Universal Kids Resort - Frisco, Texas

[Evan]

The park is being destroyed on TikTok.

They have already lost control of the conversation.

Other parks are making funny remarks online (like Universal has done before), Knott’s will probably make fun of it at their Haunt this year, at this point.

The train has taken off and left the station.

 

[Mr_Pendington]

Now the question is if this park and Horror Unleashed should have been built in the first place.

I keep hearing talk of Horror Unleashed being bad/a failure... what happened with it?

 

[themeparktribune]

The talk has been getting out of hand, with some folk leaving nuance completely out of it; and even a few going after a reporter's kid’s opinion.

Of course making personal insults towards the opinion of a child is terrible, unnecessary and no one should be doing it or condoning it.

To be honest, here, Brian, to me, you're coming close to engaging in ad hominem attacks that sounds like you're suggesting anyone without kids isn't allowed to be critical of this. That isn't cool either:

Just like the opinions of kids on this park are totally valid, no one's negative opinion here should be dismissed on some basis of "Oh, well, you're a childless adult and you weren't going to come anyway."

And like others here have pointed out, a lot of defense we're seeing about this park is not on its merits, it's trying to police who deserves to offer their opinion. That's interesting.

 

[Andysol]

Just like the opinions of kids on this park are totally valid, no one's negative opinion here should be dismissed on some basis of "Oh, well, you're a childless adult and you weren't going to come anyway."

And like others here have pointed out, a lot of defense we're seeing about this park is not on its merits, it's trying to police who deserves to offer their opinion.

It’s not that their opinions should be invalidated, it’s that it ultimately doesn’t matter.

The only opinion that matters on the success or failure of this park is: locals who have age appropriate children or grandchildren.

That’s it.

There can be secondary opinions that are also weighted more internally by universal- like what their brand reputation is (though like I’ve said earlier- no one will talk about this park except locals in 10 days- it’ll be the same 5 posters that were in here the entirety of the construction that no one cared about either).

But I actually think universal cares much more about the opinion of a parent in Park City Utah where they may be looking to add another one of these parks vs the opinion of a childless adult in Boston. Opinions do have different merits and weights to them. That’s the reality.

 

[pumpkinbot343]

I keep hearing talk of Horror Unleashed being bad/a failure... what happened with it?

I’m not sure about the reception of Horror Unleashed, but I don’t think it’s a failure in terms of how well-received by the guests per se, it’s more that if it was the right idea to build it in the first place. Likewise if Universal really needed to build a cheap kids park.

 

[Brian G.]

Of course making personal insults towards the opinion of a child is terrible, unnecessary and no one should be doing it or condoning it.

To be honest, here, Brian, to me, you're coming close to engaging in ad hominem attacks that sounds like you're suggesting anyone without kids isn't allowed to be critical of this. That isn't cool either:

Just like the opinions of kids on this park are totally valid, no one's negative opinion here should be dismissed on some basis of "Oh, well, you're a childless adult and you weren't going to come anyway."

And like others here have pointed out, a lot of defense we're seeing about this park is not on its merits, it's trying to police who deserves to offer their opinion. That's interesting.

I think you may have misinterpreted what I meant.

I wasn't arguing that people without kids aren't allowed to criticize the park, nor was I suggesting their opinions don't matter. I mean, this whole thread is full of people who don't, and we've been having conversations in good faith, so to suggest it as an ad hominem attack is, frankly, a little insulting.

My point was that some of the strongest negative reactions seem to be coming from people who were never interested in going. That was my criticism of the discussion, not of the opinions themselves.

There are plenty of valid criticisms of the park but I also think it's reasonable to consider how the intended audience is responding to the Resort. If someone was never interested in visiting regardless of what Universal built, they're probably not the best barometer for whether the concept works for the families it was actually designed to serve.

 

[AustinT]

The train has taken off and left the station.

Yeah, I don't envy anyone on their PR team right now.

I hope this teaches them not to skimp on budget for theming in the future. With just a couple million more, much of this could have been avoided with some colored concrete, murals or wraps on various plain surfaces, more shade, more plants & a few more static props/figures throughout all still while adhering to this apparent 'no indoor rides' rule.

Even if people live far away, or don't have kids and never planned to visit anyway, the park should still have been up to par with Legoland and Peppa Pig park locations since that's their main comps. Even as a low budget regional park, it's still from one of the biggest two players in the game. Attractions these days rely so heavily on how they appear in social media to drive interest. Even if the majority of the criticism dies down over the next few months, the pics of unfinished lands and areas that simply do not look show ready will live on forever and be used in Disney vs. Universal debates.

 

[Andysol]

all still while adhering to this apparent 'no indoor rides' rule

For the dozenth time. There never was a no indoor ride or no dark ride rule.

Universal alone chose not to build one.

 

[PurpleFrog]

I hope this teaches them not to skimp on budget for theming in the future. With just a couple million more, much of this could have been avoided with some colored concrete, murals or wraps on various plain surfaces, more shade, more plants & a few more static props/figures throughout

The fact that this is all fairly easy to improve on, even after park open, is giving me some hope as a local. Maybe not the fully colored concrete but paint, wraps, more foliage, and more figures could all be added during their seasonal closures. I think coloring or painting the water ride would help the most, since it’s very much in the center of things and is sort of the “headliner”.

 

[AustinT]

For the dozenth time. There never was a no indoor ride or no dark ride rule.

I didn't think it made any sense but I kept seeing people post snippets of things from local government officials and other documents. So people must have been repeating this from somewhere

Edit- after a quick search I've found a post from the Frisco mayor Here where he mentions "no dark rides". Maybe that's one of the reasons this thing keeps getting brought up all over. No idea.

 

[themeparktribune]

It’s not that their opinions should be invalidated, it’s that it ultimately doesn’t matter.

The only opinion that matters on the success or failure of this park is: locals who have age appropriate children or grandchildren.

That’s it.

You….don’t see how that’s another example of not engaging with negative criticisms on their merits? You’re waving off any critiques from a whole bunch of children, even further narrowing it down to only locals, unless they meet all these criteria for their opinion to matter.

 

[mccgavin]

You….don’t see how that’s another example of not engaging with negative criticisms on their merits? You’re waving off any critiques from a whole bunch of people, even further narrowing down the acceptable group to only locals, unless they meet all these criteria for their opinion to matter.

Again, I find that tactic from the defenders of the park very interesting.

Critique all you want, but just realize that we are in a bubble here. Those of us who are far removed from the intended target demographic will have little sway over whether this park succeeds or fails.

 

[Andysol]

You….don’t see how that’s another example of not engaging with negative criticisms on their merits? You’re waving off any critiques from a whole bunch of children, even further narrowing it down to only locals, unless they meet all these criteria for their opinion to matter.

I specifically mentioned regarding the success.

I said “The only opinion that matters on the success or failure of this park is: locals who have age appropriate children or grandchildren.”

Am I wrong?