Special Effects Show

[TheUniC6]

Because they lack space and if they push back the entrance to they have more then enough room for a new land, a couple of new attractions and hopefully a new show location that could be used in the day for a show like WW and at night a WOC show.

They have lots of wasted space in that area like the old Saddle ranch location along with all these ticket booths that basically sit empty. Also Six flags has been security tech then both Disney/Universal and so would be nice for them to upgrade that as well to make it quicker.
I literally see no downsides for them redoing the front so we have expand the theme park.

Saddle Ranch is to the left of the park far away from where WW is. So if you did expand like you said, would that involve tearing up the arch and Universal globe?

 

[Jerroddragon]

Saddle Ranch is to the left of the park far away from where WW is. So if you did expand like you said, would that involve tearing up the arch and Universal globe?

I could go either way, either move it to where the new entrance hub is or make it work in the theme park. I dont want to get rid of it but no way I'd pass up all that land we could use for more rides/shows/lands because of just that icon, they could find a way to make it work

 

[Clive]

They're not going to redo the entrance plaza/main street of the park again. Come on now.

 

[Jamesh22]

They're not going to redo the entrance plaza/main street of the park again. Come on now.

Especially as there is nothing wrong with it / doesn't need changing.

 

[Jerroddragon]

They're not going to redo the entrance plaza/main street of the park again. Come on now.

Then cool, we don't have room for big night time shows (castle is cool but its no where near the level of WOC let alone Fantasmic), we will not get many more lands in the park and we will just keep playing the close an old ride for a new one....why use all this land when we could just let most of it sit there unused 99 percent of the time.
Anyway I'll drop it but funny people rather the space be wasted then get new rides, shows, and lands....just because it was redone ten years ago. No wonder USH doesn't take risk the fans seem to just be fine with bare minimum sometimes so why not


I hope Universal makes a cool indoor space to be used for a few shows (like alternating between special effects and an animal show) and special events

 

[Clive]

Then cool, we don't have room for big night time shows (castle is cool but its no where near the level of WOC let alone Fantasmic), we will not get many more lands in the park and we will just keep playing the close an old ride for a new one....why use all this land when we could just let most of it sit there unused 99 percent of the time.
Anyway I'll drop it but funny people rather the space be wasted then get new rides, shows, and lands....just because it was redone ten years ago. No wonder USH doesn't take risk the fans seem to just be fine with bare minimum sometimes so why not


I hope Universal makes a cool indoor space to be used for a few shows (like alternating between special effects and an animal show) and special events

The park has never had the room for big night shows outside of the castle. It's not that kind of park.

The park's footprint has already dramatically expanded and will continue to do so. You're complaining about replacements versus new additions when they're about to unveil an entirely new land that replaced nothing but a soundstage that wasn't accessible to park guests. Before you mention Special Effects Show and Animal Actors, those buildings were having major problems that all but required a timely replacement. There's no version where they stayed as-is. The truth is that the company, for the first time, has been consistently prioritizing the needs of the park over the needs of the studio.

The front-of-park redo was in no way a waste of time or space. It dramatically improved the entrance experience from what was there before. It also wasn't redone ten years ago - it was literally completed less than five years ago.

Respectfully, take a deep breath.

 

[FBarnhill]

The park has never had the room for big night shows outside of the castle. It's not that kind of park.

The park's footprint has already dramatically expanded and will continue to do so. You're complaining about replacements versus new additions when they're about to unveil an entirely new land that replaced nothing but a soundstage that wasn't accessible to park guests. Before you mention Special Effects Show and Animal Actors, those buildings were having major problems that all but required a timely replacement. There's no version where they stayed as-is. The truth is that the company, for the first time, has been consistently prioritizing the needs of the park over the needs of the studio.

The front-of-park redo was in no way a waste of time or space. It dramatically improved the entrance experience from what was there before. It also wasn't redone ten years ago - it was literally completed less than five years ago.

Respectfully, take a deep breath.

But what about the fans who love the studio for its history and don't want to see it treated this way? Could you at least understand their feelings?

 

[Jamesh22]

But what about the fans who love the studio for its history and don't want to see it treated this way? Could you at least understand their feelings?

I think Clive's point was that we shouldn't and don't need to go tearing up the bits of the Upper Lot which have only recently been redone - they are perfectly fine as is.

