Lower Lot Redesign

[Milo S]

Once again though, it's not like Universal's ditching away their studio for the park. As I mentioned, they've been adding new soundstages and production facilities next to the Channel/Courthouse Square; and there are active plans to add more soundstages to replace the older soundstages in the eastern end of the lot.

And to step into a can of worms, Nintendo is one of the biggest brands/companies in the industry. They aren't owned by Universal, but Nintendo isn't exactly something to scoff off about in the terms of relevancy for the entertainment industry and with culture in some regards.

There's a huge precedent with a company like Nintendo being open in relations with Universal, especially given their notoriety in being gunshy to bring in outer-parties to come in and collaborate with them.

Universal Hollywood's always been a place of evolution and change. And it isn't like they are going to strip the lot away of it's studio history. And that they're working more than ever, juggling with the studio and theme park, to allow both to live alongside eachother. But with gains come losses, in my own personal view-point.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see how it looks. Maybe I'll feel differently. I just happen to be a massive Jurassic Park/World fan, and was delighted at how they updated the Jurassic ride. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to expand on something that is purely Universal and keep it relevant, so hearing about SNW came completely out of left field.

 

[SnideRemarksDept]

But in the near future, USH may turn into a completely different park, and it won't even look or feel like USH anymore.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but we're already there. So much of USH has changed in the last few years. Here's the park map from August, 2013:

And here it is again, with everything that has been altered or removed marked out:

The north side of Baker Street will be remodeled over the next few months as we lead up to the opening of SLoP. The park is undergoing a rapid transformation, an Evolution. Who knows what the park will look like six years from now? Or by the 2028 Olympics?

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but we're already there. So much of USH has changed in the last few years. Here's the park map from August, 2013:

And here it is again, with everything that has been altered or removed marked out:

The north side of Baker Street will be remodeled over the next few months as we lead up to the opening of SLoP. The park is undergoing a rapid transformation, an Evolution. Who knows what the park will look like six years from now? Or by the 2028 Olympics?

To also point out, didn't @Chris or @Chris Galindo hint towards the future of French Street not lasting as long to begin with in just a few years?

Comparing the park from what it was in 2012 to now, is insane to show the amount of change and improvements, to so much of the park and property (including the studio too).

 

[SnideRemarksDept]

To also point out, didn't @Chris or @Chris Galindo hint towards the future of French Street not lasting as long to begin with in just a few years?

Wouldn't surprise me at all. Baker Street becomes the new New York Street. Old New York street gets re-themed something Dreamworks related, possibly Kung Fu Panda. That would just leave French Street as sort of the vestigial limb. Would make sense for it to be on the chopping block soon.

 

[Milo S]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but we're already there. So much of USH has changed in the last few years. Here's the park map from August, 2013:

And here it is again, with everything that has been altered or removed marked out:

The north side of Baker Street will be remodeled over the next few months as we lead up to the opening of SLoP. The park is undergoing a rapid transformation, an Evolution. Who knows what the park will look like six years from now? Or by the 2028 Olympics?

To be honest, some of the changes have been good, and even great.

The way the park looks currently is perfect, in my opinion. Updating and retheming Jurassic Park to Jurassic World was wonderful, and the other additions have also managed to reintroduce certain aesthetics the park had lost:
The metallic look of T2 was brought back by Transformers.
The fiery indoor set look of Backdraft was brought back by Walking Dead.
The magical, nighttime fantasy look of E.T. was brought back by Harry Potter.
And the other, family-friendly additions have also been fine. Even Despicable Me since, to be fair, Universal fully owns that.

Ultimately, what makes all these new additions suitable is they come from story-driven mediums, whether movies, TV or, in the case of Harry Potter, literature.
Nintendo is not story-driven, but gameplay-driven. That's why it feels so off to me. I don't think people think fondly of Mario and Luigi for the stories they told, but for the hours of fun gameplay they offered. Plus, the park now has a plentiful array of big-eyed, cartoonish characters walking around (Minions, Simpsons, Kung Fu Panda, etc.). Adding Nintendo characters to that is just taking the park into more of a Disney-ish direction which, I have to be honest, painfully annoys me.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Wouldn't surprise me at all. Baker Street becomes the new New York Street. Old New York street gets re-themed something Dreamworks related, possibly Kung Fu Panda. That would just leave French Street as sort of the vestigial limb. Would make sense for it to be on the chopping block soon.

I find it funny too, especially as the Lower Lot would've gotten the potential New York treatment had Pets stayed in it's original location.

Ultimately, what makes all these new additions suitable is they come from story-driven mediums, whether movies, TV or, in the case of Harry Potter, literature.
Nintendo is not story-driven, but gameplay-driven. That's why it feels so off to me. I don't think people think fondly of Mario and Luigi for the stories they told, but for the hours of fun gameplay they offered. Plus, the park now has a plentiful array of big-eyed, cartoonish characters walking around (Minions, Simpsons, Kung Fu Panda, etc.). Adding Nintendo characters to that is just taking the park into more of a Disney-ish direction which, I have to be honest, painfully annoys me.

