Basil of Baker Street
Well-Known Member
I've found if you're going to go to Universal, just buy the AP and go more than once. Get the premier pass and you get express pass after 4pm.
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WSJ: Even Disney Is Worried About The High Cost Of A Disney Vacation (gift link)
- Thread starter lentesta
- Start date
Basil of Baker Street
Well-Known Member
I dearly miss the Wave lounge. It was cool and dark and was an absolute hidden gem as a break from MK.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I guess it depends on the kid. I have memories of the original Figment even though it closed when I was three. Also remember riding Dumbo. Also lots of memories of the playgrounds, but also some specific rides. I remember Tapestry of Nations, but not really any other parades. I remember our first time watching Illuminations. I also remember when Fantasmic came out because the first time we tried see it, they cancelled it for wind and I remember my mom telling me that "Mickey says it's too windy to do his show."
I'd definitely have been mad if my parents were like "oh, we're not going" but I was raised on Disney princesses and was very much a ride kid. I'd be like, oh, take me to Disney and also take me to this other amusement park.
Still am; Cedar Point is on the bucket list. We also frequently met up with other people, so I remember that a good bit too. I think that was a big part of it, like "oh, we're going, and these other people are coming too."
I was definitely not a kid who was interested in pools. We stayed over at Beach Club when I was growing up, and I could not have cared less. I wanted to be in the parks. Now as an adult, I'm like, please leave me on this lazy river with my Kindle and do not bother me.
Agent H
Well-Known Member
Can I say something embarrassing? no one laugh please I don’t remember my first trip down Main Street USA! okay now you can throw your tomatoesI guess it depends on the kid. I have memories of the original Figment even though it closed when I was three. Also remember riding Dumbo. Also lots of memories of the playgrounds, but also some specific rides. I remember Tapestry of Nations, but not really any other parades. I remember our first time watching Illuminations. I also remember when Fantasmic came out because the first time we tried see it, they cancelled it for wind and I remember my mom telling me that "Mickey says it's too windy to do his show."
I'd definitely have been mad if my parents were like "oh, we're not going" but I was raised on Disney princesses and was very much a ride kid. I'd be like, oh, take me to Disney and also take me to this other amusement park.
We also frequently met up with other people, so I remember that a good bit too. I think that was a big part of it, like "oh, we're going, and these other people are coming too."
I was definitely not a kid who was interested in pools. We stayed over at Beach Club when I was growing up, and I could not have cared less. I wanted to be in the parks. Now as an adult, I'm like, please leave me on this lazy river with my Kindle and do not bother me.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Have you tried the lounge at Steakhouse 71? I do really like that place. I like the food better than what was at the Wave, and there's lots of artwork/photos displayed from MK and Contemporary when it was being built and in the 70s. We really like it as a breakfast spot as well. Admittedly I have not been to the lounge for food/drinks (I don't drink very often), but the seating area is gorgeous, and still dark and cool.
I do enjoy the lobby of the Contemporary as a general hangout spot. There is coffee bar on the first floor (no pastries, but they do have the peach and mango teas) and plenty of spots for charging if you need it. My favorite Disney hangout lobby is still the Grand Californian lobby in DL, but I do enjoy the Contemporary one. Although I still miss the arcade.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I do not either.
I was five months old, in my defense
Obviously, that trip wasn't for me.
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
Amazing that L.A.Goon has continued to exist, the bench development pressure is crazy. Point of the Mountain is gravel pit and houses now.
Basil of Baker Street
Well-Known Member
I have. But its just not the same. And a lot brighter!
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Indeed. I’m developing a hypothesis that Universal is heading towards their Euro Disney moment. A great park beset with missed executive expectations.
There were certain metrics set to approve this project. But now we’re starting the race with attendance down 10%, maybe even 15%, like Disney. They are shooting themselves in the 7-day vacation foot with their opening ticketing model. They’ve overbuilt hotels. Orlando is in a current downturn. They are trying to keep lockstep pricing with Disney. The park is way more expensive than what was pitched a decade ago. They don’t have attraction monetization like Disney to fall back on. Plus their two other parks are struggling to keep pace. All while the parent company is dealing with a major core business model transition.
It feels like a pending recipe for a dark period of underinvestment, which we are already seeing evidence of. As @lazyboy97o has said, they are speed running all of Disney’s past and present mistakes.
I am not a fan of lumpy investment. It always feels good in the moment and then really bad in the aftermath.
twilight mitsuk
Well-Known Member
HappyWorldLand, HappyWorldLand,
Where the fun doesn't stop at only 80 bucks a Pop,
In beautiful HappyWorldLand!
Welcome to a land where the fun never stops,
We have six thrill rides and four hundred gift shops,
The smiles are always rosy, the sky is always blue,
This is Happyworldland, where all your dreams come true!
Where the fun doesn't stop at only 80 bucks a Pop,
In beautiful HappyWorldLand!
Welcome to a land where the fun never stops,
We have six thrill rides and four hundred gift shops,
The smiles are always rosy, the sky is always blue,
This is Happyworldland, where all your dreams come true!
