News Round Up 2018

[jknezek]

It's interesting that we are talking about Universal using the same IPs in all the parks and essentially building 3 parks that are hard to differentiate if you haven't been there. I know many people who ask which park they need to go to for Harry Potter for example. I hate the idea of having 3, basically similar parks, and the gimmick is you have to buy the expensive tickets to see them.

We beat the snot out of Disney whenever it even looks like they are Magic Kingdom'ing the other parks, FEA anyone? And yet we almost expect Universal to do it with a brand new park in Orlando. I really hope they don't. If you have 3 parks with no real differentiating in theme, and you are charging by the park, it's just a cheap shell game to get people to pour out more money.

Universal can, and should do better even if they haven't yet. Parks should have their own themes and identities.

 

[jade1]

The issue is I think that exact connection is one of the things people have a big problem with in the movie. In A New Hope the projection causes Obi Wan to take on Luke and actually go and try to make things right ... whereas in The Last Jedi, Luke (who was the most optimistic person in the universe) won't do the same and only Projects himself there rather than taking up the cause, and being like Obi Wan and coming out of hiding when duty calls

So it is like a parallel to A New Hope but a distorted version

Agreed, and that "projection" wasn't just "forty years ago"-it was actually "replayed" in TLD.

Luke told R2 showing him that was "unfair". Like now I have to care?

So he "finally" did something at the very end, when most everybody was already dead and all ships lost.

Plus the article goes on to say that IX was to be all about her bust sadly she passed. So.......maybe keep Luke alive?

Just leave hime watching the "suns" go down, like in New Hope. Why kill him.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

NEWS

Universal announces intent to hire for 3,000 positions for the summer (says combination of part time and full time)

Specifically mentions "competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits packages” ... wonder how it will compare to Disney and all the issues they have been having with the union and salary increases, etc.

http://universal.wdwinfo.com/news/u...ounces-its-intent-to-hire-for-3000-positions/

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Agreed, and that "projection" wasn't just "forty years ago"-it was actually "replayed" in TLD.

Luke told R2 showing him that was "unfair". Like now I have to care?

So he "finally" did something at the very end, when most everybody was already dead and all ships lost.

Plus the article goes on to say that IX was to be all about her bust sadly she passed. So.......maybe keep Luke alive?

yeah, I liked the scene and the twist at the end as a standalone moment, but the more I thought about it (and as it was explained to me) really didn't fit Luke's personality to not come back. To go away in the moment and hide, sure, that works and matches past Jedi masters especially when they knew they couldn't take on the bad guys alone - but then when there is "new hope" he should have been willing to do more and come back just like Obi Wan was willing to

Oh well, rehashing things talked about at length on here, sorry for the distraction

 

[skier_pete]

It's interesting that we are talking about Universal using the same IPs in all the parks and essentially building 3 parks that are hard to differentiate if you haven't been there. I know many people who ask which park they need to go to for Harry Potter for example. I hate the idea of having 3, basically similar parks, and the gimmick is you have to buy the expensive tickets to see them.

We beat the snot out of Disney whenever it even looks like they are Magic Kingdom'ing the other parks, FEA anyone? And yet we almost expect Universal to do it with a brand new park in Orlando. I really hope they don't. If you have 3 parks with no real differentiating in theme, and you are charging by the park, it's just a cheap shell game to get people to pour out more money.

Universal can, and should do better even if they haven't yet. Parks should have their own themes and identities.

After spending some time at Universal over the last year - I do believe that Universal cares little about anything like differentiating themes, it really is all about "how can we get the most bucks out of the people that want to come here". In general I find much of what they do Disney would be crucified if they did the same thing. People talk about the degradation of Disney parks but they are still many steps above Universal. (The shabbiness/cheapness of much of the Universal parks is amazing to me.) The money grab that is the Hogwarts Express is just the worst example IMO.

NEWS

Universal announces intent to hire for 3,000 positions for the summer (says combination of part time and full time)

2,990 part-time and 10 full-time seems about right

 

[Boski]

The others were very much correct.

How do you know for sure?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It's interesting that we are talking about Universal using the same IPs in all the parks and essentially building 3 parks that are hard to differentiate if you haven't been there. I know many people who ask which park they need to go to for Harry Potter for example. I hate the idea of having 3, basically similar parks, and the gimmick is you have to buy the expensive tickets to see them.

