK and it included tickets for each attraction.

The History of Walt Disney World Tickets, Part 1 - AllEars.Net

This idea WOULD have been a totally free CityWalk idea then separate admissions to each land, not attractions.

Still pretty similar by making you pay piecemeal for everything. I prefer just one price that gets everything and that’s it.

 

[Jwhee]

If the whole free hub is true.. pretty much rules out any chances of a central parade/firework show.

Could it be that during the day it’s included with the theme park then after park close they open the hub up for free?

 

[SeventyOne]

I can’t speak for the face scanning tech but I’d assume it would be a verification of entry using a depth sensing camera that then transcodes the model into a data string like the iPhone X. So not a true picture of your face.

The bioscan at Disney isn't anywhere near a full fingerprint. How many guests call it a fingerprint scan? Sometimes perception is reality.

***

More generally, it sounds like UOR wanted to take full advantage of this being on the Convention Center's doorstep (a rumor I heard a while ago makes me wonder if they might even end up sharing a train station). As was mentioned above, easy to close off lands for corporate events. Also easier to open a limited area at night--Universal Monster Land seems the obvious choice here, or Nintendo if it proves popular. Capture the post-convention-meeting crowd with something akin to a year-round HHN vibe.

It's an ambitious plan, maybe too ambitious for the general public to accept. But I admire that UOR is willing to try wild new ideas rather than doubling down on more of the same like WDW.

 

[belloq87]

3. I’m so curious about the size of these lands. With this initial design, I would assume the worlds would have to be massive, all encompassing and have way more to do. Obviously not in actual layout, but the entirety of the Wizarding World as one land comes to mind. My only concern stems from some insider info on potential Monsters world: it sounds like they were only thinking 2-3 attractions. So, more IOA and less Magic Kingdom.

I feel like insiders have been hinting for a while that the park - in terms of number of significant attractions, not acreage - will not be significantly (or at all) bigger than either USF or IOA. So 2 - 3 substantial attractions (i.e. more than flat rides, meet-and-greets, and parades) per land sounds like it could be close to accurate.

I'm still slightly concerned it's not going to feel like a truly all-day experience, but I'm very open to having that concern dispelled as the exact makeup of the park becomes clearer.

 

[fryoj]

I struggle with the idea of the hub as that property's version of CityWalk, not because I think it's inherently logistically unworkable, but because I'm skeptical that a bunch of (presumably) disparate chain and/or branded restaurants and shops can be dressed up in enough theme and design work to feel appropriate as the first visual impression most guests will have of the park.

One thing I think we can be sure of, there won't be many, if any, chain restaurants in this place. They've seen the light on creating their own restaurants.

 

[shiekra38]

Perhaps they have a mentality that people enter and leave through the Hogwarts Express relatively quickly

I think it's apples and oranges...and I'm not sure what their mindset is

Although, having a nighttime show shared by CityWalk 2.0 and the new park would be a wise idea to keep people from sneaking out somewhere else and skipping dinner on property

I feel like insiders have been hinting for a while that the park - in terms of number of significant attractions, not acreage - will not be significantly (or at all) bigger than either USF or IOA. So 2 - 3 substantial attractions (i.e. more than flat rides, meet-and-greets, and parades) per land sounds like it could be close to accurate.

I'm still slightly concerned it's not going to feel like a truly all-day experience, but I'm very open to having that concern dispelled as the exact makeup of the park becomes clearer.

I feel like it kind of has to be living on its own like it is

 

[belloq87]

I feel like it kind of has to be living on its own like it is

I don't disagree. They should be attempting to aim for that, in my view.

 

[Mad Dog]

Perhaps they have a mentality that people enter and leave through the Hogwarts Express relatively quickly

I think it's apples and oranges...and I'm not sure what their mindset is

Although, having a nighttime show shared by CityWalk 2.0 and the new park would be a wise idea to keep people from sneaking out somewhere else and skipping dinner on property

I feel like it kind of has to be living on its own like it is

They really need to stand in a long HE ticket check line to appreciate that it's not a quick easy process during the moderate to busier parts of a day. In fact, the ticket check line is often longer in time than the lines to get in the park, since there's less admission takers. Sometimes I think these executives that come up with questionable concepts (Tapu Tapu, Virtual line, etc.) never actually visit the parks as non VIP's. A frequent park tourist has a different perspective of what actually works well as a touring/vacation experience.

 

[Chumpieboy]

Look at the trends in "downtown" areas where they have retail on the ground floor with apartments above. What if the new hub/CW/entrance was the same kind of thing, with shops, restaurants, etc. at ground level with hotel space above?

