Attentive readers noticed this morning that the T2:3D page on Universal Orlando's website included a new note at the bottom of the attraction's description, revealing that the attraction "will run its last shows on Sunday, October 8 to make way for an all-new live action experience based on a high-energy Universal franchise. It will open in 2019."
Universal has since pulled down the note, returning the page to its previous form. Like most major parks, Universal typically doesn't bury news like this on attraction listing pages. If it is going to officially confirm an attraction closure, it usually does that with social media posts and press releases. The clock is now ticking on when we will see those.
So what could this "live action experience based on a high-energy Universal franchise" be? The Fast and the Furious is already getting a new ride in the park for next year, so we probably can rule out that. Hollywood Boulevard seems a strange place for anything related to Jurassic Park/World. More Minions? A Jason Bourne show, which probably wouldn't be that different from T2? Dark Universe, even though that's hardly taken off yet?
Universal Studios Hollywood closed its Terminator 2:3D show in 2012 to make way for its Despicable Me ride and adjoining Super Silly Fun Land. That park also has a year-round The Walking Dead Attraction that would seem to fit in T2:3D's Florida space. But TWD isn't a Universal franchise, as Universal uses it under license from AMC.
Universal does have the DreamWorks Animation franchises at its disposal now, but those seem a potentially odd fit for a "live action" show. (How ironic would it be, though, if screen-happy Universal went live action for its animation franchises?)
So let's throw this out there: If Universal wants to promote one of its current popular live-action franchises that would be "perfect" for a theme park show, the next candidate up would be a Pitch Perfect musical show. Plausible?
What are you hoping to see in T2:3D's space at Universal Studios Florida?
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Funny you mention Jason Bourne since I have been saying that to UO twitter account for the past two years....
This was a great live action show, mixing real world elements with 3D in a way that captured your imagination.
I certainly understand why it needs to go, and I'm excited to see what is next!
I wonder if the next one to drop is Muppets. Either update Muppets or close it.
I had noted over on the initial thread in the Discussion section about the potential of a Pacific Rim attraction, which could have a similar script to the T2 show. However, I wonder that despite a sequel coming in 2018, if that franchise might be too niche for a major theme park.
Bourne would seem like a good fit, but Universal only holds distribution rights for the series, not the production/IP rights (unless they have them hidden away somewhere). I also don't know if UO needs another true stunt show with Sinbad running next door at IOA, which a Bourne show would be (the productions have been hallmarked by conventional stunts and limited use of CGI). Unless, of course, having a standard stunt show at USF gives Universal the freedom to eliminate Sinbad and free up even more space adjacent to WWoHP.
@James, parks have to keep evolving, otherwise they'll risk stagnation. If Universal continues to hold onto their clunkers, they'll get blown in the dust when Disney opens all of their headliners over the next few years. Universe of Energy and The Great Movie Ride certainly had their fans, but Disney chose to look to the future rather than the past.
You forgot something there James. The note from Universal stated it would be replaced with an "all-new live action experience". I wouldn't want a Fifty Shades of Grey attraction unless there was some "action" involved.
Otherwise? Meh.
The idea, though, of a new stunt show so they can shut down Sinbad also makes a certain amount of sense.
As for what should replace it, I'd say Bourne would be great if they want to go with more of a traditional stunt show and Pacific Rim would be a good option if the keep the hybrid format. I'm not sold on the idea of a Pitch Perfect show...there's a reason USH cancelled their plans to bring that one to the park, and I don't know that it would do any better at USF.
The theatre would be a great place for some sort of Dalek invasion.
@Jay R.it says that it's going to be based on a high-energy Universal franchise and Ready Player One is distributed by Warner Bros.
Let's be real here, the Terminator franchise is DOA unless Cameron comes back in the fold, which he really doesn't have time to do right now while working on 3 Avatar sequels. I don't see a lot of people mourning the loss of T2, and I'm not sure what other attractions at USF would precede it in terms of needing refreshed, aside from KidZone (perhaps Shrek-4D). It's not like you're going to USF anyway James since you reject the notion of paying $55 for a train.
