Universal Epic Universe: Detailed Revealed

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.720
Oh gosh. Schrom Our Studios in
Los Angeles and Tampa. This is Green

2
00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:05.480
Tag Theme Park in thirty, where
we cover the top theme park news from

3
00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:08.800
each week and discuss why it matters
to you. This week is gonna be

4
00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:14.119
epic because we got a lot of
announcements from Epic Universe. Actually, well

5
00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:17.640
that's so so, that so sounded
like something I would have said, this

6
00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:22.679
is it's going to be epic.
It's gonna be My cheesiness is wearing off

7
00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:27.280
on you, Philip. Okay,
well you know it. It is cause

8
00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:33.280
for a celebration because it is the
most information we've got we've received about Epic

9
00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:37.439
Universe officially, of course, because
I think as all listeners, probably everybody

10
00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:41.560
listening to this podcast is probably working
on it in some ways. But if

11
00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:44.399
we actually talked about it, now
think yeah, they've either they've they're either

12
00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:47.359
working on it, or have seen
some form of drone footage of the construction.

13
00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:52.719
That's uh okay, But well we're
not gonna get in trouble, so

14
00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:57.920
we're just gonna so I'm gonna on
what's Yes, I'm going to release some

15
00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:00.840
details here in the show notes.
I'll link to two gray articles from a

16
00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:07.719
trash's magazine that really dive really intensely
into a lot of the concept are and

17
00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:11.680
link it back to the previous stories. But I'm going to kind of do

18
00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:15.519
a summary here of what we learned
this week, and you all can read

19
00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:19.439
more if you like. So on
Tuesday, Universal Orlando revealed more deals details

20
00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:22.319
about Epic Universe, set to open
in late twenty twenty five. I put

21
00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:25.239
the late twenty twenty five in there. It's at twenty twenty five, I

22
00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:29.040
added. The late Celestial Park is
the first area guests will see upon arriving

23
00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:32.120
at Epic Universe, and it serves
as the gateway to the other areas,

24
00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:36.200
which include the Wizarding World of Harry
Potter, Ministry of Magic, Supernintendo World,

25
00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:41.239
How to Train Your Dragon, and
Dark Universe. I know that's my

26
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.920
favorite part. From the main entrance, guests will step through a structure called

27
00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:48.719
the Emerald Gate. From there,
they'll encounter the Chronos Device, a storytelling

28
00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:52.439
conduit that connects the realms of the
Epic Universe together and our story. Chronos

29
00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:55.480
is this giant machine used to harness
the energy of the universe that powers all

30
00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:57.239
the Celestial Park, allowing us to
open the portals to the other worlds.

31
00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:01.920
So to recap, go up Emerald
Gate, walk through the Emerald Gate.

32
00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:07.240
You're in the celestial area, and
that has little these like arches right that

33
00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:10.680
separate our portals into the world that
we talked about that have the IP.

34
00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:17.319
So so that the main entryway there
is an original IP and that's the thing

35
00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:21.599
we learned most about. So they
did give us teasers for each of the

36
00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:24.759
IP related gates. I'll read the
teasers here and then we'll talk about what's

37
00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:28.240
going to be in the first area. So yeah, I think the first

38
00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:30.080
the most important thing to recognize is
we now know it's a hub and spoke

39
00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:36.400
park. Yeah, I was,
I was thinking basic of terms, it's

40
00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:40.080
a hub and spoke park. It
was funny because everyone's using all this term

41
00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:46.560
gateways and universes and portals, and
I'm like, it kind of seems like

42
00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.599
we've seen this before. Yes,
it's a hub and spoke park. We

43
00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:55.159
call it for years and even down
a hub and spoke park. There's no

44
00:02:55.240 --> 00:03:00.759
question about that. It's very large. It's very large, largehub and spoke

45
00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:04.120
park. Yeah. Well, and
again it's if you think about it,

46
00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:07.520
you know, having the original IP
as the entrance or the hub experience is

47
00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:12.400
not unlike Islands of Adventure. It's
the it's the same idea. You know,

48
00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.560
you come into the fictional land that
they've created that somehow ties all the

49
00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:20.919
other experiences together. Loosely, it
sounds like this does it actually better than

50
00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.560
IOA does? But I'm I think
it's I think it's very I actually think

51
00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:34.759
it's very clever that they've chosen to
create a central space that doesn't rely upon

52
00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:40.039
outside IP so that they can expand
they can change, they can tweak without

53
00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:49.159
undermining the core brand of the park. So does this okay? I just

54
00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:53.159
I can't reading through all this.
I'm like, it's just like Disneyland,

55
00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:55.960
Like I'm sorry, it's just really
even down to the hole, like there's

56
00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:00.639
gateways into the and adventure awaits you
and like all right, come on,

57
00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:03.800
like and the whole IP the central
thing. I mean, I guess,

58
00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:09.000
I guess to your point, it's
a new IP Like this isn't like you

59
00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.599
know, like like mainStreet USA and
that is. I mean, it's really

60
00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:17.079
Disney heavy. So it's not like
you're walking into a you know, like

61
00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:23.680
a universal statue where they are like, well you're not walking into a castle.

