Universal Studios Singapore Photo: VCG

Universal Beijing Resort (UBR), which is expected to open next May, has met with a cool reaction to its latest promo video. It featured people looking impressed and dancing in virtual reality settings, but on Chinese social media it was criticized for looking cheap.

The video released showed young people in the park's scenes based on Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Kungfu Panda and Transformers. The official Weibo account said "UBR fans! Look at the drama queens showing their acting skills, my laughter can activate lights all around…"

But the video disappointed many fans of the theme park giant, with many saying it didn't look like a world-level theme park.

"The theme park is supposed to build dreams for film fans and theme park lovers, but the video smashed that dream," a net user commented on Sina Weibo, noting the people in the video seemed strange and their "wows" sounded fake. 

"Now I am not looking forward to next May at all," said a net user who claimed to be a loyal fan of the Harry Potter series. 

Fans of Universal Studios also shared their memories of visiting other theme parks in Japan or in the US and expressed their disappointment at seeing the video did not match their expectations for UBR, which will be the largest of all the Universal resorts. 

But some were less put off by the promo video, saying that it was more of a marketing failure and that UBR will still be an enjoyable place to go when it opens. 

They shared real photos of the theme park, whose seven lands - the Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness, Transformers: Metrobase, Minion Land, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Jurassic World Isla Nublar, Hollywood and WaterWorld - have passed inspection.

A resident of Tongzhou district, where the theme park is located, said it looks amazing from outside and she wants to visit it despite the criticism.  

On October 21, 10,000 pre-sale quotas for the theme park were sold out in two minutes. People got the pre-sale qualification to book a ticket five days before the wider public and to have a greater chance of visiting it on the opening day. 

Global Times