Universal Orlando Resort Expansion (Part 1)

[mahnamahna]

Maybe the park is design of the park has a lot to do with circular designs?

Maybe a traditional Hub and Spoke park, but each land is circular in nature as well and don't connect to each other per se?

Or they do connect but by a simple walkway in between?

Honestly, a hub and spokes-esque layout would be poetic justice when you consider Universal has been showing up the Mouse in terms of innovation/immersion for the last couple years. Add in some DisneySea level of theming - I'm sold.

Maybe the LOTR talk was just leaked out as misdirection from the 3rd gate? Seems smart, considering they'd likely want to keep the 3rd gate under tight wraps until closer to construction/opening.

 

[quinnmac000]

Someone made a good point about the broad range of IPs. You want to get more people to come to the parks not just market it to someone who is already coming which lead me to a new list that encompasses a broad range of IPs but if done in a land type setting really flow well.

MYSTICS: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson (Warcraft is adult/LoTR is very popular but don't know how many kids necessarily like it so I added Percy Jackson which is very much fantasy based like the past two but kid friendly)

Japan: Nintendo, Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Anime, Sonic (Nintendo's library is vast and extremely popular/Hello Kitty is the third highest on merchadise sales in regards to licensing, MLP because its easy merchandising, Anime because I feel it my not be popular but could get some people into theme parks who normally don't go, Sonic because it leads itself easy for a ride and would look cool)

Wild Town: Goonies, Ghostbusters, Scott Pilgrim, Gremlins, Timmy The Tooth, Casper, The Little Rascals (The cave in the goonies lends itself to being an excellent playground, Ghostbusters could be a super fun dark ride, Gremlins addsa little most fun in a year round funhouse like attraction, Casper, Timmy the Tooth, and The Littel rascals all are kid friendly, Casper lends itself as a dark ride and little rascals big soapbox derby race would be a fun kids ride)

Broadway: WICKED, Monty Python, Producers, Annie, The Wiz, Mama Mia, The Princess Bride, Billy Elliot, Mel Brooks movies (Pretty much the show area of the park. One complaint people use against Universal is they don't have good shows however by dedicating a section to shorten fun versions of stage shows could allow those who aren't able to ride a lot or those who are scared of most rides to do something.

Transylvania: Bill and Ted, Rocky Horror, Dracula, Van Helsing, Coraline, Franny K Stein, Frankenstein, Addam Family and The Munsters (I'm pretty sure this is an easy one to figure out)

The Planet: Star Trek, Promethus, Riddick, Doctor Who, Battlestar (Sci-fi area)

I think this hits practically all demographics except those 3 and under.

 

[MrRoamer]

HTF mentioned Gotham. Third park entirely DC land confirmed!!!

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

HTF mentioned Gotham. Third park entirely DC land confirmed!!!

:happy:

In all seriousness, I would be more than pleased with any sort of Batman representation in the park. He also mentioned Alien, which I wouldn't mind either.

But hey, "project ring", Green Lantern's ring...I see a connection. op:

 

[Teebin]

Honestly, a hub and spokes-esque layout would be poetic justice when you consider Universal has been showing up the Mouse in terms of innovation/immersion for the last couple years. Add in some DisneySea level of theming - I'm sold.

Maybe the LOTR talk was just leaked out as misdirection from the 3rd gate? Seems smart, considering they'd likely want to keep the 3rd gate under tight wraps until closer to construction/opening.

I don't want to say that LOTR wouldn't be involved... just that it isn't the reason for the name. And the project name isn't a rumor, but something tossed out there with a Mona Lisa smile by someone just a notch or two beneath the head of UC.

 

[mahnamahna]

Someone made a good point about the broad range of IPs. You want to get more people to come to the parks not just market it to someone who is already coming which lead me to a new list that encompasses a broad range of IPs but if done in a land type setting really flow well.

