Universal Kids Resort - Frisco, Texas

[MikeyMcFly97]

This is meant to cater to locals, not became a major destination like Orlando.

The ultimate goal is to open up more of these locations around the country if it’s deemed successful.

Yeah it seems that way. I’m curious what would deem it successful?

 

[ReelJustice]

The hottest place I have ever been is Arlington, TX on Labor Day Weekend. After looking at the pictures of this concrete wasteland, I wouldn’t send my worst enemy to this park during the summer.

 

[MikeyMcFly97]

The hottest place I have ever been is Arlington, TX on Labor Day Weekend. After looking at the pictures of this concrete wasteland, I wouldn’t send my worst enemy to this park during the summer.

Yeeeep. And have you seen those hotel prices?! Yikes.

 

[Andysol]

Yeah it seems that way. I’m curious what would deem it successful?

I would assume it’s profitability?

But what do I know.

 

[OrlLover]

The problem is its main competition is supposed to be parks like Legoland—as it’s not meant to be on the level of a Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando theme park—and yet it doesn’t even look as good as Legoland.

Every time they would release a new concept art I saw the budget cuts.

Till the very last one I knew it wasn’t gonna be as grand as they had originally presented to the public.

Living in Frisco, I've heard from a few residents about how big an eyesore the hotel is. I really hate being negative, but everything just seems tacky and cheaply built. It’s frustrating that the same ride models this park has installed have been presented with MUCH stronger theming at other parks.

For example, in Universal Studios Florida, there's a full-scale replica of Shrek's Hut. In Frisco...it's a cutout.

Is this more of a budget or execution problem?

I think this park was truly an experiment to see what works and what doesn’t in a regional market.

 

[Brian G.]

Something about that forest! Lol

What we see as immersion can sometimes be intimidating to young kids.

We see a forest, they see a dark place. We hear ambient sounds, they hear weird noises. We know what’s around the corner, they don’t.

One thing this resort does well is put everything out in the open. My son could see the ride, watch other kids riding it, understand what it did, and decide if he wanted to try it. That’s a big reason he was much more willing to ride things here.

That’s not me saying theming doesn’t matter or that criticism isn’t valid. Just that there are some benefits to the simpler, more approachable design that I don’t think theme park enthusiasts always consider because we’re looking at it through adult eyes. For little kids, removing some of the unknown can be a feature, not a flaw.

I actually don't know! @Brian G. might have a better idea than me. It was very ... yogurty.

I believe so. One of the few spots I didn’t really pay attention to. LOL

As an aside, I’m up editing stuff, so if questions are to be had, shoot ya shot! I need entertainment. Haha

 

[Andysol]

Living in Frisco, I've heard from a few residents about how big an eyesore the hotel is.

Ah, yes… Frisco… the city with a dozen mega church boxes, 45 Costco's and strip malls galore. They should tell me more about what’s an eye sore…

One thing this resort does well is put everything out in the open. My son could see the ride, watch other kids riding it, understand what it did, and decide if he wanted to try it. That’s a big reason he was much more willing to ride things here.

That’s not me saying theming doesn’t matter or that criticism isn’t valid. Just that there are some benefits to the simpler, more approachable design that I don’t think theme park enthusiasts always consider because we’re looking at it through adult eyes. For little kids, removing some of the unknown can be a feature, not a flaw.

Perfectly said.

…

Still needed another $100m thrown for finish out.

 

[Brian G.]

Ah, yes… Frisco… the city with a dozen mega church boxes, 45 Costco's and strip malls galore. They should tell me more about what’s an eye sore…


Perfectly said.

…

Still needed another $100m thrown for finish out.

I think some of the biggest issues I’ve seen make the rounds (Shrek, Minions) can be fixed in time. With Minions, the concrete needs color, wallpaper, something to make that visual a lot softer than what we’re currently seeing.

With Shrek, it may be as simple as letting the trees grow/planting more dense foliage.

 

[Andysol]

It may be as simple as letting the trees grow/planting more dense foliage.

How did all the foliage and plantings look? Pretty decent and colorful in person?

Did you go anywhere else in the area while you were in town?

 

[Brian G.]

How did all the foliage and plantings look? Pretty decent and colorful in person?

Did you go anywhere else in the area while you were in town?

A lot of it seemed VERY freshly planted, like in the last week.

Unfortunately, we did not. Only here for 2 days and not enough wiggle room to check out anywhere else.

 

[DOOMBOT]

I really believe a lot of this parks' visual issues could be solved with colored pavement. I understand that it's probably cheaper to build and fix, and probably easier to spot "messes" made by the target demographic, but I believe the bright white concrete is really throwing the whole thing into Six Flags territory. I can't imagine it'll be very comfortable to stand on or look at with the sun reflecting off of it either. A few charming murals or patterns in key spots like the Minion Rafts and Shrek & Fiona's ride, and some soft primary colors for Bikini Bottom and Minionland would really help sell the small but high-quality theming elements that do exist here.

Don't wanna add to the dogpile too much. I hope it does well with the demographics it is aimed at. I'm very curious to see how this all goes long-term.

 

[AustinT]

I really believe a lot of this parks' visual issues could be solved with colored pavement. I understand that it's probably cheaper to build and fix, and probably easier to spot "messes" made by the target demographic, but I believe the bright white concrete is really throwing the whole thing into Six Flags territory.

