Universal Studios Hollywood (USH) Discussion Thread

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Great update. Can't wait to ride next time I'm in California.

If you do a Manly Pose and a Serious Face at the same time, which is it?

You're seriously manly then.

Great pics as always David. I have never been to any of the Universal Studios, so I would like to go there someday.

Sorry everyone for the massive bump but I feel compelled to give my own two cents on this topic. I think in my opinion people are going about this wrong. Destroying the Gibson Amphitheater is a BAD BAD move evident by the fact it houses some of the most ambitious concerts and events in LA. Though its been long rumored Waterworld and Terminator 2 3D will get the boot in the near future trying to condense a giant land in an already congested park would only be a complicated money-wasting endeavor. Universal Studios does have room only outside park boundaries and there is actually a perfect section in the studio the Wizarding World can make home to.

Right at the corner of Citywalk and a part of the Studio Tram Tour is a open grass plain that contains the Universal Lake and a Giant Green Screen. Along side of it is the mummy sequence of the tour that can get the boot as well. Though we all expect Dragon Challenge won't make the cut, with modification within the layout it's a near perfect fit.

Using the wondrous powers of photoshop I created a layout of the proposed project via google maps. Here as you can see Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Castle and Flight of the Hippogriff easily can fit within the space. Exclusive to USH (But soon with the USF expansion) is Hogwarts Express that will be the most proper means to transporting to this isolated land (They can still walk). To accommodate the lack of DC, the alternative attraction will be an interactive Wizard School that will have guest become a wizard themselves. It IS possible with this plan to have a Roller Coaster just not Dragon Challenge however. As you see on future site they can pull off ridding a parking section for such a feet and bridging over the two drive ways towards the park. It's risky though. The reason why they haven't created a roller coaster in the first place is because it may interfere with working sets (ala screaming). For this I just dubbed it "future site" instead.

Knowing USH, they are going to try to milk the phrase "theme park within a theme park" which is why I set it up away from the park. Annual Pass holders will be able to get to the park for free (with increase in ticket pricing), while other attendees will either may pay an extra charge for free admission for one free pass or would have to wait a large line. Due to the size of USH it is a given that the rides will see a increase in attendants as people "wait" for their turn to go to WWoHP (which is why T23D and Waterworld are spared).

So what do you guys think? Is this doable?

That section of the lot is right below a Hollywood Hills neighborhood (read: rich residents who don't like noise) who would probably disagree with that plan.

Remove the Gibson Amphitheater and move the Studio Tour load and unload to that patch of land in between the first and second set of escalators to the lower lot. That frees up a lot of land for this expansion and keeps the possibility open for a remote expansion like the OP suggested.

That's how I would do it

Get rid of Shrek and the Gibson. In addition to Curious George, that should open up enough space for FJ and Hogwarts. I think Uni would like to avoid having to move stuff around as much as possible which is why I don't think it is going to go where the current tram loading is..

Get rid of Shrek and the Gibson. In addition to Curious George, that should open up enough space for FJ and Hogwarts. I think Uni would like to avoid having to move stuff around as much as possible which is why I don't think it is going to go where the current tram loading is..

Shrek and Curious George are one of the only few attractions USH have intended for kids. No way will they give up their child demographic just because we ourselves are too old to play. Like I said earlier in my post, why spend the more money demolishing existing popular attractions when you can add on and expand the park itself. They have space.

^Because that space borders the Hollywood Hills neighborhood AND makes them tons of money from productions year round.

Get rid of Shrek and the Gibson. In addition to Curious George, that should open up enough space for FJ and Hogwarts. I think Uni would like to avoid having to move stuff around as much as possible which is why I don't think it is going to go where the current tram loading is..

Shrek and Curious George are one of the only few attractions USH have intended for kids. No way will they give up their child demographic just because we ourselves are too old to play. Like I said earlier in my post, why spend the more money demolishing existing popular attractions when you can add on and expand the park itself. They have space.

If this rumor about Despicable Me replacing T2 is true, then that attraction will make up for the loss of Shrek. Shrek Bore-D just isn't very popular anymore. To demo Shrek and replace T2, a very expensive show to run that's also not a big draw anymore, would kill two birds with one stone. Because of this, I see this being the most-likely scenario. Also, if they put Flight of the Hippogriff in Wizzarding World, then they will have more kid's attractions.

Get rid of Shrek and the Gibson. In addition to Curious George, that should open up enough space for FJ and Hogwarts. I think Uni would like to avoid having to move stuff around as much as possible which is why I don't think it is going to go where the current tram loading is..

Shrek and Curious George are one of the only few attractions USH have intended for kids. No way will they give up their child demographic just because we ourselves are too old to play. Like I said earlier in my post, why spend the more money demolishing existing popular attractions when you can add on and expand the park itself. They have space.

Though you might think the Gibson is worth saving, UNI may not think that way. If they tore it out, I do not doubt that they will build another theater to house shows in a more suitable location that doesn't interfere with the theme park quite as much.

Get rid of Shrek and the Gibson. In addition to Curious George, that should open up enough space for FJ and Hogwarts. I think Uni would like to avoid having to move stuff around as much as possible which is why I don't think it is going to go where the current tram loading is..

Shrek and Curious George are one of the only few attractions USH have intended for kids. No way will they give up their child demographic just because we ourselves are too old to play. Like I said earlier in my post, why spend the more money demolishing existing popular attractions when you can add on and expand the park itself. They have space.

