At the risk of misusing Bob Dylan’s words from even before I was born, the “Universe” looks very different right now. Construction walls of all types greet guests as they walk around. Other various temporary structures can be found all over Universal Orlando. Today, I will present to you a few updates about these projects. However, this report does not intend to cover all construction updates.
First, several construction walls are up around Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure. Though some people claim this is a change to Jurassic World overlay, the attraction is simply undergoing standard winter refurbishment. Jurassic Park River Adventure will reopen around January 29th, 2022. After it reopens, expect the Toon Lagoon water rider to begin scheduled refurbishment.
Next, we head over to Universal Studios Florida (USF). If you like to make fun of construction walls at Epcot over at Walt Disney World, then include Universal Studios Florida for that ridicule. As guests walk into main entrance at USF, they quickly see construction walls around closed Shrek 4-D attraction. The construction walls around it show various retro style Minions on them. Universal Orlando continues to leave clues about replacement for Shrek 4-D.
Another major refurbishment at USF involves Revenge of the Mummy. The walls went up in early January and will not be coming down until late summer. We expect some replacement of sections of track with a probable modification of the theming within the attraction.
Mardi Gras food tents sprout up this time of year. Like last year, the tents will be set up throughout the park. This approach contrasts the food tent locations from 2020 and before. Before 2021, almost all food tents assembled into a localized area in New York area. We look forward to finding out more about the Mardi Gras food this year.
For those of you planning to attend the Rock the Universe concert event (January 28-29), one of the temporary stages rises near lagoon area. Though the main concerts will happen at Music Plaza Stage, this area offers more musical enjoyment for that weekend.
Also, this week, walls appeared around Animal Actors show stage. The show itself continues to happen. After discussing it recently with a few local people, like Seth Kubersky, of The Unofficial Guides, these walls serve as a simple border for some light refurbishment work. The area around Animal Actors area required some pavement repair as well as other refurbishments. Common assumption connects these walls to that need.
Though there are plenty more little construction walls, I will finish with this one. Currently, two of the “stars” on the walkway in Hollywood Boulevard area feature construction coverings. Logical assumptions led to new name on those stars. Many rumors flew around when one of these stars was covered up. The hottest rumor related to a new star coming for Betty White after her passing. A more sourced rumor connects these new stars on “walk of fame” to retiring long-time executives at Universal Orlando.
I anticipate more solid information about these walls over next few weeks. As always with Universal Orlando, we wait for official announcements because these things are a-changing!
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.