YMMV / Animal Actors

• Broken Base: The closure of Animal Actors and the adjacent Special Effects Show at Hollywood for a Fast & Furious rollercoaster naturally brings up a lot of debate between park purists and thrillseekers. On one hand, Animal Actors represented one of the last attractions that stayed true to the mission statement of the Universal Studios parks, that being to educate guests about the art of filmmaking. That's also on top of the fact that it's taking out non-IP based stage shows for an IP thrill ride, which will always be seen by some people as being nothing more than a money grab. On the other hand, a lot of people think that Universal Studios Hollywood is in need of a signature thrill attraction that it currently lacks, and that the Fast & Furious coaster can be exactly that. The negative reception to Fast & Furious: Supercharged also means that a lot of fans are still hoping for a well-done attraction based on those films, and overall are willing to accept the loss of Animal Actors for something that may benefit the park in the longer term.
• Tear Jerker: Just the closure of the Hollywood version of the show proved to be this for many people and the show staff itself considering how long the theater has played a role in the park's history. So much that on the show's final performance, many showed up to the point where extra guests had to be turned away due to capacity. As for the show itself, a Final Speech thanking everyone preceded the show, topped off by the trainers and staff taking one big photo before the start of the show. In addition to every act in use by then having an air of finality, they even made the show go out with a bang by having far more trainers and staff running with stuffed cats on their backs during the finale.
  • This even seems to have extended to the animals themselves, as for the act with a bird (specifically a Conure named Kiwi) flying to and from an audience member, Kiwi seemed reluctant to finish her act, almost as if she had also picked up that it would be her final time doing it. Naturally it's Played for Laughs, but it's still something that tugs at the heart, which everyone knew full well.

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