Theme Parks

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636004849317948807-002USA Today has written an article detailing Skull Island: Reign of Kong, opening soon at Universal's Islands of Adventure, and they have included some never-before-seen images from inside the incredibly themed, and apparently somewhat frightening, queue. It seems that rumors were correct and we will be seeing scareactors within the queue itself, straight up Halloween Horror Nights style! See a section of the write-up along with all the incredible photographs in high resolution below. Click on an image to see it full size and stay tuned for more Kong news as it happens!

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00689.MTS.Still016I braved the crowds on a very busy Memorial Day weekend to get some pictures and video of vehicle testing as well as construction progress for the Incredible Hulk Coaster at Islands of Adventure. The brand new coaster trains look incredible in person and I cannot wait to hear the on-board music while riding. (Learn more about the new trains here.) The "roar" of the trains has been dampened a little to make for a quieter Hulk Coaster. I've been told this was to make the area a little more bearable for people trying to hear each other talking, but also help you to be able to hear the new on-board music for the ride. But trust me, it still roars out of the launch tunnel! It looks like there's still a lot of work to be done to the queue building before the Hulk Coaster can re-open later this summer. The queue building is being extended as well. Check out the video and all the images below for more details!


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00611 COPY.MTS.Still001We're just a couple weeks away from the June 10th official grand opening of Mako, SeaWorld Orlando's new hypercoaster. Mako will be the fastest, tallest, longest coaster in Orlando, and I cannot wait to ride it! During this visit I got video of their continuous ride testing and some great images of the new Shark Wreck Reef area theming surrounding the ride and nearby attractions. The new paint scheme and underwater scenery is gorgeous, most notably the shipwreck set-piece directly underneath some of the Mako track along the pathway! See the video for footage of the ride testing, the new area shipwreck theming, footage from the Mako Rising special presentation, as well as a few other surprises (namely a strange "Flamingo Walk" event). You can also see lots of images of the new area theming below! And stay tuned for more theme park updates coming soon.


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00590.MTS.Still026I recently stayed at the delightful Cabana Bay Beach Resort and while I was there I had the opportunity to get some good video and photos of the construction progress over at Volcano Bay. Volcano Bay will be Universal's water theme park that will be opening sometime in 2017. (In preparation for its opening, Wet ‘n Wild will be closing later this year.) The new water park will be located directly south of Cabana Bay and will be visible from the pool area at the resort, as well as from I-4. The giant centerpiece of this new water park will be a massive volcano. The volcano will have multiple slides and rides built-in to it and a wave pool beside it. In addition to the steel structure for the volcano you can also see some of the slides being installed near the south side of the site. Check out the video as well as lots of images of construction below and stay tuned for more theme park updates!


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kong01Universal Orlando has revealed the Kong animatronic in a new making of video and a few images. The Kong figure is three-stories tall, 18 feet wide at his shoulders and has a head larger than an automobile, according to Universal Orlando. The beast also has several "distinctive scars." Riders will come "face-to-face" with King Kong and get "so close they'll feel his breath sweep across their skin and his thunderous roar reverberate through every bone in their body". Reports say that the animatronic figure was designed by Creature Technology, the company behind the impressive full-size Kong puppet for the Kong stage show.

kong02Skull Island: Reign of Kong should be opening soon at Islands of Adventure, but Universal has still not announced an official opening date, stating only that it will be opening Summer 2016. The media preview for Skull Island is scheduled for June 22-24. The ride may open around this time, with technical rehearsals in the days or weeks leading up to it. Technical rehearsals, or soft opens as it is also known, is a trial run where the ride may open for a few hours a day giving staff a chance to test the ride under real conditions. (Not all effects and features may be working during technical rehearsals.) Rumors say that there have been some unforeseen issues that are being worked out and that has pushed technical rehearsals back a bit. Stay tuned here for news of when you may get your chance to meet Kong face to face! See the video below for your first look at Kong in the flesh, plus more images and information. And see all Kong updates here!


