Author: Brian Glenn

Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that the “Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle” nighttime show will be returning this Summer, from June 22 to August 11. Illuminating a darker side of the Wizarding World, this spectacular new light projection experience will be a departure from previous “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle” and “The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle.” “Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle” will bring more intense tones and drama that reflect the Dark creatures and wizards that challenge goodness in the Wizarding World. The show premiered in April of this year to much praise. Our review mentioned how…

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and BD Wong will reprise their roles as Owen Grady, Claire Dearing and Dr. Henry Wu, bringing their characters from the silver screen to Jurassic World – The Ride, opening this summer at Universal Studios Hollywood As part of original content created exclusively for the new ride, Owen, Claire and Dr. Wu will shed light on their interactions with the dinosaurs along with facts and information about the imposing prehistoric creatures that first roamed the earth more than 65 million years ago. “Jurassic World—The Ride” will debut an original storyline that takes place within the…

Universal Orlando has announced Depths of Fear, a new original maze, will be featured at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights 29. In an all-new original story, guests will be transported to a deep-sea mining company that has been infested by the parasitic “Mouthbrooders,” who spew their acidic flesh-eating eggs upon unsuspecting humans, turning them into crazed hosts. As the infected are driven to madness, guests will try to escape, but as pressure begins to build, implosion awaits – will they make it out alive or fall deep into their watery graves? Halloween Horror Nights 29 will begin Friday, Sept 6,…

We’re a little under a month away from the official opening of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, with the new attraction set to open on June 13 at Islands of Adventure. Universal Orlando invited us out to get a sneak peek at the attraction, finally allowing our first up-close look at the coaster. We did not leave disappointed. While we only saw portions of the queue, everything we saw looked jaw-droppingly fantastic; and there’s still some work left to be done as we inch closer to the opening. Creators were excited to design an attraction based around everyone’s favorite magical…

The Today Cafe held its grand opening ceremony at Universal Studios Florida, as the new restaurant is officially open. To celebrate the grand opening, NBC’s Al Roker and the Today Show broadcast live from the Today Cafe. The celebratory moment included a TODAY “orange carpet” lined with Universal Orlando’s most popular characters and culminated with a pop of orange and white confetti. The cafe serves specialty food and beverage options, including fresh in-house baked pastries, salads, sandwiches, and locally-roasted coffee. The restaurant, which replaced the Beverly Hills Boulangerie, is located at the front of the park – directly catacorner from…

Universal Studios Hollywood has set the next Running Universal event for this Fall. The Jurassic World 5K and kids’ 1K Raptor Run will be held on Saturday, November 16, 2019. Guests will run through the Theme Park and part of the Universal Backlot, passing iconic film sets, and finally crossing the finish line at 5 Towers on Universal CityWalk. The inaugural Minion Run, featuring Illumination’s mischievous Minions, took place this past weekend. As of now, signups are only restricted for those who participated in the inaugural Minion Run this weekend and will receive a special early signup pricing of $65…

UPDATED July 18, 2019   After a few months of Hollywood’s version running without the 3D, Universal Orlando has finally followed suit and removed the 3D their version located in Universal Studios Florida. In regards to the change, Universal has stated that they “consistently evaluate and refine our Guest experiences,” and “are excited for [guests] to experience Despicable Me Minion Mayhem this way.” Original story below Universal Parks has removed 3D from their Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem attraction in Universal Studios Hollywood, removing the need for 3D glasses and converting the ride film to 2D. The preshow has also been modified,…

Universal Orlando has given us the first-look at the Hagrid audio-animatronic figure that will be featured in Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQF6P9hO2Xs Guests will join Hagrid on a thrilling journey into the Forbidden Forest as he introduces you to some of the wizarding world’s rarest magical creatures. Universal states the Hagrid AA will be the most advanced and life-like animated figure that they have ever created. Universal Creative worked directly with Robbie Coltrane – who portrays Hagrid in the Harry Potter films – to study his body movements and facial expressions to develop 24 different body actions for this animated…

Knott’s Berry Farm will open Calico River Rapids on Friday, May 17th. The new white water raft ride takes explorers on a search for new land where indigenous wildlife, treacherous roaring rapids, dynamic water effects plus a variety of wild surprises will be encountered along the way. Calico River Rapids takes over the former Bigfoot Rapids white water raft ride, after undergoing a major renovation; featuring new animatronics, themed show scenes, a new story overlay – which tells the backstory about the origins of the “Ghost Town” community of Calico. The attraction will come to life with new animatronics and…

The Universal Monsters will be featured as a maze at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, with each coast getting their own version based on the popular Monster franchise. At Universal Orlando Resort, guests will be hunted by every single grisly monster from the anthology, including Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein, in the all-new experience, “Universal Monsters.” Each sinister environment will bleed from one to the next as guests press through the darkened realms of horrifying creatures. Guests will face bloody terrors in Dracula’s castle and flee from what is behind the cryptic…