Originally posted by Poohbear123
Sorry if I made some UNI People UPSET, but I REALLY expected MORE from this Park than I experienced.
It wasn't your opinion, but the falsity of your statement that made people upset.
In 1915, Carl Laemmle opened Universal City, "the world's first self-contained community dedicated to making movies". Visitor's were welcome to Universal City to observe and experience movie making up close, until 1930, when the development of sound in films demanded quite sets.
In 1964, the Universal Studios tour was reinstated, transporting trams full of guests into the back lots and inner workings of the movie studio, later on integrating first hand movie experiences, from The Ten Commandments, Jaws, King Kong, and Earthquake. Eventually Universal built a theme park adjacent to its movie studio, with attractions such as The E.T. Adventure and Back To The Future...The Ride, incorporating the existing tram tour.
Universal had been planning a Florida based sister to the Hollywood original since the early 80s. Universal looked to partner with Paramount Pictures, of which Michael Eisner was President and CEO at the time. In 1984, Eisner became Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Soon after, the Disney/MGM Studios was places on the fast track to become the third gate at the Walt Disney World Resort. About three years from conception to opening day, the Disney/MGM Studios was rushed through production in time to beat Universal Studios Florida by more then a year.
The scatter-brain layout of Disney/MGM mimics that of Universal Hollywood's, with it's erratic midways and ride arrangement. Theres even a tram tour of the "back lot", with "Catastrophe Canyon" as a shorthand conglomerate of the Earthquake/Kong/Alan Smithe Bridge experiences from the USH tram tour. In the end, Universal Florida was laid out thoughtfully, actually integrating the back lot, soundstages and movie encounters into the immediate theme park experience.
Universal Studios Hollywood was the first movie studio theme park ever, and the Disney/MGM Studios was created to directly compete with Universal Studios Florida, so it's not Universal who's being the copy cat.
Now, reading this, you may get the idea that I totally dislike MGM Studios, which is not true. Just a week ago I shelled out the 50 bucks to visit the park again (granted, I havent been in a number of years). I love that MGM's angle on the studio theme park is to highlight the concept of the ideal Hollywood, fully using the term "Disneytized", while Universal concentrates on providing a more realistic view of filmmaking in general. I also love that MGM, over the years, has successfully expanded to encompass the entire idea of show biz, including film, music, television and stage (I love their tagline "Where Show Biz Is"). Universal, on the other hand, has unfortunately neglected it's filmmaking roots, no longer making an effort to maintain the pretense that we're actually guests of a working studios.
Regardless, all things considered, I think Uncle Carl would be just as proud as Uncle Walt.
-Kevin