May 30, 2004

Notable URLs on 2004-05-30


Posted by ben at 11:59 PM

May 29, 2004

Notable URLs on 2004-05-29


Posted by ben at 11:59 PM

Universal Studios (Hollywood)

Met my parents at Universal Studios (Hollywood -- didn't have to say that as a kid 'cause there was only one...) Saturday morning. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day -- not too hot, not cold, and the visibility over the valley went for miles.

It's been some years since I've been, but it was Hol and Tedd's first time. I still dig the tour around the studio, but they seemed to have gotten away from showing as much 'behind the scenes' stuff and more into attractions and even (*gasp*) rides!

The special effects and Backdraft shows were pretty neat. Terminator was neat because of the movie/live actor interplay and the 3D stuff. Back to the Future seemed a bit ridiculous, especially after the 40 minute wait -- couldn't I have gotten on one of these VR things at my local arcade? Jurassic Park could have been a whole lot more... so many things could have been done. They claim 10 minutes, but I think the ride was under 5. Mom almost broke my Dad's hand when we hit the 80' drop.

Stuff I remember from my childhood:


  • GONE: Wild West Stunt show -- cheesy western genre, but six-shooters and brawling is always fun!
  • GONE: Battlestar Galactica -- silly, robotic things w/ LED lasers? not cool anymore? *sheesh* I think it's been re-tooled as the 'Earthquake' attraction during the tour.
  • (kinda) Gone: Miami Vice -- Apparently someone noticed that the kids weren't connecting w/ the cops versus drug cartel genre anymore. "What do we do with this big ass pool now?" "Just re-dress the whole set as the 'hit' movie Waterworld. Change the drug references to 'dry land' and we're done!" Where's Crockett and Tubbs when you need 'em? *smartass*

Classics:


  • The Mummy ride/attraction isn't yet open, but on the studio tour, the spinning tunnel thing (yeah, been the same thing for years) has been dressed as if you are 'entering a mummy's tomb'... the inside isn't any different though. Of course, the Mummy ride souvenir shop IS open NOW!
  • For an extra $30/ticket you can go straight to the front of the line. That's right, pay your way past the crowds and use reserved seating at all the shows. This is America after all.
  • Universal and Coca-Cola have a 10 year contract to co-create "themed beverage attractions", whatever that means...

We were trying to figure out how much gross revenue the park takes in per day. This Park Attendance article (from 2000, I'm not sure how attendance compares post-9/11 / four years later) points to 5.2 million visitors a year. That's 14000+ tickets a day. Using the online ticket price of $49/ticket that's almost $700k/day in ticket sales. Tack on food, in-park pay attractions, and merchandise. That's a ton of cash flowing through the park. I'd also assume the cross-promotional value of the various movies and television shows they hype is substantial as well. Of course Vivendi is a massive multi-national, so these parks are probably a pittance compared to their core music, movie, and telecom businesses.


Posted by ben at 10:30 PM
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