My Plans for USH

[filmfreak11]

Just my two cents how to improve Universal Studios Hollywood.

1) Get rid of Backdraft and Special Effects Stages. Replace it with a dark ride. Perhaps The Amazing Spider-Man?? They could dig inside the soundstage for more space. Use the current SES's queue for Spider-Man's indoor themed queue. Queue and ride entrance is on Backdraft side. Chicken exit and ride exit on the Sound Effects Stages side. This could keep a nice crowd flow and the area infront of that big screen monitor could be the Spider-Man plaza.

2) Move the Special Effects Stages where the Coke Soak and current Annual Passholder Processing areas are. Entrance and Exit could be around where Passholder is beside that discounted store. So as to avoid crowds from T2:3D. But maybe leave the area's edge open for tables and chairs so people can look over the cliff. Could be left for employee break area or for guests to have a little quiet spot. The show building could still keep the Little Europe facade themeing.

3) Replace the now seasonal Fear Factor Live with a Marvel Superhero Stunt Show. Favorite Marvel superheroes and villians battle it. Storm, Wolverine, Captain America, Spider-man, and others could be there. Dr. Doom, Green Goblin, and Doc Ock (puppeters dressed in black control robotic arms; ala blacklit puppets used in Disney-MGM's Little Mermaid show). The Castle could be themed as a villians liar.

4) Improve Mummy ride. Oh, please improve this ride. With more themeing, improved storyline, and a longer ride time.

5) I think the recently opened Panada Express, Lucy Tribute, and Backdraft queue in the lower lot can be used for a dark ride and its queue. Possibly replace Lucy with a Alfred Hitchcock Tribute. There are already restaurants in Jurassic Cafe. I haven't decided what kind of dark ride yet. Maybe MIB or Halo dark ride with laser guns? Anybody want something in this area? Entrance and Exit basically across from the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. After entering, queue winds around to the current Backdraft queue (made indoors and themed of course).

6) Replace Back to the Future for a indoor Bourne Identity, Fast & the Furious, or Hot Wheels roller coaster or dark ride. If more room is needed, the ride building can take up a little more of the plaza area in front of it. And maybe connect the ride building to the now closed and unused store between Doc's Chicken and BTTF. If a roller coaster, the queue can be below the roller coaster. This way the space can be used wisely. BTTF is a good ride, but the employees don't care about it anymore. If a new guest ride it, they won't understand the story because they just go right through them.

7) Let guests see the movie cars. We all know they are hiding in the Tram Service area at the exit of the tour. Maybe scatter them around the park for people to find. And have cameras and a employee monitor the cars. Do they do that for the Fast and the Furious cars? If a Fast and the Furious ride is built, display the cars over there. The current area being used for their display now can be for other movie cars. Including the BTTF time machine.

8) Wild Wild Wild West Stunt show can still have a Zorro show despite the lackluster box office of the sequel. Or bring back the original show. Or do an El Mariachi stunt show. Or use a different wild west show with Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Stunt Show? Or Bill & Ted's Wild West Adventure with Marty McFly and Doc Brown. Bill & Ted are returning Billy the Kid to his time when they run into some bad guys. Villians for this show could be Maddog from BTTF3 and Jesse James with 1 sidekick each (so as to not be too costly). Not sure how Marty & Doc Brown fit into the show yet. Or just take out the whole BTTF connection entirely. Elements from the WWWWSS could still be used. But modifications will need to take place to add Bill & Ted's telephone booth and the BTTF time machine (I don't think a steam train time machine is possible). The time machine doesn't have to be a real car. Just a part of it sticking out of a building. OR just have Marty & Doc walk into the theater parking the Time Machine outside the arena. If the timeline for Billy and Jesse don't match, just say Bill & Ted chose the wrong timeline and accidentally landed when Jesse had his reign of terror.

9) MISC a) WaterWorld, Animal Planet Live, Flintstones games, Van Helsing, Jurassic Park and T2:3D will have to remain. Maybe put a Land/Dawn of the Dead maze or Universal Monsters maze in Van Helsing? I still enjoy Van Helsing though. Better atmosphere and themeing than the Mummy Maze. Also still enjoy Waterworld. Strong attendance every showtime. Maybe more Flinstones themeing of real movie sets and props can be put around the Flintstones games. Including the Flintsones car.

b) Get rid of the "extended queue" of the Mummy Ride and Shrek 4D. So useless. The extended queue for Jurassic Park can stay though. It's the better themed queue.

c) King Kong, Flash Flood, Red Sea, Earthquake, Jaws and Spinning Tunnel on Studio Tram Tour must be replaced or upgraded. Maybe make King Kong into a Halo themed area? Spinning Mummy Tunnel definately needs to go. Maybe Halo themed tractor beam? Maybe move that beetle-filled coffin into or near the Mummy ride/store/photo area. I think Flash Flood, Red Sea, and Earthquake are more permanent but may still receive upgrades.

