Where is Botanicus?

champdisney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the queue? Fresh off the heels of my weekend trip at Universal Orlando for the annual Celebration of Harry Porter, I once again noticed the absence of Botanicus. You know, E.T.’s Jedi Master (I kid) that we encounter in-line for the attraction, pleading for E.T. to return home immediately. Well, he’s not there anymore. I also didn’t catch him 3 months ago on my Horror Nights trip, in which I rode E.T. Adventure twice. Does anyone know of Botanicus’ whereabouts? Will he return in the near future? Or has he been permanently lost in the forest? Or... has this just been a string of bad luck on my behalf, being since I haven’t discovered any reports on this here or anywhere else online for that matter. Thanks in advance to whomever knows what the deal is here!
 

raven

Well-Known Member
In the queue? Fresh off the heels of my weekend trip at Universal Orlando for the annual Celebration of Harry Porter, I once again noticed the absence of Botanicus. You know, E.T.’s Jedi Master (I kid) that we encounter in-line for the attraction, pleading for E.T. to return home immediately. Well, he’s not there anymore. I also didn’t catch him 3 months ago on my Horror Nights trip, in which I rode E.T. Adventure twice. Does anyone know of Botanicus’ whereabouts? Will he return in the near future? Or has he been permanently lost in the forest? Or... has this just been a string of bad luck on my behalf, being since I haven’t discovered any reports on this here or anywhere else online for that matter. Thanks in advance to whomever knows what the deal is here!
I’ll inquire through friends that work at ET.
 

champdisney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I saw him over Thanksgiving or I'm pretty sure I did? Maybe 98% sure.
How long was the wait? My brother has a theory that he only comes out during lengthy wait times. I didn’t have much of a wait during the last couple times, so who knows?
 

raven

Well-Known Member
Word I just received was it was removed due to a number of problems that weren’t high enough on the list of priorities to fix. But I’d rather give up an effect in the queue than for something in the ride to be removed.
 

champdisney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Word I just received was it was removed due to a number of problems that weren’t high enough on the list of priorities to fix. But I’d rather give up an effect in the queue than for something in the ride to be removed.
I agree. Even though, I strongly believe that Universal could’ve had this fixed long ago. They have the budget and the capabilities to make new attractions and resorts at a fast rate, yet they can’t fix an effect? Perhaps, they’re prepping for the future overhaul or demise of E.T. Adventure?
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
I agree. Even though, I strongly believe that Universal could’ve had this fixed long ago. They have the budget and the capabilities to make new attractions and resorts at a fast rate, yet they can’t fix an effect? Perhaps, they’re prepping for the future overhaul or demise of E.T. Adventure?

The rumor is that the queue will have to get redone when Kidzone closes for Nintendo. That'll require at least some relocation/rerouting of the entrance and parts of the queue. Perhaps they're waiting for that work to put any more investment into things in the queue that need fixing. (From a financial standpoint they could include the fixes as part of the overall Nintendo project budget)

-Rob
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Think you're on to something there. Rumor seems to be that ET will stay but what if it's getting knocked down as well? Since Nintendo was annoucend for Japan Universal, Orlando has had a lot of time to think about what it is actually doing.

This guy says "no".


spielberg29f-1-web.jpg
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
This guy says "no".


spielberg29f-1-web.jpg

I doubt Universal listens to him as much as people think. I mean what's he going to do, angrily tell them to stop sending him free checks? He doesn't actually do anything as far as I know. They'd have to pay him a lump sum to get rid of him, but that's something he can dangle over their heads regardless.
 

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
I doubt Universal listens to him as much as people think. I mean what's he going to do, angrily tell them to stop sending him free checks? He doesn't actually do anything as far as I know. They'd have to pay him a lump sum to get rid of him, but that's something he can dangle over their heads regardless.
He is in the unique position of being able to cancel the contract at any time and when the contract stops then Universal (Comcast) has to pony up the lump sum. Might be as much as 2B. That gives him as much leverage as he wants to exert.
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
I doubt Universal listens to him as much as people think. I mean what's he going to do, angrily tell them to stop sending him free checks? He doesn't actually do anything as far as I know. They'd have to pay him a lump sum to get rid of him, but that's something he can dangle over their heads regardless.

Spielberg and Comcast are closer than ever. Last year, Universal bought a stake in his company. There were rumors Spielberg might cash out of his Universal contract in 2017 (following a 2009 extension), but he opted to stay involved because he expects to continue making a lot of money off the deal. When Steven has an opinion, Universal listens.
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
Spielberg and Comcast are closer than ever. Last year, Universal bought a stake in his company. There were rumors Spielberg might cash out of his Universal contract in 2017 (following a 2009 extension), but he opted to stay involved because he expects to continue making a lot of money off the deal. When Steven has an opinion, Universal listens.

Exactly, HE makes a lot of money off the deal, and will only make more if Universal does better business. But his "consultant" contract with the parks is separate from his filmmaking and such, so this particular deal doesn't help Universal in any way, and he can choose to cash out at any time. So by keeping the deal going, they're just paying him more money until the inevitable happens.
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Exactly, HE makes a lot of money off the deal, and will only make more if Universal does better business. But his "consultant" contract with the parks is separate from his filmmaking and such, so this particular deal doesn't help Universal in any way, and he can choose to cash out at any time. So by keeping the deal going, they're just paying him more money until the inevitable happens.

Pretty much, yeah. I'm not arguing over whether or not this was a good deal for Uni in the long term. It's certainly been a good deal for Spielberg. My initial point was that he still has a lot of influence over the parks when he chooses to exert it. That should be enough to keep E.T. off the chopping block for as long as Spielberg wishes to do so.
 

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
They still play the sound effects for him. They also don't play the correct music in the woods. They loop "E.T. and Me" from the original album now. It's not the same without him, but at least the ride is still there. Aside from those things, it's in good shape these days.
 

Calm Down Rover

Well-Known Member
They still play the sound effects for him. They also don't play the correct music in the woods. They loop "E.T. and Me" from the original album now. It's not the same without him, but at least the ride is still there. Aside from those things, it's in good shape these days.

Interesting, I noticed when I visited a few weeks ago that the queue music seemed mismatched (I expected the mysterious, eerie forest theme from the film), but I thought I was misremembering. Out of curiosity, what is the correct track for the queue? I've been trying to put together a proper Universal playlist. All I have is the "Botanicus Theme" and the "ET Adventure" track from the recent album.
 

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
I remember an arrangement featuring The religioso sounding stuff from "Three Million Lightyears From Home" and the government agent theme playing in the forest. Eventually, it was just the loop of the latter theme on tinny speakers before you board. These days, only music is the aforementioned "E.T. and Me" track playing. As I recall, that one used to play when you gave your name.
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
I was there Saturday and the music was the same as always. No Botanicus. Sadly far from the only broken effect to be seen that day. There was something down/malfunctioning on everything I rode.
 

macefamily

Well-Known Member
When we were down there in October I asked the Universal employee taking our name cards why Botanicus never came up in the woods anymore ? She looked at me strangely and said that it hasn't worked in years.
 

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