DreamWorks Land: A Cheap Marketing Gimmick
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 22. 06. 2024
- Universal has completely come far from the many screen-based rides and simulators that plagued its parks, really embracing attraction design that was much more ambitious from 2019 onward, starting with Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. We've since seen great additions like the Velocicoaster, other various Jurassic World attractions, Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash and Super Nintendo World among other additions. Now with Epic Universe on the way, Universal is teasing one of the best theme parks ever built. Yet among such a strong showing, how did we get Villain-Con: Minion Blast in 2023 and now DreamWorks Land in the Florida studio park? They're both cheap, quickly thrown together additions, which is weird considering how well Universal has been doing pretty much everywhere else. In today's video, I talk about the new DreamWorks Land, give my thoughts on how it's a worse replacement for Kid Zone and try to illuminate how it's really just a marketing gimmick meant to drive attendance for Epic Universe.
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The land was clearly made especially quick, but for what was there before, I donât mind it much. Iâll always miss Curious George, and even Woody, but I think the best thing is that at least Shrekâs swamp can be visited. I just wish more DreamWorks IP could be represented here too, but I guess they just handpicked the highest grossing franchises for themselves or something.
I think there was a course change pretty recently about dreamworks. They farmed out their IPs to every park that wanted them till we got the first big update for the new park.
This was a time and manpower issue and not money.
I'll miss Woody too, not the attraction itself but him as a walk around character, i loved His cartoons And after All, he Is kinda the Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny of universal, he seriously needs at least an attraction, i'm thinking like a reinterpretation of the show he had in Japan where It mixed live sets And actors with animated projections of Woody with practical efects to simulate he was real, honestly It could work.
Disney vomiting their IP all over the place is not okay, but Universal doing it with their Dreamworks IP is okay⊠got it. đ
@@emilioalberto6967 Well they are just swapping IPs. they also never tried to build the city of the future or a zoo land.
Also Disney isnt even using its best IPs.
People would be fine with an interesting Lionking ride in ANimal Kingdom...
@@ktm6612 The attraction that you mentioned that featured Woody Woodpecker as the star was called âAnimation Celebrationâ. Which ran from the time that Universal Studios Japan first opened all the way until 2017 when the show was replaced with a Curious George show attraction.
I'd assume the small budget for Dreamworks was due to Epic Universe being built at the time. It's a shame. At least there's a ton of walking space for kids to run around in. The lemonade and huckleberry ice cream cones are surprisingly great. The DJ at the rollercoaster is also a cute touch.
This is one of their massive problems. They spent so much time and money on Epic that their other two parks are severely neglected and the updates they have received indicate potential problems for Epic Universe itself. The reality from all the data is Epic Universe is unlikely to make a dent in Disney - it is just going to pull from Universal's other parks. People are not extending vacations and the reality is that most families that visit have younger kids under 13 that will gravitate more towards Disney - though Nintendo will be the lone exception.
So instead of investing in their current parks, they have left Suess Landing as a mess, have nothing in Lost Continent, have an aging Toon Lagoon that has nothing to offer for around 3-4 months out of the year, and a horribly maintained River Adventure. At Studios the first three of four rides you encounter on the main street are all screen based and the fourth is rumored to be shut down next year. MiB is in bad shape, the Simpsons is another screen with IP that only has a few years left, and your last big E-ticket was a massive bust with Fast & Furious - taking away two attractions that were enjoyable for one that is not.
On top of that, the newer attractions have had operational issues that indicate they were not vetted. Over in California, Mario Kart breaks down a lot as do elements in the land. All of those simple animatronics have proven a challenge for Universal operations to maintain. Hagrid's took a long time before it became generally reliable, but it still has problems (and it also has other design issues, such as the lack of immersion and the major gaps in theming). Even when it is running all the time, it's not approached its theoretically capacity of 1700 because of poor station design. Even when the park is slower, it has a two hour wait. Hagrid's and Tron have nearly the same ride capacity, yet Tron actually comes pretty close to hitting its capacity while I have heard Hagrid just languishes between 1000-1200 per hour most of the time. Velocicoaster has similar issues with capacity with that one usually sitting around 1200-1300 when there are no breakdowns. Disney remains much better at designing rides to optimize operations to get near the theoretical capacity.
So that leaves the current parks a bit of a mess and also portends problems for the new park since Universal has shown little ability to get the operational aspect under control. I think part of that is that UC operates without consulting operations much as part of their design whereas Imagineers work with operations before finalizing design in order to optimize any downtime issues and queue flow. My guess is with all the money thrown at Epic, this will be where the failure points will be - breakdowns, especially on more advanced rides. Those animatronics in the big Monsters ride are going to break a lot and I will bet Universal will not be ready. And the loading and unloading will be inefficient, causing few of the rides, if any, to come near their theoreticals. With so few rides in the park (11), I expect lines will be 2 hours on average most of the time for just about everything except maybe the Yoshi ride.
I would argue that Universal just has no idea what they really need to invest in. They want to draw people in with thrills and pretty window dressing, but underneath their operations are subpar - and part of that is because the design of their loading and unloading is subpar just as their planning is.
Realistically they should have invested in their current two parks. Nintendo at USF as they originally planned was a GREAT idea. Ministry of Magic was going to go to Studios as well. A Zelda land at IOA could already have begun, now Lost Continent will languish. Maybe Toon Lagoon could have been torn down and a Pokémon land could have been added. Instead they ignored their two current parks and focused on a new park that likely will have the same endemic problems.
Thatâs what I thought too, but theyâre building Universal Kids Resort as well. While the current concept art looks cheaper than the original, I tell myself that maybe most of what was outside is now inside, and that they arenât facing budgeting issues, since they decided to license SpongeBob. My fingers are crossed that this will be a great place, but I was using the former KidZone as a preview of things to come, and that has got me scared. It would be cool if they could ship whatâs left of the former Feivelâs Playland to the new kid park, sticking it in the expansion land, but thatâs probably unlikely,
dreamworks sucks so , it's weak anyway.
I wouldnât even be surprised if they cancelled the Dragons Land and smacked the Woody Woodpecker IP on there instead of
as a huge HTTYD fan, I think it's a relief that it isn't among the IPs at dreamworks land, and instead is receiving its own huge area at epic universe. this franchise got the love that it deserves and I hope it continues to. too bad I live in europe lol
I agree I think itâs a franchise that is worthy of a whole land
Apparently thereâs going to be a Universal Studios park in the United Kingdom thatâs coming soon. However the park wonât begin construction until next year and itâs said that the park will be completed by 2030.
