The Current State and Future of Universal Studios Florida

[belloq87]

Question for any insiders that may be able to answer, does Universal themselves see their older properties as still valuable? It was a shock on my recent trip to see more merch for Back to the Future and Jaws than anything besides Potter and Jurassic Park. Do you think this is just to grab a quick buck or are they willing at all to re-introduce some of these IPs as full attractions?

With the Simpsons contract end date coming up in a couple of years and San Francisco having a notoriously horrible attraction, it seems these areas are practically begging to be rethemed to Hill Valley and Amity respectively, and they would fit in with Universal's push for lands themed to a single IP while not being too extensive overhauls. San Fran already has some seaside theming and Springfield's exteriors are pretty basic.

All indications are that Universal is happy to sell merchandise based on their classic IP, but have no plans to ever do anything with them within the parks again.

The Monsters land in Epic Universe is likely the closest thing we will ever get to Universal fully embracing an older property.

I'd love to be wrong.

 

[DodgsonHere]

A revived Back to the Future attraction could and should replace Fast and Furious supercharged. They would have gut the building and start from scratch with a whole new ride system though.

At this point anything replacing that abomination would be fantastic, I’d actually prefer that BttF takes over Simpsons when it expires. Not the same ride as the original of course, USF doesn’t need any new simulator attractions, but restoring the facade and then building a show building behind it would be incredible. Either a coaster or Scoop dark ride would be great, emphasis on physical sets for both though. If we are talking about a Supercharge replacement though, just knock down the building and build a whole new Jaws ride. How it would distinguish itself from the original I’m not sure, but Jaws is such an evergreen concept and property that you can’t tell me that people wouldn’t be eager to queue up for it. Make it scary as can be.

 

[DodgsonHere]

All indications are that Universal is happy to sell merchandise based on their classic IP, but have no plans to ever do anything with them within the parks again.

The Monsters land in Epic Universe is likely the closest thing we will ever get to Universal fully embracing an older property.

I'd love to be wrong.

Monsters is another reason I brought up classic properties in this thread, it’s a totally great idea and anyone can enjoy it whether they’ve seen the movies or not. I feel like too many attractions today, especially in Studios, rely on dumping too much exposition on you in case you haven’t seen the movie. Transformers are F&F are the biggest offenders.

 

[GAcoaster]

There's as much chance of Universal bringing back Back to the Future in some form as Magic Kingdom bringing back Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It's the same story with both parks-- "classics" remembered fondly by past generations but no longer relevant enough to draw today's crowds, so they'll sell tons of merchandise and make money on nostalgia. The Back to the Future movies have lost any relevance except as nostalgia for GenX. They weren't that good and haven't held up. No one would really consider them "evergreen" properties.

 

[DodgsonHere]

The Back to the Future movies have lost any relevance except as nostalgia for GenX. They weren't that good and haven't held up. No one would really consider them "evergreen" properties.

Those are fighting words lol. Joking aside I’d argue they’ve certainly held up better than a lot of films USF has rides for now, even if they’re great attractions like Mummy and MIB.

Edit: Furthermore I don’t think the property has to be super relevant or current for an attraction to draw in attendance. Do you think people will be flocking to MK when Tron opens because they like the movie so much?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Those are fighting words lol. Joking aside I’d argue they’ve certainly held up better than a lot of films USF has rides for now, even if they’re great attractions like Mummy and MIB.

Edit: Furthermore I don’t think the property has to be super relevant or current for an attraction to draw in attendance. Do you think people will be flocking to MK when Tron opens because they like the movie so much?

What did BTTF in was that it dated itself.

 

[DodgsonHere]

What did BTTF in was that it dated itself.

It’s future hasn’t been written yet, no one’s has!

As long as we’re only heading back in time in a possible attraction it can’t become dated that way.

 

[belloq87]

The Back to the Future movies have lost any relevance except as nostalgia for GenX. They weren't that good and haven't held up.

Counterpoint: BACK TO THE FUTURE is a great movie that is better than anything currently represented in USF other than E.T.

And that's coming from a Millennial.

 

[pumpkinbot343]

It’s future hasn’t been written yet, no one’s has!

As long as we’re only heading back in time in a possible attraction it can’t become dated that way.

…What? I don’t get it.

 

[Speed]

Any word on if Cinematic Celebration is coming back anytime soon?

 

[biggerboat16]

Even if cinematic celebration isn’t back for a while, this park has so many other entertainment options I don’t think it’ll be overly devastating. (Not saying we don’t want it though!) That’s the one thing that this park has over IOA, that being shows and entertainment.

Just visited for the first time in a few years and there was a noticeable gap with mummy closed. Compared to IOA, there didn’t seem to be any major must-dos that we were flocking to. At IOA we had 4-5 bucket-list rides that we were planning out on a schedule, but we found ourselves meandering around USF without any big must-dos to build our day around (except maybe MIB). It seems like this park is missing an e-ticket main attraction that everyone would be running to. It needs a big, ultra-immersive e-ticket that’s meant to be the best in the world. Something on the same level as JWA or even ROTR to breath some high-quality life into this park. It seems like over the past few decades this park has removed quality in favor of ‘new.’ I do think that either BTTF or Jaws would be excellent candidates for this type of attraction. Sharks and time travel are both universal interests, meaning that they can be enjoyed by anyone without having to be familiar with IPs. They also have the retro appeal which Universal seems to be realizing can make lots of money (look at the legacy store). Another idea would be if they somehow got the rights to Godzilla and used that as a F&F replacement. The park’s got great scenery and atmosphere, it just needs a big, thrilling e-ticket with physical sets to let it compete with IOA.

 

[Mad Dog]

Even if cinematic celebration isn’t back for a while, this park has so many other entertainment options I don’t think it’ll be overly devastating. (Not saying we don’t want it though!) That’s the one thing that this park has over IOA, that being shows and entertainment.

