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

Dobba said:
Cue more Harry Potter screen based crap.
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This is rumoured to be a Nintendo IP I think.

To be fair the HP rides tend to be less screen based than some of the other IP’s recently (The last installation - Hagrids has no screens). Jimmy Fallon, fast and furious and King Kong are all far more screen based.

But then again a theme park themed around films is always going to be more screen based.
 
They have been moving away from fully screen based rides and attractions in recent years and where screens are used more to enhance a scene rather than just screens. In fact epic universe won’t have that many rides with screens. Mario Kart uses them mixed with physical sets. The new Harry Potter and monsters dark rides are rumoured to be using lots of physical sets and Animatronics with screens used more in support again. The Harry Potter ride is rumoured to be featuring a Harry Potter creature version of the impressive indomious Rex chase scene in the bejing Jurassic world ride.
 
I hope the attraction’s good, but the area feels like Angry Birds Land at Thorpe Park. The way Minion Land flows straight into New York in one continuous street is very odd. I guess you could argue it’s no more incongruous than a turn of the century street with a castle at the end. But it looks like a mess, particularly given that the building at the far end of the street is still a two dimensional flat and that the tarmac down the street is now very worn and cracked. It’s a massive contrast to Port of Entry over in Islands of Adventure.

It's weird that the park that gave us Diagon Alley, perhaps the most immersive area in the world, also stuck Transformers into a New York area, shoved Fast and Furious into San Francisco and stuck Minion Land into the front half of the entry street. That whole end of the Studios park is just a mish mash of intellectual properties thrown together.
 
There are some current rumours from those with some connections to insiders and been reliable in the past on some future projects for the parks.

It’s been rumoured for a while that when the Simpsons Licence comes up in 2028 (20 years after it started) they will not renew. It however seems that universal Orlando have moved the replacement project forwards and the simpsons ride will close either later this year or in early 2025. This would then be most likely demolished due to the aging ride system. The replacement for the whole area would be the long rumoured Pokémon themed area. With a replacement large scale dark ride (this would also take over the area behind the Simpsons area that house two HHN tents, a recent permit has indicated plans to relocate these mazes). It is likely to be a track based interactive ride using AR technology.

Over in Islands it still rumoured they are working on Zelda to take over what remains of lost continent, with the only walk though and stunt show buildings being knocked down. Its replacement would be an indoor boat ride, utilising the new Mack rocking boat system. The Mythos restaurant would be rethemed to fit the area.

It seems though that the projects have now switched timescales as Zelda was rumoured to be first and the Pokémon area will now come first, with the park feeling with Hagrids and velocicoaster been added in recent years and both extremely popular the studios park is in much more need of a Major addition/draw.
 
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In the space of just over a decade the Studios park has had Transformers, Simpsons Land, Diagon Alley, Too Fast Too Furious, Race Through New York, Bourne Stuntacular and Minion Land, and they’ve got the Dreamworks Land under construction. It feels like the park needs investment more than it should do, considering how much money has been spent on it.

I do think the atmosphere around Diagon Alley’s incredible and The Bourne Stuntacular is one of the best theme park shows out there. But some of their investments haven’t really moved the park forward, are too similar to other rides at the resorts, clash with the areas around them, and just haven’t had the longevity they needed.

I’m biased, because I watched The Simpsons a lot when I was a teenager, and I’ve never played Pokemon. It’s hard to judge something that’s just a rumour and where we haven’t seen any detailed plans. But I’m not too keen on the idea.

Food is a big part of Simpsons Land and part of the reason it’s been so successful is because food’s such a big part of the TV show. It really followed on well from the success of Harry Potter. Does Pokemon lend itself as well to themed food? I’ve not played the games, so it’s a genuine question.

It sounds like the Pokemon ride might be interactive.I have to admit, I’m not a fan of interactive rides, although that’s a personal preference. The Studios park already has two interactive rides, and they’re building at least one in Epic Universe, so I wouldn’t be voting for another one.

I’ve never played Zelda either, but the rocking boat system sounds really good, so that project would excite me a lot more.
 
I have never been a Simpson fan fan and I no longer bother with the ride when I visit now, so I am happy for it to be removed. There has been talk for past few years that universal doesn’t plan to extend past 2028 as they feel the area will have had its day and ride system coming to end of its life (plus now owned by Disney, although that hasn’t stopped them continuing with Marvel). I have heard rumours of plans for Hollywood for their Simpson area as part of their expansion plans. Hollywood expected to get a copy of Bourne (possibly to replace Simpson show building) and the Donkey Kong coaster (lower lot replacing older sound stages )following the Fast And Furious Coaster. Plus possibility of Diagon Alley on the old lake outdoor sound stage area.

I agree about the studios park, i Like transformers and Diagon Alley and the Bourne is fantastic and prob doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, possible due to its planned opening not happening due to covid and then had fairly quiet launch.
 
Plastic Person said:
The Simpsons Ride itself is definitely knackered, but it would be a shame to lose the Springfield section; the food court, Moes and so on. All fairly recent investments, too.
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Yep the shops and food court are better than the ride, I'd rather they kept them, demolished the ride and then use the space behind it for a new expansion whilst still keep a mini-Springfield of just the shops and stuff. But depends on the license negotians with 20th Century which is of course now part of Disney.
 
Interestingly, there are rumours swirling that Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit could be removed in 2025.

The attraction has had increasing amounts of downtime as of late, and the number of songs was drastically reduced recently, from 30 down to just 5. Only 1 song is now available to pick per genre. There has also been a lawsuit filed in recent months by a woman claiming to have sustained injuries on the ride, and general complaints about the ride’s roughness are increasing.

Alicia Stella, a very reliable source for Florida park news, cryptically posted the following tweet:


The rumour is also being corroborated by Tomfoolery on Inside Universal. They were the original whistleblower who revealed the UK Universal project, amongst other rumours, so I’d argue that they’re a pretty reliable source.

Some are suggesting that it could be replaced by something similar to the new Fast & Furious coaster currently being built in Universal Studios Hollywood, but this is not necessarily a consensus view among the sources. The only thing that seems to be consistently said is that HRRR is rumoured to be closing permanently in 2025.

What do we reckon to this rumour? It seemed unlikely to me at first, as my initial thought was that HRRR isn’t a particularly old ride, but I guess that by 2025, it would be the same age as Hulk was upon getting retracked and only 2 years younger than Dragon Challenge was upon getting removed. With this in mind, I guess they may be reaching that point with it where they’re having to make decisions about retracking or removing, and it is a bit out of step with the general direction Universal seemingly wants to move the Studios park in.

Part of me would be quite sad to see it go, but on the other hand, I think there are much better things that could replace it. I didn’t massively rate it on my visit to Universal last year; it’s getting quite rough, and it does definitely underutilise its big, long layout somewhat, in my view. It’s quite fast in places, and it has a couple of bits of airtime, but definitely feels to me like it wastes its size a bit when you compare it with some other coasters of that sort of scale. I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread when I first rode in 2014, but I’ve liked it progressively less each time I’ve returned to Universal and reridden it since. I think that the height/airtime/lap bars trope has been done a lot, lot better by other coasters since, and dare I say possibly even before (as an example, I rate something like Silver Star at Europa Park, which is 7 years older and tackles a similar height/airtime/lap bars trope, infinitely higher than I rate HRRR).
Sources: https://insidethemagic.net/2024/04/...n-rumored-for-closure-experiences-issue-bwb1/
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