“Awesome” … “Amazing” … “The very best attraction that I’ve been on” …
These were just a few of the breathless reactions that Universal Orlando visitors gave to guest survey takers as they stumbled off of the studio theme park’s newest attraction, “Revenge of the Mummy.” Which has been blowing the socks off of USF guests for the better part of three months now. But only finally officially opened to the public this past Friday.
Of course, representatives from Universal’s new owners — NBC / GE — were on hand to see the happy crowds queuing up again & again for their chance to experience Imhotep’s wrath. And — based on what I’ve heard from company insiders — they were very, very pleased with they saw.
How pleased? So pleased that the bleak picture that I painted with last Monday’s “Red Letter Day” article can now be erased. Or at least ammended.
To quote one company insider:
“Things are currently being sorted out between Universal Creative, studio management as well as with NBC and GE. Based on how positively Universal management and the folks at NBC & GE are reacting to the way the guests are reacting to ‘Mummy,’ it’s looking very, very likely that many of the folks who were laid off over the past few months will get called back to work soon. To work on some exciting new attractions for the stateside parks as well as the Universal Shanghai park.”
Of course, you’d think that — with good news like this — Universal Creative’s surviving staffers would be thrilled. Well, the opposite acually seems to be true.
Why for? Well, it turns out that the crew who are currently running Universal Creative are a fairly paranoid bunch. Who don’t much care for the Internet. Which is why — as of Tuesday, May 25th — they’ve gone on a little mole hunt. To try to determine who’s actually been leaking inside information to JimHillMedia.com.
Which — me personally — I think is a really reprehensible thing to do. To browbeat current & former employees. All in an effort to find out who’s been talking to a dweeby little website like JimHillMedia.com.
Mind you, I’ll never reveal who our UC inside source is. Other than to say … You guys are currently barking up the wrong tree.
To explain: The way I hear it, Universal Creative managers are — right now — in the process of grilling current & former contract employees that work in their Central Florida office. As they try to determine who actually blabbed to JHM.
Well, I hate to break it to you guys … But you’re actually looking on the wrong coast. The inside info that JimHillMedia.com has recently been sharing with its readers about the Universal theme parks HASN’T been coming out of your Orlando office. But — rather — out of Hollywood.
And — no — JHM’s source ISN’T John Murdy, the Universal Creative exec who’s in charge of USH’s “Revenge of the Mummy” ride. Other than the brief conversation that Chuck Oberleitner had with John two weeks ago during their officially sanctioned walk-through of this soon-to-be-opening USH attraction (Which actually provided the fodder for Chuck’s May 25th column), JimHillMedia.com and/or its representatives have had zero contact with Mr. Murdy.
It really pains me to think someone’s job could actually be put in jeopardy by something as silly as a story for the Internet. Particularly a story about something as inconsequentail as a theme park attraction. Which is why — in order to protect the identity of JHM’s inside source at Universal Creative — I’m now pulling down the letter that used to be included as part of the original version of this article.
After all, no one’s job is actually worth jeopardizing over something as silly as an Internet exclusive.
So call off your dogs, guys. You really are barking up the wrong tree. Or should I say that your tree’s on the wrong coast.
My apologies for those of you who are circling back, trying to get another peek at the version of this article that was originally posted here on JimHillMedia.com back on Monday, May 24th. But — as I say above — I’m not going to actually put someone’s career in jeopardy just so JHM can have some sort of exclusive. Life’s too short for stuff like that. Which is why — on Tuesday, May 25th — I significantly reworked this article. Totally removing that letter as well as including an update about Universal Creative’s mole hunt.
Sorry about that, folks. But — in order to protect this site’s confidential sources — sometimes extraordinary measures have to be taken.
Talk to you later, okay?