Hollywood Photoland

[Alexshow.]

So it has closed and Amazing Pictures has been relocated to the NYStreet location, Thoughts?

 

[Allen The Actor]

Well, I'm just waiting for Jon to post more news about it, as he stated on Facebook already. I don't wanna speculate about it if he's gonna post the info soon....lol.

Gonna have to partially do with the HoH replacement I think, but Jon says it's more than that so let's see lol.

 

[Bonkers]

Good.

 

[William]

Praise the Lord. I was getting tired of this damn sign:

 

[sickle_claw]

Wait..Hollywood Photoland got taken down?

 

[Allen The Actor]

I think they're doing what DCA did. Placemaking and refreshing the entire park and getting rid of anything cheesy in preparation for Wizarding World. The photoland logo was always an eyesore.

 

[William]

And not to mention out of place. The left side of the entryway consists of a gift store with an Old Spanish exterior, a sad-looking, cartoony photo studio, a medieval fortress, and a makeshift entertainment stage adorned with old wooden boxes. The hodgepodge feel, as nostalgic as it may be, is soon a thing of the past.

 

[sickle_claw]

I wondered myself...how many people really have need of photos taken of them by staff members as well...especially with how prevalent smart phones, or even how cheap digital cameras are these days. It always seemed...very extraneous.

 

[Allen The Actor]

And not to mention out of place. The left side of the entryway consists of a gift store with an Old Spanish exterior, a sad-looking, cartoony photo studio, a medieval fortress, and a makeshift entertainment stage adorned with old wooden boxes. The hodgepodge feel, as nostalgic as it may be, is soon a thing of the past.

Beautifully said. That can be said about the park as a whole, the transformation is happening everywhere.

 

[Jon Fu]

More information: http://insideuniversal.net/2014/11/hollywood-photoland-has-closed-universal-studio-store-to-expand/

 

[Allen The Actor]

Very interesting. I wonder how they'll connect the main Universal Studio Store to this extension. And in turn if they'll connect it to the HoH replacement.

Whatever it may be, I'm down for any change at this point, especially if it makes the themeing more cohesive

 

[William]

That would mean re-leveling Photoland's footprint to match Universal Studio Store's. I wonder if they'll just get rid of the elevation change on the left side as a whole.

 

[Jon Fu]

^ I'd be curious to see how they combine both structures, assuming they're going to reuse Hollywood Photoland in some fashion.


Demolition seems more likely to me, though that's a project that would take a few months at the very least. Is Universal willing to have its entrance under construction for that long?

 

[Allen The Actor]

Very interesting how they'll combine them.

I'm also curious if this new extension will in turn be attached to the new HoH replacement venue somehow as well...hmmm

 

[William]

If they wanted to go the lazy route, they could combine the current USS and Photoland and have a set of stairs/ramps within the shop to compensate for the slight change in elevation.

Whatever they do, it'd be a shame to see the entrance plaza behind walls for a long time. Talk about a bad first impression!

 

[sickle_claw]

So you're saying they might just level it to make it even...

 

[William]

So you're saying they might just level it to make it even...

They could, but that would require a lot more work. You wouldn't see that project finished until after Springfield.

 

[Allen The Actor]

If they wanted to go the lazy route, they could combine the current USS and Photoland and have a set of stairs/ramps within the shop to compensate for the slight change in elevation.

Whatever they do, it'd be a shame to see the entrance plaza behind walls for a long time. Talk about a bad first impression!

I honestly don't mind. It would suck for tourists, but if they redid the entrance little by little (like how Disneyland refurbs Main Street little by little), it could work.If it was up to me, I'd make the "Featured" store that had the extra Minion merchandise become a Blue Sky Preview Center. Will help explain the changes and why there's construction and build anticipation.

Feature models, concept art, etc.

 

[...]

It's kinda too late for that. It needed to happen when Terminator first closed. We're only a year and a half away from being done.

 

[Allen The Actor]

I know...I'm saying if I was in charge, that's what I'd add.

I don't think it's too late though. I'm sure USH will have future projects as well. It'd be a nice space to see the future projects, even if it's a temporary location. It would at least show confused guests what's happening and what to expect. Again, that's what I'd do.