Closed Attraction Review :: Believe (Sea World)

Hey Theme Park Fans and welcome to another exciting addition of Closed Attraction Review. Today we’re going to take a look at Sea World’s Believe show. Now don’t worry Shamu is still available to see at Sea World, but the show itself has changed into One Ocean...so therefore Believe falls under the closed attraction arena. So let’s make a splash and review this...

First of All::

I realize that their are some who would much rather see Shamu in the wild...you know where animals starve, are hunted for fun, and suffer from disease rather than in a safe environment where they are well feed and surrounded by trainers who love and care for nothing more than them and will be fired for any wrong move they make to harm the whales...but this is not about that it’s about the show.

The Show::

I remember the old Shamu shows and how they used to be so campy and fun, the environment that they created at the beginning was entertaining and exciting. As I walked into the first showing of Believe however I was not greeted by campy music, but a very dramatic soundtrack. The our screens began to move into one giant LED screen which was (and still is in One Ocean) a very cool effect. The show began with a young boy who was fascinated by the wonders of the great and mighty Shamu (because all of the killer whales are called that by kids everywhere...well except my cousin who calls him Shampoo..). He obsesses over the whale, drawing pictures of it, making a neck-less from the tale, and even sitting outside of Shamu’s house at night with binoculars..I mean this kid is obsessed. We see a few more scenes of him going out with Shamu...he rows out into the water I mean...Now cleverly synched with the video the actual Shamu lept out of the tank surprising everybody and making a big reveal..I mean I didn’t think it was possible to hide a big whale, but that first reveal was too cool. Soon the music builds dramatically as a trainer runs out on stage (very clever transition from video stoker boy to Sea World Trainer). This is the part that made me realize that this was going to be different from any of the past Sea World Shamu shows. The music built to a creepy sounding almost Jaws like tune as we saw Shamu under the water...the music subsided and suddenly Ja...I mean Shamu lept out of the water with a dramatic DUN DUN music queue suddenly the music changes to a less menacing sounding tune to a calm and mysterious tune...the trainer and Shamu share a moment where it seems like both worlds connect and a bond is created (interesting that a music score and some trained movements can do that without the use of words). The trainer then jumped into the tank and disappeared for a moment and then flew (litterally) out of the water holding Shamu’s..umm..snout I guess as the music reached a dramatic point..the trainer was then propelled by Shamu back onto land (how they didn’t break an ankle I will never know) as a new triumphant soundtrack starts as the trainers fly out on some other Shamus...then for a few acts the show begins the normal Shamu acrobatics. Their is an emotional song with Shamu and the trainers which is fantastic and then the trainer is given a chance to speak........ok I realize so far that you are probably saying wow this was a great show, and right you are so unless you like suffering now may be a good time to leave this review......ok now that they are gone where were we...oh yes they give the trainers a chance to speak...which was the biggest mistake Sea World has ever made. The trainers gave their testimonies on why they became trainers or rather TRAINERS!!!11 I mean look I understand that you are happy to be a part of something like the Shamu show and I’m sure it is pretty cool, but why do you have to bring so much CHEESE...I mean I cringed every time I heard the TRAINERS!!!11 give their speeches. I also understand that they were really trying to pump in as much emotion into the show as they could, but c’mon I mean seeing Shamu and the TRAINERS!!!11 connect without words was better. Anyway the show continued on after the testimony by one of the TRAINERS!!!11 going into the audience and picking a kid to come down for a very close encounter with the Shams...the kid was given the TRAINERS!!!11 neck-less and given the best seat (or platform rather) in the house for the finale. The show ended like all of the other Shamu shows, lot’s of splashes and lots of tricks.

The Review::

Ok so when I saw this show I instantly new that Sea World was going to step up it’s game. I mean look at how the park has grown since Believe opened. New Coaster, New Exibits, New Family offerings even the Dolphin Show turned into Blue Horizons which I think is one of their best yet. Believe really transitioned Sea World in a good way to more of what it is today. No longer will we see the campy 90’s Shamu Adventures that we saw before and guess what...I am just fine with that. Believe really had something more than the average Shamu shows before it. Yes, their were the same tricks (actually I take that back their was a lot of new tricks added for this show) and yes Shamu still splashed people, but this show added something...a story...A lot of people condemned Sea World for Believe saying that it was too emotional and had too much heart, now minus the TRAINERS!!!11 testimonies which were extremely over the top, I disagree. The show was fresh and new and really showed the love and care the TRAINERS!!!11 have for the animals even if they can’t publicly speak without vomiting cheese. I loved Believe and I love One Ocean...even without the trainers in the water with the Shams anymore due to a death in the Sea World family...

