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Despicable Me/Coke Soak

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Jon Fu

Jon Fu

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Jul 26, 2010
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So as Adriana outlined in an article, we see a few things happening to Terminator/Coke Soak:

With the closure of T2:3D, the water play area Coke Soak is also being removed. Currently on the map for the park is the Fast and the Furious Zone, featuring cars from the films. Following the removal of the Coke Soak, the Fast and the Furious Zone is scheduled to remain through June, according to the current printing of the park map.
With Despicable Me coming to the park with what we believe is a Summer 2013 target date, Coke Soak is also rumored to become Despicable Me themed. The two rumors currently out are that it will become a playground area for children, or a carnival game area similar to the amusement park that the Gru and the girls visited in the film. Though we’re a bit divided on which one is more likely, we believe that it is also possible that they will combine both the carnival games and a play area. The carnival game move seems highly likely due to the current removal of half of the Flinstones Rock Vegas Casino Games in the Wild West Area. (We also feel that the games themselves are due for a re-theme, as the movie they were based on dates back to 1997.)
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So while Terminator being replaced by Despicable Me has all but been officially confirmed, we’re still up in the air about Coke Soak and the surrounding area above the parking lot. Should they go with the water playground idea and (hopefully not) rehash Coke Soak, could it actually work? Moreover, will they get rid of the water playground idea entirely? After all, having a water feature on top of a cement parking structure seemed shortsighted when it was introduced, but is Universal willing to spend money on scrapping the entire playground already in place?

What do you think?
 
First of all, I've created a new account here as I was formerly RHoop on here. Like the new forums, but it's kind of a shame the old ones had to go. It was fun out of pure boredom to look back at the old posts from 2005 and read stuff like, "I just heard from the BTTF Ride employees that they might bring back HHN soon." Haha

I think what they will do is move the entire Curious George playround over to the Coke Soak area and retheme it to Despicable Me. The water system is still there so they can use it. I think they'll just get rid of the Coke-themed stuff.

Also, I've been hearing that the CyberGrill will become a Minions-themed restaurant.
 
I'd be surprised if CyberGrill is still there after Despicable Me. I don't see a point, especially when Universal has traditionally used Cyber as Mel's overflow.

But about Curious George, would it be a simple "transplant" from one area of the park to the other? I'd hate to see another water fixture located in that area. It doesn't fit, and it's probably ruining the parking structure.
 
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I mentioned the Despicable Me play area a looong time ago when the Minion Mayhem was first rumored. It's only an obvious decision considering we'll lose curious George. I hope it's not gonna be exclusively a water play area. It'll be one less thing not everyone can do. I think a play area with something that shoots minion yellow balls and is similar to curious George will be a hit.
 
At first glance, the amount of water and piping used for Blast Zone/Curious George is much higher pressure than that was used at Aquazone/Coke Soak.  No way would there be just a simple transplant of property.

What about the ideas of the DeLorean being staged here for permanent display?

What about the talk of a small kids ride (carnival style) in this area?
 
Could they build a structure to house the DeLorean within a year? I'm thinking they'll do that, or house it in the former Terminator gift shop. Carnival style rides seems very plausible, but could the parking structure stand up to all the vibrations?


I think I heard they reinforced it after T2 caused some issues a few years back.


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Know what I find a pity? If Universal wanted to build a brand new ride on a large scale from scratch, they could've used the T2 space IN ADDITION to the Coke Soak area and have a large new show building take up that space....
 
Miss Betty Juice said:
The architecture won't support it. it's on top of Frankenstein parking and caused enough structural damage already over 13 years.
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Yep! Remember that Back to the Future was originally planned there.

Speaking of which, does anyone think Despicable Me could cause further structural damage to the parking lot? It's one thing to have seats drop, but it's another to have motion simulators.
 
I know, but i feel if they reinforced it even more, and i mean REALLY reinforce, which is possible, and it wasn't too crazy of a ride (ala transformers) but was more of an elaborate dark ride, i feel like itwouldve been possible.
 
The simulators, if they fit in with the weight requirement, should be up off the ground enough that they move independently and don't have to move the actual floor while in motion. It doesn't have a sudden high amount of weight being dropped at the same time - which is what caused the damage - and won't be as heavy as a BTTF type ride would be. 

I doubt they can do anything more to the parking structure than what they've already done in the last few years without closing the whole thing for months to redo the foundation.

As for a dark ride - ride systems are much heavier than you think. A track system and evacuation path alone would put additional stress on the structure. It really isn't a viable place for a ride other than a series of motion simulators since that will weigh about the same as the T2 seats with people in them.

Hope that made sense I'm still recovering from the flu and am a tad unfocused...
 
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Hmm..... Unless if they just completely covered the Frankenstein parking, and placed the VIP somewhere else, like in the King Kong Parking lot. But that is highly unlikely.
 
I think that parking structure is here to stay. The only plausible solution would be rebuilding that entire structure from the ground up, which - as you mentioned - is highly unlikely.
 
After watching some YouTube videos of the ride, I wonder how they're going to fit the two preshow rooms for Despicable Me. They're both pretty tall, and the original Terminator preshow room seems rather short in comparison (think soundstage).


I'm envisioning that they use the existing preshow room and divide the main auditorium for another two rooms - preshow room two and main theater.


What do you think?
 
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Jon said:
After watching some YouTube videos of the ride, I wonder how they're going to fit the two preshow rooms for Despicable Me. They're both pretty tall, and the original Terminator preshow room seems rather short in comparison (think soundstage).I'm envisioning that they use the existing preshow room and divide the main auditorium for another two rooms - preshow room two and main theater.

What do you think?
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That sounds pretty good but would they be willing to expand the building to add more space?
 
Bernardmesa said:
That sounds pretty good but would they be willing to expand the building to add more space?
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I don't think they will, it's a pretty complex building. It's very big too. You can see it from the freeway. So.....
 
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