Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[jrs2]

[shardoon]

Looking at the picture, I am sobsurprised Universal didn't hold on to what they originally had in terms of land. They had so much more land originally that went to top golf, Andretti, the apartments on the corner of destination parkway. This would have provided more room for expansion and even multiple hotels. 

[ragerunner]

A look at SeaWorld's new B&M stand up coaster for 2023.

 

[jrs2]

19 hours ago, ragerunner said:

A look at SeaWorld's new B&M stand up coaster for 2023.

 

this is exciting.  I know why now.  Remember The Mercado?  It was cool but they razed it in favor of ICON Orlando.  With Sea World, Orlando can't have a "defunct" theme park; it's like a black eye of sorts.  But with all these new projects and the events like Howl O Scream, it's just...fantastic...it really is...

[jrs2]

Here is a shot of the Conrad Hilton resort currently u/c, taken from Four Seasons.  It comprises several buildings;mainly low rise:

 

[jrs2]

Here are images of the project:

 

[ragerunner]

Universal is preparing for its biggest event of the year, Halloween Horror Nights. Here is a look at all the new scare zones and theming that is going in. This year is focusing on 'classic' houses and Halloween theming.

 

[spenser1058]

New owners for Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit:

https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/202208/9100/

From Theme Park Insider 

Could a LOTR/Hobbit land at last come to pass in a theme park?

Tolkien loathed Disney, which is one reason it took so long for the blockbuster films to ever be made. Otoh, P. L. Travers wasn’t fond of Walt, either, and it’s generally agreed the film he made was an improvement over the books.

In any event, the family’s apparently out of the picture now and the new owner’s a conglomerate, so who knows? Stay tuned…

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

https://orlandoparkstop.com/news/theme-park-news/epic-universe-update-mack-roller-coaster-track-arrives-yoshi-track-installed-and-hub-fountain-pipes/

 

https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/attractions/2022/08/15/universal-epic-universe-planned-road-name-revealed

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by jrs2

[codypet]

Aerial Roundabout 

I just pulled the permit plans for this road.  Holy crap!  The amount of walls and concrete on Kirkman!

Edited August 23, 2022 by codypet

[jrs2]

Are you kidding me?  I know kids love Club Mickey Mouse, but, in this day and age, I think a very large number of those same litter of rug rats also love Mario.  My prediction if that Epic U. will really turn up the heat on The Diz.  Just look at the tech on Mario Kart the Ride.

 

[spenser1058]

It’s so funny to me that, since 1990, Universal fanboys (and they’re mostly all males) have been insisting UO would leave the Mouse in the dust.

32 years later, Disney parks still sit comfortably atop the lists of theme park attendance year after year.

Bottom line, love whichever parks you want to, but Disney execs still have no reason to lose sleep over the natural pecking order of things.

[spenser1058]

Btw, the Eisner/Sheinberg feud over Orlando was a change. Walt Disney and Lew Wasserman were friends (Walt made suggestions when US was working on the Hollywood studio tour. Buzz Price, the man who determined the best sites for Disneyland and WDW, also worked with Uni.)

In 1984, a proposal to merge the two companies came about when Disney was fighting the greenmail scourge. It was all set to go but Disney insisted Ron Miller (Walt’s son-in-law and then Dis CEO) be the head honcho and Wasserman refused to throw Sid Sheinberg under the bus. Had it happened, things in Hollywood and the theme park business would be very different today.

Edited August 25, 2022 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

It’s so funny to me that, since 1990, Universal fanboys (and they’re mostly all males) have been insisting UO would leave the Mouse in the dust.

32 years later, Disney parks still sit comfortably atop the lists of theme park attendance year after year.

Bottom line, love whichever parks you want to, but Disney execs still have no reason to lose sleep over the natural pecking order of things.

