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Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

p. 623 - New Epic Universe details, including Celestial Park!

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http://www.universalorlando.com/Events/Mardi-Gras/Concerts.aspx

 

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Great music is a must for any party, and during Mardi Gras you'll have the chance to see not one, but 14 top names from the worlds of pop, rock, country, hip hop and more live in concert at the Music Plaza stage Saturdays and select nights from February 9 – April 20.

 

Lifehouse

Saturday, February 9

Lifehouse have made soul-searching their calling card with songs like "Hanging By a Moment," "You And Me," "Whatever It Takes," and "Halfway Gone." Their music has been heard on TV in Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and others, as well as the film, The Time Traveler's Wife.

 

Steve Miller Band

Saturday, February 16

Call him the Gangster of Love. Call him Maurice. You can even call him the Space Cowboy. Steve Miller has been an American treasure for over four decades with classic rock hits like "The Joker," "Fly Like An Eagle," "Jet Airliner," "Rock'n Me," "Jungle Love," "Abracadabra," and many more.

 

Boys Like Girls

Sunday, February 17

A powerful alchemy of late ‘90s alternative, pop, and punk, Boys Like Girls has been making their mark in the music world since 2005 with kinetic energy and melody. Some of their fan-favorite songs are "Be Your Everything," "Two Is Better Than One," "The Great Escape," and "Love Drunk."

 

Trey Songz

Saturday, February 23

Trey Songz is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, rapper, producer and actor whose albums and singles have sold over 14 million worldwide. Some of his most recent songs include "Heart Attack," "2 Reasons," and "Fumble," all from his latest album, CHAPTER V.

 

Demi Lovato

Saturday, March 2

In the last few months, singer and actress Demi Lovato has been on fire. The first single off her latest album, Unbroken, "Skyscraper," debuted at #1 on iTunes chart, #2 on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles chart, and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other hits include "Give Your Heart A Break," "Unbroken," and "Don’t Forget."

 

Montgomery Gentry

Saturday, March 9

The duo of Montgomery Gentry can boast one of country music’s most impressive and enduring legacies. They’ve released more than 20 charted singles, including the hits "My Town," "Hell Yeah," "If You Ever Stop Loving Me," "Something To Be Proud Of" and "Lucky Man."

 

Sean Kingston

Friday, March 15

Jamiacan-American rapper/singer Sean Kingston has been recording his own music since he was 11 years old. His infectious combination of reggae, hip-hop, R&B, and electro can be heard in melody-soaked pop hits like "Fire Burning," "Beautiful Girls," and "Rum & Raybans."

 

Matchbox Twenty

Saturday, March 16

Formed in Florida 17 years ago, Matchbox Twenty entered the world with their blockbuster 1996 album Yourself Or Someone Like You. It spawned five hit singles, including "Push," "3am," and "Real World." Singer Rob Thomas also co-wrote and sang on Santana's Grammy Award-winning 1999 smash "Smooth."

 

Austin Mahone

Friday, March 22

At just 16, teen heartthrob Austin Mahone is poised for super stardom. His smash single, "Say Somethin" established him on the Billboard Social 50 chart and now his latest, "Say You’re Just a Friend" finds him climbing the charts again.

 

Phillip Phillips

Saturday, March 23

Singer/songwriter Phillip Phillips’ first single "Home" marked the highest debut on the Billboard Digital songs chart with 278,000 downloads sold. He has since released his debut album The World From The Side Of The Moon (19 Entertainment/Interscope Records), and his second single "Gone Gone Gone" will be released in early 2013.

 

Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo

Saturday, March 30

With powerhouse hits like "Heartbreaker," "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "We Belong," Pat Benatar is a bonafide living legend. Along with her husband/guitarist/musical collaborator Neil Giraldo, she’s created some of rock’s most iconic songs that sound better and better every time you hear them.

 

To Be Announced

Saturday, April 6

ARTIST ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON

 

Pitbull

Saturday, April 13

International music sensation Pitbull has sold millions of digital singles including his hit, "Hey Baby" featuring T-Pain; the double-platinum smash, "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho);" "Hotel Room Service;" "Krazy;" and "Culo." His music blends rhymes, beats, Latin dance, freestyle, hip hop, and more.

