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Hydro Non-Action
This weekend, Universal’s Islands of Adventure debuted its new Hydro Action
Ski show, without much fanfare and with essentially no reaction from park-goers.
We’re pretty much guaranteed to see the opposite when Potter finally opens up in
this same park, but the water ski and jet ski show isn’t meant to be much more
than a harmless addition to the stagnant lagoon, where literally nothing is
going on.
Get ready for Hydro Action! (or not)
There is no mention of the show in the colorful park map and guide, but an
A-frame at the end of Ports of Entry (the Main Street equivalent) lists the
several showtimes per day. There was also a large jet boat hauled up on land
here to make the point.
Five minutes before showtime, park-wide loudspeakers boomed out an
announcement and beckoned everyone to find their way to the central lagoon. The
intent is clearly to communicate high energy, but not all that many people left
the main thoroughfares and came to a railing. Or perhaps they couldn’t find the
paths? None are very well marked.
The show is "sponsored" by a fake extreme sports network, and thumping high
energy music (Black Eyed Peas, Van Halen) tries to keep the tempo fast-moving.
The thing is, it’s just not a hugely engaging show. The performers are
positively first-rate. You could see their excitement on the water, and the
chance to meet them afterward was illuminating because they were so charismatic
and enthusiastic.
The happy gang of skiers.
Their enthusiasm makes it all the harder to point out that the show simply
lacks pizzazz. There is no storyline, of course (has anyone yet invented a water
ski show with a good storyline?) There are two announcers, one in Marvel Island
and the other by Bluto’s Barges (or was it Jurassic Park? I couldn’t see and it
was out of my sightline), and these announcers try to engage in banter, and
provide humor. Both the banter and humor, I’m sorry to report, are highly forced
and not believable. The crowd didn’t even really titter at it, and it bordered
on embarrassing.
The performers do jumps on skis, including tricks like helicopter and flips.
You can see pretty much the same show at Cypress Gardens. That’s no accident;
it’s the same water ski company (Tennessee-based Water Ski Shows, Inc.) that
contracts out for both Cypress Gardens and the new Universal show. Gary Thompson
of Water Ski Shows handles the hiring of the performers, and Universal provides
the venue.
One big feature that is different from Cypress Gardens is the addition of jet
skis. But they do a couple of tricks (really not much) and then spend their time
flipping the skis around so the "exhaust" of water becomes a plume, and then
rake the crowds with this jet of water. It’s done without much purpose except to
get people wet. I didn’t really see the entertainment value of it; there’s
certainly no storyline to it.
At least the splash zone was appropriately
labeled, and there were verbal warnings.
Holding a spot ahead of time is completely unnecessary; there are no crowds,
even on a busy day as Sunday was. Unless the show changes dramatically, not only
will I not camp out, I will probably not watch the show again.
Even daytime fireworks at the end can’t really
salvage the show.
I don’t fault the excited performers, but I do think the show needs
re-tooling. A storyline, a driving action, a climax, and a denouement. The
Greeks recognized it a long time ago, but Universal doesn’t always remember its
importance. With Potter, that comes built-in, so they won’t have the same
problem presumably. As noted above, much depends on execution.
Star Wars Weekends: Two More Pictures
In my disbelief at how cheesy the stage show (Sig and Oopla’s Hyperspace
Hoopla) at Star Wars Weekends is, I had to go again. Great. Now I have this song
stuck in my head ("I’m a bounty hunter, BANG!") and my view of Chewbacca has
forever been ruined. No matter. I had to bring you two pictures to illustrate
the level of cheese we’re talking about here.
The Village People sing "Y-O-D-A"
As Amidala sings, Vader hides his face in his
hands (I think the technical term is a *facepalm*).
(Editor's Note: Kevin forgets we had plenty of advance warning
about these kinds of warps in the Star Wars universe...
I understand that Bea Arthur, Diahann Carroll and Harvey Korman are free
most weekends. - Al)
Kevin’s Disney Books
Kevin is the author of four books on Disney theme parks:
offers an exhaustive trivia quiz on Disneyland park,
with expansive paragraph-length answers that flesh out the fuller story on
this place rich with details.
101 Things You Never Knew About Disneyland is a list-oriented book
that covers ground left intentionally unexposed in the trivia book, namely
the tributes and homages around Disneyland, especially to past rides and
attractions. Disneyland’s rich history is kept alive today in little touches
that are all but invisible, and this book shines a light on those tributes
for all to enjoy.
101 Things You Never Knew About Walt Disney World follows the
example of the Disneyland book, detailing tributes and homages in the four
Disney World parks.
The Unofficial Dining Guide to Walt Disney World provides current
menus and prices for all restaurants at Walt Disney World parks and hotels,
including Downtown Disney and even the non-Disney restaurants in the area
around the Disney property. Updated several times within each year, the
Dining Guide makes for a perfect companion in the parks to avoid excessive
walking. Its best feature is the collection of indexes, one for each park.
You’re standing in line for Space Mountain and crave spaghetti? No problem.
Flip to "S" in the index and you’ll find out which places in the Magic
Kingdom offer it. No need to run around everywhere!
More information on the above books, along with ordering options
are at this link. Kevin is currently working on
other theme park related books, and expects the next one to be published in
early 2008. |
