Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[Andysol]

Universal in Orlando will never be for:

1) babies and toddlers
2) very obese people
3) very tall people
4) amputees

It’ll never change. Talking about it is futile.

They’re fine ceding those groups to Disney. Though Disney’s new rides are becoming more restrictive as well; they just have a plethora of staples to fall back on.

 

[Jake S]

I think they’re talking about the ride vehicle not being compromising to most people who ride it.

Right, sorry if it wasn't clear in my earlier post but when I said:

"But I don't think it's a problem that some people want to see what Universal could do if they built more Secret Life of Pets and fewer screen-based, thrilling dark rides."

I was specifically referring to people who want to see Universal build more non-thrilling dark rides, not people who want to see more no-height requirement attractions at the resort. I also don't think there are very many people clamoring for the latter.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

To Jake's point, I think some of us are simply asking for Universal's take on Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion. An enjoyable scenic-based ride experience, not another enhanced motion vehicle on a track doing the same tricks over and over again.

 

[Alicia]

To Jake's point, I think some of us are simply asking for Universal's take on Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion. An enjoyable scenic-based ride experience, not another enhanced motion vehicle on a track doing the same tricks over and over again.

Universal sucks at those types of rides though.

Granted they were kids rides, but things like the Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar boat rides just aren’t very enjoyable.

Cat in the Hat is a great classic style Fantasyland like ride and yet Universal fans constantly complain about it “needing to be updated”.

I’d say maybe we leave those types of rides to Disney, but reality is, maybe we leave those types of rides to the 1960s, cause even Disney ain’t building them anymore.

Unfortunately.

 

[Clive]

Universal sucks at those types of rides though.

Granted they were kids rides, but things like the Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar boat rides just aren’t very enjoyable.

Cat in the Hat is a great classic style Fantasyland like ride and yet Universal fans constantly complain about it “needing to be updated”.

I’d say maybe we leave those types of rides to Disney, but reality is, maybe we leave those types of rides to the 1960s, cause even Disney ain’t building them anymore.

Unfortunately.

In fairness, I don't think Cat in the Hat needs updates, just sufficient maintenance. The design of that ride is still really strong, even if it's no longer optimal because the show conditions/intent leaned on the more intense spinning. The animatronic figures and other physical effects just don't seem to get the consistent attention they need to operate at their best, much like ET.

I think the real reason you don't see Universal (or Disney) develop these types of rides anymore is they don't want to commit to maintaining the number of animatronic figures they inevitably require. Even Shanghai's Pirates only has half a dozen real figures.

Kung Fu Panda almost felt like an attempted compromise by incorporating far more media than is typical for that type of ride, and the results were pretty underwhelming.

 

[Jake S]

I think the real reason you don't see Universal (or Disney) develop these types of rides anymore is they don't want to commit to maintaining the number of animatronic figures they inevitably require. Even Shanghai's Pirates only has half a dozen real figures.

Yeah, this is probably it. You've seen how they've handled the limited mobility figures at Nintendo World — I think that's pretty emblematic of this era.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Universal sucks at those types of rides though.

Granted they were kids rides, but things like the Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar boat rides just aren’t very enjoyable.

Cat in the Hat is a great classic style Fantasyland like ride and yet Universal fans constantly complain about it “needing to be updated”.

I’d say maybe we leave those types of rides to Disney, but reality is, maybe we leave those types of rides to the 1960s, cause even Disney ain’t building them anymore.

Unfortunately.

Monsters Unchained and Battle at the Ministry have some of the most impressive visual scenes in any dark ride with stellar animatronics and special effects, they can certainly do a full-scale physical dark ride that doesn't rely on a thrilling ride system or the same storyline.

Imagine a Shrek-based boat dark ride through the swamp with animatronic figures?
An omnimover dark ride through the world of Despicable Me with Minions all over the place?
A suspended hot air balloon tour of the world from Wicked?
A spooky dark ride through a haunted New York featuring Ghostbusters?

Why does every major Universal attraction have to keep the "we're falling to our deaths only to be saved by the (insert name) hero at the last minute" or shake you in front of a screen with mist effects?

And certainly Disney should go back to doing HM/POTCs style experiences.

I get that Universal is stricter with their safety envelope, that's understandable... but that doesn't dictate the ride experience solely.

Cat in the Hat is great... when it's in tip top shape. Same for E.T., MIB, etc.