62
00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:27.399
I mean. The the thing about
Disney though, is even the castles

63
00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.319
are outside eye peas or or independent
eye peas. They're not park eye peas.

64
00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:34.839
They're you know, it's Cinderella's castle, or it's snow White's castle,

65
00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:40.000
or it's you know, actually snow
White didn't have a castle, but you

66
00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:44.279
know, you know what I mean. But I I think yes, But

67
00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:46.720
again, it's it's the design of
the park. It's a hub and spoke.

68
00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:51.360
Disneyland and the Tuget Kingdom uh at
at Well, Disney World resorts here

69
00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:57.040
in Florida are both hub and spoke
parks. There's and and that's nothing that

70
00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:00.839
is does sort that is only Disney. There are you know, even zoos

71
00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:04.800
that are hub and spoken design.
Yeah, I like it. I like

72
00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:10.680
it because it gives you sort of
a palate cleanser between worlds, and it

73
00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:15.079
gives you the opportunity to come into
a central location and have all of the

74
00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:20.560
product sort of displayed before you before
you go through the portals or the entries

75
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.480
or whatever. I don't know.
I think it's I think it's a neat

76
00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:27.879
design, is it? You know, I don't see that it has it

77
00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.399
is a a riff on a Disney
park personally, I mean, that's the

78
00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:36.439
way the Magic Kingdom parks standard,
that's what you're saying. But it's I

79
00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.839
think it was a standard. I
think it was a standard before Disney even

80
00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:44.920
did it, but it has become
very much an interesting way. There's really

81
00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:46.879
only two ways that theme parks seem
to be built. It's either hub and

82
00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:53.560
spoke or giant circle. Yeah,
unless it's Tampa with a giant which is

83
00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:56.279
a giant que Yeah. I was
like, we're looking at you a bus

84
00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.800
regard to the Tampa with your little
tail out there with a take a rabbit.

85
00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:05.279
So so essentially hub and spoke.
Okay, so let's talk about the

86
00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:11.959
lands that are the spokes. So
there's four of them that were announced.

87
00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:15.000
Of course I mentioned them already,
but had to train your dragon Isle of

88
00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:19.360
Burke. And what's interesting I thought
about this too, it's the well,

89
00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:25.920
what's interesting is how much of people
are freaking out about this concept artwork,

90
00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.319
which is really funny because so side
note here. You know, I did

91
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:31.879
a little video on the announcement and
I you know, I gave the announcement

92
00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:36.120
with the artworkout and whatnot, and
I guess I thought it was fine.

93
00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:43.199
But the theme park fans are like, there are whole documentaries already about just

94
00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:47.319
analyzing every pixel in the key in
the concept artwork, which you know,

95
00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:50.639
I just think to me, I'm
like, yes, it's gonna not be

96
00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:54.120
there when you know, I'm like, it's gonna change. Like that's that's

97
00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:58.560
the thing about the the concept already. Never it never works out that way.

98
00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.519
So I just I just think it's
funny that I was. So I

99
00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:03.160
was like, oh, this is
enough, and then I was like,

100
00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:08.879
oh, apparently it's not enough.
Apparently I really underreported this whole thing.

101
00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:13.160
But here we are. What is
what is the the fan people? What

102
00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:15.639
are they? What are they upset
about? Is it that they're No,

103
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.639
they're not upset. It's it's just
there's a lot of it's just way more.

104
00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:20.759
I mean, the article that we'll
link to in the show notes is

105
00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:26.800
a whole article about the details that
are like zoom in in way way in

106
00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.279
and look at the little details,
and there are cute things in there,

107
00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:31.519
you know that you look at each
gateway is different, and each gateway is

108
00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:35.319
like it looks like a gateway is
like a like a science. It's kind

109
00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:38.759
of like a science y gateway.
It was like a portal, right,

110
00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:42.920
but the portals are all manifested in
different ways. There's different inscriptions on the

111
00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:46.360
top of them. There's they have
little like uh like towers, but little

112
00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:50.120
like antenna type things that stick on
them, and they're all different for each

113
00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:55.199
one, right, and then it's
you know, you can see it in

114
00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:59.759
the Star Racers. You can see
that it's gonna has little has Easter eggs

115
00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:01.240
too, back to the future and
all these things. But like, but

116
00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:03.399
as you know, so there's a
lot. I mean there's a lot.

