Portions of Kidzone closing January 16, 2023

[sonoma15]

I think you're proving that both projects are not of the same size and scope. Storybook Circus is not a land but rather a neighborhood of Fantasyland. Dreamworks is literally an entire "LAND." If you want to compare it to a land, compare it to Toy Story Land which beats the heck out of it.

No I'd say Storybook Circus is probably the best comparison. Toy Story Land is a lot higher budget, and not meant for just children. It has a dark ride and a major coaster (its not that thrilling but its the main coaster of that park). Maybe the other Toy Story Lands that are just a collection of basic flat rides and RC Racer but not Hollywood Studios.

Also, the Trollercoaster will probably have music, it was most likely just turned off for media previews because it is copyrighted and will (presumably) be blasting.

 

[DKampy]

Ok well Storybook Circus doesn't have an Animatronic and DreamWorks Land does, it doesn't have a show and DreamWorks Land does, it doesn't have a turtle talk with crush type attraction and DreamWorks land does, it doesn't have specialty food and DreamWorks does. We can keep making selective comparisons all day, but the fact is that both projects were a similar size and scope, and something both companies need to be doing more of.

Storybook circus was part of New Fantasyland that also had beauty and the beast, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid areas… just like Dreamworks has Trolls, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda

 

[Tom Morrow]

After reviewing a couple of videos. Is this improvement over what was there before? I'll say yes, but not by much. The added greenery is nice, especially for a park that has almost none. The level of detail and immersion is pretty minimal though and "standard theme park" though. Like, this is about the level of theming Kings Island put into their kids area, which they overhauled as Camp Snoopy this year. Which is great for Kings Island, but a little odd for UOR in 2024.

Storybook Circus is pretty basic too, but the ground being themed and not just standard asphalt and painted ground goes a long way.

It's really weird that they seem so content with putting mediocre additions and changes into USF.

 

[Andrew25]

DreamWorks is a "Frankenstein" project of good/bad/decent "mini-lands".

The Shrek section is great, the one con is that the trees need to take some time to grow in to give it a true "swamp" feel and they left a lot of the concrete this basic beige color with no mud/brick work theming.

Kung Fu Panda is decent, but rather small. Decently themed, improvement over Curious George.

Trolls is by far the oddest portion of the area. The Trollercoaster lacks theming (not expecting rockwork or anything fancy, but some nicer props along the greenery/bushes would be appreciated) and they left some ugly uncolored walls/fencing plain in site.

Imagination Celebration is a better iteration of the Barney show.

Overall, I would have loved if they expanded on Shrek's level of theming onto Trolls.

The land will be a hit with children as it is now relevant to them (the goal at the end of the day).

USF suffers from poor choices & timing, but I think this is a decent "stop-gap" in between Epic Universe and (hopefully) projects like Pokemon and Rip Ride Rockit replacement.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Maybe if you count this as their only summer offering but then that's also ignoring the 2 new shows and summer parade. Oh, and also the fact they are building a whole new theme park down the street. This land isn't anymore cheaply done than something like Storybook Circus, and actually I would welcome with open arms if Disney did something like this because they need more smaller offerings and updates to flesh out the parks and keep them up to date than just 1 big ride every year.

Universal fans let them get away with ANYTHING.

 

[J4546]

its a relatively cheap retheme of an existing dated area with new IPs. Nothing more, nothing less. Its fine for what it is.

 

[JT3000]

Facts. Not even playing a Trolls song on the lift. Even the Woody Woodpecker coaster had a sound effect. The entire land it just "hit this button, make a sound." People would be going wild if Disney called this a new mini land regardless of its target audience. I am not spending $100+ for my kid to go into an amusement park for them to play on a playground.

You do realize Disney has playgrounds, yes? You make it sound like this is the only activity in the entire park.

I'm personally indifferent to the retheme, mainly because it's exactly what we all knew it would be, and I'm going to use the area just as little as I had before.

Could they have poured more money into it? Yes.

Would it make any actual difference to myself and other childless guests? No. It would still be a glorified playground.