I feel like we should move this to the SNW thread...but..this is where you lose me completely. Especially as even if generic and basic, Nintendo has many IP's and stories that are iconic for the amount of lore and effort that they put in. Especially with franchises like Zelda, Pokemon, and even the RPG Mario titles.

It's for a lot of the time, not in the surface, and is more buried beneath what the inital selling points of what Nintendo does. Mario especially, has been iconic with RPGs; with games like Paper Mario, the Mario+Luigi handheld RPGS, and the SNES classic Super Mario RPG.

Also, I feel like I should point out that Illumination (which made the Minions) is working with Nintendo directly on an adaptation of Super Mario Bros. And while that won't be the basis for the land's design, it will be a starting point that will have some semblance of a plot.

 

[Milo S]

I feel like we should move this to the SNW thread...but..this is where you lose me completely. Especially as even if generic and basic, Nintendo has many IP's and stories that are iconic for the amount of lore and effort that they put in. Especially with franchises like Zelda, Pokemon, and even the RPG Mario titles.

They don't have room for Zelda and Pokemon. They just don't, which is why some Nintendo fans are saying Nintendo should have its own theme park, preferably in JAPAN where all this Nintendo stuff came from.

It's for a lot of the time, not in the surface, and is more buried beneath what the inital selling points of what Nintendo does. Mario especially, has been iconic with RPGs; with games like Paper Mario, the Mario+Luigi handheld RPGS, and the SNES classic Super Mario RPG.

Also, I feel like I should point out that Illumination (which made the Minions) is working with Nintendo directly on an adaptation of Super Mario Bros. And while that won't be the basis for the land's design, it will be a starting point that will have some semblance of a plot.

"Some semblance of a plot." Hm...

Move this to the SNW thread if you want, but what I see Universal doing more and more is something big businesses do that just irritates me: continually buying out brands from other companies rather than having faith in what they already have or own. Jurassic Park was just made relevant again with World, and expanding on it would've shown pride and confidence in it as an original brand. But getting their hands on Nintendo just shows an eagerness to latch onto an audience that belongs to someone else, which is what Disney is doing everyday (Marvel, Star Wars, all 20th Century Fox properties, etc.) It's almost as if Universal snatched Nintendo up simply because Disney hadn't gotten to it yet.

 

[Moose84]

Few thoughts......

Nintendo is with no doubt the golden goose.

Universal didn’t buy them out they worked and worked and worked and finally convinced the Nintendo Company that they would do the characters/brand justice.

Nintendo doesn’t need universal nor vice versa, alone they would both still thrive, yet this was a partnership to introduce a game changing experience to fans of both businesses.

Nintendo is a brand that truly defies age groups and can bring family members of all ages together to play, experience, and have fun with something appealing to all.

Lastly this partnership is truly great for everyone. People think Nintendo should have just done its own park but what people fail to realize is WTF does Nintendo know about building, running, maintaining a theme park? Answer is not a damn thing, which is why universal is perfect as they’ve shown with its other partnership through the Wizarding World will do justice for other companies brands with its know how and creative openness.

So stoked beyond belief oh and sorry for the rant.

 

[Milo S]

Few thoughts......

Nintendo is with no doubt the golden goose.

Universal didn’t buy them out they worked and worked and worked and finally convinced the Nintendo Company that they would do the characters/brand justice.

Nintendo doesn’t need universal nor vice versa, alone they would both still thrive, yet this was a partnership to introduce a game changing experience to fans of both businesses.

Nintendo is a brand that truly defies age groups and can bring family members of all ages together to play, experience, and have fun with something appealing to all.

Lastly this partnership is truly great for everyone. People think Nintendo should have just done its own park but what people fail to realize is WTF does Nintendo know about building, running, maintaining a theme park? Answer is not a damn thing, which is why universal is perfect as they’ve shown with its other partnership through the Wizarding World will do justice for other companies brands with its know how and creative openness.

So stoked beyond belief oh and sorry for the rant.

I mean, there are tons of well-themed amusement parks in Japan that Nintendo could've partnered with, but sure, Universal is a good partner in that respect. And I'm sure Universal "working and working" and finally "convincing" Nintendo was just them putting enough zeroes on the check.

Sorry for sounding so pessimistic. I have no doubt SNW will be a brilliantly-realized land and will bring in tons of business, but that doesn't make it the best choice for the park. More traffic in the park will mean more congestion, more noise, and more maintenance costs. There is such a thing as too much business, especially with a park as small as USH, where they have to play Tetris with their property and shift things around to make things fit. That's what Disneyland Resort has to do, and that resort is horribly cramped and tight. Space is important, people.

A Main Street/Innovation Center would've required little maintenance and created less noise, and still would've been immersive and helped spread out congestion. I'm just saying.

But yeah, Super Nintendo World (I guess)!

 

[Milo S]

Few thoughts......

Nintendo is with no doubt the golden goose.

Universal didn’t buy them out they worked and worked and worked and finally convinced the Nintendo Company that they would do the characters/brand justice.

