Fast & Furious: Supercharged - General Discussion

[Mike S]

If Universal was afraid to use Practical effects, we wouldn't of seen the Kong AA's in both the line and the attraction itself, the Gringotts Goblins; and hearing all the rumors of SLoP being practical and Nintendo being extremely practical.

There are attractions to where you need to be screen based, and attractions that you need to be all practical. And that time will come, especially if SLoP and Nintendo's rumors are true..

When it comes to Kong I've actually thought of a way to tighten the story and make the ride better than it already is by changing only the first two screen scenes.

During the outside path our drivers intro is cut short by a distress call from Kate and we can also hear gunfire and roars in the background.* The native chanting as we enter the temple remains. The first scene with the skeleton and AA bats is the same but the driver calling for Kate is added in. Replacing the first screen is the torn up and blood stained remains of Kate's truck with guns and ammo strewn about the cave floor. What happened here? You don't have time to find out before you hear the roars of whatever killed Kate and her team echoing through the cave. The driver guns forward to get us back to safety and abort the expedition but we get stuck in the mud of the bug pit simulated by a simpler motion table than the one in the 360 scene. Now, I haven't decided if this scene should be all AAs, a small 360**, or a mix of both. Either way bugs slowly surround us as our driver desperately calls for help and base camp responds saying a truck is being sent right away. Miraculously we break free and the rest of the ride plays out exactly as it currently does with no changes except of course Kate no longer calling in saying she's ok at the end. If you haven't noticed, I took heavy inspiration from the Jaws ride with this idea :thumbsup:

Should I have put this in the Kong thread though? Mods feel free to move if you want to.

*Those who pay attention would realize that it's the raptors that got Kate and her team with the roars acting as a bit of foreshadowing for when we see them in the 360 scene.

**Think screens the size of the current first two set up on both sides of the truck.

 

[hishedale]

When it comes to Kong I've actually thought of a way to tighten the story and make the ride better than it already is by changing only the first two screen scenes.

During the outside path our drivers intro is cut short by a distress call from Kate and we can also hear gunfire and roars in the background.* The native chanting as we enter the temple remains. The first scene with the skeleton and AA bats is the same but the driver calling for Kate is added in. Replacing the first screen is the torn up and blood stained remains of Kate's truck with guns and ammo strewn about the cave floor. What happened here? You don't have time to find out before you hear the roars of whatever killed Kate and her team echoing through the cave. The driver guns forward to get us back to safety and abort the expedition but we get stuck in the mud of the bug pit simulated by a simpler motion table than the one in the 360 scene. Now, I haven't decided if this scene should be all AAs, a small 360**, or a mix of both. Either way bugs slowly surround us as our driver desperately calls for help and base camp responds saying a truck is being sent right away. Miraculously we break free and the rest of the ride plays out exactly as it currently does with no changes except of course Kate no longer calling in saying she's ok at the end. If you haven't noticed, I took heavy inspiration from the Jaws ride with this idea :thumbsup:

Should I have put this in the Kong thread though? Mods feel free to move if you want to.

*Those who pay attention would realize that it's the raptors that got Kate and her team with the roars acting as a bit of foreshadowing for when we see them in the 360 scene.

**Think screens the size of the current first two set up on both sides of the truck.

Sounds solid!
You get the hishedale stamp of approval!

 

[krazykat]

Brianlo-I agree with you about Kong, Earthquake and Jaws on the tour too. I agree also that the helicopter with Vin hanging from it looked incredibly cheesy.

The entire Studio Tour was the best part of our day at USH. I also got a kick of the Psycho scene when he started coming at our tram.

The only bummer was that we missed HP by a week.

 

[shiekra38]

I agree to an extent, however AA's are only part of the practical effects. The amount of fire/water/other action effects are limited. Universal is still producing lots of AAs, however we're not seeing a lot of the action-based effects at all. In Kong, the aa is just there to the side. We don't see it interact with the ride. Also in Gringotts, the goblin is kept in the queue. I see where you're coming from, but imo practical effects extend way more than AA. We'll have to see about SLOP and Nintendo though.

I think Universal really has two philosophies and one issue going on right now...First they are trying to tell very action packed and in your face stories that would be almost impossible with AAs..Second, I think they want their queues to be entertaining, interactive and huge..as people technically spend the most time in queues rather than rides..The comment "the queue is better than the ride" may be somewhat misguided as Universal is trying to blur the lines of queue and ride...They are both part of the overall experience..They want you to stop and appreciate the AAs in the queue rather than wiz by them on a ride..

The issue I think they are having is that they are trying to build another Spiderman..A ride that the fans still hold as the top ride ever built at the resort..They are also (for better or worse) trying to make rides that are very Universal I feel and can't compare to Disney..It's part of their brand if you will now..Where as before they were trying to create attractions in-spite of Disney, now they are creating them despite Disney..

