When it comes to Universal and Walt Disney World, using IPs is huge. But, it may come at a cost and now, Universal is experiencing the worst case scenario.
When any theme park wants to build a new attraction or revamp its current ones, a ton of money is typically poured into that project. Most recently, Disney announced plans to nearly double its investment in its theme parks business. In an SEC filing, the company said it plans to spend roughly $60 billion over the next 10 years. This would include “expanding and enhancing” domestic and international parks and the cruise line.

From this, we can see a lot of effort must go into retheming or adding new sections of land.
So what can go wrong?
If we stick with Disney, we can take a look at why themed IP can cause issues for the theme park. When Pirates of the Caribbean was created in Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort, it was an original attraction that was not based on any movie. Then, when Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl came out, the beginning of the fandom began. Now, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) became the icon of the film, and the main character that would be referenced and heard in audio bites for years.
In order to capitalize off of the popularity of Jack Sparrow, and the love that everyone had for Johnny Depp, Disney decided to add Captain Jack Sparrow to Pirates of the Caribbean. Now, guests were following Sparrow’s journey to treasure. Soon, every Pirates of the Caribbean ride had Captain Jack Sparrow, and the affinity toward Johnny Depp grew further by fans.

Flash forward to now, Disney made the quick decision to boot Johnny Depp out of the franchise following allegations of abuse from his ex-wife, Amber Heard. During the trial, it seems Disney assumed Depp was guilty, as they cut all ties with him, ruining their franchise forever. Fans decided to boycott Pirates of the Caribbean and Disney, and hundreds of thousands of others signed petitions to keep him in.
Regardless, Disney seemed to want to scrub their hands clean of Mr. Depp during this time. In the end, we know Depp was proven not guilty of Ms. Heard’s claims, so Disney shot themselves in the foot for no reason. But, if Depp was found guilty, Disney would have to decide if they wanted to have one of their most popular and iconic attractions star an abusive actor or, to go back to the drawing board and shut down the attraction.
Universal Orlando Resort has tons of attractions based on IP, from The Incredible Hulk to Fast & Furious – Supercharged to Jurassic World VelociCoaster. Every single ride in the park is connected to a larger Hollywood story, film, or icon (like the Minions franchise). While some of these attractions do not solely rely on one actor as the main selling point, there is a ride that does.

Located in Universal Studios Florida, Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon, takes guests on a ride through New York alongside late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon. The ride features a motion simulator that takes guests on an over-the-top adventure through the streets of New York, below New York Harbor, to the moon and back, following along with The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon’s wild antics.
The entire experience begins outside the building, which is made to look like a smaller version of the famous 30 Rock in New York City where Fallon hosts his show.
Inside, guests find themselves face-to-face with a thoroughly NBC-branded experience, complete with NBC Pages as guides. Throughout the time spent inside, it’s easy to get lost in the details that make it feel like a reasonable facsimile of the real thing.
The walls are lined with tributes to The Tonight Show — not only showing clips of Fallon’s work but also featuring displays of past hosts: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and even including the short-lived run of Conan O’Brien (complete with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog). Each display plays clips of The Tonight Show from that hosts’ reign on a television set common to that era.

Of course, Jimmy Fallon is the star of the ride, but now, Fallon is under fire for creating a toxic work environment allegedly, which gives Universal Orlando Resort a bad look.
CBS reported, “Late night host Jimmy Fallon has been accused of perpetuating a toxic work environment by two current and 14 former employees of “The Tonight Show,” who spoke to Rolling Stone on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
Fallon is accused of being drunk at work and exhibiting erratic behavior. The workplace atmosphere was described as “glum” and several former employees told Rolling Stone that working for the NBC late-night talk show affected their mental health.

According to Rolling Stone, Fallon apologized to staff in a Zoom meeting Thursday night after the article was published, saying: “It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad.” An NBC spokesperson did not comment on the meeting.”
Some of the people who spoke to Rolling Stone complained about the quick turnover of leadership at the show. Some said Fallon’s bad moods affected the atmosphere of the workplace and that he berated them in front of coworkers. Some accused him of being inebriated at work, mentioning alleged occasions in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Two employees alleged Fallon scolded a crew member who was handling cue cards during a taping of the show with Jerry Seinfeld, calling it “uncomfortable.”
Fallon did apologize, which was both good as he took responsibility, and bad, as it was admitted that these claims were mostly true.
If these allegations escalate, it could be cause for Universal to remove the ride entirely. At the moment, Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon is not shutting down, but it is certainly a possible outcome depending on how this story unravels if it continues.
On top of that, many have stated they are not a fan of the ride, calling it an “atrocity”.
What do you think? Should Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon shut down?
When visiting Universal Orlando Resort, Guests can enjoy attractions such as Rip Ride Rockit, MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack, Transformers: The Ride, and more. Visit Diagon Alley in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where you can venture into Gringotts! Islands of Adventure has some fantastic attractions like the new Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Jurassic Park River Adventure, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and more! Volcano Bay is also open for those who want to get their splash on.