Owen wrote: Currently the entire resort sits on approximately 541 acres, and with the previous 540 purchase the addition of this 101 means that the Resort has essentially doubled in size in terms of owned land.
That wasn't what the article said though.
blooloop wrote: The plot of land, costing $27.5 million (£21m), offers a new major frontage for its expansion plans, confirmed a Universal spokesman. The real estate is next to the $130 million land purchase made by Universal in 2015. This latest acquisition is many times larger than the Universal Orlando Resort.
What they wrote in their article incorrectly says that the latest land purchase - the one that's just happened in the last couple of days - is larger than Universal Orlando Resort. They don't explicitly mention that both of the recent land purchases added together double the size of the land owned.
The amount of land they've bought is insane, makes you wonder what they're going to do with it. A couple of hotels, expanding the citywalk to make it more comparable to Disney Springs and a third theme park? I'm trying to think of what a third park could be. A theme park concentrating on white knuckle rides? A purely kid focused park (Dreamworks land)? Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios have already blended a bit, I feel they'll need to make sure it's distinctive.
In the more immediate future, it seems that it's confirmed that The Fast and the Furious ride is going to be a pretty quick and cheap ride with much less effort put into the theming and differentiating it from the studio tour than the kong ride which is disappointing.
Universal Orlando have just announced a new hotel complex which, if I have my Orlando geography correct, will be constructed on the site of the former Wet 'n' Wild water park and feature two hotels.
According to the announcement, prices will start from under $100 a night, making it Universal's cheapest offering. It will feature three pools, poolside bars, two food courts, a fitness centre, and other amenities. It is being described as having a 'laid back coastal feel' and will feature 'vibrant and natural colours' to set a 'free-spirited and beachy tone'.
Stranger Things has been announced as the first maze IP for this year's Halloween Horror Nights.
FROM HAWKINS TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS – STRANGER THINGS IS COMING TO HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS
Get your waffles ready. Netflix’s supernatural adventure thriller is turning Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights upside down. You’ll be able to experience the suspense and supernatural frights from Season 1 of “Stranger Things” in a new harrowing maze.
[youtube]BHCHazK263A[/youtube]
We’re very excited to be working closely with Netflix – to give our guests an immersive experience into the “Stranger Things” world by recreating some of the show’s most iconic scenes, 80’s settings, and most loved characters (#RIPBarb).
You’ll faithfully follow the storyline, starting off on Mirkwood and then quickly moving to inside Hawkins National Laboratory where things have gone terribly, terribly wrong.
From there you will experience all the most memorable moments and environments from the show while being hunted at every turn by the Demogorgon.
And of course, you’ll step into the mysterious darkness of the Upside Down more than once – whether you like it or not.
The best part? “Stranger Things” is coming to Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore. Our sister parks will both have mazes too!
Buckle up, kids. This is just the first of nine haunted mazes announced for Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, beginning Sept. 14 through Nov. 3. And there’s even more in store for you with gruesome scarezones crawling with demented creatures and live shows you won’t want to miss.
Having a look at those supports kills the rumours of a Mack Suspended ride like Arthur/Dragon Gliders, which is a shame as I think universal could have made a great ride using that system but oh well.
The supports do look like an Intamin/Mack launch coaster though, so I guess it could lead to the forbidden forest on Hagrids bike rumour. So a family coaster with a some thrilling elements...
It's looking good! I mean, I know there isn't an awful lot to see at the moment, but it really is an exiting project for the park! Would love to see them go all out on theming for this!
Bit of a shame, the powered inverted coaster would have been something unique in the Americas whereas this is going to open what, a year after Disney open their powered launch family coaster? Here's hoping the dark ride elements are top notch and the fact it'll have a high speed twisty section means that they can't use 3D glasses.
I'm intrigued by that very heavy banked tight turn. If it is a powered launch coaster and that turn comes as part of a twisty 6m descend, that's going to be pretty intense. Maybe they're going for a very forceful twisty layout instead of airtime.
Am glad it is not a family inverted coaster. IOA lacks enough thrill rides, and any replacement coaster at leasts needs to appeal to the fans of the dearly lost Dragons.
Not sure it'll be more than a family ride even as a powered launch. The outdoor segments seem too compact for it to get to extreme speeds and the lack of height so far in the supports aren't lending themselves towards much airtime.
That said, you'd have to wonder why you'd theme a coaster around a flying bike and then not give it any height. Maybe the ride will go something like this:
Show inside the station building with Hagrid explaining why you need to escape through the forest, you get chased by some spiders or centaurs and accelerate out of the building darting between tree before you go into another building and slow down for another brief show, maybe this time you've got to escape from some death eaters on broomsticks and the 2nd outdoor section has you soaring over the forest (could be that the supports for this section need to be different and are being done later on)
lewis97 wrote:Stranger Things has been announced as the first maze IP for this year's Halloween Horror Nights.
FROM HAWKINS TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS – STRANGER THINGS IS COMING TO HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS
Get your waffles ready. Netflix’s supernatural adventure thriller is turning Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights upside down. You’ll be able to experience the suspense and supernatural frights from Season 1 of “Stranger Things” in a new harrowing maze.
[youtube]BHCHazK263A[/youtube]
We’re very excited to be working closely with Netflix – to give our guests an immersive experience into the “Stranger Things” world by recreating some of the show’s most iconic scenes, 80’s settings, and most loved characters (#RIPBarb).
You’ll faithfully follow the storyline, starting off on Mirkwood and then quickly moving to inside Hawkins National Laboratory where things have gone terribly, terribly wrong.
From there you will experience all the most memorable moments and environments from the show while being hunted at every turn by the Demogorgon.
And of course, you’ll step into the mysterious darkness of the Upside Down more than once – whether you like it or not.
The best part? “Stranger Things” is coming to Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore. Our sister parks will both have mazes too!
Buckle up, kids. This is just the first of nine haunted mazes announced for Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, beginning Sept. 14 through Nov. 3. And there’s even more in store for you with gruesome scarezones crawling with demented creatures and live shows you won’t want to miss.
OMG! When i first saw this on FB I got a wee bit excited. I think its a perfect IP for them and I genuinely can not wait to see any video's or pictures about this. Now. Who wants to take me :lol
Universal has managed to settle with Stan Thomas over the rights to build a theme park on the land plus they've also managed to acquire a vast amount of the land he owned which was in foreclosure. Thomas has kept the green parcel to the left of the OCCC and the green parcel which would contain the Kirkman extension south of Universal Boulevard, he's also kept the red parcels other than the one next to the big purple area that Universal own.
In total now though Universal own around 1000 acres of prime land so we can expect to see multiple hotels, a new citywalk, a new park and a water park within the next 10 years. Exciting times in America!
Very exciting times ahead for the resort! Looking at the land size for this place, you could easily squeeze in 2 new parks here as well as a small waterpark!
There is also a strong rumor going around that Super Nintendo World will be built in this new park for 2023 and a Pokemon area will open in the original location in the Studios park in 2020 instead, I think this is a great idea as then that would mean having more land to work with in the new park and then we can have a great E-Ticket Pokemon ride! (Pokemon Snap: The Ride plz)
Depending on the size of the plots, possibly hotels? Like what Cedar Fair did with Breakers Express at Cedar Point, cheaper accommodation within the resort so you get the perks of early entry etc, but a bit of a trek from the park.