Maybe a combination of the Collapsing Bridge and Jaws would an upgrade? I know about the current collapsing bridge, but this is just an idea. The tram is crossing a pier that leads to the other side of the "ocean". You see the usual stuff. But the the burning pier and shark are on opposite sides of the pier. And with the collapsing pier (complete with drop and simulated water splash), guests could be closer to the jumping shark.

d) I think Gibson owns the Ampitheater now. But buy it back and use that area to build a new land and maybe one or two dark/ flume rides. Maybe the Gibson Theater could do Cat in the Hat, Curious George, Ripsaw Falls, Jetsons, Rugrats, Casper, Scooby-Doo or Jetsons ride(s)? Is there a disbute with Universal using Nickleodean and Hana-Barbra? Or put Spider-Man here because it seems big enough.

e) Maybe move the Mummy Ride into where Backdraft and Special Effects Stages are. And put the Spider-Man ride in the current Mummy ride building. Since the old ET building looks a little bigger.

f) Maybe replace the Blues Brothers show with a Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters show from USF. Could even add other Universal Monsters at the end if they wanted to as a sort of climax brought to you by Beetlejuice's powers. Or maybe have a Ray Charles act here? Nah, I'd rather see Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, and Universal Monsters.

g) Do something with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Harry Potter?

GRAND TOTAL OF ATTRACTIONS LIST: 6 real moving rides. Possibly 7 or 8 with Gibson Amphitheater. 7.5 stage shows (Shrek 4D & T2:3D are included in this list because they're not really rides; the .5 is the Beetlejuice/ Ghostbusters). 1 maze. 1 childrens' play area.

That's all i want to say for now. I wouldn't call Coke Soak an attraction cause there's already Nickelodeon Blast Zone for your water fun needs. And I'm replacing that with Special Effects Stageshow anyways. What do you think?? I think this is my best effort so far for USH. For some reason I have more ideas for USH than DCA.

[pineapplewhipaddict]

WB owns Harry Potter, not Universal.

If Jaws was updated, that would be pretty cool.

I agree with the Mummy spinning tunnel thing. Now that they have a ride dedicated to the movie, this is somewhat redundant.

Maze should be updated. Good ideas.

Good ideas for the wild west stunt show. Too much dead space for too long.

Dunno if they could get the theatre back, but good ideas.

The Mummy ride is difficult to really update. We'll never have what they have in Florida, there's just not enough space anywhere, unless they dug underground, which is unlikely.

The Bridge is leaving fairly soon, actually. Found out on my last trip. Not sure what they'll be doing with the area yet.

Lots of good ideas. Too bad Universal doesn't seem very driven.

[PirateMickey]

Some good ideas there, filmfreak!

Yes, they do have the Fast/Furious cars on display. Some permanently and some mobile. We have seen a mini-parade of them drive through the Park on occassion.

They use to park the movie cars throughout the Park, but we've noticed that recently they haven't.

I really like the idea of changing BTTF ride into a F&F ride. It won't require that much. The basics are already there.

Keep up the good work!

[filmfreak11]

MORE THOUGHTS: Maybe The Mummy Tunnel could be a War of the World's tractor beam. Or King Kong building can do something with a War of the Worlds attack.

I know Harry Potter is WB. But I just mentioned it cause Beetlejuice is also owned by WB. Lucas owns Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but Disneyland has Star Tours and Indiana attractions. Marvel characters are present in the park. Animal Planet/ Discovery Channel have a show. And Universal doesn't own Terminator and Men In Black. So it could be done.

I remember character actors driving the cars around. I think I only saw them do that once or twice.

The F&F i meant was to possibly either redo the film and themeing. OR build a completely new show building. I don't know if just changing the IMAX film and themeing and video will really do the trick. And if Universal does plan to do this, they also have an option to put a different version of Spider-man ride as just a motion simulator...

I knew the bridge was leaving so I thought WHAT IF it was in JAWS as part of an update. Wishful thinking.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS. THEY ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!