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Universal Orlando adding Fast & Furious ride for 2017, removals


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That is awesome!  I can't wait.  We are actually planning on doing a big Florida themepark trip in 2017.

I wish they would have given more notice, would have liked to experience both removals one more time. Was looking forward to them next year, just got back from a Caribbean vacation and its very unlikely I'll be able to go this year much less in the next week. Still excited for the new King Kong ride though.

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While I'm sure many will enjoy this new addition, I will miss the removal of more classic Universal Attractions to make room for another simulator/screen ride.  

 

Just seems like Universal has gone the route of adding new attractions that are basically the same simulator/screen concept.  Then again that is how they are able to roll new attractions out so quickly.  

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Universal is ON FIRE. So many great additions to the park. And yeah, sure, they're removing classic attractions. But these classic attractions are old and outdated. Hate to say it, but there's not many people in this generation that are big fans of Beetlejuice. It's all about what's popular now. 

 

Edit: You know what else is old and outdated? Universal's website. It's been nearly the same for years. The attractions listing is really weird and I don't like it...I wish they would change it.

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That blog post does not state it will be a simulator attraction

 

The post is very vague on the exact specifications, but it should be assumed that it will be a carbon copy of Hollywood's Supercharged "attraction". Hopefully Florida's version will be a hybrid of screens and practical effects in the main ride portion, like what the upcoming Skull Island attraction is rumored to be.

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That blog post does not state it will be a simulator attraction

 

The post is very vague on the exact specifications, but it should be assumed that it will be a carbon copy of Hollywood's Supercharged "attraction". Hopefully Florida's version will be a hybrid of screens and practical effects in the main ride portion, like what the upcoming Skull Island attraction is rumored to be.

 

And the fact that it states it's an adventure with the stars of the movies pretty much says it will involve screens as that'st eh only way to have the stars a part of it. But I agree, I hope there is some more effects and things for it as well. Hopefully at least be something akin to Escape from Gringott's or Spider-Man with some practical sets with the screens a part of them versus just screens.

 

Not going to really miss either of the attractions replacing it either. Beetlejuice was just a standard musical revue show and really didn't have much to do with Beetlejuice besides some of the humor. And since it was a stage show they could easily open up a new version elsewhere. Disaster was kind of fun but very old and never had much of a crowd so not surprised to see it go. The attraction has been updated multiple times but has always felt like the exact same thing through each iteration. Would be cool if they somehow utilize the subway scene for the new attraction in some manner though.

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And I am a sucker for immersive experiences with real effects.  Sorry I am one of the few that misses Amity and Jaws.  One of my favorite rides at Universal.  Then again I think Indiana Jones at Disneyland is better than Spiderman and pretty much anything else out there.

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I am one of the only people I know that thoroughly enjoys Disaster. I like the Fast and Furious movies (as of late at least) but I wish they would of taken out something else, like Twister (I realize that's a small location, still). Its bitter sweet, so long as they make the ride good unlike that junk in California. I am just happy I took a trip there earlier this year and was able to ride it before the removal.

 

So long Frank Kincaid...

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I nearly ALWAYS end up being part of those type of rides/shows, be it Disaster, the old Backlot Tour at Disney, even when they had the "live" newscast in Hollywood Studios.  Disaster was a cool ride, and I am glad that I was able to do it twice last year, and, was in the "show" both times. 

 

Being a foot taller than everyone else always gets me picked. 

 

Sad to see it go, wonder if it will be another "simulator"?

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Edit: You know what else is old and outdated? Universal's website. It's been nearly the same for years. The attractions listing is really weird and I don't like it...I wish they would change it.

 

I can second that. Just recently planned a trip to Orlando for October and after looking at Disney's website and moving on to Universal's was frustrating.

 

For a quick example, compare the 'Park Hours' pages for Universal Orlando vs. Disney World's and try to search out a few months for all parks. Disney: I can drop down a calendar, click the date I wanted, and the hours for everything on property. Universal: You can only click forward one month at a time, for one park at a time. Each time the whole page has to reload.

 

Sorry, I've just been dealing with Universal's annoying website for a little while now...

 

Anyways...

 

As for the ride, I'll reserve judgment until more details are out. I'll agree that it does sound like another simulator in a resort that people say is very simulator heavy already. I guess I'll get to judge for myself in just over a month!

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds many problems with Universal's site. It really is not good, at all, especially for a huge theme park.

