Isn't EU by its nature, a park dedicated to going inside the fantasy worlds created by assorted IP such as Nintendo, HTTYD, etc?
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Universal Testing Drone Technology
- Thread starter Ragerunner
- Start date
Isn't EU by its nature, a park dedicated to going inside the fantasy worlds created by assorted IP such as Nintendo, HTTYD, etc?
It seems that way. But what is it about the theming of the whole park itself would necessitate that?
A 'movie studio' theme would bring about the expectation of being part of the movies. Does a 'celestial theme' also necessitate that?
This is just Universal doing what Disney is doing... making everything IP. Or, to put it as often phrased "crammed into every nook and cranny and shoved down our throats!"
Even Six Flags feels the need to theme a totally unthemed coaster with a flat cut-out of some IP at the entrance and to paint the metal a color evocative of that slapdash IP.
Only our dear Saint Dolly has escaped the IP mandate.
Andrew25
Well-Known Member
I'd consider the Monsters land an original land as pretty much everything there will be unique and not follow any sort of linear storytelling told elsewhere.
I can care less about IP or Original concepts... just make a good ride/land.
One of the issues with creating original-based attractions is translating what's actually going on to the general public without pre-existing knowledge. Disney has had the luxury of relying on simple concepts to grasp onto (Pirates, Ghosts) for their original rides.
Not saying it's impossible, just difficult to do properly.
I can care less about IP or Original concepts... just make a good ride/land.
One of the issues with creating original-based attractions is translating what's actually going on to the general public without pre-existing knowledge. Disney has had the luxury of relying on simple concepts to grasp onto (Pirates, Ghosts) for their original rides.
Not saying it's impossible, just difficult to do properly.
DAK and EPCOT were created to stand their own without complete dependence on IP.
Epcot did this for quite some time because the way it was originally envisioned made IP insertion difficult to pull off. It was only until they completely stopped caring about the original concept of EPCOT did they start pushing IP in. (Nemo started it, but it was clear when Frozen in Norway was undertaken.)
DAK had IP on day one, but it was made to supplement, not define the park experience, because the park was about the animals first. It was only until later that you had an entire themed land devoted to a specific IP that defined the park experience. (even though the AVATAR insert was done very well). But now you see it in full with the Indiana Jones clone and TBD Ecanto/Coco stuff just mashed together under the "Central/South America" umbrella.
Starship824
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Saw some other videos that didn't look too impressive since they were only in two minute segments but these look much better. I'm excited to see the full thing. I saw a post of Twitter saying it was the best Uni nighttime show which is good. But that's not a very high bar...
BringMeTheHoriz
Active Member
I got to experience the show last night and it's absolutely excellent. Great soundtrack/song selection, great use of IP, good interactive projection on the surrounding buildings, and the right balance of animated drone usage. I wasn't expecting any pyro in this show, so I was pleasantly surprised not only that it had it but also had plenty of it. USF needed something like this and I expect it will be a massive hit.
Very good over all. Now, let's nitpick...
Making it about "music" is a mistake. Yes, we hear and recognize and enjoy the music, but this isn't a live concert. We see lights and images, so why not make this about "light"? Same mistake Harmonious made saying it was about the music (among too many other things). It's "cinesational", so, make it about cinema, period. The music will follow.
The drones are a great touch, but too light of a touch. They could have been used more as a type of chapter title since sometimes the images on the fountains aren't the clear and I was left wondering, which movie is this? The drones could have telegraphed that better. Also, the drones only popped in a for a short second in a nearly static poses and then disappeared. Not really able to call this a "drone show."
Double down on the more popular music! They could have done "Dance Dance Dance" for a full five minutes hyping up the crowd with images from a whole bunch of movies.
Surprised the Minions got such a short segment.
The flow of the story was a bit scattered. E.g., you get the Mummy up front instead of being part of Universal Monster's section. It was a bit jarring to keep going back and forth from lightheartedness to monsters.
Fountains and lights were impressive. They could have uses the projections on the background buildings some more, tho.
Looking forward to seeing this in person some day.
Two Things:
Probably should have started and ended with Universal's Logo in Drones.
I kind of like Drones staying in the back round. We all know that Drones can't take over the Whole Nighttime Spectacular....
Squishy
Well-Known Member
I think its the perfect example on how to incorporate drones without being overused & overpowering the main effects of the show.
Henry Mystic
Author of "A Manor of Fact"
Yes, but the way Epic will handle IP and the entire park’s design will feel fresh and unfathomably grandiose.
I don't think IP is an inherent problem, I mean, the park will be more interesting than any castle park in its design (including DLP).
And honestly, if you have such iconic IPs like Nintendo that are just such a vibe you might as well use it because you can't actually visit there in real life.
I think Epic actually does a much better job of balancing IP than Universal has ever done. It also won’t have a “screenz problem” at all, and dining operations and food quality will also be so much better. There are good reports coming back from menu tastings.
Monsters is also effectively original if Mysterious Island at DisneySea is considered original as it’s more “inspired” by than anything. I think that's as a whole the best way to use IP.
Moving away from parks being about one specific theme goes back to their original roots in Disneyland in a way.
Starship824
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Just watched the whole show, overall pretty l. Uni finally actually has a good nighttime show. I wasn't a fan of the trolls, minions and Mario segments. Also the transitions between the scenes make no sense. I still think all of Disney's current shows are better but this is certainly better than say Enchantment.
Henry Mystic
Author of "A Manor of Fact"
It looks much better than Rivers of Light.
Disone
Well-Known Member
Now that's a bold statement. Is it more interesting because it's new to you or is it more interesting because it is genuinely better design?
It won't be open the entire calendar year of 2025 but would you also predict in 2026 Universal's Epic Universe will be the number one theme park in Central Florida?
Henry Mystic
Author of "A Manor of Fact"
It’s genuinely brilliantly designed and a bold new direction for theme parks. Disney for too long played it too safe.
My guess is MK will still take the top spot just being what people think of “Disney World,” but it’ll definitely be #2. Universal will still have a problem where too many attractions have height restrictions to truly compete with MK for families.
The question is how much will it cannibalize the other Orlando parks? AK and USF are likely to struggle, but they’re sort of taking the hit, understanding that it’s pretty inevitable. Disney isn’t even trying to compete with Epic because they know nothing they can do will be able to until the hype dies down.
Though, if Epic is indeed successful, and it’s likely to be, Epic, IoA, and USF will see expansions start rather quickly that will continue upping the ante. TWDC has a response with significant additions planned for every existing domestic parks and after that decade is done new parks are likely going to happen. Mind you, these are all very longterm plans, so many things outside Disney/Uni’s control can change that. Potter was only the beginning of the theme park wars.
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TTA94
Well-Known Member
I agree. It does look a good show. Strange they did not have any fire effects. I’m still salty Universal has this WoC type show and WDW does not lol.
Centauri Space Station
Well-Known Member
That’s been gone for 4 years
mergatroid
Well-Known Member
Some good points, to be honest I found most of it meh. I came away thinking I wonder how much they spent on that and hoping it wasn't expensive. The clarity of the projections was disappointing and the drones whilst good, weren't utilised enough. Large parts appeared to be mostly music accompanied by high fountains lit up, I wanted more variety. The thing that disappointed me was that the fountains didn't 'dance' to the music. By that I mean take a look at the Bellagio fountains and how they move to music. I think if it were more like that I would be more entertained rather than thinking this looks the same for every song.
I'm there in September again for HHN and was wondering whether they'll have this show or the special HHN show they had last year if anyone knows?
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