A 4th On-Site Hotel?

[jtsalien]

Who is talking about "preview days"? Murder She Wrote, Ghostbusters, Hanna-Barbera, E.T., Hitchcock, etc. and even Nick Studios all opened with the park in June. Yes, opening day was a disaster with Kong, Jaws, and Earthquake all going down but these were all attractions at the park at that time.

You must be confused.

Point is, Opening a full day park is very hard to do and pretty rare if you have a good deal of fresh attractions. For Disney, for Universal, and for anyone.

Agreed, there is far to much work to be done on the two current properties to warrant a third gate. I still believe we will see an on site Water Park within a few years but I guess its been pushed back to fund the rebranding of the Studios. IMO though there is no way we see a third gate until both IOA and the Studios can sustain 9-10 million visitors a year each.

I agree. Things are still not the best they can be at either park. There are plenty of places to expand and improve. Unless it is a new experience like a waterpark, it's just asking for trouble.

 

[Jakemeister]

All parks are full day parks. I think you guys are grasping straws. If you hit even half of what Hollywood Studios does you'll easily spend a whole day in the park. If you only go to Hollywood Studios and ride Star Tours, Rock N RollerCoaster, Tower of Terror, and Toy Story Mania then yes, it's a half day park. If you only go to Animal Kingdom and ride Everest, Dinosaur, Safari's and Nemo, then it'll be half day. On the same token if I go to Universal Studios and only ride RockIt, Mummy, Men In Black and The Simpsons I doubt I'll spend more than 3 or 4 hours there.

 

[Octobers Fade]

All parks are full day parks. I think you guys are grasping straws. If you hit even half of what Hollywood Studios does you'll easily spend a whole day in the park. If you only go to Hollywood Studios and ride Star Tours, Rock N RollerCoaster, Tower of Terror, and Toy Story Mania then yes, it's a half day park. If you only go to Animal Kingdom and ride Everest, Dinosaur, Safari's and Nemo, then it'll be half day. On the same token if I go to Universal Studios and only ride RockIt, Mummy, Men In Black and The Simpsons I doubt I'll spend more than 3 or 4 hours there.

Jake is right on.

 

[shiekra38]

I would like to see them use the area by the Studios/Old Hard Rock as part of the new expansion...how cool would a hotel overlooking the Studios be?

I would also like to see (and I've said this before I'm sure) Universal make City Walk more of a half day experience rather than just a dinner and a movie area..some things like Disney Quest or Splitsville would be nice..

 

[Jakemeister]

I would like to see them use the area by the Studios/Old Hard Rock as part of the new expansion...how cool would a hotel overlooking the Studios be?

I would also like to see (and I've said this before I'm sure) Universal make City Walk more of a half day experience rather than just a dinner and a movie area..some things like Disney Quest or Splitsville would be nice..

If they could make it where you didn't see all the backstage areas that'd ruin the show then it'd be awesome. Other wise...

 

[JungleSkip]

A third theme park would be such a terrible idea for UOR. Water park? Sure. Theme park? No. IoA still needs 3 major attractions (1 in each of JP, TL, and SL) and USF needs replacements for SS44, Shrek, and Twister, a complete KidZone rebrand, and a few more additions here and there. And that's what the parks need now, not 5 years from now.

So I for one am not hoping for a third gate any time soon, but a nice hotel at a cheaper price point than the other 3 would be a welcomed addition.

 

[shiekra38]

A third theme park would be such a terrible idea for UOR. Water park? Sure. Theme park? No. IoA still needs 3 major attractions (1 in each of JP, TL, and SL) and USF needs replacements for SS44, Shrek, and Twister, a complete KidZone rebrand, and a few more additions here and there. And that's what the parks need now, not 5 years from now.

So I for one am not hoping for a third gate any time soon, but a nice hotel at a cheaper price point than the other 3 would be a welcomed addition.