MYSTICS: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson (Warcraft is adult/LoTR is very popular but don't know how many kids necessarily like it so I added Percy Jackson which is very much fantasy based like the past two but kid friendly)

Japan: Nintendo, Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Anime, Sonic (Nintendo's library is vast and extremely popular/Hello Kitty is the third highest on merchadise sales in regards to licensing, MLP because its easy merchandising, Anime because I feel it my not be popular but could get some people into theme parks who normally don't go, Sonic because it leads itself easy for a ride and would look cool)

Wild Town: Goonies, Ghostbusters, Scott Pilgrim, Gremlins, Timmy The Tooth, Casper, The Little Rascals (The cave in the goonies lends itself to being an excellent playground, Ghostbusters could be a super fun dark ride, Gremlins addsa little most fun in a year round funhouse like attraction, Casper, Timmy the Tooth, and The Littel rascals all are kid friendly, Casper lends itself as a dark ride and little rascals big soapbox derby race would be a fun kids ride)

Broadway: WICKED, Monty Python, Producers, Annie, The Wiz, Mama Mia, The Princess Bride, Billy Elliot, Mel Brooks movies (Pretty much the show area of the park. One complaint people use against Universal is they don't have good shows however by dedicating a section to shorten fun versions of stage shows could allow those who aren't able to ride a lot or those who are scared of most rides to do something.

Transylvania: Bill and Ted, Rocky Horror, Dracula, Van Helsing, Coraline, Franny K Stein, Frankenstein, Addam Family and The Munsters (I'm pretty sure this is an easy one to figure out)

The Planet: Star Trek, Promethus, Riddick, Doctor Who, Battlestar (Sci-fi area)

I think this hits practically all demographics except those 3 and under.

My Little Pony is Japanese? and I can't see an entire area themed to Broadway... maybe as a Twister replacement. Wild Town confuses me... it seems like a hodgepodge. Scott Pilgrim would fit better in Japan since he's pretty stylized.

Gremlins, Goonies, BTTF, Ghostbusters, Super 8, Beetlejuice and E.T. could make a great 80s based area for nostalgia.

Transylvania is near-perfect but move Casper there and add Scooby-Doo (Casper, Scooby and Coraline could be a kid-friendly mini-land within Transylvania)

Little Rascals is cool, but not fairly popular. Lord of the Rings would need its own area to be done right, as would Mario. Zelda could fit with WoW and Percy Jackson, too.

The Planet could have Futurama, Metroid and Star Fox as well.

I'd recommend maybe adding something like Fantasyland - MLP, Smurfs, Scooby, Laika, and Casper could all fit here.

My Little Pony and Hello Kitty could easily be aimed at preschoolers.

I like the idea, but Wild Town just doesn't make sense to me. An 80s based area could go over well with nostalgic fans (Pac-Man could be included here as well). MLP doesn't fit in the Japan section. and a whole area for musical shows doesn't sit right with me - especially when USF already has a New York section where a nice Broadway show could go.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't want to say that LOTR wouldn't be involved... just that it isn't the reason for the name. And the project name isn't a rumor, but something tossed out there with a Mona Lisa smile by someone just a notch or two beneath the head of UC.

Oh, I see... the mystery deepens. I'm honestly getting pumped about what's coming post-Diagon: Kong, KidZone, the waterpark, this 3rd gate possibly, not to mention the other projects we don't know much about yet.

 

[quinnmac000]

I like the idea, but Wild Town just doesn't make sense to me. An 80s based area could go over well with nostalgic fans (Pac-Man could be included here as well). MLP doesn't fit in the Japan section. and a whole area for musical shows doesn't sit right with me - especially when USF already has a New York section where a nice Broadway show could go.

One of the biggest things I hear from Disney Fans which they don't like about Universal is the shows are on screens or just not entertaining to them so I decided why not take Universal films can give them a choice of shows, Moms would take their young daughters to see Annie or Momma Mia or the Wiz, most familys would go see Monty Python or Mel Brooks. I don't think Universal would tear down Twister for a show just repurpose it for another attraction like Godzilla. And I just added my little Pony to Japan because there was no where else to put a female based IP, and the reason why it was called Wild Town because if you seen all those films, they all are really adventurous but didn't want to call it Adventure land.

 

[natespf]

Wow, this thread blew up today with wild speculation. I am trying to get thru it, but was there some news I did not find yet?

 

[mahnamahna]

One of the biggest things I hear from Disney Fans which they don't like about Universal is the shows are on screens or just not entertaining to them so I decided why not take Universal films can give them a choice of shows, Moms would take their young daughters to see Annie or Momma Mia or the Wiz, most familys would go see Monty Python or Mel Brooks. And I just added my little Pony to Japan because there was no where else to put a female based IP, and the reason why it was called Wild Town because if you seen all those films, they all are really adventurous but didn't want to call it Adventure land.

