Universal Studios Hollywood (USH) Discussion Thread

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It's a shame they aren't using Kuka, especially after the unbelievably positive response HP has gotten. A transformers ride with Kuka arms seems like a match made in heaven. Then again, I see the ride working really well with either ride system. I'm just really hoping for an army of giant transformers animatronics.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I give you....

Peter Jackson!

(Thundrous Applause)

Hello everyone, I am Peter Jackson. You may recognize me from other films like Heavenly Creatures, Forgotten Silver, and The Lovely Bones. Today, however, I am here to talk to you about Primate/Dinosaur issues; a current hot topic in society.

Universal Studios Hollywood asked me to create an attraction using King Kong as our staring primate. I strive to include my audience by placing them *inside* the story, instead of watching the story come to life frontally. Yes, I did indeed say frontally.

Two years after a tragic fire on the Universal Studios Backlot destroyed the former King Kong attraction, we invited celebrities who you may not recognize and members of the local media to be the first people to experience King Kong 360 3-D. By “first people”, I mean after myself, the attraction creators, Park Management, Employee previews, and close to 20,000 guests who were lucky enough to experience the soft opening. But I digress…

To further explore the relationship between Primates and Dinosaurs, the Wildlife WayStation provided the tools necessary for us to understand animal behavior.

Here we have…some sort of mammal.

And here, we have…another mammal.

And here we have the star of almost every film on the SyFy channel, surrounded by mammals.

Here, we studied the relationship between famous mammals, and non-famous mammals.

Wayne Brady seen here, is classified as a famous mammal.

It was then time for me to address the world, as we conducted the first ever press conference in 3-D.

9 out of 10 people agree that I look better in 3-D than in person.

After declaring King Kong 360 3-D officially open, someone looked into my eyes, and I informed them that their path now leads beyond the Curtain of Doom!

But first, I treated them to drums and dancers from Skull Island.

Here, we see the first tram making the hair-pin Turn of Death into the bowels of Skull Island.

Apparently the members of the media find themselves too important to hold onto their 3-D glasses during the first portion of the tour.

Just look at the talent of this tram driver!

A successful turn is achieved!

Here, we show a POV of the Turn of Death.

Success!

Are you ready to screen my creation? Excellent, for those of you talented enough to retain your 3-D glasses up until this part of the tour, you may now put on your 3-D glasses. Welcome to….

Jurassic Park! Bloody hell! Who put the wrong slide into the projector! You’re fired! Welcome to…

Skull Island!

Please come see my fantastic creation, at Universal Studios Hollywood: The Entertainment Capital of L.A.!

The pictures without the whole 3D experience really don't do the ride justice. I'm gonna go back and see it again tomorrow, I would like to see the reaction of people who actually came to see it, as opposed to people who just randomly got a peek.

What happened to the rest of Peter Jackson? *

* Whose first film is still his best, imho.

^Agreed! The Valley uses some of the most awesome stop motion animation mixed with live actors that I have ever seen. If it is ever released as an extra on one of his films on Blu-Ray, it is definitely worth checking out.

As much as I loves me tha Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Uncut)

My personal favorite is still Dead Alive!

I am looking forward to getting back out to USH to see this on the tram tour.

Guy "Meet the Feebles is great puppet porn as well." Koepp

^ I was thinking of Bad Taste. Classic film.

Bad Taste and Dead Alive were both amazing. I've never seen Meet The Feebles though, but I've always wanted to.

Guy, yes, thats what they should add to the ride...at least for Halloween....change it to "Dead Alive"....that would be AWESOME!

I got to see it today. Was super excited when I found out they'd been showing it.

My opinion, it was really pretty freakin' decent. The 3D was cool. Looking out the side opposite to the one I was on made the screen very convincing. Sadly, looking just outside my side, I could see where the screen ended and it ruined the illusion. It was kind of a downer.

Also, even in film, real is more real. I prefer rickety old animatronics to CGI. But that's me. This was a very cool attraction, very fun, but don't sit on the sides.

Went again today for the official open, I sat on the outside right, a few rows from the back of the second car, I highly recommend this spot. Kong and the dinosaurs were right in my face, people were screaming as the dinosaurs attacked. If hadn't mentioned before kong moves back and forth from one side to the other, and there are a lot of things going on, not just Kong. Also, it seemed totally different from the left side than it did on the right, so I'm thinking you could ride this multiple times, in different spots and get a different experience. It didn't bother me that I saw the bottom of the screen, the giant dinosaur in my face kind of made me forget about it.

What happened to the rest of Peter Jackson? *

 

 

 

* Whose first film is still his best, imho.

He lost loads of weight while making King Kong apparently. He looks like completely different person nowadays.

I'm ain't going to experience this any time soon, but it looks pretty cool. Just hoping it doesn't turn out to be one of those quick cash-ins from the recent 3D craze.

I wouldn't think so. Peter Jackson isn't big on half assing things just to push them through. Especially if his name is stamped on it. I'm thinking this will be pretty much state of the art 3-D technology.