Unfortunately I missed HTTYD in the theaters and just saw the trilogy this year. I was shocked at how good it was and it's definitely one of the best Animations from the CGI era.
One aspect I think caused Minions and DreamWorks to be so cheap is Covid. Covid delayed Epic Universe's opening from 2023 to 2025. So for 2023 and 2024, they needed new attractions to market. And they had to be cheap because of Epic Universe's costs as well as lost money from Covid.
I was a kid who loved the Kid Zone. I had no clue who Fivel was but adored the playground. I returned to it again and again, even when I was probably too old to be there. I was also a big fan of Curious George as a kid and liked that area as well. Sad to see the quality diminished but I hope the kids who visit will also have fun memories.
Love Fievel, they should at least bring him back into a new attraction.
To be fair, Universal was given less than a year to build Dreamworks land, and they have Epic Universe sucking out the budget. Still it could really used a dark ride or two in the future, especially in the Shrek area
Yeah, it was definitely fast and I get why they did it. I just hope they do better in the future, which I think is likely.
People having the mindset of, âuniversal will fix it after epic universe profits,â makes me smile. Iâm so used to being a Disney fan where you have to accept that Disney will let this attraction rot until theyâre forced to make bare minimum fixes. Although universal does have a few attractions that theyâve seemed to neglect, E.T., Seuss landing, and Jurassic park, theyâve been pretty good with updating other things like Spider-Manâs video and refurbishing the hulks tracks and effects. Hopefully when they have a good budget to reinvest in the other two parks dreamworks land, and the other attractions Iâve mentioned, can get some proper love
@@scrublord1253 Actually, E.T. now has animatronics that haven't worked in years, as well as lighting upgrades. Seuss Landing has gotten a lot of new paint and fixed effects over the past few years and Jurassic Park has fixed issues with its figures as well (although I think the ride still needs a rebuild).
@@PoseidonEntertainment thatâs pretty nice to hear and adds to the argument of universal actually caring about its rides. Been probbaly 2 years since I rode E.T. and Jurassic park, so now I have a good reason to ride them again. I think they can do more with E.T. though. Like getting with Spielberg and creating a revamp to the ride. Simple modern updates to the scenery and little technological improvements, although I think old animatronics have a charm to them that canât be beat. Also, have they fixed a good bit of the problems you mentioned in your Jurassic park video?
Iâm so sad when people say âitâs just for kids; they wonât know or careâ. Older kids can absolutely pick up on it. Also, if we donât treat our kids like they are the absolute sponges they are, all they will absorb is cheapness and laziness, and that they arenât worth effort. (Kids are in subconscious sponge mode til about 8.)
Generally I agree, but the land is definitely meant for kids no older than the age of 4 lol. By the time they're 8, they should be tall enough for the other attractions in the park.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentjust say youâre paid for by Disney and stfu
It's a mistake to bring children that young to a theme park in the first place, especially if they come from far away. Families are going to do it anyway though.
Mama Luna is from Puss and Boots, The Last Wish.
Itâs an absolutely amazingly good film. It transcends the franchise and moves it to the level of the Spiderverse films.
Itâs a good film. But people need to absolutely calm down about it. The hyperbole around it is so overblown.
â@@happymaskedguy1943 Fr
Didn't remove iconic attraction for a quick update, delivered what was promised in their concept art, and all the rides and animitronics are working...id say its a pretty appropriate upgrade to a part of the park previously ment for preschoolers and toddlers...
Itâs not my cup of tea, but I understand why the DreamWorks land has a smaller budget, because theyâre pouring all of their money to Epic Universe.
Plus, thereâs space behind DreamWorks Land that could easily house a large E-ticket dark ride in the future, so thereâs that.
Donât forget Universal Kids Resort, and their plans for Europe.
Yeah, I'm hoping that DreamWorks is so cheap, that it might look like a viable option to tear it down in the future for something more substantial, or at least add an actual dark ride in there.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentThey ainât tearing down a whole land they just built because a few people said there land sucked đ if that were the case fast and furious would be gone by now
Man, youâve gotta watch the Puss in Boots films, theyâre great (the second one probably more than the first, but Iâm nostalgic for it)
I think people will see keep the 7 day trip idea: 2 days at Epic (mostly because it will be busy being the hot new thing), 1-1.5 days at Islands, 1-1.5 days at Studios, 1 at Volcano Bay and I-Drive attractions (the Orlando Eye, Fun Spot, or anything else), and maybe a day at SeaWorld since its close by (either driving, taking the bus, or using a taxi/rideshare) and ignore Disney altogether since its just a bubble separate from everything else.
Yeah, that's what I think might happen, especially since Universal's new hotels will be walking distance to I-Drive.
â@@PoseidonEntertainment Yup this is about right. I'm planning an all adult trip to Universal in 2 years, and we'll be doing 2 days for Islands, 1 day for Studios, 2 days for epic universe. And then one day to Busch Gardens
i go between Disney and Universal every other year. I usually stay at Surfside at Universal... the room is a great value and comfortable (3 beds, 1 in it's own room). The thing I actually liked most is the hotel buses, i had gotten used to waiting on Disney buses. The most i ever waited for the Universal bus was maybe 2 minutes but most of the times it was just waiting there. I suppose it has a much shorter drive than the Disney buses but i've certainly noticed the improvements since staying with Disney for so many years.
Jimmy Fallon as an experience and show should be used for Guantanamo bay to get government secrets
Naaaah, that's Simpsons, or maybe mission to Mars... Give a person 4 or 5 consecutive rounds on those and they'd be ready to spill any info.
The ball factory was hell. Hot, loud and at the end of every day, all the TMs would have to pick up and count the balls. If it was off by a certain amount, the managers made you recount them all. They also had to be cleaned in a ball cleaner occasionally under the stands in animal actors, which was more humid than hell itself.
I had no idea that they had to manually count them? That seems insane?
If Universal is going to do an update to DreamWorks Land, They should add The Ball Factory back in place of the lame screen show, or maybe around 2026, they demolish the area and bring Woody Woodpecker, Fievel, and Curious George back to the area (and also keep the Shrek house, now behind Fievelâs Playland).