 

To Be Announced

Saturday, April 20

ARTIST ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON

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^I'd be surprised if the move wasn't temporary. Michael Aiello's really had a big hand in a lot of the recent projects at Universal Orlando besides HHN, including the Cinematic Spectacular. I am certainly interested to see John Murdy's work here though. I've heard nothing but good things in recent years regarding the West Coast HHN.

 

EDIT: Reading further it seems like they might have been joking...

Edited by jedimaster1227
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^I'd be surprised if the move wasn't temporary. Michael Aiello's really had a big hand in a lot of the recent projects at Universal Orlando besides HHN, including the Cinematic Spectacular. I am certainly interested to see John Murdy's work here though. I've heard nothing but good things in recent years regarding the West Coast HHN.

 

EDIT: Reading further it seems like they might have been joking...

Yeah. I really need to start learning to read further and not jump to anything come the first message. *sigh* Nevermind guys. Sorry for the trouble. Nothing to see here.

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jp_expansion.jpg.3b1430b8e43e25f62d25785512c821b6.jpg

Source: Welcome, to Jurassic Park...Part 2?

 

The next addition/expansion for Universal’s Islands of Adventure has been rumored to be in the works for years. All sorts of rumors have come and gone, with little more than a second-look after the initial excitement wore down. Over the course of the past several months, one rumor kept getting brought up in conversation. So while I knew of it, I thought it was best to hang on to it until I could get some more details. Well, earlier this month rumored details started to come in, and it seems Jurassic Park will be the future location of Universal’s newest construction walls.

 

The plan that has been put on the table is directly aimed at families, and its sole purpose is to follow the “Potter” path of guest spending. By that, I mean increase guest spending through unique food and beverage offerings; as well as loads of merchandise for sale.

 

Everyone will get a perfect example of Universal’s new direction once Springfield opens up this summer at the Studios. It is going to be full of food, beverages, games, merchandise and unique souvenirs for guests to spend loads of their hard earned money on. Most importantly, it will bring more families into the gates. I’m sure you’ve seen their latest marketing campaign, Universal will be targeting families in a different light for the foreseeable future, and this expansion will be aimed directly at them.

 

Overall the entire Island would be receiving a face-lift. While the main focus is adding two new attractions, there are several other projects being considered within this expansion.

 

Here is a list of the details I’ve been given:

 

Rumored expansion details:

 

Amber Mine Rollercoaster – This small-scale family coaster is said to be a themed run-away mine cart ride through detailed Amber Mines. The targeted height minimum is between 36 and 40 inches; so it will be a ride that most families can enjoy together. And while GCI Coasters met with Universal Creative earlier last year, we are told now that the Gravity Group has been contacted to build this attraction.

 

Discovery Center Dark Ride – This slow moving dark ride would load inside the Jurassic Park Discovery Center where the labs currently reside. Rumored scenes include the DNA Scene from Jurassic Park the movie, detailed lab scenes, a dinosaur egg hatching, as well as a tour through dinosaurs that are in containment (including Velociraptor AA’s). The ride itself would unload close to the new Amber Mine Coaster.

 

Camp Jurassic – This popular kids playground would be expanded and given numerous upgrades, including special effects and “live dinosaurs” within the grounds.

 

Jurassic Park River Adventure – The headline attraction of Jurassic Park would receive a major refurb including new effects and AA replacements.

 

Numerous new food and beverage outlets – There is no new sit down restaurant planned in this expansion. All new unique offerings will come via themed food stands.

 

Triceratops Encounter – This old beauty will be leveled to make room for the future additions mentioned above. While most of the work will indeed take place on this site, make no mistake the island will be getting a lot of attention before re-opening.

 

Well there you have it folks! This is the rumored expansion that is currently scheduled to open in Summer 2014. On top of that, Universal just announced that Jurassic Park 4 would also hit theaters in Summer 2014.

Edited by robbalvey
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Interesting... This certainly peaks my interest more than Potter or Transformers does. I did hear recently that Triceratops Encounter had been gutted. This would be VERY interesting if true!

 

2013 - Transformers

2014 - JP

2015 - Potter?

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Sounds great if true!

I wonder if this means that we will see Gravity Group's Splinter design finally be used? (Superstition Mountain 2.0!! )

Above all, I'm really glad that Universal seems to want to preserve some of their attractions. I was afraid that after The Wizarding World, Universal would continue to gut the rest of the existing "islands" eventually as well.