Daenerys, Jon Snow, Queen Cersei....
Bend the Knee......
GOT is on HBO which I believe is part Time Warner who might be bought by ATT - so I believe there is no Disney affiliations to worry about.....
But you are right, Russell, the likelihood of me paying a $55 upcharge to ride a train diminishes more and more with every beloved attraction Universal kicks to the curb.
I think you're also discounting the cost of the attraction to Universal. They don't own the T2 rights, so are presenting it under a licensing agreement. Who knows how much that costs them on an annual basis, but it's certainly not free like Fear Factor (under the NBC/Comcast umbrella) or Sinbad (in the public domain). Whether they use one of their internally-owned IPs or go out and negotiate for a new IP, the costs to license an IP that has fallen out of favor has to be a major consideration in addition to lagging popularity of the attraction itself.
As for operational costs, when Universal is raking in the dough at $55 a clip just for a train ride, I am sure they can afford to keep this attraction going - or better yet, to build something new but still based on the same IP. Honestly, once T2 goes, the only IPs left of interest to me will be the Mummy and maybe ET. Why would I pay Disney prices to go to that park when it does not in any way cater to my tastes? If it is just for the rides, I'd rather pay half the cost and go to Cedar Point where I can get some real big boy thrills. Universal doesn't want my business - I get it. To them I am a vanishing breed, a child of the 70's and 80's who will likely be dead within 23 years. They want to go after a different, hipper crowd - more power to 'em. But I am not dead yet, so I am still going to voice my dissent when they take away something I love.
I think in the next 10-20 years, as the biggest theme parks start to lean more and more on IP (instead of developing original themed concepts), you will see a consolidation of IPs at specific parks. At some point, I think most major theme parks will be owned by media/entertainment companies, and will only contain attractions with IPs under their corporate umbrella. The costs of licensing content will be too great for smaller parks to survive, and will subsequently purchased by media companies or gobbled up by other operators. Also, companies will place huge bounties on IPs they own, making it financially untenable for anyone to develop an attraction from an IP they don't own without physically buying the company that holds the IP rights (like Disney buying Marvel and Lucasfilm). Only the largest parks will be able to license outside their umbrella, and even those licenses will be few and far between (think Avatar and Harry Potter, and perhaps LOTR). I think they'll be even further consolidation of the entertainment market down to perhaps 3 or 4 large production companies/distributors that will control virtually every IP on the planet. It's really depressing, but I think that's where all of this is headed, and Disney's latest moves are leading the charge.
I hope all goes well for you folks in the next few days..
Brian's right... be safe, all of our comrades in the great state of Florida!
It's a well-known, successful franchise but has probably pissed away a lot of goodwill.
Music licensing is very expensive, and for a show where you could need as many as 12-15 songs in a 20-30 minute performance that plays 5-7 times every single day 365 days a year, the costs could get pretty high. Certainly in the short term, the music licensing would not outweigh the initial production costs (lighting, direction, writing, performers, staging, props, etc...), but as the costs of staging the production go down (aggregated over more and more performances), the music licensing is a constant, plucking pennies every time a performer opens their mouth. It may not seem like a lot, but over time, music licensing can get REALLY expensive. When you're talking about a show that would likely run for at least 2-3 years, that means over 5,000 performances with Universal cutting a check to ASCAP for each and every one (and that doesn't even include the licensing to use the movie title and if actors have any "back end" deals to use/reference their likeness from the movie - you better believe someone like Rebel Wilson has a clause requiring payment to use her Fat Amy likeness or anything coming close to it in connection with Pitch Perfect or any other a capella-style movie/show). So, even if you're using some of the more obscure songs from the movies or creating unique a capella arrangements of other, less-expensive songs, you're still looking at licensing costs in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a 2-3 year production. Now, producers could deliberately select songs under the Universal label (not sure how much control Universal has over artists under their label), which could reduce costs (just like licensing an IP from their movie studio) essentially moving money internally from the theme park division to the music division. Though I believe there's still a requirement to pay ASCAP regardless of what label initially produced the song.