The reason why dreamworks land is like that is because the budget is saved for epic universe. Iâd say universal is doing way better than Disney now. For me dreamworks land is decent. Also I was shocked when you said Jimmy Fallon is a good ride lol.
Exactly
Yes that was really odd because usually I agree with this youtuber
Universal is not doing way better, they are way worse. Their operations remain subpar, their attractions are maintained more poorly that Disneyâs, and their operation Disney is some of the worst in the industry. Universal thinks a pretty veneer and some tech is all it takes. You can pay $300 extra for Express and Hagridâs isnât on it because they canât hit ride capacity.
UNIVERSALâs general tide theming is terrible. Hagridâs is a great coaster but the themed sections are so spread out and many are very weak. Velociocaster was so poorly designed that the theming is completely inconsequential. And their most high tech rides break down a lot. Mario Kart in Cali and Japan has issues almost every day.
With Disney finally deciding to spend, Universal is in real trouble. Both IoA and Studios are not very good parks and Epic will have few rides and likely struggle hitting near theoretical ride capacity in most of them, causing a lot of consternation especially when they might charge $200 a day early on to go there. They should have focused on actually making their parks superb before building a new one. The market is saturated and theyâre not pulling anything away from Disney.
It's a good SIMULATOR, don't misinterpret things now. Most people still don't like these kinds of rides, but they're accessible to young and old people and they don't take up much space, so for a simulator ride Race Through New York is well made.
@@birdflox1337 Im not misinterpreting things at all, because I went on it myself and its not that great. But hey, its just my opinion, But I get what you mean and I respect your opinion.
Dreamworks land isn't perfect, but it's not a bad edition to USF. The IPs there are now bringing Families and small kids especially, to that once empty land, and they seem to enjoy the offerings there. You also have to remember Universal is putting their full budget on Epic Universe. The land has a lot to offer, and at the end of the day it seems like responses from Families and Kids have been positive.
I kinda agree. I do find Dreamworks land pretty good, but does need more work. The Shrek stuff is my favorite part of that land. The playground and the Shrek and Donkey popsicles, a nice way to make up for Shrek 4D going away.
@ultimatedisneycruiselinefa5112 Oh yeah they can definitely add more stuff to dreamworks land down the road.
Isnât Universal also building a dreamworks theme park in Texas so that kids have a park to go to, i feel like people keep forgetting that is happening
@@ultimatedisneycruiselinefa5112Iâm mean you have to keep in mind that it is for the KIDS and not grown adults
@@therealventuresthere isnât enough space
I feel like Dreamworks as a whole deserves a more substantial area, particularly Shrek.
Maybe push up to the space behind Simpson and adjacent to MIB later on for a better attraction.
This is a very fair review of DreamWorks Land. We (myself and my family) were there for the public opening, June 14th (maybe I saw you and didn't even know). It was an overcast and rainy day and the playground area was closed, so we couldn't really enjoy it much, but it did seemed much more geared towards kids 7 and under.
The Shrek area was nicely done but the Kung Fu Panda area did feel lacking in activity.
I get the feeling that Universal will likely add or change elements to this park over time as it becomes clear what elements worked and didn't work.
The DreamWorks show was nice and I liked the messaging of using your imagination. I think Universal has taken the criticism of too many screens to heart and has worked to get away from that reputation as much as they can.
At least, it seems like there's room for a dark ride back there if they really wanted to put one lol. The land does feel very temporary too, so maybe Universal knows that it's future expansion space in maybe about a decade or so.
@@PoseidonEntertainment It sounds like a good idea for them to add more here once Epic Universe is open and they start investing in this park.
Also, why the heck is kids zone pizza now a dreamworks cafe OUTSIDE dreamworks land? That makes no sense. You are right next to spongebob and sell pizza and don't call your cafe krusty krab pizza? It was right there universal!
They don't have rights to make a krusty krab.
That would break stephen rules.
@@Hachacha08 They are making a krusty krab in the Texas kids park.
It's pretty lame compared to the Dreamworks themed areas in other parks around the world. Dreamworld in Australia once had the DreamWorks Experience with a Madagascar jungle playground, a Shrek themed medieval carnival, & a recreation of the Jade Palace & Mr. Ping's noodle shop. I would be remiss not to mention Universal Studios Singapore's fantastic looking Far Far Away section.
The great thing about the DreamWorks Experience in Dreamworld was the fact that most of it was just a facelift of the former Nick World. They proved that you can do retheming right.
I had hoped that the new Universal Kids Resort would have a Far Far Away sections comparable to that of Universal Singapore, but the updated concept art makes me think otherwise. Thereâs also an indoor play area in the Philippines, called Dreamplay. They have so many indoor play areas themed to DreamWorks franchises that I know it can be done in both Florida and Texas.
This was cheap because it's temporary. Once epic is open this will eventually close and become another land. Lot of space here.
Hopefully bring KidZone back to this part of the park.
I love Sunday morning theme-park exploration via Poseidon.
I am hoping that what's in the new Dreamworks land will be updated further after all of the investments into EPIC winds down, like,e ven just coming back and installing static figures vs the flat cut outs would be an improvement, as well as maybe adding to the experiences once they're able to focus on it better. Only time will tell.
I guess I don't really know what's behind a lot of the land, but maybe there's room for a dark ride down the road?
8:48 Awesome interactive element, the broom that falls over because an employee forgot about it
Last time I was this early, I was rope-dropping Tower of Terror
Iâm going to Disneyland and I can ride velocicoaster is tower of terror scarier?
@@DaffyTaffy93I mean, it just depends on what you find scary, really. Iâd say no, because it just drops, but itâs more sudden and in the dark, so itâs really up to what you personally find scary
@@DaffyTaffy93personally I find it scarier than any roller coaster Iâve ever been on. Still a great ride though
once epic universe is open I'll forget about Disney
Hey Poseidon, IDK if you heard or went but universal hollywood park is doing a 60th celebration for their tram tour. They have some retro trams and a get off the tram and have a set tour experience, with some cool photo spots. The tram ride is longer and more extensive. I really enjoyed it. If you can get out there i reccomend it. Its not a huge up grade but super enjoyable
Yeah, it looks cool, but I probably won't be back before it's gone
I mean itâs for little kids so for Universal to build it in the cheap is alright but at the same time too I respect you for keeping it real since when Disney does it on the cheap itâs bad but some people feel if universal does it thatâs okay so I get it đ
I mean Epic is of most priority rn. If they can get something small budget like this out, I think itâs fine. I better see a good amount of time and money and effort be applied to a potential Zelda land đ
Eh, I don't think they should really be building attractions on budgets like Villain-Con and DreamWorks, but I've seen them do a lot better, so I'm more forgiving of it. I'm excited to finally see real attraction investment come to the park.
