Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks

[Mad Dog]

I’d say opposite. If someone has been to USF since 2014, after Diagon opened (can’t believe it’s been 6 years!), then why go back? Fallon? F&F? Bourne? 2D Minions?

While 2 of those 4 are nice place fillers, there’s nothing that is a major draw. By the time EU opens, USF will have had nothing significant in 9 years.

IOA, on the other hand, will have had 2 in the last 4 years (Hagrid/JP) and 3 in the last 7 (Kong).

Speaking of 2D minions....the crowd standby lines are now about half of what they were when it was 3D (monitoring TP daily line times). I was able to walk on it in the middle of the day in November (didn't have Express Pass). One third of the seats were empty. That 'never' would have happened when it was 3D. The film did not have the clarity of the 3D version and actually was a bit murky like the Simpsons film is. But the Simpsons has that huge screen that helps. The Orlando screen is just too small and the experience is considerably degraded. Sorry, off topic a bit rant......Back to topic....Yes, I agree, USF needs a quick injection of Nintendo and/or Pokemon. Fast & Furious failure really upset the update planning of USF and leaves that biggap that wouldn't be ther if they would have built a credible E ticket F&F attraction. That was such a big fail that continues to reverberate.

 

[Scott W.]

I’d say opposite. If a casual park goer has been to USF since 2014 after Diagon opened (can’t believe it’s been 6 years!), then why go back? Fallon? F&F? Bourne? 2D Minions?

While 2 of those 4 are nice place fillers, there’s nothing that is a major draw. By the time EU opens, USF will have had nothing significant in 9 years.

IOA, on the other hand, will have had 2 in the last 4 years (Hagrid/JP) and 3 in the last 7 (Kong).

I think USF will be riding on the coattails of IOA for a while but there in also lies the genius of the Hogwarts Express by forcing a 2 day ticket but I would assume that a casual visitor would buy a multi park ticket anyway.

I hope that Nintendo doesn't go into USF, I'd prefer that they at least pretend to keep the movie/tv theme running.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Speaking of 2D minions....the crowd standby lines are now about half of what they were when it was 3D (monitoring TP daily line times). I was able to walk on it in the middle of the day in November (didn't have Express Pass). One third of the seats were empty. That 'never' would have happened when it was 3D. The film did not have the clarity of the 3D version and actually was a bit murky like the Simpsons film is. But the Simpsons has that huge screen that helps. The Orlando screen is just too small and the experience is considerably degraded. Sorry, off topic a bit rant......Back to topic....Yes, I agree, USF needs a quick injection of Nintendo and/or Pokemon. Fast & Furious failure really upset the update planning of USF and leaves that biggap that wouldn't be ther if they would have built a credible E ticket F&F attraction. That was such a big fail that continues to reverberate.

People forget too. SNW, WAS, going into Kidzone. Walls and permits were filed and all. Having that moved elsewhere set USF back at least 3-4 years in that sense. Plus as you mentioned the debacle of F&F. Having Nintendo at USF would create a long lasting draw there between Diagon and Pokemon. USF I think is enough of a sell already based on brand name, this park has ALL the special events, add some more dining, idk USF is not the greatest park right now but I don't think its at DHS level either, yet. If nothing is added soon after Bourne before EU then we're creeping into that territory. There's enough to do but they're all quite repetitive.

Would be perfect to have Pokemon here. Must be a nice problem for Universal to have, "Where do we put this billion dollar IP? Our new park or an existing one? Hmmmm", all good issues to have moving forward for them. Universal has many more "options" than they ever used to

 

[Mike S]

So, if we are hypothetically going to get Pokemon, what would people want exactly? In terms of a land, rides, restaurants (Charmanders Big Fire Grille maybe is real now?) and other interactive experiences.

I personally want Kanto, with my Pokedex being used to catch AA Pokemon all over the land, making the land itself an interactive experience much like SNW although not having many or any "levels" to beat. An E/D ticket boat ride through Kanto, again, catching Pokemon. Can be a more amped up Navii River journey with the focus being on sets and AAs Pokemon. Would be a fun interactive boat ride for sure.

E ticket dark ride that was the original SLOP pitch, except with a Pokemon AA leading your ride vehicle, maybe even Pikachu to have a more direct sell. This time we're being chased by a Pokemon villain (too many to choose from) and we need to collect/protect our Pokemon in order to save Kanto/our Pokemon. Puts us right in the middle of the action, I'm sure there are ways we can make it interactive, Pikachu can help us fight, basically put us in a middle of a Poke battle.

