Universal's New Park/Site B Blue Sky Thread

[Fatality]

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.

And I think you misunderstand everything that I am trying to say.

I know why they add IP's.

I'm not dense.

The money making and dumbing down go hand-in-hand. I don't believe EPCOT was struggling with ticket sales when they brought in Nemo....

Harry Potter was brought in to sell tickets and to also bring people into JK's Wizarding World. And they were true to the source material - which is what I like, love and appreciate most in Theme Parks. I don't want to turn this into Universal vs Disney (especially with a parent) but I have pretty much zero qualms with how Universal integrates / uses IP's. I think it's a lot more sincere than Disney.

Forbidden Journey is absolutely terrifying, and for good reason. The Harry Potter series is terrifying, adult and mature. Essentially, what I argue against, and It has not happened yet, thank God, but I will raise holy hell when/if an IP is neutered for the sake of making it more kid/family friendly.

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.

Did you read my post? I don't care if kids like it and are there....Just be true to the source material and make it was it is. Make Marvel Marvel. Make Jurassic Park Jurassic Park. Make KONG be KONG. And as I said but will repeat myself for clarification / people who don't like to read - JUST BE TRUE TO THE SOURCE. Which is what Universal does.

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

I don't know any 99 year olds on Thunder Mountain, by the way....

BTW - and this REALLY irks me and I see it ALL the time - A Height Restriction is purely a measure of SAFETY. Just because your kid CAN does not mean that they SHOULD.

Haunted Houses have ZERO height measurement - should we let them take a stroll through there....?

 

[Fatality]

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.

I respectfully beg to differ. I do not see Universal doing this in any of their attractions. Yes, the plot may be very simple (Good vs Evil) but I have never felt belittled or treated like an imbecile at Universal.

Ok, maybe once while going thru security.

I don't think the dumbing down is done for the betterment of children i think it's doing a disservice to them and adults.

Transformers was made for adults. Kids enjoy it.
I don't think you could've made Transformers for kids and have adults enjoy it (unless you had a kid).

 

[IzzyB]

Wow... I said we were pretty much on the same page and you still go off on me. I do know a 65 year old that goes on thunder mountain and I don't think she will be stopping anytime soon. She also goes on Manta. I think you get my point when I talk about rides that can be made for all ages, but if you want to nitpick on that one detail that is fine. You seem to take great offense easily as if people think you are dumb or something. Oh well.

I actually have taken my kids on HM since they were 11 months old. Still do. The only part my daughter doesn't like is the pre-ride room. I hold her and she is fine. If asked if she wants to ride, she normally says yes unless it is an option between that and another ride she likes better. You have to measure each ride with your children and what they like. For example, I know kids way older than my daughter who won't touch Space Mountain. My child has said it is her new favorite ride and loves it. So yes, height restriction doesn't mean much, but as a parent you have to know what they will and will not enjoy and sometimes it is a very fine line. And for tourists that have never been to Orlando it is even harder on them since they have no clue how their kids will or will not react to a ride.

And why do people assume because I have kids I like Disney more than Universal?!? I hate that. I actually equally like all the parks. I find faults in ALL of the parks. I am sorry, but the weak overlay of dragons is a huge fault in my opinion. They took an awesome queue and made it nothing. I hope some day they refurb the coaster and include the line when they do it. Because it needs help. If you can't see the fault in that then you are a fanboy of uni who sees no faults in their favorite park. Which BTW, I see a crap load of faults in Disney and have complained about them many times. I am an equal complainer, I complain about all 3 places (Sea World, Disney, and Uni) but I also see their pluses and love all three parks equally.

And I wasn't getting into a uni vs Disney, it was an example of how an IP can sometimes change a ride for the worse. It doesn't matter if it dumbed it down or if it just was done for budget reasons. It was a poor choice.

