UNINERSAL Bets on LA Theme Park REFRESH

[Monsters For Sale]

Found this Reuters News Service Article on the Internetweb:
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Universal Bets on Moneymaking Minions in LA Theme Park Refresh
April 10, 2014 7:28 PM ET

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 10 (Reuters) - The adorable yellow goggle-wearing Minions of "Despicable Me" are not just taking over the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood, they're ringing in a revamp of the film-themed park as it takes on competing resorts with blockbuster rides.
"Despicable Me Minion Mayhem," which officially opens on Saturday at the Hollywood adventure park, brings to life the animated world of "Despicable Me," with both an indoor ride and an outdoor playground, both featuring detailed settings from the films.

Chris Meledandri, the producer behind the "Despicable Me' franchise who showed Universal how to make big animated films with more modest budgets, said he wanted the ride to be "true to the movies themselves."

It was very important for us to have tremendous animation and the same kind of wit and irreverence," said Meledandri, who makes the films through his company Illumination Entertainment.

"Despicable Me," released in 2010, is the story of evil mastermind Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, who adopts orphaned sisters Margot, Edith and Agnes as part of his scheme to steal the moon and become the world's most evil villain.

The film, made for $69 million, became a box office hit for Universal Pictures in 2010, earning $543 million worldwide, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

"Despicable Me 2," in which Gru gave up evil schemes to become a devoted dad, was made for $76 million and performed even better in 2013 with $970 million at the worldwide box office.
The surprise stars of the first film were Gru's mischievous band of Minions, diminutive creatures who speak "Minionese," a fictional language with words like "papoi" for toy. Meledandri said he was approached by NBC Universal's chief executive, Steve Burke, after the first film to bring some of the Minions' box office magic to a live attraction.

The attendance for Comcast Corp's Universal Studios Hollywood trails far behind that of Walt Disney Co's Disneyland in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles, bringing in 5.9 million visitors in 2012, compared with nearly 16 million at Disneyland, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment Association.

But Universal Studios is now banking on the recent box office success of its "Despicable Me" and "Fast & Furious" franchises to entice visitors with new rides over a five-year expansion and revamp plan for its Los Angeles park, located a few minutes away from Hollywood.

In 2015, the theme park will expand "The Simpsons" ride into a Springfield land from the hit animated Fox television show, while the "Fast & Furious Supercharge" ride will bring the car-racing film franchise to life.

"The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" will open in 2016, based on author J.K. Rowling's magical world, which became a film franchise that made more than $7 billion worldwide.

MINIONS TAKE OVER

On the "Minion Mayhem" ride, visitors will plunge into a storyline where Gru and the Minions are looking for new recruits, and are hoping to turn humans into Minions. Meanwhile, Margot, Edith and Agnes are trying to give Gru a present to mark the one-year anniversary of him adopting them.
The ride's project designer and show producer, Jon Corfino, said that rather than creating a rollercoaster, "a simulation is a complete suspension of disbelief; you're completely immersed in the sensations as you're in Gru's lab."

Outside of the ride, the "Despicable Me" attraction includes the Super Silly Fun Land playground, based on the boardwalk pier where Gru finally falls in love with the three girls he adopted.
Fans can also play the same space shooters game that Gru plays to win Agnes her pink unicorn, in a scene that spawned the catchphrase "it's SO fluffy."

The Minions will return in their own feature-length spin-off "The Minions" next year, and in 2017's "Despicable Me 3."

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Ken Wills)
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Stuff like this just makes me heartsick.  If any place in the world should maintain a permanent old fashioned fun house (or wax museum) filled with monsters, its Universal, Hollywood.

Instead, they go this direction.

[charp13]

I'm very surprised by the popularity of the Despicable movies. I tried to watch the first one with my then 7 year old grandson, and neither of us really cared for it. The Minions are really cute, but that's about it.  We have never been to the Hollywood park- but it's on our list of must sees!  I read about The Simpsons area they are building, and it sounds great for all ages. We used to go to Universal Orlando at least twice a year when are kids were young.  I am really still sour about the closing of Kongfrontation, BTTF, & especially JAWS...but I can move on- for my grandson's sake.  We promised to take him next year, after they finish all the Harry Potter hoopla. He's 9, and plans on reading the books, so that seems like the right thing to do....even though I want to be a bitter old timer.  We took him to Universal Orlando when he was 4, & stayed at the Nickelodeon Hotel and all that good stuff, so he DID get to ride the JAWS ride in his lifetime. Yay!   We also ate at the the Monster's Café- thankfully! 

[Fester]

Stuff like this just makes me heartsick.  If any place in the world should maintain a permanent old fashioned fun house (or wax museum) filled with monsters, its Universal, Hollywood.
Instead, they go this direction.

What do you really expect?
Old fashioned fun houses and wax museums are not money makers.

There are too few attendees to make such attractions profitable or even break even.
The reason for the change is simple:  You need to remain competitive in order to lure some of those tourist dollars. People are easily bored--perhaps more so now than when we were kids. Probably due to the information overload most people face today.  And Universal was failing to attract visitors. They will need to change in order to survive. "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. Why go back?" is death to tourist attractions.

"The attendance for Comcast Corp's Universal Studios Hollywood trails far behind that of Walt Disney Co's Disneyland in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles, bringing in 5.9 million visitors in 2012, compared with nearly 16 million at Disneyland, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment Association."


I cannot imagine how much it costs to run a theme park like Universal Studios, however I'm pretty sure the gate fees of 5.9 million visitors is quickly eaten up by overhead. Souvenir and beverage sales are where most business actually see a profit. Food sales are usually just above the break even mark, except for popcorn. 
I'm not an expert in theme park economics, but I know there must be a minimum number of paying visitors in order to stay in business.

Do you remember the Hollywood Wax Museum that used to be out by Knott's Berry Farm?  It was a great place to me as a kid--the sort of wax museum I think you were referring to.  It went out of business because it didn't bring in enough revenue to remain open.


That's the bottom line:  If you don't give the visitors what they want, they won't come back.

[Monsters For Sale]

I don't expect any better.  It still bums me out.

I remember Movieland Wax Museum.  I don't recall ever seeing any crowds there.

I also remember Knott's Berry Farm when the stress was on "Ghost Town".  It really kills me to see it taken over by all the roller coasters and lousy carnival games.

Sigh.