Universal Lack of Announcements Thread

[Nick]

I've been thinking for a bit on how to address this topic. I really don't know why it's become a problem as of late. Since 2010, Universal has always followed this pattern, even sometimes in extreme cases. Springfield comes to mind. It was almost completed before it was announced, 3 months before opening. Transformers was announced as workers watched from the construction site of a half-built show building. Diagon Alley and Kong were also announced way into the construction process.

It's always been their M.O.

So since this discussion has been a trend in the past year, I looked at what's different between 2010 to now; and I came to 3 different thoughts.

1. Disney finally showed they want to play - with major projects across their US Resorts, including Star Wars, Marvel, Tron, Epcot Re-Do, etc.
2. We're coming off the heels of the much-maligned Supercharged, whereas other projects in the past were received favorably.
3. The internet, and growth of social media and how info is shared.

The first 2 points are pretty self-explanatory. Social media has enabled information to be accessed instantaneously. Going back 10 years, specifically during the construction of Hogsmeade, it wasn't as easy to see progress like we do today. Twitter was still young (as in 1M followers was a supreme achievement for Ashton Kutcher, now it's standard for any major co. or celeb.) Photos were still not part of the mobile OS. I remember having to email Drew a photo that the castle turret was installed on Hogwarts Castle. He downloaded the image on his PC, uploaded the image on yfrog, and finally linked to Twitter. Now, any dummy with a mobile phone can share photos in seconds around Universal at a moment's notice. Not saying this applies to all, but we're definitely in the Age of Now. Where we need the latest and greatest, and when we get it, it's not enough.

Horror Nights is a great example of this. The speculation is bigger than the event in some regards. It never fails, as soon as Day 1 of the event starts, there's the "So what about next year?".

From our perspective, and I think some need to understand this, is that we do not have access to certain information (market data, research, trends, surveys, and what have you). Which brings me to rumors, or specifically, inside information.

Inside information is not meant to be shared (DURR). So when a rumor is shared, it's not because Universal wants it out there. (ANOTHER DURR).

Things change, plans change, concepts change. They have the research that tells them how to act accordingly. Sometimes plans get bigger, other times, they get smaller. Nintendo leaving KidZone was an idea that got bigger. It sucks because we could've been experiencing the land sooner but for business purposes, Universal thought it best it would be one of the marquee lands in the new park. The only reason Nintendo/KZ was even a discussion is due to the rumors - not anything Universal shared publicly. I've used this analogy before, but if we put that much stock into rumors, we'd have Van Helsing instead of Harry Potter, and probably a much different resort. I know we're all looking forward to the new park, but since it's been in the realm of discussion - it keeps changing and evolving. What I know today is different than what I knew 3 months ago, and even more different from a year ago.

As far as growth, Universal has added since 2009:

Rip Ride Rockit
Wizarding World - Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley
Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts night show
Cinematic Spectacular and Celebration
Longer, and Improved Mardi Gras
Reworked Holiday Season
Expanded Horror Nights offerings, with all-time years.
Aventura
Cabana Bay and Towers
Sapphire Falls
Despicable Me
Transformers
Jimmy Fallon
Supercharged
King Kong
Redone Spider-Man
Redone Hulk
Volcano Bay
CityWalk Re-do
Mini-Golf
Added Buses/Garden Walk for Transporation
Raptor Encounter

And on the horizon, we have:
T2 Replacement
Potter Coaster
Endless Summer Resort
More CityWalk re-do
VB Expansion
KidZone Replacement
A New Friggin' Resort

And that's just Orlando. Hollywood got a Wizarding World, reworked areas, and the upcoming Jurassic World. Japan got a Wizarding World and is getting Nintendo. Singapore got a Universal Park. Beijing's parl is about to be the star that shines for a bit until the new gate in Orlando opens.....

C'mon ya'll...

