NBCUniversal to massively boost theme park cap ex spending

Look to the south and east (as well as directly east) of the current resort boundaries to see the future of the resort. The Wet n' Wild land purchase was just the start.

Well.. I assume you're saying they are going to buy more land. They did that once before resulting in Republic Drive being renamed Universal Boulevard in the late 90s early 2000s and then later sold the land to other developers.

So. Maybe.

They didn't do it because the company that owns Universal now is not the same company that did back then.

Correct, they did it because the previous company was going to expand. What is your point?

The point is, it is happening this time around. It may not be a 3rd gate...yet, but the boundaries of the resort are very likely to grow even within the next 5-7 years and come with tangible expansion. 16k rooms is the end game.

The point is that you can't look at anything the previous company did and say "we'll they bought this land the last time and sold it" with that having any bearing on what the current company is doing.

So technically they didn't do it. Another owner did it.

The company that owns it now has different plans apparently.

maXairMike said:
The point is, it is happening this time around. It may not be a 3rd gate...yet, but the boundaries of the resort are very likely to grow even within the next 5-7 years and come with tangible expansion. 16k rooms is the end game.

Whenever I look at the resort in Google Maps I am always amazed at how boxed in they are and how well they hide it when you are there. It's a lot like Disneyland in that respect. If I had to guess they will be attempting to buy everything near Wet N' Wild. That looks like a pretty dumpy area with a lot of parking lots and old hotels. I only hope that prices for the now "premium" resort properties don't go up by too much.

Let's hope that they realize that not every cap ex is going to have Potter-style ROI....I somewhat expect the USF Potter expansion to already show that they've passed the "unreasonably sweet spot" that was available for such great IP. Will it still show nice profits and good ROI - in ALL likelihood, yes, they'll still make great money - esp. looking forward to Gringott's. But will it be the money-printing MACHINE that came about from WWoHP v1.0....that's not even possible...

IMO... ;~)

New Potter stuff in the studios makes it a 2-day slam dunk, whereas, if you've been there in the last ten years, you almost didn't need to bother with a second day.

I don't know, 'gator. Transformers was apparently a halfway decent driver at USH. Not sure if it will have the same impact at USO with Spidey just next door; be interesting to see what the 2013 numbers turn out to be.

I find the assertion that it's "just like Spiderman" to be annoying. Sure, it uses the same ride system, but that's like saying Dueling Dragons and Raptor are the same ride.

A lot of the cues, effects, and sequences are very similar, if not exactly the same in terms of placement, timing, etc. However, what sets Transformers apart from Spiderman is its much more hectic and breakneck pace. The merchandise has also been selling very well since the summer crowds picked up (unusually late this year). If it weren't for the Simpsons and Matt Groening rivaling Rowling for being difficult to work with, they'd be selling Energon as well, but it was seen as a "competitor" to a Flaming Moe's, so they're not selling that yet. I think Transformers has been driving local attendance and AP sales pretty well from what I've heard. Given the way it was announced, that was the main intent for the attraction as well. Kind of a stop-gap before Potter Part 2 opens next year, and because they got a tax break for building it.

^I also would not be surprised if the the Leaky Cauldron will sell something that the Three Broomsticks does not (like Fire Whiskey as an adults only drink) once that opens. Unlike Butterbeer only adults in the HP world drink that.