It's time to take a look around Universal Studios Florida and see how some of the big construction projects are doing and what's new in the park! As soon as I got there I noticed a lot of new merchandise added to the main studio store for the upcoming film The Secret Life of Pets. There have been rumors of this property getting its own ride in the parks if the film is a success, (and I have a feeling the film will do just fine). One of the mugs caught my attention as it's actually branded with 'Universal Studios' on it! Over at Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon lots of work continues at a breakneck pace as facades get built, roofing gets laid, walls go up, and lots of interior work gets done. It looks like another rounded (screen-like) wall on the inside is being constructed too. See images below for more details. Not much is happening at Fast & Furious Supercharged. They took down the potted plants in front of the work walls. That's about it. And finally in City Walk, Toothsome Chocolate Emporium (formerly 'Chocolate Factory') is coming together nicely with new brickwork on the front. See the video along with lots of images with more information about these projects below and stay tuned for more theme park updates!
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Universal Studios Florida Construction Update: Jimmy Fallon Ride, Fast & Furious, and More
Twister and Disaster have long closed to make way for the new attractions Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon and Fast & Furious Supercharged at Universal Studios Florida. More New York facades are being added around the gutted soundstage building for the Jimmy Fallon ride. It'll be nice to have that big bland building blocked by more themed New York building facades. Also, there is what looks to be a big rounded section of steel inside the building. It could be for a big screen, especially if this does turn out to be a Soarin' type attraction as rumored. Lots of digging continues at the site of Fast and Furious, but not much else is happening there. And new picture spot props have been added to the Hello Kitty store. Check out the update video and lots of construction images below!
Hello Kitty Store Opens at Universal Studios Florida – With Video
The 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.
As 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.
Jimmy Fallon and Fast & Furious Construction Update: Beetlejuice No More and Twister Gutted
The building that used to be the home of Twister: Ride it Out has been completely gutted. The inside has been stripped down to just the exterior walls and supports. In fact, an entire wall by where the pre-show and show building entrance used to be is completely removed, as in, no wall at all. To me, there is more than an enough room inside for a Soarin' type ride system. If the entire queue is moved outside and they only use one pre-show instead of two, this building is big enough to hold a couple Soarin' sized theaters if you ask me.
And over in San Francisco the entire Beetlejuice stage has been leveled to the ground. Almost immediately after their last show the stage started to come down. Now we have a clear view of the King's Cross station for the Hogwart's Express train backstage. This means we've got a big hole in the park between New York and London, that is, until Fast & Furious Supercharged opens in 2017. Parts of the old Earthquake/Disaster building have also been demolished behind the Beetlejuice stage. The main entrance and preshow areas still stand, as well as all facades facing guest areas, but all of the backstage facing building seems to be coming down. See the construction photos below and stay tuned for more Universal news coming soon!
Hello Kitty Store Construction Update at Universal Studios Florida
I recently checked out what might be the slowest construction project Universal is currently working on, the Hello Kitty store and experience at Universal Studios Florida. Rumors had this opening back at Christmas late last year, but here we are in month two of 2016 and not much progress can be seen. When I visited today I did get some confirmation that I did not have before, that Betty Boop will in fact be coming back to her original location when the building is done being refreshed. This is something I suspected, but didn't have proof of until now.
Besides the fact that a couple of employees have confirmed it for me, you can see on the awnings for the shop, (as well as some text visible through a window,) that the black and white beauty will be re-claiming her "largest selection of Betty Boop merchandise in the world" location once again. I find this surprising, as it only allows the portion of the building that used to house Lucy: A Tribute to be used for the new Hello Kitty store and meet & greet areas. It's not that small a space, but considering how much Sanrio branded merchandise exists in the world, I find it somewhat shocking how small a space they'll be allocating for it. They could fill the entire main Studio Store with Sanrio twice over and still not run out of Hello Kitty and friends branded merch. Perhaps we'll see products with the famous Kitty in more stores throughout the parks as well. Check out the photo update below and stay tuned this week and next for more theme park updates!
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Twister’s Flying Cow for Sale and Jimmy Fallon Construction Update at Universal Studios
Own a piece of history! You can now buy the actual flying cow from the finale scene of Twister... Ride it Out at Universal Studios Florida. The cow, along with the flying Dororthy III from the end scene, are on sale at the newly opened Williams of Hollywood Prop Shop inside Universal Studios. You can own the high-wire cow for just a measly $4,999.99! That's all. The Dorothy III is a steal at only $2,999.99. That is, if they haven't been sold yet. These pictures were taken yesterday, Saturday January 9th. So hurry up! I also got some new pictures of the future home of Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon. See all the images below and stay tuned for more theme park updates all this week!
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Universal Studios Florida Updates – Hello Kitty, Jimmy Fallon Construction and More – With Video
It has been a little while since I've had a chance to visit the parks, so I took a day to catch up on all the goings on at Universal Studios Florida, and grab some video as well! Since my last visit with a camera, Twister and Disaster have closed and themed construction walls have gone up around their locations where Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon and Fast & Furious Supercharged will be built, respectively. Themed construction walls have gone up around the future site of the Hello Kitty store/experience. This is the first actual confirmation that the new Sanrio themed store will definitely be taking over the former site of Lucy: A Tribute.
Some other minor work has been going on as well, including some sort of small building being constructed near Despicable Me, behind the main Studio Store. It looks like it might be storage or a permanent refreshment stand, either way, nothing too intriguing. Two new shops have opened in the park recently: the new Williams of Hollywood Prop Shop featuring props from various attractions and stores, and a new year-round Christmas store. And since it's December, the holidays are in full swing at the parks, with garland strung everywhere and large Macy's balloons littering the park. Check out the video for full coverage or the screenshots below for more details! And stay tuned for Kong coverage next week!
Fast & Furious Ride Coming to Universal Studios Florida – Replacing Disaster and Beetlejuice
The 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.
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
Jurassic World Merchandise Comes to The Film Vault at Universal Studios Florida and New Blues Brothers Stage Now Open
Jurassic World shirts, hats, toys, candy, and cups & mugs have arrived at Universal Studios Florida in The Film Vault store and the main Studios Store near the park entrance. You can find the most merchandise at the Film Vault store, located near the entrance for Transformers. They have just about all the same items you'll find in Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure. Also, after months of tearing it down and building it back up, the Blues Brothers stage is finally reopened in the New York area of USF. Let's hope that since they've taken the time to revamp their stage that the brothers won't be going away any time soon. The Hollywood park removed the Blues Brothers show earlier this year, but there's no plans as of yet to close it down in Orlando. Check out the entire photo update below!
Furious 7 Screen-Used Cars on Display at Universal Studios Florida – With Video
Screen-used cars from the new Fast & Furious film are now on display at Universal Studios Florida. Get up close and take a picture with three cars from the new film. You’ll find these Furious 7 automobiles on display at the entrance to KidZone, in front of the Animal Actors stadium. These vehicles were driven by Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jason Statham in the seventh installment of Universal’s Fast and the Furious franchise, which hits theaters on Friday, April 3rd. Universal has displayed other vehicles from the Fast & Furious films in the past so it's not too surprising that they're doing it again. It's always pretty cool to see something that was used in a film in person. Check out the video, and the screenshots below as well, for more details about the cars.