Amidst construction continuing on various projects throughout the theme park property, the Whoville sets on the Universal backlot from Ron Howard’s 2000 film, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, have been demolished. While the theme park remains closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, a new aerial video of the park was shared by Micah Muzio (go to 10:07 of the video) that shows the now-newly-paved area where the sets once stood. Though most of the production took place across eleven soundstages on the Universal backlot, one sequence was filmed outdoors in sets constructed on the area near the “Psycho” house, later…
Author: Sydney Newman
Recently, Inside Universal was invited for a hard-hat preview of the newest Universal Studios Hollywood attraction, “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!”, based off of Illumination Entertainment’s hit franchise of the same name. Unlike many of Universal Creative’s recent attractions, this ride featuring a flexible omnimover (constantly-moving) ride system primarily consists of practical sets and elements, with little media used. A grand total of 64 animatronics bring the cute and cuddly characters voiced by their same respective actors from both of The Secret Life of Pets films – including Max, Snowball, Buddy, and Gidget – to life for…
On Tuesday, March 3, 2020, AMC’s The Walking Dead Attraction closed its doors to the general public for the last time. The walk-through, haunted house attraction has a relatively short, yet complex history of just over 3 years, as the experience only recently opened on July 4, 2016. Following four consecutive years of popular mazes based on the hit television series featured at Halloween Horror Nights, creative director John Murdy was asked to build a permanent walk-through attraction to feed the general public’s seemingly never-ending hunger for zombie flicks. However, the attraction struggled to gain the following Universal imagined when…
We’re back with February’s photo update around Universal Studios Hollywood! This month, we take a look at progress on the multiple construction projects throughout the park. Let’s get started! Park Update Index » CityWalk Hollywood » The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! » Lower Lot » Jurassic World: The Ride Refurbishment » A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That CityWalk Hollywood On the upper level of CityWalk, the former location of Howl at the Moon remains empty. NBC Sports Grill & Brew continues construction, though without any major changes since our most recent update.…
Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates the “Year of the Rat” as Lunar New Year takes over the Upper Lot of the park once again for 2020. The Lunar New Year celebration takes place primarily inside of Universal Plaza, though additional decorations and food options can be found at the Manhattan Market on New York Street and at the Snack Bar located in the Universal Plaza tower. Customary red Chinese lanterns and cherry blossom wishing trees add beauty to Universal Plaza as lovely music echoes throughout in the background. Here, at the center of the Plaza, guests are once again encouraged to…
Happy New Year! We’re back with January’s photo update around Universal Studios Hollywood! This month, we focus on the progress of “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!” as well as the progress on the Lower Lot construction. Let’s get started! Park Update Index » CityWalk Hollywood » The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! » Lower Lot » A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That CityWalk Hollywood The former location of Howl at the Moon remains empty without any announcement of its future replacement. Construction progresses on NBC Sports Grill & Brew, though…
After a short break, we’re back with December’s photo update around Universal Studios Hollywood! This month, we take a look at progress on “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!”, as well as a glance at other projects around the park. Let’s get started! Park Update Index » CityWalk Hollywood » The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! » Lower Lot » A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That CityWalk Hollywood All signage has been removed from Howl at the Moon, though without any announcement of a future replacement. Construction continues on the future…
It’s Grinchmas time at Universal Studios Hollywood! This year’s event now runs daily from November 28 through December 29, offering numerous more opportunities for guests to catch it this season. Speaking on a personal note, Ron Howard’s Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is by far my favorite Christmas story of all time, and Grinchmas my absolute favorite seasonal event at any theme park. With this year’s event marking my tenth Grinchmas since 2008, I’ve watched the who-liday celebration grow and change significantly from the days when it took place in the Nickelodeon Blast Zone, and then the vacant…
The holiday season has officially begun at Universal Studios Hollywood! Different from last year, all holiday events – including Grinchmas – operate daily from November 28 through December 29, offering far more guests the opportunity to experience all of the park’s seasonal offerings. In this article, we’ll focus primarily on Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but keep an eye out for a separate review of Grinchmas 2019. For the most part, not much has changed at Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter this year. Hogsmeade continues to offer a number of festive experiences that bring…
We’re back with November’s photo update around Universal Studios Hollywood! This month, we take a look at construction progress of the multiple projects throughout the park, as well as a glance at the setup for the upcoming holiday season. Let’s get started! Park Update Index » CityWalk Hollywood » The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! » Grinchmas 2019 » Lower Lot » WaterWorld Refurbishment » Holidays 2019 » A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That CityWalk Hollywood Howl at the Moon – which closed in late October – remains visibly unchanged as of this…