The Official "Use of Screenz" Thread

[JungleSkip]

This year brings us the release of virtual reality devices like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. With these new toys being able to give people immersive experiences at home, do you think it will make it harder for theme parks to wow people with screens?

I don't think the two have much effect on one another, personally.

No matter how good a VR experience is, you're still standing/sitting still. You're not in a ride vehicle being tossed around or moved through an environment.

 

[JoeCamel]

I think it is what is displayed on the screenzzs that matters not the fact there are screens. It is the movies and has been happening for 100 years or more. The people that develop the art to display can take you places physical sets never could. Combined with motion your mind has no limits to what you "think" is happening. Keep the nausea out of it and I am game for anything.

The sci-fi community has come up with stories of people dying from seeing and feeling things where there was no real physical danger. That is a powerful tool.

 

[MrRoamer]

I don't think the two have much effect on one another, personally.

No matter how good a VR experience is, you're still standing/sitting still. You're not in a ride vehicle being tossed around or moved through an environment.

What if you have a motion platform on your home that can lean, bounce, etc?

 

[JungleSkip]

What if you have a motion platform on your home that can lean, bounce, etc?

Then you're like .000000000001% of the population.

 

[Scott W.]

What if you have a motion platform on your home that can lean, bounce, etc?

If you take BTTF for example. You can watch the video online now:


And even if you added some kind of motion platform at home similar to this:


It's just never going to beat actually getting into that Delorean, have it rise out a mountain of fog and be instantly in the ride. Plus, I think experiencing a ride with friends and family besides you adds so much more.

 

[Skubersky]

What if you have a motion platform on your home that can lean, bounce, etc?

The 30th anniversary bluray of BTTF has Dbox encoding for the BTTF Ride footage, if you're rich...

 

[captainmoch]

To continue the conversation from the F&F thread... I personally see and understand both sides of the screens argument.

On one hand, screens can do things AAs/sets can't, almost every ride we have with screens is pretty different (at least per park), and every screen ride we've been getting is great, so there's no reason this trend won't be continuing. It is what Universal does best.

On another hand, screens definately aren't for everyone. People who get motion sick or simply don't like 3D don't have much to do at USF in particular. And this isn't just a "hardcore theme park fan" thing. One of the most common complaints I hear about Universal from everyday GP people who go there, is "too much 3D" or something along those lines.

I just think we need to find more balance. I'm not opposed to more screen rides, as long as we get an equal amount of more physical rides too. While I actually don't mind Fallon, I admit, I am a bit disappointed that F&F is apparently a "screenz" ride. It would be the perfect ride to add some sort of TT-esque thing (when I say that, I don't mean in experience or ride system, I just mean in "going fast") that brings variety and some physical stuff to Studios. Especially considering they have more than enough room. However, I'll try not to judge it until I ride, and until we see what kind of plans are up next after Fallon/F&F.

 

[Mad Dog]

I mostly agree. I love the Screeenz and believe they do things that other ride aspects can't recreate. Though, I do like to see nice sets, an AA or two and whatever else they can come up with. But, I am mindful that Universal Studios is about the movies so I have no problem with screen based attractions. Though I would surely like to see another attraction or two of the ET variety. IOA is a lot more balanced, and the theme is different than Studios, so between the two parks combined, most of what I desire is there. Just, as I've said, another one or two E ticket family attractions like ET would be nice.

 

[belloq87]

Reading what was going on in the F&F thread had me shouting things at my computer, but there are too many specific comments to react to, so I'll let it go. However, there's a point that I've seen made over and over again about how screens skeptics don't hold, for example, all the omnimovers or slow-moving boat rides at Magic Kingdom, say, to the same standard they do a park like USF, which is/will be full of screen-based rides. The implication therein being "You're a hypocrite if you say you don't like a bunch of rides with similar ride systems/approaches in the same park."

My answer to that would be that, well, maybe I am. I admit my bias: I’m easier on AA/animated figure/set-rich dark rides than I am on 3D/screen-hybrid dark rides/simulators; the artistry of pulling off a ride with physical, practical things unfolding and moving in front of and around me will - in general - usually be more impressive to me than a screen-based ride. I would much rather see things actually existing before my eyes and occupying physical space instead of watching a ride film on a screen. That doesn’t mean I think Peter Pan’s Flight is a better ride than Escape from Gringotts, for example, or that I don't like screen-based rides (because I do!). It just means I have preferences. We all do. I don't think that makes either camp inherently right or wrong, though. It just means that I'm more likely to view screen-dependent rides as being more similar than I am classic-style dark rides.

I want good, fun rides. I'm sure Fallon and F&F will be good, fun rides. My only concern is that, by the end of the decade, when I spend a full day at USF, will I feel like I rode the same ride 3 or 4 times, only with different names? Despite what others say, I find Gringotts and Transformers to be more similar in feel than I'd like, ditto for Minion Mayhem and Simpsons.

 

[Mad Dog]

Well, you summed it up pretty well when you said the key to you was to have good, fun rides. To me that's the main priority. Short of a handful of rides and shows, I like just about everything at Universal and WDW. Some I like more than others, some a lot more than others, but there's nowhere in the world that I can experience as much fun in theme parks, hotel resorts etc, than I can in Orlando. So I might sometime complain about upkeep, unnecessary cost cutting, or lack of meaningful expansions, but, on the whole I really enjoy the experiences available in Orlando. And, it just keeps getting better, especially with all the future expansions coming.

 

[captainmoch]

Well, you summed it up pretty well when you said the key to you was to have good, fun rides. To me that's the main priority. Short of a handful of rides and shows, I like just about everything at Universal and WDW. Some I like more than others, some a lot more than others, but there's nowhere in the world that I can experience as much fun in theme parks, hotel resorts etc, than I can in Orlando. So I might sometime complain about upkeep, unnecessary cost cutting, or lack of meaningful expansions, but, on the whole I really enjoy the experiences available in Orlando. And, it just keeps getting better, especially with all the future expansions coming.

