Universal Studios Florida: What Do We Think About It?

[Mad Dog]

Just to clarify my post/question:

- I fully agree the current state of USF is roooough.
- I fully agree changes need to be made.
- I fully agree Supercharged is dogwater.
- I would trade my third born to replace Simpsons with Pokemon.

My only confusion is the multiple posts (not @you specifically by any means) jumping to things like "Universal has their hands in so many other projects now that USF may not get the attention it needs", "Uni likely thinks USF is good enough as is bc of the events", etc all while multiple Universal Orlando projects are under construction simultaneously (and seemingly at a rapid fire pace at that). That was the only confusion I had because it feels like a big leap & assumption.

I also think there's a lot of big assumptions that just because LC is getting a replacement that nothing else is being considered for Simpsons when that time comes. Personally, I'd rather HRRR and Supercharged go first because I think they're both net negatives to the park. Simpsons replacement excites me, but it's at least a cute land with themed food & drink options that I don't hate in its current state. I truly have no positives left for HRRR and Supercharged. But again, personal preference.

I could argue whether HRRR is a lateral move when it was unthemed garbage that physically hurt to ride towards the end (I fully regretted my final ridethrough). Same with Supercharged seeing as we have genuinely no idea what's going there or how it would be transitioned into a new attraction and it's all a lot of assumptions again, but that's all personal preference and I still see where you're coming from completely.

I appreciate the responses!

For my part, I've been posting that fans shouldn't be expecting the frantic pace of new attractions, and many are expecting that it seems, that we
saw in the previous decade. There were some expectations that USF was going to get a nearly complete makeover. That's just not going to
happen in the next 5 or 6 years. There's only so much budget available and that will get spread around to the other projects, and now there's
many more than when Comcast purchased Universal/NBC and inherited the Hogsmeade expansion. Heck, they didn't even have controlling interest of Osaka in 2010. I actually like USF and don't think it needs all that much. I enjoy screen attractions a lot . USF is just a bit out of balance with too many though. And I like Springfield and have been posting for the past few years that I think it will be extended. If Universal was in the position they were in before they expanded, an immediate Springfield replacement would probably be started on right now. But with so many other parks, that can wait. To me the only big hole is Supercharged, and that should have already been replaced due to extreme unpopularity since day one and very low ridership.
USF strength is Diagon, excellent festivals, live entertainment, parade/night show, and the ambiance of it's themed city streets. I find that I spend much more time at USF than IOA since USF has more to do, even though it's rides are not as good, in totality, as IOA. I'm fine for the next 5/6 years 'IF' (we've been hearing false rumors of a replacement for about 5 years already) Supercharged gets replaced with a well done D/E attraction in the present building and 'IF' the RRR coaster replacement is decently themed and a fun coaster.....To get my total perspective you would have to read the dozens of posts I've made on the thread in the past months. Yes, USF could probably get more fixes to give it the attention it needs, but those areas are more icing on the cake than crucial. I'm not a USF hater at all. I like the park. Mainly, just fix the big hole in the middle very soon.
And a good show in the mostly closed theater would be a nice little add on 'plus'.
Bottom line: I think we need to keep our USF expectations from getting too high, otherwise we'll be disappointed.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

The Studios park will still be one of, if not the, worst of the seven Disney/Universal parks in Orlando (imo, obviously).

Throw Busch in there and it holds true. SW hmmmmm...
Islands and Epic are still near the top, though. : )

 

[rabbitsmoon]

Maybe it's because we don't have official details (or because we're all sick of the rumored IP), but I think we're underestimating what an upgrade this new coaster's gonna be. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but we need to step back and appreciate the run Universal's been on since Hagrid's (could extend back to Flying Dinosaur even). Uni's now consistently producing coasters that aren't just good for highly themed parks. They're some of the absolute best in the world, and Hollywood Drift looks like it's gonna continue the pattern, so I'm hopeful its east coast cousin will follow suit.

