The Future of Parisian Courtyard

[Wesker69]

Why do people want Universal to cram a dark ride in there? Especially when there's one right next door lmao.

There would be no cramming, the space is bigger than people give it credit for. After all, they DO fit an entire house within the space for HHN. Remove the facades (sorry Snoball), palace theatre & Mels, you get even more space.

Gee... its not like Disneyland doesn't have multiple dark rides next to each other. Oh right, it does. So not a valid negative.

**EDIT: haha @saint.piss having the same Disneyland thought process

Transformers & PETS are great examples of utilizing small footprints by building vertically. They'd be stupid not to do the same with this area.

 

[Clive]

Let's tone dark the snarkiness, please.

Not all of that space is necessarily usable. Mel's, Palace, and Mulligans are all direct revenue generators, so killing them is going to be an uphill battle. Those bathrooms have to stay. And in addition to the aforementioned kitchens and food storage areas, you've got critical character changing rooms and security/park offices crammed in there.

Secret Life of Pets did not do much for the park on paper. Yes, COVID pretty much ruined its opening, but the park regardless does not view it as a success story. Another dark ride - one that would no doubt come with similar capacity issues - is not really a viable option given how Pets went. There isn't really space for a theater, either.

Villain Con is a compact, relatively inexpensive attraction that ties into the surrounding experiences. I get some folks on here don't care for it, but it'd still be a net win for the park and likely popular with children, its target audience.

 

[Freak]

Disneyland has all kinds of dark rides near each other, why can't universal? I just love dark rides in general and would prefer one over a Villain-Con clone. Honestly I would really take anything else other than villain con in Hollywood, dark ride or not.

A "live" show was not something what I quite had in mind, but an AA/SFX show themed to Sing would be the best possible fit IMO.

If you go two stories, I think there is a bit more space that what we're giving credit for. Villain Con would be throwing that potential away.

Villain Con is a compact, relatively inexpensive attraction that ties into the surrounding experiences. I get some folks on here don't care for it, but it'd still be a net win for the park and likely popular with children, its target audience.

Sure, but I think a lot of people would be expecting an ride. Like, an actual ride. You know....like an experience where you don't have to stand up the whole time while shooting at "moar screeeeenz". I'm not a parent, but I just don't see this being received well.

 

[saint.piss]

A "live" show was not something what I quite had in mind, but an AA/SFX show themed to Sing would be the best possible fit IMO.

If you go two stories, I think there is a bit more space that what we're giving credit for. Villain Con would be throwing that potential away.

I'll take it lol. At this point I'll take anything that's new over more clones

 

[belloq87]

Secret Life of Pets did not do much for the park on paper. Yes, COVID pretty much ruined its opening, but the park regardless does not view it as a success story.

This is totally demoralizing.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

Disneyland has all kinds of dark rides near each other, why can't universal? I just love dark rides in general and would prefer one over a Villain-Con clone. Honestly I would really take anything else other than villain con in Hollywood, dark ride or not.

That's fine, but why not try to round out Minion Land with an attraction that is very interactive and has much more "rideability" than the current attractions within the land?

There would be no cramming, the space is bigger than people give it credit for. After all, they DO fit an entire house within the space for HHN. Remove the facades (sorry Snoball), palace theatre & Mels, you get even more space.

Gee... its not like Disneyland doesn't have multiple dark rides next to each other. Oh right, it does. So not a valid negative.

**EDIT: haha @saint.piss having the same Disneyland thought process

Transformers & PETS are great examples of utilizing small footprints by building vertically. They'd be stupid not to do the same with this area.

I'm no engineer, but I think there's a gigantic difference between squeezing a haunted house into an already existing space and constructing a show building that can accommodate an entire dark ride while also thematically fitting within the land as guests can walk entirely around it lol.

Mel's, Mulligan's, and Palace Deli probably won't be touched so that already makes this plot way smaller in comparison to Transformers or SLOP.

 

[saint.piss]

That's fine, but why not try to round out Minion Land with an attraction that is very interactive and has much more "rideability" than the current attractions within the land?

Honestly I just want them to rework their version of Minion Cafe to be like Orlando's. Feel like if they did that would benefit them quite a bit considering Orlando has better food/drink options

 

[Clive]

This is totally demoralizing.

I agree, it sucks. It doesn't mean they won't ever build dark rides again - they just did Mario Kart, after all. But they aren't likely to build such a dense, relatively expensive dark ride that has an abysmal capacity again... which is why they aren't likely to repeat something like Pets at Parisian. There's no way to scale it in a way that gives it the capacity to deal with the number of guests the park now receives.

Also, for those of you upset you aren't getting a ride... Fast and Furious is getting built steps away...?

 

[Wesker69]

Not all of that space is necessarily usable. Mel's, Palace, and Mulligans are all direct revenue generators, so killing them is going to be an uphill battle. Those bathrooms have to stay. And in addition to the aforementioned kitchens and food storage areas, you've got critical character changing rooms and security/park offices crammed in there.

Well, technically a new ride I'd considered revenue generators too since new things sell tickets

Of course the bathrooms would stay, those were renovated with PETS..