I give this one a 4 / 5...great show minus the TRAINERS!!!11

p.s. let us all take a moment to recognize the real star of this show...Henry the Crane..he is at every show always performing and is never given any fish...we love you Henry!

Closed Attraction Review :: Universal 360

Hey theme park junkies it’s time for another raving and amazing Closed Attraction Review. Today we’ll take a look back at the Universal 360, Universal’s attempt at a spectacular nighttime show that was...well not spectacular. Anyways, why don’t we start off with some details about the show shall we?

The Show::

Basically the show was a response (even though they wont admit it) to the amazing nighttime shows that we see at the Disney parks and yes even Sea World so it was only logical that Universal did one too, and what would be the premise of the show? Movies, go figure, and balls...big balls. 4 of them actually dotting the lagoon, they certainly were massive and very neat to see at night as they radiated different colors. Inside of them was more than just some lights, their was a set of projectors that would project inside the balls to show the images of various scenes from Universal’s films. It’s what you call cinnesphere technology. On either side of the globes were some pyrotechnic mortars that were uncomfortably close to the audience..I mean when I can feel the heat from the pyro it is too close...anyways..their were also pyrotechnics that would shoot from various locations around the lagoon (from on top of the buildings of course). On the building’s sides were more projections of the Universal films to accent and immerse the audience (and any other descriptor theme parks use). And of course no nighttime show would be complete without lasers, and some vary nice lasers at that.

Scene 1 Opening - So the show began with the obvious Universal logo and some pyro that would fire on the bum bums of the Universal theme..it was actually a great epic intro to a deceivingly epic show...then we saw Jim Carrey appear with a camera (no the big balls couldn’t even make him interesting) and off we went into the first scene with a big bang...acctually two...the first scene really was a great intro into the world of Universal films, their wasn’t too much pyro in this scene but enough t were it felt like a good introduction.

Scene 2 Action - So this is where the show takes a turn to some awesome pyrotechnics and whimsy right...well not so much. Scene 1 ended with the Blues Brothers followed by another burst of colorful pyro. Next the cars from Fast and the Furios appeared on the balls...spheres..For a while their was absolutely nothing except for the ba..spheres..showing action packed movie clips...no pyro...no lasers..no projections on the buildings, just footage (get used to it that’s how the whole show goes). Their were a few moments of explosions like the epic part when Scarface appeared and delivered his “se hello to ma little frien” *boom* line and an explosion occurred in the lagoon, it was a great one of those “that was awesome, great now all of the children are crying” moments. Their was also a pretty great Mummy scene that involved the building projections and some pyro.

Scene 3 Drama- So this is the scene that will advance the show right...I mean now that we are pumped, evil is going to come and we are going to be freaked out.........no...acctually the opposite, we are going to suffer through yet another scene with no pyro (at least this one had wall projections) and be forced to only view footage...this time set to slow music (I really do like the Apollo 13 soundtrack though)...you know what their is nothing to really talk about here so let’s move on

Scene 4 Horror - So the drama scene ended and now everyone is tired and ready to leave...is the finale up now?................no....this scene began with a giant eyeball on the globes and a giant spider on the side of the Back to the Fut....I mean Simpson’s Building. The scene began with Termintor, their were explosions everywhere and you felt like you were in the middle of the battle of the Termintors and humans, and then it...stopped, no more battle or pyro just walls and balls again. (I’m starting to notice a pattern). This scene was obviously horror, and how horrifying it was. Their were gory and grotesque scenes with no epic-ness tied into them so they were merely there for shock value I guess. I mean how can you not have all of the great Universal villains create havok like the Disney ones do in Fantasmic! I mean imagine the epic possibilities..At any rate the scene ended with the worst transition in theme park history a scene from Wolfman that said “When the full moon rises, I’ll turn into a wolf...(another man in the room says) you and fourty million other guys”...really?! That sums up Universal’s horror LEGACY...it’s obvious they were trying to make a joke that would transition us into the next scene which was comedy (you may want to skip that one it’s pretty ugly) but c’mon..they should have just had a scary moment where Jaws is approaching someone about ready to eat them as the dramatic theme is playing behind then abruptly stop it with a record player hault sound effect then play a fart sound effect while an explosion happens in the lagoon...Yes that pissed me off that much...

