KidZone Replacement Rumors & Speculation (Pt 2)

[Mad Dog]

Doing stuff primarily for the little ones should be easy, fairly quick, and not majorly expensive. Most here would like something more substantial , but lets be honest, USF needs more stuff for the little
ones, IP's and attractions that would interest them. That's a shortcoming at USF, and is really needed more than an expensive E ticket. Heh, we have the rest of the park to enjoy. Unfortunately, this closure
probably extends the life of the horrible F&F attraction. That's the downside.

 

[belloq87]

I feel like I've entered the Twilight Zone, or gone through the looking glass, or fallen into the Upside Down in this thread!

Am I really the only person here dramatically underwhelmed by this?

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

My only concern is capacity. With essentially only the rethemed kiddie coaster as ride capacity in a new land, how on earth are they going to cope? To me, there needs to be something else. Doesn't have to be huge or expensive, but something else.

I mean, Epic Universe a year later *is* the capacity expansion. Simpsons will be on the chopping block not long after, so USF has plenty in the pipeline.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I'm happy AA and ET are staying, but that's pretty disappointing. Temporary never seems to be very temporary in the theme park world. Hopefully this just means they'll turn their attention elsewhere for additions after EU opens.

 

[Brian G.]

I feel like I've entered the Twilight Zone, or gone through the looking glass, or fallen into the Upside Down in this thread!

Am I really the only person here dramatically underwhelmed by this?

I'm sorry a children's land is underwhelming you...

 

[Magic-Man]

My only concern is capacity. With essentially only the rethemed kiddie coaster as ride capacity in a new land, how on earth are they going to cope? To me, there needs to be something else. Doesn't have to be huge or expensive, but something else.

DreamWorks Theatre makes the most sense to me. High capacity show that already has all the voice/animation work done. This project will probably take a year or more, I don't think it'll just be a basic retheme.

 

[belloq87]

I'm sorry a children's land is underwhelming you...

Come on, I don't think that's quite fair.

Why does it have to be a "children's land" with the same stuff that's already there? Why can't it be a family-friendly land with, I don't know, a new dark ride or water ride?

 

[Nick]

Doing stuff primarily for the little ones should be easy, fairly quick, and not majorly expensive. Most here would like something more substantial , but lets be honest, USF needs more stuff for the little
ones, IP's and attractions that would interest them. That's a shortcoming at USF, and is really needed more than an expensive E ticket. Heh, we have the rest of the park to enjoy. Unfortunately, this closure
probably extends the life of the horrible F&F attraction. That's the downside.

The thing is, the land needs that expensive E-ticket so families and kids actually have something to do in the land. Make it a big boat ride project that doesn't have a height restriction. Boom. Then you have a ride for everyone that should have good capacity, the kiddie coaster, and ET all within a short distance of each other.

 

[salismetho]

Like conceptually I would like something more substantial if it weren't for EU, but taking that into consideration this seems like a good move. They're updating an insanely outdated area to be relevant to children and it sounds like they're not doing anything too major that they wouldn't make any changes in the future. Yes a good E-ticket would be nice but those usually have hight restrictions, young kids need something too!

 

[Crypt Keeper]

I feel like I've entered the Twilight Zone, or gone through the looking glass, or fallen into the Upside Down in this thread!

Am I really the only person here dramatically underwhelmed by this?

I'm just happy to see KidZone finally get updated.

 

[Brian G.]

Come on, I don't think that's quite fair.

Why does it have to be a "children's land" with the same stuff that's already there? Why can't it be a family-friendly land with, I don't know, a new dark ride or water ride?

I mean, it’s KidZone. It’s right there in the title. It’s for kids/families with kids.

 

[Nick]

Like conceptually I would like something more substantial if it weren't for EU, but taking that into consideration this seems like a good move. They're updating an insanely outdated area to be relevant to children and it sounds like they're not doing anything too major that they wouldn't make any changes in the future. Yes a good E-ticket would be nice but those usually have hight restrictions young kids need something too!

There are so many E-tickets that have no height restrictions.

 

[Magic-Man]

Tbh I think it's way too early for anyone to assume anything. The only thing we know for sure is that whatever replaces this will be animation themed. We don't have an opening date or a timeline or permits or anything else. Let's just wait until more comes out before calling this a disappointment or a good addition.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Come on, I don't think that's quite fair.

Why does it have to be a "children's land" with the same stuff that's already there? Why can't it be a family-friendly land with, I don't know, a new dark ride or water ride?

It's not fair. The entire idea of a "children's land" doesn't belong at Universal, it belongs at a Six Flags park. Universal and Disney are supposed to embrace a broad audience and offer uniformly high quality. In fact, both Uni and Disney have family-friendly areas that still offer something for all audiences - Seuss and Fantasyland should be the model here, not a Looney Tunes play area.

And just from a crowd flow perspective, the area needs a significant attraction in the George spot as a draw to get guests to even walk through the rest of the zone. The current plans will leave it as it is now, an out-of-the-way backwater that even families bypass because there's no real reason to walk past ET.

 

[Nick]

I mean, it’s KidZone. It’s right there in the title. It’s for kids/families with kids.

Kids can have nice things too.

 

[belloq87]

I mean, it’s KidZone. It’s right there in the title. It’s for kids/families with kids.

Nintendo was going here, once upon a time. Was that going to be exclusively just for kids and families with kids?

My point is this: you can do something that still satisfies the current demographic that the current KidZone is intended for... that also appeals to the rest of us, too. And I think it's a wasted opportunity to not be thinking bigger with this piece of land.

 

[wutisgood]

I mean, it’s KidZone. It’s right there in the title. It’s for kids/families with kids.

Nintendo world is basically a kids zone that adults also have interest in. That is why it was slated to replace this area originally. Universal should absolutely be focused on building e ticket rides that kids and their families can both ride especially if they are serious about competing with Disney. Even a few of the more intense rides its crazy that Disney came up with a system that so many could ride on a low height requirement.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Kids can have nice things too.

We're suddenly acting like theme parks in general are the height of maturity and sophistication. I'm a guy who will argue up and down that theme parks are art, and even I'm not going to pretend that that's true.

The area doesn't need an E. It needs at least one Fantasyland-style D. That's all.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

The thing is, the land needs that expensive E-ticket so families and kids actually have something to do in the land. Make it a big boat ride project that doesn't have a height restriction. Boom. Then you have a ride for everyone that should have good capacity, the kiddie coaster, and ET all within a short distance of each other.

Come on, I don't think that's quite fair.

Why does it have to be a "children's land" with the same stuff that's already there? Why can't it be a family-friendly land with, I don't know, a new dark ride or water ride?

I just don't see anything like this getting added until after Epic Universe opens.

But I agree that even though it is a "KidZone", there should still be a more thrilling/family-friendly attraction featured within it.

 

[MakoMania]

For a simple retheme though, a January closure seems too far out. SeaWorld closed Penguin Encounter in January 2012, completely demolished the huge building, built a massive new multi-level penguin habitat and a large new dark ride (regardless of how good it was) in time for May 2013. It shouldn't take the same amount of time to reskin a few kids attractions.