This past Friday we were invited out to Universal Studios Hollywood for a preview of the all new Fast and Furious: Supercharged. We got to go through the entire tour and all of the pre-show attractions as well as how they are blending the new ending of the tram tour into the overall tram experience. Pictures and Words by Gregg Condon The first change we saw was one of the Fast and Furious Cars outside of Wisteria Lane and then a report to park security and eventually featuring The Rock. As we got closer to the show building the pre-show continued, basically the plot line is that Vin Diesels character is loose on the lot, and then because apparently in the last movie he was a good guy The Rock comes in to explain things. The outside of the show building. Once inside, the first pre-show building is in a garage setting. This pre-show features some stars from the movie series and more explanation of the events going on and how we're now involved. Unfortunately we were unable to take any additional pictures or videos in the attraction but below we'll give you a run-down of the attraction as well as my review: (Does contain some minor spoilers) Once past the garage pre-show you enter another pre-show that is at a post street race after-party. I've gotta be honest, this is the first part that made me scratch my head a bit, as the scene is filled with scantily clad women that you'd see at a street race after-party. While I personally have no problem with this, being that Universal Studios is a family theme park I can see quite a few comments coming into guest relations regarding this particular scene. Beyond that, this scene is basically the rest of the cast explaining to the FBI that Vin Diesel's character is on their side and The Rock in a "my gun is bigger than your gun" scene. Once that is done we go into the actual attraction: Ok, so let's cut right to the chase on this one. Despite advertisements telling you this is a Ride, it's not. While sure, it's technically considered a ride and they are more than able to advertise it as such, this is a tram experience like King Kong. Although I will say that Kong has a bit more motion than the overall experience here. That said, I do think they've managed to pull off the sensation of driving fast through the effects on the ride, so that's a good thing. Unfortunately the people who decided to call this a "ride" aren't going to be the ones who are hearing the complaints about this being a ride. Had the experience been advertised properly as a "Tram Experience" I don't think there'd be any issue. I'll be honest, I've only seen the first two Fast and Furious movies, so I'm guessing as far as the "Story" is concerned being familiar with recent developments in the franchise would help. And yes, I put story in quotations for a reason, as there's not really one that makes a whole lot of sense and it's kind of shoehorned into the tram experience. But the experience is fun. Lots of fast cars, explosions, the 3D effects aren't over the top and I personally didn't notice anything being "in your face" like many 3D attractions do, which is fine. Kong doesn't have that either and it works. Apparently they've toned down the water effects which are absolutely not needed on this experience but instead use a mist to simulate tires creating smoke. This experience is definitely "360" as there is a screen at the front of the tram as well, which does help the effect of driving. The animation if I'm being honest looked a bit blurry to me, it was hard to see details in the characters faces, but the actors are secondary to the cars and the action they are doing. And that animation aspect is well done. Overall I think this is a fun addition to the tram, it's certainly better than The Mummy or the nothing that's been there awhile. While personally I think this particular location would have been better served for Theme Park expansion (Diagon Alley anybody) it is still fun and if people go in with the right expectations they will have a good time. They are still tweaking the experience so it will be interesting to see what changes are made prior to the official opening on the 25th. Technical Rehearsals have already begun and Season Passholder previews begin today so it will be interesting to start hearing reviews from the General Public and if they see it differently than I do. Thanks for reading, we'll be back a little later this week with a full park update and we'll be back at the park next week for the red carpet event. Pictures and Words by Gregg Condon This past weekend after a lot of "media" stuff over the last few weeks I took a well deserved break to have just a "family" day at Universal Studios Hollywood. The rest of the family had yet to see Springfield and hadn't seen Harry Potter construction in person since Halloween Horror Nights, so we were LONG overdue. That said, I did take the Point and Shoot and got some pics, but they won't be "fancy" like the rest of our updates. =) The biggest addition since our last update is the new Wizarding World store at the front of the park. While this isn't EVERYTHING that will be offered in Wizarding World, it features a LOT more than we thought it would. They've done a great job converting this store from Minions to Harry Potter. Hedwig ... =( Platform 9 3/4 What, the poster on the shirt doesn't move? =) Hedwig, Fang, Fawkes, Buckbeak, Frog, Rat (Scabbers?) House Robes, scarves and more. We're waiting to get these when WWHP opens. =) House Flags Lots of cool notebooks and journals for each house Overall the store is great. They also have the wands, but again, we're waiting until we can go into the wand store and have our wands choose us. =) I was sorted into Gryffindor on Pottermore (yes, I'm that much of a Harry Potter dork) but I loved all of the house hats so I may end up getting them all at some point. Ok, let's go check out what's going on with Wizarding World construction. That's new At this point most of the stuff going on towards the park side is cosmetic. Most of the major construction is going on at Forbidden Journey and the other side of Hogsmeade. Lots of cranes over here An overview, looking great. A look into where Flying Hippogriff is going. A look at the amazing detail Just a few things going on around the rest of the park. It's time for Universal to ban selfie sticks on their rides. While in this particular section it's not a big deal, you start using them going down drops or on Mummy or Transformers, you've got a problem. Hopefully we won't get the metal detectors though. =) Great thing about having a waterproof camera ... Jurassic Park splash!!! LOL The Springfield version of The Kitchen Sink. Framework going up for the even bigger Potter store (we've heard). New signs for Hand Stamp requirements Out in CityWalk they are of course promoting Jurassic World, which arrives in just a few weeks. I'd like one please. =) Alright, that's enough for this update. Just as an FYI, they are currently doing some night tours on the weekends prior to their official opening around July 4th. Not all elements may be working during this soft open period however. We'll try and get out there on a weekend night soon to get some pics and video. Now that Springfield is completed (although still in Previews) and Fast and Furious is pretty much done (we'll still have opening festivities in June),most of our Universal Hollywood Updates will now be moving over to what's coming in 2016. And obviously this change is going to be huge. Words and Photo's by Gregg Condon From near Shrek, it appears the outsides of these buildings are almost complete A look through the Arch By the time the park opened at 9:00am, it was clear that they'd already been working for a couple of hours. Hogwarts is starting to receive it's rock-work. Looks like they are doing it in layers to give it that forced perspective look. The trees they planted a few weeks ago are already starting to come in nicely. A close up on the area of Hogsmeade they are working on most now. They are starting to work on Hippogriff as well. A look at Hogwarts from CityWalk. Just a couple of things going on around the park. Pinks has been closed and is now "Plaza Grill". Although some remnants of Pinks remain. =) Statue guy is the best. Not really much to report on here. Outside, work on the parking structure is continuing and they were planting some new palm trees around the new entrance area. Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. We'll have more from Universal Studios in a couple of weeks as the official opening of Springfield approaches. Have a great week everybody!! If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)
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