We beat the snot out of Disney whenever it even looks like they are Magic Kingdom'ing the other parks, FEA anyone? And yet we almost expect Universal to do it with a brand new park in Orlando. I really hope they don't. If you have 3 parks with no real differentiating in theme, and you are charging by the park, it's just a cheap shell game to get people to pour out more money.

Universal can, and should do better even if they haven't yet. Parks should have their own themes and identities.

I hear ya but I think the difference is WDW and Universal use themes differently though both have blurred the lines of what was the original theme that is for sure.

It is a huge risk to spend millions/billions of dollars with just one IP for the entire park but HP would have probably worked out the best but that decision was made in 2007--financially and logistically with land they owned I don't think that was a possibility back then and with Disney who greatly wanted HP as well they had to work hard to get such a coveted IP. Most people consider HP to be the rebirth of Universal.

I think what works out the best is a variety of options where you attract a variety of people. Some people go to Universal and never step foot in HP and other people only go to Universal for the HP parts and don't go to the other parts. For Universal it's a win-win.

I kinda think people would be more critically of Universal if they built a highly-anticipated 3rd gate but only did Nintendo for example. I think the expectations are different than years ago too. I don't think people would want Disney to do that either because it limits their interests and then they may feel cheated out of a cool experience just by virtue of an IP they don't have much interest in and they don't get to experience that 5th gate for WDW.

Just my random thoughts

 

[FoxC63]

There is a Joffrey's kiosk at the TTC and obviously Main St is now open early and you can get to the Starbucks there. But agree, even just more places to get decent coffee before rope drop at the other parks would be nice

I thought there was... Hollywood Studios Trolley Car Cafe (Starbucks), not to sure about Animal Kingdom haven't been there in years. And there a Pastry shop open in Epcot prior to rope drop in France Pavilion. I'm definitely a coffee lover and I've never had an issue finding a cup of Joe.

 

[rteetz]

How do you know for sure?

What do you mean? Change Party never got you locked out of your account. Other avenues do. That said Change Party is no longer a feature.

 

[jknezek]

I hear ya but I think the difference is WDW and Universal use themes differently though both have blurred the lines of what was the original theme that is for sure.

It is a huge risk to spend millions/billions of dollars with just one IP for the entire park but HP would have probably worked out the best but that decision was made in 2007--financially and logistically with land they owned I don't think that was a possibility back then and with Disney who greatly wanted HP as well they had to work hard to get such a coveted IP. Most people consider HP to be the rebirth of Universal.

I think what works out the best is a variety of options where you attract a variety of people. Some people go to Universal and never step foot in HP and other people only go to Universal for the HP parts and don't go to the other parts. For Universal it's a win-win.

I kinda think people would be more critically of Universal if they built a highly-anticipated 3rd gate but only did Nintendo for example. I think the expectations are different than years ago too. I don't think people would want Disney to do that either because it limits their interests and then they may feel cheated out of a cool experience just by virtue of an IP they don't have much interest in and they don't get to experience that 5th gate for WDW.

Just my random thoughts

I'm not really thinking a single IP per park type concept. I think that is financial stupidity at best and suicide at worst. I am thinking that each individual park should have an identity. In other words, you should expect a different experience at IOA than US or the expected 3rd Park. It seems to me the original idea was that US was more a family park and IOA was more a teen and up thrill type park. Those concepts have been diluted, especially as Universal realized they could snooker people into buying whatever they call Park Hoppers by slamming HP in both parks.

But honestly, when people talk about US they don't really talk about it like it is 2 parks except when talking about tickets. It's one park, with no real difference in theme, that just costs the same as 2 tickets, possibly soon to be 3. That's lazy and, frankly, lame. We expect they are going to do it with the third park and people just give them a pass. Oh, Nintendo in 3 parks? HP in 3 parks? Wonderful! Look how much more they'll get by forcing people to buy those multi-tickets! Genius. Uggh. For the consumer, it really should be a massive negative.

