2010 Best Theme Park Attraction: MuppetVision 3D vs. Shrek 4-D

March 19, 2010 at 12:33 PM · Jim Henson's Muppets are timeless. Anyone of any age group can enjoy their show. I saw it on a big family trip, and both my father and my niece (a 60 year age difference) had a great time.

March 19, 2010 at 12:37 PM · This is tough for me, but I chose Shrek. I had such a great time there. It's fun for the kids, and I love all the subtle jokes and pop culture references. MuppetVision is good too. I remember going to that last year and I don't think I even saw all the cool Henson stuff in the queue on the way in.

March 19, 2010 at 1:03 PM · Wow this is surprising. Shrek 4-D is awesome and MuppetVision is just an after thought now. MuppetVision at DCA is like a ghost town, nobody ever watches it. Shrek 4-D has a fun story line, more and better in theater effects and is like 14 or 15 years newer and based on a multi-billion dollar franchise. this is a shocker.

March 19, 2010 at 1:06 PM · I enjoy both of these rides a lot but the Muppets take the cake for me. They are a legendary brand and have been apart of our life for a long time. This show while not perfect captures some of that magic and makes it somewhat real. Definitely a finalist for me.

March 19, 2010 at 1:08 PM · No doubt about it - Muppets for the win.

My only criticism of Muppets is the extremely irritating character "Waldo". However, that's nothing compared to the irritating pneumatic chairs in Shrek. During the chase scenes, the theater sounds like a giant compressor.

March 19, 2010 at 1:12 PM · I am not a fan of Shrek 4D so it was easy for me!

Muppetvision is still the best!

March 19, 2010 at 1:26 PM · Shrek is typical of Universal Studios Hollywood. Not very immersive, can't decide if you're part of the show, watching the show, or even if you exist... just like Terminator 3D.

The chair movement was annoying. Not sure if the story in Shrek is non-canon or not. I stopped liking Shrek after the 2nd one came out as the animation was too herky jerky for me when they did action, and the jokes were typical Mike Myers. (I thought he was hilarious in the past, but he seemed to recycle jokes.) I've only been to the Shrek show twice and it never got better.

Muppets win for me... they are timeless, the show has charm, and can be enjoyed by anyone, and there aren't very many pop culture references. I think pop culture references work as long as they're updated constantly like in live shows, or in tv shows.

Muppets may be empty compared to Shrek, but there really isn't much to do in USH... the park can be done almost 100% in one day.

March 19, 2010 at 2:20 PM · 3D movies date faster than any other theme park attraction. I adore the Muppets and many of the live theater effects are still amusing, but the 3D in the actual film is extremely poor. I enjoy Shrek and the quality of the presentation is simply better.

March 19, 2010 at 2:48 PM · I love both - but I always weight things on what I'll go on each time I'm at the park. I always skip the Muppets nowadays - but I never skip Shrek. The moving seats during the gallop scenes are the best. Go Shrek!

March 19, 2010 at 3:08 PM · Although I don't agree with Brandon's criticism of Universal, I agree with one of his points I forgot to touch upon: many of Shrek 3D's jokes are recycled (e.g. "compensating for something"). It feels thrown together, unlike the first movie.

March 19, 2010 at 4:24 PM · @Joshua: I can't speak for Universal Studios Florida as I've never been there. And from my understanding, both USH and USF have the same Shrek show. From the looks of it, the company has a bigger budget and/ or gets more bang for their buck there. Just from my few decades of living in So Cal and visiting USH regularly, I feel like the West Coast Park just doesn't have the same... quality maybe? Take the Mummy Ride at both parks... I would argue that the USF version is much better from what I hear... from the length of the ride, to the queue, USH got shafted due to re-using the existing building. Then there's Animal Actor's Stage, which is bigger at USF. And the Jurassic Park Ride in Florida has a better T-Rex... not to mention a full fledged JP area. Maybe it's not just real-estate concerns, but also budget issues in Hollywood as there seems to be only an eye on making money up front (meaning lower cost) and not really spending the extra money to make a ride better themed and detail oriented in the long run.

March 19, 2010 at 4:46 PM · I suppose in some respects it is better, but don't undermine USH. Waterworld is better than any stunt show USO has ever seen, the tram tour is unique and soon to be improved, and Transformers will be huge when it finally is completed.

March 19, 2010 at 4:55 PM · I do hope that USH does get better... I have a hard time coming back more than once every 4 or 5 years now as there isn't as much to do in the park itself. Where the Wild West Stunt Show was is still unused I believe. There's only about 9 attractions total excluding the Curious George play area and the Universal Experience. Not to mention the pointless Fast & the Furious part of the Studio Tour!

As much as I didn't care for the Transformers sequel (that opens a can of worms!), I hope the ride is similar to what I've seen about Spider-Man! And the Studio Tour is a part of history that should never be taken away... and I'm anxious to see what's been done to the new King Kong. And yes, Waterworld if phenomenal in terms of a stunt show... blows away the Indy one in Florida.

March 19, 2010 at 7:05 PM · Oh, Transformers 2 was horrendous, easily the worst movie I watched in 2009. What a headache. Regardless, I'm sure the attraction will be amazing.

March 20, 2010 at 1:31 PM · You guys are making me feel like I'm not missing much, since I've only been to Universal in Florida. Maybe USH will be well worth the visit after Transformers and King Kong open. I wonder if those rides will match or even top the awesomeness of Spider-Man?

Yes, the Mummy at USF is a great ride, and much better than the west coast version, from what I hear. And Jurassic Park is really good too, after it got refurbished and the dinosaur AAs put back in working order.

As for Shrek 4-D, I've only seen it once, but I thought it was a fun show. The Muppets is much more charming, though. No contest.