Universal Orlando: A Look to the Future

With the huge success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and expected huge increases in the annual theme park attendance report, what we can expect for the future?

Spiderman Replacement: Will the beloved Spiderman be 'transformed'?

My personal predictions? I do not think Universal will be adding a third park anytime soon. They have A LOT of updating to do in their current parks. For instance, the Marvel contract will at some stage run out, and with Disney having the rights to Marvel, Universal are going to want to most likely re-theme the whole of Marvel section of the park. Perhaps replacing Spiderman with the new Universal Hollywood attraction, Transformers.

Jeep Tours: Concept art, courtesy of Orlandorocks

There have also been a lot of rumors over the past 10 years about a Jurrassic Park concept, the "Jeep Tours". However, the ride concept sounds extremely similar to DINOSAUR at Animal Kingdom and the premise of the ride where "something goes wrong", is already done on the JP attraction 'River Adventure'. So I think we can forget about this attraction for the time being, unless the new JP film is extremely successful.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter:
Expansion already?

Now, here is what I think will most certainly happen. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has so much more potential - and the land to go with it too! This would certainly bring in the crowds. However, for how long? Will Harry Potter pass the test of time, and retain its cult status like other timeless series such as Star Wars? Only time will tell, and with the last film coming out this year, I would personally prefer Universal to concentrate their efforts else where and cater to others. Harry Potter has bought in so many visitors who would usually spend their vacation at Disneyworld, however, not all of Disneyworld's visitors also like Harry Potter. So perhaps Universal would benefit by creating a bigger focus on another ride...

Asta La Vista Baby: Will the 1996 attraction be soon replaced by Camerons' Avatar franchise?

Within the next ten years, I can also see a lot of Universal's attractions being replaced. Terminator 3D in my opinion is extremely outdated and is also the rumored position for a new Avatar ride. The likelihood of this happens could be perhaps determined by the success of the future Avatar sequel. Shrek 4D is also becoming a little rundown, it doesn't seem to run as smoothly as it once did. The film itself is set after Shrek (2001), which is now over 10 years old and 3 sequels behind. However, Shrek may also pass the test of time and also may increase in popularity as the franchise appears to be releasing more films based on its minor characters.


What would I love to see replaced? Twister. Words do not describe my hatred for this ride. Sure, it is a cool experience the first time or so. But why on earth does this ride still exist? It's effects, which are the attraction's selling point, are way outdated and far less impressive than other shows. However, it is one of few attractions, like Disaster, that compliment Universal's tagline of 'Riding the movies'.

Madagascar: Would it be a 'crate' replacement?

"But what could replace Jaws?" I hear you ask. Well, perhaps it could be the new Universal Singapore attraction, a family dark ride based on Madagascar. Would this fit into the theming? No! But Universal have disregarded the local themeing before and I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Personally, I wouldn't like to see this attraction at USO because not only is it tame and boring (from what I have seen), I like it when theme park companies keep successful attractions in different parks (like Journey into the Centre of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea). However, there are a lot of families who argue Universal doesn't cater enough towards young children, and this could be the perfect answer.


For now, however, we will simply look forward to the upcoming Despicable Me attraction and the hopefully amazing updates to Spiderman...