15 things you would do to improve UOR

[JustInTime]

Yep, it closed in 2011, but that doesn't mean it can't go over well in IOA... it fits the BASED IN LITERATURE theme as well... Here is an image of the Oz characters, obviously not portrayed by the movie, but the books:

Here is a little bit of Wicked from Universal Japan, imagine this in IOA (Or maybe as a broadway style show in USO?)

Wicked

I love this.

 

[JustInTime]

"Unoriginal" attractions? How are you going to judge attractions you didn't even experience?

And Marvel Island certainly is themed. You just don't get it. This seems to be a fairly common phenomena, and I don't understand it. Do people not know what a comic book looks like? I do, and I don't even read them.

You know you can read descriptions of rides to get a general idea of what type of ride system it is, right? A log ride with a flume? Where have I heard that before? Dollywood? Six Flags? Magic Kingdom? Disneyland? What about a river rapid style ride? Where have I seen that before? Bush Gardens? Dolly Wood? Disney California Adventure? Six Flags? Animal Kingdom?

The point is, I don't have to ride a ride to know if it's unoriginal. If I have ridden a ride similar before I can base my opinion off that. If they are going to have unoriginal attractions, at least base the attractions on characters the general public care about.

And I still think Marvel Island was poorly done. Agree to disagree. This is why opinions exist. You don't have to agree with me.

 

[JT3000]

You know you can read descriptions of rides to get a general idea of what type of ride system it is, right? A log ride with a flume? Where have I heard that before? Dollywood? Six Flags? Magic Kingdom? Disneyland? What about a river rapid style ride? Where have I seen that before? Bush Gardens? Dolly Wood? Disney California Adventure? Six Flags? Animal Kingdom?

So you're basically penalizing Universal for using standard ride systems? Are they supposed to invent a brand new, never-before-seen ride system every time they want to open a new attraction? Universal is already the leader in new ride technology, but that's an utterly unrealistic standard to hold them to.

Using a standard ride system doesn't make a ride unoriginal. You're not even taking thematics or layout into consideration. Of course, you can't, since you didn't actually ride them.

To be fair, Dudley has nothing show-wise on Splash Mountain. As a ride it's probably got the edge. Popeye, however, just might be the best rapids ride anywhere (both as a ride and a storytelling experience).

I guess none of this matters, because they're all equally unoriginal. :hammer:

 

[flynnibus]

The point is, I don't have to ride a ride to know if it's unorigina

No - but you should ride it if you want have an INFORMED opinion about it. Roller Coasters are original either - but they can be global draws. What matters is the execution and total package.. not you looking at one aspect and saying 'not new! useless!'. Your reasoning for dismissing these rides is petty and pretty much worthless when comparing across the industry.

 

[hack2112]

To be quite honest, you don't need to create a whole Wizard of Oz land for Wicked. You could take out Twister, raise the roof of the show building and place a theater inside of it, and then you have a broadway-style theater in the New York area where you can change the production inside every one and half to two years or so. Everybody wins.

 

[AswaySuller]

I would love to ride Popeye and Dudley more but you just get too darn wet!

Maybe it's just my bad luck but I always get so wet it's uncomfortable and takes hours to dry out and can ruin shoes/sneakers. If I jumped in a pool fully clothed and then took a shower afterwards I would be about as wet as I get on these rides!!!

Maybe I'm boring but I don't find getting that soaked fun... I don't mind a splash and even more but the level I get drenched on these rides is ridiculous.

 

[GLaDOS]

The only thing I would do would be get rid out of the 90s. Jurassic Park, The Mummy, Fear Factor, Twister... I mean like, really? I love the improvements they're making besides that. Oh, another thing would be to enclose the Hulk queue and improve it. It's absolutely disgusting every time I go in there (Yes, they added flat screens but they left some tube tvs! really?!)

You get rid of JP (one of the best themed lands anywhere, not to mention one of the best movies of all time) and we're gonna have a problem.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I would love to ride Popeye and Dudley more but you just get too darn wet!

Maybe it's just my bad luck but I always get so wet it's uncomfortable and takes hours to dry out and can ruin shoes/sneakers. If I jumped in a pool fully clothed and then took a shower afterwards I would be about as wet as I get on these rides!!!

