IOA's next big thing/thrill attraction?

[Legacy]

I still want the Aviary coaster...

 

[dxwwf3]

I'm not going back to Universal Orlando until a new major attraction gets built at IOA. This year was the first time IOA felt old to me. I'm getting a little tired of going there every year. I know room is limited, but it's time.

 

[speck76]

I'm not going back to Universal Orlando until a new major attraction gets built at IOA. This year was the first time IOA felt old to me. I'm getting a little tired of going there every year. I know room is limited, but it's time.

I have an AP there, live less than 1 mile away, but I go there less than any other park in Orlando.....it just does not appeal much to me anymore.

The staff is not great
the food sucks
the rides are all "been there, done that"

The studios seem very dated, except for MIB and RotM

IOA has not changed since it opened, except for adding to carnival attractions........

1 new attraction is not really going to change my mind either

 

[dxwwf3]

I have an AP there, live less than 1 mile away, but I go there less than any other park in Orlando.....it just does not appeal much to me anymore.

The staff is not great
the food sucks
the rides are all "been there, done that"

The studios seem very dated, except for MIB and RotM

IOA has not changed since it opened, except for adding to carnival attractions........

1 new attraction is not really going to change my mind either

The team members there seemed worse this trip than ever. It was like all of them thought they were working at Revenge of the Mummy. You could count the number of smiles I saw in one day on one hand. Now I don't expect them to be as nice and as friendly as Disney, but UO is supposed to be "theme" parks and I expect more than Six Flags. The playing of pop music at USF is inexcuseable as well.

To me, the only things at USF that are worthwhile is BTTF, MIB, Shrek 4D, and T2-3D (which I think is the best attraction at USF). ROTM does nothing for me anymore. I don't know if I'll ever have any desire to ride it again.

IOA has done NOTHING since 99 except add junk. Spiderman still holds up for me (I think it is the only attraction at IOA that could be immediately placed at WDW and would be up to par) and the coasters are still fun. But I've ridden the Hulk 75 times and Dueling Dragons about 30 times each. I need a break from them

And you're right, one new attraction isn't going to make a huge difference for me either, but it probably would be enough to get me back in the parks for a day.

 

[NemoRocks78]

The staff is not great

This is by far the #1 complaint I see and still don't understand. Most of the team members I've encountered have been extremely friendly. The guys at Mummy always look like they're having a great time and the JAWS skippers are always enthusastic and nail the part down perfectly (unlike many Jungle Cruise skippers I've encountered). I've had conversations with a lot of them....they've all been very nice and I've even made a few friends at the parks. When I go to WDW however, I don't get that sort of treatment. I rarely get a "your welcome" or a "hello," and most CMs don't look like they don't want to be doing their job to me.

the food sucks

That's definitely one I've never heard before. The table service restaurants are top-notch (Mythos was rated the #1 theme park restaurant in the world!) and have great food, as do the counter service restaurants (the pizza at Louie's is fantastic). There is also a better selection of things, unlike at WDW, where most places are just hamburgers/chicken fingers/salads.

the rides are all "been there, done that"

Well of course they will be after having been on them many times....I get the same feeling, but I still enjoy them (I've started to like walking around more than going on rides though).

The studios seem very dated, except for MIB and RotM

The theming is perfect everywhere still, although I will agree that some of the rides (Earthquake, T2:3D, BTTF) are a bit outdated.

IOA has not changed since it opened, except for adding to carnival attractions........

What a coincidence....DAK has done the same.

The playing of pop music at USF is inexcuseable as well.

While Production Central still plays movie themes (which I'm perfectly happy with), I really don't have a problem with the pop music in certain areas. I mean, if we're really supposed to feel like we're in Hollywood or New York, are we supposed to hear classic movie themes (however, some of the songs actually fit the areas they should go in....for example, Seasons of Love is played in New York, Men in Black is played in front of the ride, Power of Love/Doubleback/Back in Time is played in front of BTTF, etc) everywhere?

 

[Testtrack321]

From Screamscape:

2007 - New Attraction - Rumor - (7/20/05) It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything newsworthy about this side of the park, but the latest buzz from the natives of the Jurassic Park jungle is that a new attraction could be announced for the area by the end of the year. There was also an unconfirmed claim about seeing another skyline height check balloon flying over the JP area of the park a few weeks ago. Again, the old standby rumors that have been flying around for years have come back again... such as the old Jeep Tour and even the Helicoptours simulator ride that would have used the same ride system as Disney’s Soarin. But those are concepts from years ago and somehow I think they may try something new this time around if these rumors are true. Stay tuned!

You know, the JP tour sounds cool, but dear god, do they really have to do a rip-off Soarin' clone? What happened to the people who brought us Spiderman and MIB? I'd like to see what they announce and see what Disney counters with.

 

[The_CEO]

Mythos was rated the #1 theme park restaurant in the world!

The service really is crumby there.. We were one of the only ones in the restaurant the day we went and not only did it take forever to get our food, the waitress was horrible.

 

[Legacy]

You know, the JP tour sounds cool, but dear god, do they really have to do a rip-off Soarin' clone? What happened to the people who brought us Spiderman and MIB? I'd like to see what they announce and see what Disney counters with.

"Rip-off Soarin' clone"? That attraction was initially planned for IoA back in '95. That was even before DCA was in development. Anyway, Soarin' is just BttF flipped upside down, so if anything Soarin' is Disney taking Universal's idea into something different.