I get wanting the next big thing and the "need" to know everything, but we got it pretty damn good; and if it wasn't for Universal/Potter, we wouldn't have this upcoming theme park renaissance with Disney and SeaWorld adding and expanding their parks.

Just gotta see the forest for the trees.

You are definitely right, we have it pretty good and should be thankful for what we've gotten and are getting.

I personally think that the weekly aerials we've been blessed with from bio is, ironically, a huge part of what is leading people to be more impatient.

 

[Mad Dog]

I've been thinking for a bit on how to address this topic. I really don't know why it's become a problem as of late. Since 2010, Universal has always followed this pattern, even sometimes in extreme cases. Springfield comes to mind. It was almost completed before it was announced, 3 months before opening. Transformers was announced as workers watched from the construction site of a half-built show building. Diagon Alley and Kong were also announced way into the construction process.

It's always been their M.O.

So since this discussion has been a trend in the past year, I looked at what's different between 2010 to now; and I came to 3 different thoughts.

1. Disney finally showed they want to play - with major projects across their US Resorts, including Star Wars, Marvel, Tron, Epcot Re-Do, etc.
2. We're coming off the heels of the much-maligned Supercharged, whereas other projects in the past were received favorably.
3. The internet, and growth of social media and how info is shared.

The first 2 points are pretty self-explanatory. Social media has enabled information to be accessed instantaneously. Going back 10 years, specifically during the construction of Hogsmeade, it wasn't as easy to see progress like we do today. Twitter was still young (as in 1M followers was a supreme achievement for Ashton Kutcher, now it's standard for any major co. or celeb.) Photos were still not part of the mobile OS. I remember having to email Drew a photo that the castle turret was installed on Hogwarts Castle. He downloaded the image on his PC, uploaded the image on yfrog, and finally linked to Twitter. Now, any dummy with a mobile phone can share photos in seconds around Universal at a moment's notice. Not saying this applies to all, but we're definitely in the Age of Now. Where we need the latest and greatest, and when we get it, it's not enough.

Horror Nights is a great example of this. The speculation is bigger than the event in some regards. It never fails, as soon as Day 1 of the event starts, there's the "So what about next year?".

From our perspective, and I think some need to understand this, is that we do not have access to certain information (market data, research, trends, surveys, and what have you). Which brings me to rumors, or specifically, inside information.

Inside information is not meant to be shared (DURR). So when a rumor is shared, it's not because Universal wants it out there. (ANOTHER DURR).

Things change, plans change, concepts change. They have the research that tells them how to act accordingly. Sometimes plans get bigger, other times, they get smaller. Nintendo leaving KidZone was an idea that got bigger. It sucks because we could've been experiencing the land sooner but for business purposes, Universal thought it best it would be one of the marquee lands in the new park. The only reason Nintendo/KZ was even a discussion is due to the rumors - not anything Universal shared publicly. I've used this analogy before, but if we put that much stock into rumors, we'd have Van Helsing instead of Harry Potter, and probably a much different resort. I know we're all looking forward to the new park, but since it's been in the realm of discussion - it keeps changing and evolving. What I know today is different than what I knew 3 months ago, and even more different from a year ago.

As far as growth, Universal has added since 2009:

Rip Ride Rockit
Wizarding World - Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley
Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts night show
Cinematic Spectacular and Celebration
Longer, and Improved Mardi Gras
Reworked Holiday Season
Expanded Horror Nights offerings, with all-time years.
Aventura
Cabana Bay and Towers
Sapphire Falls
Despicable Me
Transformers
Jimmy Fallon
Supercharged
King Kong
Redone Spider-Man
Redone Hulk
Volcano Bay
CityWalk Re-do
Mini-Golf
Added Buses/Garden Walk for Transporation
Raptor Encounter

And on the horizon, we have:
T2 Replacement
Potter Coaster
Endless Summer Resort
More CityWalk re-do
VB Expansion
KidZone Replacement
A New Friggin' Resort

And that's just Orlando. Hollywood got a Wizarding World, reworked areas, and the upcoming Jurassic World. Japan got a Wizarding World and is getting Nintendo. Singapore got a Universal Park. Beijing's parl is about to be the star that shines for a bit until the new gate in Orlando opens.....