E ticket show in Pokemon arena. Take whatever concept that they are using for Bourne, cancel the speculated Super Smash Bros show and replace it with this. Again, just a bunch of sick tech and watching some Pokemon duel it out.

These are likely very generic and basic thoughts but there are reasons I'm not working for Universal Creative.

Safari Zone E Ticket Dark Ride which also pretty much unofficially doubles as Pokémon Snap since pictures could be encouraged, Pokémon Stadium battle show/tournament with guest participation, and finally a choose your starter attraction that connects to the SNW app and lets you use your newly acquired Pokémon. It can even be transferred to Sword or Sheild and will have some kind of special move it couldn’t normally learn otherwise since you got it at the park. Also available from that experience would be shoulder puppets to purchase.

I hope that Nintendo doesn't go into USF, I'd prefer that they at least pretend to keep the movie/tv theme running.

Pokémon has both movies and a TV show.

 

[jrn14]

Copy pasting my thoughts from previous speculation


An easy solution could be a small world type ride where you go through different environments such as a jungle, desert, arctic, forest, caves, under the sea, and then possibly outer space and there are a combination of animatronic and possibly some pokemon on screenz. You could have "cameras" or some sort of pokeball cannon that shoots pokeballs at the pokes and you get more points for catching them or getting pics of them. Maybe you could even make the pokes do different actions with your cameras or pokeball cannon... Shoot or snap at squirttle and it spits a jet of water at you, shoot a metapod and it evolves into a butterfree ... I mean I know this would be a huge undertaking and involve a lot of moving parts, but it could be done... Kind of the next generation version of MIB, (no i don't want this to replace MIB)

After reflecting some way to mashup Midway Mayhem and Men In Black. I feel like this ride should be interactive, but different than what exists in parks. Pokemon Go already lets us catch pokemon using AR around town ... so whatever the in park version of this is, it would have to be different.

 

[Nick]

So, if - by the time Epic Universe opens - KidZone is still around and not behind walls, we're looking at less than 5 years until the Simpsons contract is up. At that point, we could see some huge change to that side of the park. Imagine how the park will change if Pokemon and Far Far Away split the plot. Or, preferably, if the whole area was a Tokyo themed area and inside we found a Pokemon Land, a Godzilla Attraction and something like a Blade Runner attraction.

At what point does it benefit UOR to continue having Simpsons in the park? Just going in and really tearing stuff down and starting from scratch would do the park a lot of good in my eyes, espcially with how it would help with a change in the walkways.

 

[Disneyhead]

So, if - by the time Epic Universe opens - KidZone is still around and not behind walls, we're looking at less than 5 years until the Simpsons contract is up. At that point, we could see some huge change to that side of the park. Imagine how the park will change if Pokemon and Far Far Away split the plot. Or, preferably, if the whole area was a Tokyo themed area and inside we found a Pokemon Land, a Godzilla Attraction and something like a Blade Runner attraction.

At what point does it benefit UOR to continue having Simpsons in the park? Just going in and really tearing stuff down and starting from scratch would do the park a lot of good in my eyes, espcially with how it would help with a change in the walkways.

Throw in a Hello Kitty Park with a rethemed Kang and Kodo's and a Carousel.

 

[Nick]

Throw in a Hello Kitty Park with a rethemed Kang and Kodo's and a Carousel.

Ah, yes, a Hello Kitty area (even if small) would fit quite well in an area like that. And think of how much better the food options would be! I'd love a full on Japanese sit-down if anything like this were to ever happen.

 

[JungleSkip]

So, if - by the time Epic Universe opens - KidZone is still around and not behind walls, we're looking at less than 5 years until the Simpsons contract is up. At that point, we could see some huge change to that side of the park. Imagine how the park will change if Pokemon and Far Far Away split the plot. Or, preferably, if the whole area was a Tokyo themed area and inside we found a Pokemon Land, a Godzilla Attraction and something like a Blade Runner attraction.

At what point does it benefit UOR to continue having Simpsons in the park? Just going in and really tearing stuff down and starting from scratch would do the park a lot of good in my eyes, espcially with how it would help with a change in the walkways.

Would probably be nearing the end of MIB's lifecycle too

 

[Happytycho]

Would probably be nearing the end of MIB's lifecycle too

And Fear Factor could go and ET may not be in the long term plans either.

I definitely wouldn't complain if they started construction on Pokemon in Kidzone soon, but I could also make a case for waiting so that whole side of the park could be reimagined. They would have around 25 acres (excluding ET) to play with to take the next big step forward after EU.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I really doubt they're going to close half the park for redevelopment at once. I also don't think Pokemon is close to happening at this point.

