Let's play being head of Universal Creative...

[UniversalRBLX]

Entering USF and heading straight toward Minion Land seems so "specific" to me -- it's a popular property no doubt but it also has a particular tone that doesn't appeal to everyone. Perhaps that IP should be a more secondary or separated location, not greeting every guest at the entrance. (I'd say the same thing if you entered Disney Hollywood Studios, Disney California Adventure, or Animal Kingdom, heading right into any particular IP whether Monsters Inc. or Pandora or Toy Story, but especially a "fart jokes" property.)

I'd rather have the entrance experience have some space to set the tone and premise of the whole park. I also wonder if USF is missing an iconic landmark within the park, something that transcends any particular land or attraction but serves to identify the park visually, and as a representation of the park's premise.

Perhaps both these issues could be addressed by reconfiguring the entire entrance area and re-orienting the entrance and main axis so it aims down Hollywood (instead of running along the edge of the park somewhat strangely). This new axis would bi-sect the park and while not the sublime hub-and-spoke-ish layout of Epic Universe, could still help to elevate USF so it doesn't seem so opportunistic and quite as un-considered in its layout.

Then, a landmark could be built on the shore where Simpsons is now. It could even be an elevated Universal Globe at this spot (perhaps a bigger version) where it is central to the park -- a statement about the brand being "the center of this incredible world of movies and entertainment". It could also be incorporated and highlighted within logon shows.

I agree, I think a complete redo of the park and re-aligning the entrance through Hollywood would be ideal. It's such a beautiful street that unfortunately gets minimal use outside parades really. I had a pretty similar idea to yours. Angle the entrance just a bit to the right to ensure people go down Hollywood to some degree.

Spoiler: Idea

 

[DarkMetroid567]

Would LOOOOVE to see an entrance re-do like that. USF has the worst entrance imo of all six Universal parks and I really feel like it deserves better.

 

[DrStarlander]

I agree, I think a complete redo of the park and re-aligning the entrance through Hollywood would be ideal. It's such a beautiful street that unfortunately gets minimal use outside parades really. I had a pretty similar idea to yours. Angle the entrance just a bit to the right to ensure people go down Hollywood to some degree.

Spoiler: Idea

View attachment 24219

Nice job! And a new entry arch out front angled about 45-degrees from how it is now (so it's aligned with Hollywood) would face the CityWalk and IOA approaches equally, and can be "read" visually by both, building anticipation. These kind of arches -- like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris -- are powerful when they align -- as a portal/view -- with the axis.

Overall, I think this change would allow Minions Land to get an effective, defined entry experience/gate and sense of place as a choice you can make.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I agree, I think a complete redo of the park and re-aligning the entrance through Hollywood would be ideal. It's such a beautiful street that unfortunately gets minimal use outside parades really. I had a pretty similar idea to yours. Angle the entrance just a bit to the right to ensure people go down Hollywood to some degree.

Spoiler: Idea

View attachment 24219

I would love this - and it would likely force them to actually have to keep Cafe La Bamba open lol. Although I am good with where the Universal Studios Store is now.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I agree, I think a complete redo of the park and re-aligning the entrance through Hollywood would be ideal. It's such a beautiful street that unfortunately gets minimal use outside parades really. I had a pretty similar idea to yours. Angle the entrance just a bit to the right to ensure people go down Hollywood to some degree.

Spoiler: Idea

View attachment 24219

Decided to release/update my full Blue Sky of USF. In short, this plan keeps most of USF intact and tries to reuse current facilities (like bathrooms) as much as possible. The only thing on this list that I'd consider "far fetch" is Ghostbusters replacing Fallon.

Park Entrance/Hollywood
Completely redone with art deco motifs inspired by USH's park entrance. New Universal Studios Store is now centrally located/focal point of park entrance. The fountain from USH's main entrance is duplicated.

• New Universal Studios Theatre (current Universal Studios Store location, surprisingly the BMG theater fits here.)
• Cafe La Bamba reopens as a lounge space
• Crepe Stand relocated to the Central Park tattoo/face painting kiosks location
• The Great Universal Movie Ride replaces Animal Actors (Omnimover)
• Brown Derby turned into a photo shop
• E.T. Adventure "relocated" to NBC Media Center. Without the DreamWorks Cafe in the way (more details below), it opens up this space for ET entry/exit.

