All things Universal Studios Hollywood

[Rich T]

The problem is you can't have it both ways - by seeing the physical sets your brain is telling you that you are moving incredibly slowly, while the AR is showing you going fast. You either need to have your speed in relation to the physical moving quickly (like RSR) or be in an entirely virtual environment (like Tron Superspeed Tunnel). This is just odd crawling along through large physical sets while the images are going an entirely different speed.

I say wait till you try it in person. It seems that it alternates between “speed” moments where you’re looking straight ahead at a screen and “chaos” sections where you’re impeded by attacks and it looks more like AR bumper cars. I’m really looking forward to seeing it myself; there’s no way any video is going to convey the whole AR experience accurately.

And, hey, the queue and physical sets are wonderful at the very least.

 

[Rich T]

Now having watched all the UPNT videos detailing how the entire land functions as an interactive game (LOVE the Piranha Plant challenge!!!) I gotta say the Mariokart ride makes much more sense as part of the whole experience and not an isolated ride. The whole land is a game, and Mariokart is the most elaborate part of the game. Whatever one thinks of the ride as a stand-alone, it really seems to fit in perfectly with the big picture.

Universal needs to make this very clear in the PR for the CA version .

 

[Rich T]

Nice overview. I like the idea that a new team competition starts every half hour in the land. NOT happy that you have to pay an extra $30 to take part via the wristband, but I guess for local repeat visitors, it’s not too bad a deal..

 

[DavidDL]

Definitely a tricky attraction to navigate without riding it in person. Universal's marketing made this seem more like a roller coaster with 3D glasses elements which made me wonder how on earth it could possibly work. Now things make much, much more sense and could have probably been made more clear in the promotional images.

First video I watched without the AR left me underwhelmed, essentially just sort of a Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin type of attraction which moved slower and lacking many of the characters.

Then I watched a video with the AR element overlayed into the attraction and suddenly everything just clicked into place. I know YouTube videos aren't doing it justice but even what I saw looked like a ton of fun and made so much more sense. Stuff like the moving Piranha Plants are sort of dull just staring at them but with the glasses, they suddenly become more dynamic and threatening because you don't see the fireballs they're shooting at you without them. Or the sudden lightning storm in the otherwise lifeless cloud area. -and I already thought the Rainbow Road segment was beautiful looking without the glasses but with the overlay, it looks even better.

Again, literally impossible to fully judge without riding it in person. Videos of the AR will never give the proper depth of field that the human eye can perceive. It looks like a lot of fun, all things considered and I'm glad Universal is tried to strike a balance of practical set and "screen based" action.

This was sort of a "damned if they did and damned if they don't" sort of situation, too. I would have preferred a dedicated coaster, myself. But doing so means you need to sacrifice the interactive, "game" element that makes Mario Kart, well, Mario Kart. You wouldn't be able to get the cars to move too fast with the AR without causing some serious motion sickness in a large amount of riders. -and with the direction they did end up going, there's a fair amount of speed sacrificed. Which is kind of a bummer but it looks like the general zany-ness of everything happening around you is what they're using to try and make up for it. I can't say how successful it is or not without riding it in person but I think it looks like a lot of fun and am looking forward to it coming to CA. Our park needs as many attractions as it can possibly get and as far as I'm aware, we don't have anything like this here, yet. It's nice to know there's an interactive dark ride on the way.

Though I will admit that Universal could have probably been a little bit more clear in their marketing.

 

[Rich T]

The cost of park tickets with Mario wristbands for a family of four is about the same as the cost of a Nintendo Switch and a copy of Mario Kart 8....

 

[DavidDL]

I think the Yoshi Adventure attraction looks pretty bad. The remixed music is great and nostalgic but I just think the actual attraction is sort of.. bleh. It's effectively an outdoor circular circuit through a show scene or two. Not particularly great ones, at that. A small step above Hemlich's Chew Chew Train. It's obviously aimed at children and sort of a kinetic, "peoplemover" type attraction but it hardly traverses the land and seems to move at a painfully slow pace to try to make up for lack of area covered. Even if they had simply removed the two show scenes, sped up the attraction and had it move throughout the entire land, I think that would have been an improvement.