Nintendo doesn’t need universal nor vice versa, alone they would both still thrive, yet this was a partnership to introduce a game changing experience to fans of both businesses.

Nintendo is a brand that truly defies age groups and can bring family members of all ages together to play, experience, and have fun with something appealing to all.

Lastly this partnership is truly great for everyone. People think Nintendo should have just done its own park but what people fail to realize is WTF does Nintendo know about building, running, maintaining a theme park? Answer is not a damn thing, which is why universal is perfect as they’ve shown with its other partnership through the Wizarding World will do justice for other companies brands with its know how and creative openness.

So stoked beyond belief oh and sorry for the rant.

Btw, I'm totally cool seeing SNW at Universal Orlando. UOR was a theme park from the beginning, unlike USH, and they're bigger and actually have room for it.

But USH is different, being a real working production center with a much longer history.

 

[Milo S]

One last thought to bring it back to a general Lower Lot Redesign discussion...

This may be a weird generalization, but the final reason why I think a Main Street/Innovation Center is better than a SNW is because...I think kids who love dinosaurs are the best type of kids to draw into a park.

Kids who love pure fantasy things like Pixar, Star Wars, Nintendo, and Disney tend to be very loud and bratty when in a theme park. But kids who love dinosaurs almost always tend to be much quieter, calmer and deep in thought. This is probably because they know dinosaurs were real at one point in history, and the names and facts they read about dinosaurs are REAL names and facts, written by REAL scientists doing REAL research. And the old adage of "dinosaurs ruling the Earth" instills a certain humility into a child at a young age.

I think Universal should be immensely proud that their Jurassic brand attracts and inspires these type of children. These children often go unnoticed because of how quiet they are, but they're the best children to have in a theme park. They won't mind all that much if the Jurassic World ride breaks down for the day, because they'll be too busy in the Innovation Center reading all the dino statistics, watching Mr. DNA and trying to name as many fossils as they can by heart.

Jurassic Park/World is in many ways the best brand Universal has--adventurous, inspiring, scary, educational, rooted in both film and literature, and self-formatted for a theme park--and it entirely belongs to Universal. No one else can have it. A Main Street/Innovation Center would've been perfect for those kids who would've known how to appreciate it.

 

[Jamesh22]

@Milo S If you want to say something else after already posting just hit the 'edit' button at the bottom of your original post. Multi posting is against the site rules.

Back to topic, I'm with you on Jurassic Park/World as a theme, it's absolutely one of the best Universal have. Originally when we heard about the Jurassic World makeover I was really hoping we would get the main street and innovation center, shame it didn't happen. What they have done is pretty fantastic though

SNW will be fine, it has a fanbase every bit as big as Potter so it's going to be attendence gold for Universal.

It's an exciting time for USH, they don't seem to be slowing down at all!

 

[Al2020]

I’m going to say this the lower lot is going to look very tremendous & different in the years to come. Bye bye Mummy & bye bye old sound stages!

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

As long as whatever goes there isn't Diagon Alley, I'm all for it.

EDIT: Also, hopefully that includes some small flat rides.

 

[Magic-Man]

I’m going to say this the lower lot is going to look very tremendous & different in the years to come. Bye bye Mummy & bye bye old sound stages!

I saw your comment in another thread, and if I may ask, how big are we talking here? Like, in terms of rides and lands.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I’m going to say this the lower lot is going to look very tremendous & different in the years to come. Bye bye Mummy & bye bye old sound stages!

*Pops in* Does that mean at-least for the sake of the Lower Lot..the plans in place for it are not being affected by COVID-19?

 

[Jerroddragon]

As long as whatever goes there isn't Diagon Alley, I'm all for it.

EDIT: Also, hopefully that includes some small flat rides.

I'd take that over Mummy and sound stages.

But with HP bringing people in but not the numbers they wanted, I don't know if they would want to take up so much land for another land that wont bring too many new people in.

Also God bless the people who are still pushing for a redigned lower lot, when the parks aren't even open yet and think the next 2-3 years will see a decrease in attendance.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Also God bless the people who are still pushing for a redigned lower lot, when the parks aren't even open yet and think the next 2-3 years will see a decrease in attendance.

I don't get why people keep calling it a redesign. Illumination Land is a redesign, a recontextualization of a whole area. The Lower Lot's aesthetic and layout hasn't really changed since Jurassic Park.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I don't get why people keep calling it a redesign. Illumination Land is a redesign, a recontextualization of a whole area. The Lower Lot's aesthetic and layout hasn't really changed since Jurassic Park.

I'd say--reimagining, as opposed to Redesign.

Let's assume that they are moving forward with the Evolution Plan..I'd have to wonder--especially now--what pulled the trigger.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I don't get why people keep calling it a redesign. Illumination Land is a redesign, a recontextualization of a whole area. The Lower Lot's aesthetic and layout hasn't really changed since Jurassic Park.

Well you said as long as its not HP....so I thought there might be a few idea's on the table besides basic studio set's theme.