Last night was the red carpet premiere for Wizarding World Hollywood at Universal Studios. We were there live on the red carpet and posted updates all night on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Periscope. In case you weren't following along we have a recap of the coverage as well as a LOTS more pictures we didn't post last night. On the red carpet. Lots of great spots for photo ops Some celebs were in a rush to get in and didn't stop for us. :( But who cares, because Warwick Davis was there and was awesome!!! The awesome Chris Hardwick who actually took the time to face-time Kristi and talk to her about The Walking Dead Season 3. Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) LA Mayor Eric Garcetti who always takes the time to talk to even the far end of the media line. James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) Once we got into Hogsmeade it was time to play "Spot the Celebrity". Oh, just hanging out with my new BFF. =) A nice ceremony kicked off the festivities. Sorry for the bluriness, the lighting was weird (this was actually the only decent picture we got of this) John Williams getting ready to conduct the LA Philharmonic Full video of the performance last night. It was truly amaazing. Below some pictures of the performance. Click any of the pictures below to see a larger version. Thanks again to Universal Studios for having us to the event. It was truly amazing and we can't wait for everybody to see Wizarding World!! It's finally here!!! It's Potter Week!! As you all know the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens at Universal Studios Hollywood this Thursday (April 7) and the star studded premiere is tomorrow night (April 5). We will of course be there on the red carpet so be sure you are following us for all of that fun. So while we're celebrating all things Wizarding World this week we thought it would be a good time to stop and take a look backwards a bit, to take a look at where the park was just a few short years ago and at the "Epic Transformation" they've made. Because it truly is EPIC. From a park that just a few years ago was giving a full year away for the price of one day to where today is commanding multiple visits for tourists and has definitely swayed the attendance habits of local fans who now have a choice between incredible theme parks to attend each weekend. It truly is an AMAZING time time to be a theme park fan in Southern California. (keep in mind, we don't have all the older pictures we would have liked, but at the time we weren't thinking of taking them for posterity ... oh hindsight) We'll start off at the front of the park since that's the first thing everybody sees when they enter. Remember when this was the new thing in the park? Of course, the iconic entry to the park hasn't changed much over the years. The rest of the entrance area has sure changed over the years though. Sure looks different today All new Starbucks!! And they aren't even done yet, coming this Summer!! The Wild West Theater Now ... Universal Plaza decked out for Lunar New Year earlier this year. Let's take a left turn from Universal Plaza where we now have the amazing Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Super Silly Funland. T2:3D. Now ... Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Super Silly Funland Did You Know: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem was one of the first projects we started covering as a website? Continuing on through the upper lot of the park, who remembers when Marvel had a presence at the park? It really wasn't that long ago. Once Marvel left it was just "Comic Heroes" Or when this was actually a thing? Even the Studio Tour entrance has undergone some pretty significant changes over the years: The tour itself has had some changes, some forced and two totally different Fast and Furious attractions. Have a tramtastic day ... But all of the changes weren't exclusive to the upper lot, the lower lot has received it's share of love recently. Then ... Special Effects Stages (now on the upper lot) Now ... Transformers The Ride 3D Even small changes to make the guest experience better. Then... Now ... But of course, none of that compares to the changes made to the upper lot in just the last few years. The thing that has finally made Universal Studios into a full fledged "Theme Park" and not just a "Studios" park. Then ... Did you know: The Universal Amphitheater closed in September 2013? Not even 3 years ago. Anybody know what is in this spot now? Certainly looks much different today. No Epic Transformation could be done without a LOT of Epic Construction. Now ... we'll start off with the amazing Springfield addition that was made last year. And of course, none of that compares to what is opening in just a few days. So now it's finally here ... just a few short days away. Wizarding World opens for the world to see. And we all have heard the rumors, we know they aren't done yet. When the new additions will be announced is anybody's guess. Will they take the advantage of the world looking at the park this week to make another big announcement? We'll find out tomorrow night. We hope you enjoyed this look back at the park over the past few years. We of course had a lot more pictures that we could have shared, but we figured this was more than enough. It's still amazing how much work has been done in just a few years and we can't wait to see what the future holds. Today we're back at Universal Studios Hollywood for a look at some of the non-Wizarding World goings on around the park. But don't worry, we noticed some new details in Wizarding World during it's technical rehearsal that we'll share with you as well. If you missed any of our potter updates be sure to check them out especially our Photographic Tour of Wizarding World Hollywood. Written by Gregg Condon We'll start out in CityWalk where the Universal Store is still undergoing it's expansion and refurbishment. And you can see where all of the Potter Merchandise will be. Lots of work going on where the Globe is. It's still there for photo ops but wasn't spinning. They are really preparing for the crowds that will be descending on the park starting April 7. Inside the Studio Store is now closed as all of the merchandise is moved over to the new store. The walls are down around the new shop and facades and it looks fantastic. The stores should open any day now. Lots of little touches and easter eggs for Universal Studios. it'll be fun finding them all. Not really surprising there will also be a Starbucks. And it's a pretty good sized one. Moving down to the lower lot, Jurassic Park is still closed for it's lengthy refurb. They are doing a lot of painting and freshening up. It's great to see this now 2nd best ride at the park getting some love. =) Whatever this is is looking good. =) We of course had to share some pics of Wizarding World. It was open for Technical rehearsals all weekend. Don't sit under the owls. (love these little touches) So there have been a lot of posts about issues people have with Wizarding World and the nearby buildings and lands that you can see from Wizarding World. Apparently people don't remember that this area was an Amphitheater about 2 1/2 years ago and that Universal Hollywood is a VERY small park. At the end of the day, our biggest issue is them selling crappy beer in Wizarding World. No self respecting Wizard (or brit) is going to drink this crap. In a land that doesn't even sell soda or regular bottled water you'd think people could walk out of the land to get their crappy beer. (we don't count the Boddingtons in that) Moving on, we got to experience our first breakfast in Wizarding World and it was incredible!! Eggy Bread, American Breakast and a Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert. ;) Oh, and breakfast comes with a drink, and yes, you can get Butterbeer!! More little details, this time in the Hogs Head. It's going to take us quite awhile to see everything. Shucks. =) Funny thing about these Technical Rehearsals. First off, as we've said before, they could not happen at all depending on what is going on inside such as filming, private parties, etc. But even more than that, somehow people in the park don't seem to realize that the land is actually open to the public. Wait times for Forbidden Journey and Hippogriff have been very reasonable, the longest we've waited for Forbidden Journey is about 20 minutes, and that was because the ride broke down. So if you get a chance, be sure to try and get out to one of these rehearsals. Because once the full media onslaught takes place and April 7 rolls around, it's going to be crazy!! A couple of Studio Tour notes. Fan Made Lyon Estates signs are back on the tour, in the same location as the previous signs. The fountain in Court of Miracles is back. The entire Little Europe area looks great after it's recent refurb. Maybe we'll get some HHN mazes down here this year? And lastly, the all new digital sign is up at the Lankershim entrance. It looks absolutely spectacular. Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. We won't be back at the park this weekend (as of now) but we're quickly winding down on things to update at the park. Once Wizarding World opens we'll of course have all of the media night event posts and we are plan on going opening day, but after that we're likely going to take some time off from the park to avoid the craziness. But we'll of course have lots of other updates. =) Thanks again for reading, we hope you enjoyed the update. |
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