117
00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:07.279
There's a lot in there that I
just completely miss So I guess I just

118
00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:09.720
uh am terrible at this job.
Well no, no, no, it's

119
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:13.399
that. It's that. It's that
if you are, if you are truly

120
00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.879
a theme parkoholic, this is what
you do. You know, this is

121
00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.720
this is what gets you. This
is we used to have these discussions when

122
00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:22.279
we were designing, and we still
have these discussions when we're designing things.

123
00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:26.560
It's, uh, you know,
who will ever notice that? And and

124
00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:28.879
my response is always the people who
will notice it are the ones who will

125
00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.320
talk about it. They will be
the sneezers who will spread the virus of

126
00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:35.759
the park. So you know,
they're they're the ones who will who will

127
00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:39.639
say, hey, did you know
that there is an X y Z reference

128
00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:45.840
to ABC here and there? So
you know, I I think that I

129
00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:48.720
think that that that level of detail
is great, and I think that the

130
00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:52.559
enthusiasm is great. But I think
you're right, Philip. Just be careful

131
00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:54.600
that you don't get if you are
one of those fan people, be careful

132
00:08:54.639 --> 00:09:00.480
that you don't get too locked into
concept art because why it's is not by

133
00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:05.000
its name alone. It's a concept. It's not a bill to diagram.

134
00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:07.879
So yep. So with that being
said, though, I do think that

135
00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:13.799
the portal inscriptions are going to stay
because stuff like that, generally it's just

136
00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:18.120
words generally does not change too much
when you get to the final you know,

137
00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:20.720
it's more like the antenna and the
details and the lightning and the like.

138
00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:24.279
Those things are going to change because
they're going to realize that you can't

139
00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:26.799
like the lightning in that way,
or they're going to have forgotten to run

140
00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:35.120
power like whoop, sorry as happened
in any Lordie. So okay, So

141
00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.720
how to train a Dragon out of
Burke? The portal says We My Friends

142
00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:43.600
have Dragons, and the description is
guests will take to the skies and soar

143
00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.679
with dragons as they explore the color
for a Viking village at the heart of

144
00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.039
Burke, where they can take part
in the wild boat battles, feast like

145
00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:58.559
a Viking and more so attraction,
uh, attraction and restaurant restaurant. Yeah

146
00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:01.960
yeah, so, I mean,
yeah, it sounds great. So what's

147
00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:07.639
funny is what's funny about this one
is I would not have been excited about

148
00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:13.559
this realm until I went to Motiongate
in Dubai yep, and and in there

149
00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:18.120
too. Yeah, in the DreamWorks, in the DreamWorks building in when you

150
00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:22.080
go into Burke, it is the
Isle of Burke. It is probably one

151
00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:30.360
of my favorite dark ride slash coaster
style attractions I've ever done. And it's

152
00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.600
there is just such a charm to
the whole area. So to take that

153
00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:37.279
and blow it and expand it.
Sorry, I'm comparing. I realized I'm

154
00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:43.080
comparing a a Warner Brother. Well, I'm comparing kind of apples to oranges

155
00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:48.000
here. But I enjoyed the movies. They were fine. I enjoy the

156
00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:52.879
brand, I enjoy the IP I
think it's fun. But if they even

157
00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.000
you know, if they can build
upon what they accomplished at Motion Gate and

158
00:10:56.039 --> 00:11:03.000
do it outdoors, that's going to
really be something. Yep. I agree.

159
00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:07.360
I also think, you know,
there's more of this, I feel

160
00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:09.720
like in Europe of the whole Viking
and that kind of thing, But I

161
00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:15.360
think in the US we don't have
as many that are really in that vein

162
00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:20.080
of right of of you know,
of fantasy. And it's very you know,

163
00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:22.279
it's very different from pirates, you
know. I mean, it's like

164
00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:28.519
it is a fun, unique realm. So yeah, I'm excited. So

165
00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.360
okay, the whizzing world of Harry
Potter Ministry of Magic. The Portal says

166
00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:35.120
for in dreams, we enter a
world that is entirely our own. Guests

167
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:39.399
will discover a different area of the
visiting world in an all new land that

168
00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.080
blends the nineteen twenties Wizarding in Paris
from Warner Brothers Fantastic Beast films with the

169
00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:48.679
iconic British Ministry of Magic from Harry
Potter series and the Little Antenna. The

170
00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:52.360
topper for this is the Elder Wand
so it's like sitting above the Portal as

171
00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:58.840
you enter in. Yeah, I
mean this is smart because of again we

172
00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:03.320
talk about the and like the ag
and ips. You know, they have

173
00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:09.159
a lot more control over the newer
movies and the you know that new those

174
00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:11.600
areas to full from this. So
it's well, I think are fantastic.

