Universal listened to its fans. When Universal Orlando opens its new theme park next May, it will include the most advanced practical figures that Universal has ever developed.
Forget screens. The signature attraction in the new Dark Universal land at Universal Epic Universe will feature 14 animated figures depicting Universal's classic monsters. And today, Universal is sharing a first look at some of them.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment will be a dark ride with Kuka-arm ride vehicles, like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This ride, however, takes us through Frankenstein Manor, where Dr. Victoria Frankenstein – the great-great-granddaughter of the infamous Henry Frankenstein – is working on a plan to control the land's monsters. But – as they always must on any great theme park ride – things go terribly wrong and Universal's classic monsters are unleashed from Dr. Frankenstein's lab. Needless to say, they are not happy with her, or us.
At nine feet tall, Frankenstein's Monster will appear first in the ride's preshow, where he will walk within Dr. Victoria Frankenstein's lab.
Dracula is leading the monster's charge, appearing several times during the ride.
Joining the vampire will be The Wolf Man,
The Creature from the Black Lagoon,
as well as other classic monsters from Universal Studios, including The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, and the Brides of Dracula.
Want to see these figures in action? Check out Universal's latest behind-the-scenes video:
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Wow, they're really stepping up here and look amazing!
Prepare the B-modes.
These animatronics are exceptional and raise the bar yet again. Disney will have to raise its animatronic bar further still in their next set of attractions so all this is good news for the theme park industry.
I do however take James Trexen's point. These monsters are going to be essential components of this attraction and if they fail (as they inevitably will) the experience is going to be massively reduced. It's an inescapable risk that theme parks are having to take - rely more and more on extremely complex and innovative technology to wow guests but equally suffer far more serious consequences when those technologies go down.
Wow, this looks incredible! I was already excited most for the Monsters Land. Now I'm even more excited!
Okay Disney, now you HAVE to fix the Yeti!
Food for thought here: what if the “b-mode”’of these monsters was actually Universal wheeling in replacement AA’s from B-movies like the Toxic Avenger, Dr. Giggles, Critters, Wrong Turn etc lol? Licensing be damned let’s do it. Or at the very least, let’s get a HHN house dedicated to b-level creatures and slashers only.
These characters look amazing, and if guests really get to see Frankenstein's monster "walk" in the preshow, it could be the most jaw-dropping scene in any theme park attraction. However, like others here I'm concerned with Universal's ability to deliver and maintain these figures with the dynamism described. Universal's current attractions do utilize a number of animatronic figures, but none of them have as many characters as indicated for Monsters Unchained, nor do they rely so heavily on the figures as it's expected on this attraction. When Revenge of the Mummy opened at USF, that was considered one of the most advanced figures, and it generally was pretty reliable for about 5-8 years until that scene (before the treasure room) was in "b" mode (where the figure never actually appears) more often than not. Even following the massive renovation a few years ago, the figure was "dumbed" down to avoid further degradation of the scene. I certainly hope UC has done their homework, and they're willing to do the maintenance to keep all of these figures in tip top shape since it sounds like they will be critical to what will be the most anticipated attraction in Epic Universe.
In addition to this bit of news, it was announced that the flaming windmill effect will be a mini-show that is preceded with other effects, kind of similar to the Gringott's Dragon.
Creature From the Black Lagoon?! Haha, no way... that's awesome! Glad the (really) short-lived show at USH from 2009 wasn't the only theme park presence for the Creature. Yeah this ride looks fantastic and is mega anticipated, as it should, by the fans.
GORGEOUS! Although it looks like the royalty payments to the estate of Fred Gwynne are less expensive than that of Lon Chaney.
(Chuckle)
And incidentally, the appearance of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, pretty much quashes those two bit rumors about that character getting its own attraction should EU expand someday.
@ Manny...a new film is is set to be released directed by James Wan, so I'm sure that will help the IP even more.
I dunno man, this seems like a lot of concern trolling before the attraction has even opened. Let's just see where things go before getting overly, or even moderately, concerned about these figures' reliability.
@Jacob - I think it's completely justified to have concern about the figures on this attraction. There have been many well-publicized failures of animatronics on attractions over the years, many of which have been highlighted by designers as "one of the most advanced animatronics ever created".
The posterchild of failed figures is obviously the Yeti, which was so advanced and powerful that Imagineers created a complete support structure for the figure that was isolated from the coaster and mountain's structure - yet it was so advanced that we're over 10 years later and STILL waiting for it to move again.
The Mummy on Revenge of the Mummy (USF) was touted as one of the most articulated attraction figures of all time, and while it did run pretty reliably for nearly a decade, when it broke, it did so spectacularly (reportedly releasing gallons upon gallons of hydraulic fluid). The scene ran without the figure for nearly 2+ years before Universal finally brought in a new figure that is not nearly as dynamic as the original.
The Shaman on Na'Vi River Journey goes into "B mode" frequently (where the figure is physically lowered below the show scene with the background screen instead showing the Shaman in a projection). The figure, again touted as one of the most advanced of all time, has gone months at a time without being seen despite being the crown jewel of the attraction.
Kylo Ren (force motion figure near the finale) in both versions of RotR has frequently operated in "B mode", though unless you're really familiar with the attraction you'd probably not know he's missing.
It does seem to be a trend, at least from where I'm sitting, that when figures get more complicated, or are described as the most lifelike, dynamic, or articulated, those figures tend to fail. When you have an attraction that is heavily reliant on these advanced figures, I think it's perfectly justified to be concerned that there will be issues with them that will impact the on-ride experience. I certainly hope that Universal can find a way to deliver these figures to the level that they are describing, but the track record is there to suggest they will face issues, and on any attraction that is highly reliant on these figures, any hiccups will dramatically impact the guest experience. It does seem that the more advanced these figures become, the reliability of them goes down exponentially.
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Holy hell these look amazing! The Wolf Man swiping made me pour one out for the Yeti over at AK. This was already my most anticipated attraction and now I’m even more excited for it. I can’t wait to see these beauties lit properly and terrifying us in actual show scenes. Here’s to hoping UC keeps these smart reveals coming.