Disney does it on the cheap more times than universal, replacing successful attractions with absolute failures. Meanwhile dreamworks land didnât replace anything major and itâs mid like the land before it. Besides universal is actually releasing good rides and epic universe unlike Disney whoâs just kind of lazy
I have to say, I REALLY miss woody woodpeckers little kid zone
I think Universal has just done the math and decided its not worth it to try and invest too heavily in toddlers and little kids. Their aim is obviously the 10+ crowd and far more investment to attract teens and adults with thrill rides and IP for older kids. I think it's because more and more parents just dont see the value in bringing kids under 5 years old to the parks anymore. Its far too expensive, cumbersome and not something the child will even remember so they wait until they are a bit older to go. Plus older kids are more likely to beg their parents to go or purchase souvenirs. Considering dreamworks is getting an entire land in Epic with Isle of Burk im guess all the budget and attention went there from dreamworks instead of the kiddie play area.
I get the feeling that the current version of DreamWorks land is only meant to be temporary. I think this could very well just be Universal trying to expand their reach with families of young children now, so when Epic universe opens, a much larger portion of their audience will already view the resort as a multi day experience. Come 2026, we'll probably see a much larger investment into this land, what exactly that means I honestly couldn't tell you. But what I can tell you, is that based on the way this land is constructed, it doesn't seem like this is meant to be a long term solution.
Maybe they are making duplicates of what they have planned for Universal Kids Resort. My fear was that what you see in FL is what you will get in TX, but maybe itâs the opposite. They needed something now, in preparation for the opening of Epic, but at the same time, most people arenât going to plan a special trip to DFW, so replicating what will be there and putting it in Orlando as well will give families the opportunity to experience it.
Yeah, I can see DreamWorks being demolished for something better within a decade or so. It feels very "Camp Minnie-Mickey".
Yes indeed I agree. Iâm of the opinion of no matter how much these bigger theme parks have, you should always try your best to make amazing experiences, no matter if itâs a kids-zone or not. A example is Disney sea, a park that is amazing everywhere but even itâs more kid area(little mermaid) is still a amazing, breathing taking area around every corner
I like it when the slide farts
Good for you
@@harryxyz2982 Thank you. It makes me guffaw
Omg, that sounds like a kid magnet! đ
I feel this land is just a band aid meant to be semi temporary.
The previous area it replaced was incredibly outdated. It needed a refresh ASAP. However with Epic Universe taking up a lot of the recent investment, and licenses for other near by areas expiring soon (Simpsons) they didn't want to invest significantly in a retheme when a bigger one might be on the table in 5-15 years that might tie into the Simpson land replacement.
So the DreamWorks area was used as a temporary solution. It also likely had the bonus of being a test bed for some ideas for their DreamWorks kids park. Less the rides and more walk around characters, theming, and shows.
Yeah I agree. It definitely delivers if you want to see characters, which works for the demographic it's targeted towards.
When I was exploring the land and saw the kung fu panda show, the actor said âgive me an awesome if youâre having a good timeâ and all the kids stayed quiet. It was so funny those kids did not caređ
Yeah, I stood there and watched and no one seemed very interested lol
@@PoseidonEntertainment hopefully they work out the kinks and make it more engaging for the kids. The talk with crush is popular and I liked it as a kid so there is a way to do it right at least.
Also maybe advertise it more cause I didnât even know it existed till I walked back there
Dude. Jimmy Fallon is not a âfantastic simulatorâ lol. L take
Heâs not fantastic at anything
His takes lately have been questionable
2 years ago was my first time at the Disney/universal parks. The Jimmy simulator were tied for first with fast and furious on my list of "worst attractions" đ
Lol facts.
@@therealventuresđ€š
You know he can have like⊠a different opinion than you, right?
I donât always agree with his takes (I didnât particularly agree with the Tiana vid), but overall, the man has his own opinion. Iâd rather listen to give a different but yet still well thought out take than just hear the same stuff over and over again that I agree with
15:30 Wanting to go to a theme park because of IP isn't shallow. I understand why shoving IP into every attraction is bad for the parks but if someone sees a ride with a familiar character and wants to visit the parks because of that -- its no less valid than any other reason to visit. Getting a bit pretentious to say visiting a THEME park for the THEMING is shallow, even if the theme is some IP you don't agree with.
I think it's shallow if they would have never considered Universal without it. It's like when I see a Reddit thread with people saying that they only want to come for the Harry Potter stuff. You have two whole parks worth of experiences available to you and you're only interested in one specific thing? It's telling me that they don't care about experiences or theming, but rather just looking at iconography.
Poseidon is absolutely CHURNING out content, and Iâm here for it.
I'm all for his content, but this video sucked
Let's see if I have time for another video this month lol
10:00 The slide at Fivel was an absolute nightmare. The heavy rafts left me with long lasting wrist pain I still deal with several years later. Kids would pee in them constantly. Parents would send down unsupervised children as young as 3 years old, YES 3 YEARS OLD, down a 3 story tall raft ride and then throw a hissy fit when their kids got stuck in the ride without a parent to be there with them đ© Universal tried to curb this by implementing taller height restrictions but it barely helped.
In the winter, the top of the slide was actual hell on earth, especially at night. Standing next to water in 40 degree weather on an uninsulated platform just so 3 Canadian children can slide down it was awful. Not to mention that you're only allowed to wear winter hats under a certain temperature threshold. So if it was just slightly above, congrats, you get to freeze to death until the next poor employee took your place in rotation. RIP to anyone that had to man the 45 minute lunch block up there...
When they re-themed it I let out a sigh of peace finding out that the spawn of hell was removed. NO ONE liked working that thing and people would show up early just to claim the rotations that didn't include it if available, or whichever of the two slots (top/bottom) they found least grueling...