C'mon ya'll...

I get wanting the next big thing and the "need" to know everything, but we got it pretty damn good; and if it wasn't for Universal/Potter, we wouldn't have this upcoming theme park renaissance with Disney and SeaWorld adding and expanding their parks.

Just gotta see the forest for the trees.

This :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:.................:toast:

 

[devinp267]

The only thing that puzzles me about this, and I do think you are onto something, is that Universal gave us a title and description much more specific way ahead of time for both Fallon and Supercharged (even despite the delay on the latter). They also gave a head's up about what Diagon Alley was for the most part well beforehand. However, Gringotts name itself wasn't revealed until January, for a prospected June opening. I know Supercharged's GSATs aren't the greatest, but I do find it interesting that this is the project that the resort is choosing to keep rather mum on the most it has in a long while. Even the confirm was strangely vague and they've been dead set on that even while dishing out some promotion.

I know inconsistencies in Universal's marketing strategy is almost a way of life by this point, but it shocks me that even in the face of Galaxy's Edge they're taking a somewhat laid back approach to this. I hope I'm proven wrong very soon, but that's the only thing that I'm seeing at this current point in time, especially for a resort that has its eyes on something much, much larger.



Also it barely makes money due to constant guest complaints, IIRC.

Great point ryan, they have done more marketing for much less

 

[Scott W.]

Alright folks, seems like you all missed my point.

When I said “we” should matter I’m not just talking about this board. I’m talking the fan base and online community in general.

UOR has a Facebook profile and twitter account for a reason. Hype starts from the bottom. Without the online chatter, hype fizzles. How many “retweets” or shares would a name announcement get?

The whole purpose of social media advertising is to have your followers promote you.

When it comes to social media, I think Universal have taken a knee jerk reaction to it recently. Look at the UOAP Facebook page, it's a bomb site but I think the main factor was people's obsession with the guy who was the face of it last year (I forget his name, he looked like John Francis Daley) For some reason when Universal tried to reach out to the public, the public took it too far. IIRC, he had to leave because he was basically being stalked. He went on his honeymoon and was receiving non stop messages, I think by the time he returned he has 100,000+ messages.

I think Universal have decided to keep a distance between them and their fans, they built up a great social media team which gathered huge praise at the time but they've had to take a huge step back.

 

[Mad Dog]

When it comes to social media, I think Universal have taken a knee jerk reaction to it recently. Look at the UOAP Facebook page, it's a bomb site but I think the main factor was people's obsession with the guy who was the face of it last year (I forget his name, he looked like John Francis Daley) For some reason when Universal tried to reach out to the public, the public took it too far. IIRC, he had to leave because he was basically being stalked. He went on his honeymoon and was receiving non stop messages, I think by the time he returned he has 100,000+ messages.

I think Universal have decided to keep a distance between them and their fans, they built up a great social media team which gathered huge praise at the time but they've had to take a huge step back.

Couple of things...Universal is not as restrictive of photos and videos as they were in the past. As long as they're taken from public areas, it's cool......and....One nice change of direction. Inside Universal is now treated as mainstream and they're invited to Media events......And it also seems Orlando Informer has a good relationship with Universal.....So, I think progress has been made, and it's not as dark as it was 5 or 6 years ago......For all intents and purposes, IU and OI are the dominant Universal oriented social media sites, and they're accepted now by Universal.

 

[Scott W.]

Couple of things...Universal is not as restrictive of photos and videos as they were in the past. As long as they're taken from public areas, it's cool......and....One nice change of direction. Inside Universal is now treated as mainstream and they're invited to Media events......And it also seems Orlando Informer has a good relationship with Universal.....So, I think progress has been made, and it's not as dark as it was 5 or 6 years ago......For all intents and purposes. IU and OI are the dominant Universal oriented social media sites.