Minion Land

• Minion Mayhem's entrance is relocated close to Rockit's current entrance in order to provide additional queue space and better theming.
• Music Plaza Stage removed in favor a Super Silly Fun Land themed area with 2 flat rides & carnival games (relocated from Springfield)
• Trees added through the area to reduce the heat from the asphalt and to beautify the area

New York

• Ghostbusters replaces Fallon (multi-level dark ride)
• F&F Drift Coaster replaces Rip Ride Rockit, facade by Rockit's current treble-clef manuever. Most of the coaster is moved "outside" the park's berm, but still retains a portion of Rockit's layout with the non-inverting loop kept.
• Only aesthetic adjustment I'd make here is adding trees (or even better actual facades) to the Transformers building partially. The side facing the lagoon/NY could use false city facades and the side facing Minion Land could be themed to "Gru's Lab"

Hill Valley (San Francisco)

• New BTTF ride replaces F&F Supercharged. Cheap option would be to reuse the current system.
• Minor facade retheming throughout the land.
• Richter's rethemed to Cafe 80s
• Chez Alcrataz is retained
• Jaws photo op relocated to the smoking section by Springfield (near Cinesational's viewing area)

Diagon Alley & World Expo - no adjustments

Fear Factor Theater - few options...

• Harry Potter - leave empty in favor of new HBO show
• Star Trek - while no longer relevant as it once was... it will be making a resurgence at next year's USH Fan Fest nights. Could see the franchise regain popularity
• James Bond (pending new films)
• Worst Case Scenario - keep the theater, but beautify the area to remove all the tacky Fear Factor yellow.

Pokemon Land

• Dark ride building takes over partially the Simpsons ride and the HHN Sprung tent location. (2 new tents added by the recently added tents)
• Kang & Kodos rethemed
• Fast Food Boulevard replaced by Tokyo-themed dining
• Duff Brewery replaced by bar
• Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck/Lard Lad replaced by interactive experiences

DreamWorks Land

• Kung Fu Panda or Trolls dark ride added. Preferably a high-capacity boat ride.
• Only other change is the removal of the DreamWorks cafe. The retail space is retained as a general DreamWorks shop and the god awful M&G spaces are moved to the SpongeBob M&G space.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Here's a small idea that wouldn't really make much of a difference, but could be a cool change.

Give FFL a makeover and change the name to something like "The HHN Theatre" or "Jack's Theatre."

Have some rotating entertainment in the theater throughout the year - then use it for HHN like usual.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Here's a small idea that wouldn't really make much of a difference, but could be a cool change.

Give FFL a makeover and change the name to something like "The HHN Theatre" or "Jack's Theatre."

Have some rotating entertainment in the theater throughout the year - then use it for HHN like usual.

I think they need to add some landscaping and redo the aesthetic/paint in the area to make it more neutral so they can keep it long-term. It's an eyesore of a building.

The issue is that HHN starts loading in the set around July, so the theater can really only show something between Mid-Dec & June. If they have a desire to bring the Fan Fest event to UOR, it could be home to an entertainment offering.

 

[belloq87]

View attachment 24221

Decided to release/update my full Blue Sky of USF. In short, this plan keeps most of USF intact and tries to reuse current facilities (like bathrooms) as much as possible. The only thing on this list that I'd consider "far fetch" is Ghostbusters replacing Fallon.

Park Entrance/Hollywood
Completely redone with art deco motifs inspired by USH's park entrance. New Universal Studios Store is now centrally located/focal point of park entrance. The fountain from USH's main entrance is duplicated.

• New Universal Studios Theatre (current Universal Studios Store location, surprisingly the BMG theater fits here.)
• Cafe La Bamba reopens as a lounge space
• Crepe Stand relocated to the Central Park tattoo/face painting kiosks location
• The Great Universal Movie Ride replaces Animal Actors (Omnimover)
• Brown Derby turned into a photo shop
• E.T. Adventure "relocated" to NBC Media Center. Without the DreamWorks Cafe in the way (more details below), it opens up this space for ET entry/exit.

