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Universal Orlando (Studios/IOA/Epic Universe) : General Discussion

If they really wanted to out do the mouse then they could do a Test Track style ride with Mario Kart, it would just be where would they put it? Third gate maybe?
 
There has been rumours of toon lagoon getting a retheme in next few years and retheming it to Nintendo would work well. Another option is that the kids zone at the studios park is also expected to get a complete makeover as the next studios project so Nintendo could also work there.

However we might not see anything at the Orlando parks for a while with lots of other projects happening, I imagine we will see the Park in Japan getting the first Nintendo attractions.
 
I do agree that Japan is the most likely place to recieve a Nintendo attraction/area first. Nintendo for Orlando is probably a fair way off with what else they have planned - probably post-2020.

:)
 
Sod the Nintendo news, the scaffolding has come down on Kong's facade:

CEbCkSvW0AEqO-b.jpg:large

Image from @elgo33 on Twitter

Looks kindaaa nice.
 
In a Q&A following Nintendo's financial results for the last fiscal year, Satoru Iwata (president of Nintendo) was asked about the deal with Universal:
Nintendo said:
Q: I would like to ask you about Nintendo's business alliance strategy. You have announced the alliances with DeNA and Universal Parks & Resorts one after the other. What are your criteria and conditions for choosing a partner? Is it likely that you will establish stronger alliances with future candidates by way of using your own treasury shares for capital participation? As for the potential alliance partners, I understand that, in the past, you have often collaborated with your licensees and utilized external resources in the software development field, and most recently, it appears to me that you have been willing to collaborate with others in new business fields. Are there any business fields for which you will need further alliances? Is it likely that you will form an alliance in the hardware field? Or, has the company already decided on a fairly precise outline of the overall future alliance strategy, including the new business fields into which Mr. Iwata intends to advance?

A: The fact that we have not only executed a business alliance with DeNA but also a capital alliance with them seems to have had a certain level of impact. I mean, although Nintendo had been citing the possibility of such an alliance for years, we had not actually executed many and since we announced an alliance with a company that many of you didn't expect, the announcement seems to have been received with surprise and had an impact on you. Nintendo is a company that, when considering possible alliances, believes that it must carefully review such factors as whether or not each company's strengths and weaknesses will smoothly complement each other and if the corporate cultures of both companies will work in harmony, rather than focusing on the potential short-term advantages. Talking about alliances in general, most of them in today's business world, as I see them, have not worked out very well. More specifically, it is often the case that the corporate cultures of the two companies just do not integrate well or that even though the top executives have agreed to work together, the people at the forefront of the actual projects are not able to establish common grounds for working together. We believe that if we are going to make an alliance, we have to produce results. If we cannot produce results, it will not only make the alliance meaningless but also may hurt the company's corporate value in the mid-to-long term. In that sense, Nintendo is a fairly cautious and careful company. As a result, we spend a significant amount of time to comprehend the strengths and weaknesses of both companies and to confirm each company's corporate cultures. We not only carry out discussions with key people at the management level but also involve those who may actually work together in order to review if the alliance will be truly beneficial for both companies. We do so in order to avoid situations where we seemingly have the same interests but are in conflict behind the scenes. Because of such a thorough review process, some may say that we are slow in making alliances, but if we are going to make an alliance, we want to lay the foundations for the best possible results.

If I can talk a bit more about our just-announced alliance with Universal Parks & Resorts, we first met with them in April last year when I was visiting the U.S. on a business trip. We met with people from NBCUniversal who proposed the possibility of the theme park business to us. Even before then, the possibility of theme park attractions (with Nintendo IP) had become an often-discussed topic in society. Even inside Nintendo, the possibility had been discussed several times. But we had not made this a reality because, on each occasion, the time was not ripe yet or we were not able to find an appropriate partner with whom to work. In the case of our first meeting with Universal Parks & Resorts, they provided us with a very detailed proposal right from the beginning. Also, as we met right after they had opened the Harry Potter attractions, we were able to learn precisely how they had been created. We received a great deal of useful information from the first meeting for us to review if they possessed a corporate culture which would ensure us the ability to license our IP to them and to work well together. Since the proposal was so specific, as soon as I returned to Japan, I informed Mr. Miyamoto, of our company, and told him that I wanted to give positive consideration to it. Since then, we have met with them several times in Japan and in the U.S., and not only me and people who carry out our negotiations but also members from each company's creative side, namely, people who will be assigned to make the actual attractions and Nintendo's game producers who have been creating our games for many years. As a result, we confirmed that we share a lot of common ground between our corporate cultures, and because parts of the proposal made us really excited, we have decided to work together on a long-term basis.

