Universal's New Park/Site B Blue Sky Thread

[Scott W.]

Not announced officially so I didn't list.

But I will also argue that Nintendo isn't a "kid" move. Family? Yes. Maybe. Kinda with Mario Kart.

I think Nintendo is gonna get a WHOLE LOTTA 18-40 demo, regardless of children.

My entire New Years group (15+, ranging from 25-50, none with children) all SHRIEKED WITH JOY at the thought of Nintendo, especially next to Simpsons and Potter.

Nintendo will no doubt attract a huge older audience for the nostaglia of it but make no mistake that Mario and Donkey Kong are aimed towards kids.

 

[Fatality]

You said you hate Parents though....

I was making a joke.

Separate the kids from the Parents and there's nothing I love more than sharing a pint or two and talking about how funny / ridiculous not my kids are.

I don't think that when you have a child you shrivel up and your insides die and you lose everything that makes you human. My goodness I'm not a total troll.

 

[Fatality]

Nintendo will no doubt attract a huge older audience for the nostaglia of it but make no mistake that Mario and Donkey Kong are aimed towards kids.

What something is "aimed" at and why it makes money or who makes it money are two different things.

I would argue that Nintendo is fairly mature and not designed specifically for children but that it has that appeal.

Some of those Mario games are HARD A.F AND IM 25.

Same goes for something like Star Wars...

nintendo is gonna get a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot of Nostalgia money.

 

[Nick]

I stand corrected.

I should've said Until I see demolition or a ride announcement. I mean, Nintendo is far out in my eyes....

Obviously Nintendo will create a hug generational appeal.

Transformers, Simpsons, Potter, F&F, Nintendo, Marvel, Jurrassic Park, Kong, Fallon, Seuss, etc, etc. ALL of those franchises create a huge multi-generational appeal.

Universal looks to appeal to the teen crowd on up. They still do well enough with kids right now, but they aren't their target audience nor have/will they ever be.

 

[Fatality]

Obviously Nintendo will create a hug generational appeal.

Transformers, Simpsons, Potter, F&F, Nintendo, Marvel, Jurrassic Park, Kong, Fallon

Universal looks to appeal to the teen crowd on up. They still do well enough with kids right now, but they aren't their target audience nor have/will they ever be.

And all of those deal with, what I would call, more "ADULT" themes.

My goodness.

 

[Nick]

And all of those deal with, what I would call, more "ADULT" themes.

My goodness.

They are all PG-13 at worst, which is what I was saying (and in Nintendo's case, G). You're definition of "Adult-themes" is fairly weak.

 

[Fatality]

They are all PG-13 at worst, which is what I was saying. You're definition of "Adult-themes" is fairly weak.

And your spelling and grammar skills are weak for a college student.

 

[Nick]

And your spelling and grammar skills are weak for a college student.

Whatever you say, chief.

I don't need to focus on spelling too much to be an architect major.

 

[GAcoaster]

What about making a real "boutique" park? Something where it's limited admission, full immersive theme elements, all inclusive. Admission would be two or three times the price of a regular park ($250-350 per person), would have to be booked in advance. All food would be included and the number of guests would be limited to keep the park uncrowded and the attraction waits short. Kind of Discovery Cove but with attractions and rides. Very civilized and adult. No mobs of Brazilians blocking walkways. If you charge 3x the price, you only have to admit a third of the guests and still make the same money.

 

[Scott W.]

What about making a real "boutique" park? Something where it's limited admission, full immersive theme elements, all inclusive. Admission would be two or three times the price of a regular park ($250-350 per person), would have to be booked in advance. All food would be included and the number of guests would be limited to keep the park uncrowded and the attraction waits short. Kind of Discovery Cove but with attractions and rides. Very civilized and adult. No mobs of Brazilians blocking walkways. If you charge 3x the price, you only have to admit a third of the guests and still make the same money.

I believe this is called the Disneyland AP approach.

 

[GAcoaster]

Actually, that's the opposite. You get a lot of AP holder leaches who crowd the park out there.

