Monsters Unchained is a return to form for theme park attractions

[Andrew C]

There are also no kinetics on Paris Ministry of Magic, and very little in Diagon Alley, and most of the kinetics in Hogsmeade come from the coasters...

Huh? This is literally the area where they excel most...

You're being crazy today. j/k...but we see things completely different

 

[Disstevefan1]

I suspect Galaxy's Edge got scope cut (drink 'em if you got 'em) ; they either ran out of money or wanted to save money.

I remember Iger saying they did not need to advertise the opening of Galaxy's Edge I guess he was sorta right?

Advertising would not have helped

 

[Tom Morrow]

Huh? This is literally the area where they excel most...

You're being crazy today. j/k...but we see things completely different

I agree that Universal is better with kinetics than Disney, especially with Epic. But the Potter lands actually don’t have much kinetics.

 

[dmc493]

I agree that Universal is better with kinetics than Disney, especially with Epic. But the Potter lands actually don’t have much kinetics.

I so agree, Paris is far more sterile than I expected. It's gorgeous when looking at pictures, but the previous note you said about "random Paris intersection with some potter stuff thrown in" is spot on. Some will argue that there is kinetics because there's interactive window displays, but in my opinion those mean nothing unless you're 1) directly in front of the window, and 2) paying however much for the wand to interact with it in the first place

I'll give Epic props for the roaming characters but not sure how consistently they're out and about with the public

I'm not making the argument that GE wins here, it too has its own problems, but I don't think Paris is the pinnacle of immersive design either

 

[JT3000]

Galaxy's Edge is so big and ambitious in scope and scale that it has different themed "zones" within it. They block out the outside world with canyons, trees, and shrubs in a way that looks natural and feels real. They also completed a new world completely from scratch and used little to no source material in its creation.

And it's all so very bland, boring and soulless. Only visually impressive thing in the entire land is a model of the Millennium Falcon, an already existing creation.

Paris is the third Universal land where you're just surrounded by tall themed walls on all four sides as the method of blocking out the outside world., with the previous two being Diagon Alley and SNW. It still does not look like a real city because all of the buildings are clearly just one long segment of wall.

... so just like it is in Paris then.

Galaxy's Edge has one S-tier ride and one okay ride. Paris has one okay ride and one not so great show.

 

[dmc493]

... so just like it is in Paris then.

which means it wasn't a great choice for a land in the first place..... but the world needed more potter!

 

[JT3000]

which means it wasn't a great choice for a land in the first place..... but the world needed more potter!

A lot of people love the real city, even if it's more dumpy than most care to admit. Besides, most European cities are built very similarly. Paris is just slightly extra "These buildings are all one big wall."

 

[Andrew C]

Some will argue that there is kinetics because there's interactive window displays, but in my opinion those mean nothing unless you're 1) directly in front of the window, and 2) paying however much for the wand to interact with it in the first place

Are we really going to toss aside what is arguably the main draw for all three wizarding lands?
Should we throw away all the detail and other available interactions? The streetmosphere? The nooks and crannies? How everything works together to create an immersive space. My kids had almost a 10 minute conversation/interaction with the wizarding students in Paris. And that area has some of the best wand experiences. And finally,.Diagon Alley is simply the pinnacle of what a themed land should be. It’s like the pages of a book or images of a movie came to life.

Obviously none of this is easy to replicate. Disney couldn’t do it with galaxy’s edge. I guess they blew their budget on things that really didn’t matter? For me, as a huge a SW fan, it’s always been a let down. Last trip, we went there to ride the two rides and then got the heck out. For a place like Diagon alley, the “ride” is the land.

 

[dmc493]

Are we really going to toss aside what is arguably the main draw for all three wizarding lands?
Should we throw away all the detail and other available interactions? The streetmosphere? The nooks and crannies? How everything works together to create an immersive space. My kids had almost a 10 minute conversation/interaction with the wizarding students in Paris. And that area has some of the best wand experiences. And finally,.Diagon Alley is simply the pinnacle of what a themed land should be. It’s like the pages of a book or images of a movie came to life.

Obviously none of this is easy to replicate. Disney couldn’t do it with galaxy’s edge. I guess they blew their budget on things that really didn’t matter? For me, as a huge a SW fan, it’s always been a let down. Last trip, we went there to ride the two rides and then got the heck out. For a place like Diagon alley, the “ride” is the land.

I never said the wand interactions were a bad thing - my criticism is specifically on Paris. Not diagon alley or hogsmeade. I’m just saying comparative to other experiences I find it lacking. My criticism is focused specifically on the physical experience of the land

 

[BrianLo]

I like both! Life is better this way.

 

[Tom Morrow]

And it's all so very bland, boring and soulless. Only visually impressive thing in the entire land is a model of the Millennium Falcon, an already existing creation.

Maybe it isn't interesting to everyone, but the scope and scale of the land and its ability to isolate you from the real world and the rest of the park without surrounding you by tall flat walls is unmatched by anything else in the US. It does not feel theme park scale. It feels real-world scale.

... so just like it is in Paris then.

But in real Paris the buildings eventually end at intersections so you can see that they are buildings and not flat facades. In Ministry Paris, you only ever see a wall of facades. The streets end at more walls. The buildings connect at a 90 degree angle to more buildings where another street would be. Visually it would be much more at home at USF which already has the New York, Hollywood, and London flat facades.

