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Universal Studios Beijing (Now Open)

Beijing's Hulk clone is actually completely re-profiled, so you're correct that the zero-g roll looks different. The supports are in different places too, and the cobra roll is much shallower than ours.
Yep, they reshaped the whole ride to be more like other modern B&M shaping (smoother, more drawn out transitions rather than snappier ones). They didn’t do this with the retrack because they were limited to reusing existing footer locations which wouldn’t work for this.
 
I'm still not ruling out this being floorless (not until I see the station at least)
It's a relatively 'cheap' change, especially if they are already reprofiling the ride.

New hotels look good, but feel like the park entrance one needs a logo for the park on the front, the original conceptual artwork for the park had more presence IMO.
 
Also, for anyone wondering about Epic Universe concept art, one of those hotels (tan, red roof one) is MUCH more detailed here than it was in the initial concept art. As expected, but just goes to show people how different initial concept art is to the final product. Everything looks pretty great! Most interested to hear how the JW Gyrosphere ride is and the Kung Fu Panda area.
 
Details have finally come out for two of the hotels opening alongside Universal Beijing: The Universal Studios Grand Hotel & The NUO Resort Hotel

View attachment 10840



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The hotels, led by a group effort of Universal Parks and Resorts, the Beijing Tourism Group, and Kempinski Hotels will open alongside the new park.

News Detail
It's a little sad that the Grand Hotel looks a lot like the Epic Universe hotel, but both of these hotels look gorgeous.

It makes me more excited for Epic Universe's hotel and whatever else Universal has in the pipeline.
 
So uh..taking with salt of-course..but TPU is apparently saying that they might be retracting the inclusion of Drupercharged in Beijing.

Fast & Furious Supercharged Gets Cut from Universal Beijing - Theme Park University
That would be a good business decision. To keep it in it's present form would only be an arrogant, stubborn decision based on Executives can do no wrong. The attraction sucks. Own up to it and move on. No sense in building another cloned turkey and hope for different results.
 
That would be a good business decision. To keep it in it's present form would only be an arrogant, stubborn decision based on Executives can do no wrong. The attraction sucks. Own up to it and move on. No sense in building another cloned turkey and hope for different results.

It..makes me ask, what would they do then to the current building, if Supercharged for China was in a state that they only just dropped it a month or so back..that'd then mean IMO that they still have the system and layout of the attraction.

I hope I'm wrong, but that screams to me they might just overlay it to a Mandarin-oriented IP as opposed to that of tearing the sucker down.
 
Universal Studios Beijing upon opening with have their own version of Halloween Horror Nights customized similar to Osaka and Singapore to the local population and their interests with UC assisting as well as China's own A&D. First next park will likely be a water park as of now.
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Additionally political issues between US and China has not affected this park at all. 2/3 of the park will be indoors to maintain winter visitation as Universal hopes to tap the tourist base of 275 Million to make this perhaps the second most visited Universal Park.
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Lastly Nintendo won't come round one to China due to tension by the Chinese government in presenting Japanese products.

Tom Williams: It's at an ideal intersection of the Beijing-Harbin Expressway and the Sixth Ring Road. It's about 45 minutes out of downtown Beijing. It's got all the best IP's. We are going to have 1,200 hotel rooms, including a Universal Grand Hotel will be part of the opening. We will have a CityWalk there. We have so much land that we will be able to, in due course, if business warrants the investment, we would be able to, we have enough room to build more hotels and other park, a water Park. I mean there is a lot of upside there. So we are well on our way. It's on schedule, on budget. The ops teams are progressing nicely against the timelines. And so that's coming to us in less than two years. In about a year-and-a-half, we will be open.



Q:
So let's move on to Beijing. So you have a 30% ownership stake there. So I mean, there has been so much tension recently between U.S. and China. Has that had any impact at all on the development?



Tom Williams, CEO Universal Parks: It just hasn't. You would logically think it has but it's almost like if you ask anybody in this room, what have you seen as a result of China imposing these tariffs on us that you are really are all that shook up about. I mean your everyday work, you are not talking about it. I mean because of what you do, maybe you are talking about it, but you are not actually making the big consumer decisions on it. The people we work with, they are all in on building this park and getting it ready to open. That's all they are focused on.

And believe me, when you go to China, you don't start talking about politics. You don't start talking about the leadership in China. You would be crazy to bring up Hong Kong, Taiwan. You would never start talking that way. You just focus on what you are trying to do. These are is a happy people. I remember when I went there 16 years ago, shock out of staying at the hotel right across from Tiananmen Square, look out the window and there is a Porsche dealership across the street. I thought, wow, the last thing I would expect.


I go to the Forbidden City and right inside the front doors is a Starbucks. This is 16 years ago. So you know Beijing is a cosmopolitan city. You go down to their heavy shopping districts and all the major brands are there. The fashion houses are all there. I mean, you know not everybody, but they have got money to spend and they are happy, content people and they are thrilled to have the theme park, Universal Studios come. I am very proud of the fact that we are in the People's Republic of China. We are going to open up. You can't get a more American kind of brand than Universal Studios. And it's all with welcome arms, open arms.
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Q: So the press has speculated that the investment in the park is now set at total of $6.5 billion. And again, you have 30% stake. But that's even larger than the $5.5 billion of Disney Shanghai or Shanghai Disney.