175
00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:16.399
I think the Fantastic Beasts when they
When I saw this, I was like,

176
00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:22.679
I'm excited to see it. But
I'm wondering if people who have not

177
00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:31.200
experienced Hogwarts or digon Alley will feel
somehow cheated. Uh maybe not. Maybe

178
00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:35.159
not because they'll because it's you know, with with younger audiences who have seen

179
00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:39.519
who saw Fantastic Beasts first run,
that was their first exposure to the wizarding

180
00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:43.159
world of Harry Potter, that may
be exactly what they're trying to go for.

181
00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:48.639
I uh, I'm excited to see
it. It sounds beautiful. I'm

182
00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:56.720
a little confused as to how they're
going to combine the British ministry of magic

183
00:12:56.759 --> 00:13:01.000
in the nineteen twenties Paris. It's
it sounds a little a little wonky.

184
00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:05.600
But the nice thing is because of
that that central icon concept of you know,

185
00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:11.159
bending time and space, you pretty
much do anything, so and it's

186
00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:16.360
magic. It's wild to me to
think that the younger generation, now,

187
00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:22.679
the people that would start going to
theme parks, would almost view the prequels

188
00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:28.440
as the original, right, I
mean because the younger kids, you know,

189
00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:31.039
it's like, like you said,
they're the things they're seeing in theaters

190
00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:35.320
are there. It's to them it's
their first thing. But it's technically a

191
00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:37.840
prequel. But to them it's not
like a really a prequel. So that's

192
00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:43.120
that's just wild because the Harry Potter
brand is old goodness, goodness, yes,

193
00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:48.960
and so am I right? And
the speaking of old You didn't have

194
00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:50.320
to agree quite so quickly, Philip, I'm just saying, all right,

195
00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:58.240
moving on. Held a dark universe, right, here's this is my favorite

196
00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:03.279
dark universe. The portal says it's
a lot it's alive, which I yeah,

197
00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:05.720
I feel like they're that's fine.
It's whatever, I guess encounter everything

198
00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:11.159
from the experiments of doctor Victoria Frankelstein
to the shadowy landscape where Monster's rome in

199
00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:15.600
a world of myth and mystery so
pretty vague, did you say Frankelstein?

200
00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:18.399
I think I did. It's Frankenstein. Well sorry, oh, okay,

201
00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:24.559
good. So I don't know what's
interesting. It's just This is very difficult

202
00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:28.600
because I think that a lot of
us are working on this area, so

203
00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.480
it's like we kind of know what
the vision is, but we can't talk

204
00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:35.919
about it because it's not being announced. So based off of literally just see

205
00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:43.399
sentences and the pictures, I'm going
to say what's interesting is that they're making

206
00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:50.799
a new character to represent this land. So they have all of these characters

207
00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:56.360
that are legacy characters, but they've
decided to center the land around Victoria Frankenstein,

208
00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:58.440
which is a So they're inventing a
character to kind of to be the

209
00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.639
the on this area, which is
an interesting move. I kind of want

210
00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:07.080
to get Scott's thoughts on it,
because I can't talk about anything else because

211
00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.759
I don't want to. So again, in full transparency, I am not

212
00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.200
involved in Oh really, Oh well, thank you. I'm not involved.

213
00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:18.120
I'm not involved in this project at
all at the moment. And that's not

214
00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.399
to say that it won't happen in
the future, but at the moment,

215
00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:28.000
I am completely uninvolved. And so
I think the idea of using a contemporary

216
00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:35.320
character or a brand new character to
tie together the existing the existing ips that

217
00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.919
you know, because this is actually
one of the few that they actually that

218
00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:43.559
universal actually owns and they're not listening
for somebody else. So I think it's

219
00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:48.559
it if it were me. On
paper, it looks like a very wise

220
00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:52.440
choice. On paper, it looks
like, let's create something that is contemporary,

221
00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:58.879
to make these characters that have been
around even longer than me seem fresh

222
00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.799
and new and and and it sounds
like it sounds like Victoria will sort of