 

And it's not a "simulator". The only simulator at Universal is The Simpsons Ride. Their new rides like Gringotts, Transformers, Forbidden Journey, etc., are full blown experiences. They have motion simulator aspects, along with moving down a track, drops, spins, real effects like fire and smoke, props...to me, it's the best way to make a theme park attraction now. You really feel like you're apart of an adventure.

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^

And they obviously do as well.  Myself I prefer less of a reliance on screens and 3-d glasses and more on physical props, effects and animatronics.  

 

I will take a ride like Pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones Adventure over something like the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman.  Thats just me and Im not saying its a bad ride, but Universal in my opinion relies too heavily on the same style of rides that are mainly projection screen based.  Just to give you an idea of where I stand I think the Revenge of the Mummy is better than the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman.

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And I am a sucker for immersive experiences with real effects.  Sorry I am one of the few that misses Amity and Jaws.  One of my favorite rides at Universal.  Then again I think Indiana Jones at Disneyland is better than Spiderman and pretty much anything else out there.

 

I definitely prefer practical effects and rides over the simulated, but I think Universal has done a great job with the simulated rides/screens as well. Spider-Man and Harry Potter (especially Forbidden Journey) are great combinations of practical and simulated. But Yes I would love to see some more stuff like Indiana Jones, that is one of the best rides.

At the same time too, while I like practical effects and they seem more real, for the movies the screens I think are a bit more immersive for the movies. IT allows you to really go on a journey with the characters from the film in ways that practical effects couldn't achieve. Animatronics can look great but can still tell they aren't real (usually, though Disney has fooled people some). But on screens they can put the actual actors in a film that is part of the ride ad talks with the guests. Without them some of the stuff wouldn't be possible. Could you really imagine going on a Harry Potter ride without Harry Potter characters in some capacity?

This is bigger for Universal than Disney since Universal is basing attractions off movies, and Disney has many of it's big live action films based of attractions or comic books. Though even they have been starting to go more towards projection based systems as well.

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I hope it's good, honestly I do, I won't be back around in Orlando probably until 2017. Then I will make my rounds hitting up Mako as well as Kraken and Manta, refurbished Hulk, and obviously, Skyscraper. I'm OK with screen rides, not my favorite; HOWEVER, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is my absolute favorite non-coaster ride. The screen parts are ok, but the practical effects are awesome, especially the bridge section with the dragon. That section was always the "scariest" for me.

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Disaster was kind of fun but very old and never had much of a crowd so not surprised to see it go.

 

...and yet I remember waiting over 60 minutes for it a few years ago, in 2011...

 

And I am a sucker for immersive experiences with real effects.  Sorry I am one of the few that misses Amity and Jaws.  One of my favorite rides at Universal.  Then again I think Indiana Jones at Disneyland is better than Spiderman and pretty much anything else out there.

 

I miss Jaws terribly.  We last went to USO on July 18th, 2011.  Jaws was one of my favorite rides of all time, and I was preparing a then 6 year old GatorGirl for it, telling her that it was one of my favorites and that there's a shark that attacks the boat but it's all pretend, nothing would hurt her.  As she was playing at the Curious George play area, I pulled out the map and saw printed on there that Jaws would be closed from July 18th to whenever for maintenance.

 

Now, I had checked USO's website before we left for Orlando for any planned ride closures and couldn't find them anywhere.  WDW's website, on the other hand, was and still is excellent in letting the public know of any rides that will be down for maintenance.  Needless to say, I was ticked.  We had just been to MK the day before, and if I had known beforehand that Jaws would be closed starting the day that we were going, I would have switched our MK & USO days.

 

Then to add further insult to injury, a few months later they announced that Jaws and Amity would be closing for good.  Sigh.  Now the last time I experienced it was June 1999, and GatorGirl will never get that pleasure.

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The same thing happened to me earlier this year for Jurassic Park River Adventure. On the website it said it would be closed the following month for 2 weeks. However when we got there it was closed and was closed every day for the 3 days we were there. One of my favorite rides anywhere since I was very little and bringing someone who had never been to Universal before, I was quite upset myself. 

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Yea I had the same thing happen to me earlier this year with Jurassic Park as well. It was the only ride there closed when we went though so could have been worse.  Unfortunately same for Disney, though knew before hand since they let you know. Little Mermaid dark ride was closed which was one of only 2 attractions at WDW I hadn't been on so was bummed it was closed but was teh onyl major closure at the time at least.

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