Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[RFRees]

Can someone please help me here - why is the community thinking Wicked is going to be for babies? (Or are we targeting the elderly?)

• There will be a minimum height requirement of 39 inches for NightFlight.
• Flight of Passage is 40".
• The average height range of a 6 year old is 42-49".
• The Wicked movie and stage play is recommended for ages 8+. Most live performances do not permit small children (5 and under) at all.

 

[GAcoaster]

I would think Wicked would try to target as broad an audience as possible. The appeal of Wicked/Oz spans generations and is probably closest to a Disney/Princess type IP as Universal can get. They want to get EVERYONE from 6-106 into the attractions and subsequent purchase of merchandise and food. A coaster has limited appeal and prevents many from riding. A ride system like the pseudo coaster of Jurrassic Flyers in Beijing is much more the type of coaster I could see being considered since it's forgiving for those with heart conditions or who are too scared to ride a real coaster.

I think the whole "Wicked Coaster" speculation came from people paring onride of Hulk with Defying Gravity. I don't see that scale/type of "thrill ride" being the right approach for the IP.

 

[RFRees]

I would think Wicked would try to target as broad an audience as possible. The appeal of Wicked/Oz spans generations and is probably closest to a Disney/Princess type IP as Universal can get. They want to get EVERYONE from 6-106 into the attractions and subsequent purchase of merchandise and food. A coaster has limited appeal and prevents many from riding. A ride system like the pseudo coaster of Jurrassic Flyers in Beijing is much more the type of coaster I could see being considered since it's forgiving for those with heart conditions or who are too scared to ride a real coaster.

I think the whole "Wicked Coaster" speculation came from people paring onride of Hulk with Defying Gravity. I don't see that scale/type of "thrill ride" being the right approach for the IP.

I assumed people were thinking more Tron or Hagrid's (48", ~7 to 8 years old) and less Hulk (54").

I did a search of "Hulk" in this thread and found nothing related to Wicked, at least not recently. Was this specific suggestion posted somewhere else?

I think at least part of this conversation comes from the idea that the land can only have 1 major attraction. I think Wicked could work with a coaster and a dark ride, similar to Hogsmeade. (Or a coaster and show, similar to Berk.)

Regarding this being the "Disney Princess" of Universal, I'm not sure where that is stemming from. The source material is from a musical play that is not really targeted towards children, which is from a series of edgy books meant for YA+. Oz as a franchise is all ages, with Wicked skewing on the edgier and potentially older side. The movie itself does not seem to be marketed as a children's movie, but instead for all ages.

Unless I'm seriously missing something, Wicked is not really "for" young children in the same vein as other children's movies. If I'd guess, it's generally for preteens (e.g. 10-12), teenagers, young adults, and the young at heart.

 

[Wicked Salad]

I assumed people were thinking more Tron or Hagrid's (48", ~7 to 8 years old) and less Hulk (54").

I did a search of "Hulk" in this thread and found nothing related to Wicked, at least not recently. Was this specific suggestion posted somewhere else?

I think at least part of this conversation comes from the idea that the land can only have 1 major attraction. I think Wicked could work with a coaster and a dark ride, similar to Hogsmeade. (Or a coaster and show, similar to Berk.)

Regarding this being the "Disney Princess" of Universal, I'm not sure where that is stemming from. The source material is from a musical play that is not really targeted towards children, which is from a series of edgy books meant for YA+. Oz as a franchise is all ages, with Wicked skewing on the edgier and potentially older side. The movie itself does not seem to be marketed as a children's movie, but instead for all ages.

Unless I'm seriously missing something, Wicked is not really "for" young children in the same vein as other children's movies. If I'd guess, it's generally for preteens (e.g. 10-12), teenagers, young adults, and the young at heart. That's probably why they cast Ariana Grande, the singer of 34+35, which is not a song about kindergarten level mathematics. (That last part is a joke - they obviously cast her for star power.)

They've been marketing to children through toys. Lego, Barbie, playsets, costumes, etc. I think that's where it's coming from.

 

[RFRees]

They've been marketing to children through toys. Lego, Barbie, playsets, costumes, etc. I think that's where it's coming from.

Potter, Transformers, Jurassic Park, Marvel, Fast and Furious, Ghostbusters, and plenty of other franchises have toys as well, but the IPs are not for very young children or for babies in the same way that Frozen is.

I almost feel like this is because Wicked features women and is more feminine compared to Potter... But that doesn't necessarily mean it skews younger. This probably happens with feminine proprieties in general - look at how shocked people were about Barbie and not at all about Transformers, when both were pg-13.

 

[Co@sterDuck!]

to be fair I can see their point as I myself am realizing that if they do a wicked land not many elders would be geared toward this area

 

[belloq87]

Unless I'm seriously missing something, Wicked is not really "for" young children in the same vein as other children's movies. If I'd guess, it's generally for preteens (e.g. 10-12), teenagers, young adults, and the young at heart.

If you're thinking about the brand as purely WICKED, then yes.

If you're thinking about the brand as an all-encompassing Oz land (which Universal probably should, because plenty of people like THE WIZARD OF OZ generally but don't have attachment/affection for WICKED), then it's as all-ages and perennial in appeal as an IP could get.

 

[GAcoaster]

The sheer number of young children in videos dressed as Glinda and Elphaba singing in front of their TVs to the movie says this reaches young children whether it is targeting them or not. Wicked seems to have wide appeal to children and adults, but (more important to Universal) more appeal to female audiences. Disney has always had that market sewn up while Universal skews heavily "male" with the exception of Potter.

They want that demographic-- it makes money they aren't currently making. It would go a long way to rounding out the park offerings and further errode Disney's grip on the "family" market. Much the way Disney is focusing on thrills and darker, edgier new additions to target the crowds that Universal appeals to.

 

[NotPennysBoat]

This ride is being marketed as a family ride with only a 39” height requirement.

 

[RFRees]

... but (more important to Universal) more appeal to female audiences. ...
....
They want that demographic-- it makes money they aren't currently making.

Wicked is a feminine IP, yes. Great for Universal to finally enter into that market.

But I disagree with anyone thinking that automatically means:

• More for children
• Less thrilling

And to be clear, I'm not saying kids don't like Oz or Wicked. I'm sure they'll sell plenty of pink and black dresses. But, this talk about Wicked attractions is getting silly when we're shooting down ride concepts at 39" height requirements because it needs to have literal babies on it.