The Current State and Future of Universal Studios Florida

[knoxmyers]

Went to Uni on Friday and wow, they really need to get some stuff back open stat! The amount of construction walls up right now is quite frankly unacceptable. I feel bad for folks that have no idea what's up or down and paid alot for a summer vacay to spend it here.

I do realize that Mummy should be open soonish and Hogwarts will be back soon as well, but all of the walls are giving a really bad impression. Shrek, monsters, Park Ave, Mummy, Fear Factor (that one is more wishful on my part, but it is closed), half of kidzone, street in front of Media center, Crepes...I think I got it all there.

We had fun no doubt, but we can go back whenever, even knowing how much would be closed, it was still quite jarring to see so many walls up.

 

[Mad Dog]

It's crazy that with both USF & IOA being as overcrowded as they are, that park management still has three huge show buildings empty. They're making tons of profit, and they
really need added capacity. Bring the big shows back already.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

It's crazy that with both USF & IOA being as overcrowded as they are, that park management still has three huge show buildings empty. They're making tons of profit, and they
really need added capacity. Bring the big shows back already.

The lack of entertainment at IOA/relaxing attractions bothers me. They can pick just about any IP to fit into the Toon Lagoon theater and make something work. DreamWorks will work great here.

At USF, the park feels very "off" without Mummy. With MIB and ET lacking proper upgrades/maintenance, the park feels very outdated and left behind compared to IOA.

With that said, USF still pulls the "studio theme" better than Hollywood Studios.

 

[shiekra38]

The lack of entertainment at IOA/relaxing attractions bothers me. They can pick just about any IP to fit into the Toon Lagoon theater and make something work. DreamWorks will work great here.

At USF, the park feels very "off" without Mummy. With MIB and ET lacking proper upgrades/maintenance, the park feels very outdated and left behind compared to IOA.

With that said, USF still pulls the "studio theme" better than Hollywood Studios.

You are so right about Mummy, it feels very odd without it open

NY is especially sad without it

 

[biggerboat16]

You are so right about Mummy, it feels very odd without it open

NY is especially sad without it

When I went recently I wanted to leave and go back to islands… lol. Without mummy there were no rides that I really wanted to do. I enjoyed Rockit, MIB, and ET. Everything other than that I either didn’t like or didn’t care about. Transformers is good, but there’s a better version at IOA. Gringotts is ok, but there’s a better Potter ride at IOA. F&F sucks, and there’s a vastly superior version at IOA. Aside from the cool street atmosphere and theming, I felt no reason to even go to the studios. It seemed like I had no interest in many things that were there, and the things I did care about I could find better versions of at IOA. This park needs a headliner that steals the show and gives guests a reason to visit. Although I’m excited for Epic Universe, I’d rather have them spend all of that money on bringing studios up to its full potential. I know this won’t be a popular opinion but I’d rather have a resort with two incredible 5-star parks rather than some good parks and a trainwreck. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as excited for Epic as the next guy, but part of me wishes that they’d perfect what they currently have before moving on to other things.

 

[belloq87]

When I went recently I wanted to leave and go back to islands… lol. Without mummy there were no rides that I really wanted to do. I enjoyed Rockit, MIB, and ET. Everything other than that I either didn’t like or didn’t care about. Transformers is good, but there’s a better version at IOA. Gringotts is ok, but there’s a better Potter ride at IOA. F&F sucks, and there’s a vastly superior version at IOA. Aside from the cool street atmosphere and theming, I felt no reason to even go to the studios. It seemed like I had no interest in many things that were there, and the things I did care about I could find better versions of at IOA. This park needs a headliner that steals the show and gives guests a reason to visit. Although I’m excited for Epic Universe, I’d rather have them spend all of that money on bringing studios up to its full potential. I know this won’t be a popular opinion but I’d rather have a resort with two incredible 5-star parks rather than some good parks and a trainwreck. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as excited for Epic as the next guy, but part of me wishes that they’d perfect what they currently have before moving on to other things.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: think of the good Super Nintendo World would have done for USF if it had gone into KidZone as originally intended (and designed).

 

[Mad Dog]

Diagon saves USF. Without it the park is lacking. Hopefully they replace the closed parade with something substantial. And, sorry to keep harping on it, but they need to replace F&F since it creates a huge hole in the attraction lineup, and leaves the park incomplete. USF really needs to add instead of subtracting. The park is crowded and packed daily. The profit is rolling in.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Diagon saves USF. Without it the park is lacking. Hopefully they replace the closed parade with something substantial. And, sorry to keep harping on it, but they need to replace F&F since it creates a huge hole in the attraction lineup, and leaves the park incomplete. USF really needs to add instead of subtracting. The park is crowded and packed daily. The profit is rolling in.

It seems like each time they want to inprove the park they switch directions. Kidzone was an inch away from being demolished, Pets was an inch away from being approved if not for...reasons. We could have had a new Potter experience under construction at USF as we speak.

Ultimately the main problem isn't a lack of new rides (we've gotten six in the past eight year) but a lack of coherent vision for the park beyond its utility as a flex space. Though maybe it's a matter of time, and we're just finding USF in an awkward spot between a lackluster big addition and the development of a park.