 

[Mike S]

I think Universal really has two philosophies and one issue going on right now...First they are trying to tell very action packed and in your face stories that would be almost impossible with AAs..Second, I think they want their queues to be entertaining, interactive and huge..as people technically spend the most time in queues rather than rides..The comment "the queue is better than the ride" may be somewhat misguided as Universal is trying to blur the lines of queue and ride...They are both part of the overall experience..They want you to stop and appreciate the AAs in the queue rather than wiz by them on a ride..

The issue I think they are having is that they are trying to build another Spiderman..A ride that the fans still hold as the top ride ever built at the resort..They are also (for better or worse) trying to make rides that are very Universal I feel and can't compare to Disney..It's part of their brand if you will now..Where as before they were trying to create attractions in-spite of Disney, now they are creating them despite Disney..

It does sound like they'll be getting away from that with a few future projects. Let's see if it continues after.

Aren't "in spite of" and "despite" the same thing?

 

[Mad Dog]

I think Universal really has two philosophies and one issue going on right now...First they are trying to tell very action packed and in your face stories that would be almost impossible with AAs..Second, I think they want their queues to be entertaining, interactive and huge..as people technically spend the most time in queues rather than rides..The comment "the queue is better than the ride" may be somewhat misguided as Universal is trying to blur the lines of queue and ride...They are both part of the overall experience..They want you to stop and appreciate the AAs in the queue rather than wiz by them on a ride..

The issue I think they are having is that they are trying to build another Spiderman..A ride that the fans still hold as the top ride ever built at the resort..They are also (for better or worse) trying to make rides that are very Universal I feel and can't compare to Disney..It's part of their brand if you will now..Where as before they were trying to create attractions in-spite of Disney, now they are creating them despite Disney..

Good post. I've always agreed with the concept of an attraction being the total experience, queue, pre shows & ride. And that's how I rate my attractions. One of the reasons that I enjoy Universal's attractions more than the competition's. And I do enjoy a good animatronic in the queue, that I can slow down & enjoy, than whiz by them in a fast moving thrill based attraction. :thumbsup: And yes, their customer base is focused on action & thrills, so screens speak more to that then slow moving boat rides with AA's....That said, I'd still like them to add a couple of attractions like SLOP (if it keeps to it's original heavy AA plans) just to balance out the parks. But I do think Universal needs to keep their main focus on attractions that are valued by their customer base, thrills & action.

 

[shiekra38]

It does sound like they'll be getting away from that with a few future projects. Let's see if it continues after.

Aren't "in spite of" and "despite" the same thing?

Yes, but 'in spite of' is normally used in a rebellious context where as 'despite' is more neutral..I meant to say at one time Universal worked rebelliously against Disney, where as now they work more freely toward their own vision..

 

[mainejeff]

I still think that Gringott's is Universal's greatest achievement. Except for the abrupt ending......it IS the perfect overall ride/attraction experience. I think that it would be great to see Universal base a ride and/or land on a terrific concept and/or storytelling rather than the latest box office mega hit. I know that goes against current corporate thought in the theme park industry, but it would be neat to see. At least it seems like his is happening with their water park.

 

[Mike S]

I still think that Gringott's is Universal's greatest achievement. Except for the abrupt ending......it IS the perfect overall ride/attraction experience. I think that it would be great to see Universal base a ride and/or land on a terrific concept and/or storytelling rather than the latest box office mega hit. I know that goes against current corporate thought in the theme park industry, but it would be neat to see. At least it seems like his is happening with their water park.

Kong, Nintendo, Jimmy Fallon. None of them based on the latest box office mega hit.

 

[Nick]

Kong, Nintendo, Jimmy Fallon. None of them based on the latest box office mega hit.

Yeah, but all are based on sure things. I know what the quoted post said about mega IPs, but my point still stands as everything you listed is basically a Mega IP.

Kong - Really no justification needed to prove it's mega success. It's a Hollywood classic.

Nintendo - Huge Nostalgia factor and an enormous brand name/recognizable characters for almost 40 years now.

Fallon - This ride is more based on The Tonight Show than Fallon, which has been an institution for over 60 years and aired almost 12,000 episodes. Even in the slim chance that where Fallon leaves the show in the near future, they can simply retheme the ride to incorporate the new host.

 

[Garagely]

I think Universal is afraid to use practical effects after Jaws, Earthquake/Disaster, and Twister all had high costs, and a low reliability. As someone said before, Disaster was probably on it's last run, and Twister was not far behind. That being said I'd love to see this use practical effects, i mean practical effects just have a more exciting feel. Back in the day when the truck fell down and exploded, it was so crazy! And then when the other train derails, it was spectacular. I just wish Universal would experiment mixing more practical effects with their screen usage.

Would you please explain what you meant by Twister being unreliable? I was a Lead there long long ago, and the only downtimes we ever seemed to have were due to operator error (I have a story to tell, in another thread I think!), an out of sync building, or a weak tornado. Sometimes Dorothy wouldn't fly. Sometimes a sparker or two would be out. Sometimes the Barco tear wouldn't work. But for the most part the attraction went on. The TD operator would be looking for broken show elements and a weak tornado. Part of the TD test was being able to name all of the show elements in the correct order. A weak tornado. operator error, and the building being out of sync, are the about the only things I can think of that would cause a downtime.

