Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[larrygator]

I like the whole idea of a Toon Lagoon makeover to another theme. Many of the characters do not resonate with a younger audience. Again, I'm not a reader/viewer of the Tolkien franchise but a few people have mentioned travel by water in the Tolkien series and Toon Lagoon has two existing water rides.

[cfc]

^I always thought Toon Lagoon was butt ugly. Popeye is probably the only true "iconic" character there (although I am a fan of Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right).

[RFV94]

Toon Lagoon isn't an area that guests go to the park with the intention to visit. I mean, IOA has Jurassic Park, Marvel Island, Seuss and Potter - interesting areas that catch the attention of the public. Most of people remember of Jurassic Park with awesome gates and research centers, loves superheroes, liked Dr. Seuss stories when was a child or it's a big fan of Harry Potter. Popeye and his "friends" are weak characters. People goes to Ripsaw and Bluto's because they are fun (and awesome!) attractions besides they want to cool themselves in a warm day.

 

I feel kind of sad if Middle-Earth take the place of Toon Lagoon, not because the characters but because the rides. I don't want them to be demolished, but I don't think that Universal will only re-themed them. Possibly, they want to give something new for guests.

[Skycoastin Steve]

As much of a fan of the LOTR series as I am, I don't see how very much of it could translate to a theme park. I think a stand-alone park recreating Middle Earth would be amazing, but I don't exactly think it would be that great ride wise. BUT the tower with Sauron's eye would be pretty awesome.

[Meteornotes]

I don't see this happening, especially in Florida, as there would be too much guest confusion between a LOTR land and Pottertown. Yes, I know, they're two different IPs, but to the average guest that's not a huge fan of either one, they are far too similar.

 

A new park somewhere? I suppose it's possible, but I don't see it happening any time soon.

 

dt

[PeoplemoverMatt]

There are so many realms and possibilities that I don't see it working too well as anything but it's own ACTUAL park, rather than one land in an existing park like Potter in IOA.

 

At least that way the guests themselves could be walking between the various realms such as the Shire, Rohan, Gondor, Mordor, Moria, Lonely Mountain, etc and the rides/attractions/shows/restaurants/gift shops could all be easily familiar places in those realms.

 

Could it work? Sure, at an estimated initial cost of about $26 Trillion...

[blakelemay23]

I would enjoy this, they could build saurons eye using todays technology for the eye to glow and move like it does in the movie, it could even shine on guests and say "i see you" in saurons voice, the entrance could be a model of whats shown hereand they could build minas tirath or helms deep, and so many different things, they can make a shire play ground and walk through like the mickey mouse neighborhood at the magic kingdom.

[Andrewoplis]

This seems like it would work better as a stand alone attraction rather then a whole area, but even that doesn't seem to likely.

[RCT3Bross]

The downside of having a themed park with one theme is that you are only getting attention of that one group that likes it. Sure it would be better for the freedom of making the park but its something nobody will try.

[SLUSHIE]

I think it taking the place of whats left of Lost Continent would make sense attraction wise. I could really see how they could make a new show out of this, but then that really is too close to Potter land.

 

Who says they are actually going to make a big themed land around this though? It could just be something in a sound stage in the Studios parks.

 

I'm not a fan, but I really do think this is super close to Harry Potter. Sure there are differences but they both revolve around magic and wizards and all that other nerdy stuff. I think I've only seen one movie each of the Harry Potter and LOTR trilogies, and have no plans to see the Hobbit.

 

Maybe this could be a replacement for the Marvel stuff, but then would give the majority of the park a pretty similar feel (Potter, Jurassic park, Lost Continent, and Port of entry) and I'm not sure how they would put a spin on the existing attractions. I don't think that is likely though and even though the content is tied to Disney now I think it's still the 2nd most popular area of the park.

[TPDave]

^ I don't think distance would be an issue - the whole point of the park is to have different lands that your transition through. Maybe I'm reading you wrong.

 

I'm not really a fan of the franchise (I've seen the films but couldn't tell you too much about them!) but I think this could be a good move for the park. It won't be as big as potter but if it's even half as successful they'll be onto a winner. There's also potential new life to breathe into the franchise in the future unlike Potter which can only date from this point onwards.