Nonetheless, that's still a pretty high cost compared to a stunt-style show where it's a single licensing fee paid up front or annually where Universal has more control over costs by using an internal IP. It's definitely not a drop in the bucket, and with a park that sees nearly 10 million guests per year, you better believe licensing songs, especially any specifically used in the movie (like "Cups"), would be a significant cost.
On a side note, that's one of the reasons Hard Rock Park failed. In addition to the poor marketing and bad timing with the Great Recession, the music licensing costs in park were astronomical. The license for Led Zeppelin alone (where just a single song was used) was reportedly over $1 million for not even 2 full seasons, and the park was restricted in the way they could use the song (had to present the song in its entirety from beginning to end). Just the background soundtrack for the park cost over $100,000 dollars per year, and that was during a time when ASCAP was not as aggressive, and "fair use" was more loosely defined than it is today. Playing popular songs in theme parks is far more expensive than you can imagine. Why do you think so many parks use Musak, Sirius/XM, come up with their own original soundtrack, or use predominantly symphonic music in the background?
That's what you said. I think I made a pretty convincing argument that licensing music is a pretty significant cost. Is it the only cost in a show, no, and I never portrayed it as such. Ultimately, the biggest cost for any live-show is the talent. Performers cost exponentially more than ride operators, and those behind the scenes of a live-show (lighting operators, techs, engineers, stage hands, etc...) also typically cost more than your run of the mill ride op.
My point was that a live-show based around the Pitch Perfect franchise would be cost prohibitive compared to a similar stunt-style live show in the mold of T2. Music licensing is not the drop in the bucket you're making it out to be, and in order to present a Pitch Perfect show, there would at the very least need to be a handful of songs from the franchise to form the foundation of the show's Book. "Cups" by itself over a 3-year production run would probably cost as much as whatever stunt show IP licensing they wanted to use (Bourne and the like), and then you'd need to buy another dozen or more songs to fill the 20+ minute performance. Music licensing is not necessarily cost prohibitive to large theme park operators, but when you're sinking millions of dollars into an attraction, you want that money to be well spent. Purchasing music licensing for a film franchise that is ending at the end of this year with songs that have a limited shelf life (sure you might come across a "classic" but over time, the show would need to be refreshed after a couple of years to integrate newer songs), does not give a theme park good bang for its buck, and certainly not a big enough bang to adequately replace T2.
Yes, HRP ultimately failed because the creators sold investors on some bogus attendance estimates, but those over-inflated numbers were necessary to acquire the financing to buy the music rights. Much of the operating budget for HRP wasn't sunk in rides (Led Zeppelin was the most expensive ride at less than $20 million for the coaster and installation) or infrastructure (the park reused many of the buildings and pathways already on the property), it was spent on IPs and music licenses. If they hadn't sunk so much money into those (ongoing costs), the park wouldn't have needed to clear 3 million guests per year to be profitable. The fact of the matter is that Steven Goodwin and Oliver Munday spared no expense in bringing HRP to life, and convinced investors that spending over $400 million for a theme park on the site of a former outlet mall was a good idea. As such, they spent a good chunk of that money on music rights and IPs/imaging figuring they needed the biggest music icons to draw the biggest crowds. I was at the media events at the park in 2008 (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200805/745/), and it was clear from the designers that the music licensing for the park was a significant cost, so much so that the subsequent Freestyle Music Park tried to use cheaper music to make the concept work, and still couldn't make ends meet.
And are you really arguing to replace an ultra cool, action show with a Pitch Perfect song fest? Ugh. I hope not! What's next, more singing frogs and Hello Kitty stores?! Universal is losing its edge.
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Don't get me wrong, I liked the show (even though the 3D didn't always work for me), the whole live actors + movie thing is brilliant... and I hope whatever replaces it keeps that up, but this is overdue.