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Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

p. 623 - New Epic Universe details, including Celestial Park!

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OK, I gotta ask... what's your vendetta against Soarin'? I personally love it, and to each their own, but what the heck's your deal?

 

It's a horribly bland attraction that was made with zero effort. It's the weakest Disney attraction that I've ever done, and I've done all of Disney Studios Paris, including Cinemagique. The horrifically terrible editing for the ride film certainly doesn't help, either. It's something they had a chance to fix with Soarin' 2.0 but didn't even bother, which is just pathetic.

 

Also, why was the entire Taj Mahal portion CGI? Like I get the CGI whale and elephants, etc, but the ENTIRE TAJ MAHAL SCENE?! Not just the building, mind you, but the entire damn scene. All of it. Were they not given approval for aerial filming? Then don't include it, ffs!

 

The ride is and always has been awful. If I were granted the ability to push the button to blow it up in an earth-rocking explosion it wouldn't be enough. It needs to suffer and suffer horribly. I wish sentience upon the ride so I can waterboard it.

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I haven't seen Soarin 2.0, so I can't comment on the film. I was just referring to the ride system itself. I think it is technically impressive and worked well as Soarin 1.0 for what it was. If you are going to have a screen based attraction, might as well make the ride system/motions be unique.

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I dig the facade...the ride system sounds like Universal's take on Soarin, which could be cool. The theme of the ride? We'll see. Minus points for being another screen based attraction too.

 

I agree with this. I'm curious about the ride system, but I'm not thrilled about yet another screen-based attraction.

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The ride is and always has been awful. If I were granted the ability to push the button to blow it up in an earth-rocking explosion it wouldn't be enough. It needs to suffer and suffer horribly. I wish sentience upon the ride so I can waterboard it.

 

My goodness! Tough crowd there!!...of all the rides at Disney....I personally wouldn't have "Soarin" as the one that would inspire such vitriol. You need a nice trip up to Vancouver to try "Flight over Canada" which uses the same technology, but seems to have better motion and a couple of quite awe inspiring views (especially breaking through the clouds to see the Northern Lights). I think that might mellow you out a bit.

 

RE The Jimmy Fallon ride?? Will do what I always do and "wait and see" I am not going to pretend I am a big fan of his, but that isn't really the point with the attraction. As has already been pointed out, it will be rethemed in "x" years time when he becomes a has been!

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Well, I can say that I hope this is better than Soarin. On no attraction should I have to force myself to look straight forward in order to be immersed in the ride experience. (Look to the side on Soarin, and the illusion is instantly ruined). However, the GP seem to love screen-based attractions. Soarin can easily get some of the longest waits at both US Disney resorts, and this is a ride that I choose to skip at least half the time.

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Well, I can say that I hope this is better than Soarin. On no attraction should I have to force myself to look straight forward in order to be immersed in the ride experience. (Look to the side on Soarin, and the illusion is instantly ruined). However, the GP seem to love screen-based attractions. Soarin can easily get some of the longest waits at both US Disney resorts, and this is a ride that I choose to skip at least half the time.

 

Bro, if you look straight up on almost any dark ride ever built, you'll see duct work and theater lighting. On Soarin', there's a million things to "break the spell"; dust from the projector, marks on the screen, the quick cuts between vastly different places, et al. I think its super funny when people act like "immersion" has nothing to do with them personally and their willingness to buy into whatever they're seeing, and instead is some sort of objective measure based on the amount of money spent on flair, jerky robots, or foam rocks.

 

As for Soarin', its a great demo for the technology that now a bunch of copies exist of. I don't hate it, I also don't care about it enough to want to wait a long time for it.

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As for Soarin', its a great demo for the technology that now a bunch of copies exist of. I don't hate it, I also don't care about it enough to want to wait a long time for it.

I agree with this re: Soarin'. I really enjoyed it the first few times, and still do when I ride it. But I personally don't view it as worth the extensive waits that it receives. That being said, I've been on it dozens of times and am aware of the other attractions out there now that copy the technology, so the magic and newness has worn off a bit. Easy to forget that the general public, especially at WDW more so than DL, are either first-timers or people who very rarely visit WDW, so they likely have never ridden Soarin' before or if they have, they haven't ridden it much. To them, it is likely a very unique attraction and therefore worth a much longer wait.

