Universal welcomed the DreamWorks Animation characters with a tweet:
Welcome To The Family, @DWAnimation. https://t.co/18q1lAr5qY pic.twitter.com/gqzROiHULy
— NBCUniversal (@NBCUniversal) August 23, 2016
First thought? Universal Studios Hollywood has a Toothless character ready to go? We need this meet-and-greet in the parks, right away!
Of course, it might not be that simple. As theme park fans learned when Disney bought Marvel, theme park rights to specific characters don't automatically switch upon a change in ownership. Universal's long owned the theme park rights in all its markets to the Shrek franchise, and Universal devotes an entire land in Universal Studios Singapore to Madagascar. But the park hasn't featured DreamWorks Animation's other big franchises: Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. The SeaWorld Parks recently held the US theme park rights to the Madagascar characters, but that deal appears to have expired. In the Middle East, the theme park rights belong to the new Motiongate Dubai park, which will include an indoor DreamWorks Animation land when that park opens October 31.
But in the United States, with no other parks currently using Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, or How to Train Your Dragon, Universal would appear to have a clear path forward to bring these characters into Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. DreamWorks Animation will become part of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, along with Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, Universal's other animation studio, best known for the Minions. Universal is expected to take over the distribution of DreamWorks Animation films, which has been handled by Fox since 2013.
So what should Universal do next in the parks with these DreamWorks franchises? (In addition to setting up that Toothless meet-and-greet, of course.) I love the Madagascar land at Universal Studios Singapore, but industry gossip about troubles with the development of its centerpiece indoor boat ride suggests that Universal won't be in any hurry to clone that ride elsewhere. Plus, How to Train Your Dragon and the The Croods appear to be the hotter franchises at the moment, with sequels under development at the studio. And with Universal committed to a The Secret Life of Pets attraction and a new Nintendo-themed land, one can wonder where DreamWorks Animation franchises fit on Universal Creative's increasingly crowded development schedule.
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I've been begging for them to bring the HTTYD theatre show into the parks forever.
Second, Nintendoland is also a fact. It will be replacing the Kidzone area in the Studios park in 2020. Rides based on Mario Kart, Donkey Kong and Yoshi's Island are currently planned for it.
Lastly, while plans for Dreamworks are still in their infancy, all signs seem to suggest a dedicated land to their characters at the aforementioned third park akin to what Anon Mouse above described.
Hopefully not. These franchises are perfect for dark rides, but then again, so is Despicable Me and Simpsons. We'll have to wait and see.
Ugh! Universal has exactly two simulators in their parks, Simpson's and Despicable Me, with a third on the way, Jimmy Fallon.
Disney on the other hand currently has three, Soarin, Star Tours and Mission Space, with two more on the way, Avatar and Millenium Falcon.
If a ride actually travels through an actual ride path, it is not a simulator whether there are screens or not. A simulator simulates travel. It doesn't actually go anywhere. Thusly, Spider-Man or Toy Story or Harry Potter or Nemo or King Kong or Universe of Energy or whatever are not simulators just because they utilize screens. They are dark rides.
Says who? You? The fact is that Universal keeps seeing attendance increases while Disney has been suffering tremendous crowd losses. The general public has clearly spoken and they like what Universal is doing. They've specialized in a more kinetic attraction that frankly can not be done with a slow moving boat ride.
Epcot at its inception was a collection of slow moving rides past sets and animations. What did guests say about it? They called it boring and animatronic overload. Disney then slowly got rid of that type of ride. For better or for worse, that has led to park we have today.
"Are they allergic to real sets and animatronics?"
You do realize that Skull Island has a number of animatronics, right?
Kong has a number of AAs. Sure, and that number is two. The rest of the ride is Kong 360 3D transplanted to the East Coast. What a missed opportunity. This could have been one of the greatest rides in Orlando.
P.S.: How come they never used the Kuka Arm again?
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