Future of universal

[TubaGeek]

Although it shouldnt be like the magic kibgdom exactly like yoy said a hub and spoke...a classic main street of some kind. (I love port of entry but its too exotic to be in MK style park right?) I wouldnt mind a fantasy based main street....think whoville colors and detail but little more realstic. Something that pops. And than you can do your themed lands. You dont even need as many if they are large and intricate 3 lands would probably suffice. But i really think they need a huge row of kiddie dark rides and such ala fantasyland. Give adults like me a reason to take young children

A) I don't want a MK-style park in terms of demographics, I just want one in terms of layout. There's nothing wrong with Port of Entry; it's probably my favorite "Main Street" in Orlando.
B) No "kiddie" rides, but family rides. It doesn't have to have a height requirement to appeal to everyone. Even then, I don't think Uni needs to build a lot of those. Some, yes, but not a lot.
C) If you're gonna build 'em, don't clump them together. Disperse them throughout the park.

 

[BrianV]

Well, I get that, sort of. But I wonder what specific elements they have covered. For instance, do they have a copyright on the design of a park with a castle in the center? Or is that too broad, and they only have a copyright on the design of the castle itself? Or do they not have copyright on any of it? Do they have a copyright on Main Street USA or just a trademark on the name?

King, the game developer who made Candy Crush, got the word "candy" trademarked two years ago. They abandoned the trademark in the US shortly after they got it approved (though they may still have it in Europe) but still, it's worrying that the got it approved in the first place. Copyrights, trademarks, patents, and all of that are good to a certain extent.

I'm sure you don't have all of the answers and I don't expect anyone on here to. I just wonder.



Oh no no no, certainly Universal has been doing a great job. The Hary Potter Lands are excellent. They are very very well done. Beyond well done. Amazing. Kong also looks great. That's not at all what I meant. Sorry if you misunderstood, perhaps I should've been more clear.

Lets start back in 1999. Universal Orlando was opening their second park, Islands of Adventure. While Universal Studios was about the movies, Islands of Adventure would be about books and literature. Oooh! That made the two parks somewhat different and unique. That made Islands of Adventure... wait for it... creative!

But then, in 2010, Hogsmeade opened in Islands of Adventure. One of the most highly themed parts of a theme park, it was beyond excellent. But it was in the wrong park, because, lets face it, it's based off of the movies, not the books. Now Kong is being built, which is also based on a movie (or movies). So we now have Universal Studios and Universal Studios: Do Islands make me cooler?

Basically, Universal suddenly knows how to do nothing but make excellent rides based off of movies. That is the shell that they need to step out of when coming up with the third park. The recent lands and rides are spectacular. I wouldn't call the big picture creative, I would say it's the opposite. And it'll cost them down the road.

Magic Kingdom is a great park. But did Disney build MK, MK #2, MK #3, and MK #4? No. That would've been terribly uncreative. Similarly, it will be terribly uncreative if Universal's third park is Universal Studios: Hey, we got more land! Two parks with the same theme is okay. Three is redundant, and will not lead to great success.

Islands of adventure may have been about literature, though I confess I never realized that. Is that true or was it just an observation? Hard to believe I never noticed. But if WWOHP is based on the movies well then of course so is jurassic park. The music even comes from the movie not the book. And while all of marvel land may be based off the comics, of course they mostly relate to the film's these days.

 

[JT3000]

Islands of adventure may have been about literature, though I confess I never realized that. Is that true or was it just an observation? Hard to believe I never noticed. But if WWOHP is based on the movies well then of course so is jurassic park. The music even comes from the movie not the book. And while all of marvel land may be based off the comics, of course they mostly relate to the film's these days.

The literature theme is just a fan observation. The park's official theme is... well... adventure. Yep. Although the park did have a backstory detailing how the (original) islands came to be, and how they all existed as actual locations rather than just being disparate, unconnected fantasy environments. So in a way, the park was a theme unto itself. The average person has never seen this backstory however.

But it's true that everything besides Dudley Do-Right and Kong originated in some form of literature, even if they took the form of a film adaptation.

 

[BrerJon]

I'd love to see the third gate have an amazing attraction or two that isn't tied to any IP, like Disney used to do with things like Mansion or Pirates. Invent something new, in a mind blowing attraction, and then a few years they can make a film if they want to. It would be a real show of confidence in Universal Creative, and a bold move, but I think they have it in them.

Realistically though I imagine it will all be IP. Dreamworks, Nintendo, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters.... that sort of thing.

