Cinematic Celebration ran select nights (schedule was all over the place) after HHN ended through February until Mardi Gras and then eventually returned afterwards until HHN again.
CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular
- Thread starter Jwhee
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They just need to get better at being VERY clear which nights it runs. Otherwise this show will also be a bust.
I've been saying that for years lol
In Cinematic Celebration's case, you would think it'd run at least Friday-Sundays consistently, but there were days USF wouldn't operate late enough or they just wouldn't run it at all even on days with healthy attendance. UOR's website and app don't allow you to view show schedules for upcoming days in advance, so you can't even plan until day of. I can understand not running it Monday-Wednesdays during slower periods... but there's got to be some sort of transparency to the schedule.
Should at least be visible in the main park hours so you can plan around it.
Yeah. They cry no one attends, but they'll never get strong attendance for shows until they get a consistent show schedule. The way they've scheduled in the past was pure amateurish bush league. Even day of, employees didn't know if show was running and it often wasn't on the time boards , maps, etc......On rides, Universal is in the same league with Disney, but when it comes to entertainment/shows schedules and offerings they're kind of regional, or even local, park level. They really need to elevate their management think in regard to these segments. After another ten day vacation to WDW it seems very obvious they lack entertainment and consistent schedules in relation to WDW. The new night shows and parade are steps forward, but only with the caveat they are run 'every day' except for special event seasons. On this past vacation with the two grandkids (girls 10 & 11) the highpoint of the vacation for them was the night shows at DHS, MK and Epcot. That was our adult highpoint also. We did all those shows twice each.
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Agreed, which is odd because I consider SW our more local park, yet their scheduling and entertainment is top notch. I can always look ahead several weeks at show schedules to plan my day. I am always planning my trips well in advance so we see the shows we want to see. We also know when we have to arrive and how late we have to stay to watch everything. Universal needs to do better so people can plan ahead. They won't stay in the park spending money if they don't know there is something to stay for.
Hoping this and keeping open quick services restaurants later changes. Went on Monday, park was surprisingly busy and only Mel's & Leaky Cauldron were open. Minions Cafe was open, but the mobile order system wouldn't allow you to place orders.
At Disney almost no one was using mobile order. The Mobile order lines were almost always empty the 10 days we were in the parks. And since we had kids with us, that only eat chicken, hamburgers and pizza, we used Quick Service for every meal. The regular order lines were pretty fast.
After a few showings, the show is holding up and I do think it's A+ in quality. Some minor spoilers ahead...
Pros
Cons
If this show continues to have strong crowds, Universal will need to figure out a better exit plan for the Central Park viewing area. It's a tight exit, so hoping they can readdress this if the show's' popularity continues strong.
Pros
- Universal finally delivered a true nighttime show that isn't just a clip show in between different segments that didn't flow together, everything blended well
- Music is great, definite improvement in having a melody throughout to unify everything together
- They were very close, but I feel like they needed a chorus/singer at the start/end to tie everything better, it tends to be the key to Disney's nighttime show success
- Use of drones were great, complimented the show
Cons
- Quality of projections - seems like they just reused the same system as the previous platform (yes, I know they replaced everything entirely), but the new projectors are not great. Not as bad as Rivers of Light, but at times it's difficult to make out what is being displayed.
If this show continues to have strong crowds, Universal will need to figure out a better exit plan for the Central Park viewing area. It's a tight exit, so hoping they can readdress this if the show's' popularity continues strong.
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Hey, they totally have the ability to update with segments. And I can fully see a Wicked portion coming if they bring it back after HHN.
Hoping they come out with a schedule of days this and the parade will run. I'm actually going to plan my Nov. trip before the Holidays stuff starts if this is on the schedule. A good new night show and parade is as good as a new D/E ticket to me. When we were at Disney earlier this month the kids had the three night shows rated in front of any rides. We saw them all twice. I hope it's not a return to the old norm where no one knew when that stuff runs. You need consistency like WDW if it's going to be successful and convince guests to stay.
- Aug 8, 2018
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Why hasn’t anybody giving feedback to Universal about this?
I’m sure contacting them on social media or maybe even an email would help.
I've been told they read these forums. Example: They had some of Teebin's stuff posted on their bulletin board in past years. Said by good sources.
They just haven't added that feature yet. We've been discussing this since Cinematic Celebration was a thing.
Universal is known for inconsistent hours and not providing up to date operating hours for anything.
- Aug 8, 2018
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Do you know the GSAT’s for CC ?
Because the narrative on here is that it wasn’t very successful due to low attendance.
I almost forgot about Teebin. I feel like he really had a place in the rise of general interest in universal. Now that I think about him I feel like he will just post again at any time like he never left. I wonder if the sources he had are also no longer with us or if they share info with new people now. I miss his posts
His sources, according to conversations with him, were promoted into high Executive positions, so they quit giving him info. He never gave me names though. But his info was right on most always. That was a few years back so that they might not even be with Universal anymore. Teebs had lost interest in that stuff his last few years. He was spending time renovating his mansion, which he sold and was listed on the National Register of historical homes. It was originally built and owned by a 19th century Sea Captain in Bar Harbor. If memory serves me correct from the photos he sent me, it had apx. 15 bedrooms, most of which had a fireplace also. Everything was oak paneled. He was eager to leave the Maine cold and come back to Florida, which he loved. He had just bought a home a couple hours north of Orlando and was landscaping it, but his health had been very poor for the past 5 years or so. He was a really fine person. Bless his soul.
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