Universal is opening its new Universal Kids Resort theme park in suburban Dallas on July 1. Last week, the park welcomed invited reporters and influencers for a media preview day. Videos from inside the park provoked some sharp reactions online.
Plenty of influencers posted tightly framed shots of whimsical decorations in the park, which features lands themed to Jurassic World, Illumination’s Minions, DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek, Puss in Boots and Trolls and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. But walk around the park and you will find large sections with no shade and minimal decoration. That’s especially concerning given that the park will have limited daytime-only hours in the Texas heat this summer.
The park’s Shrek ride drew the most criticism. One friend said the sparsely decorated outdoor attraction reminded him of a cheap pumpkin patch ride in a grocery store parking lot. Perhaps in 20 years trees might grow in enough to resemble Shrek’s swamp. But the young children for which Universal designed this park will be adults by then.
The most common defense of Universal’s efforts with this new park has been that the company designed it to appeal to children ages 3 to 9. To which, I say … so what?
Children deserve the same respect as any other audience. If anything, attractions designed for young children demand even finer levels of detail because of the smaller scale at which these attractions should be built to make those children feel welcomed and comfortable. Large, bare concrete walls and wide open, unshaded spaces fail any audience, but especially young children.
The Legoland theme parks have established the model for themed entertainment for young families, with well-landscaped parks offering detailed decoration, active play areas, and child-friendly rides. In contrast, Universal Kids Resort feels incomplete, with limited entertainment, undeveloped landscaping and basic splash pads and carnival rides that fail to distinguish this experience the way that Universal’s other theme parks have around the world.
For goodness’ sake, who builds a kids’ land themed to Jurassic World and fails to fill it with dinosaurs?
Yes, this was a media preview and not the official grand opening. There is time for Universal to add characters and entertainment to the park, though I doubt much can be done to improve the shade situation right away. It’s the attitude that led Universal to open a park in this condition to the media that I find more concerning.
From Orlando to Osaka, Universal has proven that it employs the creative talent to build world-class attractions that can compete with anyone. The new How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk land at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe is a master class in themed experience design that has strong appeal to elementary-aged kids. I have no doubt that if Universal had wanted to build to that quality in Texas with Universal Kids Resort, Universal Creative would deliver.
But no amount of creative talent can save a project when management believes that an audience deserves less than a full effort. If Universal wants kids to fall in love with its brands, Universal needs to offer them its best work.