 

For the Fallon ride, it sounds pretty meh to me, but then again I don't think it is intended to be some blockbuster eTicket type attraction. So, for what it is, I'm sure it will be perfectly enjoyable.

 

I will say tho, I do think UO suffers from major screen fatigue. I would love to see them go for a more traditional dark ride concept like Mummy with some future rides rather than the screen-based attractions that have dominated the park in recent years. HPFJ was close, and don't get me wrong I love that ride, but still too much with the screens I think.

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I will say tho, I do think UO suffers from major screen fatigue. I would love to see them go for a more traditional dark ride concept like Mummy with some future rides rather than the screen-based attractions that have dominated the park in recent years. HPFJ was close, and don't get me wrong I love that ride, but still too much with the screens I think.

 

Forbidden Journey at least has a decent mix of physical effects (such as the Dementors) and video stuff. Still, my favorite rides at the resort are Spider-man (which has a lot of video), Mummy, and Men in Black.

Edited by cfc
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I will say tho, I do think UO suffers from major screen fatigue. I would love to see them go for a more traditional dark ride concept like Mummy with some future rides rather than the screen-based attractions that have dominated the park in recent years. HPFJ was close, and don't get me wrong I love that ride, but still too much with the screens I think.

 

Forbidden Journey at least has a decent mix of physical effects (such as the Dementors) and video stuff. Still, my favorite rides at the resort are Spider-man (which has a lot of video), Mummy, and Men in Black.

 

Here, here. Forbidden Journey's my favorite ride at Universal partly due to the combination of the two. Gringotts is fun, but Forbidden Journey's better because of the practical. It's also one of my biggest complaints about Transformers. There's no physical sets--just helter-skelter Michael Bay inspired CGI overload that gives the rider no chance to take in everything.

 

Speaking of Gringotts, who provided the coaster track? Was it Dynamic or Vekoma?

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I remember at least two times, our group on the 2012 TPR China Tour got to ride those two versions of

Flying Theaters...the Disney one and this one, where the seats seem to be coming out of "the garage"

so-to-speak, the door "lifts" and the seats slide straight out into the viewing area, all levels there.

Legs dangling. I'm sorry that I don't remember the actual parks they were in. But I do remember the

experiences, especially of the Disney one, considering I didn't get to do Disney's (in DCA) until a month ago.

 

There is the third version, right? At by the way...Universal? Back to The Future/Simpsons/Minions (japan)?

Starts in "the garage" but goes UP...or that's what Universal wants us to believe.

 

So, I'm not too sure what "World's First" of this kind, does anything different, other than the some times

usual tilting, and water, aroma effects, used as well as the 'flying'.

 

Or not.

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The press release and video only confirmed how awful Universal has become in just a few short years. Nothing about that sounds appealing. Nothing.

 

QFT.

 

Let's add this attraction to the long list of things I'll never waste my time riding at Universal Orlando.

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The press release and video only confirmed how awful Universal has become in just a few short years. Nothing about that sounds appealing. Nothing.

 

QFT.

 

Let's add this attraction to the long list of things I'll never waste my time riding at Universal Orlando.

 

Just curious, What else is on the list?

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Speaking of Gringotts, who provided the coaster track? Was it Dynamic or Vekoma?

It was Intamin. All of the rides have some form of scenery, but it's how the ride interacts with the scenery that makes it so impressive.

What scenery? Three-quarters of the ride is darkness and / or giant screens.

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I will say tho, I do think UO suffers from major screen fatigue. I would love to see them go for a more traditional dark ride concept like Mummy with some future rides rather than the screen-based attractions that have dominated the park in recent years. HPFJ was close, and don't get me wrong I love that ride, but still too much with the screens I think.

 

Forbidden Journey at least has a decent mix of physical effects (such as the Dementors) and video stuff. Still, my favorite rides at the resort are Spider-man (which has a lot of video), Mummy, and Men in Black.