I really need to get back to Universal soon. My last trip was 2004. It's crazy how much the resort has already changed in just 9 years.

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This excites me. I've never been to Universal Orlando. It's definitely on my to do list next time I'm out there. But their Jurassic Park area has always been of interest to me being that the movie is one of my all time favorites. I've been worried about the future of the area since they closed the Triceratops Encounter. And after that when The Lost Continent was taken over by Harry Potter. But this news makes me happy that Universal has plans to keep Jurassic Park around for years to come.

 

I'm looking forward finally visiting that park someday.

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This excites me. I've never been to Universal Orlando. It's definitely on my to do list next time I'm out there. But their Jurassic Park area has always been of interest to me being that the movie is one of my all time favorites. I've been worried about the future of the area since they closed the Triceratops Encounter. And after that when The Lost Continent was taken over by Harry Potter. But this news makes me happy that Universal has plans to keep Jurassic Park around for years to come.

 

I'm looking forward finally visiting that park someday.

 

You pretty much summed up my thoughts as well- I too have never been to USO! While I am excited for the other expansion projects, I hope that this one is happening because it would be nice to see Universal embrace their own properties a bit more. Not that Transformers isn't amazing (I've been on the USH version), and I'm sure Springfield and the Potter expansion will be great, but they seem out of place to me since they're not Universal franchises. Of course, Disney puts in a fair share of franchises they don't own into their parks, but at least the ratio of Disney properties to non-Disney ones is better. Plus a JP expansion will be great to promote the new film (which I'm sure is why they're doing this in the first place). Hopefully this means that the JP area of the park will be staying for a while!

 

On a side note, hopefully the dark ride concept could be duplicated somehow at USH. Somehow I doubt it, but seeing how Comcast is serious about investing in the Universal parks, maybe it could happen! The main issue there is space. Just wishful thinking- USH just really needs a good classic dark ride since ET was replaced by Mummy!

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^ Is the awesome dark ride USH added just this last summer not good enough? Or the awesome dark ride that is already coming in the form of HP?

 

Back Universal Orlando, this sounds fantastic! When I got my first visit to IOA in back in November, I kind of felt like JP could really go for some serious expansion. There is nothing wrong with the land now, but it just seemed like it could easily accommodate more fun stuff. Right now it's a huge land with an awesome water ride, a kiddie coaster and some shops. I can't wait to see what comes of this rumor. The Amber Mine Roller Coaster sounds especially interesting. In the past the big parks brands like Universal and Disney have shied away from wooded coasters; it will be interesting to see one of them get one, even if it's not a huge ride.

 

Comcast is definitely serious about making a name for their parks and being the first real competition to Disney. I'm excited for the years to come.

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I'm glad that the other areas are getting some attention. I was getting a little tired of people calling Islands of Adventure "Harry Potter World".

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This would get me to go back to Universal again!

 

The timing does make a lot of sense with the new movie for 2014, but I just can't hold my breath. Remember how the 'Jeep Ride' was green lit and going to happen all those years ago!?!?!?

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I like the updates that are rumored. I always felt the Discovery Center could use something. It was always sort of a place to go to get A/C or out of the rain. The mine ride could be cool. I don't see how it could be a large ride though. How much room are we talking about is left, even if they take out stuff?

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Glad to see that USO is focused on more than just Harry Potter. With the re-release of the original movie this April (Didn't know there was a 4th on the way) it coincides quite nicely. It's hard to remember now for our younger readers, but when this movie came out when I was 12, it was a huge phenomenon, with tons of merchandise. I still remember snacking on "raptor bites" to this day.

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^This sounds more like their answer to New Fantasyland to me. A slow moving dark ride with animatronics and a junior roller coaster themed to a mine!

 

Good point.

 

^I agree--Toon Lagoon is butt ugly.

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^This sounds more like their answer to New Fantasyland to me. A slow moving dark ride with animatronics and a junior roller coaster themed to a mine!

 

Well, I guess a late answer to both could be my best guess.

 

Was anyone attached to that old Discovery Building? I went there last year and was honestly hoping for it to get a revamp. There's lots of floor space in there and not a whole lot to do. I guess IOA is finally realizing that it has potential now that the Jurrasic Park series is getting somewhat of a revamp with the 3D and #4 movies coming out.

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