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Volcano Bay Construction & Preview Discussion

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^ Of course, although for different reasons. General guest enjoyment is very surface level stuff - vs. what we tend to enjoy which is more the inner workings. Same thing goes for people who like cars vs people who drive them. People who have a passion for plays vs people who attend them. It's not out of the ordinary at all to wonder why Universal chose oak detailing when it would of made sense to keep it within the creative sandbox they designed themselves into. It's also not out of the ordinary to disagree with it.

If we didn't have these discussions and we all agreed 100% of the time, this message board wouldn't be as fun as it is in its current state.
 
For such a lax execution with the theme and decor, the intricacies of the backstory really don't match the end result. This should of been at the caliber of, or exceeding that of, Atlantis', but instead we got Aquatica "Plus" with a few non-tangibles to try and overcompensate for their glaring problem.
I think you are about as wrong as a person can be.

But whatever.

Oh, and it's teak not oak.
 
With this mindset, I always wonder if everybody here enjoy theme parks more or less than the average guest.

I think it's easy for me to nitpick and armchair creative on here, but when I go to the parks I'm still as giddy as when I was 12.

It's like trashing a tv episode's creative decisions, but still watching each season cause you love it as a wh0le.
 
Some people are more creative and want the absolute best coming from a top tier caliber theme park. ... some people will settle for less ... way less as we can see from the message board. Doesn't make anything right or wrong just different levels of imagination and creativity. Some people have it/ see it or they don't. I give props for at least UC trying. ...
 
^ Of course, although for different reasons. General guest enjoyment is very surface level stuff - vs. what we tend to enjoy which is more the inner workings. Same thing goes for people who like cars vs people who drive them. People who have a passion for plays vs people who attend them. It's not out of the ordinary at all to wonder why Universal chose oak detailing when it would of made sense to keep it within the creative sandbox they designed themselves into. It's also not out of the ordinary to disagree with it.

If we didn't have these discussions and we all agreed 100% of the time, this message board wouldn't be as fun as it is in its current state.

Difference of opinion is what makes this forum such a wonderful place. Everybody is that friendly here that it makes expressing your opinion, no matter how unpopular it may be, an interesting thing to do.
 
Some people are more creative and want the absolute best coming from a top tier caliber theme park. ... some people will settle for less ... way less as we can see from the message board. Doesn't make anything right or wrong just different levels of imagination and creativity. Some people have it/ see it or they don't. I give props for at least UC trying. ...

The FUD here on the quality of the park is pretty astonishing.
 
Some people are more creative and want the absolute best coming from a top tier caliber theme park. ... some people will settle for less ... way less as we can see from the message board. Doesn't make anything right or wrong just different levels of imagination and creativity. Some people have it/ see it or they don't. I give props for at least UC trying. ...
The pompacity of this post is impressive.
 
So, while creating info pages on my website for Volcano Bay, it occurred to me that maybe one of the reasons Universal can call this a water theme park, is that it actually has themed lands.

Other than names for their kids' areas, Aquatica, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, and certainly Wet 'n Wild do/did not have separately named areas. (Blizzard Beach comes close with the color names of the different slopes.)

Whereas VB has 4 distinct "lands" if you will. Now, they're all somewhat similarly named and offer much of the same stuff, but they all have their own story and some style differences. And it does make it easier to find the restaurant or attraction you're looking for if you know what section of the park it's in.

The Volcano has the slides in/around the volcano, so that's an easy land to remember.

Wave Village has the wave pool, Waturi Beach and The Reef, so Wave Village seems an appropriate name.

River Village has, well, rivers, but also both of the main kids areas and some multi person slides.

Rainforest Village has a lot of the action-packed stuff: Fearless River, Taniwha Tubes, and Maku/Puihi, the more intense family raft rides.

Looking at the concept art and videos more closely, they each have definable areas with their own paths and stylistic differences. It's not as well differentiated as IOA or MK's lands, but they are different lands, and that does set it apart from other water parks.

Just something I've been thinking about.
 
Just like the 75% of this community that complains about the overuse of screens, I'm allowed to critique the work and still maintain my UO Fan status. My main point has and will always be quality over quantity. It's clear to me that they've compromised quality on Volcano Bay, which is a pattern they've continued on all of their projects in recent memory outside of the ones they're contractually obligated to do right the first time.
 
I think the big thing is many of us disagree with your assessment of the quality, not because we're fanboys but because we have knowledge and appreciation of the industry just as you do. What we see is an unfinished park with an interesting approach and a wonderful set of views. We have yet to see how the story of the land plays out, or how the final products (slides, volcano interior, etc) turn out. Based upon what we have seen so far - I think the concensus is that these parks are at a level 8, with room for improvement but absolutely excellent quality.
So you're right - our discussions are pointless without differing opinions, and while opinions are subjective, I can say with certainty from myself - the theming looks excellent to me.
 
Just like the 75% of this community that complains about the overuse of screens, I'm allowed to critique the work and still maintain my UO Fan status. My main point has and will always be quality over quantity. It's clear to me that they've compromised quality on Volcano Bay, which is a pattern they've continued on all of their projects in recent memory outside of the ones they're contractually obligated to do right the first time.
See that is simply an opinion and has become a talking point in a portion of the community. A lot of it based on factually incorrect or partial information. Kong is in fact a much larger attraction than was originally planned. It was plused in a MAJOR way with no one holding their feet to the fire but themselves.
 
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