Universal Studios Florida: What Do We Think About It?

[WebHead1138]

New parade includes a pretty long float that takes wide turns, is my assumption.

Rumor says they may relocate Lew elsewhere.

Rumor has it that they will move him to Central Park.

 

[OrlLover]

I’m still trying to picture what a hypothetical Pokémon Land would look like.

But I think if they used Mario Kart’s ride system that wouldn’t be such a bad thing as at least it would contain some physical sets not just screens.

 

[mccgavin]

I’m still trying to picture what a hypothetical Pokémon Land would look like.

I wouldn't expect it to resemble any existing location from the games or other media. I imagine it will be an original concept that best allows them to utilize the characters.

 

[TheUniC6]

I’m still trying to picture what a hypothetical Pokémon Land would look like.

But I think if they used Mario Kart’s ride system that wouldn’t be such a bad thing as at least it would contain some physical sets not just screens.

Tomfoolery said USF's Pokemon ride would not in any way be a clone of Japan's. A omnimover type setup like Pets could work here. But to me depending on the size of Pokemon they could go bigger than an omnimover type ride. I would like to see Universal use the interactive ride patent that involves trackless RVs guided by infrared lighting. The patent lists that guests are able to guide the RV through different ride paths. This could lend itself well to a Pokemon type of attraction.

 

[OrlLover]

Tomfoolery said USF's Pokemon ride would not in any way be a clone of Japan's. A omnimover type setup like Pets could work here. But to me depending on the size of Pokemon they could go bigger than an omnimover type ride. I would like to see Universal use the interactive ride patent that involves trackless RVs guided by infrared lighting. The patent lists that guests are able to guide the RV through different ride paths. This could lend itself well to a Pokemon type of attraction.

All these ideas sound good.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I’m still trying to picture what a hypothetical Pokémon Land would look like.

But I think if they used Mario Kart’s ride system that wouldn’t be such a bad thing as at least it would contain some physical sets not just screens.

I've had two thoughts for the concept.

The first is adapting Ryme City from the Detective Pikachu movie. A modern city acting as a mix of Manhattan, London, and Tokyo, with open areas, grey skyscrapers, and lush green spaces, all filled with people and Pokemon coexisting. Here's the intro scene to the movie; Ryme City is introduced at 1:30, but I think the Shibuya-inspired shopping district from 2:45 would be a wonderful setpiece for the land that would be distinctly Japanese while allowing the designers to fill the space with bright, poppy Pokemon-pun themed signs all over the place. It'd be very pretty at night and very modern looking.



The other option leans more towards the games and anime, and builds from those artstyles, as well as the iconic Ken Sugimori art to build a distinct visual identity. The how and what leans a little into Armchair Designing, so I threw it in a spoiler for anyone interested. Otherwise, the second spoiler is a bunch of image examples of the look that I imagine they could decide to emulate for the land.

Spoiler: How to design a Game/Anime inspired Pokeland, and what's in it

They could decide to translate the start of your journey in each Pokemon game, or the start of the anime, into the way you experience the land itself. You begin with your hometown, let's say Pallet Town for simplicity. This would have a few buildings and shops and things, a few nooks and crannies where Pokemon can hide almost like the Potter Wand window effects. This would take up the current Fast Food Blvd and front of Simpsons but would be rather shallow and small overall; almost purposefully to save space and give you reason to walk deeper into the land.

You walk further into the land, into space currently occupied by Krusty Burger and the Simpsons Ride showbuilding, and find yourself in Veridian Forest. A dense forest area with a ton of greenery and Pokemon effects everywhere that you can interact with using your Pokedex. Lots of tree cover, lots of Pokemon effects, a few benches to sit down and take in the scenery, and a little themed play area for kids themed as treehouses and caves. Squirtles spraying water, Ariados making the "webs" (netting) for kids to walk across, etc.

The final destination even further than the Simpsons ride currently resides is Pewter City. A big bustling metro area where all of the big shops (Poke-marts!), dining (Pokemon Center counter service!), shows (Pokemon Lab Animatronic Show), and rides(Pokemon Snap) would fit!

Spoiler: Game artstyle, Ken Sugimori concepts for towns, and various anime city locales

Hopefully this gives some kind of idea of what exactly a land could look like!

 

[belloq87]

For Pokemon at USF, I'd like to see the largest AA/moving figure cast Universal has ever assembled in a single attraction.

There's an almost literally endless supply of character/creature designs to pick from.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

For Pokemon at USF, I'd like to see the largest AA/moving figure cast Universal has ever assembled in a single attraction.

There's an almost literally endless supply of character/creature designs to pick from.

I think above all else, this is what I want for Pokemon. Multiple, high-level AAs.

Also a Raptor Encounter-style meet and greet.

 

[saint.piss]

 

[Brian G.]

While that’s much better - it’s the Summer crowd season time, it all should be open with the park.

 

[belloq87]

It's indefensible.

If the whole park is not opening at opening in the summer season... when will this practice end?