 

[Happytycho]

I really doubt they're going to close half the park for redevelopment at once. I also don't think Pokemon is close to happening at this point.

I imagine that a redevelopment project of that scale would be somewhat phased so not everything closes at once, and there is a precedent with what Disney just did to DHS and is now doing to Epcot.

 

[Legacy]

Would probably be nearing the end of MIB's lifecycle too

:look:

 

[jrn14]

I'm won't start worrying about Men In Black or the Mummy in 2020 when KidZone is over there like Elton John when it was supposed to close in 2014.

You tried it!

 

[Legacy]

I'm won't start worrying about Men In Black or the Mummy in 2020 when KidZone is over there like Elton John when it was supposed to close in 2014.

You tried it!

Well... I've heard of potential replacements for both. I'd put it on the same potential timeline as KidZone at this point.

 

[shiekra38]

I do wonder if they plan on doing something else with Nintendo in Studios

i.e. Kirby, Animal Crossing, etc

Hello Kitty is also a possibility

 

[UNIrd]

Speaking of 2D minions....the crowd standby lines are now about half of what they were when it was 3D (monitoring TP daily line times). I was able to walk on it in the middle of the day in November (didn't have Express Pass). One third of the seats were empty. That 'never' would have happened when it was 3D. The film did not have the clarity of the 3D version and actually was a bit murky like the Simpsons film is. But the Simpsons has that huge screen that helps. The Orlando screen is just too small and the experience is considerably degraded. Sorry, off topic a bit rant......Back to topic....Yes, I agree, USF needs a quick injection of Nintendo and/or Pokemon. Fast & Furious failure really upset the update planning of USF and leaves that biggap that wouldn't be ther if they would have built a credible E ticket F&F attraction. That was such a big fail that continues to reverberate.

If Universal can't even do the screenz right, I mean..

 

[Mike S]

I do wonder if they plan on doing something else with Nintendo in Studios

i.e. Kirby, Animal Crossing, etc

Hello Kitty is also a possibility

Pokémon would be the biggest draw and possibly the best thematic fit due to the movies and TV angle I pointed out before.

Concerning Hello Kitty I just can’t see a land being built in the US for it especially when they have Pokémon as an option to reach a much wider base.

 

[Nick]

Pokémon would be the biggest draw and possibly the best thematic fit due to the movies and TV angle I pointed out before.

Concerning Hello Kitty I just can’t see a land being built in the US for it especially when they have Pokémon as an option to reach a much wider base.

Not everything gets a land. Hello Kitty was brought up because I suggested a Tokyo area that had a Pokemon land within it a "Tokyo" section with something like Godzilla, Hello Kitty or Blade Runner attractions within the Tokyo area.

Think of the split like London and Diagon. Granted, London at USF is Potter's London, but the point is, Pokemon would get a land of course, but if you had an area with a theme as broad as Tokyo, you don't need to make a Hello Kitty land. Just give it an attraction in the proper land, much like how Fallon is in New York. No need for a whole Tonight Show land because we all know that's completely unnecessary, but a ride in a New York section of a theme park? Sure.

Of course, this is all theoretical and it's really my idealized version of what i'd like to see USF become, but i'm basing it on how USF's lands are mostly based on world famous cities (and also knowing that Pokemon is a likelihood and Godzilla fits in with Universal's targeted demo), I don't think my idea of a Tokyo area is unfounded or something that's all that crazy. I tried to stay realistic.

 

[Mike S]

Not everything gets a land. Hello Kitty was brought up because I suggested a Tokyo area that had a Pokemon land within it a "Tokyo" section with something like Godzilla, Hello Kitty or Blade Runner attractions within the Tokyo area.

Think of the split like London and Diagon. Granted, London at USF is Potter's London, but the point is, Pokemon would get a land of course, but if you had an area with a theme as broad as Tokyo, you don't need to make a Hello Kitty land. Just give it an attraction in the proper land, much like how Fallon is in New York. No need for a whole Tonight Show land because we all know that's completely unnecessary, but a ride in a New York section of a theme park? Sure.

Of course, this is all theoretical and it's really my idealized version of what i'd like to see USF become, but i'm basing it on how USF's lands are mostly based on world famous cities (and also knowing that Pokemon is a likelihood and Godzilla fits in with Universal's targeted demo), I don't think my idea of a Tokyo area is unfounded or something that's all that crazy. I tried to stay realistic.

Sadly enough I don’t think we’d get Godzilla either.

*sigh*