I saw the universal kids resort media previews today.
Then i looked up the peppa pig theme park and the sesame street theme park to compare with it. both are also focused on kids and try to avoid overstimulation. But in my opinion both look better than the universal kids resort as it stands right now
Honestly since the beginning i was not on board with its a kids only focused resort because its not a daycare. kids don't go alone they are with parents and older siblings. There must be something for them too. Things that kids can do and enjoy but so the other members of the family too. I was pleasantly surprised that some attractions in the universal kids resort didnt look so bad for someone older to experience like there is some (small) drop towers, a rollercoaster on the jurassic park land and a raft ride on the minions land and the swings over del mar from puss in boots land that seem at least okay ish for a older kid and adults to enjoy? Nothing groundbreaking but possibly pleasant. I was not there so im basing this on photos and vídeos.
Now the elephant in the room: it is lacking theming, shade and more indoor attractions and seating with air conditioner. Again comparing to the peppa pig park and the sesame street park. Indoor attractions should be a must.
I was looking into the opinions of the parents who took their kids they liked that the playground was simple enough to not lost their kids in it. They also liked how the kids could see the rides clearly and the others riding it to understand what would happen when it was their time to rice and be less scared to try them. There were lots of meet and greets which can be specially a hit with kids. There was lots of life jackets available for kids in the hotel pool. And they have changing rooms next to the water attractions and also air dryers, lots of bathrooms and water stations( these positive points and the next one can be good things for other theme parks to keep in mind when trying to cater to young kids and families)
The youtuber austin the brimstone did a great video where he uses his own experience being autistic to highlight the importance of low stimuli rides for kids even if the adults find boring and its true. Same happens with cartoons sometimes the cartoon is great for kids and they love it and you as an adult is almost sleeping of boredom. I think this applies to the shrek ride, the puppet show( that i would love but i know some adults dont), the playgrounds, the splash pads and the other off the shelf attractions.
The video( he also has other great points):
I think not having a land that was a water park with slides or add a mini water park like sesame street park or at least 1 slide in the hotel pool was a mistake it would do wonders to add value and help with the heat.
Other thing they should learn from the competitors would be to have a show in the ac when everyone can sit down and just relax in the ac like the peppa pig theme park has. They show peppa pig episodes that are low stimuli while kids and their families can relax on bean bags.
I can't stop thinking that a proper dark ride and some animatronics would do great to make this park stand out from the other offers in the region and add value to the resort. And like animatronics are not exclusive of big theme parks. Chuck E. Cheese had them. It could just be a "show" an animatronic outside that could be admired by the kids like walt disney used to do to distract guests in lines.
It kinda baffles me how barren the trolls land and the jurassic park land are. Trolls is one of the most colorful movies ever and where is the glitter and the textures? And kids love dinosaurs why is there only 1 single dinosaur in the dinosaur land( the meet and greet puppet of a baby dino). The spongebob land is also lacking under the sea decor.
Other problems: The park is only open from 10 a.m. to 5/6/7 pm( it seems to vary). For waht i understand every land is supposed to be closed including things like the playgrounds that are inside the park and like i said the hotel just have a pool with no slides or anything. Besides that and a meet and greet that also happened inside the hotel on the media preview there doesnt seem to be much to do with your kid otherwise what i think is a mistake which the hotel had its own playground and splash pad so kids staying there could have more things to do when the park is closed. I think the normal rooms are a bit too small for a family specially one that can be there possibly from 5pm to 10 am. I like the interior of the hotel the exterior not so much. I think the mural with characters covered in random colors is ugly (but i know the hotel exterior is kinda nitpicking it is more an observation the first concept art was so much better). Actually sometimes the hotel looked more decorated than some of the lands specially the interior decor. it is really pretty honestly the hotel interior gave me more trolls land vibe than the actual trolls land in the universal kids resort OR the miniland in the dreamworks land in the actual universal park.
Anyway. How to fix what is already there? Paint the pathways in the park. Add shaded areas. Put a slide on the pool and a splash pad on the hotel. Have lots of activites on the hotel to fill the time when the park is closed. Put more decorations for trolls fest. Put statues in the lands that dont have them. Decorate the shrek ride to look like a swamp, put more things to look at in it and put shade on the vehicles. Paint the rest of the minions ride. Puts lots of dinosaurs statues and theming in the jurassic park land. Put ocean floor decor in the spongebob bob land like corals and algae. Cover the goof goober ceiling, put a goof goober mascot to meet and greet there and serve the goof goober meal with a toy.
Im surprised they dont seem to sell frozen bananas parents would love as a healthy refreshing option and it would tie in well with the minions. Also surprised there are not more icy treats in the resort like more dole whip and ice cream flavours, milkshakes, some sorbet options and no where seems to have a place where you can customize your refreshing treat with toppings. I think they need to add more kids meal options that include vegetables and fruit. I saw a parent note the kids meals were mostly carbs. They have salads but like not salads that looks like a face or character to attract the kids you know. They could have frozen fruits and chocolate covered fruits too.
There is a banana shaped popsicle being sold in asian countries with a banana ice cream core with a candy peel that you peel off that would be perfect to sell there to give another option and also tie in with the minions.
The food does looks good tho they have very diverse options for a theme park not only burgers, fries etc i liked that especially in the puss in boots land. I liked they have special mixes in the soda machines for each land and made mocktails so kids could have special drinks too. The minion mac n cheese cone is interesting and looked good.
I also liked how decorated the stores are and the spongebob stores specifically are a highlight it is a perfect replica from the show wish they put that much effort decorating the lands and attractions themselves.
I like there is face painting in trolls land ans adults can get it too i think the kids will find it really fun but wish they had a space that wouldnt paint only the trolls characters and shout out to the puss in boots puppets show in his land it looks so cute.
It is also cute the storyline they made up for the shrek ride about it being a atraction he constructed for his kids so it explain in story why it is just cut outs( it doesnt explain the lack of theming around the cut outs in the ride and the fact the other lands except minionsland have just cut outs too)
I though it is a little weird they are selling alcohol in a park all made for kids because all the adults are gonna be responsible for at least one child. But hopefully moderation will be practiced by all and adults just take one or two drinks when they are alone and swapped who cares for the kid with someone else
I liked they bring back the purple minions it is really smart it gives some variety and make the normal minions more sympathetic by comparison. And i liked that they painted rocks to look like minions like if the minions had painted them it is so simple but makes such a difference.
Update: they seem to have an indoor theater too but it wasnt open during media previews. They have 1 animatronic in the end of the jurassic park rollercoaster but is very small. They have some icy bevarages.