While FJ is creepy and stuff, I don't feel it did the best job with the source material. I feel it jumps around too much and tried to get too much of the IP in one ride. It has no good SL or flow with the story. But I understand why this was done, it was done because they didn't ever think there would be a phase 2. I also, think LM is another example of this. The beginning is great, but they rushed the end, not because of children, but for budget reasons. The ride needed to be two more scenes longer to really tell the story the proper way. ET and Peter Pan have great story flow, but both need a huge refurb as their current states are awful. So those are good examples of using the source material well. Both Uni and Disney have had hits and misses, but none of it is to dumb down for kids was my point. As others stated, sometimes it gets dumbed down for everyone because not everyone has seen the IP. But as you stated HM can be pretty scary and they haven't changed that, some kids like it and others it scares the crap out of them. That is OK, I have no issues with that. Also, I have no issue with Kong, other than child swap and the queue. That could make things difficult on parents because to get to child swap you have to go thru the scary queue. I am hoping the queue is not on the level of the ride and I also hope the employees are trained to make sure the parents know what the kids are in for. Me personally I will ride it first without my kid and measure it myself, but some tourists may have no clue what they are in for. Especially people like me who have never seen the movies.

Also, one last thing. I am not sure when Disney has dumbed down and made something less scary. Star tours can be a little scary, HM, POTC, etc. Have they done some poor jobs with certain IPs, YES! But it normally is budget cuts, not to reduce the scare factor.

 

[Fatality]

Wow... I said we were pretty much on the same page and you still go off on me.

I could've begun my previous response to you with the exact same retort. I "go off" because you do not read what I am saying.

I actually have taken my kids on HM since they were 11 months old. Still do.

Further proof you do not read because I did not mention Haunted Mansion at all.

And why do people assume because I have kids I like Disney more than Universal?!? I hate that. I actually equally like all the parks. I find faults in ALL of the parks. I am sorry, but the weak overlay of dragons is a huge fault in my opinion. They took an awesome queue and made it nothing. I hope some day they refurb the coaster and include the line when they do it. Because it needs help. If you can't see the fault in that then you are a fanboy of uni who sees no faults in their favorite park. Which BTW, I see a crap load of faults in Disney and have complained about them many times. I am an equal complainer, I complain about all 3 places (Sea World, Disney, and Uni) but I also see their pluses and love all three parks equally.

Dueling Dragons died to me the day it stopped dueling.
And if I had children, I would like Disney tremendously more because it appeals more to children. I do not think there is any harm in that.

While FJ is creepy and stuff, I don't feel it did the best job with the source material.

It absolutely does not. But it is TRUE to the source material.

I have no issue with Kong, other than child swap and the queue. That could make things difficult on parents because to get to child swap you have to go thru the scary queue. I am hoping the queue is not on the level of the ride and I also hope the employees are trained to make sure the parents know what the kids are in for. Me personally I will ride it first without my kid and measure it myself, but some tourists may have no clue what they are in for. Especially people like me who have never seen the movies.

That is not my problem and my experience should not have to suffer for it but I know that I will.

Also, one last thing. I am not sure when Disney has dumbed down and made something less scary. Star tours can be a little scary, HM, POTC, etc. Have they done some poor jobs with certain IPs, YES! But it normally is budget cuts, not to reduce the scare factor.

I think some of you are misreading me or misthinking when you immediately think of Adult as Scary, though I will admit it is a very very easy target and probably the easiest example.

However, Simpson's is very "adult."

At the end of the day I don't want anyone's child being treated like they are an idiot.
They are not.
Kids are beautiful, smart, intuitive creatures. I think we can both agree with that.

 

[IzzyB]

I don't think you are ever going to understand what I am saying.

I do want to say, you are correct. I misread haunted houses as haunted mansion. Easy mistake, mainly because I have a sick child at home and my attention is pulled in 20 directions. I would never take my child to HHN as it is clearly advertised as an adult event. For the parents that allow their young kids to go are crazy, but maybe their child can handle it. Who knows. I also never said height restriction meant anything so not sure why you even talked about that. I basically said Seuss was a fail because the 2 main rides don't allow young toddlers on them and when they do the one is too boring at that point. But I never said no height restriction meant the kid should go on it. Not sure where you got that impression.

My thing was you act like all these rides are dumbed down for kids and I am not really sure of a ride that does this. Scary rides are scary, Simpsons to me is true to the material, non-scary stuff is not scary. Things are dumbed down normally because of budget or just poor scripts.

