The SATURDAY SIX Presents: Flights with Bioreconstruct vol 12 (Construction Updates at Universal Orlando and WDW!)

This week’s SATURDAY SIX heads back into the air with blogger-in-the-sky @bioreconstruct for another amazing bird’s eye view of the construction projects currently at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando (along with some pretty great “boots on the ground” photos as well.)

As a reminder, you can select any photo for a higher resolution version that you can zoom closer into and see even more details. Let’s start off with a look above Disney’s Magic Kingdom…

# 6 – Piston Peak (and Villains Land)

It took a lot of work to drain the Rivers of America and remove Tom Sawyer Island, but that part of the journey is done and now Disney is full speed ahead on building up Piston Peak, an area that will be themed to the characters from Pixar’s Cars Universe.

I’ve said many times over the years that Cars is on my Mt. Rushmore of Pixar films, and I’m also a big fan of National Parks, so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how this land turns out.

I’m trying to picture how it will blend in with the neighboring lands and the Imagineers certainly have their work cut out for them.

Speaking of Imagineers, this month Disney released a sneak peek at the upcoming season of The Imagineering Story that will be released on Disney+. The first season of The Imagineering Story was surprisingly good, because it covered the history of imagineering, warts and all. During the preview for season 2, Bio got some screenshots of the Imagineers going over a scale model of Piston Peak.

Am I the only one who wishes Disney (and Universal) made a line of small scale models so we could make versions of this at home? I grew up seeing ads for elaborate Christmas villages but what I always wanted was my own theme park land.

In last week’s TPEI, we covered the news coming out of the D23 Expo in August, which included the first ever mention of a second attraction in Piston Peak featuring one of the characters featured in Cars 3.

If you are a Cars fan like me, you may also enjoy watching this hilarious skit from Saturday Night Live featuring Owen Wilson (the voice of Lighting McQueen) coming into the studio to read lines for a proposed Cars 4. I always love seeing our theme parks breaking containment and being featured in The Real World, especially when you can have a good laugh as well.

We’ll close this section with an overview of Villain’s Land. Not too much to report yet on construction, but this is an area we’ll all be keeping our eyes on very intently for the next several years.

# 5 – Tropical Americas

Alright let’s leave the beautiful skies above the Magic Kingdom and head over to Animal Kingdom. We’ll start with one of my favorite type of photos that Bio shoots, one where the ENTIRE PARK is in one shot. Just amazing.

Now we’ll head closer into the park, looking at an overview of themed elements that are outside makeshift offices for Imagineering. Bio doesn’t point out something that people should be noticing. NAY NAY. He asks  his dedicated fanbase to spot what’s been removed.

If you’ve been following construction of Tropical Americas in aerial photos you might immediately spot that something is missing in these 2 photos.
At the Imagineering offices in backstage Animal Kingdom.” – Bioreconstruct

Below is a slightly older photo of that very same area, and in this picture you’ll notice some large decorated items.

Several of these items were featured at the D23 Expo last month when the Imagineers discussed what was coming to Tropical Americas…

Bio was just over the park and noticed these themed elements have now been installed on the Temple facade for the upcoming Indiana Jones attraction.

The DSNY Newscast recently analyzed all that is known about the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent ride. This includes a discussion of what’s seen in official photos of the temple sculptures that were recently placed at the attraction entrance. You can watch this video below.

Now let’s get a wider shot of the entire Tropical Americas area, in which our Indiana Jones temple is on the far right of the photo below, and the rest of the picture is filled with elements from the world of Encanto.

Showing a different view point, in this photo below the temple is at the top center.

Below we have the former Restaurantosaurus being converted into a new restaurant.

Here is where the entrance (and exit) for the the E-Ticket attraction will be. As always, Bio gives us a ton of info in the caption.

The Indiana Jones attraction will be a conversion of the ride it replaced, Dinosaur, but the Encanto attraction is a whole new build from the ground up. Look at the size of that show building!

Here is a great look at the entire town that will be coming.

As far as I’m concerned Orlando has the highest bar possible for themed carousels in the world, so this upcoming one themed to Encanto needs to bring it’s A-game. Be sure to check out one of the notes in Bio’s caption as he let’s you know what to pay attention to if you want to learn more about how this lands come to life.

# 4 – Monstropolis

It still stings that we lost the Muppets Courtyard, but as a Monsters Inc. fan I can’t help but get excited about the possibilities of what is coming with the transition to Monstropolis. The world building of that universe is fantastic and I’m looking forward to seeing what Disney Imagineering does with it.

At the D23 Expo, Disney announced that the majority of Monstroplis would be opening in 2027, but the highly anticipated E-Ticket attraction would be opening in 2028. In the picture below, everything opening early is on the left and the E-Ticket attraction is on the right.

Bio even got on the Disney Skyliner to get us more pics related to this upcoming attraction!

 

Bio also got us some interesting photos of a currently unused fireworks launching pad directly outside of DHS. You can see Toy Story Land in the top center of the photo below.

