Small children, and others who don’t care which corporations own which characters, may come to differentiate the parks thusly: Universal–for better or worse, depending upon your taste–is the scarier place. On Kongfrontation, the King himself attacks your tram, blasts you with his hot banana breath, then throws the vehicle, at “gravity speed,” toward the street below. On the Jaws ride, you witness a boatload of “tourists” going to a watery grave, get rammed and tossed violently by a toothy Great White; then you see the shark blown to bits of bloody sushi. Earthquake starts out educational, but winds up as a subway trip under San Francisco Bay, I during which . . . you guessed it. After that, you might want to recuperate in a darkened theater. How about the Phantom of the Opera Horror Makeup Show, where the pros show you how to simulate the severing of a vein? Or perhaps you prefer the Alfred Hitchcock exhibit, which affords the audience the chance to re-enact the shower scene from “Psycho.”
Not everything at Universal is that gruesome, and attractions such as E.T.’s Adventure (an updated homage to Disney’s Peter Pan ride) and The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera would earn a G rating from Jesse Helms. Nor will anyone be frightened by the sight of Woody Woodpecker, Yogi Bear, or actors pretending to be the Marx Brothers, hamming it up along the re-creation of Hollywood Boulevard. Yet Jay Stein, president of recreation services for MCA, Universal’s parent company, has consciously kept the ambience of the studio (he refuses to call it a theme park) from getting too saccharine. One reason concerns marketing: the sole chink in Disney’s armor, some industry analysts say, is that its parks don’t appeal strongly to teenagers. This could be significant in terms of revenue, because adolescents are most likely to respond to promises of over-the-edge adventures. And if Universal can hook the teens (admission is $29 for those 12 and up, $23 for youngsters), the parents and siblings usually won’t be far behind.
Dark mood: The relatively dark and dangerous tone of Universal’s attractions may also reflect the mood of their creator. Stein admits he was deeply angry for years at Disney CEO Michael Eisner–for, he says, stealing his ideas. The dispute dates to a 1981 meeting at which Stein, seeking a partner in the venture for MCA, pitched his concepts to executives at Paramount, of which Eisner was then president. Stein says that Eisner absorbed his plans–which were more lavish than those used for Universal’s California studio tour-then implemented them at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. Eisner, speaking with read-my-lips emphasis, says he was not at that meeting–and that Walt Disney first conceived of a studio tour in the 1930s. People close to the feud, however, say it is more personal than business-driven. According to a source, MCA and Stein both feel scorned; the former because it failed to woo Eisner from Paramount, the latter because Eisner once declined to hire him for a Disney job. Whatever the truth, Stein seems to be expressing himself through his creations. Recently he had Kong reprogrammed to be “even more macho.” And when people in the Jaws boats see a craft much like their own sinking in the harbor, they can’t fail to notice what comes floating to the surface: cameras, sunglasses–and a set of forlorn-looking mouse ears.
Disney, officially, is too busy pushing beyond its 6,600 developed acres to worry about a newcomer with just over 200 acres of attractions. The truth is, the company must expand constantly, if only for reasons of crowd control. The dreamy Swan and Dolphin hotels, in which architect Michael Graves has blended 19th- and late-20th century elements, will both be open by midJune, allowing for some 2,000 new rooms. Pleasure Island, a colorful collection of bars and cabarets, has given adults a place of their own to go after dark. Last winter, so many people poured into the studio (Disney charges adults $31 for a one-day ticket; $100 for a four-day pass) that the gates stayed open from 6 a.m. until midnight. Starting on June 14, the park will feature a Here Come the Muppets show-and a wonderfully sly musical revue based on “Dick Tracy.” In the next two years, the Muppets will get a “studio” and Roger Rabbit his own ride-riddled “land.” By then Disney’s version of Hollywood Boulevard will branch off into Sunset, along which we’ll find an elaborate Noah’s ark epic with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Yes, all this is slightly insane-and Stein has a point when he asks, “What the hell does Noah’s ark have to do with Hollywood?” On the other hand, why is a grown man screaming this in front of an attraction called Ghostbusters: A Live Action Spooktacular? In the end, Disney will bring the people down, and Universal will siphon some off with its attractions and surprisingly good food. It could be, as Stein says, “a win-win situation” for the corporations involved. The public will get taken for a ride, as usual. But this time, all we want to know is, where does the line start?