So, for the past thirty years or so, just about every household had a Gameboy in it and less so a Nintendo Wii, Gamecube, Switch, N64, Super NES, or NES (since the late '80's), with IP encompassing the cutsie characters of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, DK Jr., Kirby, and the villains of Bowser, Wario, ancillary enemies from those games, and the other characters and IP that deal with Metroid Prime, etc.  Universal just added this entire palette of characters to its parks.  Microsoft made the XBOX as a generic console, same with SONY; but Nintendo game systems exist mainly b/c of it's character IP- and they sell well.  Nobody else can claim that. 

It is a different realm than movies, but, not so different.  Video games and their sequels are released all the time; way more often than movies.  In fact, they equate some of the production costs for these games as being on par with major motion pictures.  Mario Kart is like on version 9, first seen in like 1992.  How many Lion King movies have come out since then?  Mario Kart is kinetic, but, Lion King makes for a good show.  Mario Party, Smash Bros- they've all had many sequels- and now, they are playable online internationally.  Tell me that isn't a major factor in popularity.

And it is all kinetic, evolving, and never stale.  If Universal plays it right and takes the characters from the pixel to the sidewalk successfully, they will have something special.

Disney and Universal are different for different reasons:

Disney is in our DNA, and EPCOT kicks most all theme parks butts just based on it's aesthetic without any IP.  EPCOT is also a host of seasonal events like Food & Wine and Flower & Garden festivals.    Disney also has the Monorail and resorts themed of far away places. 

But what Universal did with Harry Potter in connecting two lands in two parks thru in-land themed train stations with a themed train and "ride" was nothing short of remarkable and genius.  Just that alone, to me, makes Universal better (or on par) ala innovation.  They have to keep using that same type of innovative design integration to compensate for Disney's history and the Monorail.  

The other difference is that Disney is like a World's Fair in spirit, and they marketed themselves as the authority with their vision of the future (and past) based on their attractions and transportation system.  Universal lacks that because that's not what they are or were about.  They were about giving people tours of their backlots and then it grew from there with JAWS, King Kong, etc. 

Disney has "devolved" IMO.  They have beotchized their "showcase" assets with character theming.  They stuck Mickey's arm and wand over Spaceship Earth for a decade- very cheesy.  They put a giant Sorcerer's Hat in front of Mann's Chinese Theatre at MGM for over a decade.  Now they have Ratatouie in France, Let it Go in Norway, Guardians in the Universe of Energy pavilion, and Tron in Futureworld.  

Back to Universal- you cannot underplay the relevance of Nintendo video games and the impact they have had on the industry as a whole and on society with kids, teens, and adults.  If you don't have a kid, you probably have a nephews or nieces or neighbors with them.  There is a video game console in almost everybody's house, and people even play video games on their cell phones and work computers.  And Nintendo is the marquee brand for video games.  

I personally think Nintendo's IP alone could give Disney's IP a run for it's money ala relevance.  MM is iconic; Mario is more relevant today to a wider audience.  But somehow Disney keeps MM relevant as one of the most iconic characters as a mascot, second only to, you guessed it, Albert the Alligator. 

[spenser1058]

58 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

So, for the past thirty years or so, just about every household had a Gameboy in it and less so a Nintendo Wii, Gamecube, Switch, N64, Super NES, or NES (since the late '80's), with IP encompassing the cutsie characters of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, DK Jr., Kirby, and the villains of Bowser, Wario, ancillary enemies from those games, and the other characters and IP that deal with Metroid Prime, etc.  Universal just added this entire palette of characters to its parks.  Microsoft made the XBOX as a generic console, same with SONY; but Nintendo game systems exist mainly b/c of it's character IP- and they sell well.  Nobody else can claim that. 

It is a different realm than movies, but, not so different.  Video games and their sequels are released all the time; way more often than movies.  In fact, they equate some of the production costs for these games as being on par with major motion pictures.  Mario Kart is like on version 9, first seen in like 1992.  How many Lion King movies have come out since then?  Mario Kart is kinetic, but, Lion King makes for a good show.  Mario Party, Smash Bros- they've all had many sequels- and now, they are playable online internationally.  Tell me that isn't a major factor in popularity.

