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

I think Disney have been wary of this since IOA opened in 1999, even more so after Harry Potter.

If done right Universal could overtake Disney in theming and story with Nintendo. Most people from the 80's would love to see a themed world based on old games.

Look at the success of Disneys Reckit Ralf. Got to go a long way for nostalgia.
 
KidZone is definitely going to make way for this. ET may also be going but the latest I've heard is that decision has not yet been made, it depends if Orlando is getting the Yoshi themed dark ride that Japan is. I'd expect ET will go though.

:)
 
shawnoc said:
Where would that go? Universal Studios Orlando is not space rich.

Possibly in the third gate maybe??
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They really ought to have a third park by now as it's crazy how every original ride has been removed from Universal Studios many of which were popular classics - King Kong, Back To The Future, Jaws, Earthquake and now E.T. as well by the looks of it.

Harry Potter and The Mummy are fantastic but Rip Ride Rocket and The Simpsons Ride are not great and the new planned Jimmy Fallon 3D and Fast and Furious ride (films are mainly trashy) do not fill me with great excitement either. It seems everything is about 3D and 4D technology now rather than taking you behind the scenes of the movies with amazing special effects like a proper studios park.

A Nintendo themed area and ride will no doubt be popular but hardly feels appropriate for Universal Studios.
 
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CoasterCrazyChris said:
behind the scenes of the movies with amazing special effects like a proper studios park.
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A combination of DVD extra features showing how films are made (why pay for a theme park to show you when you have the feature on DVD) and then the Harry Potter lands killed off that concept. It showed that people want to step into a land that makes you feel like you are in the film.
Disney are now playing catch up and switching to the immersive world style with Star Wars land.
Also Universal Orlando never really offered the how it's made stuff, other than the monster make up show. ET, Back to the Future and Jaws all still took you into their worlds.
If you still want to experience the behind the scenes stuff then there is the backlot tour at Universal Hollywood (and the VIP tour is excellent) or Warner Bros studio tour at Hollywood or Levesdon.
 
jon81uk said:
A combination of DVD extra features showing how films are made (why pay for a theme park to show you when you have the feature on DVD) and then the Harry Potter lands killed off that concept. It showed that people want to step into a land that makes you feel like you are in the film.
Disney are now playing catch up and switching to the immersive world style with Star Wars land.
Also Universal Orlando never really offered the how it's made stuff, other than the monster make up show. ET, Back to the Future and Jaws all still took you into their worlds.
If you still want to experience the behind the scenes stuff then there is the backlot tour at Universal Hollywood (and the VIP tour is excellent) or Warner Bros studio tour at Hollywood or Levesdon.
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It's a shame that backlot tour at Hollywood Studios is gone, used to love that and the cheesey bit with the exploding truck/waterfall
 
cptnmingo said:
It's a shame that backlot tour at Hollywood Studios is gone, used to love that and the cheesey bit with the exploding truck/waterfall
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You can still do it in Paris :)
But of course actual movie production never took off at Disney-MGM Studios so the tour ended up being just as fake as the one at Paris. At least at Universal Hollywood they still actually make movies.
 
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Two new patents have appeared which people think are related to the new Nintendo area:

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Drift racers: A two-rider, car-based amusement racing attraction with the ability to simulate drifting sensations. Two passengers, who could be in time/points competition with another car, will have control over some aspect of their ride vehicle: The driver would have a steering wheel and an acceleration and brake pedal to control the turning/drifting of the vehicle and speed; the rear passenger would have a control interface with buttons that could control the vehicle or bounce the ride vehicle, provide a boost to the vehicle during the race or affect the performance of another ride vehicle on the track, said the patent. For any Nintendo fan, that description brings to mind the video game company's popular Mario Kart game series. In one version of the series, called Mario Kart: Double Dash, each car had two racers — including a driver and a rear passenger — who controlled the use of items during the race that could impact their car or others in the race.
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Boom coaster: This is a unique arm that would attach to a ride vehicle to help enhance rides that appear to be on a track system, but are actually controlled by a separate arm. For example, the arm could be C-shaped connected to a secondary hidden track underneath the track guests see. As a result, rides that have story element breaks in the track — say like an upcoming jump from one track to another — could cause suspense. "Because the passenger may believe that the simulated ride surface controls a path of the passenger vehicle, the passenger may fear or anticipate that the passenger vehicle may crash or otherwise incur damage as a result of the elevated gap," said the patent. This has many fans thinking it could also be related to Nintendo via the Donkey Kong Country video game series, which features areas with cars traveling through dangerous mines filled with jumps, dips and turns.
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I've definitely seen a concept outlining that principle before or at least something very similar to it. I can't remember where I saw it, but it showed a roller coaster themed around a racing car. Each car was on the end of a pole and could be made to appear to jump by varying the distance between two sets of tracks. They also had a variant where a car would dodge sideways around objects. I believe they had patents as well.

I'll have a dig around and see if I can find the website. It would be interesting to find out if they are in any way linked to this.

Edit: Here it is - the cantilevered coaster.

http://www.cantileveredcoaster.com
 
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I'm very excited for this, the inner old school game geek is intrigued how theses areas will turn out.

The patents do look very interesting, especially the possible Donkey Kong concept.
 
Universal have confirmed that Soarin' over New York with Ji.... sorry I mean Race Through New York With Jimmy Fallon will officially open on Thursday April 6th 2017.

Here is the latest on how the ride is coming along, credit to The Coaster Crew:

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I can't help but feel this will feel utterly pointless once Mario Kart is open (if it's not deemed utterly pointless already mind)!

:)
 
It's supposed to be a replica of the real building in New York I believe? It is pretty ugly.
 
Although only saw it a few months ago when still under construction it doesn't look that bad in person and fits in with the surrounding buildings.
 
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