When I heard the CA version had been sacrificed for Secret Life of Pets, I was disappointed. Now, I can honestly say I'm more excited for Pets and dare I say, it may end up being the better of the two? We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Rich T]

I think the Yoshi Adventure attraction looks pretty bad. The remixed music is great and nostalgic but I just think the actual attraction is sort of.. bleh. It's effectively an outdoor circular circuit through a show scene or two. Not particularly great ones, at that. A small step above Hemlich's Chew Chew Train. It's obviously aimed at children and sort of a kinetic, "peoplemover" type attraction but it hardly traverses the land and seems to move at a painfully slow pace to try to make up for lack of area covered. Even if they had simply removed the two show scenes, sped up the attraction and had it move throughout the entire land, I think that would have been an improvement.

When I heard the CA version had been sacrificed for Secret Life of Pets, I was disappointed. Now, I can honestly say I'm more excited for Pets and dare I say, it may end up being the better of the two? We'll just have to wait and see.

Not excited for anything related to Pets, but I agree that it could be better than the Yoshi ride. Hearing the Yoshi’s Island music box theme was the best part.

 

[DisneyEthan]

I think the Yoshi Adventure attraction looks pretty bad. The remixed music is great and nostalgic but I just think the actual attraction is sort of.. bleh. It's effectively an outdoor circular circuit through a show scene or two. Not particularly great ones, at that. A small step above Hemlich's Chew Chew Train. It's obviously aimed at children and sort of a kinetic, "peoplemover" type attraction but it hardly traverses the land and seems to move at a painfully slow pace to try to make up for lack of area covered. Even if they had simply removed the two show scenes, sped up the attraction and had it move throughout the entire land, I think that would have been an improvement.

When I heard the CA version had been sacrificed for Secret Life of Pets, I was disappointed. Now, I can honestly say I'm more excited for Pets and dare I say, it may end up being the better of the two? We'll just have to wait and see.

I agree cuz pets has 98 animatronics and the sets look fantastic

 

[PostScott]

The more I think about this, the more I realize I'm more upset with the marketing team. I actually kinda like the ride and I think its neat. Do I think it'll change the industry or anything? No. But it looks to be a fun land with a cool looking e-ticket and a meh c-ticket.

I just wish that the marketing team didn't include pictures of fast moving cars racing. I mean the height requirement is 42 inches. Radiator Springs Racers has a 40 inch restriction so I thought this attraction was gonna be on par with RSR or even better. I think all this backlash could have been lessened if they told us this was gonna be a family ride through and through. Tell us certain stats like how fast it'll go and whatnot. I don't understand how Universal messed this up. I know its international but Universal is doing a really good job marketing Velocicoaster. Hagrids was just alright but Velocicoaster is getting lots of attention, and the right attention too. All the stats, all the thought out pictures and videos, etc. I just can't help but scratch my head to look at this situation. Yes, sometimes its better to not know much about an attraction before experiencing it, but when you market a ride to be something it's not, then theres a problem.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

The more I think about this, the more I realize I'm more upset with the marketing team. I actually kinda like the ride and I think its neat. Do I think it'll change the industry or anything? No. But it looks to be a fun land with a cool looking e-ticket and a meh c-ticket.

I just wish that the marketing team didn't include pictures of fast moving cars racing. I mean the height requirement is 42 inches. Radiator Springs Racers has a 40 inch restriction so I thought this attraction was gonna be on par with RSR or even better. I think all this backlash could have been lessened if they told us this was gonna be a family ride through and through. Tell us certain stats like how fast it'll go and whatnot. I don't understand how Universal messed this up. I know its international but Universal is doing a really good job marketing Velocicoaster. Hagrids was just alright but Velocicoaster is getting lots of attention, and the right attention too. All the stats, all the thought out pictures and videos, etc. I just can't help but scratch my head to look at this situation. Yes, sometimes its better to not know much about an attraction before experiencing it, but when you market a ride to be something it's not, then theres a problem.