And it is all kinetic, evolving, and never stale.  If Universal plays it right and takes the characters from the pixel to the sidewalk successfully, they will have something special.

Disney and Universal are different for different reasons:

Disney is in our DNA, and EPCOT kicks most all theme parks butts just based on it's aesthetic without any IP.  EPCOT is also a host of seasonal events like Food & Wine and Flower & Garden festivals.    Disney also has the Monorail and resorts themed of far away places. 

But what Universal did with Harry Potter in connecting two lands in two parks thru in-land themed train stations with a themed train and "ride" was nothing short of remarkable and genius.  Just that alone, to me, makes Universal better (or on par) ala innovation.  They have to keep using that same type of innovative design integration to compensate for Disney's history and the Monorail.  

The other difference is that Disney is like a World's Fair in spirit, and they marketed themselves as the authority with their vision of the future (and past) based on their attractions and transportation system.  Universal lacks that because that's not what they are or were about.  They were about giving people tours of their backlots and then it grew from there with JAWS, King Kong, etc. 

Disney has "devolved" IMO.  They have beotchized their "showcase" assets with character theming.  They stuck Mickey's arm and wand over Spaceship Earth for a decade- very cheesy.  They put a giant Sorcerer's Hat in front of Mann's Chinese Theatre at MGM for over a decade.  Now they have Ratatouie in France, Let it Go in Norway, Guardians in the Universe of Energy pavilion, and Tron in Futureworld.  

Back to Universal- you cannot underplay the relevance of Nintendo video games and the impact they have had on the industry as a whole and on society with kids, teens, and adults.  If you don't have a kid, you probably have a nephews or nieces or neighbors with them.  There is a video game console in almost everybody's house, and people even play video games on their cell phones and work computers.  And Nintendo is the marquee brand for video games.  

I personally think Nintendo's IP alone could give Disney's IP a run for it's money ala relevance.  MM is iconic; Mario is more relevant today to a wider audience.  But somehow Disney keeps MM relevant as one of the most iconic characters as a mascot, second only to, you guessed it, Albert the Alligator. 

Oh, I think it will be great for Uni. As you note, they’re aiming for different audiences and that works great for them.

And, although I’m old-school about Epcot, the truth is that, for whatever reason, folks weren’t buying the quasi-educational experience it started as. That’s not new, btw - in the beginning, characters were left out of Epcot on purpose. In just a matter of months, though, there was grumbling- where were Mickey and the rest of the Fab Five? In came the Mouse, albeit in a space suit.

Looking at the numbers, though, the Princess crowd still seems to rule the roost. There’s nothing wrong with being a solid #2 - I always liked Pontiac better than Chevy, despite its place in the GM pecking order.

 

[dcluley98]

Epic Universe will be HUGE for Universal. There are a ton of now middle-adged millenials that can't stand Disney, but would love to go experience a Nintendo themed park.  Getting that IP is genius.  Disney will be just fine, because they have enough people who will go there no matter what, but Universal's diversification and moves to capture IP and themes has been better than Disney, IMO.  With the exception of Star Wars, Disney parks usually just rest on their prior laurels and raise prices to rake in money. 

[spenser1058]

11 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

Epic Universe will be HUGE for Universal. There are a ton of now middle-adged millenials that can't stand Disney, but would love to go experience a Nintendo themed park.  Getting that IP is genius.  Disney will be just fine, because they have enough people who will go there no matter what, but Universal's diversification and moves to capture IP and themes has been better than Disney, IMO.  With the exception of Star Wars, Disney parks usually just rest on their prior laurels and raise prices to rake in money. 

Guardians of the Galaxy and Tron  are just resting on their laurels? Interesting. “ and raise prices to rake in money”. Hasn’t Universal matched just about every Disney price increase? Over the years, it’s become standard to wait for the other shoe to drop. For each Disney increase noted in the Sentinel - will it take Uni one or two days to match (with Epic, Uni is widely expected in the theme park community to lead the way)? Sea World used to be the same until they adopted the Six Flags model and are now in a lower park tier. Let’s also note Universal began charging for front-of-line access years before Genie+ came along. 