 

[trr1]

I'd love to see the third gate have an amazing attraction or two that isn't tied to any IP, like Disney used to do with things like Mansion or Pirates. Invent something new, in a mind blowing attraction, and then a few years they can make a film if they want to. It would be a real show of confidence in Universal Creative, and a bold move, but I think they have it in them.

Realistically though I imagine it will all be IP. Dreamworks, Nintendo, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters.... that sort of thing.

I would love to see a Star Trek area and a Mario land

 

[trr1]

Nintendo land is a coming. Not sure why you want to limit it to Mario land?

I would also love to see a good Star Trek land.

my kids would like a Pokemon ride

 

[UCF]

the next park could/should be gaming in the sense that studios was movies and IOA was literature

 

[trr1]

I think that the ULTra like they have at Heathrow airport and Amritsar would work nice.between the hotels,Parking structures and Volcano Bay and could be expanded to future parks
As a basic guide, a complete Ultra pod system, including guideway, stations, vehicles and control systems will cost approximately between $7-$15 million US dollars per km to construct, however individual project costs can vary considerably depending on factors relating to the surrounding environmental setting, integration requirements and the expected system usage
.

 

[BrianV]

The literature theme is just a fan observation. The park's official theme is... well... adventure. Yep. Although the park did have a backstory detailing how the (original) islands came to be, and how they all existed as actual locations rather than just being disparate, unconnected fantasy environments. So in a way, the park was a theme unto itself. The average person has never seen this backstory however.

But it's true that everything besides Dudley Do-Right and Kong originated in some form of literature, even if they took the form of a film adaptation.

It is a good observation.

I'd love for the future of IOA to involve the removal of Poseidon and Sinbad and see a middle earth themed area. (Also from a book!!)

 

[Progress.City]

Has anyone seen this?

For those who don't know, Universal recently acquired 475 acres near the Orange County Convention Center complex. The land is already zoned for a new theme park, hotels, and retail. The map above does not show all of the new property but the parts closest the the convention center. The idea now to form a new "district". The district is to include connections (such as elevated walkways, possibly moving sidewalks, and maybe a people mover) that would link the new development directly to the OCC and itself.

Following Universal Boulevard north from here is the Wet & Wild property, which Universal also purchased lately. Universal also owns all the land around the lake by Wet & Wild, as well as the land across the street to the east.

There are many gaps of land that are not owned by Univesal as you go from the current parks south along Universal Drive, passed I-4, passed Wet & Wild, passed Kirkman Road, to the new property and through the Convention Center District, connecting to Sea World.

The new property has not yet been officially announced by Universal, so the land buying spree may not yet be over. Just recently, two of the parcels included in the 475 acres was identified as being part of the recent land grab. More parcels may be identified before the official announcement, or the official announcement may identify others that are unknown.

 

[ssidiouss@mac.c]

I would love for their next park to contain lands for: Star Trek, Nintendo, Godzilla, some type of permanent horror area (Halloween/Nightmare on Elm Street/etc), and dual Back to The Future courtyards facing away from each other.. like mirror images of each other except one being 50s themed and the other being 80s.. with a ride in the middle in which you could time travel between them ala hogwarts to visit either 50s or 80s courtyard for the corresponding themed diners, music, souvenirs, carcade etc.

 

[UpAllNight]

Whilst 'more of the same' surely wouldn't be a bad thing with the quality of attractions they're knocking out, I would like a differentiation between Islands and the new park. I'm not sure how that is possible whilst using IPs.

 

[odmichael]

After going to the parks for the past 5 days, I recognize that while a new park may be in the idea phase, major changes need to be made to what they already have.

Many of the older rides such as Dr. Seuss and Rip-saw Falls have major audio issues and require refurbishments for the ride and queue areas. I'm really starting to notice a diminishing quality of the rides and it ruins the immersive experience. Another one is the god awful breaks on the mummy ride.

While some rides will get refurbs, others will crumble. The biggest waste of space is still the Toon Lagoon theater. Fear factor when I went could only fill 4 out of 6 contestents for the show and the theater was less than half-full. Also, a ride I always loves, MIB, never had a wait longer than 10 minutes my entire trip. Times are changing I can feel it.

 

[JassiSidhu2000]

I'd love to see the third gate have an amazing attraction or two that isn't tied to any IP, like Disney used to do with things like Mansion or Pirates. Invent something new, in a mind blowing attraction, and then a few years they can make a film if they want to. It would be a real show of confidence in Universal Creative, and a bold move, but I think they have it in them.

Realistically though I imagine it will all be IP. Dreamworks, Nintendo, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters.... that sort of thing.

That was the idea behind Island Of Adventures originally ... and it didn't go too well.