That would help a ton. The plain, uncolored concrete is really making things look much worse to our adult eyes. We see the same nasty, uncolored concrete in so many other places in the real world that are not appealing at all, and it makes our minds go there.

The Puss In Boots area for instance looks so much better with the colored concrete and some more custom design elements on the buildings/structures compared to the boring, off the shelf structures in other areas. Look what the pop of color on the ground does to the area at that transition. Screenshot from the Theme Park Insider video

 

[TexasMidway]

Ah, yes… Frisco… the city with a dozen mega church boxes, 45 Costco's and strip malls galore. They should tell me more about what’s an eye sore…

I mean, both can be true.
However, I agree, an extra $100m could go a long way.

Many parks feel barren when they first open, so I'll wait and see how this park grows unto itself. It can only get better from here.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

That would help a ton. The plain, uncolored concrete is really making things look much worse to our adult eyes. We see the same nasty, uncolored concrete in so many other places in the real world that are not appealing at all, and it makes our minds go there.

The Puss In Boots area for instance looks so much better with the colored concrete and some more custom design elements on the buildings/structures compared to the boring, off the shelf structures in other areas. Look what the pop of color on the ground does to the area at that transition. Screenshot from the Theme Park Insider video

Like mentioned on a previous page, it looks like the Puss in Boots area is by-far the most well-themed land.

I do hope this succeeds and they spruce some things up, because the concept itself would be really cool as a regional park.
(Especially since Sesame Place Philadelphia might be ceasing to exist soon..)

 

[SeventyOne]

This is meant to cater to locals, not became a major destination like Orlando.

Then maybe don't build a site-specific hotel and host influencers from across the country (but mostly Orlando)?

I think Universal should’ve used a different name

I think branding is the key here. I grew up on small, kid-friendly parks with flat rides and plywood cutout theming. I loved them, there's a place for them. But don't call this a "Universal park." Invent a new brand. Don't beg people to compare it to your other parks.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

The discourse around this park has been so interesting to me. The defense against its shortcomings seems to be, “it’s just for kids, kids don’t care about theming.”

That’s true, but there’s a HUGE gap between next-level immersive theming and…whatever it is we got here.

In our neighborhood we have two parks designed for kids. One is objectively better than the other one—it’s got better landscaping, a nicer location, and has little touches the other one doesn’t have (i.e., it has a “rock-climbing wall” up to the top of the jungle gym instead of a regular ladder). Kids have fun at both of them. But they clearly gravitate toward the better one. Even my own kid (who’s still pretty fresh out the oven) lingers more at the better one, and is quicker to just be completely over it at the lesser one. Obviously, no neighborhood park is going to have Disney-level theming, and nobody would expect it to. There’s so much more that goes into making a nice environment than that (even one just built for kids).

So, no, I don’t think kids care about theming. However, the gulf between “good theming” and “the bare minimum of aesthetics and atmosphere” is so huge it’s not even worth entertaining any argument that brings that up.

Another point I’ll make is that even at a place for kids, an adult’s enjoyment of it still matters. When I was little I begged my parents to take me to Magic Mountain. When they finally agreed, they made it very clear that they did not want to be there, to the point that I didn’t even have a good time. I left with the place with a shrug and figured I’d rather just be at Disneyland because that’s the place where my family will be more pleasant with me. Whether or not that’s the best parenting style, the point is It still mattered to me as a kid that my parents enjoyed being where they were taking me.

I do wonder how reactions will differ when the park is open to the public. It seems that the kids that were there this week have had a blast, but is that still gonna be the case when the park is actually crowded, teething issues set in, and things start to wear and tear? We’ll see.

Either way, regardless of intent, there’s no way someone can objectively look at this place and think it’s an acceptable product. And that has nothing to do with “not enough theming for my millennial Instagram account.”

 

[Brian G.]

Then maybe don't build a site-specific hotel and host influencers from across the country (but mostly Orlando)?


I think branding is the key here. I grew up on small, kid-friendly parks with flat rides and plywood cutout theming. I loved them, there's a place for them. But don't call this a "Universal park." Invent a new brand. Don't beg people to compare it to your other parks.

FWIW, while there was Orlando media, I wouldn’t say it was “mostly”. The usuals were around, but there were a lot of faces I did not recognize.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Like mentioned on a previous page, it looks like the Puss in Boots area is by-far the most well-themed land.

I do hope this succeeds and they spruce some things up, because the concept itself would be really cool as a regional park.
(Especially since Sesame Place Philadelphia might be ceasing to exist soon..)

I think a majority of the complains would be remediated if it looked like the concept art.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I think a majority of the complains would be remediated if it looked like the concept art.

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Oh absolutely - obviously the vegetation will come eventually. But it all just looks so.. gray

 

[Myah1220]

I think a majority of the complains would be remediated if it looked like the concept art.

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Seriously because in it's current state it looks absolutely hideous and more like it came from a knock-off park trying to emulate Universal but failing than Universal itself. I'm sorry I don't want to be so negative but it's honestly extremely embarrassing that Universal put this out when we know they are capable of so much better. I know that it's a smaller scale family park but families also love theming. Kids love bright colors and vibrance. There is no reason that so much of this ride and the others around it are essentially an ugly grey concrete slab. I doubt it would've broken the bank that much to add some more paint around all of this. Looks more like a Six Flags or a hometown theme park. Embarrassing.