Universal Studios Florida: What Do We Think About It?

[Brian G.]

Is there really not a button that switches the normal music to the Grad Bash music after the park closes? They do it for HHN every year lol

That is my only question about all this. I guess because some of the groups come in before the park officially closes, and the event begins? IDK. It's a weird thing. I don't have an answer, so I'm just as in the dark. Some of the new songs are fine, but then you hear the Cupid Shuffle and groan.

 

[Freak]

Just start blasting Creed over the speakers. After all, they filmed one of their music videos there back in the day!

Nothing would beat grabbing a beer at Finnegan’s hearing “HOLD ME NOOOOW….IM SIX FEET FROM THE EDGE AND IM THINKINGGG”

 

[Brian G.]

Just start blasting Creed over the speakers. After all, they filmed one of their music videos there back in the day!

Nothing would beat grabbing a beer at Finnegan’s hearing “HOLD ME NOOOOW….IM SIX FEET FROM THE EDGE AND IM THINKINGGG”

 

[Grits0808]

It could be worse. They could be blasting "Send Me An Angel" on repeat

 

[OrlLover]

myopic

I was providing some balance to the discussion since a lot of people were freaking out for no reason.

Music is something that can be easily changed.

 

[Brian G.]

The music is back to normal.

 

[MAC]

Just start blasting Creed over the speakers. After all, they filmed one of their music videos there back in the day!

Nothing would beat grabbing a beer at Finnegan’s hearing “HOLD ME NOOOOW….IM SIX FEET FROM THE EDGE AND IM THINKINGGG”

Have enough beers and you'll be singing Creed with or without them blasting it over the speakers.

Though, after four or five beers, you might be six feet from the edge because of the price.

 

[Amity6]

The Animation Courtyard project at Hollywood Studios is turning out great. Hope USF can get some Studio theming love.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

The music is back to normal.

Glad to hear. We were there this weekend and it was very distracting.

(not as bad as them only playing Christmas music in Port of Entry though)

 

[Brian G.]

Figured I'd share:

 

[belloq87]

I think framing it as a competition between USF and DHS isn't quite the way to approach it. As I commented on the video, my enjoyment of USF has massively diminished over the last 15 years, and my enjoyment of DHS is basically at the level it's always been (with the huge caveat that I think losing Great Movie Ride was a gigantic mistake).

He also appears to have a lot more faith in Universal's imminent intentions to course-correct USF, the evidence of which I have yet to see.

 

[Mad Dog]

Figured I'd share:

Nice sharing...Generally I don't have time for these long videos (watched the entire 42 minutes), but it's raining outside, which interrupted the landscaping I was doing outside, and I still have a long wait for the slow cook spareribs I'm cooking for dinner. So, what the hell, I watched it.

It's quite good. I agree with most of his USF analysis. As I've said before, I like USF, and we spend way more time there than IOA, double or triple at the least. IOA has the better rides, but USF has so much more, and lots to do. The basic failing of USF is it is out of balance with relation to ride attractions. If F&F Supercharged would have turned out to be a very good non screen attraction, we probably wouldn't be having a discussion about USF worth. But, alas, that was the biggest attraction miss of all time, especially with its huge footprint in the center of the park. Simpsons ride is falling apart, so that also needs replaced. But, Springfield is an OK land. Excellent stage and street shows, seasonal events, and Diagon Alley, the best land ever, make USF a very good park overall.

I don't agree with his Disney Hollywood Studios assessment though. It's our second favorite Disney park, though we greatly miss the Citizens of Hollywood and The Great Movie ride. We spend lots of time there since we like live theater shows and DHS has many very good ones, plus it's Disneys' best park for thrill rides at WDW. His poor rating for the park is basically centered around his admitted dislike of most live entertainment theater shows. But that's a major strength of DHS.

Bottom line, I like USF a bit more than DHS, but the difference is not much.

 

[Brian G.]

I think framing it as a competition between USF and DHS isn't quite the way to approach it. As I commented on the video, my enjoyment of USF has massively diminished over the last 15 years, and my enjoyment of DHS is basically at the level it's always been (with the huge caveat that I think losing Great Movie Ride was a gigantic mistake).

The thing is, how do we objectively look at a subjective take? He offered the best comparison that we have, which is both Orlando "Studios" parks. I don't agree with every point he made, but I thought it was mostly fair.

DHS has massively changed from its original identity, arguably even more than USF did. DHS just has, what many consider, some of the greatest rides in the world in ToT and Rise.

But we also need to stop repeating: “There’s no evidence Universal is course-correcting USF.”

There absolutely is evidence they’re course-correcting. The real disagreement is that you, subjectively, don’t like some of the rumored or potential directions they may take. That’s different from saying there are no signs of a shift at all.

 

[belloq87]

But we also need to stop repeating: “There’s no evidence Universal is course-correcting USF.”

There absolutely is evidence they’re course-correcting. The real disagreement is that you, subjectively, don’t like some of the rumored or potential directions they may take. That’s different from saying there are no signs of a shift at all.