If this rumor about Despicable Me replacing T2 is true, then that attraction will make up for the loss of Shrek. Shrek Bore-D just isn't very popular anymore. To demo Shrek and replace T2, a very expensive show to run that's also not a big draw anymore, would kill two birds with one stone. Because of this, I see this being the most-likely scenario. Also, if they put Flight of the Hippogriff in Wizzarding World, then they will have more kid's attractions.

There is your answer to Shrek. Also, if they chose to, they could build another children's play area on the empty plot next to T2 (Despicable Me) and get rid of Curious George.

There is your answer to Shrek. Also, if they chose to, they could build another children's play area on the empty plot next to T2 (Despicable Me) and get rid of Curious George.

Some wild idea, but what if they also keep the Curious George play area and just Potter-ize it? Now that will for sure fix the lack of kid's attractions problem right there.

Because JK Rowling is involved and she's a control freak, and there's no playground in the Harry Potter universe and therefore it can't be there in real life either.

^Never say never. I had to put my foot in my mouth when it came to Potterland @ USJ because I thought the "control freak" Rowling would never allow another owner besides NBCUni to have a Potterland.

Rode it today. Truly an amazing ride. If you have the means, you need to check it out.

I too really liked Transformers: The Ride. I thought it was just as good as Spiderman, as the two rides are very similar in execution. It is also very easy to follow the action/storyline even if you are not familiar with the license.

Today the ride had its 1,000,000th rider come through. The park's VP of operations greeted the guest and they were given a gift bag, energon, and a special photo op with Optimus Prime & Bumblebee together at the exit!

Awesome

1 million riders and the ride has barely been open for 3 full months and only officially been open little over one month. Impressive. This is going to be a record setting year for USH.

I know Potter is comming, but I hope this grabs the attention of Universal higher ups and they start figuring out a way to expand the themepark.

Deadline Hollywood had this article. I was hoping we would get some further clues on exactly where Harry Potter is going but no actual labels. Some interesting things to point out is an expanded tram attraction where the Mummy tunnel is now. Also, it shows new Pink "Entertainment" buildings instead of existing buildings where the Universal Amp and Waterworld is now. That is pretty much where everyone is predicting where WWOHP is going anyways. Also, there are new pink entertainment markins outside the gate where Saddle Ranch and the outside parking lot (handicap?) is now. Perhaps the Park gates will be changing or just expanding the City Walk? Good news is their dumping the whole residential idea...

NBCUniversal is moving forward with its 20-year real estate revamp of Universal City without an originally proposed residential segment that would have added almost 3000 units and associated retail spots on what is now Universal’s backlot. The no-residential alternative was encouraged by LA City Councilman Tom LaBonge and LA County Board Of Supervisors chairman Zev Yaroslavsky, who raised red flags over potential environmental impacts and potential production jobs lost after an extensive review of the original plan. Now the backlot will be kept for production use according to Universal president and COO Ron Meyer, and the plan moves forward with public hearings soon. Here’s Meyer’s statement:

 

"Los Angeles has been the home of Universal for nearly 100 years and The Evolution Plan is our commitment to our community, to our neighbors and to our businesses. We have gathered feedback from thousands of members of our community, including our elected officials. And, after taking a hard look at the project, the current real estate market, our business needs and the needs of our surrounding communities, we believe it’s best to ask the City and County to focus on our 20-year plan without any residential development and to retain our backlot for production.

 

This is the right time in the process to make this decision and it will enable us to concentrate and invest in our core businesses — television and film production, Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park and CityWalk. Planning for our future in a way that is responsive to the community has always been a priority of the Evolution Plan. Today marks the next step in making this important project a reality."

 

NBCUniversal’s Evolution Plan was unveiled in December 2006 for its 391-acre property located in both LA and unincorporated LA County. It would provide upgrades and improvements to production and postproduction facilities, additional new-media-related office space, enhancements to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and CityWalk, and the residential neighborhood. It has been in the environmental review process since then, until the final Environmental Impact Report was released last wek. It now will be re-submitted without a residential plan as the “environmentally superior” alternative (see map above; click on photo to enlarge). The plan includes major transportation improvements designed to mitigate the residential additions among other concerns, including a new southbound on-ramp to the 101 Freeway at Universal Studios Boulevard, upgrades throughout the Cahuenga Pass portion of the 101 through Universal City between Studio City and Hollywood — part of improvements at more the 120 intersections around the property.

Is there an official discussion thread for Universal Hollywood? I searched but couldn't find anything...

^Not at this time, so this was the perfect place to post this. Thanks.

Now that is a huge improvement over that terrible original "evolution" plan. An actual themed hotel along the lines of what is in Orlando will be great for USH.

To be fair, at the time it was first announced, that original plan probably was in the best interests of GE. The real estate market was still on the tail end of being hot, production was fleeing LA County for cheaper regions, and the theme parks were barely a blip on their revenue radar.

Of course now that NBCUniversal is no longer owned by a conglomerate who could make money on real estate development, this plan makes much more sense.

I hope USH does a bit more to differentiate itself from USF. With USF now getting Transformers and both parks assumingly getting the same Harry Potter attraction, USH doen't have much going for it in comparison.

I actually haven't been to the park in years even though I used to live fairly close. I've actually gone just to go to City Walk twice in the time since actually going in the park.