[🌎 Universal GB] General Discussion

[Benjsh]

Not sure of the rights ownership situation between Nintendo and the Pokemon company, but Pokemon would be an outstanding addition.

It’s worked itself into evergreen IP territory, is instantly recognisable, has great gamification potential, and great merchandise options.

The Legendary Birds battling in the sky every night as part of a drone show. Amazing.

I must confess I know very little about Pokemon. I'm almost 40 so I was probably a bit too old by the time it got popular here in schools.

I'd say it probably is a strong enough IP to merit it's own land but it wouldn't be a front runner for me. I think this issue has is that's it's seen as a real geeky IP and even more so than Potter, LOTR etc. It's also perhaps a bit too child centric as well compared to those two huge franchises which appeal to the whole family more I'd say.

Of course if Comcast do buy out Warner then that opens up DC comics too and other interesting IP's. A huge DC Superhero land would go down a treat I'm sure.

 

[Bowser]

Not sure of the rights ownership situation between Nintendo and the Pokemon company, but Pokemon would be an outstanding addition.

It’s worked itself into evergreen IP territory, is instantly recognisable, has great gamification potential, and great merchandise options.

The Legendary Birds battling in the sky every night as part of a drone show. Amazing.

I would imagine it would be almost impossible that a Pokémon themed land/ride wouldn’t be built in Japan first.

I think this issue has is that's it's seen as a real geeky IP and even more so than Potter, LOTR etc

I’m not sure as regular contributors on a theme park forum that any of us are in a position to rank or deem something as too “geeky”, let alone one of the most popular and successful IP’s in history.

But if I was forced to, I think there is a compelling case for elves and goblins taking the top spot. Even Logan Paul trades Pokémon cards but he sure as hell doesn’t cite Tolkien.

 

[DistortAMG]

European construction takes longer than US as our building regulations are more stringent. It’s not so much the planning red tape, we just have to build to a higher quality.

I know I am late to the party here. But really? That cant be true, maybe for parts of the country, but not Florida or California.

Buildings here must stand up to the absolute peak of mother natures power, hurricanes and earthquakes.

They require the very best in technology and quality to pull off, especially with the complex buildings Disney and Universal like to build, the floating islands of avatar being a notable example.

Which would and did require some serious high quality materials and engineering just to pull of before factoring in the hurricane zone it is in. The codes in both of these states are quite strict for good reason. Anything build on the cheap will not stand upto a powerful earth quake or hurricane.

 

[Bert2theSpark]

Pokémon has enough content to have different themed lands at every Universal park, and for it to be a smash hit every time.

One area could easily be a town, cave and forest area, like walking through the traditional 2D games, whereas another could be walking through giant cities filled with Pokémon like the 3D games. There’s also the spin-offs, movies and anime. Detective Pikachu would be a prime IP for a dark ride, and of course the Pokéball Ferris Wheel from Unova.

The games are so big at this point that every release has a different combination of Pokémon. Of course Pikachu would be a must everywhere for Meet and Greets, but you could have Charizard in Florida and then Eevee in Japan and Meowth in Hollywood. Almost like a Gotta Catch ‘Em all scenario. There’s so many towns in Japan that have their town mascots as Pokémon (including the one in my profile picture, Slowpoke).

It’s just as big as a franchise like LOTR, and a lot more merchandisable. It’s just the demographics of forums users skew older, so you’re way more likely to see discussions around that franchise on here than you would on more modern internet platforms.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

I must confess I know very little about Pokemon. I'm almost 40 so I was probably a bit too old by the time it got popular here in schools.

I'd say it probably is a strong enough IP to merit it's own land but it wouldn't be a front runner for me. I think this issue has is that's it's seen as a real geeky IP and even more so than Potter, LOTR etc. It's also perhaps a bit too child centric as well compared to those two huge franchises which appeal to the whole family more I'd say.

Of course if Comcast do buy out Warner then that opens up DC comics too and other interesting IP's. A huge DC Superhero land would go down a treat I'm sure.

Just for the record, Pokémon is the highest grossing media franchise of all time.

Pokémon's $98.9 billion in revenue, absolutely dwarves The Wizarding World ($34.7 billion), Star Wars ($46.7 billion) and Middle Earth ($8.46 billion) combined.

List of highest-grossing media franchises - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Mick]

Pokemon is one of those things like Harry Potter where you don’t even have to be a fan of the franchise to be aware of the size and scope of it. I’ve played Pokemon for over 20 years now so clearly biased, but there’s such a sheer vastness of incredible dark rides, water rides, coasters, shows, retail, F&B that you could do with a Pokemon world. It’d have people flocking from both America and Asia and be almost guaranteed to turn the Great Britain venture into an instant hit.

That said, I think there’s a less than 1% chance of it coming.

 

[Quantum]

I can definitely see some sort of Nintendo IP on a future expansion, it's not an either or situation with LOTR though as we can have both.

I also think Dark Universe is a no brainer for an expansion given the UK is the home of gothic horror

 

[Benzin]

Isn't a Zelda area heavily mooted for future works?