[F-L-A]

8 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

It’s so funny to me that, since 1990, Universal fanboys (and they’re mostly all males) have been insisting UO would leave the Mouse in the dust.

32 years later, Disney parks still sit comfortably atop the lists of theme park attendance year after year.

Bottom line, love whichever parks you want to, but Disney execs still have no reason to lose sleep over the natural pecking order of things.

Nostalgia & brand loyalty are quite the drugs. Disney will continue to rule the roost for that reason alone. Personally I'm more interested in the quality of the parks versus how crowded they can get. Long lines might be good for Disney shareholders, but not for me. That said, a lot of Disney superfans are opening their eyes to a recent downward trend in quality & service. You can see them bemoaning it on just about any Disney forum.

Considering Tron is just a cloned ride from another park and has still been delayed for several years, yes, I think that counts as resting on their laurels. Universal opened a new major attraction a whole year ago, which started construction after Tron,  and is now making quick progress on an entire park as Disney cancels most of its upgrades to Epcot. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by F-L-A

[dcluley98]

Tron is a recycled ride and a recycled movie from the early 80s. Nothing new there.  I can give you Guardians of the Galaxy.  That is new and associated with Marvel, which they probably should try to do more of going forward. But they can't.  Because others own the rights to a lot of what are in their hit movies. This is because they sat around relying on legacy properties a couple of decades ago and the licensing went to other parks (including Islands of Adventure). 

 

 

I never was either a Disney or a Universal guy.  Growing up in Tampa Bay Area, we were all about Busch Gardens and the newest coasters. I would probably rather go to Sea World right now than any of the current Disney or Universal parks, but I would definitely pay to go to Epic Universe. 

[jrs2]

I just love the point counterpoint between Disney and Universal. And the primary battleground is Orlando.  Universal needs to make sure the burms are tall and the foliage dense around EpicU.  CityWalk is sound.  Disney Springs is now really huge.  Volcano Bay was a great addition to Universal. 

IMO, you can't beat Harry Potter. By the same token, you can't beat a Bombardier Monorail docking at a handful of resorts and actually passing through Contemporary.  To me, that, plus the iconic Spaceship Earth and the Monorail circling it as you arrive at Epcot is unparalleled anywhere.  I just know that Comcast won't stop and will keep developing and designing new exciting things at Universal to compete.

Wasn't Universal granted an easement for rail over Grand National Bridge a few years ago?  I wonder...

[jgardnerucf]

26 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Universal granted an easement for rail over Grand National Bridge a few years ago?  I wonder...

if Troy McClure could build a bonified certified kirkman to tangelo park...       

  I'll stop. Lol

[spenser1058]

6 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

Tron is a recycled ride and a recycled movie from the early 80s. Nothing new there.  I can give you Guardians of the Galaxy.  That is new and associated with Marvel, which they probably should try to do more of going forward. But they can't.  Because others own the rights to a lot of what are in their hit movies. This is because they sat around relying on legacy properties a couple of decades ago and the licensing went to other parks (including Islands of Adventure). 

 

 

I never was either a Disney or a Universal guy.  Growing up in Tampa Bay Area, we were all about Busch Gardens and the newest coasters. I would probably rather go to Sea World right now than any of the current Disney or Universal parks, but I would definitely pay to go to Epic Universe. 

And Universal hasn’t done any clones? Hmmm…

[HankStrong]

11 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

There’s nothing wrong with being a solid #2 

I would just like to go on record as stating that I always prefer a solid #2 to loose stools.

[spenser1058]

2 hours ago, HankStrong said:

I would just like to go on record as stating that I always prefer a solid #2 to loose stools.

Enjoy the Go!

[jack]

The lines at Disney make it seems like they are still number one. 

Cost wise, they are equal fora day pass. Disney really separates themselves with the cost of an annual pass. It was always more expensive than the other parks, but now it blows everyone out of the water. They have decided it is way more profitable to focus on out of towers that are staying on property than locals.