Agreed..while walking through Jurrassic Park the other day my friend said "you know, they really need another ride in this part" he is not a theme park fan like us although he does like them..I found it interesting..Although it would destroy the theme a ride like The Swarm at Thorpe Park would be a nice edition...or Raptor Encounter (still clinging to this idea haha)..I also wouldn't mind seeing a carnival-esque/boardwalk themed area in the transition between Marvel and Toon, maybe throw two themed carnival rides in there (think the swings at Cali Adventure)...also wouldn't mind a water show in IOA

 

[Jakemeister]

Agreed..while walking through Jurrassic Park the other day my friend said "you know, they really need another ride in this part" he is not a theme park fan like us although he does like them..I found it interesting..Although it would destroy the theme a ride like The Swarm at Thorpe Park would be a nice edition...or Raptor Encounter (still clinging to this idea haha)..I also wouldn't mind seeing a carnival-esque/boardwalk themed area in the transition between Marvel and Toon, maybe throw two themed carnival rides in there (think the swings at Cali Adventure)...also wouldn't mind a water show in IOA

I think that $150mil is going to address that dead space in between Toon and Marvel. I expect we'll see a full time show there again.

 

[Teebin]

Wow, I just saw some new pictures of south Turkey Lake Rd. They are doing something. That is clean sand fill that has been brought in. We can see knocked down palms in the distance... not sure if those were there and knocked down or temporary placements for the Citywalk deck area construction. Something is happening there afterall.

This might be related to the construction document regarding grading to avoid ponding... but the only reason to avoid ponding is because the area requires people and machines there... otherwise, this is Florida where standing water is everywhere.

 

[Andy]

^ See this is was exactly my thoughts during my last visit. I knew the Amity rubble was being broken down there but for the entire site to be in that condition???

 

[Teebin]

Also notice that the silt fencing surrounds a HUGE area. This wouldn't have been the case for crushing Jaws rubble. I hope it is either the waterpark project or a mega value resort... or both.

On the other hand, the one portable toilet doesn't bode mega project just yet. Perhaps they may have merely buried the crushed rubble, yet if so, why would they require the extra clean fill?

Hopefully, we will see some updated pictures soon.

 

[ReelJustice]

FYI, still nothing in the permits unless they're hiding it creatively.

 

[Teebin]

FYI, still nothing in the permits unless they're hiding it creatively.

Well, the ponding correction permit comes to mind. However... and this is really odd, that land is a good 15'-25' higher in elevation than the ground plane for either park. Hmmmm.

 

[shiekra38]

I would say PROJECT 7913...but I believe that was for the gate in The Studios....or was it.

 

[ReelJustice]

Could this be our first sign?

"Project 7448: Foundation layout and details for primary structural system"

 

[Andy]

Given the timeline I would imagine this is the beginning of the Gringotts structure.

 

[JungleSkip]

Given the timeline I would imagine this is the beginning of the Gringotts structure.

Wouldn't that be Project 722, though? Everything related to the Amity area has been put under that.

 

[Andy]

To be honest I am not sure with these numbers I am just going with the fact that the first structure in phase one was the main attractions show building. But hey anything could going on with these damn numbers. If the Universal team has someone with a sense of humor I would start making all kinds of numbers close to these project numbers.

Project 711:New squishee machine for Kwik-E-Mart
Project 777:New cables for flying cow in Twister

- - - Updated - - -

Oh you know what, given how everything still needs some tweaking and new flow of backstage works I would imagine this is for the Hogwarts Express. :bang:

 

[Vyrus]

For those mentioning about the transition between Toon and Marvel, I still this the best thing they need there is a crazy mouse coaster themed to Rocky and Bullwinkle, and maybe a smaller theather that could house a kid friendly show staring the toon characters or an action show featuring marvel characters.

 

[Teebin]

Could this be our first sign?

"Project 7448: Foundation layout and details for primary structural system"

Complete tossup at this point. Uni has sooooo many balls in the air right now. At the same time, I am not sure hotels are given cryptic project numbers like the parks and attractions. Plus, if they were building a hotel then they would have announced it by now I think. Hotels aren't kept secret to my knowledge.