Bio doesn’t get just one photo while passing by. NAY NAY. We get full coverage.

# 3 – Lost Continent Demolition

Let’s head on over to the Universal Orlando Resort where instead of seeing something going up, we’re going to check out the latest pics (and video) of a land that is about to be taken completely away: the Lost Continent in Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

Bio let us know that the photo show below is a rare one, but for me the biggest takeaway of the shot is where he took the photo from. Just amazing.

Here’s a look at that very same gift shop we saw in the photo above.

While it hasn’t been announced what will be going into this area, as you can see in the photo below the space is quite large.

Closer look at the last bits of Poseidon’s Fury being torn down and removed.

Here’s an even closer look. Can’t believe it’s been over three years since we said goodbye to Poseidon’s Fury. Like the IllumiNations nighttime spectacular at EPCOT, Poseidon’s Fury is an attraction of which we will most likely never see anything like it again. Original IP and a live actor being heavily involved in the storyline are both becoming endangered species in the theme park world.

Love shots like the one below that are filled with great information from Bio. Check out the last note on the “boom lifts.” Who other than Bio would possibly know this?

The current First Aid building at Islands of Adventure seems pretty dang large, but I honestly have nothing to compare it to in size. I’m gonna throw out the question, “how big is the First Aid building at Disney’s Magic Kingdom/EPCOT/Epic Universe” and I bet we have the comparison shots by Bio in our next installment of this fine blog series.

# 2 – Epic Universe

Universal is building stuff as well, including starting work on the first new attraction at Epic Universe since the park officially opened last Summer. The new attraction will be located in Dark Universe. After going to Epic Universe several times, I would say Super Nintendo World or the Wizarding World needed another attraction more to help with crowds, but what do I know.

What I love about the shot below is the appearance of the Helios Grand Hotel pool area in the top center. This pool may be my favorite in the Orlando theme park corridor, in large part to the incredible menu at the Lotus Lagoon pool bar and the three best cabanas at ANY theme park hotel. I got to experience one of these cabanas on my latest trip to the hotel and I couldn’t recommend them higher.

 

This photo below shows the giant scale of the Monsters Unchained show building.

One thing you’ll often see show in Bio’s posts is a sense of whimsy, such as how he describes  Universal’s solar panels located across the road from Dark Universe.

Back in the park we can see a new building being constructed right outside Super Nintendo World. Nothing for any theme park fan to get excited about though.

Along with a extremely large tent located next to Stardust Racers in Celestial Park.

After posting the photo above, a follower asked Bio if an attraction could go in that spot.

Ah! It’s actually location for a portal to an additional world in the park.The park also designed for an additional world portal next to Pizza Moon. 7 worlds , 5 currently.” – Bioreconstruct

The photo below shows the front gate of Epic Universe and you can see 5 medallions with the worlds inside the park (Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World, the Wizarding World, Isle of Berk and Celestial Park.) However, there are two empty spots there waiting for the addition of future worlds…

Not far away from Epic Universe is a staging area that was once filled with pieces for the upcoming Fast and Furious – Hollywood Drift roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida. However, there is not many pieces left in this area…

# 1 – Fast & Furious – Hollywood Drift

Orlando’s next great thrill ride is really shaping up at USF.

I’m a coaster fan, but I’m not a huge fan of giant drops. Hollywood Drift is looking more like my type of coaster with long pieces of straight track that’s probably going to involve multiple speed bursts. That’s one of my favorite things at coasters like Busch Garden’s Cheetah Hunt, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures at IOA, and Stardust Racers.. that burst of speed while during a ride.

THAT SAID, I know I’m an outlier in the coaster enthusiast world and the vast majority of people love going as high as they can during a ride. The spike at Hollywood Drift is going to give these riders a fantastic thrill (while I’ll have my eyes closed and gripping the restraint so hard my hands become purple.)

Because of Halloween Horror Nights, guests are allowed to walk in areas that are normally located backstage and unavailable to the public. This access now allows Bio to get some really cool shots of Hollywood Drift that he couldn’t get before.

Hollywood Drift is home to an “Only Bio” subject, this time lapse camera. Looking forward to when the ride is about to open and Bio links us to the video Universal creates by using this camera.

Bio also takes the time to give people better perspective of what he’s covering. For example, while in the air he took a picture of a service building that was installed onsite at Hollywood Drift.

While on the ground he gave his followers a different perspective on that same building.

This ride is going to be F-U-N.

Bio is the consummate pro. He makes sure Jack the Clown is perfectly shot with coaster track in the background. It’s very rare that a great photo is a happy accident, as they normally are taken after a lot of thought and effort into them.

So there you have it: Flights with Bio vol 12! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan).

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Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Digital Maestro Scott Walker, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the mighty maven of merchandise Hedgehog’s Corner, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, the permit princess Alicia Stella, master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Absolutely no help was added by SeaWorld Influencer @SuperWeenieHtJr. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHyde and you Potterheads will  enjoy Meg’s other blog work over at the Central Florida Slug Club.