Dateline Disney World is growing. For 2015, I decided that I wanted to have more of a finger on the pulse of the theme park industry in Orlando, so I reached out to Dusty and Co. about doing some Universal Orlando coverage. They loved the idea, so once a month, I will be doing Universal Orlando updates here on Dateline, with the other 3 weeks being focused on Walt Disney World as always. There’s a lot of excitement at Universal, so let’s jump right in and see what’s going on . . .
Welcome to Universal Orlando Resort!It’s good to see a revived CityWalk with its new tenants.NASCAR Grille is under the knife.
Welcome to Universal Studios Florida!
Long line for Minions!There are rumors about a Star Trek experience coming to this space. What do you think?Mardi Gras will be hosting Jessie J, The Band Perry, and the All American Rejects this spring.Another rumor suggests that Twister will be leaving soon for a Jimmy Fallon/30 Rock immersive experience. So get your Bill Paxton in while you still can!
I love Uni’s New York area.just look at these awesome facades.
Transformers time! Which was a walk on due to the single rider line.
Walls have gone up at the Garden of Allah Villas, which are rumored to become a museum for the park’s 25th anniversary.
Doc Brown might be the best walk around character in Orlando!
Foggy London.
This Team Member was zoned here alerting people to the entrance of Diagon Alley. Shame the guests can’t figure it out on their own.
Detail everywhere.
Only a 30 minute wait for Gringotts! Offseason is the best season.
Escape from Gringotts has a beautiful queue.
The detail in the queue here is stunning.
Even the wizarding shops are amazing.
Time to head from London to Scotland aboard the Hogwarts Express.A nearly empty queue!
Choo choo!!Entering Hogsmeade.
When it pours outside, get a butterbeer and stay dry inside.Forbidden Journey only had a posted 25 minute wait when I was in the park.I’m not a fan of Jurassic Park having a row of carnival games.
Over near Jurassic Park, a new attraction building is growing at a very fast pace.Many believe it is a King Kong themed attraction.
These supports suggest a very large facade and entrance to the attraction.Bamboo construction walls in Jurassic Park to try and hide everything.
The view from Toon Lagoon. I’m very excited for this project, as it seems Universal is not wasting any time constantly building new guest experiences.Dry Dudley Do-Right.Popeye and Bluto also closed for seasonal maintenance.
How I feel about the Toon Lagoon area.Marvel time!
Spidey only had a 20 minute wait. Couldn’t resist!All this Marvel merchandise in a non-Disney park!
We’ll end up with a few shots of my favorite entry land outside of Main Street USA, Islands of Adventure Port of Entry.
Beautiful.
The Adventure Lives On…
Well, that’s it for this week. Do you like seeing occasional Universal coverage? Have you been to the resort lately to take in all of it’s new offerings? Do you want to see King Kong back at the resort? Let us know in the comments!
If you appreciate what we do here and would like to support Dateline Disney World, you can shop at Amazon.com, using my link (please CLICK HERE before you do). It won’t cost you any extra, and it’ll help out the column!!
If you want to check out more photos and tutorials on Disney photography, please check out my photo site, [URL=”http://www.DisneyPhotographyBlog.com”]Disney Photography Blog[/URL]. And if you like listening more than reading, you can hear us talk about Disney and photography on my podcast, [URL=”http://www.ISO5571.com”]ISO5571[/URL]