Also, I think it is humorous you mention FJ, because many times on here it has been stated that WB asked for items to be removed because they thought they were too scary. And no one, including me and other people with kids agreed those items should have been removed. We all thought they should have been included.

Oh and you are right, Kong queue is not your problem, but it is Uni's problem. If they don't want to "dumb" down the line as you put it, they should change how rider swap is done for this particular ride. If the queue is currently no scarier than Mummy, then I don't think this will even be an issue. We will all have to see once it opens.

 

[Scott W.]

I respectfully beg to differ. I do not see Universal doing this in any of their attractions. Yes, the plot may be very simple (Good vs Evil) but I have never felt belittled or treated like an imbecile at Universal.

Ok, maybe once while going thru security.

I don't think the dumbing down is done for the betterment of children i think it's doing a disservice to them and adults.

Transformers was made for adults. Kids enjoy it.
I don't think you could've made Transformers for kids and have adults enjoy it (unless you had a kid).

I would consider a simple plot dumbing it down but that might just be me. Just because it's dumbed down doesn't mean you have to feel belittled or treated like an imbecile. You're taking it far too personally.

The first few lines in Jaws were basically a recap of the film. The pre show to terminator 2 is a recap of the previous films.

Compare Transformers to other Michael Bay films and it is definately a kids film and the ride continues that. If anything, the ride is toned way down compared to the films. It's based on toys after all. Transformers is not much different to Spider-Man which I wouldn't necessarily call a kids ride but kids absolutely love it. You can have it both ways and most of the time we do. I'd also bet there are plenty of kids rides that adults would feel were too intense for their liking.

Unless we're having a different definition of kids, I really don't see what the issue is.

 

[Fatality]

I don't think you are ever going to understand what I am saying.

Guess we are in different boats in the same ocean.

I do want to say, you are correct. I misread haunted houses as haunted mansion. Easy mistake, mainly because I have a sick child at home and my attention is pulled in 20 directions. I would never take my child to HHN as it is clearly advertised as an adult event. For the parents that allow their young kids to go are crazy, but maybe their child can handle it. Who knows. I also never said height restriction meant anything so not sure why you even talked about that. I basically said Seuss was a fail because the 2 main rides don't allow young toddlers on them and when they do the one is too boring at that point. But I never said no height restriction meant the kid should go on it. Not sure where you got that impression.

I brought it up because it is something that I have seen and heard. I never mentioned it was by you.
Simply bringing it up.

My thing was you act like all these rides are dumbed down for kids and I am not really sure of a ride that does this. Scary rides are scary, Simpsons to me is true to the material, non-scary stuff is not scary. Things are dumbed down normally because of budget or just poor scripts.

The only thing I mentioned being dumbed down was The Living Seas with Nemo.
That's it.
And I didn't even use the term "dumb down."
My ONLY example of "dumbing down." And my goodness you kids are RUNNING with it....

Also, I think it is humorous you mention FJ, because many times on here it has been stated that WB asked for items to be removed because they thought they were too scary. And no one, including me and other people with kids agreed those items should have been removed. We all thought they should have been included.

I don't know why they wanted to remove items - I can only guess and assume that it was due to children / families.

Oh and you are right, Kong queue is not your problem, but it is Uni's problem. If they don't want to "dumb" down the line as you put it, they should change how rider swap is done for this particular ride. If the queue is currently no scarier than Mummy, then I don't think this will even be an issue. We will all have to see once it opens.

And in my Blue Sky Park, they should not have to lessen their intent creatively to suite the needs of those kinds of families. Period.

And we all know which kind I'm talking about. The parents that bring their children to HHN and then blame Universal.

Izzy, from all my experiences on here I would like to say that you sound like an absolutely tremendous parent who knows your children and wants to provide the best for them and nurture what they enjoy. NONE of this is an attack or personal on you and I apologize if it comes off that way.

 

[martymcflyy85]

Time to move on from the adult/kid issue please.

 

[WAJAS]

ugh... These posts are sooooooo long.