Tom Williams: Reported

Q:
Reported. Can you talk about the plans there? The opportunity? Key attractions?


Tom WIlliams: Yes. I mean like I said, it's our largest park. It will have the 1,200 rooms to begin with, located in two different locations. It's got a great location going for it. It's got Harry Potter. It's got Transformers. It's got Minions. It's got Hollywood. It's got Jurassic Park with new rides that we have never done before. I mean it's a terrific line-up giving weight to the winter weather in Beijing for about a month. It's got colder temperatures in Osaka. Our park in Osaka open 12 months of the year. So we know we are going to get wintertime visitation.

But indifference to it, two-thirds of the attractions are indoors. About 40% of the total park facilities are completely indoors. Now there is a Kung Fu Panda Land, it's 100% indoors. The rides are indoors. The shops are indoors. It's all indoors. And so we think that ratio of the total park capacity aligns nicely with the expected visitation on those cold, cold days. You wouldn't need it any more because not that many more people are going to come. So we think we planned it correctly.


Q:
And what's your assessment of the competitive environment in China? It feels like there is lot of parks going up?


Tom Williams:
Well, not in Beijing. I mean 22 million people live there and 275 million people visit. And we have been able to substantiate the number. When the Mayor first told me that, I thought he was exaggerating. But now it's correct. There is a lot of cultural effects, lot of places to visit from a cultural standpoint in Beijing. Orlando, by comparison, has 80 million visitors that come, whereas Beijing has 275 million. Now they are not all going to be income qualified, but it's certainly going to be more than enough of a pool for us to be quite successful. And Disney has been successful in Shanghai.

Q:
And finally on China, what's your plan for additional gate openings or parks in China?

Tom Williams: No plan except we know we have got the land and we have the product because we have developed it elsewhere. We have two gates in Orlando and so forth. And so when the timing is right and it makes sense, you have to be open for a few years to get your feet on the ground and do a great job and really confirm all the assumptions that you made were correct and those that weren't correct, fix them and plan accordingly. But the important part is the opportunity is there, when and if we choose to avail ourselves of it.

Lastly, Tom Williams stated that if there was to be any more Universal Parks, China would be the first option
 
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Universal Studios Beijing upon opening with have their own version of Halloween Horror Nights customized similar to Osaka and Singapore to the local population and their interests with UC assisting as well as China's own A&D. First next park will likely be a water park as of now.
----------------------
Additionally political issues between US and China has not affected this park at all. 2/3 of the park will be indoors to maintain winter visitation as Universal hopes to tap the tourist base of 275 Million to make this perhaps the second most visited Universal Park.
------------------
Lastly Nintendo won't come round one to China due to tension by the Chinese government in presenting Japanese products.



Lastly, Tom Williams stated that if there was to be any more Universal Parks, China would be the first option
I noticed he didn't mention F&F as a key attraction. I guess even he knows it's a turkey....or they have other plans to modify or replace it...maybe.
 
Furious 7 and Fate of the Furious are the two highest grossing movies owned by Universal in China (including properties they have the theme park rights to). So I could imagine them wanting to get it right there.

I would clone Hollywood's Mummy, since the launch on that one isn't inclined--and really, an incline launch with F&F wouldn't make much sense. You could use most of the musion effects, though it would probably be best to mirror the "pre-launch" scene ("speak now or you'll all get fried!") since the left wall would work better for view's sake. It would also require a little additional dialogue for backwards launch portion, but not much ("oh no, a dead end").
 
Looks like I was wrong about F&F, they haven't started building it, so it could well have been cut! (No great loss)

I've highlighted the lands on the below themeparx update. The black cross is where F&F is supposed to be.
USB SEPT.jpg

EDIT: Here is the park plan just for those who haven't seen it/don't want to go back 20 pages ;) wlnt96tnbxj11.jpg
 
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I haven't found much concept art online for this park, specifically the KFP area. Anyone maybe have a better reference for this? Or have they just not shown them yet?
 
Dang, a bit blurry but hey its still something! I'll take it! Appreciate the info. Can't wait for more concept art. Seems pretty highly themed from the little bit I can see here.
 
Correct me if I’m wrong but there’s a Dreamworks theater going to their Hollywood right? I’m guessing with another Dreamworks ip? (Abominable? Trolls? Httyd?)
 
The lineup for Universal Studios Beijing has been unveiled!

news-7-1.jpeg


News Detail

Lands:
  • Hollywood
  • Jurassic World - Isla Nublar
  • The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
  • Minion Land
  • Transformers: Metrobase
  • Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness
Additionally, Lights Camera's Action is coming to Beijing; with Steven Spielberg and Zhang Yimou. And also, Waterworld is indeed coming to this version officially.

And as some could...blatently see: No mention of Supercharged, at all.
 
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