 

[Vic1disney]

I'm not against the studio theme, but I would like to see some aesthetic changes to the park itself. The attraction lineup is decent, but with the addition of Minion Land, the front half of the park is just a big mess of Minions, UNIVRS branding and Universal Rewards kiosk... not the best first impression.

An aesthetic overhaul of the entrance (like USH saw a few years back or DCA's Buena Vista Street) will do a lot for me (honestly just some large trees is more than enough for me). My hope is that the E.T. entrance refresh will extend over to the sliver of what was originally World Expo in front of Animal Actors to get rid of some of the dated areas of the park.

My biggest gripe w/ Minion Land is the lack of foliage for shade, that asphalt is brutal.

I personally don’t think Minions land is immersive enough for something relatively new. USF was the park I was least familiar with on our May trip; it’s been a while since we’ve visited as we’ve always had a very young children for the last 12 years. I knew about Villain-Con and the old simulator repurposed….but when we walked through the gates it was a bit like ‘oh, that’s it, is it?’ I was expecting to be immersed in Minions to the point you couldn’t see anything else. It felt more like walking through two attractions rather than a ‘land’. I was expecting to go into an area, maybe some some of overhanging arch, the floor would change in colour, I’m not sure really. It just feels a bit…bare, especially as it’s such a vivid and distinct IP. I just think more could have been done for such a big franchise.

I think Pokemon is going to be a massive pull to USF, which can only help improve other areas of the park. 3 decades worth of fans.

I still think there’s a place for a modern version of a ‘Great Movie Ride’ type of attraction for some of Universals classics. (I’m aware that was a Disney ride).

 

[UNIrd]

It's indefensible.

If the whole park is not opening at opening in the summer season... when will this practice end?

Is anyone rope dropping these attractions? I'd imagine these rides just have TMs waiting around until the first guests arrive back there anyway.

 

[belloq87]

Is anyone rope dropping these attractions? I'd imagine these rides just have TMs waiting around until the first guests arrive back there anyway.

I have started my day with MIB many times.

But even so, that's not really the point. The park is open, and guests paying full price should be able to access the full slate of attractions if they want.

 

[UNIrd]

I have started my day with MIB many times.

But even so, that's not really the point. The park is open, and guests paying full price should be able to access the full slate of attractions if they want.

I get that but when there's no foot traffic back there...

Rope dropped USF this past weekend. The entire crowd either walked into the Minions attractions, some went Rockit, some went Transformers... but vast majority still made a beeline to Diagon Alley. Everyone skipped Jimmy.. skipped Fast.. some diverted to Mummy (me.. hi lol) but crazy that it's still Diagon after 10 years.

 

[kristenabelle]

Is anyone rope dropping these attractions? I'd imagine these rides just have TMs waiting around until the first guests arrive back there anyway.

Not gonna lie, I've rope dropped ET - especially during HHN season. It's one of my absolute favorites and I want to make sure I can ride it a few times, especially since it's closed early during the event season.

But I realize I'm in the minority here

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Not gonna lie, I've rope dropped ET - especially during HHN season. It's one of my absolute favorites and I want to make sure I can ride it a few times, especially since it's closed early during the event season.

But I realize I'm in the minority here

We always rope drop ET on our last day of the trip. It's become a weird tradition for us lol

 

[GA-MBIT]

At the price point that they are selling tickets at, they should open for the extra hour. I wonder what the exact reasoning is for it.

In the end though, it doesn't really personally effect me and it is a pretty short amount of time in the overall day, so it's a bit hard to get incredibly pumped up against it myself.

 

[Vic1disney]

I think above all else, this is what I want for Pokemon. Multiple, high-level AAs.

Also a Raptor Encounter-style meet and greet.

For me, a Pokemon land has to have:
1) an interactive walkthrough Pokemon Center faced by a ‘Nurse Joy’ and an animatronic Chansey, complete with a Pokemon ‘zoo’ of animatronics to show how they care for different Pokemon.
2) an immersive Pokemon battle ride/experience with lots of effects where you can see a classic Pokémon evolve to win a battle.
3) A milder, Pokémon Snap omnimover interactive type ride where you’ve ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All!’, going through different areas to catch different types of Pokemon, eg Leaf, Water etc, each area with its own effects. And of course, the whole area themed like the towns from the Pokemon Map, Ash’s house etc.
They could do so much!

 

[TheUniC6]

For me, a Pokemon land has to have:
1) an interactive walkthrough Pokemon Center faced by a ‘Nurse Joy’ and an animatronic Chansey, complete with a Pokemon ‘zoo’ of animatronics to show how they care for different Pokemon.
2) an immersive Pokemon battle ride/experience with lots of effects where you can see a classic Pokémon evolve to win a battle.
3) A milder, Pokémon Snap omnimover interactive type ride where you’ve ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All!’, going through different areas to catch different types of Pokemon, eg Leaf, Water etc, each area with its own effects. And of course, the whole area themed like the towns from the Pokemon Map, Ash’s house etc.
They could do so much!

The interactive walkthrough could probably take the place of AA. Maybe they could also do some sort of live show as well for the second attraction.

As for the main attraction, will be interesting to see how much they decide to expand beyond the current Simpsons footprint if they indeed do that.