With regards to SES & AA - The Studio History is that it constantly changes, and sometimes that is tough to take (I miss Back to the Future a LOT)

The SES stage has been used by about 18 different shows over the years and if you check wikipedia you will see that there are 100s of retired attractions in the history of USH.

None of us know what the long term plan is, SES could be back on the LL in some form and AA could show up somewhere too.

The future for USH is very exciting.

 

[Jwhee]

Curious as to if they'll use the sound stage where The Weeknd HHN House was last year as a theater? Seems as if the park has the ability to use it, pretty sure they put a DJ in there for EVE. Setting up the a theater like they used to do at USF for Grinchmas could be a great space for Special Effects and could be used for an HHN show.

 

[ItsAtrap]

I noticed during the final show Susan (The host) said that it would be the final show in this building. Could they be moving the show in some way, shape, or form to a new building?

No. She meant that this was the last show ever to play in the Castle Theater. So far there are no plans to move the show to another building. It was a fun and emotional last show.

Eight shows since it was built for "Castle Dracula" in 1980.

 

[armenianmovieman]

What happens to the Special Effects\Animal Actors performers? Will they keep working with the park/Universal in some capacity?

I imagine the stunt performers would stay on for the rumored Bourne show, if they aren't working Hollywood stuntmen and women already.

And it sounds like the Animal Actors train\handle the animals that show up in the movies, so they'll be back to doing that full time I imagine.

I sincerely hope the shows return in some capacity, especially if they expand the park with the speculated WB purchase in 2024.

 

[TheUniC6]

What happens to the Special Effects\Animal Actors performers? Will they keep working with the park/Universal in some capacity?

I imagine the stunt performers would stay on for the rumored Bourne show, if they aren't working Hollywood stuntmen and women already.

And it sounds like the Animal Actors train\handle the animals that show up in the movies, so they'll be back to doing that full time I imagine.

I sincerely hope the shows return in some capacity, especially if they expand the park with the speculated WB purchase in 2024.

Maybe if they plan to port the classic monsters land from Epic Universe it will include the cut stage show from that version to make USH's unique.

 

[Clive]

There’s no WB purchase.

 

[TheUniC6]

There’s no WB purchase.

A WBD purchase could not happen until 2024 anyways if it were to happen. WBD's debt load and financial situation makes it appealing for it to be acquired.

 

[Nick]

A WBD purchase could not happen until 2024 anyways if it were to happen. WBD's debt load and financial situation makes it appealing for it to be acquired.

Lets also say that in 2024 a purchase did happen... Look at what they are putting Microsoft through with the ActivisionBlizzard purchase. Ticketmaster is also being looked into. Meta's VR gaming studio purchases are also being heavily scrutinized.

Not to get political, but this current administration is a completely new FTC board that is not playing any games and big acquisitions like the Disney/Fox acquisition (which was allowed to go through fairly easily under the prior administration) are not happening easily anymore at all, especially as companies continue to get larger and larger and there's less and less competition.

 

[TheUniC6]

Lets also say that in 2024 a purchase did happen... Look at what they are putting Microsoft through with the ActivisionBlizzard purchase. Ticketmaster is also being looked into. Meta's VR gaming studio purchases are also being heavily scrutinized.

Not to get political, but this current administration is a completely new FTC board that is not playing any games and big acquisitions like the Disney/Fox acquisition (which was allowed to go through fairly easily under the prior administration) are not happening easily anymore at all, especially as companies continue to get larger and larger and there's less and less competition.

I think a WBD NBCU merger would be different than what is going on with this Microsoft/Activision deal. With the Microsoft deal, It's not just being challenged in the US. It's being challenged in other countries. And the reason the current FTC blocked it had to due with concerns related to big tech. Movie studios combining would be more allowable than big tech to me at least. Plus it sounds like other movie companies besides WBD are looking for mergers or to be acquired due to the streaming wars so they can survive long term. Paramount and Lionsgate also come to mind. And I read somewhere where someone though that depending on where the market goes Sony could possibly divest it's assets, (IP) and get out the the movie marketplace.

 

[Clive]

Guys. I work in the industry. The odds of that happening are so low right now that it isn’t worth talking about how it would impact the Universal parks, much less the Special Effects Show replacement, at this stage.