Theme Park News

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P1070120The Hello Kitty store at Universal Studios Florida has soft opened in the former location of Lucy: A Tribute, welcoming park guests to buy buy buy everything featuring the famous kitty and her trademark bow. While the store itself is now open, we're still looking forward to seeing a permanent character meet & greet for your chance to meet Hello Kitty and her friends, as well as a hair bow customization station, allowing little girls to create their own custom bows. The store features literally everything you can think of featuring the adorable Sanrio characters from shirts, slippers, and hats - to headphones, designer purses, and of course plush dolls.

P1070142As promised in the press release back in June of last year, there are a few Universal exclusive items, namely shirts that say 'Universal Studios' on them and a shirt design featuring the Jaws poster with Hello Kitty in place of the woman at the top. The store also features a full candy and baked goods section, offering similar treats as the new Sugarplum's in Diagon Alley, like fudges, cupcakes, and gourmet candy apples. The biggest difference being that these snacks feature a little candy bow on top. At the same time this store opened, Betty Boop's store has returned to its original location as well. The temporary Boop store in the old camera shop on Hollywood Blvd has once again closed. Check out the photos below and my detailed video report. I'm a big fan of Sanrio characters myself, and I think it's a nice addition to the park.


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Kong-blog-featured-900x563Just a few days ago some folks caught a glimpse of some great lighting effects turned on at the construction site for Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Turns out they were filming some promotional videos to help explain what this new attraction will be all about, as well as grab some amazing photographs. Universal also confirmed that this will be "one of the longest rides of any Universal attraction", and it feature "several new firsts for Universal Orlando Resort." This attraction is scheduled to open Summer of this year. See the full ride description, new videos, and more news about the viral marketing campaign they started earlier this month called Myth Explorers: The Quest for Kong, all below. And stay tuned for more Kong news!

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Main Sequence NEW.Still017Diagon Alley's new candy store and home to the new Butterbeer Fudge is now open! Sugarplum's Sweet Shop is now open at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida. It takes over the former location of Shutterbuttons Photography, which was not getting enough business in its former location. Shutterbuttons has moved to a new location on the main Diagon Alley street across from Ollivander's, and they appear to be doing better now in this more visible location. Shutterbuttons is the place where you create your own magical portraits, (moving pictures,) to take home with you.

Main Sequence NEW.Still015Sugarplums's also seems to be doing well in the former photo store, packing in people and selling lots of candy. Hogsmeade already has Honeydukes for candy, so it's nice to see Diagon Alley get their own candy store. This is the first place in the world offering Butterbeer fudge, the sixth incarnation of Butterbeer products in the Wizarding World. Sugarplum's is connected to the neighboring Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes joke shop and Quality Quidditch Supplies store, so guests can easily slip in and out between all three shops. Check out the video and more images below and stay tuned for more Universal news coming soon!

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P1040978NBA City at Universal Orlando CityWalk has officially closed and as of this week crew was on site removing items from the interior. Plus, I saw someone from Universal Creative's wrecking crew checking out the site. While NBA may have left Universal, they are opening a brand new "experience" at Disney Springs (formally known as Downtown Disney) at Walt Disney World Resort. The new facility will be several times the size of their CityWalk location and will take over the building currently occupied by DisneyQuest. The indoor video game "theme park" will be closing next year to make way for The NBA Experience.

No word yet on what will be replacing their former CityWalk location. Rumors of its replacement have ranged everywhere from The Cheesecake Factory to Willy Wonka's Candy Factory. Stay tuned for news as it happens. See photos of the closed venue below as well as an official statement from NBA City.

NBA City's doors adorned with a plain piece of paper simply stating "Closed" and another paper with a sad face
NBA City's doors adorned with a piece of paper simply stating "Closed" and another paper with a sad face

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Fast-and-Furious-featured-900x563The rumors can finally be put to rest, Fast & Furious: Supercharged has been officially announced for Universal Studios Florida. To make way for the new thrilling ride, Disaster: A Major Motion Picture Starring You! will close permanently on September 8, 2015, with Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue closing later this year. All indications are that the area will remain themed as San Francisco, which not only will save Universal a lot of money, but will retain the area's existing restaurants and sights, (which is good, considering this is where they chose to move the picture spot of Bruce the shark from Jaws.) This new attraction is slated to open sometime in 2017, the same year Universal's new water park Volcano Bay is scheduled to open.