I don’t know about OI as I’ve never really felt any attachment to the site (Nothing against them, I just love the vibe this site has) but I think Universal is more than happy for this site to exist and become a gateway to the inner workings of the parks without Universal having to do much. Sure we have insiders and probably share more than we should but it’s a gateway for people to learn information and allows for Universal to keep themselves at arms length.

 

[ChrisFL]

I was listening to the DIS Unplugged WDW podcast yesterday and apparently there's huge discounts for Disney in the summer season....the reason I mention this is that they were discussing how it's probably related to people either planning trips to SW:GE in Anaheim since it opens in the Summer, or just delaying their WDW vacations til it opens here.

So even Disney may be affected by early announcements of their attractions.

 

[Nick]

I was listening to the DIS Unplugged WDW podcast yesterday and apparently there's huge discounts for Disney in the summer season....the reason I mention this is that they were discussing how it's probably related to people either planning trips to SW:GE in Anaheim since it opens in the Summer, or just delaying their WDW vacations til it opens here.

So even Disney may be affected by early announcements of their attractions.

Something opening this year is not early.

 

[Disneyhead]

I think part of what is causing the problem is Universal actually announced the Potter coaster when they closed Dragon Challenge. And then went silent. With Kong, Transformers, and Diagon, they were under construction for a long time before Universal actually mentioned what they were building. If they had just closed DC and then waited until now to announce it, I think the reaction would be different.

 

[Ryan]

True, even though they really aren't choosing to hype it in any sort of genuine marketing manner like they have right at announcement time. It's just a really odd duck, even for them.

 

[Mad Dog]

I think part of what is causing the problem is Universal actually announced the Potter coaster when they closed Dragon Challenge. And then went silent. With Kong, Transformers, and Diagon, they were under construction for a long time before Universal actually mentioned what they were building. If they had just closed DC and then waited until now to announce it, I think the reaction would be different.

But.....'Disneyhead' announced it a year before then even .....when he misread the Potter coaster plans date.

 

[shiekra38]

I just imagine if social media was available back when IOA was being built...nightmare

 

[UNIrd]

I just imagine if social media was available back when IOA was being built...nightmare

Actually, it would've been better for them. Plus, all the impressions once the park opened. Universal Escape may have failed as a campaign back then but Instagram would have done the trick.

 

[shiekra38]

Actually, it would've been better for them. Plus, all the impressions once the park opened. Universal Escape may have failed as a campaign back then but Instagram would have done the trick.

After for sure...I was imagining before construction when plans were constantly changing for "Cartooniversal" -> IOA and Gotham -> Marvel

Who knows what would have leaked, but I feel it would have been a madhouse

 

[Scott W.]

Maybe the time is now for their big announcement for everything?

 

[tankart150]

Maybe the time is now for their big announcement for everything?

The time is now, on that very evening you have just witnessed...

 

[Doug A.]

The time is now, on that very evening you have just witnessed...

Raise your hand if you also read that in Rod Serlings (Mark Silverman) voice

 

[TommyJK]

Here's my general thoughts.

Ever since Universal got burned by HUGE drops in attendance when they announced WWoHP Hogsmeade, I think they've taken the heavy opposite reaction to giving official info on major additions that are expected to be crowd impacting.

As the poster above mentioned, Disney is seeing a likewise hit right now as people are deferring vacations to wait for SW:GE hence the considerable discounts they are offering over the summer on their resorts which they have NEVER done for the summer months before.

I myself knowing the insider info around the Potter coaster deferred a spring break vacation this year 2019 (which I would have started booking summer last year) to next March 2020 instead.

I'm betting the overall lack of info (nothing on the main site even in the "coming soon" section), that the majority of general vacationers don't even know there is a new Potter Coaster coming due to the severe lack of official info from Universal for it, but if known many would have deferred like I did. Any official announcement/info they give will get picked up by larger mass media which makes it's way to the general "uninformed" park vacationer (as opposed to articles from smaller/regional media outlets that are in the know) which in turn can be a big change to their bottom line in deferred travelers.