Back to your questions, various alliances are possible, not only for software development but also for hardware and for the active use of our IP. In fact, we have received quite a few proposals for business collaborations as well as the proposals that take advantage of Nintendo IP. On the other hand, the probability that these proposals will eventually materialize as a business alliance or IP license is not very high. When it comes to capital alliances, since they require the decision to make a deeper relationship between two companies for the mid-to-long term, we foresee even less probability. Having said that, however, our basic idea is that if our partnering with another company will enable us to do something that we cannot do by ourselves, we should do it. When we enter into a business alliance, if we are able to establish a firm capital relationship by wisely using our treasury shares, it is an important option for us to consider, and we will not rule out that possibility for the future, either. If we conclude that we should do so, we would like to boldly make that kind of decision. Accordingly, I hope you understand that (when we consider our business alliances) Nintendo makes decisions only after spending a considerable amount of time thoroughly reviewing whether or not we will be able to establish a favorable mid-to-long term relationship, if the corporate cultures of both companies blend well and whether or not the strengths and weaknesses of each company will complement each other.
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Sounds like Universal already have plans for Nintendo attractions. I really hope it is not long until we see something materialise.

:)
 
Universal have finally announced their new waterpark, 'Volcano Bay':

CGGfNQuWgAA5chm.jpg:large


It's set to open in 2017, which is much closer to now than I was anticipating.
 
It really is the time of the year to announce new theme park projects in Florida! Here is the press release to go with the annoucement:
Universal said:
Universal Orlando Resort today announced a project of remarkable vision: to bring to life an entirely new water theme park experience. Called Volcano Bay at Universal Orlando Resort, it will join Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure and become the resort’s third incredibly immersive park.
Universal’s Volcano Bay will be a place for the entire family. It will be a whole new generation of experience that reimagines what it means to be a water park.
Imagine a place that offers radically innovative, thrilling attractions, peaceful moments of relaxation and an inspired guest experience that will forever change the perception of water theme parks. It will be set in a highly themed, completely immersive environment inspired by postcard-perfect tropical islands. And it will be the kind of special place that only the Universal team – the same team that has changed the face of Universal Orlando Resort in recent years - can envision and create.
Universal’s Volcano Bay will be located within Universal Orlando Resort, just south of the Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Work is already underway and more details will be released in the future.
Universal’s Volcano Bay is the next in a series of boldly creative experiences that have opened and will continue to open at Universal Orlando. It began with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade in 2010 and quickly moved to Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, Springfield, hometown to America’s favorite animated family, The Simpsons, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, eight new venues at Universal CityWalk, the breathtaking Cabana Bay Beach Resort and more. It will include Skull Island: Reign of Kong and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort in 2016.
And then – in 2017 – will come Universal’s Volcano Bay.
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The volcano looks pretty good! I've not yet been to a Disney waterpark but it will be interesting to see how this does compare.

:)
 
Hopefully this means they'll tear down Wet 'n Wild, that place is god-awful. How such a prestigious brand as Universal can be associated with that abomination is beyond me.
 
No surprises here, Universal have confirmed that Wet 'n Wild will close on 31 December 2016. It will of course be replaced by Volcano Bay.

:)
 
Here is the conformation linkie
http://m.wesh.com/orlandomyway/orla...sort-announces-closing-of-wet-n-wild/33627744
It will be a shame to see wet n wild go as it was a nice classic water park. Although I'm very exited about seeing what universal will do to out do the mouse with volcano bay.

What do you think universal will do with the wet n wild land, they own a fair bit of land around it. Maybe another resort hotel complex or another gate or even sell off the land. Could be interesting to see what happens.
 
Whatever happens, I can't see it being sold off - it would be stupid to shoot themselves in the foot like that, once it's sold it is going to be massively difficult to claw it back in the future if they need room for expansion.
 
I personally would think they will sell it off as it is nowhere near their main 'estate' if you will. Although it is a key place being on international drive. I would imagine it would bring a pretty sum due to its location. They bought it back in 2013 for $30.9 million.
 
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