Trust me. It's a good thing that the water slide is gone đ€§
Edit to add: Ballfactory was a sensory nightmare for employees and a cesspool of disease for children. Balls rolling all over the floor getting put into the mouth of toddlers all day long. Imagine how much spit and gunk was licked by them đ at the end of the night all of the balls had to be wrangled, counted one by one, and put away to be spit on the next day. Oh, did I mention they only get cleaned ever 2 weeks? đ€§đ€ą
Iâm kind of baffled that, based on your footage, what looks like a good half of the merchandise sold is related to Gabbyâs Dollhouse, yet there is no area based on it. In my experience, that show is absolutely HUGE with the exact audience this land is aimed at, and the playgrounds pretty much design themselves. I guess prioritizing major film franchises over a Netflix show makes some sort of sense, but I wouldnât be surprised if the kids in the park are significantly more familiar with Gabby than Shrek.
I'd bet it's because adults make the plans and book tickets. I've never even heard of Gabby's Dollhouse before but I don't think there is anyone my age who hasn't watched Shrek or at least enjoyed the meme.
@@kc3d777but the adults planning the trip are the ones who have kids..? childless adults arenât the audience for this land. parents have generally heard of the shows their kids like? and i guess some parents might prioritize their nostalgia over their kidsâ likes but also thatâs kinda messed up LMAO
@@jjuni98 yeah I understand that point. But I imagine in a boardroom somewhere they realized they could sell more pretzels shaped like Shrek's head then Gabby's. I think it also has a lot to do with Universal skewing their target audience older then say Disney who is definitely aimed more at younger kids.
The answer is simple. Fievel and Barney. An American Tail and its sequel were HUGE back in the day. It even had its own animated series. Sure, it had two other straight to video sequels, but most of those children were too old for them. And thatâs the problem the Playland faced. By the time it opened, the children who loved the franchise were too old for it. I was born in 1982, so by the time I was able to play on it, I was too old, and just felt awkward.
Barney was a hugely popular kids show as well, but by the time it came out, same issue. I mean, I had a classmate who was actually on the show. It was filmed locally near us. My brother was born in 1991, and he LOVED the show. But same issue, by the time it opened in KidsZone, he was too old.
Shrek however is a very old franchise, and Trolls and Panda have also shown itâs relevancy with all its sequels and series as well. Gabby however may not be a thing in the next few years. They donât want another Fievel or Barney. Itâs possible that she may get more representation at the Universal Kids Resort, but they will most likely be careful with it, allowing it to become flexible should Gabby no longer be popular.
The one thing DreamWorks land really needed was a dark ride (preferably without replacing ET). I imagine that would be difficult, since while you could expand into the backlot you are taking space away from HHN.
To me it just seems like a temporary investment. Wouldn't surprise me if they removed it in the near-ish future when they build something to replace MIB or the Simpsons Ride - also using this plot of land to expand for the new attraction
I think they needed a newish kids zone asap and they put this together quickly and have their more experienced engineers working on epic universe and future projects we donât know about.
I agree, I can see it getting replaced within a decade or so
someone needs to tell universal that we have screens at home!
Itâs interesting how this doesnât really upset me as much as say a modern day Disney reimagining. Like it really shows the different level of expectations and trust I have for each park. If anything new comes out from Disney I expect it to be cheap yet cost a fortune to skip the line. However most of the money will certainly not go back into the park, it will go towards their failing streaming service instead. It is fascinating how much they have destroyed over half a decadeâs worth of good reputation over the years. Universal on the other hand continues to build trust and favor with customers. Theyâre aware they need to improve their offerings to compete with Disney but also build a good relation with park goers. So even though dreamworks land was made on the cheap you canât really be mad cause you know the money they saved will go into epic universe and no where else. Plus who knows maybe they can make changes and improvements with the huge revenue theyâll get one epic universe opens. Iâm optimistic and canât wait for even more immersive theming like the dark universe.
Also, while the theming of fievals playland was beautiful and fun it was also really dirty from what I remember. Like the bottom of the ballpit was full of dirt, leaves, and even a diaper. Granted that was like a decade ago so maybe it got better. I will miss the vibrant colors and fun water effects of the curious George area. My sister and I had a lot of fun trying to get eachother with water.
Yeah, it seems like better investment will likely come to the studios once Epic opens, so I'm a lot more forgiving of them cheaping out right now. I can't say that I found much more value in Shrek 4-D than Villain-Con and while DreamWorks is technically worse than Kid Zone, it's the characters that really matter for the toddler demographic that this is meant to appeal to. I think it's easier to overlook when the quality move is generally pretty lateral.
Ive been to universal studios once. When i was 8 years old back in 2007. I remember really loving it, but its just sad to see how a good chunk of the rides i enjoyed back then are gone. Id go back one day if i get the chance but it definitely would be very different
At least it is better than the new public park at epcot.
Minions cafe is sooo good though đ
After Epic Universe is up and running I can see Univeral finally giving Studios the TLC it needs. You throw in the one / two combo of an aging "Men in Black" with the uncertain future of "The Simpson's Land" and it's not hard to understand where the money should be going. That end of the park. Because there aren't replacement parts for MiB and if Universe is the Disney killer it's advertised to be, Universal may not even want The Simpsons anymore. Even if Disney comes in with a reasonable proposition, which is highly doubtful.
I'm honestly not sure if its even fair to say that kids wont care. True most kids won't be sitting around critiquing Dream Works land like you do in this video, but I think they can notice the differing quality (subconsciously or not) and they deserve to have thought and effort put into their experiences.
I usually agree, but the land isn't really meant for kids older than the age of 4 or 5. Kids any older will likely be able to experience other areas of the park.
the rumored simpsons, fear factor, and rip-ride rocket replacements seem to be a lot more substantial than dreamworks or minions, so iâm hoping those attractions come to the park sooner than later
A fair and balanced video with lots of details. Thank you Poseidon Entertainment for this new review. Cheers!
Hopefully after Epic Universe debuts, they'll come back to update things like this
When I first saw the Shrek playground I was like "oh not bad" but then compared directly to camp jurassic I legit gasped at the difference in quality
I just can't get over "let's take out the kinetic energy of a ball pit/ball launcher and put in a screen instead"
braindead design choices imho, even with budgetary constraints I feel like they could have done a lot more if their big ticket "attractions" hadn't been inherently screen-based, but I'm sure they decided that maintenance on screens instead of interactive elements is cheaper in the long run and woof the quality suffers so badly for that
My thought was that considering the amount of money that they are spending with epic Universe it's understandable. I wonder what the cost overruns are like?
