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[🌎 Universal GB] General Discussion

Benzin said:
The options are endless, but linking them together in a coherent fashion is the difficulty.
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Why would linking them together be a difficulty?

Universal Creative would not be obliged to feature every single location from the LotR's story, that would be absurd, too much even for an entire theme park. So they select a few iconic locations, and design some world class attractions that sit comfortably inside those spaces. They could easily select three contrasting locations such as Bag End (simple, rustic, homely), Rivendell (otherworldly, elegant, inspiring) and Moria (dark, cavernous, threatening) and have unlimited creative space for rides, attractions, eateries and shops. Two rides, an E-ticket and a family friendly C-ticket; a highly themed full-service restaurant; a counter service cafe; and The Green Dragon Inn for ales but not pipe weed and you'd have Tolkien fans coming from across the the world to visit.

I rather like the look of this scene of elvish beauty, and would very much like to spend some time there:

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Does this Universal Park have the potential to outdo all other Universal Parks including ones on Florida and become the best Universal Park
 
JayTricky said:
... I could see them straying away from the original movies/actors which are 25 years old now.
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The rights get significantly more complicated (and expensive) if Universal wanted to include the LotR IP based on the Peter Jackson movies. Not only will they have to agree a deal with Middle earth Enterprises for the right to use the IP, they'd also have to agree a deal with Warner Bros (and New Line? and Wingnut?) for the rights to the movie representations. As much as I'd like to see Ian McKellen reprise his Gandalf and hear Howard Shore's magnificent score, I think that's probably one rights agreement too far.
 
Hid said:
Does this Universal Park have the potential to outdo all other Universal Parks including ones on Florida and become the best Universal Park
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Does it have the potential? Sure, if they commit the time and money to building something better than their current parks. Whether it will or not is something that Universal have control over, although it's a pretty high bar they would need to clear. In 2015 Mark Woodbury was President of Universal Creative and said in an industry conference that it was Universal's aim that "the next thing we do has to be better than the last thing we did". He's now CEO of Universal Destinations and Experiences so he's in the number one position to make that aim come true, or not. We'll see whether he reaches that lofty goal in a few year's time.
 
In honesty it just needs to be as good as or better than DLP which is thier main competition. DLP has it's own issues at the moment so there is an opportunity to eventually overtake it but they will need more lands and IP before than happens
 
Hid said:
Does this Universal Park have the potential to outdo all other Universal Parks including ones on Florida and become the best Universal Park
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I think asking for a Florida beater from day one is a tall order.

Does it have that potential once it’s been open a few decades? Certainly. Am I expecting a Florida-calibre product straight out of the gate? Absolutely not.

Universal Orlando Resort as we know and love it today is a product that has been built up gradually over 35 years. The Universal Studios Florida that opened in 1990 was not nearly as elaborate as that we see today. Ditto with the Disneyland Paris that opened in 1992. Or the PortAventura that opened in 1995. Or the Islands of Adventure that opened in 1999. Or the Universal Studios Japan that opened in 2001.

New theme parks often require a good few years of bedding in operationally to develop properly. They rarely have a “full” lineup on opening day compared to what they eventually develop in the years to come.
 
Hid said:
Does this Universal Park have the potential to outdo all other Universal Parks including ones on Florida and become the best Universal Park
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It probably has the potential. What makes a great theme park is highly subjective, but it'll be nice of us seeing a park with more UK properties thrown in (although of course Harry Potter's British), and they can learn from all their previous experience, and use the latest technology. It also sounds like it's going to have more original attractions (rather than clones) compared to some of the other parks.

If it is true that initially it'll have 1 500 room hotel and aim for 8 million visitors a year, it'll clearly have to be an amazing park with some impressive theming and rides. But to give a comparison, they've built 3 hotels with 1,500 hotel rooms for Epic Universe. To give another comparison, the Themed Entertainment Association estimates that Universal Japan gets 16 million visitors a year, so double what this park's initially aiming for.

I'm sure it'll be pitched as their best park yet, but initially it might not be their best one. I'm sure the standard of theming will be very high though, and some of the headline rides will be real jaw droppers.
 
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