223
00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:08.759
act as a conduit from the past
to the present and to make it so

224
00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:15.080
that these characters that that parents and
grandparents know and love or know in fear

225
00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:22.360
will will have irrelevance to younger folks
as well. I love the fact that

226
00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:27.399
it's that the character is female.
I think that is really exciting because again,

227
00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:30.039
so many of the old Monster films
and so many of the old Monster

228
00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:37.600
brands are so male centric that to
to bring a female character in I think

229
00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:41.440
is great, and a female character
that's not the bride of something, you

230
00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.679
know, I think that's I think
that's really cool. I will say that,

231
00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:48.559
you know, I I think that
this is I think part of the

232
00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:53.480
reason that this particular portal is of
such interest to people, because again,

233
00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:02.240
between between my Haunt fans and Haunt
friends, They've all been super jazzed about

234
00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:07.839
this, but this is this is
a major theme park installation, and Universal

235
00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:12.720
has beat Disney from doing to doing
a Villains area. You know that there's

236
00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:18.079
been talk for so many years about
Disney doing a Disney Villains area and how

237
00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:25.640
much that would be popular with a
huge demographic a huge group of their guests.

238
00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:30.799
Universal is doing it so well.
Not Disney Villains obviously, but they

239
00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:37.599
are doing an area that is is
completely dark and creepy, and I think

240
00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:40.319
it's going to fly. And I
think for those of you who are listening

241
00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:41.960
who are part of the houted attractions
industry, I think this is just another

242
00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:49.039
step in making Haunts viable year round. I love that through line about how

243
00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:53.319
Universal is trying to maybe not trying
like deliberately out maneuvering, but basically they

244
00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:59.400
are taking they're putting a big steak
in the in the horror genre. Basically

245
00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:03.240
when they're like bringing horror to the
physical reality and being in La we have

246
00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:07.000
horror events here year round. We
even have pop up experiences like you know

247
00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:11.000
that when the It whenever the movie
comes out, there's always a month long

248
00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:12.640
pop up exerience there's a squid game
thing right now happening. I mean,

249
00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:15.799
it just it happens all the time
here. And I was just at Creepy

250
00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:21.160
Con this last weekend, which is
a new convention in the Inland Empire,

251
00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:25.039
and it literally I think it's two
or three years old and it has already

252
00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:30.960
sold out every day at capacity to
fill the intirement center, which is bananas.

253
00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:34.599
I mean, it's a type of
expansion where they like they they're like

254
00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:40.400
having staffing problems because they can't staff
up their team even with hiring people to

255
00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:44.519
handle that many people, because it's
grown so quickly, so so rapidly.

256
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:48.279
And you know, if you look
at the timeline, it's going to be

257
00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:51.640
this opens next year, and then
after that you're going to have the year

258
00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:53.759
round horror in Vegas, and then
you're going to have you know, so

259
00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:57.240
I mean, Universales, they're really
sticking it to that year round horror.

260
00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:02.079
And let me look at them for
we're talked about the numbers for horror nights.

261
00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:04.599
I mean, I think all the
indicators are there. It's just a

262
00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:10.759
little surprising that we haven't seen other
people. Well, let me check that

263
00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:12.440
back. It's not very surprising.
Let me I was just talking with someone

264
00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.920
about this last night, actually ironically
or not, someone who also does a

265
00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.079
horror convention, like a mini Corre
convention, and they were want to talk

266
00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:23.319
about numbers. I was trying to
put it in perspective. I was trying

267
00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:30.599
to make it to say that there
are three and a half billion gamers three

268
00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:34.200
four five billion gamers, people that
have online game and accounts that actively game.

269
00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:40.759
That's like active users of gamers three
and a half billion, which should

270
00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:45.480
shock everybody listening when you realize that
all of Netflix is two hundred and sixty

271
00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:52.759
million. So when we're sitting here
saying Stranger Things is so popular, Wednesday

272
00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:56.519
was so popular, Oh my gosh, right, now, multiply that by

273
00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:00.839
thirteen and that are the amount of
people that are interested in the gaming ips.

274
00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.759
So so with that all in perspective, right, it's like horror as

275
00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:08.200
a genre is still not nearly as
large as like, you know, you

276
00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:11.799
would get with Five Knights of Freddie's, for example, which has the gaming

277
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.240
and the Last of Us, which
was a game. I mean, that's

278
00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.640
but I think even there you see
Universal trying to capture both of those things.

