The Theme Parks, Amusement Parks, and Themed Entertainment Thread

It can't possibly be as bad as Body Wars was for people. Or the "intense" side of Mission: Space.

First official house announcement for HHN Orlando:

Can't go wrong with the Classic Monsters.

Priming the pump for the likely Classic Monsters land at Epic. Likely the reason they closed Monsters Cafe at the Studios, there's probably a similar restaurant planned for there. Plus the rumor is Monsters Cafe is going to become a Minions themed restaurant to tie the area in with Despicable Me and the rumored attraction replacing Shrek.

I think it's not the greatest move to have the "first impression" land of the park be Minions-themed.

But I'm not in charge!

I think you understimate how popular the Minions are. The merch sells like crazy, and I can't tell you how many families I see in matching Minions shirts, both ours, bought elsewhere or homemade.

Meanwhile, Walt Disney World has announced that starting in June, Genie+ will only be available as a day-of purchase rather than being purchasable ahead of time. And they'll be "subject to availability," which means WDW can set the supply on a daily basis based on projected attendance. Which is pretty much how Universal Express works, but those you can buy ahead of time.

DailyRich wrote:

I think you understimate how popular the Minions are.  The merch sells like crazy, and I can't tell you how many families I see in matching Minions shirts, both ours, bought elsewhere or homemade.

I know they're popular.

I just think it's a very strange theme for the first land people are going to see when they enter the park.

Well, USF isn't really themed beyond "This is Hollywood, this is New York...." I mean, Despicable Me and Shrek across the street from each other feels even stranger to me. At least this way, the area will have some thematic cohesion. It may even get the full Super Silly Land treatment like the area with the ride at Hollywood did (although having two faux theme parks inside the park might be a little much).

Rumor has it this year's tribute store at Universal Studios Florida will be retro themed around E.T., Jaws and Back to the Future.  This design appeared as an option at the various "design your own phone case" stations around the resort, fueling speculation this might be the theme for the store this year.



They also did a hula/tiki overlay at the permanent HHN store at Islands of Adventure, and if we don't have a full line of Universal Monster tiki mugs ready to go, we are throwing money away.

I hope that doesn't portend getting rid of the Legacy Store in CityWalk, because that place is great.

yeah, I showed that POV video to my wife and she was like 'no thanks.'  If what you say is true then yeah, I may have to pass as well.  I remember getting off that one Harry Potter ride and needing a good half hour to get my stomach back together.

eta: regarding the new GOTG ride at EPCOT

Belloq87 wrote:

I hope that doesn't portend getting rid of the Legacy Store in CityWalk, because that place is great.

I heard multiple other plans for that space before it become the Legacy Store. Don't know if those plans were pushed back or cancelled, because that store is doing well for us.

DailyRich wrote:

I heard multiple other plans for that space before it become the Legacy Store.  Don't know if those plans were pushed back or cancelled, because that store is doing well for us.

The fact that it essentially doubles as retail space and a mini museum of the resort's history is pretty cool.

A well done Jurassic themed escape room could be HUGE.

So we could have had a non-IP Big Bang-theme coaster at EPCOT before Disney management instructed the Imagineers to make it Guardians of the Galaxy.

https://wdwnt.com/2022/05/ip-free-big-bang-omnicoaster-was-planned-before-management-added-guardians-of-the-galaxy-to-epcot/

What a surprise.

In other news, the summertime tribute store at USF has opened, and it's themed to E.T., JAWS, and BACK TO THE FUTURE.  The level of detail crammed into the rooms is very impressive:


Lots of new merchandise, too.  Hopefully some of it ends up in Universal Orlando's online store, because I'd like to buy some!

I'd been waiting for this channel's thoughts on this and boy did he not disappoint.

I watched that earlier today.

I don't agree with every word, but I do agree with the general sentiment.

SeaWorld Orlando finally announced the coaster it's been clearing land for lately:  High Surf, which claims to be a first-of-its-kind launched stand-up coaster.

That'll be a hard pass for me!

Glad to see SeaWorld continuing to invest in attractions, though.

Belloq87 wrote:

That'll be a hard pass for me!

Glad to see SeaWorld continuing to invest in attractions, though.

This will be their seventh coaster in the park (although calling Journey to Atlantis a coaster is really stretching it), and Mako consistently ranks among the top coasters in the country. Adding a first-of-its-kind coaster will certainly draw people in.

Well as if there was any doubt there'd be a Stranger Things house at HHN this year....

https://twitter.com/universalorl/status/1532770090176888833