The original universal park really does have an identity crisis, when I went to Japan I was amazed at the balance of the entire park. Im willing guess and excuse some funds got sucked away to epic, it isnt great but if they needed to opej a quick land to shut down other rides to fix that lets me understand it more. The simpsons land is the biggest question since odds are they will close it and if thats the case they need more space to shift people to.
Having been to the Japanese one very recently, it does need a few extra rides to beef it up a little bit imo. Hopefully the Donkey Kong Country area is a huge success, and whatever renovation they have for the Jurassic Park boat ride is as well
Yeah, I really want to see Simpsons leave lol. I get why it has its fans, but aesthetically, I think it's a visual blight on the park. Plus, if Universal tore everything out, they could expand back and utilize a lot more park space for new stuff.
Keep in mind that the parks in Japan or any other country arenât run buy the company in America, they are run by complete different companies in their respective country, different standards that they have to follow etc.
I completely agree with these thoughts, people I know have been hating on the land and I feel they donât understand the size of epic universe they donât even care what the land offers they just think itâs garbage very disappointed. I feel the land actually does offer some fun for little kids.
Yeah, I think it's overall pretty mixed. It could definitely be better, but it's a hit with its toddler demographic lol
A lot on Universal's plate vs nothing of note for Disney
Great video but from what I have seen I was not expecting DreamWorks Land to be Harry Potter level and/or soon to be Epic Universe level. I guess they accomplished in creating a kids land that was built in like one year and it looks fine for that. Now when Epic Universe opens that is when I will really expecting alot from Universal given all the hype.
Yeah, it's more a branded playground than anything. It feels temporary enough that Universal probably considers it future expansion space.
@@PoseidonEntertainment This DreamWorks Land reminds of a comment by Hey Bricky concerning CommuniCore Hall. When I saw that I thought the entire Epcot "overhaul" is such a missed opportunity and was going to do serious harm in the long run. Again while I still personally feel that it looks like a mall and/or hospital food court and get the impression that it was purposely designed this way so that it could serve as a multi-purpose space for festivals and other events. But a CZcams video by Hey Bricky helped to make sense of this. The possibility that the CommuniCore Hall and the entire Epcot "overhaul" were deliberately designed this way and should be considered âtemporaryâ to make it easy to update more dramatically in the future (maybe in another 10 years). Which actually makes a lot of sense; as you also stated the same could be said for DreamWorks Land were this is temporary and Universal maybe in a few years could decide this using this as future expansion space.
Even in 2020 (right before it hit the fan) I already had made the choice to stay at Universal with a day for Disney rather then the other way around because it was just that much of a better value prospect.
If Race Through New York is great then F&F Supercharged is the magnum opus of dark rides.
I'm honestly shocked you haven't seen Puss in Boots: The Last Wish considering people have been raving about it being one of the best Dreamworks films in years, if not one of the best animated films ever.
I've heard it's good, but haven't gotten the chance to see it
People saying its fine that its cheap because the budget went to Epic Universe, if that were true than they should've waited until they could do it right. I doubt this is a short term band-aid, it looks like a permanent addition
i agree! the entrance sign alone is bafflingly bad- itâs starting to feel like people are falling into âuniversal good, disney badâ and, if nothing else, iâm glad poseidon isnât afraid to be a dissenting voice.
I must say that the 2D stand ins look temporary, because it definitely does cheapen the area. At least Woody and Fievel were 2D, but CGI, it needs to have 3 dimensional characters. They have a few, but not nearly as much as they should. Maybe theyâre waiting to make multiples of whatâs going to be at Universal Kids Resort. But if it is budget related, why is there a Universal Kids resort in the first place? Vegas? UK? Spain?
It makes me wonder if Universal views this land as temporary as well and could be planning to use it for something else in maybe a decade or so.
Another good video! I just finished a trip to Disneyland Paris (both parks) and was somewhat underwhelmed with the experience. I was wondering if you had thought about creating a video about these parks, particularly the deplorable condition of the Studios Park. Would love to see that video!
Taking out the jaws ride was unforgivable
Luckily it's in Japan!
@@therealventures Iâm guessing itâs also still there because of Stephen Spielbergâs contract with Universal. Which is why E.T. Adventure at Universal Studios Florida is still there since the day it first opened.
New Poseidon video the morning after I just binged the last 5 I missed let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Cannot wait to see him talk about the Monster area when that is built in Epic Universe
This might only be a temporary "stop-gap" and they can improve/beef it up before Epic Universe opens. Hopefully they will add attractions and remove the cardboard cut-outs at the very least!
I doubt it, but it's cheap enough that I can see this area being replaced for something better in a decade or so.
Even with the brutal title, I think you gave this baby land props where it deserves it. If it works for the very young park goers, itâs hardly a failure. I really hope Epic Universe lands it!
đđđ man you guys move goal post like crazy now itâs okay to be ass if itâs for kids okay lmao isnât the whole park for kids đđ
Is it brutal? It's just meant to be an acknowledgement of what it actually is
@@PoseidonEntertainment Yeah, It's kinda brutal. LOL
@@PoseidonEntertainment âcheapâ and âgimmickâ make it sound like no redeeming value soâŠyeah brutal title haha. That being said, if I had a little guy I would still want them to have a chance to enjoy it
As someone who hasnât been to Orlando since 2019 there isnât much drawing me back..but Iâm also in Asia.
I usually agree with you but I feel DreamWorks land is completely fine for what it was supposed to be. Iâm not sure why people expected another wizarding world
No one expected that, but there's less to do than what was there before, which is the issue.
At least its better than moana journey of water đ
Shrekâs Swamp alone is more worth it lol
Agreed. The Moana is crap.
Huh? Thatâs an amazing space that actually fits the traditional Epcot view and so much better than anything Universal has in Orlando outside of Potter. Seems like a bunch of people that just hate Disney and are willing to take whatever Six Flags+ stuff Universal offers and think itâs good.
You sound like a person who has not been to epcot
Yes I believe a new land themed around iconic dreamworks characters is better than a couple water fountains
I agree with your take on DreamWorks Land; it is not meant to be a high-quality exceptional experience but rather a much-needed kid-friendly area with good snacks / drinks, worthy meet-and-greets, as well as the excuse to re-do E.T.'s exterior.
I think that the land delivers what it needs to. Universal decided that having all DW (except for How to Train Your Dragon) characters is one area is a HUGE opportunity to draw attention; the digital advertisement on I-4 East is also a bit attention grabber.