279
00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:22.519
You know, they're like, well, let's kind of bring in use

280
00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:29.200
horror as become the brand of horror, and use that then to leverage these

281
00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:33.160
larger markets through that kind of niche. Well, and and when I attended

282
00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:37.880
gen Con this past past year,
I think it was last year, I

283
00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:41.240
was I had a smack in the
face, eye opening moment when when I

284
00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:45.599
found out that in the city of
Indianapolis, there is only one event that

285
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:51.759
generates more tourism and more revenue for
the city of Indianapolis than gen Con,

286
00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:56.559
and that is the Indy five hundred. So it is it is a it

287
00:20:56.599 --> 00:21:02.000
is a behemoth. And I will
say from from my experience just at that

288
00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:07.039
convention, because I'm not a gamer, so I'm I'm a bad resource,

289
00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:14.000
But just from an outsider's perspective,
the overlap between horror and gaming is very

290
00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:18.440
heavy, very very heavy. And
it's horror slash sci fi. If you

291
00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:23.559
include sci fi in there, that's
about I would guesstimate forty to fifty percent

292
00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:27.240
of games are either horror or sci
fi themed or fantasy. It's got the

293
00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:32.720
fantasy side in there too. But
yeah, I think you're absolutely right.

294
00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:37.200
I think this is a I think
this is a gateway drug to tie into

295
00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:41.039
the to tie into the gamers market, and as you've pointed out, that

296
00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:45.480
is a very large and lucrative market. So yeah, well, and exactly,

297
00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:48.960
speaking of the gaming market, Superintendo
World right, Superintendo World is the

298
00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:56.720
last area that was announced. Now, I will say superintend World right has

299
00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:00.960
broken records. We've talked about how
on all their earning called they talk about

300
00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:06.400
how that has really contributed. But
I will say it is a game.

301
00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:08.599
It's not. I think what we
think of when we think about contemporary gamers

302
00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:11.680
again, you know, we think
about the Fortnite, you know, we

303
00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:15.759
think about League of Legends, we
think about five Nights, so Freddy's think

304
00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:18.319
about the last we think about these
games people and the streaming market, think

305
00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:22.680
of all the kind of that.
But it just shows you how even something

306
00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:27.519
that is like nostalgic to those gamers, you know, how how like even

307
00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:33.000
adjacent to that, you know,
how how popular it is. And of

308
00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:37.039
course Superintendent World, the portal says, here we go and Guess will experience

309
00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:40.079
a new way to play, from
challenging Bowser on the Mario Kart ride to

310
00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:44.160
adventuring through Donkey Kong Country and so
much more. So basically just they're taking

311
00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:45.200
what they've already done and just putting
it there, which is fine. You

312
00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.039
know they can do that, and
you know what, it's going to be

313
00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:52.799
popular, probably will be the most
popular area here. That's that's the That's

314
00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:53.759
the thing. I was even talking
to this person, I was like,

315
00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:59.799
you know what when even the Five
Nights at Freddy's movie, which people said

316
00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:06.160
review wise was not great, I
mean like it wasn't a fantastic right,

317
00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:08.519
like no reviewers that it was the
be all ll right. I mean,

318
00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:12.799
look at Oppenheimer by comparison, but
you know who made more money. That's

319
00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:18.839
Ithd's. You know who is now
the like the top grossing film in all

320
00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:23.799
of Blumhouse's collection. Yeah, I
mean that's it's like kind of like doesn't

321
00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:29.440
matter. It's just tapping into that
that passion where there's just so many people

322
00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:32.440
that relate to it. I mean, I think it's because I think it's

323
00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:34.720
because so many you know, when
we talk about gaming, I refer to

324
00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:38.160
it as D and D on steroids. But when we talk about gaming and

325
00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:41.039
role playing, these aren't people that
play games. These are people who live

326
00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:45.240
in these worlds and they suspend their
disbelief long enough to live in these worlds.

327
00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:49.720
So anything that ties to them,
anything that that references these worlds that

328
00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:53.359
they have chosen to live in.
You know, it's it's sort of like

329
00:23:55.480 --> 00:24:00.319
D and D on steroids. It's
it's the ren Fair kids gone wild on

330
00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:06.640
a on a massive global scale.
It's it's when you it's when you convince

331
00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:10.240
yourself. It's like when you were
a little kid and you were playing whatever

332
00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:15.400
fantasy world you were creating as a
child, you lived in that world and

333
00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.759
the outside world kind of went away. So anything that ties back to that

334
00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:22.880
world and reinforces the fact that it
is quote unquote real, is going to

335
00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:27.640
be super popular and super power and
what Scott you say all the time.