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The announcement comes just a few months after Fast & Furious: Supercharged opened as part of the tram tour at Universal Studios Hollywood (watch a ride video here). It uses a similar style of technology as Kong 360 where the tram travels through a large corridor of 3D screens while wind and motion base effects help create the illusion of high speed. Currently it is not known how the Florida version will differ, but considering the attraction's name has not changed, and the fact that they're building it on the site of the Disaster ride, it's quite possible that the ride video will remain relatively, (if not entirely) the same. The biggest difference will be the ride vehicle. Perhaps, to save time and money, a modified version of the Disaster (formerly Earthquake) subway tram will be used, as it is a similar shape as the Hollywood tram tour vehicles. Personally I'd like to see something new for the Orlando park, but it's definitely time for Disaster to go away, although I will miss Christopher Walken as Frank Kincaid, you're welcome. Read below for full details about the new attraction and stay tuned for more Universal news! ...continue reading →

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Hulk-blog-900x563Universal Orlando's official blog has just announced that The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Islands of Adventure will undergo major enhancement and refurbishment work beginning September 8th. And it will not re-open until NEXT SUMMER! There had been rumors that the refurb would happen in stages, reopening the ride during peak times of year, such as Christmas and Spring Break, but now it looks like the entire ride will remain closed for the better part of a year.

Universal says the beloved coaster will be getting some TLC in the form of some great, new enhancements to its storyline, ride vehicles and overall experience. Rumors have the entire queue building being completely rebuilt from the ground up, entire sections of track being replaced, and most importantly, hulklaunchthe launch system being upgraded from tires to an electromagnetic (LIM) launch system. This will not only offer a smoother launch, but cost less in maintenance for park operations, without having to replace tires every few weeks. When the Hulk first opened electromagnetic launch systems were not yet up to the task for such a big endeavor, but as time went on the technology has improved, and the time has finally come. I for one am excited to see an updated queue building and improved storyline... Although I may miss the techno-rave party feel in the queue.

See the entire blog release below and stay tuned for more theme park news. ...continue reading →

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P1040770Last month, when the long construction period was over and the dust had settled, the NBC Media Center was finally opened inside of Universal Studios Florida. As I have previously reported the new state-of-art media center will be used for market research involving multiple forms of media, including previewing new television programs. Now, Orlando Theme Park News is reporting that an article posted to an internal publication has released further details for industry insiders, boasting the Media Center as the largest biometrics facility in the country. See the press release below, and do check out my full report on what it's like inside the new Media Center along with many photos of the completed compound.

The NBCU Media Center (or NBC Media Center) recently opened in Universal Studios Florida in the Garden of Allah area. The center is a state-of-the-art research facility which is available to all NBC Universal businesses and Comcast. The facility, which is the largest biometrics facility of its kind in the country includes the following research capabilities:

  • Dial Tests for video content (programs, pilots, promotions, and movies);
  • Advanced tools for measuring personal engagement and response to content;
  • Focus Group Facilities for qualitative research;
  • “Living Room of the Future” which enables research on consumer use of new technologies in a “real life” environment.

 
The facility will be open only when research is being conducted. During that time, the facility will open one hour after official park opening and close one hour before official park closing. The NBCU Media Center is a facility built to support research across the company and is not open to the public unless a guest has been accepted as an applicable research participant.

Check out our full report and photo update on the Media Center here and subscribe to the feed for more park updates!

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P1040811With the blockbuster film Jurassic World stomping all over box office records, Universal Orlando is wasting no time slapping the film's logo all over the parks, especially in the Jurassic Park area at Islands of Adventure. So far you'll find Jurassic World banners and logos plastered all over the Thunder Falls Terrace restaurant and Jurassic Outfitters gift shop. There's signage for all the different attractions you can experience at Jurassic World, such as the Gyrosphere ride seen in the film. Unfortunately though, there isn't (yet) an actual Gyrosphere ride here in Orlando. Maybe one day. There's also a few new pieces of merchandise for Jurassic World at the parks, including some exclusive items. Jurassic World theming has not yet made its way to the Discovery Center or River Adventure, perhaps to keep those attractions in line with the original film, but who knows how far they'll take the theming in the future. See the entire photo report below and stay tuned for more Jurassic sized updates!

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P1040763The Garden of Allah Villas construction is finally complete and we now have the brand new shiny NBC Media Center. What's the NBC Media Center you ask? Why it's the new home for fall TV previews and focus groups of course! I just happened to be walking by today while they were looking for volunteers, so I was able to be one of the first people to experience the new Media Center. They've been doing TV previews in the parks for years, but this is a new, more high-tech approach. And having a neat storefront building helps convince people to volunteer, as opposed to taking folks to the back of a dark alley somewhere off the path. Check out my report and lots and lots of photos below!

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jprideadWith Jurassic World now reaching one billion dollars worldwide, the Universal Parks are jumping on the opportunity to promote their existing Jurassic Park attraction. They have released a commercial for 'Jurassic Park: The Ride' at both Hollywood and Orlando, invoking the ideas of Jurassic World with the text, See The Movie, Then Dare to Ride It, mixed with images from the Jurassic World film and scenes from the Jurassic Park ride. In addition to the new ad, which we might start seeing on television immediately, there's also a new website open, devoted entirely to the Jurassic Park ride. The new website, www.jurassicparktheride.com, is currently just a portal to take you to the ride info page from either the Hollywood or Orlando version's website. While many are hoping to see new rides directly themed to Jurassic World at the parks, it's nice to at least see Universal reminding us of the great ride they already have. Check out my video of the entire Jurassic Park River Adventure ride in Orlando below.