You know with Harry Potter and The Simpsons coming plus nbc universals willingness to spend money on the parks now yuo think universal is finaly gettign a face lift?
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Universal steping up its game?
- Thread starter ILLmaticS0ldier
- Start date
well...i once liked universal studioos...but i went the day before yesterday and...i kindda hate it,...i dont know if this is knew but in my last visit(4 years ago) you coud have the fast pass thing(i dont know how its called there) free, like disney, but now you have to pay $26!! i mean... what the...
and the thing that i like od terminator( may be a spoiler!) is that he came on a motorcicle(sorry about my english) and now he just appears like nothing, and the sound of the motor.. still sounds ..and the CM are rude...
whats wrong with universal?
and the thing that i like od terminator( may be a spoiler!) is that he came on a motorcicle(sorry about my english) and now he just appears like nothing, and the sound of the motor.. still sounds ..and the CM are rude...
whats wrong with universal?
kcnole
Well-Known Member
The express pass works much better at Universal than Disney, however you do have to pay for it.
The Terminator still comes out on the motorcycle, it must have just not been working that day.
The employees are no ruder than they are at Disney. I find the same quality of employee at both places. In fact for the most part many of them have gone back and forth between the two companies.
Universal has some problems that need to be dealt with but I don't think these listed are them. They have some major theming issues (especially at the studios), some old attractions that really need some updating, and a better ending to the day. All in all, its still a highly enjoyable day at Universal.
The Terminator still comes out on the motorcycle, it must have just not been working that day.
The employees are no ruder than they are at Disney. I find the same quality of employee at both places. In fact for the most part many of them have gone back and forth between the two companies.
Universal has some problems that need to be dealt with but I don't think these listed are them. They have some major theming issues (especially at the studios), some old attractions that really need some updating, and a better ending to the day. All in all, its still a highly enjoyable day at Universal.
Fun2BFree
Active Member
IoA had literally nothing new until 2006, when the Seuss trams opened. In the interim, they closed several small attractions like the Triceratops Encounter. Now that they'll add the HUGE Wizarding World of Harry Potter, who knows how many decades we'll have to wait for the next addition? :ROFLOL:
Timmay
Well-Known Member
Who ever said they did???:shrug:
donniedisney
Member
I think the Mummy ride is better than any ride Disney has made in the last couple years
Fun2BFree
Active Member
It's alright, but it makes several references to the fact it is in fact a ride in a theme park, when it should be a fully immersive experience akin to Expedition Everest. Breaking the fourth wall is just laziness when done for no real reason.
kap91
Well-Known Member
While Universal does charge for their Express Pass it is hardly necessary (at least at the actual Universal park). Unless you want to go on Jimmy Neutron or Shrek 4D (which honestly don't have long waits in the morning) on a normal day you will never wait over 20 minutes for a ride provided it isn't broken down.
At IOA I'm usually able to hit almost every attraction excluding the water rides by 10:30 or at the latest 11:00 each ride having little or no wait.
Of course I never go around July 4 or Christmas but usually this is the experience I have so it is my conclusion that Universal Express Pass is not needed.
At IOA I'm usually able to hit almost every attraction excluding the water rides by 10:30 or at the latest 11:00 each ride having little or no wait.
Of course I never go around July 4 or Christmas but usually this is the experience I have so it is my conclusion that Universal Express Pass is not needed.
jedimaster1227
Active Member
As a theme park enthusiasts as well as a Disney enthusiast (and the company knows I am this way), I enjoy visiting all of the Orlando parks and have passes to all of them except Cypress Gardens. So my response is made from a more broad view of Orlando and its tourism industry...
I agree with statement made earlier about the lack of new attractions to be added to Universal Orlando over the last few years, but I look at it this way:
We are essentially spoiled as Disney fans to always have at least two new WDW projects publicly in motion, as well as at least 4 in the design/developmental stages. Disney has a much larger amount of money to spend on these new attractions, and can do so more often to create a new experience for their return visitors, though that trend may not last (which is why you see the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor/Turtle Talk system being toted as the future of Disney attraction systems).
Last year, Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure were two of the top 12 theme parks in the US, but the only two to decrease in attendance since the previous year. This struck the company a hard blow, and NBC scrambled to assembled a budget and 5 year plan (I believe it was 5 years, but it could be more) for the Orlando Resort to solve the decline that it had recently experienced. Between Blue Man Group, the Simpsons Ride, Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride Starring You, as well as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal has released its first phase of updates to the resort. They are still developing a new attraction for Universal Studios as well as a new hotel (with a second to be built 5-10 years later). There is a plan for the resort to "step up its game," but the transition from concept to execution will determine if they really are in it to win it.
I agree with statement made earlier about the lack of new attractions to be added to Universal Orlando over the last few years, but I look at it this way:
We are essentially spoiled as Disney fans to always have at least two new WDW projects publicly in motion, as well as at least 4 in the design/developmental stages. Disney has a much larger amount of money to spend on these new attractions, and can do so more often to create a new experience for their return visitors, though that trend may not last (which is why you see the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor/Turtle Talk system being toted as the future of Disney attraction systems).
Last year, Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure were two of the top 12 theme parks in the US, but the only two to decrease in attendance since the previous year. This struck the company a hard blow, and NBC scrambled to assembled a budget and 5 year plan (I believe it was 5 years, but it could be more) for the Orlando Resort to solve the decline that it had recently experienced. Between Blue Man Group, the Simpsons Ride, Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride Starring You, as well as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal has released its first phase of updates to the resort. They are still developing a new attraction for Universal Studios as well as a new hotel (with a second to be built 5-10 years later). There is a plan for the resort to "step up its game," but the transition from concept to execution will determine if they really are in it to win it.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
I agree. Revenge of the Mummy, while a really fun ride and fairly intense roller coaster, has the strangest, most incoherent theming ever.
Its never quite clear whether or not you're on the set of the movie, or in actual tombs, or what. And it even references the fact that it is a theme park roller coaster as a major show element.
I've gathered that you are on the set of the movie, and the set really is cursed by the real mummy, but its just not thought out very well.
Its still probably my favorite ride at the Studios part of Universal, though.
ChrisFL
Premium Member
I've always been a fan of Universal since it opened. I don't play favorites, I enjoy all of the Florida parks.
Universal stepped up its game when it hired a lot of ex-imagineers and built IOA. So why didnt they do much to it since then?
I think for a few reasons. First, it was already a much more complete park than the recent Disney parks (remember how many attractions had when MGM or AK opened?) They never got the attendance at IOA in the first few years that they expected, not because the park wasn't good but because the marketing campaign was so completely vague that no one really knew it was a new park.
So while they kept trying to get more people to visit IOA and upgrading Universal Studios, they've been very busy, they've got new parks in South Korea, Dubai and Shanghai coming soon.
Universal stepped up its game when it hired a lot of ex-imagineers and built IOA. So why didnt they do much to it since then?
I think for a few reasons. First, it was already a much more complete park than the recent Disney parks (remember how many attractions had when MGM or AK opened?) They never got the attendance at IOA in the first few years that they expected, not because the park wasn't good but because the marketing campaign was so completely vague that no one really knew it was a new park.
So while they kept trying to get more people to visit IOA and upgrading Universal Studios, they've been very busy, they've got new parks in South Korea, Dubai and Shanghai coming soon.
DisneyChick1984
Member
Oh but believe me, it is highly necessary if you're going to Halloween Horror Nights on the weekend. lol I mean the lines are ridiculous. It is possible to hit every house without an Express Pass, but you really have to know what you're doing. We managed to do 7 houses and 2 shows opening weekend. It was insane.
Aw I miss HHN!