I like the way you think!

 

[Nick]

As I said earlier today, it's not the screens that bother me as much as the same "...and something goes wrong" plot-line over and over. Would I like more physical elements be used? of course, but the plot is what makes all the rides seem so similar to me.

 

[belloq87]

As I said earlier today, it's not the screens that bother me as much as the same "...and something goes wrong" plot-line over and over. Would I like more physical elements be used? of course, but the plot is what makes all the rides seem so similar to me.

I kind of dig the "...and something goes wrong" plots for the most part, but there's a samey feel to the pacing of some of the rides that I think contributes to what you're talking about, too. There's not a whole lot of breathing room for awe or mystery, the rides instead focus on rapid-fire action. Which, you know, is fun! But if you spend a day riding all of them, it can start to wear on you a bit.

With respect to awe and mystery, I think Kong is going to have this in spades (at least it seems like it), so I'm hoping that gives the whole experience a real freshness.

 

[Nick]

Which, you know, is fun! But if you spend a day riding all of them, it can start to wear on you a bit.

With respect to awe and mystery, I think Kong is going to have this in spades (at least it seems like it), so I'm hoping that gives the whole experience a real freshness.

Complete agreement. Individually, all of the rides are fun, but the rides do wear on you as you said if you spend the day riding them all.

 

[martymcflyy85]

Reading what was going on in the F&F thread had me shouting things at my computer, but there are too many specific comments to react to, so I'll let it go.

I know exactly how you feel. Its a legitimate topic. But we are forced to talk about it in a separate thread that is purposely mis-spelled as joke.

 

[belloq87]

I know exactly how you feel. Its a legitimate topic. But we are forced to talk about it in a separate thread that is purposely mis-spelled as joke. Mainly due to one person who is so hyper defensive of the issue and is the one who always starts the arguments.

There isn’t anyone I would single out, but there is an attitude from some quarters that basically says “Accept it and get over it, ‘cause this is just how it is,” to which I say… well, no. That’s a kind of perspective that implies we should never desire or push for things that are fresh (from a relative standpoint) or different from whatever the current status quo is. I'm talking generally, here, not even as it specifically relates to the subject of this thread.

I’ve been a massive fan of Universal Studios Florida since 1993, and of Islands of Adventure since 1999. Any concerns I raise do not come from a place of disliking Universal, they come from a place of genuine affection. It doesn’t make me less of a Universal fan just because I don’t love EVERYTHING about their current approach, and we’re all allowed to have our opinions on the matter, whether you’ve got no reservations about Universal’s screens usage or lots of reservations about it.

 

[martymcflyy85]

Any concerns I raise do not come from a place of disliking Universal, they come from a place genuine affection.

Well said.

 

[Nick]

Well said.

Agreed.

 

[Fatality]

There isn’t anyone I would single out, but there is an attitude from some quarters that basically says “Accept it and get over it, ‘cause this is just how it is,” to which I say… well, no. That’s a kind of perspective that implies we should never desire or push for things that are fresh (from a relative standpoint) or different from whatever the current status quo is. I'm talking generally, here, not even as it specifically relates to the subject of this thread.

There are many folks (on here and in general) who just dont care for others' opinions. It's an interesting spot. I think that's because we talk a lot about rumors and rumors are right or wrong at the end of the day. Opinions can be right. Opinions can be wrong. Opinions can be both. They lie in an inbetween.

People don't want to hear certain opinions simply because they disagree, or because you are "wrong" and they don't care/want to discuss/see/hear anything that isn't "true fact" or based in reality. They way I see it, people have a "deal with it" attitude being very technology forward / relying on multimedia/film is Universal's "thing" and you CAN expect/want more but the truth/reality/fact is that maybe you shouldn't. They don't want to hear it bc it's not going to happen. What is going to happen is all they want in their see. They don't explain this longer because people on here get MAD if you post something that is more than 170 characters. (I hate the fact that @IzzyB feels pressured to apologize for "long" posts - this is not Twitter, post as much/long as you want - I love it. )

I enjoy a lot of this site. But many a time it feels like a question/answer board instead of an actual discussion board. Sometimes, if your thought/opinion/answer isn't _______ - you need to shut up.

I'm guilty. I've had some moments here I'm not proud of....but I wish we'd all be more open to DISCUSSION rather than focus on right vs wrong.

 

[Nick]

There are many folks (on here and in general) who just dont care for others opinions. It's an interesting spot. I think that's because we talk a lot about rumors and rumors are right or wrong at the end of the day. Opinions can be right. Opinions can be wrong. Opinions can be both. They lie in an inbetween.

That could be simply because they disagree, or it's because you are "wrong" and they don't care to discuss/see/hear anything that isn't "true fact" or based in reality. They way I see it, people have a "deal with it" attitude being very technology forward / relying on multimedia/film is Universal's "thing" and you CAN expect/want more but the truth/reality/fact is that maybe you shouldn't. They don't want to hear it bc it's not going to happen. What is going to happen is all they want in their see. They don't explain this longer because people on here get MAD if you post something that is more than 170 characters. (I hate the fact that @IzzyB feels pressured to apologize for "long" posts - this is not Twitter, post as much/long as you want - I love it. )

I enjoy a lot of this site. But many a time it feels like a question/answer board instead of an actual discussion board. Sometimes, if your thought/opinion/answer isn't _______ - you need to shut up.

I'm guilty. I've had some moments here I'm not proud of....but I wish we'd all be more open to DISCUSSION rather than focus on right vs wrong.

Agreed on almost all accounts. Especially the last paragraph.