- In the Parks
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Work got a little crazier than expected last week (plus SA7). Still got plans and still have been working on this in the background. Whether it's a full next land or a smaller update, I'll have something done to post this week!
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Pi's Universal Studios! - Part Three: Blockbuster City Part One
- Thread starter Pi on my Cake
- Start date
Architectural Guinea Pig
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
*SA8 - either the forum is getting way too nostalgic or we're all just tripping up with this mistake
cdunlap
Well-Known Member
It's my fault! I forgot what number this SA was!
Earlie the Pearlie
Well-Known Member
AH-HA! I knew I had gotten it from somewhere!
- In the Parks
- Yes
After a much longer wait than originally planned, its time to make our way downtown, walking fast (and furious) while faces pass. Specifically, the faces of giant apes climbing skyscrapers!
The rest of the lands in this park will follow a similar format. The themes will mix a genre/category of movies with a specific location that can encapsulate that genre. Each with the naming convention of "Genre Place." The first of these will be Blockbuster City! Set mostly in New York City (primarily a vaguely 1980s era NYC), this land will be dedicated to some of the biggest, most exciting, and boldest films in cinema history! While NYC is the main inspiration, the further you get from Blockbuster Park the less the theming will be specifically NYC focused and more general city themed. Taking some inspiration from the New York land at USF, this might look slightly familiar. But with one notable exception, this will be almost entirely new attractions never before seen in a Universal Park!
This update will only be the first half of Blockbuster City with the second half coming later.
The first half is primarily centered around a city park. Looming in the back is facades of a city skyline. These are mostly flat and angled like a film set, but the front layer is more detailed. Lining the streets will be vintage 80s/90s taxi cabs and occasional cars from classic movies (such as the Blues Brother's iconic car or some of the cars from Fast & Furious). As well as some fun props or set pieces from Universal films such as the phone booth from Bill & Ted or ads for the lions, zebras, hippos, giraffes, and penguins at the Central Park Zoo (a Madagascar Easter Egg).
The soundtrack will mostly be sweeping scores from blockbuster films, but some pop music from different eras will be found here too
Blockbuster Park
This small Central Park inspired area will add some much needed greenery and serve as a brief breather before heading off on blockbuster adventures! At the center will be a lovely fountain inspired by the Cherry Hill Fountain (both an iconic NYC landmark and a common feature in films). Nearby will be a red couch to serve as a FRIENDS photo op (The Cherry Hill Fountain is not actually the fountain from the theme song, but the show was inspired by it).
The park is surrounded by a roller coaster track promising big, exciting things around every corner. To the North, Grand Central Station and the NYC Skyline beckon us forward. To the West, a grand top hat coaster element draw guests to high octane adventure. To the East, city facades promise that there's more to see beyond just this one courtyard.
Fast & Furious: Turbo Blast (Working Title I'll probably change)
Seems like a Fast & Furious ride should move fast AND Furiously. So, this will be an Intamin LSM Launch Coaster serving as this resort's equivalent to the Velocicoaster including some similar elements. Intense, exciting, smooth sweeping turns, tightly paced, and, most of all, FAST!
The Facade/Queue is honestly pretty similar to Supercharged. Taking guests into a warehouse where Dominic Torreto and the Family have set up shop before being drawn into a high speed, high stakes heist. The Family has a heist planned, but they need a distraction. That's where YOU come in. Guests are taken to their "Cars" (coaster trains, each themed to a different vehicle from the film franchise) and sent out on a high octane experience.
The first half of the launch coaster will take guests to a backstage area with simple city street facades hiding all the backstage stuff. The coaster weaves around the false buildings for tight turns and near misses. This simulates the feeling of drifting around city streets while narrowly avoiding other cars, buildings, and other obstacles while navigating this tangled knot of coaster tracks before heading towards the main launch which sends guest rushing back to guest areas and right towards a giant Top Hat elements that goes right over the entrance to the queue and into the second half!
This second half is all about speed. Large sweeping curves, inversions, and high speeds define this half. It's themed to hitting the nitrous boost and outrunning everyone chasing you. After the top hat the track then goes over the entrance to Blockbuster City with a heartline roll going right over the main path followed up by an airtime hill over some of the shops before heading behind the facades of Kongfrontation for an S-Bend Element before a final 450 Degree helix turn leading back into the station.
I'm hoping my explanation makes some sense. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love coasters but I know nothing about them. I wanted to do more than say "Velocicoaster, but in the city" but there's solid chance this is gibberish lol
KONGFRONTATION
This is one of the few clones of IRL Universal rides. While there are some minor updates and changes, for the most part this is a simple revival of the USF classic (a personal childhood favorite). The biggest changes come from the facade/queue. Looking at the City facade, you'll see kong hanging off of the Empire State Building off in the distance barely more than silhouettes. In the foreground where guests can access will be the entrance to Grand Central Station. The queue will start in a smaller recreation of the iconic lobby before taking guests down into the subway station. The pre-show will be inside a subway (holding roughly 3 ride vehicles worth of guests) where a news report about how King Kong came to New York before leading into an ad for the 8th Wonder of the World! The subway doesn't actually go anywhere, but just serves as crowd control blocking out groups before heading to the loading platform. The last room after the subway preshow will see guests head back up out of the subways system onto a city street (this is indoors, but themed to an outdoor city street). Lastly guests will head towards the Roosevelt Island Tram Station to board the ride vehicles.
Once on board, the actual ride is virtually unchanged from the original. A new coat of paint and some better tech to bring it up to modern standards. But overall, not much is needed to be changed. The excitement is already there and the ride is already a true blockbuster experience with several big "wow" moments and a high capacity
Blues Brother Boutique
Themed to the classic Universal Comedy and the stylish outfits they wear, this small shop (with a fantastic music loop) will sell sunglasses (perfect for wearing at night), classy hats, and so much more. This will be primarily focused on clothing, hats, and other wearable souvenirs. A simple shop with simple theming.
Ted's Toy Shop
Who better to sell toys than a toy? Ted will be seen as a simple animatronic heckling guests as they shop (think along the lines of Mr Potato Head from the Toy Story Mania queue). Everything here will be kept PG-13 and decidedly more family friendly than the movies/tv show naturally. But there will still be plenty of Seth McFarlane's iconic humor on display here. The store will sell toys of all kinds including collectibles like Funko Pops that appeal more to older guests.
HomeImagineer
Well-Known Member
hey there, when its the next land going to be coming. its been awhile
- In the Parks
- Yes
It has been a hot minute lol
Wound up getting much involved with Sorcerer's Apprentice and much busier at work than expected.
Now that SA is over, I plan on coming back here in the next week or two. Whether the updates will be as detailed or if I'll just post the layout map and a quick breakdown of what the plan was remains to be seen. But this park will be finished
- In the Parks
- Yes
Madagascar meet and greet is a good idea. I feel like there's not many animated films that feel like blockbusters and would fit the land, but Madagascar does.
And sure, I don't have an issue with the Ted store getting edgier for horror nights. Why not