Welcome back to another photo update around the Universal Orlando Resort. This week we’ll start things off with a look at the newest CityWalk venue, the NBC Sports Grille Brew. We’ll head into the Studios where Halloween Horror Nights construction is coming to a head. Two new musical acts have also debuted in the park, each with a unique theme. Over at Islands of Adventure, we’ll finish off this week’s update with another look at the progress on the upcoming Skull Island: Reign of Kong.
Welcome to CityWalk.
The marquee for the restaurant should be going up soon.Crews were just finishing installing one row of the giant LED screen that will span the length of the restaurant.
Things have certainly come a long way since February.
More facade work.FebruaryTV mounts and unique light fixtures are hung on the patio.Tap handles are in place inside. Guests will have their choice of forty beers on draft, and over ninety total beers. Should be a beer and sports lovers dream.New light pole signage has been put up along the bridge to the Studios.Let’s head into the Studios.Rock the Universe is Universal’s Christian music festival. The event should draw a big crowd this weekend.Hands up on Rip Ride Rockit.Construction walls are still up behind the Studios Store. Still no word on what’s coming next.Big crowds for Labor Day weekend....The Studio Band was setting up for a set near the front of the park.Longtime Universal attraction, Lucy: A Tribute closed recently to make way for a Hello Kitty retail experience opening later this year.Expect the new store to feature a meet and greet and allow guests to customize their own merchandise.Our first Horror Nights bar sighting, always a staple of the event.The Icons: HHN scare zone will be a great opportunity for guests to get up close and personal with the events past iconic characters.Each of the banners will feature one of the event’s past icons.A portion of the Lucy; A Tribute building was dedicated to Betty Boop. With that space under construction, Betty Boop merchandise has been moved into the The Darkroom store.It’s a one stop shop for all things “Boop oop a doop”.Homer and Marge meeting guests in front of their RV.The Hollywood Magic Shop also closed recently. It’s sister store in Islands was replaced by a local art shop; could we see something similar come to this location?.Tons of set dressing has taken place on the Carnage Returns stage.The stage is much larger than last year’s “Bayou of Blood” stage, that was in the same location.........The Evil’s Roots scare zone near the NBC Media Center should have a great atmosphere with it’s looming trees and narrow path.....A couple of bars and food stands set up near the entrance to Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone.Out in front of The Simpsons Ride, the giant statue of the family in a roller coaster is missing.The base of the statue is under this box.Labor Day was the last day of operation for “Disaster: A Major Motion Picture Starring You!” The attraction opened with the park as “Earthquake: The Big One”, and was transformed into Disaster during a seven week refurbishment in 2007..The attraction is being replaced by a version of Fast and Furious: Supercharged which opened this summer at Universal Studios Hollywood.Directly outside the entrance of the attraction is the location of the All Night Die-In: Double Feature scare zone.The zone will feature scareactors terrorizing a local drive-in.There’s a projector on the second floor of the “snack shack”; expect to see film clips projected onto the drive-in screen...Beetlejuice is also slated to be closed later this year to make way for the Fast and Furious attraction...At the edge of New York, a big crowd had gathered for a performance of the new Beat Builders show. These four percussionists were jamming away on buckets, steel pipes, and garbage cans. The crowd seemed to really be into it, and the double decker stage makes the show very unique....The Shadybrook Sanitarium bus should be one of the focal points of the Psychoscarepy: Unleashed scare zone...Looks like there may be a body under a tarp in the drivers seat.Another prop vehicle set up in New York..The scare zone should be a great mix of classic Halloween, and psychotic asylum patients.A new food truck trailer has been set up across the street from Twister.Looks to be some sort of wrap or chicken stand.Just kidding, the truck is actually part of the second live music show I mentioned at the beginning of the article. The “Straight Outta Food Truck” consists of a DJ and two freestyle rappers who turn audience suggestions into lyrics.Another group of bars and real food stands. No rappers here.Heading over to Islands, the recently closed NBA City is sitting pretty dormant. Interior work is being done, but not much on the outside.The menu board has been blacked out.The old display that held the NBA star handprints was taken down as well.And lastly, the hoop at the three point challenge was removed.Let’s check out what’s new at Islands of Adventure.Crowds were a little lighter over at this park.....The Incredible Hulk coaster is now closed for its nine-month refurbishment. Next time we have photos of trains on the track, things should look much different.Dr. Doom was out meeting guests.As well as Wolverine.The meteor strike has had all of its yellow paint returned. Still no characters returning to the site yet.And we’ll close this week’s update with a look at Kongstruction.....Things have come a long way in the last year. We’ve gone from simple ground work, to a huge facade.........A baby dinosaur meeting guests in Camp Jurassic.And that’ll do it for this week’s update. Be sure to leave a comment below and get in touch with me on Twitter @Triggernel. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you all next week!
If you’d like to see previous Universal Orlando Resort photo updates, CLICK HERE.
Tryg is a new resident Florida after moving from Minnesota at the end of 2013. You'll find him at all of the parks quite often, as he puts his annual passes to all the major Orlando theme parks to good use. Most comfortable with a camera in his hand, he's been a huge theme park fan ever since finding the ValleyfairZone fan forums back in 2006. His love of theme parks grew through many trips to parks all throughout the Midwest, with occasional trips to Orlando. In the past he’s worked as a scareactor and grown an appreciation for the Halloween season.
2 thoughts on “Universal Orlando Resort Photo Update: September 10, 2015”
Thanks for the nice update! Always exciting to see the constant updates over here and the changes they are making. Any word on what the Fast and Furious ride would be? A studio tour of sorts? Or just the end bit from Hollywood?
It should have elements of the Hollywood attraction, but the experience as a whole should be much longer and fleshed out. Expect to be inducted into “mi familia” and join the gang for a new mission in San Francisco”.
Thanks for the nice update! Always exciting to see the constant updates over here and the changes they are making. Any word on what the Fast and Furious ride would be? A studio tour of sorts? Or just the end bit from Hollywood?
It should have elements of the Hollywood attraction, but the experience as a whole should be much longer and fleshed out. Expect to be inducted into “mi familia” and join the gang for a new mission in San Francisco”.