Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash - Reviews, Photos, & Videos (Spoilers)

[tacalert]

I really wonder if that will last. It’s a great idea, but for a ride aimed at kids/families, that queue is likely to take a beating.

I took a bunch of pictures of all the furniture, etc, and want to compare them in about 6 months. I think it will turn out something like Mickey's house where the furniture is all messed up. The walls already had footprints all over them. Sad. Guess they weren't thinking when they designed it.

 

[Mad Dog]

This guy always posts great videos. Just a general POV without moving all over the place.

Damn, you're right. I've watched quite a few POV's of SLoP, and that's definitely my fav POV. You get to see more of the good stuff. Plus the ride was running pretty slow at eight minutes instead of 5.
It would cut capacity, but the ride seems even better at this slower pace.

 

[Freak]

Went on this ride twice yesterday. Once at opening and the second time at 1:45 via virtual queue.

First off, the queue was fantastically done. I don't think I've seen any ride that has a queue the way this does. No big rooms for switchbacks, no traditional handrails, just several individual rooms with some cool little animatronics. The intimate nature of the apartment rooms gave me some good suspension of of disbelief and me me think I was walking through an open house for some apartments. Also, there are places to sit. Mad kudos USH for making a queue this awesome. This also might be one of the few times they designed a queue that's awesome, but not better than the ride itself.

I had megar expectations for the ride being it's an omnimover system. My fear was that the timing of the effects would be very limited and would lack the "surprise" of coming into a scene unfolding. Well, I was pleasantly surprised how the gags worked just as effective as they would a traditional dark ride. I even thought the screen portions were well done! They finally did an effect with the screens that Uni hasn't done since Spidey: where action on the screen causes a physical object to move in person. Wasn't expecting that at all. I was also VERY surprised how long the ride was and how much they were able to pack in such a small building.

Overall this is a great ride and will be a huge win for families. USH has needed a ride like this badly since the loss of ET. It only took them 20 years. Don't care about the movies at all but I freaking love this ride. This may be the best entirely practical ride USH has ever done. Really fluid AAs and some pretty impressive effects. Now my second favorite omnimover ride with Haunted Mansion being the first. I look forward to riding this again.

 

[Jerroddragon]

My Review is similar to what I said when i saw videos

Its a cute, fun little ride. The Q and ride are great kinda feel like a mix between Mike and Sullys and Cars Racers (the wash reminds me of yoru car getting painted) but its a solid addition to the park, do I wish it was an IP I cared about? Yes, think if this was the same system and Yoshi ride I would loveeeeeeeeee it and might be my favorite dark ride but its not so its a ride I'm sure I will go on a good deal because its a fun ride and the VQ is sooo easy to use on the app, you can even change your time LOVE that.

8 or 9 out of ten for sure. Really besides the IP behind it just not being my thing, its just a good ride anyone can enjoy

 

[Freak]

To me, this and RSR are the ultimate examples of not caring about the IPs whatsoever, but loving the ride it’s based on.

So, can we please gut Minion Mayhem and put a proper Minion dark ride in there? It would be better for the parking structure.

 

[Rideguy70]

I rode it a few more times today, and discovered a possible "secret" effect... when you're looking at yourself as a puppy, if you duck your head down, the dog will duck it's head, stick up its tail and wag it. It was super cute! It worked for us on the last few screens after going through the wash.

 

[highdefrex]

To me, this and RSR are the ultimate examples of not caring about the IPs whatsoever, but loving the ride it’s based on.

So, can we please gut Minion Mayhem and put a proper Minion dark ride in there? It would be better for the parking structure.

Please.

I agree with you so much on this. I'm not a fan of either franchise, but Despicable Me/Minions is a huge one for Universal. The fact that SLOP - the "lesser" franchise, comparatively - received a ride that blows Minion Mayhem right across the path out of the water in every conceivable way just underscores the notion that Minion Mayhem should be reconceived, especially since it's not as if the franchise itself is dead or going away anytime soon. If Universal decides to make that whole area of the park a fuller Illumination land, like with a Sing! show or whatever down the line, having a "better" Minions ride would anchor it a lot more. Whether it's a dark ride or a Crush's Coaster-like family inside coaster, anything would be better than what it is now with SLOP showing it up a stone's throw away.

But anyway, rant over, thanks all of you who keep sharing your experience with the ride! I can't wait to finally see it for myself next Tuesday!

 

[Brian G.]

From what I understand - we'll be seeing a lot more physical stuff going forward. Screens will always be around, but not like it was.

 

[Mad Dog]

In a funny, backward way, Fast & Furious probably did us all a favor and spared us from a 'Screens Gone Wild" Universal. Long term, that waste of a huge space attraction, might well be a big plus. So bad that they
would never repeat the folly, and re evaluate what works....Just my opinion.

 

[Evan]

Please.

I agree with you so much on this. I'm not a fan of either franchise, but Despicable Me/Minions is a huge one for Universal. The fact that SLOP - the "lesser" franchise, comparatively - received a ride that blows Minion Mayhem right across the path out of the water in every conceivable way just underscores the notion that Minion Mayhem should be reconceived, especially since it's not as if the franchise itself is dead or going away anytime soon. If Universal decides to make that whole area of the park a fuller Illumination land, like with a Sing! show or whatever down the line, having a "better" Minions ride would anchor it a lot more. Whether it's a dark ride or a Crush's Coaster-like family inside coaster, anything would be better than what it is now with SLOP showing it up a stone's throw away.

But anyway, rant over, thanks all of you who keep sharing your experience with the ride! I can't wait to finally see it for myself next Tuesday!

Yes yes yes.

Create a proper ride for the minions. Minions everywhere. They could even have a “small world” moment where they make fun of small world with minions everywhere singing some tune.

Do it Universal.

 

[theblueblurr]

From what I understand - we'll be seeing a lot more physical stuff going forward. Screens will always be around, but not like it was.

Seeing this message matches with the type of conversation I had with Guest Relations yesterday. They pulled me aside at the end of the day for what felt like an extensive evaluation of my day and wrote down everything I said, no matter how detailed I got. When they asked me about Secret Life of Pets they wanted to know why I liked it so much and I told them it was great to see an attraction here with so many physical props and characters as opposed to screens. I told them I don't mind screens when they're utilized only when necessary and the lady behind the desk told me they had actually been hearing a lot of that same sentiment and it was part of their decision to go the way they did with Pets.

Basically, they had been hearing from other Guests as well that it was the type of attraction they were hoping to see and it was just what the park needed.

Loved Pets by the way! If that wasn't clear, yet. -and I honestly don't care much for the films. But the attraction is an absolute delight.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

I love everything about this ride but the transition from New York to Costco is just too much

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I love everything about this ride but the transition from New York to Costco is just too much

Welcome to Costco, I love you.

Seriously though, this looks amazing and proof that movie quality doesn't always translate into attraction quality. Parallels Radiator Springs Racers in that regard.

 

[Magic Feather]

I love everything about this ride but the transition from New York to Costco is just too much

In my mind there are three scenarios that baffle me as to why they weren’t done (assuming they were dead set on not covering the entire building in townhouse facades) when the additional cost would be relatively negligible.
1) Make the facades stick out beyond the warehouse where they meet (just bring them another ~2 feet from the building, so the sets don’t look inset into the warehouse. At a minimum is adds plausible deniability to being “two separate buildings”
2) Decorate the Warehouse as a warehouse ala Fast and Furious
3) Make one set of facades that cross the road. Have it hide a giant acces door (ala the ones found in Diagon), but still be high enough to block the view of the warehouse.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

I think option 3 wouldn’t work because I think that is a fire access road.

In my mind there are three scenarios that baffle me as to why they weren’t done (assuming they were dead set on not covering the entire building in townhouse facades) when the additional cost would be relatively negligible.
1) Make the facades stick out beyond the warehouse where they meet (just bring them another ~2 feet from the building, so the sets don’t look inset into the warehouse. At a minimum is adds plausible deniability to being “two separate buildings”
2) Decorate the Warehouse as a warehouse ala Fast and Furious
3) Make one set of facades that cross the road. Have it hide a giant acces door (ala the ones found in Diagon), but still be high enough to block the view of the warehouse.

 

[Freak]

I love everything about this ride but the transition from New York to Costco is just too much

As annoying as this is, this is the only nit pick I have about the ride. Would rather they do this than to sacrifice anything in the inside.

 

[JawsVictim]

This attraction really lived up to the hype and I loved being able to grab a VQ spot for later in the day.

One thing that needs to be addressed though is the queue. I love the idea and they did a great job with the design, but people are going to destroy these sets. I saw guests sitting on the furniture and counter tops (which also had trash left on them) and noticed one of the rugs in the playroom already looked filthy. I’m unsure it was a good design choice for the American GP.

 

[WAJAS]

As annoying as this is, this is the only nit pick I have about the ride. Would rather they do this than to sacrifice anything in the inside.

It gives me Forbidden Journey and Fallon vibes.

 

[Viator]

Finally got the chance to ride the attraction, and I am genuinely wowed by this thing.

Feels like a modernized take on the Fantasyland formula; with how the omnimover system works and how the scenes are layered. Queue issue aside (did Express), genuinely fantastic work to what Universal Creative Hollywood did with this IP. Being able to be as up close as you can to the Max and Duke AA's, and the Snowball AA is genuinely fantastic. For the ride itself, the bad-cat Alley and the opening scene of the streets filled with the pets is genuinely fantastic work.

 

[RyanTTD]

Finally got the chance to ride the attraction, and I am genuinely wowed by this thing.

Feels like a modernized take on the Fantasyland formula; with how the omnimover system works and how the scenes are layered. Queue issue aside (did Express), genuinely fantastic work to what Universal Creative Hollywood did with this IP. Being able to be as up close as you can to the Max and Duke AA's, and the Snowball AA is genuinely fantastic. For the ride itself, the bad-cat Alley and the opening scene of the streets filled with the pets is genuinely fantastic work.

Pets is one of those rides where doing Express hurts the attraction. The standby queue is so well done, and Express skips a significant portion of it.