 

[dxwwf3]

This is by far the #1 complaint I see and still don't understand. Most of the team members I've encountered have been extremely friendly. The guys at Mummy always look like they're having a great time and the JAWS skippers are always enthusastic and nail the part down perfectly (unlike many Jungle Cruise skippers I've encountered). I've had conversations with a lot of them....they've all been very nice and I've even made a few friends at the parks. When I go to WDW however, I don't get that sort of treatment. I rarely get a "your welcome" or a "hello," and most CMs don't look like they don't want to be doing their job to me.

Maybe I'm going to a different resort . I always get hello's and your welcome's at WDW. I never get anything like that at UO. I even heard a team member use profanity in front of other guests at Dueling Dragons. I wasn't offended or anything, but it's just not professional.

I've never had a bad Jungle Cruise skipper to be honest. And since I've only ridden Jaws once (Never had any desire to do it again) and I can't comment on them.

What a coincidence....DAK has done the same.

Since opening in 98, Animal Kingdom has added all of Asia (except for Flights of Wonder), Dino-Rama, and Expedition Everest opens next year. That a whole lot. Now I know IOA opened with alot more attractions, but the AK has more detail and themeing than UO ever dreamed about.

 

[Legacy]

Since opening in 98, Animal Kingdom has added all of Asia (except for Flights of Wonder), Dino-Rama, and Expedition Everest opens next year. That a whole lot. Now I know IOA opened with alot more attractions, but the AK has more detail and themeing than UO ever dreamed about.

But Asia was being built when the back first opened. It isn't a real 'expansion' but just opened later than everything else. I'm not gonna argue Everest, but I will say that I think AK needs the help more than IoA does. IoA already three high-caliber attractions, and one that blows the Disney equivilant out of the "water". (Pun intended)

 

[NemoRocks78]

Since opening in 98, Animal Kingdom has added all of Asia (except for Flights of Wonder), Dino-Rama, and Expedition Everest opens next year. That a whole lot. Now I know IOA opened with alot more attractions, but the AK has more detail and themeing than UO ever dreamed about.

Asia only opened less than year after the park itself opened so it technically doesn't count as a "new addition" that was built and/or thought of after the park opened....Dino-Rama! and Everest are the only things that have been. IOA got two carnival-style attractions, just like DAK, and will (hopefully) be getting a major new attraction in '07.

EDIT: Looks like Jeff got to it before I did.

 

[dxwwf3]

But Asia was being built when the back first opened. It isn't a real 'expansion' but just opened later than everything else. I'm not gonna argue Everest, but I will say that I think AK needs the help more than IoA does. IoA already three high-caliber attractions, and one that blows the Disney equivilant out of the "water". (Pun intended)

Asia still wasn't open when the park opened. To a regular guest, it would probably be considered an expansion.

Spider Man and Popeye are the only attraction at IOA that I would call high-caliber.

 

[Legacy]

Asia still wasn't open when the park opened. To a regular guest, it would probably be considered an expansion.

Spider Man and Popeye are the only attraction at IOA that I would call high-caliber.

To a regular guests, Hulk and Dueling Dragons would be considered high-caliber as well.

 

[NemoRocks78]

Asia still wasn't open when the park opened. To a regular guest, it would probably be considered an expansion.

A regular guest wouldn't say "oh, DAK has opened one more attraction then IOA since both of their openings" either....

 

[NemoRocks78]

To a regular guests, Hulk and Dueling Dragons would be considered high-caliber as well.

JPRA and Dudley could also be considered (I would say TCitH and Poseidon's too, although it might not be the same for a regular guest).

 

[dxwwf3]

To a regular guests, Hulk and Dueling Dragons would be considered high-caliber as well.

Probably so. The Dueling Dragons queue is great though.

 

[dxwwf3]

JPRA and Dudley could also be considered (I would say TCitH and Poseidon's too, although it might not be the same for a regular guest).

Dudley is alright.

JPRA is extremely overrated, IMO.

Cat in the Hat is good.

Poseidon's Fury has a great queue and building, but the show itself is a corn fest. Especially when the live actors show up. I saw it this time for the first time in a few years and laughed out loud alot. Unintentional laughs, BTW.

 

[Legacy]

Probably so. The Dueling Dragons queue is great though.

Off-topic, but did you read Kevin Yee's article on the end of elaborate queue theming a while back? Great read.

And James, you would be right in adding the flumes. To a regular guest Poisiden and Cat are probably not anything special, but I think theme park fans appreciate them.

 

[dxwwf3]

Off-topic, but did you read Kevin Yee's article on the end of elaborate queue theming a while back? Great read.

Yep I did. Fortunately Soarin' didn't get short changed when it comes to a queue. And it doesn't look like EE will suffer either.

At UO, I would go as far to say that ROTM, MIB, Dueling Dragons, and Poseidon's Fury have queues that I enjoy better than the rides themselves.

 

[JROK]

Yep I did. Fortunately Soarin' didn't get short changed when it comes to a queue. And it doesn't look like EE will suffer either.

At UO, I would go as far to say that ROTM, MIB, Dueling Dragons, and Poseidon's Fury have queues that I enjoy better than the rides themselves.

What's wrong with MIB? That's one of the better rides at UO... I can get 999,999 everytime and I still ride it whenever I'm there... it blows Buzz Lightyear way out of the water... it'd be like comparing the Hulk to Barnstormer...