Fast & Furious: Supercharged - General Discussion

[SpatulaShack]

The only other RIDE with a level of “we need to fix this” I’ve seen is Journey into Your Imagination.

Let's not forget Superstar Limo. A ride so terrible it closed shortly after opening even in a park with very few rides to begin with. I'd argue Fast & Furious is far worse than Superstar Limo or Journey Into Your Imagination. At least both of those rides were just basic dark rides with a nonsensical plot. Neither were ever intended to be anything other than a C-ticket ride. F&F pretended to be an E-ticket which just made it all worse.

 

[Disneyhead]

Excellent. Having a good at Busch Gardens? Although, I'm not sure that you can have a bad day unless it is pouring rain (instead of drinks) or is exceptionally busy.

Had a great day. The longest line we saw all day was 5 mins. There was nobody there today.

 

[DK745]

How much are they willing to invest into fixing the ride when they have 2 other rides in IOA, other unannounced stuff possibly coming to both parks, and all of park 3 coming soon? It seems like a unique situation where it's so bad that they have to address it at some point but also seems like they could easily ignore it until after park 3 since they're so busy with other things.

I would at least expect a F&F ride to go fast...I don't know how they could possibly add that into the ride or what else they could do to actually improve it. Even if they fixed the ride footage to look less cartoonish the ride still ends abruptly. Having to watch the party/warehouse scene for like half the ride is pretty unbearable as well.

 

[SkiBum]

How much are they willing to invest into fixing the ride when they have 2 other rides in IOA, other unannounced stuff possibly coming to both parks, and all of park 3 coming soon? It seems like a unique situation where it's so bad that they have to address it at some point but also seems like they could easily ignore it until after park 3 since they're so busy with other things.

I would at least expect a F&F ride to go fast...I don't know how they could possibly add that into the ride or what else they could do to actually improve it. Even if they fixed the ride footage to look less cartoonish the ride still ends abruptly. Having to watch the party/warehouse scene for like half the ride is pretty unbearable as well.

I would guess that two things are in play (probably a lot more).

1. While unsure of the cost, UNI probably wants to play this out to get a little ROI.
2. UNI does not want to wave the white flag and admit a crushing defeat. They may tweak things to try and give it a boost first before going this route.

I have no idea how much a ride like the Dynamics Attraction coaster (the one that everyone has been drooling over from the concept art) would cost but maybe they keep that reserved for somewhere down the line. Again, opening two rides in IoA plus the new park development means that the public will have plenty drawing them in and F&F can just exist. Who knows? Maybe the Ministry of Magic ride could happen and bring on new crowds to UNI? My guess is that Potter would bring in crowds far more than F&F.

 

[Mad Dog]

I would guess, finding money in the budget is probably the main stumbling block on doing a quick fix on F&F.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

Just gut this atrocious attraction and make it similar to test track.

 

[dandan]

I understand some people may have Potter fatigue in terms of number of rides... but surely F&F is in an ideal spot for a fairly straightforward retheme for a Knightbus attraction, just thinking in terms of vehicle size and potential with location... could have a Ministry or London entrance... highly unlikely but seems to me a good fit. In the meantime... I enjoy F&F for what it is...

 

[Andy]

I’m thinking beat case scenario they invest in changing the story line with removing the entire party theme. Make it all about a heist or something serious along that storyline. Gut the preshows and change them to locations that are actually relevant to the ride and theme, maybe a backstory of the heist itself. Lose all the corny jokes and live actors. Remove the party scene from ride and again go with a more tactical serious approach that leads to the chase.

I think this is a more realistic way to handle how awful this ride is. Try to overhaul the story and minimal work that will only close it for 45-60 days. After that you let the ride run it’s course and move on. It’s a miss no way around it but they’re not gonna tear the thing down after investing that type of money into it with so many other projects going on.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I’m thinking beat case scenario they invest in changing the story line with removing the entire party theme. Make it all about a heist or something serious along that storyline. Gut the preshows and change them to locations that are actually relevant to the ride and theme, maybe a backstory of the heist itself. Lose all the corny jokes and live actors. Remove the party scene from ride and again go with a more tactical serious approach that leads to the chase.

I think this is a more realistic way to handle how awful this ride is. Try to overhaul the story and minimal work that will only close it for 45-60 days. After that you let the ride run it’s course and move on. It’s a miss no way around it but they’re not gonna tear the thing down after investing that type of money into it with so many other projects going on.

Honestly if not for the screenz it would be a *bearable* attraction.

Meanwhile, if not for the screenz, Kong would be an incredible attraction, IMO.

 

[Mad Dog]

I’m thinking beat case scenario they invest in changing the story line with removing the entire party theme. Make it all about a heist or something serious along that storyline. Gut the preshows and change them to locations that are actually relevant to the ride and theme, maybe a backstory of the heist itself. Lose all the corny jokes and live actors. Remove the party scene from ride and again go with a more tactical serious approach that leads to the chase.