Character facilities, storage, kitchens & everything in between can be relocated or rebuilt (better). It's not that permanent.

Just because a food space is purged, doesn't mean a new one can't replace it. The battle can't really go anymore uphill when you're already on the Upper Lot. Just go vertical & do better than what was there.

 

[Freak]

Honest question: Would it be really that much of a challenge to have a queue and lobby on the first floor and a very compact DWT-style show on the second floor? They can still work to keep the restroom and Mel’s.

I agree, it sucks. It doesn't mean they won't ever build dark rides again - they just did Mario Kart, after all. But they aren't likely to build such a dense, relatively expensive dark ride that has an abysmal capacity again... which is why they aren't likely to repeat something like Pets at Parisian. There's no way to scale it in a way that gives it the capacity to deal with the number of guests the park now receives.

Also, for those of you upset you aren't getting a ride... Fast and Furious is getting built steps away...?

But that doesn’t mean they’re through making high-quality dark rides as long as capacity is sufficient…right?

 

[Clive]

Well, technically a new ride I'd considered revenue generators too since new things sell tickets

Of course the bathrooms would stay, those were renovated with PETS..

Character facilities, storage, kitchens & everything in between can be relocated or rebuilt (better). It's not that permanent.

Just because a food space is purged, doesn't mean a new one can't replace it. The battle can't really go anymore uphill when you're already on the Upper Lot. Just go vertical & do better than what was there.

Sure, they can be moved in theory - but where? It's a park that's already tight on space.

I'm not saying they couldn't theoretically go vertical and completely redevelop that slice of the park in exchange for a nice little dark ride. But that's also prohibitively expensive, and they didn't see the returns they wanted when they did Pets. So it's a lot easier (and more cost effective, and less disruptive) to just slot Villain Con in there. Villain Con/anything Minions will sell tickets, too.

 

[imaleo]

USH lacks a significant number of exclusive attractions within its park. The duplicattion of rides does not enhance its appeal. Therefore, theres a need for the development of more original attractions at USH. More original attractions will provide visitors with more compelling reasons to visit the park.

 

[Wesker69]

Just give us Japan's Resident Evil laser-tag attraction that gets brought back for HHN...

Kids will love it.

 

[Clive]

USH lacks a significant number of exclusive attractions within its park. The duplicattion of rides does not enhance its appeal. Therefore, theres a need for the development of more original attractions at USH. More original attractions will provide visitors with more compelling reasons to visit the park.

This isn't really true, though? Domestically, it's got Secret Life of Pets, Jurassic World, Kung Fun Panda, Waterworld, Fast & Furious (soon), and of course... the Studio Tour.

No theme park fan wants to hear this, but as a reminder, most guests don't care about clones. They aren't likely to visit both resorts, or if they do, the parks sharing some attractions isn't likely to be a disqualifying factor. The bulk of USH's guests are tourists, including many international tourists.

I don't know how else to communicate to you guys that you aren't gonna see some exclusive dark ride in the Parisian space - if anything is even happening there at all.

 

[Wesker69]

Clones aren't bad when they're not 100% ....Disney cloned rides, but a lot of them are the same but different.

I would've rather had SING takeover Globe Theater & PETS take over that stretch of land that Moulin Rouge/pastry shop sits just so it'd be next to the former Animal Actors.

If they want to subject us to screenzzz, at least do something different - especially the IP.

 

[Viator]

Wish to set up this thread; more to post what I have been hearing in regards to it (and that I wish to crack the case open now).

Through multiple sources and understanding--I have been hearing that Parisian Courtyard will be expected for demolishment next year for a new park project; a family attraction that would replace the venue. I have believed for a good while now, and am sharing it here as part of two rumors that I am posting on other platforms; of USH looking to the future with new projects along the way.

Also wished to set this thread up--as there isn't a true thread for Parisian Courtyard. And I wished to create this thread regardless, as a means of people being able to talk about the Courtyard; even if it isn't used for as much of the year due to HHN.

Would like to talk about the rumor and apologize, as I have jumped the gun in this rumor having ground in the current spectrum. Relooking through my investigating, I had tried to get as clear of a picture as I could in regards to this areas future, and tonight I would like to apologize as I have been corrected on that.

I know when posting this I would break the trust of having you all speculate something that does not seem to be the current plan; and I apologize tremendously on my behalf of this error.

 

[Brian G.]

 

[saint.piss]

Well at least Parisian Courtyard is safe. For now....

 

[Viator]

Atleast I honor it and call out my own stupidity. Plus on the bright side, we still haven’t had a thread for Parisian; as there is some fun stories I have of the area.

 

[TheUniC6]

I'm not sure what y'all were expecting! Villain Con was designed to be cloned easily to other resorts, and the Parisian Courtyard is not all that big a space. The lukewarm reception to Orlando's iteration may have impacted those ambitions some, though.

So far the only other Universal park getting VCMB is USJ per Tomfoolery. The Minions are extremely popular in Japan so it makes sense Universal would want USJ to get it.

An AA and FX-heavy show with Sing would be more preferable than this

Sing would also balance out the area much better than two attractions based on the minions anyways IMO.