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Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

p. 624 - New Epic Universe details, including Isle of Berk!

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So earlier this week I had the chance to get back to the Universal Orlando Resort for the first time since Jaws' closing day, and there is definitely a good deal that has changed since that time!

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The Hollywood Drive In Golf details are becoming far more defined.

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Space worm!

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A cemetery has appeared which include some unique looking grave markers.

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Spooky!

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The new mini golf's sign has been installed and it looks great!

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Rockwork on this observatory has been completed recently.

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Despite the lack of eye, it sees directly into my soul!

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A little jab at Signs? I think so.

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The Blue Man Group ad station in CityWalk has been updated with a new design. The characters formerly had TVs for heads (similar to an act seen in the previous version of the show). Considering that much of the new show will be a departure from the previous version, it makes sense to change the station up a bit.

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The Hard Rock Cafe/Hard Rock Live complex recently received an entirely new paint job.

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The signature pink cadillac emerging from the rubble has also been removed.

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Over at Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, the framework for the entrance to Gru's home/laboratory has gone up.

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A good section of the park's pavement has been entirely repaved in preparation for the Universal Superstar Parade's arrival later this year.

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The tarmac certainly looks fresh!

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Now that the cat's out of the bag, work on the Universal Cinematic Spectacular barges is in high gear.

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These projection domes remind me of the old Cinesphere domes... Ugh.

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Work on the show control booth behind Richter's is nearly complete.

 

 

See you at the party, Richter!

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These tall towers will bring the waterfall screen heads to the top during the show and will be lowered during the daytime. Unfortunately, the towers themselves won't be lowered during the day, meaning we'll have these in view all the time.

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Here's the sad part of today's visit.

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A few pieces of Amity history still remain in the divide between Amity and San Francisco, but I can't imagine it will be this way for too long.

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What a view.

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Workers were tinkering with the Amity shops, presumably going through the trials to cut power before they prepare to bulldoze it all.

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No longer home to a sea of sharks, Amity is now host to a sea of construction walls.

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Poor Nathans!!!

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Despite the tall walls, it can be seen that very little external work has been done so far on the old Amity shops and game booths.

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Shark..Shark...Shark...

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The little details are still here for now.

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The Oakley store seems to be the first one to have had its entrance sign removed.

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Originally walled off with the rest of the area, Bruce has been given a brief reprieve allowing guests to continue taking pictures with him for the time being.

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Captain Jake's Amity Boat Tours is officially no more.

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Over near E.T. the Universal Cartoon Store is now closed to become a new "immersive retail experience" for Spongebob Squarepants and his friends.

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Over in Islands of Adventure, some of the newer costumes of the Marvel characters can be seen in the wild.

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Permits leaked earlier last week detailing the demolition of this building and the red tent seen in the background. This space will likely be utilized by a/the major expansion project that will head this way from down the road.

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It had been the first time that I stayed in the park til close in quite some time, so it was nice to see Potter mostly empty for once.

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A walk-on this evening.

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Universal quietly announced to its team members earlier last month that it was investing in little things around the resort, including the addition of smoke coming from the chimneys in Hogsmeade. This resort-wide project also covered the recently updated lighting added to the AMC Theatre "bowl" at the front of CityWalk.

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I'll always admit, I'm a fan of the Wizarding World and its many aspects... But I truly am saddened by the casualties it has brought along the way.

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Jurassic Park still looks great as ever.

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The same goes for Dudley Do-Right, except for the fact that the exploding building at the bottom of the drop is not currently "exploding."

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Spiderman closes this week to undergo its final transformation into its updated form. Riding it now, you can already recognize the difference in quality between the new and old projectors. It still looks great, but I think the update is certainly a welcome one.

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It isn't often that you have the time to admire the ambient evening lighting here in Marvel Superhero Island.

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It is pretty spectacular.

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Time to phone... I mean, go home!

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Come to think of it, I've never been in IOA after dark, either--thanks for a look at it.

 

Is it wrong of me to say that the new mini-golf course is what I'm looking forward to the most at Universal?

Edited by cfc
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Adam, great pics!

 

Seeing Amity boarded up is still kinda sad. All in the name of progress? At least we still have Disaster... haha

 

Funny how Woman in Black opened this weekend showing how Daniel Radcliffe could move on from Potter. Why couldn't everyone else?

 

Mini golf is looking great so far!

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Great update Adam as always!

 

So, question.

 

Is this:

 

 

The same as this:

 

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If this is true, I assume the train will follow the path north that I've drawn on the image?

 

I assumed Sinbad was a goner when these rumors started, but I guess they could squeeze the access for the train down that pathway.

Edited by ernierocker
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As long as Sinbad is gone soon, I will be more than happy. Oh and Poseidon as well. What happened to that rumor btw? (Poseidon closing)

 

As long as they do a great job with the rest of this Harold Potter bizzness I will be happy. So far its been great.

 

Unfortunately its still Harold Potter bizness.

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^As of right now Sinbad, Poseidon's Fury, and the rest of the Lost Continent, except for those two buildings are all safe. Poseidon's Fury was rumored by some to be closing on February 2nd, but considering it is still open now, I'd say it was bogus.

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The mini golf course looks great. Is there an indoor section to the course? I remember the press release mention an indoor/outdoor course, but I could be wrong. Does anyone know if it will be only one 18 hole course, or two (18's ,or 3 9's or something? I love me some mini golf but I could see an 18 hole only course at a place like Citiwalk getting VERY crowded and having an awful pace of play. Hopefully there will be two courses to help that.

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^There are a few holes (like the space worm) that have indoor sections, and there are some parts that are underneath the access bridge to CityWalk from the parking garage, so I guessed that'd qualify as indoor/outdoor. I had imagined that based on the original announcement we would have seen it more indoors than out, but it appears the opposite is true.

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^Yeah, I was thinking that the bottom floor of the AMC or one of the theaters on that side of the building would be gutted for a few hoels or something and have some cool indoor special effects, but I guess not. I wonder where the entrance to the course will be, I'm guessing it will be somewhere close to the very front of Citywalk near the end of the moving walkways.

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The mini golf course looks great. Is there an indoor section to the course? I remember the press release mention an indoor/outdoor course, but I could be wrong. Does anyone know if it will be only one 18 hole course, or two (18's ,or 3 9's or something? I love me some mini golf but I could see an 18 hole only course at a place like Citiwalk getting VERY crowded and having an awful pace of play. Hopefully there will be two courses to help that.

From what I've heard, it's supposed to be 36 holes. Doesn't seem big enough for that, or there will just be small holes. Either way, I'll be going because I love me some mini golf.

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