[EastCoastn07]

I personally don't see this happening anytime soon if ever. For one, Universal is going to suck every single dollar out of the Potter franchise as they can. I can see every major expansion in the coming years being focused on new areas of Potterverse because it's a proven money maker. We are nearing 3 years that the WWoHP has been open, and it still remains highly popular. The new expansion opening next year is only going to make it even more popular. But the reason why a Harry Potter land works and why I don't think of LotR land would work is the demographic of their respective fanbases. Yes, LotR has a large fanbase, but what percentage of that fanbase is made up of teenagers and young children? I guarantee it is very small. The reason why WWoHP is so big is not because of the adult fans of the series, but rather the teenagers who grew up reading the books and the children who are being introduced to it for the very first time. Not to say there aren't a lot of adult fans of the series, but families bringing their children to live out their fantasy of being a witch/wizard alongside Harry Potter is probably where a bulk of Universal's profit comes from. I just don't see a LotR land having the same appeal. Yes, it will be very popular with the older crowd, but how many teenagers/children do you know that read the LotR books or have seen all the movies? Personally, I'm 23 years old and I've never picked up one of the books or seen the movies. It never really appealed to me growing up. Not to say that I make up the majority, but just to make an example. I just can't see Universal throwing a ton of money on something like a LotR land that is not guaranteed to be a success when they have the Harry Potter franchise at their disposal. There is so much of the series that Universal hasn't even dipped their hand in yet and I don't see Harry Potter attractions stopping until it is shown that it is no longer of interest to the general public.

 

In closing, I think a LotR ride would be more appropriate and probably wouldn't be as big of a gamble as an entire land/park as people are mentioning. But that's just my two cents.

[Wes]

^ Teens and kids don't book vacations, adults do.

[EastCoastn07]

^ Teens and kids don't book vacations, adults do.

 

Yes, I'm aware of that as I said in my post...

 

The reason why WWoHP is so big is not because of the adult fans of the series, but rather the teenagers who grew up reading the books and the children who are being introduced to it for the very first time. Not to say there aren't a lot of adult fans of the series, but families bringing their children to live out their fantasy of being a witch/wizard alongside Harry Potter is probably where a bulk of Universal's profit comes from.

[Wes]

I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying, I'm just pointing out that having something like LOTR as a land could make Universal more attractive to adults as well. Harry Potter for the kids, LOTR for teens and adults.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

^ Teens and kids don't book vacations, adults do.

 

 

Tell that to Hard Rock Park

[larrygator]

^ Teens and kids don't book vacations, adults do.

 

Tell that to Hard Rock Park

 

Huh! I don't think teens and kids booked vacation to Mytrle Beach either.

[kidcoaster 2]

If this does happen I think daily rap battles between Gandalf and Dumbledore shall be required.

 

[cfc]

^Agreed. I want to see Frodo taking on Harry, too.

 

And after giving this post due consideration . . .

 

^ Teens and kids don't book vacations, adults do.

 

 

Tell that to Hard Rock Park

 

Edited January 6, 2013 by cfc

[Aaronupsidasium]

I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying, I'm just pointing out that having something like LOTR as a land could make Universal more attractive to adults as well. Harry Potter for the kids, LOTR for teens and adults.

 

Harry Potter is as popular with adults as Lord of the Rings. HP came out 15 years ago so children that came of age with the books and movies are starting to gain disposable income, go on vacations and start families which will help make the Wizarding World stay popular.

[SLUSHIE]

Families with 'tweens' and teens go on vacations too (it's pretty much what IOA was built for).

[tmhuber]

This is what I think Universal is doing. They went to this website: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/the-greatest-movie-franchises-of-all-time/260257/#slide12

and saw which ones they have and others that they can't do. Truthfully, i think they can take any IP and create an attraction out of it. The question is will anyone come?

 

Here is the list:

1. Indiana Jones - Disney

2. Toy Story - Disney

3. Star Wars - Disney

4. Spiderman - Universal

5. Lord of the Rings - No One

 

They took the highest one available and they are testing the waters to see if anyone is biting. And I think it is working. We are talking about it. But there are a few other IPs that are interesting:

6. Godfather

10. The Avengers - I don't know if Universal can do anything with this one in Florida.

12. Bourne Identity

14. Mission Impossible

16. The Matrix

21. James Bond

34. Star Trek

37. Twilight

48. Fast and Furious

 

If Universal is trying to maximize the liscensing of an IP, then I would agree that Lord of the Rings has the most content. But I would also like to see something from any (maybe not Twilight) from the above list. I see Star Trek in the near future. JJ Abrams is doing some great things with that franchise.

[Wes]

A Godfather theme park would be something.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I'm envisioning a game where you shoot various mobsters and the prize is a canoli. Name of the game? "Leave the Gun, Take the Canoli."

[cfc]

There had better be a shop named "Offers You Can't Refuse."