All things Universal Studios Hollywood

mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
How long has that restaurant on Paris Street been VIPs only? It’s too bad. Looks to be one of the only places in the park you can have a meal in relaxed outdoor setting. The new coaster kind of messes that up but I see they strategically left some trees to block the view. It’s too bad as USH is nestled in the hills and you have some beautiful views from various parts of the park. But nowhere to sit, relax and really take in those views. All the outdoor seating are in very hectic parts of the park. Upstairs at Jurassic Cafe is one exception.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Today the Pokemon Company announced a permanent theme park land called Poke Park Kanto opening next year at… well, Yomiurland, not Universal.

I gotta say it looks like a perfect way to present Pokemon as a theme park land. Half of it is a large park/forest exploration trail (sort of like Efteling’s Fairytale Forest) for observing Pokemon in the wild. The other half is a typical clean, modern town center you’d find in a Pokemon game, with training facilities, shops, diners, and informal local battles going on. Plus flat rides.

Add a major indoor ride to this and you’d have a perfect Pokemon land for USO or (with less emphasis on the forest section) USH. I’m holding out hope that a Pokemon land (even if it’s completely different from this approach) is still a possibility for Universal in the U.S.
 
Professortango1

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
Rich T said:
Today the Pokemon Company announced a permanent theme park land called Poke Park Kanto opening next year at… well, Yomiurland, not Universal.

I gotta say it looks like a perfect way to present Pokemon as a theme park land. Half of it is a large park/forest exploration trail (sort of like Efteling’s Fairytale Forest) for observing Pokemon in the wild. The other half is a typical clean, modern town center you’d find in a Pokemon game, with training facilities, shops, diners, and informal local battles going on. Plus flat rides.

Add a major indoor ride to this and you’d have a perfect Pokemon land for USO or (with less emphasis on the forest section) USH. I’m holding out hope that a Pokemon land (even if it’s completely different from this approach) is still a possibility for Universal in the U.S.
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I'm interested to see what they create, because I have never been able to understand how Pokemon could be interesting beyond a SLOP-like ride, much less a land or entire park. It all seems way too generic for me; so I hope to be enlightened.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Phroobar said:
It would nice to see a One Piece ride if we are doing anime.
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I’d love to see that, but it’s probably still too niche a property over here for Universal to risk in a U.S. park. It’s gotta be at least as familiar to Americans as Transformers or Pokemon.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Professortango1 said:
I'm interested to see what they create, because I have never been able to understand how Pokemon could be interesting beyond a SLOP-like ride, much less a land or entire park. It all seems way too generic for me; so I hope to be enlightened.
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For the U.S., a ride (I’m imagining) would probably have to be an interactive collection adventure (kind of like the Pokemon Snap game) with endless re-rideability.

The Pokemon world has a fun premise; what if every animal species on Earth had a unique superpower and could potentially be befriended for good or evil?

But since the actual town locations (at least the ones possible to build in a park) tend to be pleasant/clean/resort-ish, the only ways I see to make the site interesting would be to 1) somehow tie it all functionally into supporting the land’s ongoing game/ride competition and 2) fill it to the brim with hidden representatives of the 1,000+ Pokemon species to find/scan for points.

But from the concept art, I think the park in Japan is going for something a bit more relaxed.
 
Professortango1

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
Rich T said:
For the U.S., a ride (I’m imagining) would probably have to be an interactive collection adventure (kind of like the Pokemon Snap game) with endless re-rideability.

The Pokemon world has a fun premise; what if every animal species on Earth had a unique superpower and could potentially be befriended for good or evil?

But since the actual town locations (at least the ones possible to build in a park) tend to be pleasant/clean/resort-ish, the only ways I see to make the site interesting would be to 1) somehow tie it all functionally into supporting the land’s ongoing game/ride competition and 2) fill it to the brim with hidden representatives of the 1,000+ Pokemon species to find/scan for points.

But from the concept art, I think the park in Japan is going for something a bit more relaxed.
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Yeah, I've heard people suggest a Pokemon Snap ride, but it still sounds incredibly boring. Isn't the whole point of the animals is making them fight in pits/arenas? That would be like going on a Michael Vic ride and taking pictures of random dogs just standing around.

Also, the locations in the limited views of the shows that I have seen all seem to be pretty generic. It would be like making a Secret Life of Pets LAND vs just one attraction. I don't need to walk through a faux less detailed generic modern city. And if the only thing to do there is go on easter egg hunts, then I'm good.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Rich T said:
For the U.S., a ride (I’m imagining) would probably have to be an interactive collection adventure (kind of like the Pokemon Snap game) with endless re-rideability.
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The Pokémon Snap ride was the focus of the Kids Zone replacement that died years ago when Universal decided to focus on Epic Universe.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Professortango1 said:
Yeah, I've heard people suggest a Pokemon Snap ride, but it still sounds incredibly boring. Isn't the whole point of the animals is making them fight in pits/arenas? That would be like going on a Michael Vic ride and taking pictures of random dogs just standing around.

Also, the locations in the limited views of the shows that I have seen all seem to be pretty generic. It would be like making a Secret Life of Pets LAND vs just one attraction. I don't need to walk through a faux less detailed generic modern city. And if the only thing to do there is go on easter egg hunts, then I'm good.
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Keep in mind that in the Pokemon world, the creatures love battling each other, never die or bleed, and have zany personalities and egos like professional wrestling characters. It’s a cartoon fantasy universe based on an 8-bit game inspired by bug collecting. I don’t think anyone back at its origin envisioned it would become one of the biggest franchises ever. Pop culture is wild. 😃

But, yeah, for anyone who’s not already fond of the franchise, it could be a tough sell. 😃

As far as a Snap ride goes, I would have it start serene and gradually ramp up to crazy intense fictional peril, like trying to photograph an attacking lava monster (that could be your mission) while the bridge beneath you is crumbling. Stuff like that.
 

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