The Current State and Future of Universal Studios Florida

[SailwiththeTide]

Nostalgia does not sell merch. BTTF and Jaws will not be back. It’s all about the money.

 

[belloq87]

They recently debuted their version of Disney's Citizens of Hollywood, and that's a step in the right direction.

This is an addition that I was very pleased to see.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

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.

If they brought back BTTF, I’d like to see some ride system that hasn’t been used yet. It would be complicated, but yes a land themed to BTTF’s version of present day would be cool. I’ll say it again, what truly did BTTF in was the fact that 2015 was fast approaching and adjusting for it would’ve required a massive overhaul that they did not have the funds to do at the time.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

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.

Both were replaced by properties that were and remain more relevant than either.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Both were replaced by properties that were and remain more relevant than either.

And Frozen and Guardians are more relevant than a ride about Vikings and a ride about energy (well, energy is a very relevant topic right now but point remains).

 

[biggerboat16]

Nostalgia does not sell merch. BTTF and Jaws will not be back. It’s all about the money.

Agreed to an extent, but I disagree with you that they won’t be back. One of the main factors of popularity is recency. The fact alone that a movie from 1975 and a trilogy from the 80s are even still in the public eye is proof enough of their lasting popularity. Yes these replacement properties seem popular at the moment, but what about ten years from now? Twenty? What catches my eye about BTTF and Jaws is that their lasting impact and quality have allowed them to battle the idea of recency. These properties have lasted, and it seems that they will continue to last. In other words, they’re safe investments that have had enough time to prove themselves multigenerational. This is probably the reason why classic monsters are being pushed so hard by universal all of a sudden.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

If you are a theme park executive responsible for increased revenue and attendance, which do you pick (and only have enough resources for one):

A) Relevant IP cash cow that can sell merchandise and other revenue streams.
B) Jaws ride with little merch/Food & Beverage opportunities.

 

[DodgsonHere]

Both were replaced by properties that were and remain more relevant than either.

And both of those properties are at the lowest point they’ve ever been at right now. I don’t know anyone that watches modern Simpsons and Wizarding World has been failing in the box office. Jaws is almost 50 and might be one of the most recognizable stories/movies of all time, and BttF… might not be as relevant but is still a very popular nostalgia property for Universal that will push merch, like E.T..

If you are a theme park executive responsible for increased revenue and attendance, which do you pick (and only have enough resources for one):

A) Relevant IP cash cow that can sell merchandise and other revenue streams.
B) Jaws ride with little merch/Food & Beverage opportunities.

Unless I see some numbers I can’t believe F&F pushes merch

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

And both of those properties are at the lowest point they’ve ever been at right now. I don’t know anyone that watches modern Simpsons and Wizarding World has been failing in the box office. Jaws is almost 50 and might be one of the most recognizable stories/movies of all time, and BttF… might not be as relevant but is still a very popular nostalgia property for Universal that will push merch, like E.T..

Harry Potter proper is doing just fine. I personally never gave a darn about Fantastic Beasts but still hold the original series in very high regard, and have very high hopes for Ministry. I suspect the majority feels the same way.

 

[belloq87]

"Relevant" is not a particularly useful word for this discussion, because I don't think we're all using it in the same way.

If you are a theme park executive responsible for increased revenue and attendance, which do you pick (and only have enough resources for one):

A) Relevant IP cash cow that can sell merchandise and other revenue streams.
B) Jaws ride with little merch/Food & Beverage opportunities.

But we're not theme park executives, we're fans. And we, therefore, do not need to defend the management when they make "sound" business decisions that we might not otherwise like, creatively.

I created this thread to dissect where we think USF falls short, and to discuss what we want to see from this park going forward. I have little doubt that every move Universal has made in USF was backed-up by copious spreadsheets filled with lots of figures that made a very persuasive financial case. That's mostly irrelevant to the broader philosophical discussion that is much more interesting.

 

[DodgsonHere]

Harry Potter proper is doing just fine. I personally never gave a darn about Fantastic Beasts but still hold the original series in very high regard, and have very high hopes for Ministry. I suspect the majority feels the same way.

I have high hopes because Universal always gives their all for anything Potter, I’m not a fan of the movies. I wish Universal treated other properties the same.

 

[Nico]

I have high hopes because Universal always gives their all for anything Potter, I’m not a fan of the movies. I wish Universal treated other properties the same.

I wish they treated internal properties the same. Nintendo definitely appears to have gotten a similar treatment. Monsters and HTTYD will be an interesting test.