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Hulk-Full-Reveal-featured-image-900x563"A new story. A new ride vehicle. A new queue experience. A new entrance. The only things you’ll recognize when The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure re-opens in late summer are the world-famous twists and turns of the ride track." These are the things Universal is touting about the completely overhauled Hulk Coaster, which has been closed for refurbishment for nine months now. The newly updated ride will feature an incredible new entrance with a full-size statue of Hulk (no more 2D wooden cutout) and he'll be holding up a large section of track. The track pieces were salvaged from the original ride, which is a great piece of trivia for a nerd like me. The newly designed ride vehicles will feature on-board audio, as has been rumored, featuring a new musical score by Patrick Stump, front man of Fall Out Boy. There's going to be a new storyline and fully redesigned queue as well. See the video, concept art, and full description of all the great changes coming below and stay tuned for more construction updates coming soon!


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00550.MTS.Still008Twister 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!


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00485.MTS.Still028It looks like lots of electrical work is underway at The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Island's of Adventure. Electrical boxes have been installed on nearly every footer on the front-half of the coaster and conduit with cables are attached leading up each of the track supports. I'm not sure yet what these cables will lead to, but my best guess would be for exterior lighting. Perhaps just blinking red lights for height markers, or maybe something more elaborate and interesting looking for a spectacular view of the coaster at night. We'll see as construction continues. It looks like the launch tunnel has been completely re-painted. the exterior of the queue building has been painted white and themed elements are being added now. Other small things like the outside brake elements on the track as well as the evacuation stairs on the braking station have been added. Check out the video and screenshots below and stay tuned for more continuous updates!


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2548518_DWA_LogosssNBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, today announced the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation. One of the world's most popular family brands, DreamWorks Animation creates animated feature films, television series and specials, live entertainment and related consumer products. The animation studio will become part of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures, Fandango, and NBCUniversal. “DreamWorks Animation is a great addition to NBCUniversal,” said Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal. “Jeffrey Katzenberg and the DreamWorks organization have created a dynamic film brand and a deep library of intellectual property. DreamWorks will help us grow our film, television, theme parks and consumer products businesses for years to come.”

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The Universal theme parks have had deals to include characters from the Shrek franchise in attractions and in the park, but with Comcast owning the entire back catalog of DreamWorks Animation films a lot more could be added to the parks without negotiations with a third party. Animated film franchises that could be turned into rides or meet and greets include Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon, and others, in addition to the already present Shrek. (There already is a Madagascar ride in Universal Studios Singapore, but due to a licensing agreement with other parks stateside Universal has not been allowed to open attractions here, yet.)

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Besides the recent animated film library, DreamWorks Animation is also the rights holders for classic character including Where’s Waldo, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I for one assume this deal means we should see a good portion of the rumored third Orlando park being devoted to a How to Train Your Dragon themed area, and probably a Kung Fu Panda one as well. With Disney gobbling up all the popular franchises in the world, it's good to see Universal broadening their portfolio, especially in a time when the theme park wars rely so heavily on popular IPs. Read more about this deal from the press release below.

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00527.MTS.Still001The walls around the food stand have been moved back and "The Mess Tent" is now open and serving guests. It's now just a matter of weeks, or maybe even days, before all the walls come down around Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Universal's Islands of Adventure. I think the most exciting thing I saw today wasn't even something you can see... It was the beautiful original score for Skull Island now being pumped into the area. (You can listen to a sample here, or in the video below.) See the video as well as images below to get a better look at The Mess Tent, some more little touches that have been added, and listen to the new area music.

00527.MTS.Still004Opening date? The media preview for Skull Island, along with the new Sapphire Falls hotel, is scheduled for June 22-24. I'm assuming the grand opening will be around this time. Usually soft opens happen in the weeks leading up to a new attraction's grand opening. Soft openings, or technical rehearsals as it's called by Universal, allow team members to get used to operating the ride during a practice period. During this time some effects may not be running as problems are fixed throughout testing. Soft opens may only happen for a couple hours a day at first. They will last longer as we get closer to the official opening date until eventually it is open all day. Check back here and I will be posting when soft opens have started. It could begin any time from now until the end of June. Stay tuned!


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