This Just In - Current USH Happenings

[salismetho]

5) Losing two shows with no announced replacement - while I'm fine with the shows being retired, many like shows and mostly older people want a place to just relax for a little and now we just have two shows for that. I hope Universal announces soon something for people who aren't into rides.


While I'm excited Nintendo is about to finally be here....concerned that USH management just doesn't have a plans or the plans they do have will just make visiting the parks a lot worst then it has been in the past

Flashback to when this thread was created and the biggest concern was that nobody was coming to the park anymore lol. Anyways I'm hoping we get a show replacement, but as we've seen it's not really Universal's MO to announce things an advanced. Hopefully there'll be something soon but even if it's 5 months away I doubt we'll hear anything until March or April.

We're also going into a super transitionary period for the park now (a la 2013-2016), so the next few years are gonna be crowded and a little messy but hopefully by the time we're through it the park will be better than ever. Park management is well aware of the changes and updates that need to be brought to the park, they just aren't sharing those plans just yet. But the coaster afaik was partially born out of management realizing that one of the things the park was truly lacking was a good roller coaster.

 

[Freak]

In terms of the complaint about losing shows, I guess y'all forgot the rumors of Bourne coming?

 

[salismetho]

In terms of the complaint about losing shows, I guess y'all forgot the rumors of Bourne coming?

And weren't some people here saying that something was going on with Plaza once Grinchmas ends?

 

[Jamesh22]

I still can't believe we are moaning about USH...yes USH removing shows to build a ride :thud:

I do think they should setup a rotation of Shrek & Panda in Dreamworks theater though, that would drive more people through that attraction, and it's a cheap improvement.
Plus doing nothing with the old Walking Dead space is almost criminal. They could easily have setup a temporary exhibition in there - bring back the Laika exhibit, NBC Universal, Animal Actors meet n Greet or something, just get it open.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

I still can't believe we are moaning about USH...yes USH removing shows to build a ride :thud:

I do think they should setup a rotation of Shrek & Panda in Dreamworks theater though, that would drive more people through that attraction, and it's a cheap improvement.
Plus doing nothing with the old Walking Dead space is almost criminal. They could easily have setup a temporary exhibition in there - bring back the Laika exhibit, NBC Universal, Animal Actors meet n Greet or something, just get it open.

That space is now exclusively for HHN (in my opinion). I doubt that dream works gets updated anytime soon. It’s been talked about since it opened and any rumors about it just have been speculation.

 

[Jamesh22]

That space is now exclusively for HHN (in my opinion). I doubt that dream works gets updated anytime soon. It’s been talked about since it opened and any rumors about it just have been speculation.

Agreed, but such a missed opporunity on both counts with very little investment.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I still can't believe we are moaning about USH...yes USH removing shows to build a ride :thud:

I do think they should setup a rotation of Shrek & Panda in Dreamworks theater though, that would drive more people through that attraction, and it's a cheap improvement.
Plus doing nothing with the old Walking Dead space is almost criminal. They could easily have setup a temporary exhibition in there - bring back the Laika exhibit, NBC Universal, Animal Actors meet n Greet or something, just get it open.

I'm honestly not upset about which shows are leaving its that instead other space that is not being used, we are like we need a coaster go.

When they could have started months ago redoing the French street area and having a clone for the Minion shooter ride, because this park NEEDS people eaters we have only SLOP and even that not as effective as Pirates or HM (rides from literally 50 years ago).