 

[Mad Dog]

Would you please explain what you meant by Twister being unreliable? I was a Lead there long long ago, and the only downtimes we ever seemed to have were due to operator error (I have a story to tell, in another thread I think!) Sometimes Dorothy wouldn't fly. Sometimes a sparker or two would be out. Sometimes the Barco tear wouldn't work. But for the most part the attraction went on. The TD operator would be looking for broken show elements and a weak tornado. Part of the TD test was being able to name all of the show elements in the correct order. A weak tornado, and the building being out of sync, are the about the only things I can think of that would cause a downtime.

Nice inside information post. That was very interesting. :thumbsup:

 

[OLSinFLA]

Would you please explain what you meant by Twister being unreliable? I was a Lead there long long ago, and the only downtimes we ever seemed to have were due to operator error (I have a story to tell, in another thread I think!) Sometimes Dorothy wouldn't fly. Sometimes a sparker or two would be out. Sometimes the Barco tear wouldn't work. But for the most part the attraction went on. The TD operator would be looking for broken show elements and a weak tornado. Part of the TD test was being able to name all of the show elements in the correct order. A weak tornado, and the building being out of sync, are the about the only things I can think of that would cause a downtime.

Last few times I was there neither the cow nor Dorothy flew, the overhead roof was stuck in the "up" position, sparks didn't fly, and there were a few other effects out. Not just one time, but a few times. But then it was known it was a goner, so maybe they just gave up fixing stuff. To be fair, Disaster! was in much, much worse shape (I'd say 30-40% of the effects didn't work anymore. We did 2 weeks with the falling truck out of service)

 

[Garagely]

Nice inside information post. That was very interesting. :thumbsup:

No problem! I do miss my Twister, so it isn't difficult to get me talking about it. And even though it had been a decade since I'd last had a shift there, the last time I went to Twister (on closing day, boooo) I was still listing off the show elements in my head. Lightning, tree split, siren, tornado projection, Barco tear... blah blah blah

Random factoid: (last one, since I know this is the wrong topic for it!) one of my favorite Twister discoveries was the typo on one of the signs in Scene 2, the show scene. It had the spelling "tornmado" instead of tornado. From that day on, in my mind, F5 tornmados were the finger of God....

 

[Garagely]

Last few times I was there neither the cow nor Dorothy flew, the overhead roof was stuck in the "up" position, sparks didn't fly, and there were a few other effects out. Not just one time, but a few times. But then it was known it was a goner, so maybe they just gave up fixing stuff. To be fair, Disaster! was in much, much worse shape (I'd say 30-40% of the effects didn't work anymore. We did 2 weeks with the falling truck out of service)

Whoah, that is a whooooooole lot of show elements out If it was near the end of the attraction's life, that makes sense, they'd probably just given up. That wouldn't have flown (no pun intended, hah) back when I worked there. If there were elements out, they were recorded by the TD operators and were supposed to be fixed third shift. Some elements took awhile to repair, of course. Like, there was a Dorothy sitting by the timeclock for the longest time.

But ultimately, the attraction wouldn't close for any of those minor effects. Just the out of sync building and a weak tornado.

But that truck is kind of a big deal in Disaster, I would have been bummed if that didn't work!

 

[Galaxy Defender]

F&F has 17 months from vertical to the end of 2017. Any chance this might be open before 2018? If not, is there any indication of when in 2018 it might open? I would assume spring.

 

[Nick]

F&F has 17 months from vertical to the end of 2017. Any chance this might be open before 2018? If not, is there any indication of when in 2018 it might open? I would assume spring.

It will be just about 17-18 months exactly from the closure of Twister to the opening of Fallon (and that's with a pre-existing building). It took about 2 years for Kong to open.

I think Spring Break 2018 is a decent guesstimate, possibly Summer.

 

[Mike S]

Yeah, but all are based on sure things. I know what the quoted post said about mega IPs, but my point still stands as everything you listed is basically a Mega IP.

Kong - Really no justification needed to prove it's mega success. It's a Hollywood classic.

Nintendo - Huge Nostalgia factor and an enormous brand name/recognizable characters for almost 40 years now.

Fallon - This ride is more based on The Tonight Show than Fallon, which has been an institution for over 60 years and aired almost 12,000 episodes. Even in the slim chance that where Fallon leaves the show in the near future, they can simply retheme the ride to incorporate the new host.

All true but he specifically said "latest box office mega hit"

Also, isn't the "Race Through New York" aspect based on a bit that Jimmy Fallon introduced?

 

[Nick]

All true but he specifically said "latest box office mega hit"

Also, isn't the "Race Through New York" aspect based on a bit that Jimmy Fallon introduced?

I'm sure Fallon helped come up with the idea, but I don't think it's anything that i've seen from the show.

 

[Mike S]

I'm sure Fallon helped come up with the idea, but I don't think it's anything that i've seen from the show.

I thought it was based on "Celebrity Races" or something.