Is it any worse than what was there previously? Also no.

I think the only thing that bothers me, just on principle, is the obvious lack of foilage around the land's perimeter. Not very immersive.

 

[JT3000]

Yep. This is the annoying discourse in the theme park enthusiast community and has been for a while.

"Everything Universal does now is smart and great! (if you ignore all the mediocre to bad things). Everything Disney does now is bad and stupid (if you ignore all the good or great things.")

I'm not saying this retheme is terrible or anything but it's considerably low-effort and basic which just seems to be what they are content with for USF now.

"It's okay because it's just a kids playground" - I guarantee if Disney had made the exact same thing the theme park enthusiast community would have a field day chastising them for it.

This discourse only exists in the minds of insecure Disney fans. Hardly anyone praises everything Universal does and hates on everything Disney does. It simply doesn't happen outside of a very small minority, which is quite insignificant compared to the number of people who do the opposite, and have for many years.

If Disney had replaced a meh playground with another meh playground, I would care an equally insignificant amount. Instead they're busy replacing classic attractions I actually cared about.

 

[Tom Morrow]

This discourse only exists in the minds of insecure Disney fans. Hardly anyone praises everything Universal does and hates on everything Disney does. It simply doesn't happen outside of a very small minority, which is quite insignificant compared to the number of people who do the opposite, and have for many years.

If Disney had replaced a meh playground with another meh playground, I would care an equally insignificant amount. Instead they're busy replacing classic attractions I actually cared about.

I don't claim loyalty to either company, I am simply a theme park fan, yet this is the main discourse I have seen in the theme park enthusiast community for years: Universal Smart and Good, Disney Dumb and Bad. It's tedious.

This makeover is mediocre at best, and it's not a big deal, but already the "Disney always sucks" people are stumbling over themselves to excuse its mediocre-ness.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The old playground had a water slide anyone could go on in jeans.

This is objectively a downgrade.

 

[Andrew25]

Not making any excuses for Universal, you can quote my rants on their operations team and Villain-Con lol

This is a kids land (doesn't excuse the poor design of Trolls though).

I think the right choice would have been to extend the theming of Shrek through the Trolls section, and "wait" for after Epic once more resources opened up to get better ideas/approvals for the Trolls/Kung Fu Panda areas.

In a Blue Sky world this area gets more fleshed out with a flat ride package.

 

[sonoma15]

Universal fans let them get away with ANYTHING.

you know what you are right. as the #1 fan of woody woodpecker myself i am INCREDIBLY mad that they would update this land to that boring ogre SHREK and those LAME trolls. the land should've included at least 1 MAJOR dark ride and 3 new HIGHLY themed flat rides. Who wants to see a fat old sleepy panda when you can have a fantastic time throwing some rubber balls around with a curious monkey? Universal you have failed your fans again and this is why I will be going to DISNEY only from now on. I'm just so mad over this children's playground area i can't even gather the words to express it

 

[ToTBellHop]

you know what you are right. as the #1 fan of woody woodpecker myself i am INCREDIBLY mad that they would update this land to that boring ogre SHREK and those LAME trolls. the land should've included at least 1 MAJOR dark ride and 3 new HIGHLY themed flat rides. Who wants to see a fat old sleepy panda when you can have a fantastic time throwing some rubber balls around with a curious monkey? Universal you have failed your fans again and this is why I will be going to DISNEY only from now on. I'm just so mad over this children's playground area i can't even gather the words to express it

The way Universal is treated with kid gloves combined with the sarcastic dismissiveness its fans treat any claims that they could do better are the reason Kong is in its present state. It’s astonishing to me how two world class properties charging similar rates in Central Florida are treated in such a vastly different manner. They serve overpriced garbage from literal tents at marquis events and the crowd goes wild.

They did win the crepe war. Credit where due. The strawberry Nutella crepe I waited 45 minutes for was delicious. And served from an actual building!