336
00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:32.839
I think the big component of that
is that you have the agency to impact

337
00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:34.880
the consequences of your character, right, Like you have a role and you

338
00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:40.000
have agency, and that is like, I mean, yea, everyone's like,

339
00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:41.839
oh a mersive enter. I mean, like gains are the original Mercy

340
00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:45.920
entertainment. I don't know why we're
all over here pretending like it's a new

341
00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:48.400
thing. I'm like, have y'all
ever played D and D, Because let

342
00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:52.359
me tell you, that is literally
how as immersive as you can get yeah,

343
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.599
yeah, there's no technology to help
make it more wizbangy, but it's

344
00:24:56.599 --> 00:25:02.480
pretty much the same thing. So
so those are the portals, and we

345
00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:06.440
already talked about how the main place
you're going to get to is the hub,

346
00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:11.319
which is going to be the Celestial
Park. And so the pressurely says

347
00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:17.720
with acres of rolling gardens, chasing
waterways and strolling pathways, Celestial Park puts

348
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.559
the park back in theme park.
I just thought that was hilarious. And

349
00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:26.440
there's going to be three attractions.
They already have information out about them.

350
00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:30.359
Starfall Racers, which is a dual
coaster reaching speeds at sixty two miles per

351
00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:33.640
hour at a maxim height of one
hundred and thirty three feet. There's Constellation

352
00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:38.960
Carousel, just a carousel, and
there is Astronomica, a waterplay area.

353
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:42.720
Tell me, is it Constellation themed? I don't know. Well, there

354
00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:49.039
you go. It's there's also two
full service restaurants. There's Atlantic, a

355
00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:56.680
surf and turf restaurant, and the
Blue Dragon pan Asian restaurant. So yes,

356
00:25:56.119 --> 00:26:02.599
what's interesting to me about this area
is it's so I guess, I

357
00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:03.839
guess we'll see. I mean,
looking, they have a lot of concept

358
00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:07.200
art about this and you can see. I think what will be interesting to

359
00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:12.519
see is how much green space there
is, because we've talked about this also

360
00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:17.160
on the show. But you know, there's there's something to be said for

361
00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:21.720
giving a space for people to hang
out and gather and to just to just

362
00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:26.400
exist, you know. And I
think we've talked about the also the concept

363
00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:30.920
of theme parks and malls, you
know, becoming more of the public spaces,

364
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:34.279
because we are losing our public spaces, and even though they're behind walled

365
00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:37.599
gardens in a sense, you know, it's it's still it's still a thing

366
00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:41.880
like that. And it reminds me
a lot of the parks in Asia,

367
00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:47.880
you know, which which do this. They have just huge green spaces in

368
00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:52.079
their hubs and people sit on the
grass and literally just hang out. They

369
00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:56.680
have picnics, you know, they
just they just chill, right, And

370
00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:00.440
and that's I'm very interested to see
how much of that will carry through the

371
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:03.400
final product, to see how much
of it will be a chill space,

372
00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:10.000
because wouldn't we were just talking about
how there are not there's like there's not

373
00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:15.079
enough covered shade relax areas for the
amount of heat that Orlando is seen especially

374
00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:18.759
at Disney and the Magic Kingdom,
like it is not a fun place to

375
00:27:18.839 --> 00:27:21.279
There's just too much, too much
concrete, there's not enough shade. There's

376
00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:25.000
just there's no water. I mean, and this almost literally almost seems like

377
00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:29.599
the opposite waterfalls and pathways and trees
and d d da da da. And

378
00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:32.319
I'm like, okay, and you
know we were we got off on the

379
00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:37.119
hub and spoke thing. But this
is significantly more of a robust hub than

380
00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:40.279
any of the Disney parks, you
know. I mean, it's it's more

381
00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:42.440
than just a castle and a place
to shoot fireworks from, you know,

382
00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.920
shots fired. Well, no,
I mean it is, and and I

383
00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:52.960
think it's a natural progression. You
know, that's that's not meant to be

384
00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.559
controversial. Let's not make anything controversial. That's not I'm just I'm just stating

385
00:27:56.759 --> 00:28:00.000
this is if there's a if there's
a poster, if you're like fireworks,

386
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:06.519
because then I'm like, sh that's
firing. Yeah, I'm for the for

387
00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:07.799
the next show, for the next
show. I'm just gonna have myself video

388
00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:15.279
mapped and I'll just stand here anyway. No, but no, you're right.