Minion Land

• Minion Mayhem's entrance is relocated close to Rockit's current entrance in order to provide additional queue space and better theming.
• Music Plaza Stage removed in favor a Super Silly Fun Land themed area with 2 flat rides & carnival games (relocated from Springfield)
• Trees added through the area to reduce the heat from the asphalt and to beautify the area

New York

• Ghostbusters replaces Fallon (multi-level dark ride)
• F&F Drift Coaster replaces Rip Ride Rockit, facade by Rockit's current treble-clef manuever. Most of the coaster is moved "outside" the park's berm, but still retains a portion of Rockit's layout with the non-inverting loop kept.
• Only aesthetic adjustment I'd make here is adding trees (or even better actual facades) to the Transformers building partially. The side facing the lagoon/NY could use false city facades and the side facing Minion Land could be themed to "Gru's Lab"

Hill Valley (San Francisco)

• New BTTF ride replaces F&F Supercharged. Cheap option would be to reuse the current system.
• Minor facade retheming throughout the land.
• Richter's rethemed to Cafe 80s
• Chez Alcrataz is retained
• Jaws photo op relocated to the smoking section by Springfield (near Cinesational's viewing area)

Diagon Alley & World Expo - no adjustments

Fear Factor Theater - few options...

• Harry Potter - leave empty in favor of new HBO show
• Star Trek - while no longer relevant as it once was... it will be making a resurgence at next year's USH Fan Fest nights. Could see the franchise regain popularity
• James Bond (pending new films)
• Worst Case Scenario - keep the theater, but beautify the area to remove all the tacky Fear Factor yellow.

Pokemon Land

• Dark ride building takes over partially the Simpsons ride and the HHN Sprung tent location. (2 new tents added by the recently added tents)
• Kang & Kodos rethemed
• Fast Food Boulevard replaced by Tokyo-themed dining
• Duff Brewery replaced by bar
• Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck/Lard Lad replaced by interactive experiences

DreamWorks Land

• Kung Fu Panda or Trolls dark ride added. Preferably a high-capacity boat ride.
• Only other change is the removal of the DreamWorks cafe. The retail space is retained as a general DreamWorks shop and the god awful M&G spaces are moved to the SpongeBob M&G space.

I would greenlight this if I could.

This is absolutely the scale of work that is needed.

 

[biggerboat16]

View attachment 24221

Decided to release/update my full Blue Sky of USF. In short, this plan keeps most of USF intact and tries to reuse current facilities (like bathrooms) as much as possible. The only thing on this list that I'd consider "far fetch" is Ghostbusters replacing Fallon.

Park Entrance/Hollywood
Completely redone with art deco motifs inspired by USH's park entrance. New Universal Studios Store is now centrally located/focal point of park entrance. The fountain from USH's main entrance is duplicated.

• New Universal Studios Theatre (current Universal Studios Store location, surprisingly the BMG theater fits here.)
• Cafe La Bamba reopens as a lounge space
• Crepe Stand relocated to the Central Park tattoo/face painting kiosks location
• The Great Universal Movie Ride replaces Animal Actors (Omnimover)
• Brown Derby turned into a photo shop
• E.T. Adventure "relocated" to NBC Media Center. Without the DreamWorks Cafe in the way (more details below), it opens up this space for ET entry/exit.

Minion Land

• Minion Mayhem's entrance is relocated close to Rockit's current entrance in order to provide additional queue space and better theming.
• Music Plaza Stage removed in favor a Super Silly Fun Land themed area with 2 flat rides & carnival games (relocated from Springfield)
• Trees added through the area to reduce the heat from the asphalt and to beautify the area

New York

• Ghostbusters replaces Fallon (multi-level dark ride)
• F&F Drift Coaster replaces Rip Ride Rockit, facade by Rockit's current treble-clef manuever. Most of the coaster is moved "outside" the park's berm, but still retains a portion of Rockit's layout with the non-inverting loop kept.
• Only aesthetic adjustment I'd make here is adding trees (or even better actual facades) to the Transformers building partially. The side facing the lagoon/NY could use false city facades and the side facing Minion Land could be themed to "Gru's Lab"

Hill Valley (San Francisco)

• New BTTF ride replaces F&F Supercharged. Cheap option would be to reuse the current system.
• Minor facade retheming throughout the land.
• Richter's rethemed to Cafe 80s
• Chez Alcrataz is retained
• Jaws photo op relocated to the smoking section by Springfield (near Cinesational's viewing area)

Diagon Alley & World Expo - no adjustments

Fear Factor Theater - few options...