 

[Tbad556]

For my part, I've been posting that fans shouldn't be expecting the frantic pace of new attractions, and many are expecting that it seems, that we
saw in the previous decade. There were some expectations that USF was going to get a nearly complete makeover. That's just not going to
happen in the next 5 or 6 years. There's only so much budget available and that will get spread around to the other projects, and now there's
many more than when Comcast purchased Universal/NBC and inherited the Hogsmeade expansion. Heck, they didn't even have controlling interest of Osaka in 2010. I actually like USF and don't think it needs all that much. I enjoy screen attractions a lot . USF is just a bit out of balance with too many though. And I like Springfield and have been posting for the past few years that I think it will be extended. If Universal was in the position they were in before they expanded, an immediate Springfield replacement would probably be started on right now. But with so many other parks, that can wait. To me the only big hole is Supercharged, and that should have already been replaced due to extreme unpopularity since day one and very low ridership.
USF strength is Diagon, excellent festivals, live entertainment, parade/night show, and the ambiance of it's themed city streets. I find that I spend much more time at USF than IOA since USF has more to do, even though it's rides are not as good, in totality, as IOA. I'm fine for the next 5/6 years 'IF' (we've been hearing false rumors of a replacement for about 5 years already) Supercharged gets replaced with a well done D/E attraction in the present building and 'IF' the RRR coaster replacement is decently themed and a fun coaster.....To get my total perspective you would have to read the dozens of posts I've made on the thread in the past months. Yes, USF could probably get more fixes to give it the attention it needs, but those areas are more icing on the cake than crucial. I'm not a USF hater at all. I like the park. Mainly, just fix the big hole in the middle very soon.
And a good show in the mostly closed theater would be a nice little add on 'plus'.
Bottom line: I think we need to keep our USF expectations from getting too high, otherwise we'll be disappointed.

Appreciate the response!

I guess my biggest thing is, why not? We have no knowledge of how the budget is being utilized, but we can see construction in both IOA and USF already underway. Outside of assumptions and predictions, do we have much of a reason to assume there's a slowdown happening? Regardless, I respect the desire to keep expectations in place as a personal choice.

As for the whole park makeover element, I don't think it's fully unfair for people to discuss. A lot of that makeover has already occurred in the past several years (for better or worse!). World Expo and Diagon Alley are the only ones with no rumored/already done changes ATM (and Diagon is barely a decade old).

Hollywood: T2:3D -> Bourne (2020)
Production Central -> Minion Land (2023)
Kidzone -> Dreamworks Land (2024)
Cinematic Celebration -> Cinesational – A Symphonic Spectacular (2024)
Superstar Parade -> Mega Movie Parade (2024)
New York: HRRR -> ??? (2027?)
San Francisco: Potentially Supercharged -> ???
Springfield -> ???

I agree with a lot of your other points though. Supercharged is the biggest blemish in my books currently. Whether it's replacement will do the trick is TBD, but it'll be impressive if they manage to somehow not do something better than that haha. USF is fantastic for festivals, entertainment, etc. I appreciate your dialogue as always!

 

[Mad Dog]

Appreciate the response!

I guess my biggest thing is, why not? We have no knowledge of how the budget is being utilized, but we can see construction in both IOA and USF already underway. Outside of assumptions and predictions, do we have much of a reason to assume there's a slowdown happening? Regardless, I respect the desire to keep expectations in place as a personal choice.

As for the whole park makeover element, I don't think it's fully unfair for people to discuss. A lot of that makeover has already occurred in the past several years (for better or worse!). World Expo and Diagon Alley are the only ones with no rumored/already done changes ATM (and Diagon is barely a decade old).

Hollywood: T2:3D -> Bourne (2020)
Production Central -> Minion Land (2023)
Kidzone -> Dreamworks Land (2024)
Cinematic Celebration -> Cinesational – A Symphonic Spectacular (2024)
Superstar Parade -> Mega Movie Parade (2024)
New York: HRRR -> ??? (2027?)
San Francisco: Potentially Supercharged -> ???
Springfield -> ???

I agree with a lot of your other points though. Supercharged is the biggest blemish in my books currently. Whether it's replacement will do the trick is TBD, but it'll be impressive if they manage to somehow not do something better than that haha. USF is fantastic for festivals, entertainment, etc. I appreciate your dialogue as always!

Of course, its possible. I'd prefer to have all kinds of new stuff. I just don't think its 'probable', for a number of factors I've mentioned more than a few times. So I don't want to become too redundant. Probably USF's biggest fault is that Woodbury had the vision of a park (USF) predominantly composed of movie screen rides. That ended up putting USF in an unbalanced, behind the eight ball, situation that's difficult to rectify. Plus, Universal Creative's best recent work was at IOA, and their USF stuff, except for Bourne, has not been very good since Diagon's brilliance. I think USF will be
fine, but it will take a bit longer than most here want. So, bottom line, I'm in the lower expectations mode for now, so as not to be disappointed.