Tag Archives: Woody Woodpecker

00852.MTS.Still008Williams of Hollywood is a shop at Universal Studios Florida where you can buy actual props from old rides, stores, events and more! While on my last visit I noticed some new items in the shop from the JAWS ride, Twister, Disaster and even a giant Woody Woodpecker figure too! Man, if I just had 2000 dollars lying around I would so pick up that shark from the old JAWS wait time sign. Really brings back memories. Check out the video or photo report below and stay tuned for more theme park updates.


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P1040685In the two months since my last update on the area they've just about wrapped up the exterior construction. The new wall connecting the two buildings looks like it's been there all the time. And there is a new entrance door in the middle of the wall, just as I was suspecting. It's nice to see that the Garden of Allah Villas sign has returned after being removed briefly while they did some concrete ground work. They're not quite finished with some window and door work on the outside, (and who knows how much more they have to do inside the buildings).

We've known for a while now that this building will house something called the "NBCUniversal Media Lab", which will probably be a place where employees can use and test new technologies, or allow businesses to use state-of-the-art teleconference technologies. It doesn't seem, at least at this point, that this will be something that will be open to the public. Learn more about that in my last post on the subject here. See all the new construction update photos below!

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Universal_Nintendo_LogosThe dust hasn't even settled on yesterday's announcement of Kong returning to Orlando and we have another big announcement today. Nintendo and Universal have partnered up to bring Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds into the Orlando and Japan parks in the form of major attractions! Nintendo holds the rights to some of the most profitable properties in the world and with Universal's recent successes in bringing IPs to life, this partnership seems like a perfect fit. This will be the first time attractions and theme park experiences will be based on Nintendo characters and worlds. Read below for more information and my take on possible venues in the Orlando parks for Nintendo-based attractions.

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P1020086Lately I have been noticing a bit of construction happening between the Kids Zone and Hollywood areas of Universal Studios Florida. The area is currently empty of attractions and just for show, except for the seasonal restaurant Cafe La Bamba. I remember visiting in the 90's when they had a walk-through attraction there, but I always wondered what would come of the area. Now it seems something is happening , so I thought it might be a good time to look into the history (and future) of the Garden of Allah area. Be sure to also check out the construction update below to see how it's looking now! Continue Reading...garden-of-allah ...continue reading