 

[Scott W.]

Actually, that's the opposite. You get a lot of AP holder leaches who crowd the park out there.

This is from memory but I'm sure the new prices that have been announced have seen a significant increase in price in the hopes that less people will buy them to try and quieten the parks while all the future construction is going on.

 

[Mad Dog]

You know what the worst of it is. I've got a really thick Scottish accent and everything I say sounds quite aggressive. So even if I wanted to say something and tried to be polite as possible, it would sound horrible.

Nobody understands me in Orlando. I had a good talk with a guy outside Tower of Terror one day and he said he only understands me because he was a massive Craig Ferguson fan. And btw you Americans butcher the name Craig.

Yes, I can "understand" that. When I visited the UK on holiday, I couldn't understand anything said in the couple of the Scottish oriented bars I visited.

 

[IzzyB]

OK, so I think the "adult" park won't be adult if you consider Transformers and those types of rides adult. You won't keep kids out (which is your goal) if you include properties like that. Transformers is a family friendly ride as long as your child is 40" which is about the age of 4. So as long as you are OK with kids who are 4 and above, go right ahead with your adult park.

Seriously though, I think people are lumping an entire group of people together because of a couple bad experiences. I personally think most teens are annoying. They think they are all that and don't care about anyone else. They can be rude and think the world owes them everything. I hate rich college students because mommy and daddy give them everything so they have no clue what it is like to work and therefore think they are all that and rude as anything. I hate older people who rent those scooters and think they are all that because they have the scooter that can run over people and think they are handicapped just because they are too lazy to walk, shall I go on?

Seriously I don't hate any of those groups. But if I lumped together my experiences with these groups in theme parks, I could hate them just as much as parents with rude kids. Just because there are some parents out there that have zero control of their kids, doesn't mean everyone is like that. You will not get rid of idiots or rude people no matter what kind of park you create.

 

[Brian G.]

I hate mushrooms and olives on my pizza.

No but seriously, I appreciate everyone's opinions but I'm keeping an eye on here in case it gets a little too rowdy. So far, it's tugged the line a bit.

 

[Fatality]

it's tugged the line a bit.

Is that a pun?

 

[Fatality]

I dusted off the old laptop for the first time in what feels like an eternity so I could better sum up some of my thoughts and better relay what I'm trying to say. Before I get into the main gist of what I was trying to (probably poorly [thanks, iPad]), I would like to say that my intent was never to poke fun, alienate, or insult ANYONE who is a parent/has children, likes children, or enjoys family time at Theme Parks.

I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone.

I know what it is like to live through life stereotyped and being lumped into an entire crowd of people. Any of my overarching generalizations are just super and way broad. I know some of you may think I'm some hate monger who wants to eat children or slap ice cream out of their hands. That was only one time.....

I'm going to try to sum up what I was trying to say and backtrack/clarify some things.

TOTAL Blue Sky would I LOVE an Adult Oasis 21+ Theme Park? My goodness gracious yes yes yes yes yes.
Would I know what to put in it? Absolutely not.
Do I think it's realistic/possible? Absolutely not.
Do I think there's a large market that already attend theme parks that are of adult age and have zero kids? Yes, I do. And so does Disney. That's why those kinds of guests have a specific name.

If we want to go back down to Green Grass / Reality, here is what I meant by an "Adult" park:

A park that is built for Adults to enjoy.
If kids enjoy that as well, MORE POWER TO THEM.

I'm not going to pretend to be a Theme Park Historian (I'm not) nor am I going to pretend like I know creators/builders/designers intentions (I dont) but I am going to speak on what I know best - how I think and feel.

EPCOT - is an Adult Park.
IOA (sans Seuess) is an Adult Park.

