Monthly Archives: March 2015

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villasfeaturedWith most of the attention on bigger things like King Kong and the new water park it's easy to miss the smaller construction projects, so today lets focus on the work being done over at the Garden of Allah Villas in Universal Studios Florida. As I previously stated it does indeed look like the two buildings are being connected. Slowly, but surely, progress is being made. No one is quite sure what this will end up being. Check out the video and pictures below!

gardenofallahvillaspermitOriginally it was rumored to become a museum for Universal's 25th anniversary, but that no longer seems to be the case. Screamscape has said that the inside of the buildings are being remodeled into series of conference rooms, equipped with several monitors mounted to the walls. Permit filings show the name of the project as "NBCUniversal Media Lab". Perhaps Screamscape is right, because there is already a NBCUniversal Media Lab in New Jersey, for employees to test out new technologies. Maybe the Media Lab coming to Orlando will be a hands-on exhibit where park guests can experience the newest technologies themselves. Only time will tell. For now, check out the construction progress below and stay tuned for more updates.

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photo(53)When I was at Islands of Adventure a couple of days ago I noticed a big hole in the queue near the entrance of the now defunct Triceratops Encounter at Jurassic Park. The hole was surrounded by caution tape. I managed to snap a couple quick pictures as I passed by (see below). Now rumors are flying around the Twittersphere about the possibility of a new attraction coming to the area, specifically one featuring Velociraptors! More info and pictures below.

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P1020680The walkway out in front of project 340, (AKA the new King Kong attraction at Islands of Adventure), has received some shiny new skull-themed construction walls. They jut out pretty far, but the area does look a little cleaner with them. It seems clear now with these skull themed walls what attraction they are in fact building back there, in case there were still any doubts. As far as construction progress goes, it looks like they're putting a primer and/or sealant over the rockwork before painting, the top of the rockwork is looking more and more like the Skull Island temple, and the right side of the structure is finally getting all walled up. Check out the pictures below to see the construction progress as well as the new themed construction walls. And check out the previous update for some video!

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00083.MTS.Still005Screen-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.

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P1020548The Food & Wine Festival is underway at Busch Gardens Tampa and Spring was definitely in the air when I got to visit last weekend. They're showcasing 11 new topiaries specifically for the event, which was a pleasant surprise to me. There were lots of booths with many different foods, wines, and beers to try, and the prices weren't too bad. Unlike Epcot's event, which takes place all along World Showcase, you'll find all of the tasting choices in one place here. This makes it convenient and easy to walk around and take it all in before deciding what looks best to try. See pictures and read the reviews of my food tastings below!

The Spirit of Spring is a massive topiary near the event, featuring more than 160,000!
The Spirit of Spring is a massive topiary near the event, featuring more than 160,000 plants!
Delicious Strawberry Shortcake and the tangy Habanero Shrimp Salad
Delicious Strawberry Shortcake dessert and the sweet tangy Habanero Shrimp Salad.
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Cinderella_Movie_Poster_2015This live-action rendering of the classic story manages to pull off being true to its source material as well as to Disney's animated feature. I always felt the animated film from 65 years ago was a tad boring. It was dull, albeit whimsical, and it had a couple memorable moments. This film manages to flesh out the story, telling it in a manner more like historical fiction rather than fairy tale. But at the same time it has the look of something more colorful and striking than an even an animated film. There are plenty of playful nods to the animated version, including keeping characters' color schemes intact, some of the interactions between the cat, Lucifer, and the mice that inhabit the home, and the fairy godmother even says "bibbity bobbity boo" at least once for good measure.

The film opens with a fully fleshed out first act, telling us everything that led to Ella becoming Cinderella, something from the original tale that was sorely lacking in the animated one. And the visuals in this were often times so beautiful it took me out of the story, most notably the blue gown and the incredibly perfect incarnation of the live action glass slippers. I saw the film mainly for Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother and she did deliver, but so did everything else, and that was a nice surprise.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

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P1020525The mysterious green walls are down revealing a slightly widened pathway in front of the construction site at Project 340 in Islands of Adventure. I'm guessing spring break might have something to do with the large crowds in the park, and everyone is turning their heads to see the new imposing structure towering above. I decided to do something a little different this time and in addition to the photo update I took some video as well. It can help illustrate just how massive this building really is! Check out the images below as well.


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chappie-poster-teaserI like this film so very much, and it is unfortunate the amount of bad press it has received. I can see how folks may be turned off by the story, the underdeveloped characters, and the somewhat gory conclusion, but for me this is a great mixed genre sci-fi film that isn't afraid to be both R-rated and cute at the same time.

Chappie the character is amazing. He's likable, well acted, and beautifully visualized with seamless special effects. The film around him, unfortunately, isn't as well developed. The movie takes cinematic shortcuts, skipping past important exposition to instead indulge in a fun montage. It gives Hugh Jackman's generic badguy character a couple of cheesy one-liners rather than a proper backstory.

Despite its flaws, I found myself caring about the main characters and sitting on the edge of my seat to see how it all was going to end. And as a futurist science-fiction nerd myself, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, (an ending that has turned off most viewers for coming out of seemingly nowhere). This film is miles ahead of Elysium, and I suspect that if it was shot in the same documentary style as District 9, people might have been more responsive to it. In any case, I love Chappie, no matter how bad his move might be.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

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P1020510The Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal's Islands of Adventure is back open after being down for seasonal maintenance from February 17th to March 12th! The waterfalls and rockwork are looking gorgeous and the dinosaurs skins have never looked better, with no holes or unsightly patchwork visible. And it's just great to have all those construction walls finally down around the area. I took some pictures as well as some on-ride video to show off the cleaned up attraction.

While everything looked great, I did notice a lot of the dinosaurs eyes were closed during the ride, and the gate doors did not open as the boat passed through them in the beginning. Other than those small items though, everything else was in perfect working order. Watch the video to see for yourself and check out the images below as well.


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stateofidriveflyerAt The State Of I-Drive 2015 meeting yesterday evening presented by Rick Singh, the Orange County Property Appraiser, some information about Universal's new water park was released. An info-sheet containing information about upcoming projects for the I-Drive area available from idrivedistrict.com shows not only the supposed name for Universal's water park, but also an opening date. Universal's Volcano Bay Water Park shows as opening Fall 2016!

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