All things Universal Studios Hollywood

[PiratesMansion]

To me, the big problem is that the parks aren't getting nearly equivalent builds IMO. Hollywood continually gets reduced scale or underwhelming offerings compared to Orlando and there's no effort to build something even fully equivalent in quality in California, let alone unique.

For all of the things Disney could do better, they're worlds ahead of Universal here.

 

[Touchdown]

USH has been and will continue to be a movie studio that pretends to be a theme park, USF is the opposite it’s a theme park that pretends to be a movie studio. It’s not surprising that each place does better at doing what it truely is, and doesn’t do so good at the thing it pretends to be. USH will never be Universal Orlando, it’s too small, its layout too cut up by the terrain, it’s always going to be second fiddle to Orlando, especially if they continue to want to run it as a movie studio. It’s quirky, unique, and other then history is never going to win against one of the top 5 theme park resorts in the word (DLR, WDW, DLJ, USO, DLP in no particular order.) That’s just not a fair comparison. I wish the companies would stop cloning but they won’t, and unlike Disney the CA park is not Universal’s darling.

 

[mickEblu]

According to Dev, USO is getting SLOP too. Would be nice if USH got clones of Monsters Unchained and Hagrid tho.

Add Monsters Unchained (or something on the same level) + Hagrids and that would completely change my perception of the park. Well… and maybe one indoor family boat ride.

 

[Rich T]

To me, the big problem is that the parks aren't getting nearly equivalent builds IMO. Hollywood continually gets reduced scale or underwhelming offerings compared to Orlando and there's no effort to build something even fully equivalent in quality in California, let alone unique.

For all of the things Disney could do better, they're worlds ahead of Universal here.

There are so many differences between the two situations though—both in size, the relationship to the competition on each coast, Universal’s opportunity to win more day visits from guests spending a week vacation in Orlando, the fact that UO has become a multi-day complete resort… etc.

USH deserves love, of course! But UO has four parks, eleven hotels and a massive infrastructure competing with WDW for shares of the biggest theme park tourism money pie in the U.S. And right now… the iron is hot, as they say.

 

[PiratesMansion]

There are so many differences between the two situations though—both in size, the relationship to the competition on each coast, Universal’s opportunity to win more day visits from guests spending a week vacation in Orlando, the fact that UO has become a multi-day complete resort… etc.

USH deserves love, of course! But UO has four parks, eleven hotels and a massive infrastructure competing with WDW for shares of the biggest theme park tourism money pie in the U.S. And right now… the iron is hot, as they say.

Yet nonetheless it is clear that there's a desire to make USH have more parity and grow, is there not? I understand that there's a difference in scope and national audience and in the needs and design of each property, as someone experienced in visiting both, but here's what I see:

People from Florida coming to different places to ask about Disneyland almost invariably ask about Universal too. They have the expectation from Florida that Universal has something to offer them, only to find that oh, there are only 10ish rides, a lot of which are clones or scaled down versions of what I've already done in Florida.

Obviously, not everyone is in that situation and many people might well rule out Disneyland or Universal based on the fact that they're not super close to each other and they have to make a choice of what to cut. But quite a few people who are coming over here to visit Disneyland are cutting Universal based on what they hear.

It may not be THE market USH serves, but it is nonetheless A market and they are comparatively squandering it, one that ostensibly they are aiming for as they attempt to build to build things like Nintendo World.

And let's be real, people don't talk about how WDW has six parks, they have, for most people's purposes, four, so you'll forgive me if I therefore insist on pointing out that Orlando has three parks, not four.

To be honest, I think people are using the strengths of Universal Orlando to overinflate the strengths of Universal as a whole. The reputation in Orlando is very much earned. Whereas with Hollywood, it's clear they're trying on some level but clearly don't know how to-or don't care to-reach the heights of what they're building elsewhere. Yes, the circumstances are different, but that shouldn't mean that it's totally fine that Hollywood just isn't delivering on the level of Orlando.

 

[Rich T]

Yet nonetheless it is clear that there's a desire to make USH have more parity and grow, is there not? I understand that there's a difference in scope and national audience and in the needs and design of each property, as someone experienced in visiting both, but here's what I see:

People from Florida coming to different places to ask about Disneyland almost invariably ask about Universal too. They have the expectation from Florida that Universal has something to offer them, only to find that oh, there are only 10ish rides, a lot of which are clones or scaled down versions of what I've already done in Florida.

Obviously, not everyone is in that situation and many people might well rule out Disneyland or Universal based on the fact that they're not super close to each other and they have to make a choice of what to cut. But quite a few people who are coming over here to visit Disneyland are cutting Universal based on what they hear.

It may not be THE market USH serves, but it is nonetheless A market and they are comparatively squandering it, one that ostensibly they are aiming for as they attempt to build to build things like Nintendo World.

And let's be real, people don't talk about how WDW has six parks, they have, for most people's purposes, four, so you'll forgive me if I therefore insist on pointing out that Orlando has three parks, not four.

To be honest, I think people are using the strengths of Universal Orlando to overinflate the strengths of Universal as a whole. The reputation in Orlando is very much earned. Whereas with Hollywood, it's clear they're trying on some level but clearly don't know how to-or don't care to-reach the heights of what they're building elsewhere. Yes, the circumstances are different, but that shouldn't mean that it's totally fine that Hollywood just isn't delivering on the level of Orlando.

Well, I certainly agree with just about all of this. I included Volcano Bay mainly just as a part of the overall resort UO has to maintain and develop and not because I’d call it a theme park (After all, the UO toll booth team members themselves have often greeted guests with “Going to the Theme parks or Volcano Bay?” )

USH has one huge selling point neither UO nor Disney have: Genuine, real-deal historic Hollywood Golden Age on-site movie-making history. When tourists go to Southern CA and want to see “Hollywood,” USH is one of the last touchstones they can easily experience. Whatever expansion plans are in store for the park, I hope Universal always keeps that in focus.

(Just a quick, nutty thought: What if USH offered as an affordable upcharge attraction, an hour themed bus tour to view the actual Hollywood Sign, departing from and returning to the park? For out-of-towners that would be checking off a bonus Hollywood bucket list must-do in a most convenient way.)

I agree that USH deserves more than it’s currently getting, and I hope great things are in store. There are a lot of Where, What and How’s involved, but I’m ready to be amazed.

But re: the different situation in Orlando, I think Universal is “reading the room” and choosing this next several years as a golden cultural opportunity they’ve never had before, and are taking full advantage of it.

DL is possibly the absolute best theme park on Earth. Personally, I would not say the same about any of the WDW parks individually.

I was at UO today. It was mobbed. And—just from paying attention to comments going on all around me today—there were a LOT of first-time visitors there who had decided to give Universal a try. As in, enough to make me think (just my observation, nothing more) that UO’s efforts are already starting to pay off.