Scene 5 Comedy - So you are probably wondering why did you stay for this...well I can’t answer that, I was probably still in shock from the transition from Horror to here but I digress...so comedy was next. The music score chosen for this scene was “I Believe” this one started with some pyro (ok now they are just messing with us) and seemed to drag on forever. I’m pretty sure Universal chose the most unfunny moments from some of the funniest movies they possibly could..I mean their are so many quotable lines in American Pie, but “this one time, at band camp” was the only one they could come up with. The Nutty Profesor and yes even Shrek made and appearance....why? Shrek was good as a fairy tale, Nutty Professor was good as...firewood..I mean why have one good and one bad movie next to each other..if anything it devalued the good one. You know what I’m done with this scene...

Scene 6 Adventure - So we are done with comedy (thankfully) and onto Adventure...and how do we get there? How do I explain this in a logical way....um “Kelly Clarkson” *BOOM* If you don’t understand that then you are lucky..if you do I apologize for bringing up old wounds. This scene was rather calm and relaxing with a lot of great scenery and really should have been put in the front of the show after the first scene...you are going to be so surprised but their was no pyro in this scene either..just pretty fly bys..it was very short, very boring, and relied totally on the balls again (wow I really set myself up for that one)

Scene 7 Romance - This one began with Drew Barrymore screaming and the E.T. theme playing in the background (how enchanting)...This one was all about love and did involve some cool pyro...I mean the beginning really surprised you as some red rockets shot up from around the lagoon and exploded with a shimmer and crackle...then towards the middle some beautiful shimmering pyro shells went off in the sky and cascaded down creating a multi-layered effect between the buildings, balls, and sky. The scene went on with some smooches and ended with E.T. delivering the tear jerking line “I’ll be right here” and off he went on his spaceship...as he lifted off around the lagoon planet shells were shot into the sky and a sillouhette of ET, Elliot and his friends were projected on the buildings as lasers filled the sky...it was the best scene I have to say, but the awesome-ness of it came waaaay to late in the show to be appritiated. Moments like that would have made this show do a complete 360 (hardie har), but by the time we were at this scene 14 minutes of random clips, explosions, and Kelly Clarksons had gone by.

Scene 8 Finale - So they really could have ended the show there and I would have been satisfied with it writting it off as average but not too bad....and then they tagged on a vary unnecessary finale filled with, you guessed it...no pyro what so ever..The was basically a rehash of the movies we had already seen and by this time we were bored of them. Now I will give this scene props, the soundtrack was great...basically it was a unique theme that involved a mash-up of different Universal themes that we had just heard, and he very last build up and firework finale was pretty awesome, but again it was very under appritiated because of the cluster f**k we had to go through to get there...the very last few minutes of the show...rather the last 30 seconds of the show put Illuminations last 30 seconds to shame, and I mean that, it was great...watch it by itself on Youtube and see for yourself...pyro going off everywhere, a great soundtrack, and lasers going crazy...in essence what the first 15 minutes should have been...I know before I said the finale was unnecessary and I believe the first half of it was, but the very very end really saved the show from people saying “wow, that was the worst thing I have ever seen” instead they only said “that’ not what I expected”

The Review::

Alright so the show wasn’t that bad and some of the scenes were very clever, but look here is the issue when compared to the other offerings at Universal (Spiderman, Mummy, etc) and when compared to a Disney fireworks show it dosen’t do well. It really wasn’t a spectacular close to the day nor was it a great way for Universal’s parks to be remembered. I mean here is the problem, the last thing you show your guests is going to be the strongest memory...if this was the last thing I saw (and I wasn’t already a huge Universal fan) it would have left a very sour taste in my mouth. The show wasn’t bad, I mean take it and put it into Six Flags and it would have probably done well...take it and put it into Orlando and it just doesn't work. For a resort that I believe was and always is looking for what is cutting-edge I truly believe this show went against what the park is and sets out to do. Maybe I’m being harsh, but I gave the show four tries and felt numb...the tipping point for me was during version 2 of the show where they cut out HALF of the pyro...yeah I don’t think I need to mention how much worse it was. So overall I give this show a 2.5 / 5 not unbearable...but not good...and that is Universal 360.