EDIT: I will say everything before the screen section of F&F is alright in my book.

 

[Mad Dog]

It seems like each time they want to inprove the park they switch directions. Kidzone was an inch away from being demolished, Pets was an inch away from being approved if not for...reasons. We could have had a new Potter experience under construction at USF as we speak.

Ultimately the main problem isn't a lack of new rides (we've gotten six in the past eight year) but a lack of coherent vision for the park beyond its utility as a flex space. Though maybe it's a matter of time, and we're just finding USF in an awkward spot between a lackluster big addition and the development of a park.

EDIT: I will say everything before the screen section of F&F is alright in my book.

Yes, I'm basically of the same mind as you. Woodbury kind of had a vision, and that was screens, but he went a little too far with that, ignoring alternatives. Screens are fine with me, but USF needs some differentiation, some different stuff.
I love the park, but it does lack balance. And right now, it's kind of lacking completeness with Shrek & Mummy down, no replacement for Fear Factor, no parade, no Monsters Cafe, KZ being a bit out of date, and that turkey in SF that takes up so much space. And, all that, with huge everyday crowds and long ride lines. Lots of negatives sitting there.....Hopefully Minions C ticket helps a little, and some sort of big time replacement for the former parade. but the gaps are there big time, and there doesn't seem to be a plan to fix them.....One savior is that the live street shows and Diagon entertainment are extremely good.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

One savior is that the live street shows and
Diagon entertainment are extremely good.

Everything that isn't a ride is A+. If the vision for the park was an American version of Cool Japan with more infrequent ride updates alongside the headliners at IOA and EU, I would be totally fine with that.

Maybe they could turn F&F into their VR flex space.

 

[MikePat]

I didn't know where else to post this...

Hollywood is becoming Minionwood from June 24-26! Minions oh my...

 

[biggerboat16]

I didn't know where else to post this...

Hollywood is becoming Minionwood from June 24-26! Minions oh my...

There better be a Gru’s nose slide…lol

I don’t mind this as long as it’s temporary. Just another event to get people into the park. I actually don’t mind the franchise, the movies are actually pretty funny. It just seems like Uni is always mass-producing cheap attractions and experiences related to it that replace superior ones. I think a lot of people start to roll their eyes at this property in the parks just because of the attractions it’s associated with, but the property itself is still quite good and worthy of an E-ticket if you ask me. Convincing the higher-ups of that is what seems to be the problem… lol

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I didn't know where else to post this...

Hollywood is becoming Minionwood from June 24-26! Minions oh my...

Just fyi this is in actual Hollywood, CA

 

[Aardvark787]

Not sure where to put this,



Does anyone know where this is playing? Is it just in the music plaza stage?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

It's funny that people say Universal doesn't car about nostalgia, and then you look at most of their new park is deeply rooted in nostalgic properties

The key is not the nostalgia...the key is the marketability and ability to move not just merch, but food and beverage as well

To get a pop-up shop and a few sections in some gift shops is one thing

To get an entire ride space...or gosh, a land...that's a whole other animal, specifically in a campus that's strapped for land

I could argue both ways honestly

But my main thought is that they have friggin Nintendo, Dreamworks, Illumination, and Harry Potter...like...why do they need Doc Brown and Jaws?

From a business perspective it makes a ton of sense to flesh out the bigger properties first

I think the future of the resort is highly themed lands tied to a marketable property(s)...I'm not sure where BTTF and Jaws fit into that

BTTF I could see. Jaws, no.

 

[Brian G.]

Say what… Jaws is timeless. It’s a killer shark. BttF has a heavy reliance on the presence of its characters, and they’re not getting younger

 

[DodgsonHere]

Say what… Jaws is timeless. It’s a killer shark. BttF has a heavy reliance on the presence of its characters, and they’re not getting younger

I am very interested to see how the BttF escape room does presumably without the characters. Would Universal spend the cash on de-aging the actors for an attraction?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Say what… Jaws is timeless. It’s a killer shark. BttF has a heavy reliance on the presence of its characters, and they’re not getting younger

That's fair. Chris is likely too old at this point, Mike and Tom DEFINITELY too old. I guess if you made a section themed to the BTTF version of reality (as in, emphasizing that the future predicted by BTTF actually happened and we're moving forward in time with it even past 2015), Doc can set up an outpost at any given point in history was what I was thinking. Basically I think it provides a much wider range of possibilities for rides than Jaws, and therefore less of a chance IMO that people would compare it unfavorably to the original (which would be 100% with Jaws).

 

[pumpkinbot343]

Say what… Jaws is timeless. It’s a killer shark. BttF has a heavy reliance on the presence of its characters, and they’re not getting younger

For one thing, Marty was not in the ride, and another couldn’t they just CGI the characters anyway?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I am very interested to see how the BttF escape room does presumably without the characters. Would Universal spend the cash on de-aging the actors for an attraction?

You know, many long-requested franchises are getting to the point where giving them the "Potter" treatment would require de-aging. I'm specifically thinking of LotR--would people be satisfied with an LotR land without the major characters? That's the prime reason I don't see that one ever happening.