Believe it or not, the Nickelodeon Time Capsule was a massive event in 1992. The televised burial of the capsule was held at Universal Studios Orlando, which had opened only two years prior alongside the new Nickelodeon production facility in Orlando.
On April 30, 1992, several pop-culture items of the time were lowered into the ground, not to be opened for fifty years.
Yes, we must wait until 2042, another 18 years from now! Good lord. Will anyone who grew up during that Nickelodeon era still be alive?!
Those of us who witnessed the event and have lived to see the capsule reopened will find the following items inside:
- MC Hammer Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em CD
- Michael Jackson’s Dangerous CD
- Piece of the Berlin Wall
- News coverage of the AIDS crisis, Desert Storm, and the end of the Soviet Union
- World Atlas
- History book
- Nicktoons T-shirt
- Book of Endangered Species
- Comic book
- Phone book
- Rollerblades
- Bubblegum
- Skateboard
- Barbie Doll
- Hostess Twinkies
- Can of Pepsi
- Reebok Pump Sneakers
- Videotape of a 90210 episode
- Videotape of Home Alone
- Videotape of Back to the Future
- Pictures of cars, trains, and planes (current as of 1992)
- Pencils
- Neon phone
- Nickelodeon magazine
- April 30, 1992 Orlando TV Guide
- A baseball
- Nintendo Gameboy
- Jar of Gak
- Joey Lawrence “Whoa! ’92” Hat
- VHS tape from the “Kid Cam” camera that recorded the event
- One of the professional cameras used to record the event
Early Universal Orlando was so different from what it is today. I almost miss the Slime Geyser. We never thought Nick would be going anywhere. How wrong we were.
Nick Studios closed in 2005, and a year later, it became the theatre for the Blue Man Group. Hints of the original facility are still visible. Apparently, the interior of the studio’s production areas may still be covered in Nickelodeon artwork.
The company chose not to reuse the original cover when the Nickelodeon Time Capsule was moved from Universal Studios Orlando to the (now defunct) Nickelodeon Suites Resort. The 45 lbs. lid was auctioned off in 2022.
The Time Capsule’s cap was sold on September 24, 2022. However, it may still be for sale, as you can make an offer of $28,800 or more to the current owner via Heritage Auctions.
The Nickelodeon Time Capsule now resides in California at Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
[Source: Heritage Auctions]
[Source: Attraction Magazine]
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