Anime at Universal Parks & Resorts

[Tomfoolery]

As many others have stated, Pokemon would be the ideal pick if Universal wanted to have an anime IP featured at the US parks. But at the same time, what is the probability of Universal and the Pokemon company working out a deal to bring the IP to USF and USH? I asked this over on Reddit and got a split reaction with some thinking it will stay exclusive to Japan while others saying it will make it way over to the US and it would be a game changer if that did happen. Is it possible they want to see the reception for that reskinned Spiderman ride before brokering a deal for the US parks?

Who’s to say a deal hasn’t already been signed,,

 

[TheUniC6]

Who’s to say a deal hasn’t already been signed,,

Assuming one was already signed, I'm guessing they are simply holding off on announcing it after the first Pokemon ride opens in Japan.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Went to the First night of Fan fest and since then every night the Yoshi, JJK and Once Piece Characters seem to have the longest lines

I hope USH and the other parks see Anime is no longer just something for a few nerds, like Star Wars and other IPs that used to be looked at as just for the geeky kids. Anime is now apart of culture

Not to downplay it's importance before but we are now at the point where Anime should be looked at coming to more parks

My little idea for USH is to make the SNW cafe into a flex cafe, where every year it gets a new theme for an anime. It can open close to Fan fest and close after Grinchmas to be redone

Also getting some meet and greet characters would be a win. I waited 40+ mins to meet the Once Piece character and while it might have been easy at some late time to see them for the most part it was a 25+ mins line all night for the characters, the One Piece restaurant was packed all night and even on the first night there a line for the anime merch

So once again I hope USH finds way to get more Anime to be involved in its park and hope Florida looks into it as well because they have more space

 

[Clive]

I'm fully willing to concede that there is clearly an appetite for anime in location-based experiences -- theme parks and beyond, really. It would appear that even Universal underestimated how popular some of these offerings would be.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I'm fully willing to concede that there is clearly an appetite for anime in location-based experiences -- theme parks and beyond, really. It would appear that even Universal underestimated how popular some of these offerings would be.

At this point I have to assume the underestimation is a generational thing. Just going to Barnes and Nobles and malls in LA last week, and it shouldn't take an MBA to realize how popular and pervasive Asian culture is in the area.

The fact that Universal's big expensive mazes for this event were Star Trek, Back to The Future, and Dungeons and Dragons, but the only thing they could do for One Piece was a few meet-n-greets in a corner, suggests to me that the creators weren't really acquainted with what modern anime fandom is, likely because they have not interacted with the equivalent spaces that existed in their youth for things like Ghostbusters or D&D or (insert 80s youth touchstone here).

 

[UniversalRBLX]

At this point I have to assume the underestimation is a generational thing. Just going to Barnes and Nobles and malls in LA last week, and it shouldn't take an MBA to realize how popular and pervasive Asian culture is in the area.

The fact that Universal's big expensive mazes for this event were Star Trek, Back to The Future, and Dungeons and Dragons, but the only thing they could do for One Piece was a few meet-n-greets in a corner, suggests to me that the creators weren't really acquainted with what modern anime fandom is, likely because they have not interacted with the equivalent spaces that existed in their youth for things like Ghostbusters or D&D or (insert 80s youth touchstone here).

I'd love to get my hands on a theoretical ranking system of what Universal/Disney considers the top IPs to consider investing into.

While I do believe there are Anime IPs out there for theme park use, I do question if they should be prioritized over other "traditional" IPs were used to? Is it lucrative enough financially to utilize a 3rd party anime IP over an inhouse IP?

 

[Jake S]

I think location matters here, too. It’s not a surprise at all that this is a hit in Los Angeles. Will that be true in Orlando? I think certainly enough to give it a go, but I doubt it has the same pull in Florida that it does in California.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I'd love to get my hands on a theoretical ranking system of what Universal/Disney considers the top IPs to consider investing into.

While I do believe there are Anime IPs out there for theme park use, I do question if they should be prioritized over other "traditional" IPs were used to? Is it lucrative enough financially to utilize a 3rd party anime IP over an inhouse IP?

For meet and greets/restaurants to get more Anime merch in shops? Its 100% worth it

Hopefully Fan fest come to Florida to test out how Anime do there

But for me the lines speak for themselves Wicked was busy no doubt but the lines for others characters from Anime/Japan were much longer.

I think I've said in this thread before but when I have gone to Demon Slayer movies and My hero movies not only do people cosplay but they buy LOTS of snacks and drinks for the films. Aniame fans just seem to be more willing to spend money on in person events where they get to see other anime fans

 

[quinnmac000]

At this point I have to assume the underestimation is a generational thing. Just going to Barnes and Nobles and malls in LA last week, and it shouldn't take an MBA to realize how popular and pervasive Asian culture is in the area.

Only looking at LA sure...LA has one of the largest Asian populations in the United States. But looking across America, anime has always been relevant and popular, however, the audience being exposed to a lot of anime aside from pokemon from the 80s , 90s, and up until the mid 00s were not in the same income bracket as those who would watch American IPs. A lot of executives don't pay attention to the historical/nostalgia angle a lot of especially shonen jumps IPs are for a lot of different groups so they are suprised pikachu at how popular they are when they are showcased.

I'm telling you now have a Naruto area open in Orlando, you will have lots of new customers coming to Universal often. Build a Dragon Ball Z park in Texas, its game over for any other park. Build Sailor Moon area near DC make that money.

 

[Rhian]

I think location matters here, too. It’s not a surprise at all that this is a hit in Los Angeles. Will that be true in Orlando? I think certainly enough to give it a go, but I doubt it has the same pull in Florida that it does in California.

They could always try something small during Megacon week and see what happens.

 

[Mad Dog]

I think location matters here, too. It’s not a surprise at all that this is a hit in Los Angeles. Will that be true in Orlando? I think certainly enough to give it a go, but I doubt it has the same pull in Florida that it does in California.

I agree. This is kind of demographic and location. Anime is basically tailored to the California marketplace, but probably not so much to the heavily tourist Orlando market and the local Orlando demographic mix. Southern California is probably the ideal US location for this product. So, I look at that through that perspective. Kind of like Duffy (Disney) and Hello Kitty (Universal) doing great in southern California but weak in Orlando, for many of the same reasons.

 

[OrlLover]

Hopefully Fan fest come to Florida to test out how Anime do there

Yea and see how it goes and we will we know if that’s the kind of content people want to see.

LA definitely has a built in audience just for its sure size and large Asian population.

But Anime is relatively mainstream among several demographics so I definitely see it being a success here.