When Disney even touches on this we savage them. FEA is a great example. That was, and still is, embarrassing as far as I'm concerned, but it's one ride. Soon to be joined by the equally thematically misplaced Guardians, and we should jump on Disney for that as well unless they somehow make it relevant to EPCOT. But really, most of the 4 parks have a theme. MK is traditional Disney stories and entertainment. EPCOT is a more learning focused park, even if not as learning focused as it used to be. AK is very much a creative attempt to blend wildlife with rides in a true themed environment. It's much better than SeaWorld or Busch Gardens ever managed. Avatar dings it a bit, but they way they did it with the focus on conservation is at least a partial save. Unlike FEA which has no save what so ever. Embarrassing. Finally, DHS is... well, DHS is DHS. It's not like the other 3 even though I'm not entirely sure it carries a real standalone theme. Something about more modern entertainment.

But even if I can't describe it, the fact is you can think of all 4 of those parks as different experiences. They may defy easy definition, but it's there and we all know it.

That is something US has failed at completely. US is, most likely, going to open a 3rd gate that is exactly the same hodgepodge of entertainment IP, even duplicative IP, as their other 2 parks. in the end, it's all one park, you are just paying for a hoper to cross it. We really should beat them up a lot harder for being that unimaginative.

 

[JaxDad]

...Parks should have their own themes and identities.

I don’t think this matters to the vast majority of park goers.

 

[jknezek]

I don’t think this matters to the vast majority of park goers.

Maybe, maybe not. I know my parents, who are occasional Disney people, came home from a trip to US and railed against the place for splitting HP. My dad loves HP, but they have told all their friends as good as it is, it's just infuriating to have to buy the hoppers to see both sections. My parents aren't really the complaining type, but they've dissuaded more than a few people from going to US lately just on that issue.

I also know that my Mother-in-law just picked one side of US to go to because a one-day hopper to do the HP stuff was insanely expensive for her and a grandkid (not one of my kids, my b-I-l's kid). So I think there are a group of people that are really put off by this. And it will only get worse if they do it a third time.

That being said, US is raking in the money, so I assume they simply don't care. And a lot of this is based on people that simply wouldn't go to US except for HP. So maybe it's just a subset that I seem to hang around with. But my parents, who did spring for the tickets and 2 days worth of them, really can't tell you which ride is in which park or if they recommend one over the other. I don't think they distinguish between them at all. Meanwhile, they may call DHS MGM and AK the "new safari one", but they do know all 4 of the Disney parks and can pretty much guess in which park you will find any ride people ask about.

 

[umichigan10]

I'm not really thinking a single IP per park type concept. I think that is financial stupidity at best and suicide at worst. I am thinking that each individual park should have an identity. In other words, you should expect a different experience at IOA than US or the expected 3rd Park. It seems to me the original idea was that US was more a family park and IOA was more a teen and up thrill type park. Those concepts have been diluted, especially as Universal realized they could snooker people into buying whatever they call Park Hoppers by slamming HP in both parks.

But honestly, when people talk about US they don't really talk about it like it is 2 parks except when talking about tickets. It's one park, with no real difference in theme, that just costs the same as 2 tickets, possibly soon to be 3. That's lazy and, frankly, lame. We expect they are going to do it with the third park and people just give them a pass. Oh, Nintendo in 3 parks? HP in 3 parks? Wonderful! Look how much more they'll get by forcing people to buy those multi-tickets! Genius. Uggh. For the consumer, it really should be a massive negative.

When Disney even touches on this we savage them. FEA is a great example. That was, and still is, embarrassing as far as I'm concerned, but it's one ride. Soon to be joined by the equally thematically misplaced Guardians, and we should jump on Disney for that as well unless they somehow make it relevant to EPCOT. But really, most of the 4 parks have a theme. MK is traditional Disney stories and entertainment. EPCOT is a more learning focused park, even if not as learning focused as it used to be. AK is very much a creative attempt to blend wildlife with rides in a true themed environment. It's much better than SeaWorld or Busch Gardens ever managed. Avatar dings it a bit, but they way they did it with the focus on conservation is at least a partial save. Unlike FEA which has no save what so ever. Embarrassing. Finally, DHS is... well, DHS is DHS. It's not like the other 3 even though I'm not entirely sure it carries a real standalone theme. Something about more modern entertainment.

But even if I can't describe it, the fact is you can think of all 4 of those parks as different experiences. They may defy easy definition, but it's there and we all know it.