Maybe I'm boring but I don't find getting that soaked fun... I don't mind a splash and even more but the level I get drenched on these rides is ridiculous.

Wear a bathing suit... Trust me LOL... it is better than wearing regular shorts...

 

[flynnibus]

The IOA water rides are like no other.. soaked takes on new terms. More like 'jumped in the pool' I recommend people take flipflops and bathing suits. Its crazy how soaked you get compared to every other water ride out there.

 

[NemoRocks78]

I'm also supportive of UO's counter service locations. Never had a bad meal! Love Mel's, Louie's, Cafe 4, Thunder Falls, and Three Broomsticks. The pizza at Louie's is soooooo good. And you can't go wrong with the offerings in CityWalk… I love Whopper Bar (even though it's a glorified Burger King :lol: ), Panda Express and Moe's are around, and Pastamore's counter service spot has some really good sandwiches (used to have lunch there often when I lived in town).

And my thoughts:

1. Like everyone else, I'd recommend Twister for the chopping block… I mean, I love me some "I'm Bill Paxton," but the thing is taking up some useful space. I've always enjoyed attractions like Twister and Backdraft, so I wouldn't mind another (but more "advanced") "making of the movies" style attraction there (hell, throw Kong 360 in that spot if it's possible)… but whoever thought about making it a stage show space was spot on. That'd be lovely.

2. Using all the prime real estate they have at Studios for new attractions would be MUCH better than tearing down old ones. I don't want to see E.T. torn down for something else when they have all that space elsewhere. Use it, Uni!

3. KidZone certainly needs a refresh… the Nick store is a step in the right direction, though its placement near E.T. troubles me. Barney hasn't bothered anyone, so it's good to stay… and E.T. desperately needs a refurbishment. As for a new ride, would knocking down Curious George and using the old Hard Rock space doable? I'd be down for a new kids attraction, preferably a dark ride - maybe even Madagascar from US Singapore.

4. Replace Fear Factor with something… anything! :lol: I sure do miss the Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show.

5. Rockit needs new trains - that's a given. Hopefully they're in the process of doing something about it.

6. Love T2:3D, but its time was up long ago. Let's get something new in there. I've always thought some sort of Transformers 3D type show would work, hell, maybe even go after Avatar for some kind of 3D experience if the deal with Disney truly falls through.

7. Horror Make-Up is wonderful, but I'd like to see an update to finally get rid of the damn wolf man ending. :lol: It's gone on for way too long.

8. Seuss Landing needs some love. I've been calling for a repaint of The Cat in the Hat's hat for years. I understand if they're going for a faded look for the land, but the hat has gone from bad to worse. :lol: I also think it's time for a new attraction. It certainly seems like they could squeeze something the size of Cat's show building to the left of it (behind the Fish). The Lorax has made some good money - I'd look into doing something with it.

9. The Lost Continent is a mess that needs to be dealt with. Mythos is the only thing holding it together. It's possible it could still go to Potter expansion years down the road, but if it's slated for it they need to fix the problems for the time being.

10. I would do anything for something new in Jurassic Park, but let's face it… they're kind of stuck when it comes to story and land. Though I do wonder what they could do with Thunder Falls Terrace and all the space behind it. Someone mentioned Helicoptours - if they could make it work, I'd be down!

11. Toon Lagoon Ampitheater should have been demolished yesterday. Just another example of prime real estate for a real attraction just sitting around. The problem, though, is that they may have a hard time getting the general public excited about a new attraction (potentially water-based, and that's another issue - they have a log flume and a rapids ride - where do you go from there) themed around a comic strip. I personally think the amphitheater and surrounding area should be folded into Marvel Superhero Island for a new Marvel-themed attraction, if they can do it that is. Or a land retheme may not be a terrible idea…

12. A new moderate-range hotel would be fantastic. Hopefully the rumors are true.

13. Finally, I would not be against some more table service restaurants in each park. They could sure use them, and it'd be nice to have another place to sit down, relax, and enjoy a meal during a fun day at the parks.