389
00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:18.480
I think I think it's creating it's
creating a place that will I think

390
00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:23.039
it will make it easier for guests
to spend a full day because part of

391
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:29.039
the part of the challenge, at
least in Magic Kingdom, at at Disney,

392
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:36.400
at the at Orlando is because it
is difficult to spend the entire day

393
00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:41.359
outside in the heat. Guests will
you know, go back to the hotel

394
00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:44.279
and then come back to the park
or you know. But if they have

395
00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:47.559
those, if they have that,
even even the water play area, which

396
00:28:47.559 --> 00:28:52.240
I think is really smart, that's
that seems to me like a design to

397
00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:57.319
keep people cool during the hottest days
of summer. So it's it's a wise

398
00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:02.440
choice. I mean, it's clear
that they're looking at they're reading the same

399
00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:04.960
articles we're reading. They're they're looking
at and have you know for years they're

400
00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:11.720
looking at the the the blame being
set upon uh, their their lower attendance

401
00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:15.839
because of hot weather. So what
do we do We include a way to

402
00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:18.319
cool people off. So that just
that just makes a whole lot of sense.

403
00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:23.680
Yeah, I again, I think
what we'll see about in the execution,

404
00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:33.680
but I I I think that would
be such an interesting like almost like

405
00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:36.240
a plot twist kind of a thing. For the market where you're like,

406
00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:37.799
oh, because because really, aside
from the water parks, I mean,

407
00:29:37.880 --> 00:29:41.960
and even here in La it's not
as bad, but I mean there's just

408
00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:47.680
not Yeah, it's like people have
It's so weird to me because this is

409
00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:51.119
a thing. It's a very popular
thing outside of this country. But I

410
00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:53.240
guess in this country we're like,
no, no, you must be shopping

411
00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:57.359
constantly or standing in line. You
can't. You can't possibly pay to go

412
00:29:57.400 --> 00:30:02.440
into a theme park and just relax. That's ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah,

413
00:30:02.519 --> 00:30:04.680
and yet we see it, as
you say, we've seen it pretty much.

414
00:30:06.119 --> 00:30:07.680
We've seen it which pretty much all
over the world, and you know,

415
00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:11.200
maybe that's part of the inspiration for
this, this design as a whole.

416
00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:15.079
So anyway, I'm excited to see
it. I will be honest.

417
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.880
You know, you talk about you
talk about, Yes, it all comes

418
00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:25.359
down to how they actually execute.
But my experience has been as a consumer,

419
00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:30.319
my experience has been that execution for
Universal has never been a challenge.

420
00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:36.200
What has become a challenge for Universal
is maintenance, and Disney's kind of the

421
00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:41.640
opposite. So that's an excellent point. Yeah, we see that. The

422
00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:45.359
last thing I was going to say, is that actually really encapsulates what I

423
00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:49.119
was thinking this whole time, where
I was thinking. This coming from Universal

424
00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:55.559
just really speaks to how much the
landscape has changed over even like the past

425
00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:59.119
five years, ten years. I
mean this the theming, the story.

426
00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:02.759
I mean how much they're talking about
the story and the theme and the integration

427
00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:07.359
and the details all that kind of
stuff that didn't used to be the case.

428
00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:10.279
I mean, it just didn't used
to be. Well, you know

429
00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:14.440
where or you would I think you
just to continue and they continue to build

430
00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:18.400
upon because you know, they did
that. They did this so looking at

431
00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:23.000
just the Florida Parks, the the
Universal Studios was It's where the movies come

432
00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:26.279
to life or where the movies ride
the movies or whatever their tagline was at

433
00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:30.839
the time. Then when they went
to Islands of Adventure, they started they

434
00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:33.759
created that that entrance portal, and
they created you know, this whole fit

435
00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:36.920
and this is just the next step. This is the next step. Speaking

436
00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:40.039
of next steps, it's time for
us to take our next step because we're

437
00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:44.000
out of time already. So this
has already been an epic show, uh

438
00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:49.559
talking about epic things, and well, well, you know, people have

439
00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:53.839
to go on with their day.
So anyway, thank you so very much

440
00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:56.759
for listening. If you think there
is anybody out there in the industry who

441
00:31:56.799 --> 00:32:01.920
would enjoy our prattle and our rambling
back and forth, please encourage them to

442
00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:07.440
join the listenership of green Tag Theme
Park in thirty on behalf of Philipernandez with

443
00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:09.839
Gantum Lighting and the Hunted Attraction Network, and myself Scott Swinston with Scott Swinson

444
00:32:09.880 --> 00:32:14.759
Creative Development. This has been green
Tag Theme Park in thirty and we will

445
00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:15.119
see you again next week.