Park giants wage war, and we win
Universal Creative has been crushing it this spring. From Hollywood to Japan, the design division of Universal Studios’ theme parks has been wowing fans with new and refurbished attractions that are raising standards for excellence in the themed entertainment industry.
With The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! Universal’s designers have delivered something that theme park fans have not seen at Universal Studios Hollywood in a generation — a family dark ride featuring animatronic characters. It’s a tour through a Manhattan apartment building and then into the city that faithfully re-creates the production design, manic spirit and heartwarming tone of the Illumination animation franchise.
Universal uses some media tricks to cast the rider as a lead character in this adventure, but the animatronic representations of the films’ dogs, cats and rabbit remain the stars of the show. It’s simply one of the best family dark rides I have enjoyed in years, though I had no problem with the ride’s individual restraint system, which has frustrated some larger riders.
As impressive as Pets’ animatronics may be, they can’t measure up — literally — to the behemoths in the new finale of Jurassic World — The Ride. Universal Creative’s Indominus rex now strides forward to attack guests just before the Tyrannosaurus rex counterattacks to save us. These are life-size giants doing battle just a few feet above our heads. It’s the most amazing display of massive animatronics in the world right now and enough to make you forget about the multistory soaking plunge that immediately follows.
Coming next to the park will be Super Nintendo World, the video game-themed land that Universal recently opened at its park in Osaka, Japan. Fans wear wristbands that track their score as they walk through the land, punching question blocks and triggering interactive elements. The land’s main attraction uses augmented reality on a dark ride to create a real-life Mario Kart game.
With these innovations, Universal Creative heats up the rivalry with Walt Disney Imagineering that many theme park fans have enjoyed. It’s great for fans when two companies with deep pockets and access to the world’s best entertainment franchises try to top each other for our entertainment.
Universal caught a lot of fans’ attention with its The Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands. Disney countered with Cars Land, Pandora — World of Avatar and most recently Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Universal is bringing a new Jurassic World roller coaster to Orlando, Florida, this June while Disney serves us Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure the same month.
So who will win this battle? I think the deciding factor might be this — uptime. Universal and Disney have struggled to keep their innovative new attractions open in the months following their debuts, and Pets and Jurassic World offered no exceptions on their opening weekend.
Both Disney and Universal have proven that they can deliver mindblowing excellence in theme park attractions. Their next challenge is to do so with greater reliability.