 

[JT3000]

8. Seuss Landing needs some love. I've been calling for a repaint of The Cat in the Hat's hat for years. I understand if they're going for a faded look for the land, but the hat has gone from bad to worse. :lol: I also think it's time for a new attraction. It certainly seems like they could squeeze something the size of Cat's show building to the left of it (behind the Fish). The Lorax has made some good money - I'd look into doing something with it.

Seuss Landing isn't supposed to be faded. In fact, it was extremely bright originally. Many things, like the Cat's hat, are usually painted at least once a year. Problem is, the bright paint they use fades very quickly in the Florida weather. This is why parts of the island (mostly the ground) are much darker in color now than when it opened.

It would be nice if they finally used the space behind Cat in the Hat (former site of the Grinch show) for another attraction, but I wouldn't count on it. They've turned it into a lovely parking lot recently. :brick:

 

[maxairmike]

I'm also supportive of UO's counter service locations. Never had a bad meal! Love Mel's, Louie's, Cafe 4, Thunder Falls, and Three Broomsticks. The pizza at Louie's is soooooo good. And you can't go wrong with the offerings in CityWalk… I love Whopper Bar (even though it's a glorified Burger King :lol: ), Panda Express and Moe's are around, and Pastamore's counter service spot has some really good sandwiches (used to have lunch there often when I lived in town).

I certainly agree with all of this. I generally love the counter service all over Universal. Panda and Starbucks means I spend way more than I should. :lol:

And my thoughts:

1. Like everyone else, I'd recommend Twister for the chopping block… I mean, I love me some "I'm Bill Paxton," but the thing is taking up some useful space. I've always enjoyed attractions like Twister and Backdraft, so I wouldn't mind another (but more "advanced") "making of the movies" style attraction there (hell, throw Kong 360 in that spot if it's possible)… but whoever thought about making it a stage show space was spot on. That'd be lovely.

Again, I agree. Did it twice and don't care to do it ever again. Thought about doing it many times as a time killer, but it kills too much time (talk about ironic)!

5. Rockit needs new trains - that's a given. Hopefully they're in the process of doing something about it.

I understand that this is something Universal is eager to fix. In fact, I hear Mauer is at the end of their rope and Premier has been in at least once or twice now to look at not only the trains, but also some track and ride system issues as well. The trains come in "partying" way too often.

7. Horror Make-Up is wonderful, but I'd like to see an update to finally get rid of the damn wolf man ending. :lol: It's gone on for way too long.

Love this show after finally seeing it for the first time on my previous trip. What a hilarious show, and I hope it doesn't leave! Updating is more than welcome, as I could even see that this was not a fresh show at all (but still very good!).

8. Seuss Landing needs some love. I've been calling for a repaint of The Cat in the Hat's hat for years. I understand if they're going for a faded look for the land, but the hat has gone from bad to worse. :lol: I also think it's time for a new attraction. It certainly seems like they could squeeze something the size of Cat's show building to the left of it (behind the Fish). The Lorax has made some good money - I'd look into doing something with it.

I was just thinking they should do something big with the Lorax (other than a meet & grope) my previous trip as well, before it was even out! If it's as funny as it appears from the trailer..."That's a *woman*!?"...100x yes!

9. The Lost Continent is a mess that needs to be dealt with. Mythos is the only thing holding it together. It's possible it could still go to Potter expansion years down the road, but if it's slated for it they need to fix the problems for the time being.

All true, but I really don't want to lose Mythos.

11. Toon Lagoon Ampitheater should have been demolished yesterday. Just another example of prime real estate for a real attraction just sitting around. The problem, though, is that they may have a hard time getting the general public excited about a new attraction (potentially water-based, and that's another issue - they have a log flume and a rapids ride - where do you go from there) themed around a comic strip. I personally think the amphitheater and surrounding area should be folded into Marvel Superhero Island for a new Marvel-themed attraction, if they can do it that is. Or a land retheme may not be a terrible idea…

Two words: water coaster. Oh, and one much, much better than Atlantis. Maybe look into Intamin's system.

12. A new moderate-range hotel would be fantastic. Hopefully the rumors are true.

Only question is when.