But putting all of the shows in one area just isn't a good idea.. and Broadway would be too similar to New York in USF. MLP in Japan is like Laugh Floor and the Speedway in Tomorrowland spread the shows throughout the park (1 or 2 per area) - balance is key. Putting 4 or 5 shows in one area would make those areas far too congested when showtimes are coming up. How would you balance the times each show starts? It just seems like the paths would get unnecessarily congested if you put that many shows by each other (at least before and after shows).

Most of those shows aren't owned by Universal. Wicked is the only one of two that you listed where a theme park attraction would make sense. The rest would be slightly random. Monty Python would fit better in your Mystics section as a Holy Grail-themed attraction. Young Frankenstein could fit into Transylvania.

Wild Town just sounds like a mess waiting to happen - sure there's an idea of adventure... but why are all of those IPs there? What do Ghostbusters and Little Rascals have in common? What does Scott Pilgrim have in common with Gremlins or Goonies?

The 80s theme would be broader, allow some more flexiblity, and provide some nostalgia. Gremlins, Goonies, a new version of E.T., Super 8, BTTF as the anchor - you've got an 80s setting, a sense of adventure, and the Spielberg connection all in one. Three things that tie the properties together. Casper would fit better in the horror section since he's a ghost. Plus, he'd provide something kid-friendly for the horror area. Casper was produced by Spielberg as well, so you could include him as well.

You have some good IPs but Broadway wouldn't make sense anywhere but USF while Wild Town just seemed too hodge podge to me... not trying to be too harsh since this is all blue sky speculation I loved your ideas for Transylvania and the Mystics... Planet was good as well, just maybe include Futurama and The Jetsons as more light-hearted IPs for a sci-fi area. Planet of the Apes could be good as well. It was pretty solid aside from the overkill of another NY area and a jumbled section of random IPs! :thumbs:

- - - Updated - - -

Wow, this thread blew up today with wild speculation. I am trying to get thru it, but was there some news I did not find yet?

The 3rd gate is supposed to have DisneySea-level attention to detail/theming... hence why everyone jumped into this thread

 

[Teebin]

Wow, this thread blew up today with wild speculation. I am trying to get thru it, but was there some news I did not find yet?

It started with the quote by WhyLightBulb on another website. The discussion here began with the post of the quote.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

The 3rd gate won't be for a little while, so new and exciting IPs that haven't even been created are possible for it. I hate the Pacific Rim idea though, it doesn't seem like a big enough franchise for a theme park ride and the giant robots would look redundant with Transformers.

I would really like a year round haunt attraction or even land. Maybe something like USH's House of Horrors or that Resident Evil shooter attraction at USJ.

 

[shiekra38]

This 3rd gate is so far...who knows what will be popular/relevant in 6,7,8 years...this park will no doubt go through changes like IOA did..I just hope they don't bite off more than they can chew like they did with IOA and the Uni Escape fiasco..

Continue to develop the parks and make both a full day (by AP standards) and then we'll talk 3rd gate

 

[maxairmike]

Alright, time to dig back in and see if I can get you all any more information on the Major Blvd. lots. To start things off, here's a link to the post I created last April with acreage, value, etc.

http://www.orlandounited.com/forums...niversal-Resort-Expansion?p=302231#post302231

I'm starting to go through and see if values have changed significantly for any lots and also taking a closer look at any documents/records linked to the properties on the Property Appraiser site. Here are the major notes from last year's post, though.

TOTALS (Including 3 DOT/State of Florida Runoff/retention plots)
- Guest Rooms: 2,531
- Acreage: 119.2 acres
- Total Market/Land Value: $120,717,149

Obviously you would subtract the 6.1 acres and $3,054,319 in value from those overall for the two DOT properties (because I think that Grand National connector is a very good thing no matter the end result and will be happening regardless) for 113.1 acres (+/- whatever you have from re-routing/getting rid of Major Blvd. itself) and a total value of $117,662,830.

EDIT #1: The lot that Teebin had an interest in (vacant hotel lot next to Days Inn) has had a sizable decrease in value since the 2012 value which is what I used in my previous post with all the details. Its current "working" value (not certified yet) is $7,400,458, up slightly from 2013's value of $7,377,758, but still $500k below the previously quoted value. Let's see how that change compares to the other lots...after looking at about half of the lots (all the hotels and vacant lots), it appears most of the lots have actually increased in value in the $100ks range, with the exception of one big outlier that increased by about $2 million vs. my previous noted value (the Holiday Inn Express).