I think this is a more realistic way to handle how awful this ride is. Try to overhaul the story and minimal work that will only close it for 45-60 days. After that you let the ride run it’s course and move on. It’s a miss no way around it but they’re not gonna tear the thing down after investing that type of money into it with so many other projects going on.

Yeah, sounds similar to Disneyhead's info. Dave says he heard party scenes all ditched and a film upgrade to 8k and 3D are being considered.....Universal certainly needs to do something to correct one of theme park's all time turkeys.

 

[tielo]

They also could just close it and do nothing. Universal will have their own Rocket Rods.

 

[UNIrd]

I understand some people may have Potter fatigue in terms of number of rides... but surely F&F is in an ideal spot for a fairly straightforward retheme for a Knightbus attraction, just thinking in terms of vehicle size and potential with location... could have a Ministry or London entrance... highly unlikely but seems to me a good fit. In the meantime... I enjoy F&F for what it is...

This could have worked honestly.

But all I see coming is more fog blasts.

 

[Evan]

Just bring back a studio disaster show. Far more exciting.

 

[Mad Dog]

Just bring back a studio disaster show. Far more exciting.

It's a shame "Disaster" had physically deteriorated to the point it could not be salvaged.It clearly was a much better attraction. Plus we had the Beetlejuice show in that F&F used area to boot.

 

[Evan]

It's a shame "Disaster" had physically deteriorated to the point it could not be salvaged.It clearly was a much better attraction. Plus we had the Beetlejuice show in that F&F used area to boot.

They should have just built a new, modern day disaster dark ride. Don’t even get me going

 

[Brian G.]

We can discuss and dissect the execution until the cows come home but let's not kid ourselves - Universal was right to add a Fast & Furious attraction. If they can make changes to the story and ditch the party and pre-show crap, it's definitely salvageable.

 

[Nick]

So went to the park yesterday with my mom and sister and it was their first time riding. My sister (10 y/o for age reference) said she like it better than Kong, but she actually really dislikes Kong so idk where she really stands. My mom was just sort of like “eh”. We virtually walked right on the ride too, so I wonder how their opinions would’ve changed with any sort of real wait.

On a more general resort note, they both made mention quite a few times throughout about the high number of 3D and simulator rides. Just found it an interesting criticism as they aren’t big theme park people, so it’s obviously very noticeable.

 

[belloq87]

On a more general resort note, they both made mention quite a few times throughout about the high number of 3D and simulator rides. Just found it an interesting criticism as they aren’t big theme park people, so it’s obviously very noticeable.

On my last trip, one of my friends (who hadn't been to Universal in 7 - 8 years at that point) said to me as we were exiting USF, "Do you think all these (the new rides) were designed by, like, one single guy?" I asked why, and he said, "I mean, they're all kind of the same thing." He was being hyperbolic, sure, and he had a good time, but in that moment I felt quite validated in my feelings about what's happened in that park!

 

[WillQ92]

The amount of times I've heard, "I thought it'd be like Test Track." is staggering. If I remember correctly, the closest thing that Uni would have to the TT tech is maybe the patents we're assuming are for the Donkey Kong coaster. I've had people at my work suggest to me that they could've made it like Transformers or Spider-Man, but I'm sure there would be complaints about how they reused the same ride tech only 150 or so yards away.

The only logical solution for this ride is a wrecking ball.

 

[Mad Dog]

The amount of times I've heard, "I thought it'd be like Test Track." is staggering. If I remember correctly, the closest thing that Uni would have to the TT tech is maybe the patents we're assuming are for the Donkey Kong coaster. I've had people at my work suggest to me that they could've made it like Transformers or Spider-Man, but I'm sure there would be complaints about how they reused the same ride tech only 150 or so yards away.

The only logical solution for this ride is a wrecking ball.

This is like a 'jinxed' spot in the park for Universal
* Earthquake....decent attraction but ridership was slipping so they redid it to...
*Disaster....once again, a decent attraction, but it didn't invigorate the customer base. I was reading Brian's comments from when it had it's grand opening, and he said the lines dwindled significantly after just a few weeks past it's grand opening. I really liked both this and it's predecessor Earthquake, but I can't ever remember much of a line to get in for either attraction. I recall when riding Disaster the last few years, it seemed a significant number of effects didn't work anymore, and the trams were a mess operation wise. They needed to replace it, no doubt.
* Fast and Furious...a true disaster and the best we're going to get is if they do what they did with Earthquake/Disaster, namely make some changes to the story and subtle ride alterations. Kind of a Earthquake/Disaster repeat.
.......****Which brings me back to the "jinxed/cursed" theory. Maybe this was the site of an ancient Indian burial ground or a Spanish Conquistador slaughter, and it's haunted by those ghosts. Then it's incumbent for Universal to 'exorcise' the demons from the site before they do any F&F renovations. A special HHN ceremony or "sacrificial" house in the queue there might just do the trick. .......eace: