Studio Tour's Fast & Furious: Supercharged (Closing March 10)

[viking_wizard_eyes]

I must have missed when this became as hated as it is in Orlando. I mean, is it my favorite thing in the park? No, and it's not like I believe it's anyone else's, either, but man -- y'all are acting like you just won the lottery or something lol.

I'll always have fond memories of this, especially the early days. I thought it was really cool and ambitious and it really sparked some needed life in the Tour. Hopefully whatever is next does the same.

 

[Freak]

I must have missed when this became as hated as it is in Orlando. I mean, is it my favorite thing in the park? No, and it's not like I believe it's anyone else's, either, but man -- y'all are acting like you just won the lottery or something lol.

I'll always have fond memories of this, especially the early days. I thought it was really cool and ambitious and it really sparked some needed life in the Tour. Hopefully whatever is next does the same.

You’ve described Kong 360.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I don't think it's a finale replacement. Falls Lake has been earmarked for major expansion for some time, and with the addition of a new hotel, the security overhaul, the proposed relocation of the tech services building, and USH acting as a media center for the 2028 Olympics, it makes more sense to use the full acreage of the land for a major expansion of the Upper Lot, which can then be cross-promoted with the Olympics.

 

[TheUniC6]

My guess is the Supercharged replacement will be an overlay until Falls Lake can be used for USH park expansion (Wicked anyone?)

 

[Viator]

I must have missed when this became as hated as it is in Orlando. I mean, is it my favorite thing in the park? No, and it's not like I believe it's anyone else's, either, but man -- y'all are acting like you just won the lottery or something lol.

I'll always have fond memories of this, especially the early days. I thought it was really cool and ambitious and it really sparked some needed life in the Tour. Hopefully whatever is next does the same.

I think in comparison to The Mummy's Revenge + Mt. Crumpit--it didn't really feel like it clicked and geled in the way that the Studio Tour finales of previously did. Sure it was ambitious and high technological, but it felt like a misuse of a IP that already had been miscalculated and mishandled before.

I genuinely think at the end of the day; I am more excited to see what they do with this space, because I hope they're able to rectify the mistakes of the past.

 

[fryoj]

Or if they wanted to spread out their additions, which is plausible.

So why close it now? If they aren't in a rush to open a replacement, why not wait till closer to drift's opening? Unless it's a 2 year build.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

My guess is the Supercharged replacement will be an overlay until Falls Lake can be used for USH park expansion (Wicked anyone?)

My contention is that time should be now. The construction of a new tech services building, followed by the demolition and redevelopment of the current building as guest pathways, can be done concurrently with the construction of a new land in the Falls Lake area.

Readjusting or moving the queue for the Studio Tour, as has long been rumored, can also happen within the same time frame.

 

[TheUniC6]

My contention is that time should be now. The construction of a new tech services building, followed by the demolition and redevelopment of the current building as guest pathways, can be done concurrently with the construction of a new land in the Falls Lake area.

Readjusting or moving the queue for the Studio Tour, as has long been rumored, can also happen within the same time frame.

If the studio tour queue was moved, you could use that entire chunk of land for either the Simpsons replacement or build a train stop to Emerald City in Falls Lake if they move forward with bringing Wicked to USH.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

You’ve described Kong 360.

Nah, the early era of this experience completely surpasses Kong. Back when guides actually did the whole preamble with the Charger in the grass, and calling it into security. It added some fun immersion to parts of the Tour that lacked it, and then it all paid off once you actually got to the "hideout." It also helped make it feel like a proper finale.

Now, like Kong, it's just another perfunctory stop. "Okay, we're going in here now, hope you guys have fun, watch the screens they'll tell you what to do." It feels like the park stopped caring about it really fast and I hope they don't do the same to the next thing.

 

[downunder]

That looks like a possibility, I know Universal were curious about what people would think of such a concept as BTTF.

Vin Diesel: "But...we're family?"

If only they would do something about that F & F atrocity in Orlando.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Two other opinions of mine:

1. I don't know how much USH still uses Supercharged in its marketing. However, even for an attraction that's reviled within the theme park community, the lack of lead time between now and closing for an attraction that was a prominent part of the park's marketing for years suggests, to me, that either something got hastily approved, or timelines for new additions necessitated a near immediate closure. If this was closing closer to the opening of Hollywood Drift, then a finale replacement would make more sense.

2. If it was a Studio Tour finale replacement, unless it was truly exceptional, I'm honestly not sure how much of a draw that would be in the theme park landscape of 2025, let alone 26 or 27, especially when pitted against what I lovingly call the DCA ONSLAUGHT.

 

[Viator]

Nah, the early era of this experience completely surpasses Kong. Back when guides actually did the whole preamble with the Charger in the grass, and calling it into security. It added some fun immersion to parts of the Tour that lacked it, and then it all paid off once you actually got to the "hideout." It also helped make it feel like a proper finale.

Now, like Kong, it's just another perfunctory stop. "Okay, we're going in here now, hope you guys have fun, watch the screens they'll tell you what to do." It feels like the park stopped caring about it really fast and I hope they don't do the same to the next thing.

I prefer Kong over Fast, because of that. I think they intermixed the "Studio" side with the "Theme Park" side flawlessly in a way that felt as if it was a direct "Director collaboration" in comparison to Supercharged.

Supercharged, when everything was running on all cylinders; was a rounded experience that had weird and corny dialogue and weird as hell VFX choices for the lighting of the screen based element. Kong thrives off of the simplicity that Supercharged does not have; especially in considering how much has been lost as a result of continuing changes and modifications to accommodate other elements.

2. If it was a Studio Tour finale replacement, unless it was truly exceptional, I'm honestly not sure how much of a draw that would be in the theme park landscape of 2025, let alone 26 or 27, especially when pitted against what I lovingly call the DCA ONSLAUGHT.

As much as I want this; I think the Supercharged replacement is not to be mixed with whatever their plans are for Falls Lake

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

As much as I want this; I think the Supercharged replacement is not to be mixed with whatever their plans are for Falls Lake

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see how both can coexist without limiting a Falls Lake expansion and/or making guest traffic into Falls Lake more difficult. How would guests enter Falls Lake if their path is intersecting with the paths of multiple trams each hour?

 

[Magic-Man]

I still don't think Falls Lake will ever be used for theme park expansion. It's too far away from the main park, the walkway would be extremely long and Universal would never make a transport ride required to get to an area. The lower lot is much more likely.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I still don't think Falls Lake will ever be used for theme park expansion. It's too far away from the main park, the walkway would be extremely long and Universal would never make a transport ride required to get to an area. The lower lot is much more likely.

Just one more long walkway in a park that famously already has one.

Also never underestimate USH's perpetual insistence on reworking the upper lot.

 

[Magic-Man]

Just one more long walkway in a park that famously already has one.

Can you see Falls Lake from the park? The lower lot only works because you can see it, so you know what you're getting yourself into. If you can't see Falls Lake you don't know what's out there.

 

[TheUniC6]

I still don't think Falls Lake will ever be used for theme park expansion. It's too far away from the main park, the walkway would be extremely long and Universal would never make a transport ride required to get to an area. The lower lot is much more likely.

Just one more long walkway in a park that famously already has one.

Also never underestimate USH's perpetual insistence on reworking the upper lot.

or something like the Starway can lead into Falls Lake when the time comes.

 

[DrStarlander]

I went on the tram in January, first time in decades. That War of the Worlds plane crash seemed in questionable taste for a family-oriented tourist destination then, and now a few weeks and a plane crash later...I think it could go away. Add that land to the Falls Lake and Supercharged area as far as I'm concerned.

Yet, all that area is close to the neighborhood and far away form the rest of the park. Maybe they can build some new soundstages there to allow old stages in the Lower Lot to be converted to theme park acreage.

 

[Viator]

I imagine if they do Falls Lake for a theme park, they won't opt in doing the walking method and will opt to do a form of "Transport" not unlike that of a Hogwarts Express.

They do walking for HHN because it's the only way of doing it that doesn't disrupt the Terror Tram's flow. If they do it for Falls Lake, it will need to be with something that doesn't require ADA shuttles to be a constant.

I went on the tram in January, first time in decades. That War of the Worlds plane crash seemed in questionable taste for a family-oriented tourist destination then, and now a few weeks and a plane crash later...I think it could go away. Add that land to the Falls Lake and Supercharged area as far as I'm concerned.

Yet, all that area is close to the neighborhood and far away form the rest of the park. Maybe they can build some new soundstages there to allow old stages in the Lower Lot to be converted to theme park acreage.

Believe way back in the finalized plans of the Evolution Plan; with the exclusion of what had became Supercharged--the WoTW sets and the Psycho sets would've become for studio purposes in the light of a set of "massive" soundstages. I doubt that's the plan now, as they need to finish Park Lake's soundstages before they can do anything; but they have had inclinations to have studio adopt some of that space (atleast, when they got it approved when they did).

 

[Jake S]

Falls Lake is a good, long walk from any current area of the park. It's about 1,000 feet from the end of the Wizarding World to get to H-Lot (or whatever we're calling the Horror Nights/Curious George surface lot). It's another 800 feet to get to Falls Lake. That's more than a quarter mile — and that's if you're walking from Hippogriff. Who knows, I'm sure they could get creative with that (or pull an Indiana Jones and create a long, direct queue) but I'd be curious to see how they pull it off.