 

[sonoma15]

The way Universal is treated with kid gloves combined with the sarcastic dismissiveness its fans treat any claims that they could do better are the reason Kong is in its present state. It’s astonishing to me how two world class properties charging similar rates in Central Florida are treated in such a vastly different manner. They serve overpriced garbage from literal tents at marquis events and the crowd goes wild.

They did win the crepe war. Credit where due. The strawberry Nutella crepe I waited 45 minutes for was delicious. And served from an actual building!

True, all the items at Disney or Seaworld food festivals are perfectly priced and served from golden palaces. It's a darn shame Universal is so far behind.

 

[ToTBellHop]

This discourse only exists in the minds of insecure Disney fans. Hardly anyone praises everything Universal does and hates on everything Disney does. It simply doesn't happen outside of a very small minority, which is quite insignificant compared to the number of people who do the opposite, and have for many years.

If Disney had replaced a meh playground with another meh playground, I would care an equally insignificant amount. Instead they're busy replacing classic attractions I actually cared about.

Yes, I’m sure all of us who keeping noting this difference are just crazy.

 

[ToTBellHop]

True, all the items at Disney or Seaworld food festivals are perfectly priced and served from golden palaces. It's a darn shame Universal is so far behind.

I never mentioned Sea World but Epcot’s festival booths are heavily themed and have been for years. Also cheaper and higher quality food but don’t let that impact the narrative.

 

[Gusey]

I think it's not terrible, but you could see that the flat characters were where they had budget cuts. At no point though did Universal announce they were adding rides to this area of the park, partly because of the limited pace, so not sure why people were expecting the surprise addition of dark rides and flat rides?

 

[sonoma15]

I never mentioned Sea World but Epcot’s festival booths are heavily themed and have been for years. Also cheaper and higher quality food but don’t let that impact the narrative.

No no, you are completely right my food festival narrative is crumbling around me. I don't know what I'll do, first the children's playground now this. I just can't catch a break

 

[Andrew25]

True, all the items at Disney or Seaworld food festivals are perfectly priced and served from golden palaces. It's a darn shame Universal is so far behind.

To be fair Disney's food booths are better priced, higher quality and offer way better service.

2023-24 Average Pricing:
WDW Food & Wine 2023 - $6.67
WDW Flower & Garden 2024 - $6.63
UOR Mardi Gras 2024 - $8.08
*Excludes any kind of beverages as Universal/Disney use different serving sizes that make it difficult to compare 1:1.

Different circumstances, but for reference, HHN 2023's average Food pricing was $8.68

I think it's not terrible, but you could see that the flat characters were where they had budget cuts. At no point though did Universal announce they were adding rides to this area of the park, partly because of the limited pace, so not sure why people were expecting the surprise addition of dark rides and flat rides?

Yup - I think sometimes people need to take a step back and realize what the "goal" of a project is. This is directed at children, and a quick fix to make Kidzone more relevant. Nowhere did any insiders (or Universal) suggest a massive new land with dark rides/E-tickets, etc.

 

[ToTBellHop]

To be fair Disney's food booths are better priced, higher quality and offer way better service.

2023-24 Average Pricing:
WDW Food & Wine 2023 - $6.67
WDW Flower & Garden 2024 - $6.63
UOR Mardi Gras 2024 - $8.08
*Excludes any kind of beverages as Universal/Disney use different serving sizes that make it difficult to compare 1:1.

Different circumstances, but for reference, HHN 2023's average Food pricing was $8.68


Yup - I think sometimes people need to take a step back and realize what the "goal" of a project is. This is directed at children, and a quick fix to make Kidzone more relevant. Nowhere did any insiders (or Universal) suggest a massive new land with dark rides/E-tickets, etc.

Of course. No one should have expected new rides. I’m an adult and not the target but the playgrounds seems like a downgrade while Trollercoaster is phoned in. The rest seems adequate given space constraints.

The bigger issue for me is their continued inability to improve USF. It’s jarring how weak it is when you go to IoA. EU will make it look even worse. It shouldn’t be that hard to fill warehouses with compelling attractions.

I’ll gladly just alternate between Mummy and Diagon all day, though. Thank goodness I love HP or I’d have nothing to do!