But even ignoring that, my main issue is management of the park. Your making 40+ bucks on popcorn and like 20+ bucks on drinks that cost you nothing to produce and we can't have full security gates staffed, parking staffed, and no CMs guiding people at bottle necks that will need CM's there moving people or else it just becomes a mess.
If the park seems to be trying to make everything run great then not much more they can do now but its going to frustrating if I have to wait to park my car, then get into the park and then wait to get into the land and then wait hours for the one ride.
Also no Chinese New Years this year.......most likely because of Covid (in China) but Disneyland land is still doing it...so I don't get it you USH thinks it wont be massive crowded the next two months and having the Plaza with a shows, the noodlshop/meet and greets and other fun things to do (plus the area just looks nice when its decorated)

 

[Freak]

Here's the thing about TWDA venue: Sure, I wouldn't mind a little something to show off every now and then. Would like to see an exhibit or a temp escape room or something (Remember when they did that little Escape room to promote a show in the Globe Theater back in 2015?). The problem is, about 70% of the time of the year that venue will likely be taken up for HHN use. They need time to build the house starting late Spring, run it during HHN, then tear it down in November. They really need that venue for HHN (Especially since it's one of the better venues to work with) and that only gives them probably December to April/May-ish to use it. That only gives them about 4-5 months to be able to use it for anything else they like. They can't use it during the Summer, but I could see them use it for a thrown-together tribute store for Spring or Christmas, a food venue if they decide to do Mardi Gras or some food event, an exhibit of some sort during the off-season. I do think they'll use TWDA for something like that in the future, but it will always be mainly used as an HHN venue.

As for DWT, I wouldn't be opposed to having Shrek back every now and then. I've kinda wanted to see Shrek in the DWT theater context. They do need to have a new show in there to freshen it up. Kung Fu Panda has seen the lowest waits even during hell week last week. I think they should either make the effort to to what that venue was designed to do or tear it down for something else (Ahem, BOURNE). Swapping out KFP with Shrek would be a great way to "buy them time" to work on a new show with HTTYD, Trolls, or Bad Guys.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I love how we have to leave area's just empty for a maze thats up for 2 months.

Like could we have a small show or Sing attractions where the walking dead maze was....yep. But no no we need it for a maze when we literally have the tram storage area, and the backlot.

So is french street just there for good because its used for a maze? Like at some point we have to use these area's of demolish others to make room for more rides.
We know Mummy and simpsons will be gone within ten years so I don't see why we want to push out more attractions when we have space in the park for more things but no the space is reserved all year for a maze.

 

[Freak]

I love how we have to leave area's just empty for a maze thats up for 2 months.

Like could we have a small show or Sing attractions where the walking dead maze was....yep. But no no we need it for a maze when we literally have the tram storage area, and the backlot.

So is french street just there for good because its used for a maze? Like at some point we have to use these area's of demolish others to make room for more rides.
We know Mummy and simpsons will be gone within ten years so I don't see why we want to push out more attractions when we have space in the park for more things but no the space is reserved all year for a maze.

Parisian, you could probably fit a DWT-style attraction or another simulator ride (Which is the last thing this park needs) if you’re creative enough with the space and make it a two-story building.

As for TWDA….we’ve been down this before. You literally can’t fit anything else in there except maybe an exhibit or a venue for special events. That’s literally it. It’s destined to be HHN space and maybe an exhibit or an event here or there. There’s no space to do anything else in that building.

 

[Clive]

It's a small park that's always faced a multitude of restrictions. It's nevertheless managed to significantly increase its footprint over the last decade.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

From Jsland: it sounds like they're doing work within Extreme Close-Up? At the very least, it seems they're doing sound testing within the space.

 

[Jerroddragon]

From Jsland: it sounds like they're doing work within Extreme Close-Up? At the very least, it seems they're doing sound testing within the space.

Is that a store?

Can’t picture where that is located in the park

 

[SnideRemarksDept]

Is that a store?

Can’t picture where that is located in the park

It used to be part of the studio, the section with the dancing cars for Fast and Furious. It's between the picture cars and the Jurassic stuff.

From Jsland: it sounds like they're doing work within Extreme Close-Up? At the very least, it seems they're doing sound testing within the space.

I'm pretty skeptical of what Jsland is trying to imply here. He talks over the clip in the video, so we can't hear what sounds he's referring to and he doesn't describe them at all, and this is the best image of the "vehicle" that he sees inside the area.