 

[mahnamahna]

This 3rd gate is so far...who knows what will be popular/relevant in 6,7,8 years...this park will no doubt go through changes like IOA did..I just hope they don't bite off more than they can chew like they did with IOA and the Uni Escape fiasco..

Continue to develop the parks and make both a full day (by AP standards) and then we'll talk 3rd gate

Well, from what whylightbulb said on WDWMagic, the 3rd gate is roughly 10-15 yrs away. Right now, they're doing as you just said - making both parks full-day affairs (adding rather than replacing, maximizing space such as the new Springfield area and Transformers, adding more attractions than what was there before like Diagon Alley has, more than likely planning to fix other dead areas/bottlenecks - KidZone, front of Toon Lagoon, etc)

 

[maxairmike]

Looking into Major Center Plaza I and II (the office buildings) is making me think they'll be the hardest/most expensive of the bunch to budge if Universal is putting a play in for the whole area of Major Blvd. Office buildings are not cheap to build, despite what you would think. For example, the new office building on Kirkman Rd. is slated to get a sibling soon, and it is expected to be an $18-20mil investment for 133k sq. ft. Major Center Plaza II is 84k sq. ft. and the building is valued at $5,266,450. There are currently 3 spaces for rent in the building at a total of $632,195/yr, so when you consider giving them money to find a new lot, build a new building, move tenants, and cover any other incidentals they may want covered...yeah, it adds up quickly on top of the assessed value for the current property. Given the hotel situation in Orlando, I feel they would be much easier targets, save for Double Tree, which might take a bit more $$$ power to move as well.

 

[UniversalCityFL]

One thing I am wondering about, and just reaching here, is whether or not "Project Ring" might not be the code name for this third park. That it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with LOTR, but more with the design or concept of the park itself.

As much as I love knowing things, I am more challenged by having to wonder and guess, and yes, judge.

Doesn't UO have a patent on a circular wavepool? Circular... Ring...

 

[ChrisFL]

Does anyone know how to calculate the property values of everything in pink below? There must be a city website with that info.

I still think the vast open space just a bit south, west of Festival Bay would be much better...save for that whole I-4 being in the way thing (monorail overpass?)

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.469916,-81.4560835,1423m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[graspthesun]

I don't think WoW translates to the general family and theme park audience.

If it's still running strong at USH and USS, I could see Waterworld making an appearance in the third gate.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

I'll chime in and say if Universal is indeed doing an expansion, here are a few things I'd like to see. Most of this stuff won't happen nor am I saying it should just chiming in.

More attractions at the current theme parks before or if a third gate is even built.
A bowling alley in city walk. Sure Cabana Bay has one, but with more resorts and people staying on property, the variety of options should be expended so all guests can use them.
Not your typical Bowling alley but maybe one with lanes that have themes and bowling pins that project characters and franchises within the parks? I just want City/Walk to have a balance of family friendly and adult friendly. Thats what made pleasure island so great in it's hay day.
I'd like to see Universal re-vamp their version of the transportation and ticket center. A new paint job, upgraded benches, etc.
A boutique hotel. Something similar to the boutique hotel going into downtown Orlando near Lake Eola. Where the Valet Parking is, I'd love to see a Hollywood theme mini-resort.
Or even something small with a representation of properties through the hotel. Offer something Dsney Springs can't.
More Landscaping. Disney hides their parks, Universal does a good job, except some parts of USF are weird seeing the backlot, and storage buildings/stages.

- - - Updated - - -

I still think the vast open space just a bit south, west of Festival Bay would be much better...save for that whole I-4 being in the way thing (monorail overpass?)

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.469916,-81.4560835,1423m/data=!3m1!1e3

That will NOT be a theme park ever. Orlando Thrill park was rejected several times because of the Tangelo Park complaints next door.
There is a Hyatt House going right near that location anyway.

 

[ChrisFL]

That will NOT be a theme park ever. Orlando Thrill park was rejected several times because of the Tangelo Park complaints next door.
There is a Hyatt House going right near that location anyway.

Actually, the Tangelo Park issue was south of Festival Bay, they wanted to put that thrill park on that smaller patch of land between them.

Edit: after looking at it, I guess it wasn't that much smaller