Like the GCH in Disneyland forming the basis for most of their DTD?

 

[RFRees]

Still pretty similar by making you pay piecemeal for everything. I prefer just one price that gets everything and that’s it.

I bolded the important part. I know several people who have visited the parks who couldn't care less about the rest of the park other than Harry Potter, and would have bought a Hogsmede + Diagon pass if it was cheaper. (They bought IOA and had to skip Diagon.)

Look at ICON... They sell the wax museum+aquarium+wheel separate. I've done the wheel several times but have no interest in paying for the aquarium again.

If they sold the lands individually at FW it does not prevent them from selling an all inclusive ticket and annual passes as well. The big thing is it offers more choice.

The problem comes in is it they attempt to say an all inclusive ticket costs more (for some reason) than a ticket to USF or IOA. Then I riot.

Sometimes I think these executives that come up with questionable concepts (Tapu Tapu, Virtual line, etc.) never actually visit the parks as non VIP's. A frequent park tourist has a different perspective of what actually works well as a touring/vacation experience.

As someone who goes to VB every weekend, I love tapu tapu.

If the whole free hub is true.. pretty much rules out any chances of a central parade/firework show.

Disney Springs has offered free entertainment including live performances and night shows. I don't see why they couldn't do something cheap like they do with the Hogwarts nightly light show, displayed on the centerpiece of the hub. Sure it might be "free" but it could increase hotel guests, dinner guests, and shopping.

 

[Mike S]

I bolded the important part. I know several people who have visited the parks who couldn't care less about the rest of the park other than Harry Potter, and would have bought a Hogsmede + Diagon pass if it was cheaper. (They bought IOA and had to skip Diagon.)

Look at ICON... They sell the wax museum+aquarium+wheel separate. I've done the wheel several times but have no interest in paying for the aquarium again.

If they sold the lands individually at FW it does not prevent them from selling an all inclusive ticket and annual passes as well. The big thing is it offers more choice.

The problem comes in is it they attempt to say an all inclusive ticket costs more (for some reason) than a ticket to USF or IOA. Then I riot.

And then you have the issue of controlling all of it as if they’re all separate gates instead of managing a single gate. This could easily become nightmarish.

Again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Then again it’s my fault for questioning Universal I guess. Silly me.

 

[RFRees]

And then you have the issue of controlling all of it as if they’re all separate gates instead of managing a single gate. This could easily become nightmarish.

Again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Then again it’s my fault for questioning Universal I guess. Silly me.

That's both an issue and a feature. By controlling them as separate gates they can manage events much easier (see my earlier post). But the issue is more lines and more paid team members to oversee the gates. If they solve the "issue" they can take advantage of the benefits.

Also I'm sorry but I have to be very dismissive of the phrase "if it ain't broke." That is the most anti-creative, anti-innovative, anti-imaginitive phrase humans have ever come up with. How about, shoot for the stars but have a contingency?

 

[TommyJK]

Just brainstorming here, what if there’s an inner part of the hub that’s a ticketing area where you enter through a tunnel. Sorry for the horrible drawing. Red lines would be a tunnel. Heck it could even be an elevated walkway.

I have a slightly different (but similar) idea that could alleviate the issue of having to scan your tickets or whatever every time you want to enter one of the lands.

See attached. Have a "ring" around the Free Hub, and with many turnstile points to get to the outer "Ring" means you only need to scan your ticket once to get to that outer ring and then can freely go from world to world without having to scan again.

So the only time you have to scan is when going from the hub to the outer ring.

 

[GadgetGuru]

I can’t speak for the face scanning tech but I’d assume it would be a verification of entry using a depth sensing camera that then transcodes the model into a data string like the iPhone X. So not a true picture of your face.

I don't think that can be done at this kind of scale. The depth sensing camera requires blanketing your face with an invisible infrared dot-matrix array (at pretty close range).

Regardless, I don't think Universal could pull any of this off. I'm a firm believer that theme parks don't invent new technologies. They just repurpose mature technology from other industries. Face scanning tech isn't mature enough for Universal to be able to repurpose it. Any kind of turnstile-less, ticket-less entry would probably use similar tech as Amazon's Go store (cameras and maybe RFID tags). I don't think that tech has matured enough either.

 

[david10225]

This is just personal preference, but I would hate to have separate admissions for each of the "worlds". It has to almost be a given that one of the worlds will be less attractive then the others - people will not want to pay to go to "wally world" when they can pay to go to Nintendo world and the slippery slope will continue. I think it is a bad idea.

 

[Disneyhead]

FW will not be an á la carte park. A FW ticket will include all the "worlds". You won't be able to get tickets for the individual worlds.