Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[Parkscope Joe]

I think this is pretty unfair. I think there are two strains of criticism that get lumped together:

• Universal doesn't build as many non-thrill dark rides as some fans want
• Universal doesn't build many attractions that the entire family can enjoy together

I think the people who want more dark rides built are pretty explicit that they want them to be built because they enjoy them. And I'm not even sure my second point is even a criticism so much as it is a statement of fact. I've done multiple trips to Orlando in the past few years with young kids or people who were pregnant at the time and there was tons to do at Disney World compared to Universal Orlando.

At this point, do I think it's reasonable to expect Universal will do either of these things? Not really. 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.

There's a lot to unpack, but I don't think it's unfair. People want Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc style rides and Universal has never made those kids of rides. This can be for many reasons: they didn't start with parks till after the 80s amusement insurance crisis so they never had the no-restraint rides that Disney did, they never had the WED and Walt design style of the parks so they never made recreations of the animated films, they never had a culture and design principle of "child to grandma" for the parks. Universal parks have always been restrictive, over the top, loud, ornery, and stubborn. This is the company of Jaybangs not closing musical numbers. The parks have always aimed for a tween to late adult audience. The earliest they aimed for was kids just exiting the Hanna Barbara and entering Nickelodeon age, lets say 11, which puts their heights around 55 inches, which is enough for Hulk the highest requirement ride.

So lets cover your bullet points

• Universal doesn't build as many non-thrill dark rides as some fans want

I agree, but see above. And when they do build the non-thrill dark rides people complain because what they want are 1960s - 80s Disney dark rides. Not going to happen.

• Universal doesn't build many attractions that the entire family can enjoy together

What is "the entire family"? For some that's baby to grandma. Others it's the main four. I know families who visit Cedar Point and ride the huge rides all the time, do they not count?

For a lot of theme park fans they want old school Disney rides to come back but since for a long time Disney wasn't building it was thus on Universal to supply that. Now that Disney's building again hopefully we can let Disney be Disney and Universal to be Universal.

Disney has a market down pat, Universal has spent the past 16 years carving out a new, older market for Orlando. As for:

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 think it's a problem because people are applying personal demands on a consumer transaction! Should I demand Disney build a giga coaster and a response to Hulk? No!

The unrealistic request of "no height requirement."

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

Which comes back to the 100% containment and restraints conversation. When was the last time someone got out of a Universal restraint?







Finally, to come back to my main point: folks will say they want family rides but have no family nor any intention to ride with one. They want a certain type of ride and just saying that would do well for discussions.

 

[belloq87]

It’s kind of dispiriting to see people ready to consign the classic dark ride artform to the dustbin. SLOP is only a few years old in Hollywood. Little Mermaid is a little over a decade old. Encanto and Coco are (presumably) going to be more of that ilk than anything else.

I reject the concept that the form is dead. Dead at UOR? Very possibly, the next five years will tell me a lot.

Finally, to come back to my main point: folks will say they want family rides but have no family nor any intention to ride with one. They want a certain type of ride and just saying that would do well for discussions.

I think this is a misrepresentation of those of us who want to see more dark rides that don’t jostle you around in front of screens (of which there is an overabundance). Any of us who are in that camp would always acknowledge it’s a personal desire. There's not some sinister, hidden agenda.

 

[Jake S]

Finally, to come back to my main point: folks will say they want family rides but have no family nor any intention to ride with one.

this is what’s unfair. you’re assuming bad faith when i just don’t see any evidence of it on this forum. people are saying what they would like to see at a theme park they like. you can think whatever you like about what they want or how reasonable it is to expect it, but just dismissing the opinion outright doesn’t seem fair to me.

 

[mccgavin]

Many of us who are asking for more dark rides are not suggesting that Universal completely change their strategy or target demographic, just that having one or two high-quality family dark rides would be a good way to round-out and balance the offerings of the parks that lack them. This is similar to how Disney has a handful of higher thrill attractions despite their focus primarily being on accessible family rides.

 

[Tbad556]

Which comes back to the 100% containment and restraints conversation. When was the last time someone got out of a Universal restraint?

I agree with some of your points, but as for this one, the answer is unfortunately, all the time. I used to work one of the lapbar based attractions and it absolutely happened an annoying amount. It just often avoids the news/social media. There's even a frequently used radio code for jumpers.