 

[Mad Dog]

I have high hopes because Universal always gives their all for anything Potter, I’m not a fan of the movies. I wish Universal treated other properties the same.

Universal gives their all with a gigantic push in the right direction from Warner & Rowling.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I wish they treated internal properties the same. Nintendo definitely appears to have gotten a similar treatment. Monsters and HTTYD will be an interesting test.

Yeah I was frustrated how for the 2010s they devoted all their effort into HP (at least in the dry parks) which lead to the "Potter is the only good thing at Universal!" arguments. But last year they debuted three outstanding non-Potter attractions (globally). That said I still really want Ministry to be a knockout.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I wish they treated internal properties the same. Nintendo definitely appears to have gotten a similar treatment. Monsters and HTTYD will be an interesting test.

To be fair Jurassic is getting good treatment worldwide right now in their parks.

Epic Universe as a whole seems to be taking “the Potter approach” so I have high hopes for Monsters and HTTYD.

 

[Nico]

To be fair Jurassic is getting good treatment worldwide right now in their parks.

Epic Universe as a whole seems to be taking “the Potter approach” so I have high hopes for Monsters and HTTYD.

I agree. I think I started parsing out new ride builds since Comcast and the rides that have negative perceptions all had rumored upper management influence. When left alone, creative hits it out of the park.

 

[shiekra38]

Yeah I was frustrated how for the 2010s they devoted all their effort into HP (at least in the dry parks) which lead to the "Potter is the only good thing at Universal!" arguments. But last year they debuted three outstanding non-Potter attractions. That said I still really want Ministry to be a knockout.

Potter was the most interesting thing about them at the time

Studios is still a mess to this day and IOA......well it's perfect...as long as they paint it

The devotion to HP was more a guaranteed ROI than anything else

I believe Velocicoaster is the beginnings of seeing them finally turn their attention elsewhere

Although Potter still remains their piggy bank

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Potter was the most interesting thing about them at the time

Studios is still a mess to this day and IOA......well it's perfect...as long as they paint it

The devotion to HP was more a guaranteed ROI than anything else

I believe Velocicoaster is the beginnings of seeing them finally turn their attention elsewhere

Although Potter still remains their piggy bank

Oh yeah Potter was and still is their biggest cash cow, so it makes sense they'd show it the most love. But there were plenty of people acting like the moment you left Wizarding World you stepped into a state fair. Fallon and F&F gave those people some ammo mind you.

 

[shiekra38]

Oh yeah Potter was and still is their biggest cash cow, so it makes sense they'd show it the most love. But there were plenty of people acting like the moment you left Wizarding World you stepped into a state fair. Fallon and F&F gave those people some ammo mind you.

If we take those comments seriously but not personally, there is some truth as the rest of Studios doesn't have the same thematic commitment that Diagon has.

And in the window of time before Diagon and after Hogsmede opened, IOA needed a heck of a lot of tlc.

IOA is fixed up to an insane degree now

Studios still remains a hodge podge mess

I actually enjoy Fallon and find it charming as a total experience

 

[biggerboat16]

If we take those comments seriously but not personally, there is some truth as the rest of Studios doesn't have the same thematic commitment that Diagon has.

And in the window of time before Diagon and after Hogsmede opened, IOA needed a heck of a lot of tlc.

IOA is fixed up to an insane degree now

Studios still remains a hodge podge mess

I actually enjoy Fallon and find it charming as a total experience

With Epic Universe, USF could finally find its identity. They’re currently using IOA as the park with tested quality and USF is the dumping ground of ‘new and shiny.’ This is causing victory after victory for IOA and dud after dud for USF. It seems like Epic might become the shiny new toy for the hottest IPs, and this can be done right if they take note of the shortcomings of USF. With this, I’d love to see USF take the direction of the legacy park. This can be the home of all things classic universal. They’ve been trying to make this the ‘hip and fresh’ park, and it doesn’t seem to be working. Try this approach with something that was made for this (like epic), and treat USF to new (or old) IPs with quality and longevity. IOA can be home to the thrilling properties, USF can be home to the classic/legacy properties, and Epic can be home to the hip/new properties. It works perfectly. Recently, USF has gone from Universal’s version of MK to their version of Epcot. One thing that Disney did right was let the OG park do what it was meant to do and do most of the experimenting with the other parks as not to ‘fix’ what wasn’t broken and fail horribly.