Just visited for the first time in a few years and there was a noticeable gap with mummy closed. Compared to IOA, there didn’t seem to be any major must-dos that we were flocking to. At IOA we had 4-5 bucket-list rides that we were planning out on a schedule, but we found ourselves meandering around USF without any big must-dos to build our day around (except maybe MIB). It seems like this park is missing an e-ticket main attraction that everyone would be running to. It needs a big, ultra-immersive e-ticket that’s meant to be the best in the world. Something on the same level as JWA or even ROTR to breath some high-quality life into this park. It seems like over the past few decades this park has removed quality in favor of ‘new.’ I do think that either BTTF or Jaws would be excellent candidates for this type of attraction. Sharks and time travel are both universal interests, meaning that they can be enjoyed by anyone without having to be familiar with IPs. They also have the retro appeal which Universal seems to be realizing can make lots of money (look at the legacy store). Another idea would be if they somehow got the rights to Godzilla and used that as a F&F replacement. The park’s got great scenery and atmosphere, it just needs a big, thrilling e-ticket with physical sets to let it compete with IOA.

The gap was caused by F&F, which is an unmitigated "Disaster". That put a hole in the park that they haven't come close to filling. Lot's of space taken up by an attraction that's nearly useless.....Universal mgt. needs to swallow their
'investment' in F&F and spend the bucks to fix that space. With all those record 10 level crowds during Mardi Gras, the money should be available.

 

[captainmoch]

I feel like Back to the Future probably has more mindshare in the public conciousness than the Michael Bay Transformers movies or any of the Bourne films but that's just me.

 

[DodgsonHere]

The gap was caused by F&F, which is an unmitigated "Disaster".

I see what you did there

 

[SquirrelExorcist]

Any word on if Cinematic Celebration is coming back anytime soon?

By the way, it was back last night.

 

[Rock'nRoller]

BTTF was the better ride than the Simpsons and is still as popular today.

I'd love to see BTTF return somehow, but given the status of USF, I don't see that happening.

 

[DodgsonHere]

I feel like Back to the Future probably has more mindshare in the public conciousness than the Michael Bay Transformers movies or any of the Bourne films but that's just me.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, BttF and Jaws are more relevant and more quality than mostly every other property represented in USF, and would make excellent attractions regardless of if you’ve seen the movies or not.

 

[biggerboat16]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, BttF and Jaws are more relevant and more quality than mostly every other property represented in USF, and would make excellent attractions regardless of if you’ve seen the movies or not.

Yup, and you can also understand them without having seen the movies. Although seeing the movie helps, especially with BTTF, time travel and shark attacks are universal interests that will always be popular. A lot of the current attractions can be confusing if you aren’t familiar with the IP. I’ve had family members go on the Harry Potter attractions and talk about the “Weird black ghost things in the castle.” They always seem to be slightly more confused than satisfied when getting off. Both FJ and Gringotts are great rides, they just don’t allow everybody to have a universal understanding that simple concepts such as a shark attack do. I said this on another post but if they could even get the Godzilla rights and replace F&F that would be a nice E-Ticket with the appeal of a giant mutant monster. Personally I’d choose Jaws or BTTF because they’re both essential Universal properties that are more popular than ever, but anything of that same vein would be great. My dream would be for the Simpsons contract to lapse and for universal to bulldoze the building and start fresh with a massive Delorean slot-car ride in its place. They could even retheme Springfield to Hill Valley 2015. This park just needs a big, old-school classic universal e-ticket that will give people a ride to rope-drop

 

[DodgsonHere]

Yup, and you can also understand them without having seen the movies. Although seeing the movie helps, especially with BTTF, time travel and shark attacks are universal interests that will always be popular. A lot of the current attractions can be confusing if you aren’t familiar with the IP. I’ve had family members go on the Harry Potter attractions and talk about the “Weird black ghost things in the castle.” They always seem to be slightly more confused than satisfied when getting off. Both FJ and Gringotts are great rides, they just don’t allow everybody to have a universal understanding that simple concepts such as a shark attack do. I said this on another post but if they could even get the Godzilla rights and replace F&F that would be a nice E-Ticket with the appeal of a giant mutant monster. Personally I’d choose Jaws or BTTF because they’re both essential Universal properties that are more popular than ever, but anything of that same vein would be great. My dream would be for the Simpsons contract to lapse and for universal to bulldoze the building and start fresh with a massive Delorean slot-car ride in its place. They could even retheme Springfield to Hill Valley 2015. This park just needs a big, old-school classic universal e-ticket that will give people a ride to rope-drop

My man I couldn't agree more. Hill Valley could make a great theme park land, like tell me the lines wouldn't be out the door for Cafe 80s. Amity still has potential too, I can't imagine it being too difficult to retheme San Francisco to it. Replace F&F with a modern age Jaws boat ride and add some boardwalk/beach themed flat rides to make up for K&K lost capacity if Springfield is replaced and you have a pretty solid land.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Jaws could work inside a show building, but it'll be smaller in scale. Also, San Fran isn't huge enough to accommodate flat rides unless you modify/expand the piers - which I think they could do anyway.

What USF is missing are outdoor attractions that can generate kinetic energy in the park. Entertainment fills the void, but it still missing IOA's constant push of kinetic energy. (Vice versa, IOA can use entertainment.) I think an F&F coaster can do the trick for the center of the park, along with a carousel in central park. Kidzone should be more like Wonderland from USJ.

The park also needs a boost of studio theming at the front/Hollywood/Production Central to make it "feel" like a working studio, while the rest of the lands are trying to bring you into the movies. They recently debuted their version of Disney's Citizens of Hollywood, and that's a step in the right direction.