Those look more like cart wheels to me than wheels for a proper vehicle, even too small for a golf cart. Universal uses that space for storage since it's so big and largely unused. I suppose it's possible that they're doing something in there, maybe ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Studio Tour, but without any more information, this seems like a pretty big leap to say that anything big is happening in there. My best guess? They're using the space to paint stuff for the park where it's out in the open (so not having to worry about ventilation) but also out of the way of guests/studio operations.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

It used to be part of the studio, the section with the dancing cars for Fast and Furious. It's between the picture cars and the Jurassic stuff.


I'm pretty skeptical of what Jsland is trying to imply here. He talks over the clip in the video, so we can't hear what sounds he's referring to and he doesn't describe them at all, and this is the best image of the "vehicle" that he sees inside the area.
View attachment 18096

Those look more like cart wheels to me than wheels for a proper vehicle, even too small for a golf cart. Universal uses that space for storage since it's so big and largely unused. I suppose it's possible that they're doing something in there, maybe ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Studio Tour, but without any more information, this seems like a pretty big leap to say that anything big is happening in there. My best guess? They're using the space to paint stuff for the park where it's out in the open (so not having to worry about ventilation) but also out of the way of guests/studio operations.

100% its probably used as a space for multiple things. I do rememebr seeing trams being worked on in there once too.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I know I have talked about it before but seeing the previews and the hype for SNW, I think the entrance and process of letting people into the park is not the best for peak days in the future. It would be nice to have an AP exclusive turnstyle in the morning to help APs not have to wait for giant families to can and print tickets and have the CM have to tell them extra info and I just don't think they are prepared for this kinda traffic. This goes for the parking as well, Jurassic area has only 4 lanes, I know ET is better but its also not always fully staffed either

 

[Ron101]

I know I have talked about it before but seeing the previews and the hype for SNW, I think the entrance and process of letting people into the park is not the best for peak days in the future. It would be nice to have an AP exclusive turnstyle in the morning to help APs not have to wait for giant families to can and print tickets and have the CM have to tell them extra info and I just don't think they are prepared for this kinda traffic. This goes for the parking as well, Jurassic area has only 4 lanes, I know ET is better but its also not always fully staffed either

In my experience the APers take the longest to scan in because of USH’s awful fingerprint readers. Just watching guests attempt it, half the time it doesn’t register their print and they have to try again. The UOR fingerprint readers are nearly instant! I was amazed at the speed during my visit last summer.

 

[Jerroddragon]

In my experience the APers take the longest to scan in because of USH’s awful fingerprint readers. Just watching guests attempt it, half the time it doesn’t register their print and they have to try again. The UOR fingerprint readers are nearly instant! I was amazed at the speed during my visit last summer.

Fyi

You can ask for a sticker and just show ID and your AP to enter

 

[Mad Dog]

Fyi

You can ask for a sticker and just show ID and your AP to enter

Yes, I did that for the past few years. Even at UO, the scan rarely worked for me and Alene.

 

[RyanTTD]

On the topic of the process of entering the park. On my visit last week, I noticed that when your AP is scanned for entry into the park, on the screen facing the TM, there is a spot for it to display a photo of the pass holder. Same with the Express queues, when a TM scans a Platinum Pass, a space for a photo appears on the screen facing the TM. If you have ever been to Disneyland and looked at the screens when entering the park, the screens at USH look identical to those at Disneyland. The only exception is where a photo of a pass holder would be is a generic placeholder glyph image.

Universal uses the exact same ticketing company that Disneyland uses, Gateway/Galaxy, and have been using them for years, and this is the first time I've seen a photo placeholder for the pass holder at USH.

I wonder if Universal is getting ready to ditch the finger scanners for photos like every other park

Below is a photo of what the screens at Disneyland look like when an AP/MK is scanned. Universals look exactly the same when an AP is scanned, except there is a photo placeholder in the bottom left corner.

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