 

[Jake S]

And certainly Disney should go back to doing HM/POTCs style experiences.

Listen man, I hear ya ... but that was 60 years ago. It's not coming back — that version of the company is long, long gone.

 

[mccgavin]

Listen man, I hear ya ... but that was 60 years ago. It's not coming back — that version of the company is long, long gone.

I'd argue Mystic Manor is very much in that vein, and that was only about 15 years ago. Obviously the approach wouldn't be 1 to 1 to how it was back then, but I do the company is capable of making those kinds of experiences, it's just that it doesn't align with their strategy at the moment.

 

[Wild Atlantis]

Mystic Manor is a relatively fast-paced trackless dark ride, if that counts, so would Runaway Railway

 

[RFRees]

...with whose request? People asking for more non-thrilling dark rides? Yes, it absolutely does.

The unrealistic request of "no height requirement."

The "no height requirement" request has come up several times on this forum.

To Jake's point, I think some of us are simply asking for Universal's take on Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion. An enjoyable scenic-based ride experience, not another enhanced motion vehicle on a track doing the same tricks over and over again.

We got Yoshi.

Well, several of those baby rides at Universal Kids will have no height requirement. They could easily do others that have none as well. But that isn’t the point, the point is they don’t want their Orlando parks to be for toddlers or babies. That’s what universal kids is for. That’s their answer.

Time will tell if it’s the correct answer and if there is more than one way to bring a more broad age group under their umbrella.

I'm sorry to keep pressing this but, none of those rides at Universal Kids meet the requirements that these people on these forums are asking for. You could add a thousand spinners for babies to UOR. It wouldn't matter, it's not a "no height requirement darkride" that has been mentioned several times on these forums (which I'd argue will never happen at Universal, likely due to safety policies).

 

[mccgavin]

Mystic Manor is a relatively fast-paced trackless dark ride, if that counts, so would Runaway Railway

This is true, but I'd argue the difference lies more within the execution of the the attraction's design rather than the ride system. Mystic Manor feels stylistically closer to Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Tokyo, while more recent trackless rides have taken a different approach.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

We got Yoshi.

Yoshi is not Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean caliber just cause it's a slow ride system.

It's SNW's version of High in the Sky or Peoplemover sure, but definitely not meant to compare to POTC/HM.

 

[Mad Dog]

Yoshi is not Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean caliber just cause it's a slow ride system.

It's SNW's version of High in the Sky or Peoplemover sure, but definitely not meant to compare to POTC/HM.

It's not even a poor man's version of Seuss Trolley and the People Mover. Honestly, Yoshii isn't much of an attraction.

 

[Ball Don't Lie]

Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash just standing over here like chopped liver lol

 

[Alicia]

Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash just standing over here like chopped liver lol

Cue six more pages talking about yea but what about height requirement

 

[HHN Maddux]

I think even if you saw a ride like PotC or HM made today, it definitely wouldn't be anywhere near as animatronic-heavy or set-based as you'd hope. There'd be many more screens to fill in as background than the intricately-built sets you see for Pirates.

Sad as it is, those days are long gone I think.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think even if you saw a ride like PotC or HM made today, it definitely wouldn't be anywhere near as animatronic-heavy or set-based as you'd hope. There'd be many more screens to fill in as background than the intricately-built sets you see for Pirates.

Sad as it is, those days are long gone I think.

Of course there will be media based visuals to enhance/enlarge a scene, but it's doable. Monsters Unchained animatronics and set design mixed in with media visuals on a boat ride would be fantastic.

 

[simon]

Of course there will be media based visuals to enhance/enlarge a scene, but it's doable. Monsters Unchained animatronics and set design mixed in with media visuals on a boat ride would be fantastic.

Saw the method used in the Kung Fu Panda dark ride in Beijing Universal. Not sure if I'm a fan of it. More practical focused sets looks more natural for a slow moving boat style dark ride in my opinion.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I think even if you saw a ride like PotC or HM made today, it definitely wouldn't be anywhere near as animatronic-heavy or set-based as you'd hope. There'd be many more screens to fill in as background than the intricately-built sets you see for Pirates.

Sad as it is, those days are long gone I think.

How can we say this we SLOP was opened in 2021? Obviously it uses screens to enhance some things but that was 5 years ago this week basically. Again, ride vehicle aside assuming that can be corrected.