June 26, 2014 – On Friday, Universal – in partnership with Botcon and Hasbro – hosted the first annual Transformers Fan Experience at Universal Studios Hollywood. Marketed as a separate event for annual pass holders, Botcon attendees and the general public, the Transformers Fan Experience featured a slew of special features – including prop appearances, a special discussion panel on the 30th Anniversary of Dinobots, collectable props, musical performances and more. Hosted on a bustling Friday night, the Transformers Fan Experience ran from 8PM – 11PM after normal park operating hours. Guests who had purchased the fan experience ticket received…
Author: Jon Fu
June 22, 2014 – Construction has begun for the Universal City Station pedestrian bridge, Inside Universal has learned. The $19.5 million dollar project – part of the larger NBCUniversal Evolution Plan – seeks to link the popular Universal City Metro station to Universal City Tower Plaza, allowing guests to access the Universal City tram service uninhibited. The pedestrian bridge will be constructed over Lankershim Boulevard and Universal Hollywood Drive, following the current path of the existing pedestrian street-level crossing paths. Metro Pedestrian Bridge Concept Art The current pedestrian bridge project is seen as an alternative to the original underground proposal,…
June 20, 2014 – When you ask someone to rate how much they enjoyed their day at a theme park, usually the first thing that comes to mind is the number of attractions they went on and how much they enjoyed them. While that is a very crucial element, there’s a lot more than an individual’s ride count that goes into what makes an enjoyable day at a theme park like Universal Studios Hollywood. When Transformers: The Ride – 3D first opened in May of 2012, many small changes regarding customer service were made in that attraction compared to the…
June 15, 2014 – As Universal continues to upgrade and improve its infrastructure in preparation for 2015 and 2016 season, we thought we’d take a look at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (set to debut in 2016), Fast and Furious: Supercharged (2015), Springfield (2015) along with a quick update on Theater Cafe, the “P-3” parking structure, Finlays and more. It’s a big update, so let’s get started. Park Update Index » Parking Lots » Theater Cafe – New Desserts » Springfield » The Wizarding World of Harry Potter » Fast and Furious: Supercharged » Cinnabon-Finlays Parking Lots With Universal’s…
June 13, 2014 – Finlays will now be transformed into a Cinnabon location, Inside Universal has learned. Built in 2013 alongside Universal Plaza, Finlays has mainly been purposed as a food shack – serving a variety of quick-serve food items, such as churros, drinks and assorted snacks. However, like Universal Plaza, Finlays has also faced a slew of difficulties, undergoing three paint schemes in under a year. In recent weeks, Universal has closed down the Finlays location – shuttering its food counters with wooden boards and removing its menu from display. With the demolition of Cinnabon and Doc Brown’s Chicken…
June 9, 2014 – On Sunday, Universal held a special showing of WaterWorld exclusively for Annual Passholders and their invited guests. The event was an effort to showcase the changes that have come to the show following the recent changes in management, show plot, stunts and special effects. As guests were ushered into the seating area, two video monitors were on display inside of Gregor’s tower, showing time-lapse videos of various construction projects done to the set during the recent refurbishment. Once inside, there were large poster boards on easels displaying photographs of both construction projects and new additions to…
June 8, 2014 – In this month’s episode, Bruce, Chris, Jonathan and Jon discuss the upcoming member meetup, Universal’s golf course rumor, Fast and Furious: Supercharged and more. Audio Direct download: June 8, 2014 PodcastiTunes link: (011) June 8, 2014 Podcast Jon Fu Jon Fu is the editor-in-chief of Inside Universal. Jon originally founded InsideUniversal.net in 2006 as a summer hobby aimed at providing families and fans a resource for all things “Universal Studios Hollywood.” Since then, the website has taken him throughout the United States and around the world – including to places like Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios…
June 9, 2014 – Through an exclusive with USA Today, Universal announced that AMC’s hit zombie show, The Walking Dead, will be returning to Hollywood and Florida for 2014’s iteration of Halloween Horror Nights. This marks the first official maze announcement regarding Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood’s lineup for 2014, and it is also The Walking Dead’s third consecutive year with the event. The property has been a fan favorite and has had arguably the largest presence in Horror Nights – commanding both a backlot experience and the Terror Tram. This year’s maze appears to be dubbed The Walking Dead: More…
June 8, 2014 – With Springfield and Wizarding World construction kicking into high gear, we thought we’d look at some of the smaller projects occurring at the park. Here’s what you might of missed at Universal Studios Hollywood. 1 » Finlays Receives Its Third Coat of Paint Since its debut, Finlays has received several different color schemes and food options. A couple of weeks ago, the small food hub was shut down and has now been painted with yet another color scheme. As for the restaurant itself? It appears to remain closed for the foreseeable future. 2 » Minion Food:…
June 3, 2014 – This morning, AECOM released their estimated 2013 Theme Index which measures attendance numbers from theme parks and museums from around the world. Universal Studios Hollywood had a modest gain of 200,000 guests from 2012 to 2013, which translates roughly into a 4% gain. Since 2010 Universal Studios Hollywood has had an increase in attendance of 1,840,000 visitors to its park, coinciding with the investment of King Kong 360-3D on the Studio Tour and the revitalization of the Universal backlot. (Based on figures from AECOM) The opening of King Kong 360 3D in 2010 saw a 26%…