Thanks for the overview with your thoughts here. This clearly was meant to be cheap and quick, but it is seeming to work. It'll be interesting to watch.
That thumbnail makes it look like that guy is bowing down to a giant troll
I just went and Shrek was gone before 4pm. How do you build a meet and greet area and not have characters at it (this was on a Saturday)
I WAS WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO FINNALY DO A VIDEO ON The villain Mayham ride!!
I went on it for the first time a couple months back, and I was shocked by how boring and stupid it was .
you know how you get bored halfway buzz light-year sometimes because youâre like things are moving but not like crazy and Iâve done it quite a few times but Iâm there for the vibes and the seat.
Yeah, I imagine they took out all of that and theyâre just like I stand there with a gun and almost everything itâs just gonna be flat screens and youâre gonna stand on your spot at not move .
It was just in concept alone not fun to stay in there and shoot at the screen while it pulls you on a conveyor belt ?
I honestly was annoyed at how long the ride was because I kept getting brought to a full stop and then kids would get antsy and start to run off their spots.
I just donât see how this concept at all works even if it is kid focused .
I think the creators were like oh iPad kids like a lot of colors and movements - but after like 20 seconds of it itâs all the same and going very slow.
This attraction is not going to hold up at all, and I give it less than five years being up .
The minions franchise, so beloved by children, and it has become itâs very own classic franchise . Why waste it on such an awful ride.?
I rode it with grown adults, and we all decided we would never waste our time is on that ever again.
I feel Dreamworks Land still has so much potential, but Universal Studios decided to cut costs with their development to see which IP would get the most return on investment! I would say Shrek and Kung Fu Panda should get dedicated rides, since those IPs can compete with Disney and Pixar theme park attractions.
I donât know if they can compete, I try and get my kid to watch Dreamworks stuff and he has no interest compared to Disney, Pixar, and Illumination.
@@CobraKai63 Dreamworks hasnât been as big as their heyday in the 2000s. But they still make animated movies geared towards older kids and adults.
Saying Jimmy Fallon is a good simulator has to be a crime
I would love a video about your take on the Fallon simulator! An ironic favorite among my friends that feels like it needs more discussion.
They shouldnât have removed Jaws and Twister
Damn, they got rid of Twister?
â@KreuzDrache It's been gone for almost a decade and was replaced with Jimmy Fallon.
@@reacts6230 oh I thought it replaced the Terminator show, that's even worst!
@@KreuzDracheNo the Terminator show was replaced by Jason Bourne and IMO it was a very pleasant upgrade to the experience being a lot more choreographic and involving more props and scene transitions. Itâs a pretty great first time viewing.
@@rodimcgeesums633 Alrighty, I will certainly check it out if I ever go there again!
I think what you said at the end was right. Universal is being given the benefit of the doubt because they keep investing and it appears they are listening with things like the course correction on screen rides. I do hope Disney turns it around.
As a parent I love the playgrounds personally... could there be more, yeah. But what we got is actually kid friendly and fun and I think it will be good for universal
great video! i always love hearing from someone who doesn't suck up to the parks to get benefits and yeah i love both Disneyland and Universal Hollywood the same because they are very different experiences.
They have space at Illumination Ave and DreamWorks land to add future attractions. I see these as the 1st stages when they didn't have enough money available but now they won't have to close significant parts of the park while working on the 2nd stage for these two lands in a few years.
Where would Illumination have extra space? I certainly don't see them replacing any sound stages that they use for HHN
I think the Dreamworks area could have been better, but I do understand that Universal is saving their budget for Epic Universe. I do wish Woody Woodpecker still had SOMETHING in the parks though, considering he's basically Universal's Mickey Mouse. Ironic that Disney has made a few Mickey attractions, but Universal keeps taking away Woody's attractions. I'd still rather go to modern Universal then modern Disney though. Unless Disney brought back a variant of Kitchen Kabaret/Food Rocks. I'm a huge sucker for anthropomorphic food mascots, and vintage music, which is probably why Kitchen Kabaret/Food Rocks appeals to me and I never even got the chance to experience either show! Epic Universe looks like it's gonna blow the Disney parks out of the water unless they fix their issues. Also, this is a hot take, but Disney should've opened WESTCOT instead of California Adventure, or maybe had Disneyworld get California Adventure while Disneyland and WESTCOT. From the small amounts of concept art, WestCot looked AMAZING! One of the many theme parks I wish could've existed, along with Claymation Station.
While WESTCOT did look incredible from the concept art, I don't think it would have aged well lol. Yeah, I'd still be interested in seeing it if it had been built, but I what I really want is a California themed DCA that actually had a real budget thrown at it.
Poseidon, what would you do to fix Universal Studios Florida? It is easily the worst park in the area and is plagued with many issues including reliance on simulators, lack of theming (other than HP), weird land layouts, and lack of space. I would LOVE a full length video on how to fix Universal Studios. For fun I have tried to re-imagine USF and basically came to the conclusion that the majority of the park would have to be torn down and rebuilt for it to live up to the expectations of IOA and Disney parks.
Most of the park is just bland soundstages or buildings themed to a city. In my opinion, the only high quality rides are Revenge of the Mummy, E.T. Adventure, and Escape from Gringotts (you could potentially include Transformers and MIB). And other than Diagon Alley, the park theming feels minimal. With HRRR and the Simpsons looking to close in the near future, I hope Universal can turn USF around. Would love to hear your input on what they could include to fix what is easily the worst major Orlando theme park.
Iâve wondered with the talk of universal building a year around horror attraction in Las Vegas ,if there was any chance someday USF would have year round horror nights?
That might be an interesting video for sure. I'll say that Transformers has really grown on me though and MiB is the best dark ride shooter in my opinion. I actually got stuck on it the other day and I was surprised by how much detail there was. For as many times as I've ridden it, I didn't realize how much I missed because you usually move through it all so quickly.
I also disagree on the theme of the park, I actually really like that it's still presented as a movie studio and I wish they would lean into it more. It's a great reason to put in any attraction theme they want. One big fix I would make to the park is more dark rides though. I have a video from a while back where I discussed what a "Universal Great Movie Ride" might look like, bringing back scenes from Jaws, Earthquake and Kongfrontation, which I think would be immensely popular. Kind of like an updated tram tour, but all inside a building with big scenes.