• Harry Potter - leave empty in favor of new HBO show
• Star Trek - while no longer relevant as it once was... it will be making a resurgence at next year's USH Fan Fest nights. Could see the franchise regain popularity
• James Bond (pending new films)
• Worst Case Scenario - keep the theater, but beautify the area to remove all the tacky Fear Factor yellow.

Pokemon Land

• Dark ride building takes over partially the Simpsons ride and the HHN Sprung tent location. (2 new tents added by the recently added tents)
• Kang & Kodos rethemed
• Fast Food Boulevard replaced by Tokyo-themed dining
• Duff Brewery replaced by bar
• Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck/Lard Lad replaced by interactive experiences

DreamWorks Land

• Kung Fu Panda or Trolls dark ride added. Preferably a high-capacity boat ride.
• Only other change is the removal of the DreamWorks cafe. The retail space is retained as a general DreamWorks shop and the god awful M&G spaces are moved to the SpongeBob M&G space.

I think Bond is a great idea for the Fear Factor plot which has been overlooked. Who’s to say London has to only be themed to HP? They could extend the theming and facades to encompass the former stage area where Diagon itself is a self-contained land.

Perhaps the facades would need to look a little sleeker and more modern to fit the Bond theme better, but that could be an easy transition. There could be an Mi6 headquarters building where you enter and the ride itself could be like Indiana Jones Adventure but instead of a temple and a jeep you ride through the streets of London in an Aston Martin helping Bond thwart Spectre agents.

As for the rest of the park, I’d retheme Transformers to be ghostbusters and turn the big gray box into more NYC facades. Ghostbusters are very popular right now and I feel like Transformers have lost some of their relevance (in the US at least, also in Orlando Transformers has always met a poorer reception as a weaker version of Spiderman)

I’d also close Fallon and use SLOP to fill the building as NYC could use a family ride to counter the thrilling Mummy and Ghostbusters rides.

In San Francisco there could be a few options. Supercharged needs to go, as well as the horrible ride system. An option would be to replace it with a slot-car ride system similar to test track while keeping the same IP, however this may be too similar to what I proposed for Bond. I’ve also thought that a Godzilla attraction could be a good fit for this plot, similar to the original Kongfrontation but the vehicle is a classic San Francisco trolley.

However I do think Hill Valley is a great fit for this area as well. I’ve always thought a great idea for a BTTF attraction would be to suspend a Delorean from the ceiling with a hidden arm and almost like Peter Pan at MK. And you could fly through a mixture of sets and screens.

Everything else I’m happy with. I’d love to see them find a way to bring Jaws back but the easiest option for that would be to include it in a Great Movie Ride experience. Either that or they could retheme San Francisco to Amity but that may be a lot of work.

Demolish Springfield and use half of the space for a fun, interactive Pokémon attraction similar to Webslingers but you ‘catch’ Pokémon. Use the other half for a Shrek dark ride that is enters through Dreamworks land.

 

[Legacy]

Turn Fear Factor into The Globe. Add live show.

 

[TheUniC6]

Came across an article from the site that must not be named where they discussed recent patents Disney and Universal filed. The ones from Universal sounded interesting.

The first one is a round ride system:

The first of two Universal patents involves a “round ride system” with ride vehicles attached to arms on a wheel. The ride resembles something like Dumbo the Flying Elephant, but with bigger vehicles on arms that can be controlled independently from the center wheel thanks to a two-drive system. The arms could extend, retract, change angles, and spiral, so no two rides would be exactly the same.

The second one is by far more interesting, as its basically a real time show set handoff:

Universal’s second new patent is for “real-time proximity operation and object handoff.” In other words, this is a system to seamlessly transfer large show elements like sets or props between moving platforms or robotic arms. Sensors would monitor and adjust the positions of the platforms while a manipulator moves the show element to ensure a smooth transition.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Turn Fear Factor into The Globe. Add live show.

