As you can see above, we've just started dating our Universal Studios Hollywood updates, there are only so many adjectives you can use to describe the incredible volume of work they are doing at the park. But work is continuing to progress at a ridiculous pace. Springfield and Fast and Furious are well on schedule for their Spring openings. We'll also take a look at the Studio Tour and elsewhere in the park to touch on a couple of things. * Pictures and Words by Gregg Condon This update we'll start off with Wizarding World, because we can. Welcome to Wizarding World. Can't wait to walk through this arch. A couple of close up shots The great hall ... It's big The part of Hogsmeade that's not as done The part of Hogsmeade that's really not as done. So while the front side is looking great, there's still a LOT to be done. And that doesn't even include all of the interior work. This side is basically as done as the front side was a few months ago. Moving over to Springfield, the walls have moved again as they are working on the area between the Duff Brewery and the rest of Springfield. You now basically go just outside Stage 56 (the Special Effects Show) to get to the other side of the park. Kent Brockman reads the news ... "Yeah, I know I'm on ... but I don't care! I don't read the news until I get my danish. Go ahead, try to find a replacement" Krustylu Studios ... coming soon. Mmmm ... Donuts A little better shot of the Springfield sign that we couldn't get in our last update Facades for the Aztec theater and Cletus' Chicken Shack appear to be done. A week? Still 5 days longer than it took to write the movie they are making fun of. =) Anybody know if the smoke stacks are going to have actual smoke? Because we weren't sure, but now we want to see it. The walls were down around Disco Stu's ... which looks pretty close to being done as well. Lisa is so Prim and Proper ... The main reason we went by the park was to check out Dig: The Escape Room. Unfortunately we were unable to visit due to some bad organization. We arrived shortly after 10:00am and were told the first group of the day had already pre-reserved a time (VIP's we presume). We have no problem with that and were told to come back after 11:00. Once we came back at that time we were told the next available time was 2:45. Now, it wasn't a busy day in the park, at all. But it seemed like people were able to reserve times between 11:00 and 2:45, yet we were unable to. But it is what it is. We would have liked to try it out. Perhaps they should come up with a reservation system should they do anything like this again. I don't think we were the only ones who had issues. Groot and his Minion were kind of confused as well ... The Palace Cafe is back open and looks great. Universal Plaza is back to normal after the Lunar New Year celebration Signs for Jurassic World on the backlot. Is it June 12 yet? Speaking of the Studio Tour, apparently the awesome Mindy Kaling from The Mindy Project took the tour a few days ago and sent out a Facebook post about how her show (which currently films on the backlot) was only mentioned once, yet shows like The Ghost Whisperer were mentioned repeatedly. She's kind of got a point, but we did hear them mention her name a few more times than usual during the tour on this visit. Maybe they need to update the script more often? While we're talking about things on the tour that have worn out their welcome, can we stop calling Colonial Street "Wisteria Lane"? That show has been off the air for how long now? People don't care anymore. And don't get us started on War of the Worlds. =) Back to the awesome stuff on the tour, The Psycho House is getting a pretty extensive Restoration, which is awesome. And lastly, Fast and Furious. Looks like the front of it is going to resemble a warehouse of some kind? The door was open. Nothing to see here. =) EDIT: Apparently there IS something to see here. Kolby from the awesome Kolby Konnection caught that the screen that is visible in the last picture for F&F has a cut in it very similar to the door in Gringotts. Hmmm ... very interesting indeed. Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. We'll likely be back at the park in the next couple of weeks and hopefully we'll start hearing about some opening dates for Supercharged and Springfield soon. Happy Monday, we hope you enjoyed your weekend and for all of those in the Eastern half of the country, hope you were able to stay safe and warm with all of the ice and snow. Out here on the West Coast, we still have parks open and Universal Studios Hollywood hasn't been slowing down on their construction since our last update. Written by Gregg Condon Pictures by Gregg Condon and Scott Linder Today we'll start off with a look at Springfield, because really, that's the part of the park that really has taken shape since our last update. We are so excited for this new addition. A great new sign is up on the construction walls promoting Springfield. Not sure what the insides of the buildings currently look like, but the outsides appear to be almost done. Just a few more signs and themed elements to go. We are super excited to see this all completed. A little bit of an aerial view, you can see some of the signs that have been added. It was kind of hard to see the "SPRINGFIELD" on Mount Springfield with the overcast skies. Springfield!! Mmmm, Flaming Moe. I'll take a Clogger Burger please. While Springfield might look to be close to being