Even if they makrketed the way you say the ride would be an epic failure.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Even if they makrketed the way you say the ride would be an epic failure.

No it wouldn’t and it won’t be an “epic failure.”

 

[Brer Oswald]

This isn’t a failure on any scale. I understand expecting more speed and competition with other racers. I’m not sure where people got “coaster” from “Mario Kart”. There’s nothing very coaster like about the games. Maybe Mario Kart 8 a little with the anti gravity.

 

[DavidDL]

This isn’t a failure on any scale. I understand expecting more speed and competition with other racers. I’m not sure where people got “coaster” from “Mario Kart”. There’s nothing very coaster like about the games. Maybe Mario Kart 8 a little with the anti gravity.

I certainly don’t think the ride is a failure based on what I’ve seen. Just sort of, had to re-calibrate my mind for what kind of ride it is vs. what I imagined it might be. I think myself and others were imagining more coaster and speed based on promotional media like this.

 

[Tamandua]

I was definitely expecting a hybrid between radiator springs racers and midway mania. This is sort of a letdown.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It honestly looks like it was made for Japanese audiences and Americans need the faster and more intense version.

 

[Tamandua]

faster and more intense

You would say that...

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Excuse me?

 

[Tamandua]

Excuse me?

George Lucas is famous for saying "faster and more intense" when directing his cast. It's pretty much all he says according to some.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

And...action!

Alright, cut?

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

No it wouldn’t and it won’t be an “epic failure.”

The land overall is fantastic. Home run. They did not make it feel like you stepped into a video game, they made you feel like you actually stepped into the world of Mario. Everything does not look video game like. Looks like a real place with a ton of kinetic energy. A++ on that. However it is too small. Feels like a outdoor mall. Peache's Castle needs to be more spacious and bigger. But the visuals of the land work. The rides however are just epic failures to me. The Yoshi ride makes no sense on multiple levels. Never in the world of Mario did he ever ride in a vehicle shaped like Yoshi. He rode Yoshi. They could have made a ride where you mounted Yoshi. but we got this slooooow people mover type ride with a queue that looks like it belongs in a mall that is super tacky. Mario Kart should have been a slam dunk. The ride creates itself. This should have been Universal's apology for Fast and Furious SuperCharged and their answer to Test Track and Radiator Springs Racers. It needed to be an actual racing ride with AA's. The Mario Kart ride uses screens to create the illusion of fast movement only some of the time. The ride is not only slow but it really does not simulate an actual race. Most of the AR is just crap thrown right in front of you. Its not a linear race where characters change between first and 2nd place and stuff like that. One thing that bothers me is the rest of the land feel like a real place but on the ride the characters look like a video game. they don't look like how they do outside the ride and they are see through!! you can see the background through them. Like a pepper's ghost effect. Its just characters doing stuff in front of you. BUT THERE IS NO ACTUAL RACE. The whole signals for you to turn the car are pointless because the car is going to turn along the track bar no matter what. Mr. Toad is faster than this ride. Some of the sets are kind of cool but the AR crap blocks the majority of it making the set hard to see. And there is hardly any AA's in it. The ride is a major let down and if you think otherwise you are lying to yourself. You know this does not look good or have any thrill factor. " but, but its a kid/family ride" ok...so is sapce mountain and big thunder and kids ride them like crazy. so what? so what? Universal dropped the ball -flat out. HOPEFULLY THE DONKEY KONG COASTER makes up for it. but Mario Kart is just a epic failure. Nintendo did not understand what their fans wanted or expected. Its awful. Oh and you are always team Mario and team Mario always wins. There is no variety. God awful.