Universal seems to be preparing for some interesting things. This week, they began to set up a filming location on CityWalk. Next, construction walls suddenly appeared in the center of the park. Do these have anything to do with each other? Perhaps. But we’ve also turned a close eye on some other developments around the park. There is the demolition in what used to be Amity, the construction of a maze in the Disaster queue, and the wildly popular Dance Parties being held using various floats from the parade.
FILMING ON CITYWALK
There is a lot of prep work happening in CityWalk for a bit of filming. Apparently it is something having to do with Comcast Cable. Could it be a big announcement or just another silly infomercial?
SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
Universal Orlando’s Summer Concert Series is coming up! It is an additional entertainment offering that is included with your admission to Universal Studios. So far, this is what Universal has down for the Summer Concert Performances:
June 23 – Josh Turner
June 30 – Al Green
July 7 – Lupe Fiasco
July 14 – Miranda CosgrovE
CONSTRUCTION
The former home to the Hercules / Xena attraction, and Murder She Wrote, Studio 44 has even been used as a location for a haunted house in the past during Halloween Horror Nights. This year the location seemed to be lining up as a location for haunt once again. But then, suddenly, the county issued demolition permits for the area and construction walls shot up overnight. Has Universal creative realized the gap in next year’s Summer lineup against Disney’s Little Mermaid attraction and Fantasyland redo? We know that demolition has already begun in earnest. This could either be them getting ready for a construction themed haunted house or it could be that they are fast tracking a new attraction. We’ve got our phones ready and waiting for our insiders to give us a call. Come on guys, what is this?
HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS
In the meantime, it looks like the barn from the Walking Dead has appeared in the queue for Disaster in preparation for HHN.
AMITY GONE, REALLY
We knew it was gone. But to see the entire area flattened and readied for construction still leaves our jaws slack (get it? “Jaws”?! Oh never mind). Just about everyone is excited to see the boy wizard extend his empire . . . except for Disney that is. They aren’t excited about this at all. But they’ve got something blue up their sleeves. The question is, can Avatar beat Potter? Who’s got the real magic in Orlando is still up for debate.
To the left you can see the construction corridor that guests navigate through.
THE SIMPSONS GAMES
New midway games are being constructed in front of The Simpsons: The ride. PLEASE tell us we can win a Bort license plate. While we aren’t huge fans of carny games, they do fit the theme here and help enclose the queue a bit as well.
DORA THE EXPLORER
We got a chance to view the Dora Dance Party mutation of the Parade this week and it was actually quite cute. We have to hand it to Universal, they are really catching up with the competition in regards to entertainment.
One thing’s for sure, Uni is going all out to appeal to all age groups right now. There’s a lot on the table this summer for families at the Universal Orlando Resort.
Just as a reminder to all you fantastic Uni insiders out there, our mailboxes are wide open and waiting for you to contact us about what’s going on behind construction walls. And you know us, our lips are sealed! {cough, cough}.