done remember that these aren't just facades, but all of the yummy food stuff will be inside. We simply can't wait to try all of our favorite Springfield foods. Moving over to the other major upper lot construction area, Wizarding World continues to chug along. Trees have been added so they can start growing prior to next years opening. The outsides of the buildings are really looking great. It's going to be pretty awesome to walk through those arches. This is where Springfield meets Hogsmeade. Really hoping they do "something" with this. The other side of Springfield/Hogsmeade. More pointy things have been added to Hogwarts. A closer look, you can really start to see the towers taking their shape. Still a lot of work to be done. The backside of Forbidden Journey. Really wish they were doing something with this. As you approach the new Studio Tour, signs are already up promoting the Nighttime Tours and of course, Fast and Furious. The new entry plaza for the Studio Tour looks REALLY nice. They did a great job on this. The entry heading towards the bridge. The exit is now completely walled off from the entrance. This should REALLY help with crowding in this area, especially once Fast and Furious opens. Speaking of Fast and Furious, they are continuing work on the entry facade. As you can see, there are two show areas. Is that a tram I see? Perhaps for testing? Hopefully this will put to rest any doubt that Fast and Furious is indeed a part of the tram tour. =) A look from outside the park There are a few new video features on the tour promoting the 50th. They were actually pretty clever. We'll try and get video next time we are at the park. Repainted tram? Psycho house is currently undergoing a "restoration", not refurbishment. So nice to see this part of cinematic history getting some love. Jurassic Park is also closed for Refurb. Outside the park, the new parking structure is really coming along nicely. Imagine that, taking care of parking issues BEFORE adding all kinds of new things. =) On the other side, the hill coming up to the park from Lankershim is continuing it's "EPIC" transformation. Lunar New YearLast, but certainly not least, let's take a look at the great Lunar New Year Celebration the park put on. Universal Plaza looked really beautiful. Lots of fun stuff to do Mandarin Speaking Megatron was very popular. Be sure to check out the video below as well. I'm guessing most kids don't know who Woody and Winnie Woodpecker are, but it's always nice to see them out. And of course, what kind of special event would it be without food. We tried the red cinnamon donuts and they were really tasty and not too heavy. Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update, we know it was long, but there are so many changes going on at Universal Hollywood. Once we get some firm opening dates for Fast and Furious and Springfield we'll be sure to pass them on. Also, thanks to Scott for the additional pictures. It's always much appreciated. CoasterMatt headed up to Universal Studios the other day and shared with us some amazing pictures. The entire skyline of the park has changed for good and everything is certainly getting more EPIC. We'll take a look at Hogwarts from pretty much every angle you can see it from today ... and it's a LOT of angles. Be sure to check out Matt's Flickr page for more amazing pictures. Pictures by CoasterMatt Written by Gregg Condon The transformation of Universal Hollywood is evident miles away from the park, as you can now see Hogwarts from the 170 freeway. Sittin' in LA traffic ... just watching a castle get built. Down on the lower side, pedestrian bridge construction is continuing as well. ♪ Everything is EPIC ♪ Who ever knew roadwork could be so EPIC. If you can count how many EPIC signs are in this picture you win absolutely nothing. Heading into the park, still lots of walls where Nothing of Horror is. Sadly the beautiful Universal Plaza is no longer going to be what people are looking at as they walk down the main drag of the park. Beetlejuice is all ... yeah, that's Hogsmeade. What about it. And boom, now it's Hogsmeade. Pretty much the only reason to go into the Shrek queue. So you can pretty much see the Hogwarts towers from anywhere in the upper lot, and a good portion of the tram tour. New Studio Tour entry sign, and the tower. Heading to the Tram, and oh, there's the tower Hmmm, what are they hiding in there? Chillin' at CityFood in CityWalk ... and guess what, there's the tower. Matt trying to pull off his best JJ Abrams lens flare, and you guessed it ... Hey look, it's the Collapsing Brid ... I mean Hogwarts. But in all seriousness, this is pretty exciting for those of us who grew up with this park. To see such an amazing transformation (some would call it EPIC) is pretty awesome. Another look at the rest of the Forbidden Journey ride building. This is an amazing picture of the entrance to King Kong 360 3D ... is that, oh, it's Hogwarts again. =) Ok, time to move on. The historical Stage 28 is now a storage area. Hey, all those barriers for Halloween Horror Nights have to go somewhere. Lastly, the building for Fast and Furious is starting to take shape a bit. You can see where it will have an entry facade like King Kong does, but obviously Fast and Furious'y, not King Kong'y. Alright, that's gonna wrap it up for this update. We should have another USH update very soon. Hope you enjoyed the update. |
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