It's absolutely all subjective. If a person likes more attractions in the park than they don't, then our definitions of what "course-correcting" would look like will be very different.

When I say I think the park needs course-correcting, I'm talking about decreasing the percentage of park attractions that are screen-reliant and/or simulators. I don't see HRRR to F&F as a course-correction. I don't see Shrek to VillainCon as a course-correction. KidZone to DreamWorks was not a course-correction. These are like-for-like moves in the grand scheme of the composition of the park lineup. Some of these replacements may be better than what was there (I'd certainly expect F&F to be), but the park fundamentals continue to remain the same.

I also can't like or dislike any rumored directions if I haven't heard any rumored directions. There is no chatter of anything happening post-Supercharged replacement, and no strong indications of the direction that replacement is going to take, either (or how long it will take).

 

[TheUniC6]

DreamWorks was not a course-correction.

If AA doesn't go for whatever replaces Simpsons and instead gets lumped in for a phase 2 DreamWorks dark ride looks like something SLOP sized could fit there if they got creative) that would turn it into a win.

I also have hopes that after Hollywood Drift, rumors will finally start to trickle out as to what replaces Simpsons.

 

[Amity6]

Would be a horrible move to just overlay supercharged. Park desperately needs a Rise/Monsters level ride.

 

[Brian G.]

It's absolutely all subjective. If a person likes more attractions in the park than they don't, then our definitions of what "course-correcting" would look like will be very different.

When I say I think the park needs course-correcting, I'm talking about decreasing the percentage of park attractions that are screen-reliant and/or simulators. I don't see HRRR to F&F as a course-correction. I don't see Shrek to VillainCon as a course-correction. KidZone to DreamWorks was not a course-correction. These are like-for-like moves in the grand scheme of the composition of the park lineup. Some of these replacements may be better than what was there (I'd certainly expect F&F to be), but the park fundamentals continue to remain the same.

I also can't like or dislike any rumored directions if I haven't heard any rumored directions. There is no chatter of anything happening post-Supercharged replacement, and no strong indications of the direction that replacement is going to take, either (or how long it will take).

I think this is where the conversation keeps slipping back into personal preference while presenting itself as an objective analysis. The point is that we can still objectively evaluate subjective takes by looking beyond whether someone personally likes the attraction lineup.

Saying “USF still has too many simulators for my taste” is fair. But when “course-correcting” only means “adding the exact ride types I personally want,” then the discussion stops being about the park overall and becomes wishlist fulfillment. I hate fish sandwiches too, but I’m not arguing McDonald’s should remove them because they clearly serve a purpose.

Not every addition has to align with your personal tastes to represent Universal trying to address gaps in the park lineup.

DreamWorks Land is a good example. You’ve openly said it doesn’t work, mostly due to a lack of a true dark ride, and even just recently advocated replacing one of the park’s only true kids areas. That’s fine as a preference, but it also heavily shapes your evaluation of the land. Objectively, DreamWorks Land was meant to improve family offerings, especially for younger kids, and quickly modernize an aging section of the park. By most accounts, it succeeded at what it was designed to do, even if it wasn’t designed for your preferred tastes. I'm not saying it's groundbreaking, or that there isn't room for improvement, but I'm also not gonna say it's a complete failure either, and that it needs to be replaced.

Same with Fast & Furious. The criticism wasn’t just “simulator = bad”. People wanted a high-energy F&F attraction, one that went "Fast" & "Furious". Now Universal is replacing Supercharged before it even turns 10 years old with an attraction seemingly designed to address those exact criticisms.

And while USF hasn’t gotten additions on the scale of IOA or Epic in the last decade, it’s hard to argue there’s “no evidence” of Universal shifting philosophy. Epic Universe alone reflects that. They’ve also clearly been investing in entertainment, atmosphere, and food across the Resort. Two of the USF's most popular spots for locals are literally under major refurbishment right now (Finn's & HMU).

Again, none of this means you have to personally like the direction - but “I don’t like the direction” is very different from “there’s no evidence of a changing direction at all.”

So yes, I agree there’s no clear roadmap yet for USF specifically. However, I wholeheartedly disagree with acting like there are zero broader indicators of changing priorities within the company.

 

[Mad Dog]

Dreamworks seems to be a popular redo of the park's Kidzone area. We vacation at Universal a lot. When it was Kidzone we rarely saw more than a couple dozen guests in the area. Now that it's Dreamworks, with more prominent IP themed attractions, we saw the area crowded every time we were in that area of the park during our past November and March vacations. Vacations that totaled almost 5 weeks. While not splashy with D/E tickets, it serves its purpose as a land primarily for families with young children. I'd rather Universal spend budget on a new D/E ticket replacing Simpsons or Supercharged in an area of USF that houses more adult oriented attractions. While I like Cat In The Hat, I really don't want to see a new USF D/E ticket ride aimed at a real young base, so I'm satisfied with the way Universal handled the Dreamworks area by not building a D/E ticket attraction there.

