Maybe this is the wrong place to place this, if so sorry, I was just excited to share a conversation I had last night at this party with a cast member! Sorry I don't have pics now, I was having camera issues. I'll check with my daughter to see what she got.
The party was from 8-1am. I love these kinds of events - no crowds. Simpsons had a 80 minute, wait, everything else between 10-20 min.
Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem had some technical issues and we were taken out of line for a while, but they did get it up and running. Very well done! One thing the cast member told me is USO will not be getting Super Silly Fun Land. If you've seen where USO wedged in their version, there is no where to add it. They also only have one theater whereas we have 2.
Another thing that was nice is the tour tram was running which outside of HHN they don't do. Amity Island is back together and Bruce is doing his thing. They were filming an episode of "About a Boy" in the Chicken Ranch house, but we didn't really see anybody. For the first time in a while, we were taken through Courthouse square and the rebuilt sets. It was odd to me that we didn't get taken by War of the Worlds or Bates Motel. Biff's car from Back to the Future was tagged as being "checked out for filming". Fast and Furious still dark (heard a good story on that one). Also I heard recently the bridge was up and collapsing, but it was dark last night too.
Now for that chat with a cast member (please remember nothing is in stone until the studio makes a formal announcement, but he seemed to be pretty sure about his facts).
1. Fast and Furious - Justin Lin was somewhat responsible for the $15m "dancing cars on arms" after Tokyo Drift HOWEVER, until sometime last year, he had never actually seen it in person. When he took a private tour through it, he was horrified and demanded it be closed immediately and permanently; it's not coming back. The new Fast and Furious will be the same as King Kong with the tram racing a car on either side. One of the things I've noticed about Universal is that when they have a good ride design, they really step it up next time they use the same type of design. (This is really obvious between Spiderman and Transformers). I'm really excited to see how this turns out! First time I went through the Kong 3D, I thought back to the People Mover at DLR and the "Tron Tunnel" and their speed "effect". FnF#2 should be awesome!
2. Hogsmead - We are getting Flight of the Hippogriff, of course Forbidden Journey (such an awesome ride) and the town with Olavander's. He wasn't sure about Gringott's but no Dueling Dragons for sure. Interesting (although I guess I should have known) they aren't allowed any outdoor rollercoasters due to noise code for the neighborhood. Forbidden Journey is REALLY going up. I've been watching updates over the last couple weeks and they're all over it. At this stage, there are no plans for Hogworts Express. When we talked about it, it seemed to turn his discussion to a 2nd gate (details below).
3. Simpsons/Springfield - Turns out they might be getting their own version of Kang and Kodo's Twirl 'n' Hurl. His specific words were "a Dumbo like ride going into Springfield". I'm assuming Kang & Kodo's since that's what's in Florida. He wasn't sure about Moe's Tavern, but a restaurant for certain.
4. Waterworld - The cast is very excited to see the changes coming to Waterworld. The company that runs the Singapore show is doing a lot of refurbishment in the theater including a whole new directional sound system (pesky neighbors), new cast and updated story.
5. General Expansion - The last offer from USH for the Bob Hope Golf Course of $90m was again rejected by Mr. Bob Barker (current owner). USH is now beginning negotiations with his next of kin for it. They are DETIRIMINED to get this property for a 2nd Gate. Seeing as they constrained with the neighborhood noise issues, it'll be interesting to see how that turns out. Everything has to be built in a sound proof studio, so I'm sure they'll see how the new outdoor rides fare (Super SIllyland, Simpson's and Flight of the Hippogriff) to determine the parameters off the 2nd gate.
If I find any other pics from my daughter, I'll post them later.
K
Yes I asked Jon to fix my thread title typo :/
The party was from 8-1am. I love these kinds of events - no crowds. Simpsons had a 80 minute, wait, everything else between 10-20 min.
Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem had some technical issues and we were taken out of line for a while, but they did get it up and running. Very well done! One thing the cast member told me is USO will not be getting Super Silly Fun Land. If you've seen where USO wedged in their version, there is no where to add it. They also only have one theater whereas we have 2.
Another thing that was nice is the tour tram was running which outside of HHN they don't do. Amity Island is back together and Bruce is doing his thing. They were filming an episode of "About a Boy" in the Chicken Ranch house, but we didn't really see anybody. For the first time in a while, we were taken through Courthouse square and the rebuilt sets. It was odd to me that we didn't get taken by War of the Worlds or Bates Motel. Biff's car from Back to the Future was tagged as being "checked out for filming". Fast and Furious still dark (heard a good story on that one). Also I heard recently the bridge was up and collapsing, but it was dark last night too.
Now for that chat with a cast member (please remember nothing is in stone until the studio makes a formal announcement, but he seemed to be pretty sure about his facts).
1. Fast and Furious - Justin Lin was somewhat responsible for the $15m "dancing cars on arms" after Tokyo Drift HOWEVER, until sometime last year, he had never actually seen it in person. When he took a private tour through it, he was horrified and demanded it be closed immediately and permanently; it's not coming back. The new Fast and Furious will be the same as King Kong with the tram racing a car on either side. One of the things I've noticed about Universal is that when they have a good ride design, they really step it up next time they use the same type of design. (This is really obvious between Spiderman and Transformers). I'm really excited to see how this turns out! First time I went through the Kong 3D, I thought back to the People Mover at DLR and the "Tron Tunnel" and their speed "effect". FnF#2 should be awesome!
2. Hogsmead - We are getting Flight of the Hippogriff, of course Forbidden Journey (such an awesome ride) and the town with Olavander's. He wasn't sure about Gringott's but no Dueling Dragons for sure. Interesting (although I guess I should have known) they aren't allowed any outdoor rollercoasters due to noise code for the neighborhood. Forbidden Journey is REALLY going up. I've been watching updates over the last couple weeks and they're all over it. At this stage, there are no plans for Hogworts Express. When we talked about it, it seemed to turn his discussion to a 2nd gate (details below).
3. Simpsons/Springfield - Turns out they might be getting their own version of Kang and Kodo's Twirl 'n' Hurl. His specific words were "a Dumbo like ride going into Springfield". I'm assuming Kang & Kodo's since that's what's in Florida. He wasn't sure about Moe's Tavern, but a restaurant for certain.
4. Waterworld - The cast is very excited to see the changes coming to Waterworld. The company that runs the Singapore show is doing a lot of refurbishment in the theater including a whole new directional sound system (pesky neighbors), new cast and updated story.
5. General Expansion - The last offer from USH for the Bob Hope Golf Course of $90m was again rejected by Mr. Bob Barker (current owner). USH is now beginning negotiations with his next of kin for it. They are DETIRIMINED to get this property for a 2nd Gate. Seeing as they constrained with the neighborhood noise issues, it'll be interesting to see how that turns out. Everything has to be built in a sound proof studio, so I'm sure they'll see how the new outdoor rides fare (Super SIllyland, Simpson's and Flight of the Hippogriff) to determine the parameters off the 2nd gate.
If I find any other pics from my daughter, I'll post them later.
K
Yes I asked Jon to fix my thread title typo :/