DarkMetroid567
Well-Known Member
I’m a lot more bullish on Universal’s success than you are but I generally do agree. So many in the theme park community seem to think that Epic and UOR is going to be slammed all of this year but all of the writing on the wall is pointing towards it being pretty slow. Word of mouth and demand still haven’t picked up and we’re now only 3-ish months away. Attendance at Universal Hollywood has died off just a few short years after the opening of Super Nintendo World.
So many people (especially in this forum) operate under the belief that if you build something great, the people will automatically come. That’s never been true.
This all started with a Wall Street Journal article titled “Even Disney is worried about the high cost of a Disney vacation.” Then Disney responded to the article, using corporate speak to try and discredit the article.
This is what my experience has been. The Wall Street Journal has broken many stories that ended up being game changing for the subject. The fact that Disney felt the need to defend themselves so swiftly and vigorously, tends to make me think that a lot of what was in the WSJ was dead on accurate.
So, the takeaway is that Disney is probably very afraid of what their internal guest surveys are showing them, and they know that they’re heading in the wrong direction. It remains to be seen if common sense can overcome greed at the parks. As my Grandfather always said, half of something is better than all of nothing.
This is what my experience has been. The Wall Street Journal has broken many stories that ended up being game changing for the subject. The fact that Disney felt the need to defend themselves so swiftly and vigorously, tends to make me think that a lot of what was in the WSJ was dead on accurate.
So, the takeaway is that Disney is probably very afraid of what their internal guest surveys are showing them, and they know that they’re heading in the wrong direction. It remains to be seen if common sense can overcome greed at the parks. As my Grandfather always said, half of something is better than all of nothing.
DarkMetroid567
Well-Known Member
What would be a common sense decision in your mind?
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
“Lack”..,not “lost”
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
For the record, I think it will meet the fan definition of success, but not the executive one.
Unless both Monsters Unchained and Ministry of Magic are mediocre, which seems unlikely. Not impossible since their track record on missing the mark on their dark rides is certainly at least 50%… but unlikely. This park was baked in the knowledge that they screwed up some of their other rides and hopefully that was weighing on the development.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Glad to see the media is exposing Disney's ever increasing price hikes and guest dissatisfaction -something many of us have been saying for sometime. Bob that expression The emperor has no clothes is apropos --you have been exposed
ParadoxPortals
Active Member
100% true and 100% agree. Additional to this point, though, Disney should be scaling-up their operation ahead of demand to meet their growing customer base. More resorts and parks across the globe (IMO they don't really need more hotels ATM), newly-designed ride systems with higher capacities, actual park expansions, and new non-ride attractions (shows, interactive games, streetmosphere, and dining (bars)) need to be constructed before the expected new crowds arrive so that Disney can keep accepting families' vacation money, and their attractions can handle the contemporary infamous record crowds.
Think back to the 60s when boat rides and omnimovers were designed to guarantee a high hourly throughout with high reliability (few breakdowns). The Carousel of Progress with its rotating theatre can keep accepting new guests whilst other groups are simultaneously midway through their performances. Disney used to innovate and create new solutions to meet higher guest demands, which helped the parks and their attractions to be less slammed and more accessible.
IMO this is Disney's problem to fix, they should be able to expand their operations to meet higher demand, and frankly should, they owe their high-paying guests a good experience. Today's problems are due to unreliable low-capacity attractions and a slow rate of actual expansion, not an unsolvable riddle that we all just have to accept.
For $21, which is kind of amazing.
In the last few weeks, as everything's started to come together inside Monsters Unchained, the people I know working on it have said it's their best work. They're really happy.
I've seen some of the effects packages in Ministry. I can't say where or how, obviously. Standing feet from them, looking directly at the mechanisms involved, I still couldn't work out how it was done. "Hologram Yoda on the Starcruiser" levels of crazy.
I think the big questions with Epic now are reliability and capacity. Would not be surprised to hear a Phase 2 shortly after opening.
ParadoxPortals
Active Member
I want to believe that if you build something great, for the most part people will come (ignoring wider social contexts like financial recession or COVID outbreaks stopping tourism). Think Pandora at AK, a dead IP, yet AK is still thriving to this day off of just that one 2017 expansion.
I think part of the reason Universal Hollywood is losing attendance again is, partly, the lack of follow-up after Nintendo. It set a precedent for guests that Hollywood was about to be the new big Universal destination that would continue to be supported with major additions in years to come, but apart from Pets and Mario it hasn't got anything (until Hollywood Drift opens at least). This 'break of trust' reasserted the original opinion on Hollywood that its the lamer cousin of Uni Orlando, and now everyone's seen SNW and the resort has nothing else new, it's once again empty.
Not to nitpick too much but I'm a little disappointed with Nintendo. I actually think Mario Kart is OK I recognise that it disappoints many. Yoshi is too short and needs more indoor scenes, I wish it actually went around the whole land. The Bowser Jr thing is legitimately fun but not a big deal at all. Donkey Kong does not hold up theming wise when you're on-ride and it's a bit too short. Finally, and most importantly, the land was built to be multi-level, yet as you ascend as the environment encourages you to, you see all the exposed animatronic workings that break immersion and are deeply ugly. It ruins the immersion and shows SNW to be a bit poorly-thought out and tacky. I worry poor maintenance will ravage it in years to come and I think already we're seeing a lukewarm response to it, because honestly it's not a particularly great addition to Uni Hollywood / Japan.