networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Don't forget the little Sky auction. If Comcast wins, expect to see budget cuts to pay for it.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Opens May 22 2025
- Thread starter Bob Harlem
- Start date
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
???? Comcast has the money to pay for it. The parks budgets will not be affected, they are already set.
Its not like they just overpaid for Fox or anything....
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
You can do whatever you want. I think you take theme parks way too seriously, but that’s your prerogative
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I honestly am mostly an optimist. I just prefer for projects to be custom developed for the environment they are in. It prevents creativity when you are handed other projects and essentially tasked with just aligning the puzzle pieces instead of redesigning the whole puzzle. I also have a vested interest because I have no real allegiance to a resort. I like variety and more new projects globally means more new things for me to do.
Universal has limited their ability to produce quality product, because they are too busy building iterative attractions to either reuse ride platforms or limited assets from other projects. It's a problem. Their best projects are the ones that are designed from scratch.
Let me throw it back to you though, why are you so invested in Beijing to defend it? I apologize for being mostly snarky in retort, but telling people they should not care (or when they establish they have a vested interest - to be less invested) comes off as being dismissive.
donsullivan
Premium Member
The only 'high-speed' rail (only 125 mph) project I know of is the Brightline route between MCO and Miami. The station has already been built in the new south terminal (just a garage right now) but that's not expected to be operating until at least 2021, and confidence is very low on that as well. The original high-speed rail project died a bloody death and I don't expect to see anything like that come up again for a long time. There was so much resistance from hoteliers, transportation providers, local residents and more that I can't see it coming back into the discussion again for a long time.
This is not completely accurate. But you can keep believing it is.
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
I legit do not care one iota about Universal Beijing. Am never gonna go, and was never gonna go no matter what it looked like. Only thing I care about when it comes to international Disney and Universal Park is when the 2-3 cool rides they get exclusively at opening are gonna get clone to Orlando.
Lintemuthstudios
Well-Known Member
Dude, you do realize that the new Orlando park won’t have nearly as many clones? And that Beijing is just a test to see how Universal fares in China?
Besides, there will be a new land based on an Asian IP replacing WaterWorld. Combine that with the incredible-looking JW land and KFP and there’s quite a few unique attractions there (and everything minus the Asian IP’s will show up in Orlando). So, chill.
Lintemuthstudios
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the double-post, but what do you mean by “SWGE is a terrible copy-paste job”? The land itself is completely fine. Sure, maybe the pathways outside the land aren’t as big as they should be, but that’s not a fault of the land itself.
What does DHS need, in your opinion? Cause I’m really curious.
Stripes
Premium Member
Sure! Andy on IU had this to say:
If they really do have the largest team working on Beijing, how exactly are they going to build a park in Orlando that is mostly or all unique?
In terms of being the creative lead in the theme park industry, WDI is running away and leaving UC in the dust. Disney's development of the Shanghai Pirates ride system, FoP ride system, and the Millenium Falcon ride system are some of the most innovative we've ever seen, meanwhile UC's latest innovation was FJ and they just bought that ride system from Robocoaster. Further, the one thing Universal has been better at is media attractions, and here too Disney is beating them senseless at their own game.
Suffice to say, I had a lot more hope for Uni a few years ago. I also wonder what their reaction will be if SW:GE steals a lot of their crowds.
Last edited:
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Attractions, ride capacity.
For the amount of money they spent, and the needs of DHS, they could have built more attractions. Completely different story from Disneyland that needs space more than attractions.
The land itself will be amazing (in both iterations), but there are small elements and decisions that have been made for the layout of DL that looking at DHS, are clearly still for the layout of DL.
Stripes
Premium Member
Have you been on FoP? The entire implementation is better than any media attraction ever made. Bar none. And yes, the ride system is incredibly innovative, utilizing vertical drops as well as pitch and roll. On top of the perfectionist use of water sprays and inflatable breathing sensations. It took virtual reality experiences to a whole new level.
As to Star Wars, I definitely think Uni has reason to be worried. This is the first time they've come across a massive IP being implemented on a scale bigger than Potter. Not to mention, Potter is taking a backseat to Star Wars atm.
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
Yea I’ve been on it. I don’t agree with basically anything you’ve said here, but I’m glad you like it. It’s a decent attraction, but the deifying it’s gotten is the definition of hyperbole.
Not sure I agree on the scale being bigger than Potter. It’s going to be a great land, but I think the coaster opening next year has a chance to be the best ride to open in orlando next year. Universal will be fine when SW opens. Epcot and AK? Not so much.
Stripes
Premium Member
The land is 14 acres. Minus the coaster (which obviously takes up a disproportionately large area) both Potter lands combined are 13 acres. With regard to AK and Epcot here's the thing, Disney's value proposition is so much stronger when you consider a multi-day pass.
You also think the Potter coaster is going to be better than Battle Escape or MF, or even MM:RR? Maybe it's a difference in preference (which is more than reasonable), but from my point of view I'd think you were smoking something. No offense.
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
I think it will easily be better than Mickey and Millenium Falcon. Battle Escape could eclipse it, but I don’t know enough about it. I worry that it will end up being too passive of an experience
Stripes
Premium Member
Yeah, I think we're gonna have to agree to disagree here. Anyway, we can't really judge them at all since they aren't even finished yet.
I do think MMRR and MF will be the dark horses of 2019 personally though. The innovations in MF are particularly exciting for me as a techy and a theme park fan.
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
To be very clear, I think all 4 are going to be very good (I even think the Bourne Stunt show is going to surprise a lot of people). But unless Millenium Falcon delivers on its interactivity and can make a 6-person interactive ride fun, I think it could be as middling as the actual experience of Fligjt of Passage is.
Stripes
Premium Member
The fact that everything is being rendered in real-time by 8 state-of-the-art GPUs per RV has me thinking they'll be making good on the interactivity. Nothing like that has ever been approached in a theme park.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
So when you said "insiders" you meant people who don't post here and your example of an unfulfilled promise is a park that hasn't opened yet?