13. Finally, I would not be against some more table service restaurants in each park. They could sure use them, and it'd be nice to have another place to sit down, relax, and enjoy a meal during a fun day at the parks.

Very much needed, and would be greatly appreciated.

My replies are in red.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

You know you can read descriptions of rides to get a general idea of what type of ride system it is, right? A log ride with a flume? Where have I heard that before? Dollywood? Six Flags? Magic Kingdom? Disneyland? What about a river rapid style ride? Where have I seen that before? Bush Gardens? Dolly Wood? Disney California Adventure? Six Flags? Animal Kingdom?

The point is, I don't have to ride a ride to know if it's unoriginal. If I have ridden a ride similar before I can base my opinion off that. If they are going to have unoriginal attractions, at least base the attractions on characters the general public care about.

So say you've ridden flume rides at Dollywood, Busch, Six Flags, etc. So that means upon a visit to a Disney park, you wouldn't skip Splash Mountain? Especially since that's based on characters the general public cares about, the cast of "Song of the South"?

Yeah, try Dudley's and Popeye's on your next visit. They're among the best flume and rapids you'll ever ride.

 

[thelookingglass]

The only thing I would do would be get rid out of the 90s. Jurassic Park, The Mummy, Fear Factor, Twister... I mean like, really?

Oh no, they have franchises from the 90s! While we're at it, we should get WDW out of the... 1950's - 1970's... :lookaroun

 

[modegreen]

Let me help you with this..

Just went to both parks yesterday. I had only been to Islands of Adventure before. First off, Universal Studios is a much better park than Islands of Adventure. Islands of Adventure is a true half day park. We were done with everything by around 11:00 am. Most of my gripes are with Islands of Adventure. But there were several things that I saw that needed work:

I'll give you that IOA is more of a half-day park, and Universal Studios Florida is a better all-around experience.

1. Repaint Dr. Seuss.

I walk through Disney and Universal parks on a weekly basis, and Suess Landing has seen a lot of improvement in the last year or so. Many surfaces have been repainted around the time of Grinchmas last year. That island is looking as good as when they built High in the Sky Suess Trolley Train Ride.

2. Jurassic Park: This sections was clearly mishandled. I don't get it. So many areas of opportunity here.

One of the best-balanced areas in the park, and a lot more cohesive than Dinoland USA.

3. Whatever the toon area is called in Islands of Adventure: I didn't ride a single ride in the section. Very unoriginal attractions and characters that I just don't care about. They need to pick better franchise to invest in and revamp this area.

Water rides anchor this area, so this area is more popular in the Summer time. IOA is smart to put all three water rides next to each other, although it doesn't help when it's colder or no one wants to ride them.

4. Marvel Island: This area felt like Six Flags. Little to no theming. It doesn't feel like you are entering marvel world. Really bad theming.

Marvel Super Hero Island is the Tomorrowland of the park, and has some amazing rides and atmosphere. It's a shame you didn't catch the villains/superheroes streetmosphere show, since that goes a long way toward pulling you into that world.

5. Islands of Adventure' Islands: Harry Potter feels out of place. What Potter does is transport you TO the Wizarding World. It feels like you are walking in the world. All the other sections fail to do that. I think all the other islands need to be redesigned to match what Potter has to offer.

Potter is nice, but I can't imagine it fitting in any better at any one of the Disney parks.

6. Better cleaning crew: While at Universal Studios monday, it wasn't very clean. There were still remains of Saturday's Mardi Gras celebration of the ground. It looked like it hadn't been swept at all. And this is 2 days later.

That's probably due to the confetti cannons. Park Services isn't a miracle worker, and Disney is known for pressure-washing everything... but I've seen plenty of dirty park areas at Disney parks. Especially the queue lines.

7.) Utilize the classic Hollywood Monsters: I feel like the Horror genera is underrepresented. A dark ride based on all the classic movie monsters would be perfect.

There's Graveyard, Horror Make-Up (hopefully you got a chance to see that, as that's a true classic), and the Monsters Cafe. Mummy kinda straddles that line, too (classic monster with a modern movie tie-in).

8.) Twister: Remove the ties to the film and just theme it around a disaster film.

