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[🌎 Universal GB] General Discussion

Benjsh said:
However Id argue that likes of Jurrasic Park, Transformers, Minions, Men in Black, Fast n Furious, Back to the Future, The Simpsons, The Mummy, Bourne Identity, Water World, Terminator etc are geared more towards lads than they are to the girls.
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I’d say these are mostly family franchises where the audience is balanced. Everyone likes dinosaurs!
 
Minions has a lot of silly boy humour and fart jokes in it. They even have a fart gun. Definitely more for the boys than it is the girls.

Also you bring up Nintendo but immediately destroy your own argument. They didnt build a Princess Peach ride did they? They opted for Bowser and Donkey Kong for the names of the two headline attractions. Luigi's mansion heavily touted as the next addition as well. Again another male character.

You've clearly just not realised just how pro male the Universal are. In fact once I wrote them all down it even surprised me just how incredibly one sided it is.

Maybe they will build a whole land dedicated to Wicked somewhere. However there's strong evidence to say they probably wont.
 
Bowser said:
I’d say these are mostly family franchises where the audience is balanced. Everyone likes dinosaurs!
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Disagree.

If we take it back to early years......do boys or girls mainly play with Dinosaur toys?

Do boys have Dinosaur pyjamas or girls?

Id say Universal is incredibly male IP centric and thats perfectly fine to me as I am male so im not moaning.

Disney is more balanced but definitely caters a lot better for girls there's no doubt about it.
 
Benjsh said:
Minions has a lot of silly boy humour and fart jokes in it. They even have a fart gun. Definitely more for the boys than it is the girls.

Also you bring up Nintendo but immediately destroy your own argument. They didnt build a Princess Peach ride did they? They opted for Bowser and Donkey Kong for the names of the two headline attractions. Luigi's mansion heavily touted as the next addition as well. Again another male character.

You've clearly just not realised just how pro male the Universal are. In fact once I wrote them all down it even surprised me just how incredibly one sided it is.

Maybe they will build a whole land dedicated to Wicked somewhere. However there's strong evidence to say they probably wont.
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Suggesting that paleontology or "fart jokes" require a Y chromosome is a gender stereotype dragged directly from a 1950s catalogue. Minions are gender ambiguous yellow blobs, not action heroes, and I assure you that a Velociraptor does not check your gender before deciding to eat you. To suggest that girls do not engage with dinosaurs is to confess that you haven't spoken to a female child in the last two decades.

Your assessment of Nintendo also conveniently ignores the reality that the literal entrance to Super Nintendo World is Princess Peach's Castle. Female gamers make up nearly half of the gaming demographic. To code the world's most accessible franchise as "for lads" is a fundamental misunderstanding of the industry.

Ultimately, you are arguing against yourself. If Universal's portfolio truly is as "lad heavy" as you claim, then building a Wicked land is the single most logical strategic move available. You do not grow a global business by ignoring 50% of the population's wallets to build another car chase simulator. They are building a destination resort, not a treehouse with "No Girls Allowed" painted on the door.
 
Disney has that whole Disney Princess thing going on, which is fine. But it also means Universal aren't going down the Universal Princess route because they aren't snatching away people from Disney if they try and do the same thing - Disney is far too entrenched historically for that to ever work.

Personally I think Universal's main Park IP's work for both genders, sure they sound malecentric but they travel well loved roads and both genders enjoy them. BTTF, Jurassic Park, Minions, Nintendo and Harry Potter all appeal to both genders, so not sure why we need to make it into a whole 'thing'.

Personally I want Wicked nowhere near our Park (land wise not merch or independent attractions), but not because I think it's 'women only' but simply because if we get Wicked, we're not getting LOTR. Both are Fantasy IP's and Universal are very unlikely to want two large-scale Fantasy IP lands in the Park. However Harry Potter I think is exempt from this, it's pulling power alone means regardless of what else is in the Park, if they can get the license they will put it in the Park.

So in short, no Wicked please cos that means no LOTR, and I really really want LOTR.
 
I wonder if the uniform will be pink for girls and blue for boys

They will have a mix of franchises that appeal to as many people and to reach as wide a demographic as possible
 
If Wicked had the UKs tallest and fastest coaster or a dark ride of the quality of Monsters Unchained, nobody would care that it’s Wicked and skews slightly feminine (I wouldn’t say it’s overly feminine though, apart from the stereotype that only girls and gay guys like theatre and musicals etc)

I kind of question whether Wicked will still have its relevance in 3 or 4 years when the dust of its two films has settled, and don’t think it has it in it to be a main headliner for the park based on IP alone, however I could certainly see a place for it somewhere.
 
Benjsh said:
Disagree.

If we take it back to early years......do boys or girls mainly play with Dinosaur toys?

Do boys have Dinosaur pyjamas or girls?

