Theme Parks

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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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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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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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P1020413Workers are working at a furious pace at Project 340 in Islands of Adventure, wrapping the facade in beautiful rockwork. Meanwhile the inside of the structure is taking shape while the walls continue to enclose the main show building. There are always dozens of workers on site every day. The temple facade is growing to the right of the gate opening, with large supports being installed and readied for more rockwork continuing to the right on the structure. Check out all of the construction photos below.

Construction progress since ground breaking
Construction progress since ground breaking

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P1020384The Jurassic Park River Adventure is still down for seasonal maintenance at Universal's Islands of Adventure. It appears that the water has been drained to facilitate cleaning and maintenance work. Other areas outside of the ride are also receiving some love such as planters and brickwork around the land. With the Jurassic World film less than 100 days from opening it'll be nice to have everything back in working order on the ride, including, hopefully, all of the animatronic figures' rubber skins, which need to be replaced and repaired quite often in the Florida sun and rain.

Check out the photos below, of both the ride rehab, and some sights around the area. I was fortunate to meet a baby triceratops on my travels and you can see a video below.

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Since March of 2011 there have been rumors flying around that Universal Orlando was getting into the water park business. That was when they filed a trademark on the name Wondersea Island, with the description of use for "Entertainment services in the nature of water parks". Four years later, we're finally seeing some action beyond just a name, and it may be getting a new name to boot. Continue reading.

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Proposed plans for Universal's new water park, known currently as Project 533

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