Agree 100%. Those 3 (Spiderman, Mummy and MIB) are my favs as well, with HPFJ right up there. If anything I think the screen portions of HPFJ are the weakest parts. The practical effects are so cool and immersive. For Spiderman, it's a great mix and works very well, much more so than Transformers I think (which leans more on the screens and less on sets/effects than spider). And since it's based on the cartoon version of spiderman, the screens actually seem more appropriate and integrate better I think.

 

I was actually pretty underwhelmed with Gringotts (relative to my expectations). The dip at the beginning was fun, but the rest, to me, was kinda meh. Don't get me wrong, it's still an amazingly done attraction and I really enjoyed it, just maybe my expectations were too high. And the hidden door ending was pretty anticlimactic, at least the time I rode it, as the fog/smoke didn't do enough to hide it so you could clearly see the screen get pulled away and seemed to overlap with the dragon visual some, which was odd.

 

I also wish they had done a bigger mix of practical effects similar to HPFJ. Granted I only got to ride it once due to crowds. Looking forward to riding it again next week while I'm there and getting a fresh look at it.

 

I think individually all of these rides are fun though, even transformers and some of the others, but when you do them all in one day for example (which I did the last time I was there, both parks) it starts to wear on you a little bit.

Edited by dreynolds1982
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http://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/volcano-bay-coaster-details/

 

 

NEW RIDE AND TAPUTAPU WEARABLE DETAILS REVEALED ABOUT UNIVERSAL’S VOLCANO BAY

Opening in early summer 2017, Universal’s Volcano Bay will be a water theme park unlike anything you’ve ever experienced, from incredible thrills to perfected relaxation. It’ll feature dozens of attractions that offer something for everyone – and you won’t have to stand in long lines to experience any of them.

 

Krakatau Aqua Coaster

We previously told you that Volcano Bay will feature a state-of-the-art marquee attraction…but we were mum on the details.

 

Well, I’m excited to finally share details about what will be the park’s star experience: Krakatau Aqua Coaster.

 

Krakatau Aqua Coaster will be a first-of-its-kind aqua coaster in Florida — and it’ll be a fun adventure for the entire family. You’ll board specially-designed canoes that seat up to four. Then, you’ll be propelled downwards – and upwards – through the volcano’s interior peaks and valleys. You’ll twist, turn and plummet along dark passageways, be launched through sparkling waterfalls and so much more.

 

And here’s a cool fun fact for you techies out there: Krakatau Aqua Coaster will use linear induction motor technology. This technology launches the canoe uphill before it immediately sends riders into a downhill plunge. This technology is also used in some of your favorite Universal attractions – like Revenge of the Mummy – and now we’re bringing it to a water attraction.

 

 

TapuTapu Wearable

One of the main goals for Universal’s Volcano Bay was to eliminate long lines and hassles so you can focus more on having fun. And with the TapuTapu wearable, you’ll be able to do just that.

 

When you arrive to the park, you’ll receive a TapuTapu wearable (at no extra charge) that will allow you to do the following with a simple tap:

 

Virtual Lines

You will be able to virtually wait in line while you play in other areas of the park. The wearable will alert you when it’s time for you to ride so you can head to the attraction.

 

Tap to Play

Volcano Bay features various “tap-to-play” experiences– all designed exclusively by Universal’s award-winning creative team. With just a tap of TapuTapu, you’ll be able to trigger special effects throughout the park. You can control streams of water spurting from whales in Tot Tiki Reef, shoot water cannons at other guests snaking down Kopiko Wai Winding River and illuminate images in the volcano’s hidden caves.

 

And there’s more! More information about TapuTapu and special guest features will be released soon.

 

Tickets Available Nov. 15

 

And the best news of all is: now you can start to plan your getaway to Universal’s Volcano Bay! Tickets for the park will go on sale on November 15.

 

More details about Universal’s Volcano Bay will be revealed over time. Be sure to sign up for real-time updates and to stay up-to-speed on all news regarding Universal’s Volcano Bay.

Edited by robbalvey
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This all sounds amazing, I'm gonna have to make sure to I get to Volcano Bay sometime early next year while all the cool interactive Taputapu features are still working........

 

 

Seriously though this place sounds like everything that a major modern water park should be, can't wait to check it out.

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