How Universal turned an old, discarded idea into a winning new ride

Just skimmmed over the van helsing coaster rumors and it reminds me why i hate forbidden journey so much. It is kuko arms running on a flat floor. There so much more possible if it were on a simple track. I dont know if Monsters is that and i think today is day 0 of radio silence but Forbidden Journey is baaaaaad. F-tier.

Thanks for the link to that thread, Robert. I like how, in one facet or another, much of the detail of what would become HPFJ was accurately predicted. And I especially like that you wrote: "In my opinion, Universal needs to swing for the fence and negotiate a deal with J.K. Rowling. Pay her whatever she wants and develop a new island based on the Potter series." Just underscores that this website is either filled with insiders who truly understand the industry, or that the industry reads and takes note of what is on the site, or both. Bravo!

I’m instantly reminded of the original plans for the Jurassic Park ride when the “team member” at unload was to be eaten by dinosaur. A version of those plans of course ended up becoming part of the Mummy ride instead. And to echo Robert, it just goes to show that you can never discard a good idea, just save it for the right time.

I do remember those Van Helsing rumors, but don't think that FJ is a poor use of the Kuka arm technology. In fact, I think the way UC integrated live sets with the moving parabolic screens (to increase throughput) is brilliant. I think at the time, Universal was weary of trying to create human-like animatronics, particularly ones of real-life people, so it was probably smart on their part to portray these characters with on-screen actors. However, the application of the ride system is still revolutionary as evidenced by the fact that not a single other company has attempted anything like it since. The only Kuka arm attractions to operate since FJ burst onto the scene have involved the arms bolted to the floor doing their typical "dance" movements. Heck, even Disney, who got a head start on UC with Kuka by utilizing them on Sum of all Thrills at EPCOT, are finally going back to the technology, but again bolting the arms to the floor in the upcoming Stark Flight Lab attraction.

I haven't ridden Monsters Unchained, and I'm deliberately scrolling past any POVs (not necessarily to avoid spoilers, but to avoid giving attention to people breaking Universal's rules by conducting on-ride filming), so I can't really attest to how the ride system interacts with the scenes and animatronics. However, everything I've read about the experience indicates that the attraction is amazing and that the use of animatronics is next level. I think that's where the Kuka technology lends itself perfectly to this application in a way that UC was unwilling (or unable) to execute when they created FJ. The ability to move guests closer to characters while they get closer to you, as opposed to traditional motion base ride systems where riders can only get so close to scenes and the motion within the scene has to be solely executed by the animatronic character. I think UC's risk taking in utilizing realistic animatronics to fill the scenes instead of screens is the evolution that needed to take place in order to truly unlock the potential of the Kuka arm system.

Forbidden Journey needed an outdoor portion. I think eventually this ride gets a refresh. Hopefully the series gets a reboot with a new Harry Potter actor. Build me some lush gardens and a quidditch pitch that i can glide over take me over the edge of a waterfall. A story that is day or night agnostic. These kookoo rides need to be outdoors. You can see the seams too much indoor.

I road Navi River recently and that ride is nothing special. It is atmospheric and it uses screens to a minimum. US obsession with screens has gone too far.

@puckpigrim - How are you supposed to do an outdoor portion? Skull Island is plagued with issues with just 30 seconds of exterior track, and RotR has serious issues with the unload area which is open air (not even fully outside) - condensation on the floor from humidity. It will be interesting to see how Disney handles the new MK Cars ride (if it's actually built) that appears to be predominantly outside, but the expectation is that the more complicated the ride system, the less forgiving it is in the elements.

Also, I think you have to consider the dramatic difference in lighting between interior and exterior settings. Some attractions that toggle between inside and outside utilize that quick change in lighting to "hide" certain aspects of the ride or accentuate the ride's movements - going from inside to outside can often simulate higher speeds like on TestTrack, Verbolten, and Maverick, while going from outside to inside can help hide transition/maintenance zones as guests' eyes take a second to adjust to the darker lighting conditions like on Skull Mountain, People Mover, and Hagrid's.

However, on a ride system like FJ, I just don't see how sending the Kuka arms outside (and back in) would benefit the attraction in any way, and in fact would reveal part of the "magic" of the ride. The one thing that has always struck me about FJ is that Universal did such a great job hiding the bulk of the ride system and the way the same parabolic screens are used multiple times over the course of the ride. Guests are always positioned in a way to where it's very difficult to see other vehicles in the ride (you can do it, but it requires some contorting of your body and you need to be in one of the outer seats) or anything beyond what you "should" be looking at during a given scene. Unless you know you're sitting on the end of a giant robotic arm, you would never know what type of ride system you're on. If the vehicles went outside, it would be a lot harder for Universal to hide the ride system, and without some high walls and other techniques, non-riding guests might be able to see the Kuka arms - after all if you're going to go through the trouble to build a Quiddich Pitch, you would want people to see it without having to go on the ride, just like you can see the exterior portion of Skull Mountain as you walk past the ride's entrance. Imagine how silly it would look if you could sit on a bench on the pitch and see these bulky, gaudy Kuka arms rolling through doing crazy motions that only make sense to the people on the ride.

I think what you're seeing in Epic is Universal's response to guests' complaints about screens with much heavier use of animatronics and better integration of screens into their experiences. Screens are absolutely still a tool in their toolbox, but the evolution in technology to allow screens to seamlessly integrate into scenes allows designers to create far more immersive experiences. The 8+k screen technology is amazing, and HFR filming techniques allow for amazingly lifelike images to be presented. When juxtaposed against lifelike animatronic figures, it makes it next to impossible to tell what's real and what's an image.

my goodness if you make such long comments Russel, why do you always put things into acronyms? it took me 5 min to figure out what LOTR meant, and only after the fellowship of the ring reference. heck, i'm still trying to figure out what BTTF means. this is obviously not on topic, and i absolutely LOVE how universal did this, but the abbreviations thing is so annoying i just have to mention it, at least once

Sorry epic, that comment ended up on the wrong thread.

oh nooooooo shoot sorry :/ well my point still stands

BTTF = Back to the Future :)