I hate the pandering and talking down to children now that occurs across the Nation. When I talk to kids, I pretend they are my equals. That's how I like to treat kids. That's just me. I think if a kid wants to know about Space or the Ocean he doesn't need some colorful LSD / Ecstacy Nightmare creating a song and dance to do so. Most kids I know idolize and look up to the Adults in their lives - they want to hang out with Adults much more than they want to be with kids....maybe I know some weird kids. It's so much more than just Theme Parks and I'm sure I'm gonna get backlash because I'm "not a parent" and I "couldn't know."

By and large, I think the Universal Parks are TREMENDOUS at already being "Adult" and "Mature" while still being accessible and enjoyable by young children and families. Mainly, because being an Adult is a UNIVERSAL thing.

 

[IzzyB]

I think you misunderstand why IPs like Nemo are added to educational things. You think it is to dumb down something so kids can understand. In reality it is to sell more tickets. Finding Nemo IP in the park will attract people to the park that like that IP. It is the reason that 2 coasters in Uni were themed to HP even though one of the queues is weaker now. It wasn't to make the queue worse, it was because HP sells tickets and they needed the space that coaster existed in.

Most kids learn pretty complex subjects. In fact they learn things much faster than most of us as kids did. The kids programs no longer have a road runner running around killing the coyote. They instead learn about marine animals, how to be a doctor or how to be a good patient, learn about all animals, learn about science, etc. My then 4 year old (now 5) impressed a marine biologist because she knew and understand the terms predator and prey. I don't think I knew that before Kindergarten. I know I couldn't do the math she is doing or reading like she is before 1st grade and she is in pre-K. She learns pretty complex stuff at school (why the moon is only visible during the night, etc) and from TV like Wild Kratts, Octonauts, Sid the Science Kid, etc. I remember watching Sesame street which means I had to be 5 or 6 when I was still watching that. My daughter gets bored from it, because she is beyond that basic stuff. Most normal adults also speak to kids in normal talk. Even my babies I never did baby talk. The grandparents do because that was what they grew up doing, but not us. We know better and because of that raise our children differently.

So rides are not "dumbed" down for children. They add IPs to sell more tickets and unfortunately when adding an IP sometimes things get worse (Dragons queue a perfect example of this). But it has nothing to do with children and their ability to understand complex subjects. Because most can. It is to sell more tickets and merch options with those IPs.

I understand what you are saying and what you want in your green grass thoughts. But most kids in this day an age would still be attracted to those things because they are into those IPs. I knew 3 going on 4 year olds into Marvel, I know young kids like HP, etc. So even taking out Seuss (which is not toddler friendly due to height issues) you are going to get a ton of kids that like all the other IPs in there. I personally think Seuss was a huge mistake. The IP is good for toddlers, however two of the rides require a height restriction. The one ride once my daughter was tall enough to ride it, she had no interest in riding it since it is "boring". Kidzone was another mess. It was Uni attempting to attract toddlers and it just is not what they need to do. Uni needs family friendly rides like what Slop sounds like it will be, what Nintendo will be, etc. The rides that adults will love and so will toddlers, kids, teens, etc. I have all along said Uni needs family friendly things, but I think people have no clue what that term means. They think of kidzone and Seuss and say no way, that is not what I mean. I want a ride that 2 to 99 can enjoy and love. HM and POTC are perfect examples of this type of ride. I also want rides that are 4 to 99 like Thunder Mountain.

I actually think we are more on the same page than you think. We are just using different terms. You are excited for Nintendo because you know those IPs and like those IPs, but I am also for Nintendo for the same reasons AND because they will be rides the whole family will enjoy.

 

[quinnmac000]

Know what IP I would love to see in the Park that Universal owns....Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.

 

[Scott W.]

So rides are not "dumbed" down for children. They add IPs to sell more tickets and unfortunately when adding an IP sometimes things get worse (Dragons queue a perfect example of this). But it has nothing to do with children and their ability to understand complex subjects. Because most can. It is to sell more tickets and merch options with those IPs.

I'd say rides are dumbed down in general. I think you have to assume that the majority of people will have probably not watched the movie a ride is based on at US so you need to make every ride as accessible as possible to everybody so they can follow what's happening story wise.