That is something US has failed at completely. US is, most likely, going to open a 3rd gate that is exactly the same hodgepodge of entertainment IP, even duplicative IP, as their other 2 parks. in the end, it's all one park, you are just paying for a hoper to cross it. We really should beat them up a lot harder for being that unimaginative.

Well I think Disney has established precedent that their parks have an overarching idea behind them. whereas universal has only been doing theme parks for 30ish years (not counting the studio your) and Disney’s been at it for 70plus. And they also cater to different audiences traditionally.

So sure there’s a double standard, but I think there’s also a different expectation when it comes to the depth of the “theme” experience at both. I think they’re ultimately two companies taking two different approaches to the same idea of themed entertainment

 

[FoxC63]

What do you mean? Change Party never got you locked out of your account. Other avenues do. That said Change Party is no longer a feature.

It took a while but I'm all caught up but this ...."Change Party is no longer a feature." Wait, what? What are talking about here? Has Disney eliminated the "Change Party" feature online and in the app?

 

[rteetz]

It took a while but I'm all caught up but this ...."Change Party is no longer a feature." Wait, what? What are talking about here? Has Disney eliminated the "Change Party" feature online and in the app?

Just on the app for now. No word if this will move to online as well.

 

[Roxyfire]

Maybe, maybe not. I know my parents, who are occasional Disney people, came home from a trip to US and railed against the place for splitting HP. My dad loves HP, but they have told all their friends as good as it is, it's just infuriating to have to buy the hoppers to see both sections. My parents aren't really the complaining type, but they've dissuaded more than a few people from going to US lately just on that issue.

I also know that my Mother-in-law just picked one side of US to go to because a one-day hopper to do the HP stuff was insanely expensive for her and a grandkid (not one of my kids, my b-I-l's kid). So I think there are a group of people that are really put off by this. And it will only get worse if they do it a third time.

That being said, US is raking in the money, so I assume they simply don't care. And a lot of this is based on people that simply wouldn't go to US except for HP. So maybe it's just a subset that I seem to hang around with. But my parents, who did spring for the tickets and 2 days worth of them, really can't tell you which ride is in which park or if they recommend one over the other. I don't think they distinguish between them at all. Meanwhile, they may call DHS MGM and AK the "new safari one", but they do know all 4 of the Disney parks and can pretty much guess in which park you will find any ride people ask about.

One day, park hopper tickets for both WDW and Uni are pretty expensive. Plus, let's not forget who runs Universal: Comcast who is known for overcharging for everything. If you're only going in one day, then yeah maybe you want to see both areas but it's not required. It's still probably cheaper to do both parks in one day vs buy two day, single park tickets. I guess I'm not that outraged because they would be dumb not to do put sections in different parks. If you're only going to see the HP sections and are literally uninterested in anything else there then it's definitely not a good use of money.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm not really thinking a single IP per park type concept. I think that is financial stupidity at best and suicide at worst. I am thinking that each individual park should have an identity. In other words, you should expect a different experience at IOA than US or the expected 3rd Park. It seems to me the original idea was that US was more a family park and IOA was more a teen and up thrill type park. Those concepts have been diluted, especially as Universal realized they could snooker people into buying whatever they call Park Hoppers by slamming HP in both parks.

But honestly, when people talk about US they don't really talk about it like it is 2 parks except when talking about tickets. It's one park, with no real difference in theme, that just costs the same as 2 tickets, possibly soon to be 3. That's lazy and, frankly, lame. We expect they are going to do it with the third park and people just give them a pass. Oh, Nintendo in 3 parks? HP in 3 parks? Wonderful! Look how much more they'll get by forcing people to buy those multi-tickets! Genius. Uggh. For the consumer, it really should be a massive negative.

When Disney even touches on this we savage them. FEA is a great example. That was, and still is, embarrassing as far as I'm concerned, but it's one ride. Soon to be joined by the equally thematically misplaced Guardians, and we should jump on Disney for that as well unless they somehow make it relevant to EPCOT. But really, most of the 4 parks have a theme. MK is traditional Disney stories and entertainment. EPCOT is a more learning focused park, even if not as learning focused as it used to be. AK is very much a creative attempt to blend wildlife with rides in a true themed environment. It's much better than SeaWorld or Busch Gardens ever managed. Avatar dings it a bit, but they way they did it with the focus on conservation is at least a partial save. Unlike FEA which has no save what so ever. Embarrassing. Finally, DHS is... well, DHS is DHS. It's not like the other 3 even though I'm not entirely sure it carries a real standalone theme. Something about more modern entertainment.