 

[Brian G.]

Dreamworks seems to be a popular redo of the park's Kidzone area. We vacation at Universal a lot. When it was Kidzone we rarely saw more than a couple dozen guests in the area. Now that it's Dreamworks, with more prominent IP themed attractions, we saw the area crowded every time we were in that area of the park during our past November and March vacations. Vacations that totaled almost 5 weeks. While not splashy with D/E tickets, it serves its purpose as a land primarily for families with young children. I'd rather Universal spend budget on a new D/E ticket replacing Simpsons or Supercharged in an area of USF that houses more adult oriented attractions. While I like Cat In The Hat, I really don't want to see a new USF D/E ticket ride aimed at a real young base, so I'm satisfied with the way Universal handled the Dreamworks area by not building a D/E ticket attraction there.

Yup!

You can personally want a dark ride there, and I wouldn't hate that idea at all, but the actual purpose of the land was clearly to strengthen USF’s offerings for younger families and improve crowd flow to a historically underperforming area.

KidZone was mostly empty outside of peak periods, while DreamWorks Land appears to be consistently pulling families into that side of the park again. That doesn’t automatically make it an amazing land or immune to criticism, but it does mean it’s serving a niche that the park genuinely needed to fill quickly.

 

[belloq87]

If AA doesn't go for whatever replaces Simpsons and instead gets lumped in for a phase 2 DreamWorks dark ride looks like something SLOP sized could fit there if they got creative) that would turn it into a win.

I agree.

I hate fish sandwiches too, but I’m not arguing McDonald’s should remove them because they clearly serve a purpose.

What if the majority of the McDonald's menu was variations on fish sandwiches? You might think that was a bit overkill!

I'm 100% not saying get rid of all screen-based attractions*, I'm saying let's rebalance the lineup more, getting it back closer to what it used to be before the company added four consecutive screen rides in about five years between 2013 and 2018 (and losing four physical/practical attractions to do it).

* Let's also not forget, I'm the guy who advocated for a flying simulator in Berk!

DreamWorks Land is a good example. You’ve openly said it doesn’t work, mostly due to a lack of a true dark ride, and even just recently advocated replacing one of the park’s only true kids areas. That’s fine as a preference, but it also heavily shapes your evaluation of the land. Objectively, DreamWorks Land was meant to improve family offerings, especially for younger kids, and quickly modernize an aging section of the park. By most accounts, it succeeded at what it was designed to do, even if it wasn’t designed for your preferred tastes. I'm not saying it's groundbreaking, or that there isn't room for improvement, but I'm also not gonna say it's a complete failure either, and that it needs to be replaced.

I don't know that I've ever said that it doesn't work, though I've certainly said (and continue to believe) it should have gotten at least one significant attraction (particularly given that we know Nintendo was originally intended for the location, and would have added three to the park, two of which would not have been screen-heavy). I do think it seems to be a very budget-conscious, minimum-effort-necessary overlay, which feels like a missed opportunity to use the area to address what I think is the park's primary deficiency.

As for advocating getting rid of it, my position was that if keeping DreamWorks intact was going to make it difficult for a significant land to be added to the park, then I didn't think Universal should see DreamWorks' position as the "kids only" land as a reason to hold back. I think whatever value the general offerings in DW provide could be incorporated into redeveloped areas across the park (replacements for Springfield, Fear Factor theater, etc.) if Universal had a grander concept to go into the plot.

I'm totally fine with it staying if Universal can add some real value back there.

Same with Fast & Furious. The criticism wasn’t just “simulator = bad”. People wanted a high-energy F&F attraction, one that went "Fast" & "Furious". Now Universal is replacing Supercharged before it even turns 10 years old with an attraction seemingly designed to address those exact criticisms.

And while USF hasn’t gotten additions on the scale of IOA or Epic in the last decade, it’s hard to argue there’s “no evidence” of Universal shifting philosophy. I think it’s hard to objectively argue there’s “no evidence” of Universal shifting philosophy. Epic Universe alone reflects that. They’ve also clearly been investing in entertainment, atmosphere, and food across the Resort. Two of the USF's most popular spots for locals are literally under major refurbishment right now (Finn's & HMU).

Again, none of this means you have to personally like the direction - but “I don’t like the direction” is very different from “there’s no evidence of a changing direction at all.”

So yes, I agree there’s no clear roadmap yet for USF specifically. However, I wholeheartedly disagree with acting like there are zero broader indicators of changing priorities within the company.

I'll just sum it up in the most direct way possible: some people (not just me, but certainly including me) think USF's primary issue, currently, is the composition of the attraction roster being weighted too much in one direction. That is what needs course-correcting and a shift in philosophy (in my opinion). It's great that Universal has created some very significant attractions at the other two parks that are not driven primarily by screens. Now it's time to see that applied to the original park.

In my opinion!