Yeah, at this point I'm kinda just starting to assume that theater itself isn't going anywhere. If it does, HHN may struggle to place a show elsewhere lol

 

[Leader of The Club]

If they expand London to San Francisco or Fear Factor, I hope they consider adding Paddington. I’d love for Uni to have a boat ride in the vein of it’s a small world and I think he’s the perfect IP for it.

 

[Hatetofly]

View attachment 24221

Decided to release/update my full Blue Sky of USF. In short, this plan keeps most of USF intact and tries to reuse current facilities (like bathrooms) as much as possible. The only thing on this list that I'd consider "far fetch" is Ghostbusters replacing Fallon.

Park Entrance/Hollywood
Completely redone with art deco motifs inspired by USH's park entrance. New Universal Studios Store is now centrally located/focal point of park entrance. The fountain from USH's main entrance is duplicated.

• New Universal Studios Theatre (current Universal Studios Store location, surprisingly the BMG theater fits here.)
• Cafe La Bamba reopens as a lounge space
• Crepe Stand relocated to the Central Park tattoo/face painting kiosks location
• The Great Universal Movie Ride replaces Animal Actors (Omnimover)
• Brown Derby turned into a photo shop
• E.T. Adventure "relocated" to NBC Media Center. Without the DreamWorks Cafe in the way (more details below), it opens up this space for ET entry/exit.

Minion Land

• Minion Mayhem's entrance is relocated close to Rockit's current entrance in order to provide additional queue space and better theming.
• Music Plaza Stage removed in favor a Super Silly Fun Land themed area with 2 flat rides & carnival games (relocated from Springfield)
• Trees added through the area to reduce the heat from the asphalt and to beautify the area

New York

• Ghostbusters replaces Fallon (multi-level dark ride)
• F&F Drift Coaster replaces Rip Ride Rockit, facade by Rockit's current treble-clef manuever. Most of the coaster is moved "outside" the park's berm, but still retains a portion of Rockit's layout with the non-inverting loop kept.
• Only aesthetic adjustment I'd make here is adding trees (or even better actual facades) to the Transformers building partially. The side facing the lagoon/NY could use false city facades and the side facing Minion Land could be themed to "Gru's Lab"

Hill Valley (San Francisco)

• New BTTF ride replaces F&F Supercharged. Cheap option would be to reuse the current system.
• Minor facade retheming throughout the land.
• Richter's rethemed to Cafe 80s
• Chez Alcrataz is retained
• Jaws photo op relocated to the smoking section by Springfield (near Cinesational's viewing area)

Diagon Alley & World Expo - no adjustments

Fear Factor Theater - few options...

• Harry Potter - leave empty in favor of new HBO show
• Star Trek - while no longer relevant as it once was... it will be making a resurgence at next year's USH Fan Fest nights. Could see the franchise regain popularity
• James Bond (pending new films)
• Worst Case Scenario - keep the theater, but beautify the area to remove all the tacky Fear Factor yellow.

Pokemon Land

• Dark ride building takes over partially the Simpsons ride and the HHN Sprung tent location. (2 new tents added by the recently added tents)
• Kang & Kodos rethemed
• Fast Food Boulevard replaced by Tokyo-themed dining
• Duff Brewery replaced by bar
• Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck/Lard Lad replaced by interactive experiences

DreamWorks Land

• Kung Fu Panda or Trolls dark ride added. Preferably a high-capacity boat ride.
• Only other change is the removal of the DreamWorks cafe. The retail space is retained as a general DreamWorks shop and the god awful M&G spaces are moved to the SpongeBob M&G space.

I like the idea of some of the queue entrance relocations but I love the Universal Movie Ride concept.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Updating my plan based on new info and latest spec. Ignore some of the dating and text, outdated.

This is a cost effective plan to improve USF in a timely manner. It won't be the best park, but it'll get it to a respectable status.

2026
1) Hill Valley - San Francisco will convert into a BTTF-themed land with minor cosmetic changes.