Also, if you look at what Universal has most HEAVILY marketed over the last 1/2 year has been their Buy 2 days, get 2 days free promo which conveniently ends (i.e. you have to use these ticket by) May 31st. That's not a coincidence. Get lots of people into the parks up to HP coaster opening, they see/find out about it for the first time, which now leads them to plan a return sooner rather than later.

Also another thing to consider, Marketing spend now on Potter Coaster is wasted $ IMO because of SW:GE. Anything they market right now on Potter Coaster will get overshadowed by SW:GE so why bother spending it now if it will have much less impact? Wait until after the ride opens so your Marketing $ spent carries farther once less in the shadow of competing marketing from Disney.

Also, let's look at their last 2 new attractions added and mass media info release by Universal:

Jimmy Fallon - Ride was officially mass announced by Jimmy on his show on Jan. 12th for an opening of April 12th
F&F - googling through past articles it seems this one was even more held back from mass media announcements of any concrete info. Mass media info looks to have started coming out in April of 2018 for it's May Opening.

 

[shiekra38]

Here's my general thoughts.

Ever since Universal got burned by HUGE drops in attendance when they announced WWoHP Hogsmeade, I think they've taken the heavy opposite reaction to giving official info on major additions that are expected to be crowd impacting.

As the poster above mentioned, Disney is seeing a likewise hit right now as people are deferring vacations to wait for SW:GE hence the considerable discounts they are offering over the summer on their resorts which they have NEVER done for the summer months before.

I myself knowing the insider info around the Potter coaster deferred a spring break vacation this year 2019 (which I would have started booking summer last year) to next March 2020 instead.

I'm betting the overall lack of info (nothing on the main site even in the "coming soon" section), that the majority of general vacationers don't even know there is a new Potter Coaster coming due to the severe lack of official info from Universal for it, but if known many would have deferred like I did. Any official announcement/info they give will get picked up by larger mass media which makes it's way to the general "uninformed" park vacationer (as opposed to articles from smaller/regional media outlets that are in the know) which in turn can be a big change to their bottom line in deferred travelers.

Also, if you look at what Universal has most HEAVILY marketed over the last 1/2 year has been their Buy 2 days, get 2 days free promo which conveniently ends (i.e. you have to use these ticket by) May 31st. That's not a coincidence. Get lots of people into the parks up to HP coaster opening, they see/find out about it for the first time, which now leads them to plan a return sooner rather than later.

Also another thing to consider, Marketing spend now on Potter Coaster is wasted $ IMO because of SW:GE. Anything they market right now on Potter Coaster will get overshadowed by SW:GE so why bother spending it now if it will have much less impact? Wait until after the ride opens so your Marketing $ spent carries farther once less in the shadow of competing marketing from Disney.

Also, let's look at their last 2 new attractions added and mass media info release by Universal:

Jimmy Fallon - Ride was officially mass announced by Jimmy on his show on Jan. 12th for an opening of April 12th
F&F - googling through past articles it seems this one was even more held back from mass media announcements of any concrete info. Mass media info looks to have started coming out in April of 2018 for it's May Opening.

A lot of good things said here

Perhaps they feel that the coaster is already somewhat annouced due to the sharing on social media/fansites. I mean, they technically did say they were building it after all

The only thing I see as an issue with their current way of thinking is that they drift a bit from the public eye when all the promote are BOGOs.

Although people may not be able to afford going to both in a year, people can pay attention to Universal and Disney at the same time

 

[rhino4evr]

They have a new Ride from their best property, that is supppaed to open this summer, before SWL does. Spending marketing dollars to inform the public that, is in no way a “waste”. Galaxy’s Edge isn’t going away. It will likely be featured in their marketing for years to come.