I went through it yesterday afternoon. Pretty solid addition to the Studio Tour, but bear in mind, they are still working on the traffic flow out on the lot, so you may have to wait a few trams before going in- we had a 3 tram backup yesterday afternoon, but our guide did a good job at keeping things fun.

Also, anybody with a fear of spiders, you might want to close your eyes for this

Also, anybody with a fear of spiders, you might want to close your eyes for this

Where have I heard that before. Oh yea, down here at IOA.

The ride does look pretty cool from the video. I'm really looking forward to riding it either next year or in 2012.

Also, anybody with a fear of spiders, you might want to close your eyes for this

Quoted for truth, that would account for some of the screaming.

So it's officially open now? Yay, i have something to do next weekend! (I have to go and renew my annual pass, anyway)

Interesting article from the LA Times Travel Blog.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-universal-studios-hollywood-20101119,0,4003353.story

A long-term plan for Universal Studios Hollywood envisions adding seven new theme park attractions over the next two decades while removing or relocating several studio backlot tour favorites, including the "Jaws" lake, the "War of the Worlds" disaster scene and the famed "Psycho" house and Bates Motel.

 

The $3 billion NBC Universal Evolution Plan lays out a proposed blueprint for the 391-acre Universal City property in the San Fernando Valley, including new movie studio production facilities, CityWalk retail space and a residential neighborhood.

 

Additionally, the plan calls for 146,000 square feet of new attractions at the movie and television theme park. Inside the park, the 20-year plan also calls for three current attractions to be replaced: the "Terminator 2: 3D" special effects show, the "WaterWorld" stunt show and former "Fear Factor Live" theater.

 

Both the "T2" and "WaterWorld" shows, based on 1990s movies, have long been candidates for replacement. The former "Fear Factor" stage, which currently houses the relocated "Special Effects Stage," has played host to a number of theatrical duds over the years, including "Spider-Man Rocks" and "Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical."

 

The theme park plan also calls for the eventual removal of the Flintstones carnival midway games. No replacements for any of the theme park attractions have been announced. The "King Kong 360 3-D" drive-through movie, which made its debut this summer, and the Transformers special effects dark ride, scheduled to open in 2012, are not part of the growth plan.

 

Under the envisioned plan, the Studio Tour could see even bigger changes over the next 20 years. The footprint of the proposed 124-acre residential neighborhood would force the demolition or relocation of the Whoville village, the "Curse of the Mummy" revolving tunnel, the "War of the Worlds" plane crash set and the Falls Lake blue screen pond. Wisteria Lane from "Desperate Housewives" and the iconic "Psycho" house would be relocated to other areas of the backlot.

 

Under the plan, four new backlot attractions could be added to the Studio Tour, including proposed buildings near the seaside "Jaws" village of Amity and the "Fast & the Furious" special effects car show. The other two proposed backlot attractions are envisioned for areas not currently on the tour.

 

Next door to the theme park in the CityWalk retail center, Universal imagines a 3,000-seat theater that could host a permanent entertainment troupe such as Blue Man Group, which currently performs at the Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Fla.

 

Los Angeles city planners recently released a 39,000-page draft environmental impact report identifying possible effects of the proposed development, including increased traffic, on the surrounding area.

 

20 years is a long time. But planning and due diligence takes time.

Brady McDonald is only 4 years behind the times in reporting this. All of this information was first announced in 2006. Nothing has changed, except they got a little further along in the approval process.

He's also incorrect about the 3,000 seat theater: that would be a replacement for the Gibson Amplitheatre, which is listed in the plans as possibly being removed for theme park expansion.

It's important to note that all of this right now falls under the "throwing sh*t against the wall to see what sticks" strategy. Universal is expecting many changes to the plan by the time it is finally approved, which is why they started the process in 2006. That way it will be ready for construction when the economy improves to the point developing condos is profitable again.

Additional attractions in the form of rides would be great. USH is a great destination and what is there is of good or excellent quality. It's just that there isn't quite enough there to justify more than a single day visit. I really like the feeling of going to a park and going away after a full first day with attractions still unseen to get me to come back again. Although I've never been to USF, I get the clear impression from trip reports that it's a much more immersive and expansive experience than USH. Although I don't expect USH to ever grow to the size and scope of its FL counterpart, any move in that direction would be welcome.

P.S. Thanks again Joey! I still owe you an adult beverage the next time I see you.

I don't like the idea of removing Falls Lake and ESPECIALLY the Psycho house. That's history, man.

^The Psycho House (and Colonial Street) will be moved to new locations on the lot.

I think one of the new rides/experiences should be "Jew:The Ride" starring TPR's one-and-only Joey!

I'm glad they're keeping Jaws, Wisteria Lane, and the Psycho house, but I really don't care about the rest much. I've always felt that Whoville ruined the illusion of the Psycho house and the snow effect really was never convincing. Overall it sounds great, as long as they are keeping Jaws and the Psycho house.