 

[dave___]

Isn't a Zelda area heavily mooted for future works?

I always think Zelda is a bit of a weird one. It's incredibly popular in the Nintendo-verse but it still doesn't have market dominance like Mario and Pokemon, at least not over here. Don't see any Zelda shirts at Primark like the aforementioned, or Minecraft/Marvel etc for example.

I'd personally choose Metroid-land over Zelda but again it's not "out there" in public. Dark ride where you blast metroids and space pirates, yes please. Imagine an AR ride like the new Mario one but with a metroid trying to latch onto your head.

 

[Maelstrom]

I always think Zelda is a bit of a weird one. It's incredibly popular in the Nintendo-verse but it still doesn't have market dominance like Mario and Pokemon, at least not over here. Don't see any Zelda shirts at Primark like the aforementioned, or Minecraft/Marvel etc for example.

I'd personally choose Metroid-land over Zelda but again it's not "out there" in public. Dark ride where you blast metroids and space pirates, yes please. Imagine an AR ride like the new Mario one but with a metroid trying to latch onto your head.

Recent rumours for Orlando are that Pokémon will replace Simpsons and Zelda will replace lost content (Inc an indoor boat ride using Mack’s new rockin boat system) However with talks of a wicked area for Orlando then Zelda could move to Epic.

By all accounts the studios will be the focus for next few years as they aware it needs some major top tier attractions. With the new coaster replacing rip ride rocket first then likely whole new land replacing the Simpsons

But there is every chance one of those lands could switch to the UK project.

 

[Dave]

I know I am late to the party here. But really? That cant be true, maybe for parts of the country, but not Florida or California.

Buildings here must stand up to the absolute peak of mother natures power, hurricanes and earthquakes.

They require the very best in technology and quality to pull off, especially with the complex buildings Disney and Universal like to build, the floating islands of avatar being a notable example.

Which would and did require some serious high quality materials and engineering just to pull of before factoring in the hurricane zone it is in. The codes in both of these states are quite strict for good reason. Anything build on the cheap will not stand upto a powerful earth quake or hurricane.

The best comparative example is Tower of Terror, its construction is completely different in Paris compared to the US models (it’s a completely re-enforced concrete structure in Paris compared to a steal frame structure in America).

 

[Benjsh]

One of the reasons why i think the artwork for Universal GB might change a lot too, only instead of thunder storms of Florida it will be ice and snow they need to consider here.

Could you imagine visiting Universal GB and those two coasters were closed all day? I genuinely don't think it would be a good day out at all and would be massively overpriced.

 

[dave___]

One of the reasons why i think the artwork for Universal GB might change a lot too, only instead of thunder storms of Florida it will be ice and snow they need to consider here.

Could you imagine visiting Universal GB and those two coasters were closed all day? I genuinely don't think it would be a good day out at all and would be massively overpriced.

I've been to AT for Scarefest when it's been fogbound and it was great but yeah I've also been on the Smiler in a hailstorm and that was... less fun.

 

[jon81uk]

One of the reasons why i think the artwork for Universal GB might change a lot too, only instead of thunder storms of Florida it will be ice and snow they need to consider here.

Could you imagine visiting Universal GB and those two coasters were closed all day? I genuinely don't think it would be a good day out at all and would be massively overpriced.

Is it 100% certain that Universal GB will open in January/February?

 

[Benjsh]

Is it 100% certain that Universal GB will open in January/February?

They haven't officially said it would but i believe at a Q&A it was implied it would be 365 day park like all their other proprieties. That's their business model after all.

Also.....You can't predict Ice and Snow in the UK that well. Sometimes we get it In December, then other years it could be Jan / Feb or even March.

I think when the official plans come out there will be even more indoor rides.

 

[Bowser]

One of the reasons why i think the artwork for Universal GB might change a lot too, only instead of thunder storms of Florida it will be ice and snow they need to consider here.

Could you imagine visiting Universal GB and those two coasters were closed all day? I genuinely don't think it would be a good day out at all and would be massively overpriced.

I think two considerations for that are:

1. Coasters can be built to operate in ice and snow. Look at Phantasialand and Energylandia. Even Paultons operates all rides in Feb half term typically. If Universal intend to operate 365 then it’s very likely this will be taken into account.

2. Realistically the south of the UK doesn’t see a lot of snow and presumably the climate trajectory will make it increasingly less likely.

I can’t imagine they released artwork that historically represents a good chunk of their intentions without taking into account the British weather.

 

[rob@rar]

… Would Great Britain be the perfect location given it's where Tolkien lived most of his life and took inspiration from? I really hope so.

Not that it makes a difference, but there is a direct connection between Tolkien and Bedford. He was barracked in Bedford during World War 1 when he did his officer training after joining the army to fight in the conflict. I think he was located just a couple of miles away from the site that Universal have purchased.