It's not the fact that they are facades, it's that you never see anything but the front of them to give more of an illusion that it is in fact a building.

Battle at the Ministry is a very good ride but it's clearly not the industry-shaking experience they hoped it would be.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Obviously none of this is easy to replicate. Disney couldn’t do it with galaxy’s edge. I guess they blew their budget on things that really didn’t matter? For me, as a huge a SW fan, it’s always been a let down. Last trip, we went there to ride the two rides and then got the heck out. For a place like Diagon alley, the “ride” is the land.

Disney couldn't do it with Galaxy's Edge because there isn't any one location in Star Wars that:

- is filled with enough locations actually mentioned or shown in the source material to use. Meanwhile Diagon Alley has, well, everything that they built.
- is encompassing enough to represent the Star Wars franchise as a whole

The closest location in Star Wars is Tattooine, but then you only have a Tattooine-land.

Galaxy's Edge is a run down and scummy spaceport because that is the most representative of on-planet Star Wars locations.

 

[Andrew C]

Galaxy's Edge is a run down and scummy spaceport because that is the most representative of on-planet Star Wars locations.

It is the facade of a rundown scummy spaceport. All background (impressive background), not much going on in the foreground.

 

[mkt]

Galaxy's Edge is so big and ambitious in scope and scale that it has different themed "zones" within it. They block out the outside world with canyons, trees, and shrubs in a way that looks natural and feels real. They also completed a new world completely from scratch and used little to no source material in its creation.

They copied Iraq. Guests wanted recognizable worlds from the movies.

 

[Tom Morrow]

They copied Iraq. Guests wanted recognizable worlds from the movies.

But… that’s what Tattooine is…

But there still isn’t any piece of architecture or landmark from Tattooine that most people outside of mega Star Wars nerds could visually identify. The single most famous location is the cantina, and I’m not sure anyone would know what it is if the cantina song wasn’t playing.

Star Wars doesn’t have a Hogsmeade or a Diagon Alley which lend themselves really well, as they are in their respective media, to theme park lands. They're practically theme park lands as written! The iconic Star Wars locations that people could visibly identify easily would be the spaceships.

I would argue that it's also bold to have Galaxy's Edge be canon to the timeline while also being (more or less) the only place it appears.

I could also argue that Paris doesn’t have recognizable stuff either other than the fact that it is Paris.


Hey wait a minute this thread is supposed to be about Monsters Unchained!

 

[Jon81uk]

But in real Paris the buildings eventually end at intersections so you can see that they are buildings and not flat facades. In Ministry Paris, you only ever see a wall of facades. The streets end at more walls. The buildings connect at a 90 degree angle to more buildings where another street would be. Visually it would be much more at home at USF which already has the New York, Hollywood, and London flat facades.

It's not the fact that they are facades, it's that you never see anything but the front of them to give more of an illusion that it is in fact a building.

Yes the land at Epic just doesn’t feel right. It’s too tall and enclosed to feel like real Paris, with weird corners of nothing. Just doesn’t feel right. Whereas Diagon Alley is tall and enclosed to keep the muggles from seeing, it’s designed to feel active with wizarding life but secluded. Paris doesn’t feel magic enough to be a wizarding space or real enough to be actually Paris.

Battle at the Ministry is a very good ride but it's clearly not the industry-shaking experience they hoped it would be.

As per the topic of this thread, the ride part of Ministry is definitely not as good as Monsters Unchained. Also BatM is surprisingly sickness inducing for me.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Yes the land at Epic just doesn’t feel right. It’s too tall and enclosed to feel like real Paris, with weird corners of nothing. Just doesn’t feel right. Whereas Diagon Alley is tall and enclosed to keep the muggles from seeing, it’s designed to feel active with wizarding life but secluded. Paris doesn’t feel magic enough to be a wizarding space or real enough to be actually Paris.

Yep, agreed! I think you nailed it - Paris does look nice, but it isn’t magical enough OR real feeling enough to be on the level of the other highly themed single IP lands.

Paris would benefit heavily from at least one view that suggests there’s more to the world just beyond what you can see, rather than feeling so walled off.

As per the topic of this thread, the ride part of Ministry is definitely not as good as Monsters Unchained. Also BatM is surprisingly sickness inducing for me.

Yes - BatM is surprisingly aggressive. It’s still good but it clearly hasn’t resonated with people the same way that Monsters has.

 

[Jon81uk]

Yep, agreed! I think you nailed it - Paris does look nice, but it isn’t magical enough OR real feeling enough to be on the level of the other highly themed single IP lands.

Also, to add as thought some more, the London facades on the exterior of Diagon Alley, look exactly like versions of the real sights in London but definitely also look like back lot facades, which works just fine for the Studios park, they are highly detailed replicas of Kings Cross and Wyndams theatre but fit perfectly in the studio style. Whereas Paris isn’t meant to look like any place in particular as it’s supposedly the 1930s which also causes it to be a bit lost.

 

[thelookingglass]

Had a friend in the park today. They counted at least five animatronics in Monsters broken, and the first pre-show wasn't working.

 

[DKampy]

The situation at Monsters can obviously improve. It's not Expedition Everest. However I expect it to take a while.


Galaxy's Edge more impressive than wizarding Paris is wild.

I have never been to Epic… but I believe he never said which land was more impressive.. he was mostly showing an example if no sightlines… which I agree having no sightlines is more immersive