Disaster Studios' Frank Kincaid might have something to say about that. After all, I'd take Twister over the old Narnia hack-job that ran for years at DHS.

9.) Universal's Kiddie area: Give it more TLC. Build a better facade for E.T. and refub the ride. It needs it. The movie posters outside the ride are over 10 years old now. No excuse for that. Get rid of Barney. Add something of substance.

No complaints here.

10.) Dinning: More Table service options

Two table service options in both parks (Confiscos/Mythos/Finnegans/Lombards), plus all of CityWalk? That's more than enough. That resort is worth a two-day visit at least, so you have more than enough options.

11.) Mummy: needs HD badly...

I'd settle for a better ending.

12.) Beetlejuice's Graveyard Review: It feels like it's in the wrong place...you know, in the middle of a New York street. And where was the Graveyard?

First off, it's location is in San Fransisco. Second, the stage is a castle/graveyard set. It's a little out of place, true, but now you're nit-picking.

13.) Meet and Greet: Need to have a bigger budget. They Meet and Greets feel so cheap and side-of-the-road.

Disney is the only place that places such an emphasis on meet-and-greets.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Ok so imagine you are made the big boss at UO, what would you do to make UO better?

If I were the big boss at UO, my #1 concern would be to increase profits. Unfortunately, this is in direct competition with my desire as a fan. As a fan, I can think of lots of "small" improvements to the parks. However, as CEO, these improvements aren't going to make any difference in the overall revenue stream. If I were CEO, I'd want to increase park attendance with the following:

1. Open up WWOHP Phase 2 in US. Phase 1 was a huge success. Phase 2 is likely to be a huge hit as well. By opening it in US, it will sell more multi-day, park hopper tickets and more evenly distribute the crowds between the 2 theme parks. Hopefully, this will keep people at UO longer. Currently, there are too many people visiting for only one or two days. Universal needs to start landing the multi-day guest, something Disney does so well. Based on what's happening with Jaws, I think we all pretty much assume this is in the works.

2. Open a new "land" based on some current movie with a lot of buzz such as 'Twilight' or 'The Hunger Games'. It worked for Harry Potter, why not for something else? With most headliner attractions having a 48" or 54" height restriction, Universal should keep it's focus on the tween/teen crowd. Universal cannot compete with Disney in the age 3-to-9 demagraphics. 'Twilight' and 'The Hunger Games' should appeal to an older crowd.

 

[stitch2008]

I dont know about 15 things. But I have two things.

1. Dont bring Potter over to the studio. Im sure the mine coaster may be nice and all, but wouldn't it better suited to be next to FJ? With the current rumored plan, you still the empty shell that use to be Lost Continent. Why not just finish off the whole thing and make the whole land Potter?

2. I would have kept the Jaws lagoon and put in a sort of King Kong boat ride. Something like a bigger version of 360 at USH. That would be kick butt in my mind.

 

[pumpkin7]

here's what i would do (granted i haven't been since 2008 btw).

1. put jaws back in but with a newer ride system, better animatronics. i know it's an old film, but you ask almost anyone about universal and the first thing they will mention is jaws.

2. give MiB some love. new movie coming out soon, add some more stuff to shoot at!

3. terminator: again, a classic movie, but it is looking very dated. maybe just re do the movie itself as the 'graphics' (particuarly the part where the t1000 sticks his metal arm out the screen) are looking a bit old.

4. i've seen a photo of the jurassic park sign, and right behind it in the background, you can see hogwarts. plant some more trees and keep the theming correct.

i think that's it. can't comment on harry potter because i've not seen it but i can't help but think this new expansion over in to the jaws area is a bit of overkill. but if it' sbringing people through the gates, then so be it.

that's about it.

 

[sambahat]

Oh man. Really glad you're not in charge.:lol:

Although I wouldn't necessarily drain the whole thing, I think that another "island" smack dab in the middle would work (logistics and engineering aside of course )

 

[sambahat]

I have to say that I had my first ever visit to the Universal Parks a few weeks ago and was blown away... amazing. But T2:3D has got to go.... so dated in content and technology... Actually, the best thing about the attraction was the CyberDyne introduction by the actress in the pre-show... she deserves a pay raise.