• Back to the Future - Time Racers: A retheme of the existing Fast & Furious - Supercharged ride system.
• Richter's turns into 'Doc's Experimental Kitchen' featuring unique takes on standard theme park fare (burgers, chicken tenders, etc.)
• Lombard's turns into Cafe 80s - a new sit down restaurant themed to the, you guessed it, the 80s with classic American dishes (similar to Disney's 50s Prime Time Cafe)
• Chez Alcatraz can stay the same
• San Francisco Pastry Company turns into a Milkshake/Ice Cream float stand
• San Francisco Candy Factory turns into bakery/candy shop
• Amazing Pictures turns into a shop
• BTTF train is relocated to the F&F exit (and there's already train tracks there... look at that lol)

2027
2) Fast & Furious Coaster - drifting coaster ala Rockit
3) Super Silly Fun Land, Minion Land Expansion

• New Flat Rides - Waveswinger & Carousel (or something else) take the place of the existing Music Plaza Stage
• Trees are added throughout the area to add shade and asphalt is replaced by concrete to reduce heating in the area during the brutal Florida summer
• Minion Mayhem's queue is rerouted near to Rockit's current entrance (improves queue experience and sightlines when entering the park)

2028
4) Ghostbusters Ride - replaces Race Through New York with an all-new film. (cost effective)
2029
5) Trolls or Shrek Dark Ride - SLOP-style Omnimover in parade building
2030
6) Pokemon replaces Springfield USA with new dark ride, theater show experience and reskinned Twirl 'n' Hurl
7) New Park Entrance - complete restructuring of the park's entrance to allow even flow through Hollywood & Minion sections of the park. New Art Deco motif added throughout that celebrates Movies, not the making of them.

• Today Cafe - relocated Brown Derby
• Studio Store is expanded
• New 'Universal Palace Theater' hosts a large family-friendly stage show (Mamma Mia, Wicked, etc.?)

2030+
7) FFL Replacement - Save for Potter pending new shows' success or replace with a 3rd party IP (Bond, Star Trek, etc.)


I think this is all doable and an affordable option for the park. It's not going to become the best park in Orlando, but it will be respected once again.

As for IOA... not as immediate, but will require investment within a larger timeframe. USF is the priority.
Similar to the USF build above, a lot of this reuses existing facilities.
1. Port of Entry enhancements
2. Seuss Theatre
3. Wicked Land
4. Great Hall Restaurant
5. JPRA refurbishment
6. SpongeBob SquarePants (retheming)
7. Improved menu at Cafe 4

 

[saint.piss]

2029
5) Trolls or Shrek Dark Ride - SLOP-style Omnimover in parade building

Why not have the Dark ride for DW land replace Animal actors? Especially if it's Shrek. AC is right near the Shrek area and it's the perfect amount of space for a dark ride like that.

 

[biggerboat16]

Why not have the Dark ride for DW land replace Animal actors? Especially if it's Shrek. AC is right near the Shrek area and it's the perfect amount of space for a dark ride like that.

That’s the best place for it to be honest, I just don’t want to see another ‘making movies’ theater show done away with.

I think a Shrek dark ride would be incredible. They could even be tongue in cheek with it and have it parody some of the classic Fantasyland dark rides just like the Shrek films parody classic Disney movies

 

[saint.piss]

That’s the best place for it to be honest, I just don’t want to see another ‘making movies’ theater show done away with.

I'm surprised it's even lasted this long. It's such a big space for a show that barely anyone watches. I never see anyone watching it lol.

 

[biggerboat16]

I'm surprised it's even lasted this long. It's such a big space for a show that barely anyone watches. I never see anyone watching it lol.

It’s a cute idea but I don’t think it’s the greatest show on Earth. If anything I agree that it should be in a much smaller venue. Maybe they could construct a small amphitheater in some corner of the park and move it there?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Why not have the Dark ride for DW land replace Animal actors? Especially if it's Shrek. AC is right near the Shrek area and it's the perfect amount of space for a dark ride like that.

Was saving that area for Pokemon, but that works too. I prefer putting deeper into the land to convince guests to go back there a bit more. I think either Pokemon or another theater show deserves that space.