Id say Universal is incredibly male IP centric and thats perfectly fine to me as I am male so im not moaning.

Disney is more balanced but definitely caters a lot better for girls there's no doubt about it.
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I wouldn’t read too much into the pyjamas parents choose for their young children.

It’s never crossed my mind that Jurassic Park is a franchise targeted at boys, I perceive it as a family film, beloved by all. Perhaps spin off elements like toys and video games are more geared towards boys, perhaps boys are more likely to pursue the interest further but at the film level they are… universal!

So for a theme park they only need to appeal to those with a preliminary knowledge of said film (and of course those with more in depth knowledge can enjoy it at other levels, until they reach enthusiast stage and can no longer enjoy anything).
 
Bowser said:
I wouldn’t read too much into the pyjamas parents choose for their young children.

It’s never crossed my mind that Jurassic Park is a franchise targeted at boys, I perceive it as a family film, beloved by all. Perhaps spin off elements like toys and video games are more geared towards boys, perhaps boys are more likely to pursue the interest further but at the film level they are… universal!

So for a theme park they only need to appeal to those with a preliminary knowledge of said film (and of course those with more in depth knowledge can enjoy it at other levels, until they reach enthusiast stage and can no longer enjoy anything).
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My niece is into Dinosaurs and she's 6. It's definitely not a series for boys only, it's cross-gender.
 
Completely off topic, but could I add my lovely great niece is a great fan of farts and fart jokes.
Our early gift of a fart noises book was present of the year apparently...

Farts are enjoyed by those who are not in possession of a penis.

Minions are for everyone.
 
Benjsh said:
Minions has a lot of silly boy humour and fart jokes in it. They even have a fart gun. Definitely more for the boys than it is the girls.
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But Despicable Me is a film about an evil villain adopting three girls, the four main characters are an adult male and three girls. It’s overall a pretty generic kids film not particularly skewed to either gender.
Benjsh said:
Maybe they will build a whole land dedicated to Wicked somewhere. However there's strong evidence to say they probably wont
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I don’t think there is any evidence to say they won’t let alone strong evidence.
 
Benjsh said:
Minions has a lot of silly boy humour and fart jokes in it. They even have a fart gun. Definitely more for the boys than it is the girls.
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Can I ask if you know any girls? My nieces, now 18 and 21, have loved the Minions, with their fart guns and banana fetish, since they were young girls. Absolutely loved them, guaranteed to raise a huge laugh. When we took them to Orlando as young teenagers the Minions ride was right up there as a must do.

The gender stereotyping in this thread is a wonder to behold. Even though I’m pretty old these days, the 1950s were before my time. But I feel I’m there right now. Observing what goes on in the Disney and Universal theme parks I’ve visited in the US, Japan and France I’d conclude that gender appeal is very much a secondary factor compared to the quality of a ride or attraction. If it’s world class, everyone will want to experience it, regardless of whether the IP is seen as being for blokes or not. There aren’t many exceptions to that, perhaps meet and greet with Princesses is going to be dominated by little girls, maybe Darth Vader dance offs by little boys. Beyond that, I’d say most things have fairly universal appeal, if you’re going to exit the attraction with a sense of wonder and excitemen.

As for the importance of groups of 20 year old lads, frankly, I hope they stick with Merlin. Last thing I want to see is groups of marauding blokes trying to outdo each other with bravado and nonsense. It’s one of the reasons I love Disney and Universal parks, and why I’ve only visited Thorpe Park twice despite living 20 minutes away for the last 30 years.
 
rob@rar said:
As for the importance of groups of 20 year old lads, frankly, I hope they stick with Merlin. Last thing I want to see is groups of marauding blokes trying to outdo each other with bravado and nonsense. It’s one of the reasons I love Disney and Universal parks, and why I’ve only visited Thorpe Park twice despite living 20 minutes away for the last 30 years.
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The price point being a higher barrier to entry will hopefully stop things like that.
 
To add to the other points, my female child has enjoyed watching the Jurassic Park films and playing with her dinosaur toys just as much as the Disney princess stuff or similar things targeted at girls.

In the modern day there is a lot of effort to try and ignore the stereotypes of yesterday. Plenty of kids are into KPop Demon Hunters as a more recent example, but good content will always trump the confines of "these are for boys, and these are for girls".

I personally couldn't give a damn about a Wicked attraction because I thought the show was highly overrated. Will be forced to watch the films soon due to little one discovering them though. But for Universal to ignore and milk the popularity of the IP would be foolish.

Also mentioned, Thorpe has been full of the teenage lads demographic for years and has always been a horrible experience as a result.
 
Are we classing the 12th as the official start date for the development? I'm not expecting an army of diggers to rock up on site but more a gradual ramping up of activities. There is alot of grading and site prep to do this year so I'm sure they will want to get cracking. I'm surprised we haven't heard who the main contractors are going to be.
 
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