 

[The_bup]

A lot of the big IPs like Harry Potter and Pokémon have like, a ridiculously simple premise to them that makes them or will make them ideal theme park lands, as they are understandable for pretty much everyone.

Harry Potter? Wizard/magic land. If you live under a rock and not a mountain, the wizard school land. Most cultures love magic in itself, undoubtably why Hogsmeade is littered all over the globe.

Pokémon’s appeal completely lies in the - well, Pokémon. There’s a great range of creatures from little domestic sort of clumsy looking ones to actual gods that can destroy the earth if they wanted to; suffice to say, there’s not a person on earth that at least one Pokémon does not appeal to. Even the domestic appliance enthusiasts have Rotom.

But let’s get real - its popularity is mostly on the merchandise and not in the games. The games sell well, but are dwarfed by other faucets of the franchise; it is literally the biggest ever as Goose mentioned earlier. They make great cuddly toys, and schoolchildren buy and trade the cards not to play the game, but because the creatures look cool, are shiny and have big numbers in them sometimes. Despite its popularity, most people actually have very shallow knowledge of the lore, story or much at all. The people know nothing; they do not need to. The franchise feels built to have a theme park land.

However, Nintendos popularity and translation to a theme park land is a little harder to decipher, at least for me. Sure, the appeal can stretch back as far as Gen X, but if you don’t know what’s going on you really don’t know what’s going on. Nintendo is one of those things you know nothing about or a lot about - or, you have a friend or a kid who knows a lot about it. However, this market seems big enough to warrant it existing. Maybe this is because it is a “patient zero” for video games. As in, when someone uninitiated thinks of a video game, they will undoubtedly picture a character running, jumping and gathering large sums of coins. That is Mario at its core. Generally, it is a better option than competitors in the industry, like Halo or perhaps God Of War, in which Nintendo's family image, lore knowledge being redundant in the enjoyment of their games and (historically) budgeted consoles make them wholly accessible, building their cultural significance. Otherwise, Donkey Kong is passable as a classic jungle area, and Mine Cart Madness will clearly entice guests with its unique selling point.

This leads me onto LOTR being an interesting one… it’s a hard one to clock it’s success. It has generational appeal, the books have existed for every generation - or, at least all the generations that could successfully walk the perimeter of the proposed UK location. The movies were a sure financial and cultural success, I’m sure, however I do still wonder if it possesses the same form of popularity similar to cult franchises like (albeit a heavy handed term for my example) Nintendo, where those on the surface of knowledge don’t know the depth of the underbelly despite its numbers. It’s quite a large but exclusive fan base.

While it has the advantage of being a “patient zero” for fantasy, the world building I feel may be to unintuitive and out there for many to understand. It’s a lot more in depth than Mario or Pokémon which thrive off having no story at all, LOTR might prove the opposite.

I believe someone had mentioned this previously, but I concur, the world might feel too expansive to condense into a land. LOTR is a globe-trotting adventure at heart. Imagine surgically removing the first ten minutes of Raiders, erasing Temple of Doom and then trying to design an Indiana Jones ride. What are you supposed to build exactly? Cairo? The most obvious choice is building The Shire and then having maybe having Mount Doom be off in the distance to supply an E-ticket, but I’m just not sure…

That being said, I have this quite illogical feeling that it has a good chance. It just feels about right for a big UK park of Harry Potter is off the table, and we do not need any more Harry Potter. We need a UK property amongst Jurassic World and Minions, and Paddington won’t cut it. Universal have great experience with legacy properties, so I’m more curious if anything. Keep in mind this is coming from a person who probably knows very little about LOTR. Quite frankly, I’ll be in the majority of people waking into our theoretical land. It would be a great challenge but I do worry.

Shrek also feels like a weird cover up for Pokémon.

 

[rob@rar]

However, Nintendos popularity and translation to a theme park land is a little harder to decipher, at least for me. Sure, the appeal can stretch back as far as Gen X, but if you don’t know what’s going on you really don’t know what’s going on.

I'm in the category that knows pretty much nothing about Nintendo (and absolutely nothing about Pokemon), but that doesn't mean that I'm not very motivated to visit the Nintendo land in Epic (or LA, whichever I get to first). I think a little bit too much emphasis is given in some of these discussions on the popularity of the IP and the extent to which that determines whether people are keen to visit the land or not. When IoA first opened my two favourite lands were Jurassic Park and The Lost Continent. I was certainly a fan of the JP movies, but the fact that the Lost Continent wasn't fully based on a well known game or movie IP didn't affect the level of my enjoyment. They were both fully featured, fully immersive lands, both wonderful to spend time in. If Universal Creative can design a fully featured land without an IP I'm pretty sure that they can create a fully featured land based on LotR, Zelda, Pokemon, etc. For me the success will be determined not by the IP but but the quality of what they design - if it's richly detailed, fully immersive, has a couple of world class attractions, themed eateries, unique merchandise, etc, then the land will be a great success, and the IP will be of secondary importance.

 

[rob666]

Here is the pokemon news.
Naming your child Pikachu has just been banned in Japan.