Veloci-coaster may be my #1 roller coaster on earth. I think Universal is crushing it lately. I still feel like despite 1 billion (allegedly) going into the Disney parks, that they are still far behind, with no real plan going forward. I'm also pumped about Universals monster land (I forget the name tho) Great video as always!
It may be mine as well, either Veloci or Hagridâs. Itâs close đ and I agree with everything else you stated
Disney has a massive plan and itâs more than a billion. Itâs 17 billion.
Universal is hardly crushing it. Velocicoaster is a great coaster with incidental theming that would be just as good at Cedar Point without the Jurassic World tie in. It adds nothing. Hagridâs does a bit better but not much. It is very much a ride on par with Dollywood. And these are all off the shelf coaster designs. No new ride system, etc.
Universal parks have only a few good attractions. Spidey remains the best ride at IoA. It has four rides that at good. Studios is a mess and it only has two good rides and a great show. I am cancelling my pass because Universal just has so little to do and its rides just do not do well over repeats.
And those tow coasters continue to have crazy long lines because Universal is so far behind operationally. They do not design their queues and load/unload mechanisms with efficient loading in mind. Look at the Disney double dispatch model on Tron and Guardians. Heck, look at how they can pulls cars out for those that need help boarding on many of their rides. Disney clearly spends a lot more money and time on this - as they do on crowd throughput. The portal design at Epic is going to be a catastrophe with large crowds. One way in and out of a land is something they were warned about but did not listen to. You are going to have to stand in line to get in and get out.
Universal should be better at this but they have let the creatives be in charge without any real input. Disney never does that. Imagineers always need to work with operations to get final sign off. The amount of negative press Epic Universe will get because of its flaws in a year is going to be bad for them.
Tbh, I'm happy with the new stuff being there in preparation for Epic Universe coming in.
Also... It at least isn't an indoor dark ride retelling the story of Shrek with limited motion puppets.
Yeah, but that's a Motiongate thing lol. If Universal created a Shrek dark ride right now, it would probably be great.
@@PoseidonEntertainment
Maybe đ€
Though, rn most of their budget is going towards to Epic Universe, so we'll wait and see what happens later down the line.
Though... đ€
Since Universal has the rights of the back catalog of DreamWorks animation... Could we possibly see the other ips I being added to Universal Studios Orlando's parks in the near future? Like Wish Dragon and Over the Moon as a expansion pad to Celestial Park?
Universal Studios park in Orlando is just all screen-based . The only exceptions are MIB, which needs an update, ET, which I actually forgot about until the third edit of this comment, and Rocket, which isn't exactly a stellar coaster.
To me, Itâs very offensive what they done to The Ball Factory of Curious George Goes To Town, They should have kept The Ball Factory and just rethemed it to Kung Fu Panda instead of a lame screen show (very cheap Universal), they should bring The Ball Factory back in the future if they are going to update the area.
Man, the ball factory was one of my favorite things at Universal as a kid. All I was thinking about during this video until you got to it
It's always one step forward, two steps back with Uni. đ
When I learned that the Curious George area was being demolished I was devastated, sure the Kung Fu Panda ia neat but I absolutely loved the ball area. It will be missed
From what I've seen from pictures and videos, this seems to be of higher quality than what it could have been.
8:49 When he said "Poppy's Playground" for a second I thought that he was talking about an attraction based on the video game until I remembered that it's called Poppy's Playtime.
Gen alpha mindset
@@SlushysSecret I was born in the late 80s, I've just been seeing it pop up a lot in my feed and other places recently.
Disappointing indeed. Hoping that when Epic Universe opens and Universal gets a steady stream of cash from all 4 parks, they'll revisit this area and plus it more.
Iâm heading to Orlando in August and the goal was to experience Universal Orlando for the first time. There are simply too many new rollercoasters that Iâm excited to experience and Iâm thrilled with the idea that Iâll be able to ride ET Adventure for the first time in 35 years when it was removed from Universal Hollywood and replaced with the Mummy Coaster.
I bring this up because I had no intention of visiting Disney at all because itâs too expensive now and doesnât seem to want to offer much that interests me enough to justify added cost to my trip. But I have a Cast Member friend that told me if I added a day to my trip, she would give me a free pass for the day to the Disney parks. So this is going to allow me a chance to finally see Star Wars land for the first time, and maybe get a chance to experience some other new attractions like Mickey and Minneyâs Runaway Railway, Ratatouille, and Cosmic Rewind. But since I only added one day for Disney, and the Lightning Lane system doesnât seem to work all that well, Iâm essentially going to get to what I can, and then focus the majority of the trip on Universal.
I did decide to attend Mickeyâs Not So Scary Halloween Party because it just happened to be going that extra night in there and Iâve always wanted to experience it. Plus, that will give me the chance to experience Tron Lightcycle, Tianaâs Bayou Adventure, and if I can get to Magic Kingdom early enough, the new Country Bear Jamboree retheme.
But the main focus of this trip was always Universal, and I suspect (as you do at the end of this video) that once Epic Universe opens up, this will be the case for more Orlando bound vacationers.
I did a mainly universal trip and mickeys not so scary party for one night out of the entire week trip and I found that if you pay attention to times for things you wanna do at mickeys Halloween party, one night is enough for magic kingdom! I highly recommend looking up ride POVs of the rollercoasters at universal so you have an idea of what you want to do. Also downloading the universal app will help with wait times and placing orders for food since a lot of the food places now have you scan the QR code at the table and order that way! Hope you have a wonderful time !!!! đ„°đ
I'll say that other than the past two weeks which have been moderate crowds, Disney has been a ghost town this summer lol. It seems like it's going to quiet down after the 4th too, so you might be coming at a really good time to experience everything with low waits (hopefully).
@@PoseidonEntertainment thatâs fantastic to see!! I rabidly use TouringPlans to plan out my visits and they are predicting heavy crowds and long lines at Hollywood Studios when I plan to check out Star Wars land lol. But other crowd calendars paint a nicer lower crowd prediction haha.
It feels like they could have narrowed the scope and had two *good* play areas in the rebuild as versus several mediocre ones to make the most of a limited budget...but yeah, the A-team and A-budget are focused on getting Epic off the ground.
Big letdown is where are the kids rides? Japans version of kids zone has 12 rides aimed from really young to teen and they couldn't clone some of those for kung fu panda area? Also, they made a big deal over gabby there and all she gets a crappy meet and greet photo op. Not even a small spinner ride or have her show up in the stage show? Would love the croods or monsters vs aliens also.