- Jul 18, 2008
- 6,776
- 5,563
I think we also have to keep in mind that Universal doesn't give a flip what we think. They knew the ride sucked because the feedback on Supercharged since it debuted at USH in 2015 was TERRIBLE, with the same commentary on awful scripting, embarrassingly bad CGI, too similar to Kong just experienced earlier, etc. And that was three years ago, plenty of time for them to change the course of anything being built here. Forget all the terrible reviews you've read for Florida (and maybe didn't care to read for Hollywood?), USH's may have had more vitriol from guests because their marketing can be especially deceptive when it comes to Studio Tour additions. They often claims it's a new ride and on their TV spots, don't show the people experiencing it on a Studio Tour tram but instead a faux makeshift ride vehicle. At least Orlando's ads are truthful in showing a family watching screens on the sides while being shaken a bit.
But with all that said, the addition of Supercharged still helped the park increase attendance 4% that year. Which if USF grows by the same amount, that's 400k new guests and millions upon millions more dollars in their pocket. And at the end of the day, that's what Universal cares about. We hoped they would plus the attraction Kong-style to make it more passable as a standalone USF attraction but they knew exactly what they were doing and working with and how many guests they would continue to disappoint.
It's sad that Universal is treating rides like if they were movies, just hoping for big returns on the initial investment, and not caring that people usually live with these attractions for 20-plus years. All of Universal's screen-heavy output for the past decade has created a terrible imbalance to the offerings in the park. Sure, the decision to add Supercharged is great for marketing, corporate synergy, and will get even more families to visit this year. But it's at the expense of the overall experience of USF which, strangely enough with NEW additions, is declining as one of the best theme parks in the country.
But with all that said, the addition of Supercharged still helped the park increase attendance 4% that year. Which if USF grows by the same amount, that's 400k new guests and millions upon millions more dollars in their pocket. And at the end of the day, that's what Universal cares about. We hoped they would plus the attraction Kong-style to make it more passable as a standalone USF attraction but they knew exactly what they were doing and working with and how many guests they would continue to disappoint.
It's sad that Universal is treating rides like if they were movies, just hoping for big returns on the initial investment, and not caring that people usually live with these attractions for 20-plus years. All of Universal's screen-heavy output for the past decade has created a terrible imbalance to the offerings in the park. Sure, the decision to add Supercharged is great for marketing, corporate synergy, and will get even more families to visit this year. But it's at the expense of the overall experience of USF which, strangely enough with NEW additions, is declining as one of the best theme parks in the country.
