There is a ton of stuff happening at Universal Studios Hollywood right now.  Claiming to be the entertainment capital of Los Angeles will be an understatement once all of the projects for 2015 and 2016 are finished.  This year alone we will see the opening of Springfield USA in front of The Simpsons Ride and Fast and Furious Supercharged on the backlot.  Then we will finally see the west coast debut of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2016.  With all of these major additions the park is also adding flare here and there.  Today we look at these projects and see how each are coming along.  Along the way we stop to see the sights, smell the flowers, and say hello to Gru and the girls.  It’s a gigantic picture update today, so settle in and enjoy . . .

Universal Photos

Before we get on with today’s update we thought we would share a few beauty shots from the park.

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The Universal fountain at the entrance.

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Grinchmas is gone and the fountain has returned to the Universal Plaza.

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The Cyclamen were particularly vibrant the day we took these pics.

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The girls from Despicable Me were ready to take a photo.

 

Parking Structure

Now, back to business . . . construction business.  The parking structure that will add thousands more spaces at the far end of CityWalk is right on schedule.

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

It’s really getting interesting over at the future Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  The framework for the towers of Hogwarts have been installed and you can begin to get a clear idea of the scope of this massive new attraction.  Folks that haven’t made it out to Florida to see Universal Orlando’s version of this ride will be in for a treat.  Really, everyone is in for a treat as we are told that improvements that were made to the Osaka edition of the ride will be seen here as well as a few other changes.

Out behind the park, workers are still developing surface treatments and most everything is being kept under wraps.

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From within the park construction can be seen from nearly every point of view.
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Pinks Hot Dogs will make an excellent pairing with Pumpkin Juice!
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The gate into Hogsmeade.

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A new Studio Tour marquee has been constructed.
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Here we see just how tall the show building for Forbidden Journey will be.

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The front corner of the show building that supports the towers.
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Snake! Why did it have to be snakes?!  😉

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Not much is visible between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.

 

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More framework on the show building.

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From down in the backlot Hogwarts will look amazing.

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Fast and Furious Supercharged

Thankfully we won’t have to wait too much longer for Fast and Furious Supercharged.  Kind of a Kong 3D 360 2.0, the new finale of the tour will attempt to take guests into the high-octane world of car racing and action.  The show building is nearly done as it really won’t be all that detailed on the exterior except for the entrance.

 

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The left of the building, facing Falls Lake, is where the tram will enter.

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Here is where the tram will exit.

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Stage 28

The fate of the Phantom of the Opera set may still be up in the air as it waits to be assessed and properly displayed.  However, as we see here, the land that was the former home of the historic soundstage has been leveled, literally, and paved for now.  It was said that it was handed over to Theme Park Operations, but really, what could that mean?  Is it just going to be a storage space?

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Production Central Store

A new store facade has debuted just under the Animal Actors Studio.  It gives us an indication of what the future entry will look like once the retail and food locations are constructed closer to the front of the park.

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Very nice!
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Too bad that it’s the same schlocky Hollywood stuff inside.
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AAAAA Sharknado hits Hogsmeade!

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Springfield

Another exciting development is the addition of Springfield U.S.A. near The Simpsons Ride.  The construction walls have been pushed out even further now as the more expansive portions of the land are worked on.

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This new central hub area in front of the Production Central store is in full view now and very nice.
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Guests wanting to navigate to the Studio Tour, The Simpsons Ride and the Lower Lot must snake through the Special Effects Stage show entry area.
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Sharp left.

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Standing in front of the SFX stage, we see that directional signs are up on the wall to help guests.
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Coming out on the other side we make our way down the narrow path to The Simpsons Ride.

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On the other side of things we see the brightly colorful façades are pretty far along.
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The entrance to The Simpsons Ride to the left indicates the intimate proximity the ride will have with the new eateries.

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From above we can see a little more.

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The Italian restaurant has now been closed again to complete the Springfield makeover.
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We can see we are getting Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck too!

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The Aztec theater façade.

 

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So Cool!

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And that closes our report on everything happening at Universal Studios Hollywood.  It would be a really good idea to grab you annual passes now as it stands to reason that the price for passes will go up with the opening of these two new additions.

Until next time, we will see you In The Parks!

Norman Gidney
Norman Gidney, also known as Fishbulb, has produced and edited many of the articles on MiceChat over the years.