But even if I can't describe it, the fact is you can think of all 4 of those parks as different experiences. They may defy easy definition, but it's there and we all know it.

That is something US has failed at completely. US is, most likely, going to open a 3rd gate that is exactly the same hodgepodge of entertainment IP, even duplicative IP, as their other 2 parks. in the end, it's all one park, you are just paying for a hoper to cross it. We really should beat them up a lot harder for being that unimaginative.

Hmm..maybe we just have different perspectives?

I mean I absolutely without a doubt think that IOA and the Studios are different. I refer to Universal as a whole in DIS-speak by saying USO just like I do WDW as a whole. Both Universal parks are different in what they offer. IOA is fantasy based to me whereas Studios is about films. The blurred aspect is there now but it wasn't when they started much like WDW wasn't

But I think you gotta look at the two companies differently. The Studios is younger than I am by just over 2 years..seriously makes me feel old lol conversely WDW is older than me by over 17 years. Disney has immense nostalgic powers while Universal doesn't. This is why decisions to alter themes in WDW tends to come with a much more visceral reaction. And if you go further...Universal offers thrills while Disney lags in that. And I love both companies for that. I'm not a big roller coaster person with inversions and steep drops but my husband is. Disney provides me with rides I can more comfortably go on while Universal offers rides my husband can get a rush on. And I really do enjoy Universal for their theme and feelings and their rides too just it's a smidge less than WDW for me. I've heard it often complained that thrill seekers can't get much out of Disney. Theme doesn't matter as much to those looking for that big rush-it becomes background noise really. Now a more recent complaint is simulators over at Universal..but that's another mess.

I can only hope that a 3rd gate for Universal means they branch out and do a variety of rides and options and while I think the theme is important as it can enhance the experience I'd be totally down for just an overall theme of films/movies something that would work with nintendo, harry potter, and any of the other stuff they have.

 

[jknezek]

Well I think Disney has established precedent that their parks have an overarching idea behind them. whereas universal has only been doing theme parks for 30ish years (not counting the studio your) and Disney’s been at it for 70plus. And they also cater to different audiences traditionally.

So sure there’s a double standard, but I think there’s also a different expectation when it comes to the depth of the “theme” experience at both. I think they’re ultimately two companies taking two different approaches to the same idea of themed entertainment

Starting second should have given them a head start on learning what works. Universal clearly considers Disney it's competition, not Six Flags. I think consumers should generally be savvy enough to understand that if they consider Disney the competition, they charge like Disney is the competition, and they build multiple parks in the same area like Disney, they should be held to similar standards.

And again, what started my thoughts on this, is they have a blank canvas to build a third park. The first major new theme park in Orlando in 20 years. And we expect that they will use the same IPs, the same style, the same stuff as their other 2 parks. And people seem fine with that while at the same time we ding Disney for any trespass on theme. It's just interesting that we give US, and look to find reasons to give US, a pass for building separate parks that aren't really separate at all except in how to squeeze the most money out of the tickets.

 

[atricks]

After this agreement, there's over 1000 acres that Universal has down there. It's enough for two theme parks, a water park, shopping district and still have room for hotels all adjacent to the convention center, I drive, and very close to the airport -- I doubt all that happens at once, but I could see another theme and water park come in the first wave. I suspect they'll build some sort of transportation method (other than just buses) to support that and the original properties.

Rosen Shingle creek Resort and its golf course are also embedded within it, I could see that becoming a perk for on site guests (The golf course) if they either acquire or directly work with Rosen on it (It would be a no-brainier for that)

 

[HuskieJohn]

They'll need more parking as well.

Do you think they'll break out Nintendo to its own gate? If there's an IP that could support a whole new park, that is it.

The latest RUMORS have Nintendo Land being broken up into all 3 parks.

Additional RUMORS have Magical Beasts Land (Old NYC but magical I guess) would also be slated for the new park.