 

[*Q*]

ugh... These posts are sooooooo long.

Yeah, I pulled the ignore trigger on one side of that whole thing.

 

[Teebin]

ugh... These posts are sooooooo long.

Yeah, you will find this happens when people aren't sure if their text is convincing/compelling enough. So they type an extra 19 more sentences rephrased to make sure they get their point across.

 

[IzzyB]

Yeah, you will find this happens when people aren't sure if their text is convincing/compelling enough. So they type an extra 19 more sentences rephrased to make sure they get their point across.

Sorry, I am long winded in general. I am a girl and all

Hope I didn't get on anyone's ignore list lol

 

[Teebin]

Sorry, I am long winded in general. I am a girl and all

Hope I didn't get on anyone's ignore list lol

You tend to tell life stories. That requires a lot more text then selling an idea so no prob.

 

[tielo]

I would love an adult theme park.
Restaurants like Hannibals kitchen (sub titel: It'll cost you an arm and a leg to eat here). Or the When Harry met Sally: Yes, Yes, Yes, I want what she is having restaurant.
Or Basic Instinct' s meet and greet with the bever. Cheese and Chong's halucinating dark ride. From dusk till dawn, the trackless darkride with a "twist".
The list is endless.

 

[Brian G.]

OK, and we're moving on from the adult theme park talk.

 

[*Q*]

OK, and we're moving on from the adult theme park talk.

For some reason I'm having trouble getting coins out of your avatar.

 

[mitchada04]

Something I've wanted to see for a while in the theme park industry is a recreation of the Isle of Berk. Now I have no idea of Uni's relationship with Dreamworks Animation but they do have Shrek. Merlin have been using their properties for a few years now and are building a HTTYD kids land at HeidePark this year but I know they'll never build anything of the scale I'm thinking.

So, you dedicate a whole land to it. Can have all the little huts etc, a cliff you can go down to the lakes by, etc. Would be a gorgeous land to make.

A huge B&M wingrider themed to Toothless, have it flying around the island with an amazing score. And, add VR if you want to go on a flight through all the close call rocks out in the lakes for more drama.

Could no doubt have a family/kid flat themed around the sheep somehow and another dragon styled one. Restaurant could be in the great viking hall and have a hut or two as fast service. The dragon training arena could host a show like the live show with the huge mechanical dragon puppets. And I'm sure you could have a family dark ride somewhere in there too.

That's my dream

 

[Scott W.]

Something I've wanted to see for a while in the theme park industry is a recreation of the Isle of Berk. Now I have no idea of Uni's relationship with Dreamworks Animation but they do have Shrek. Merlin have been using their properties for a few years now and are building a HTTYD kids land at HeidePark this year but I know they'll never build anything of the scale I'm thinking.

So, you dedicate a whole land to it. Can have all the little huts etc, a cliff you can go down to the lakes by, etc. Would be a gorgeous land to make.

A huge B&M wingrider themed to Toothless, have it flying around the island with an amazing score. And, add VR if you want to go on a flight through all the close call rocks out in the lakes for more drama.

Could no doubt have a family/kid flat themed around the sheep somehow and another dragon styled one. Restaurant could be in the great viking hall and have a hut or two as fast service. The dragon training arena could host a show like the live show with the huge mechanical dragon puppets. And I'm sure you could have a family dark ride somewhere in there too.

That's my dream

Universal does love dragons so I think it would be a great fit. I'm not sure if I'm remembering this right but Steven Spielberg and Universal have a great relationship and he was one of the founders.

 

[JungleSkip]

If HTTYD 2 had done better at the boxoffice, maybe we'd see it.

As-is, DreamWorks Animation is kind of listless. I don't think we'll see another DreamWorks property at an American Uni theme park

 

[Brian G.]

If HTTYD 2 had done better at the boxoffice, maybe we'd see it.

As-is, DreamWorks Animation is kind of listless. I don't think we'll see another DreamWorks property at an American Uni theme park

I think if any DreamWorks IP would be able to successful, it would by HTTYD - I think it did well enough; but I agree with your point that DreamWorks may be done in theme parks.