Universal Studios Hollywood Update – March 14th 2015

For weeks it was known that Jurassic Park was to reopen on the 14th of March, after a big refurbishment! So we didn’t want to miss out, and headed over. Then things didn’t go as planned, and many angry guests later, Universal Studios still didn’t manage to resolve the issues in time. Nonetheless we’ve got a wonderfully diverse update for you! 

– Recently our images have popped up on other sites and forums, awesome that our coverage spreads, not so awesome that no one mentioned where they got the images from. We are totally fine with our audience using our images, BUT ONLY IF credit is given to californiacoasterkings.com. Thank you! –

Let’s start off with a bit of CityWalk. One of the Furious7 picture cars is located in front of the AMC Theaters. Nicely promoting Fast & Furious Supercharged, which will be the finale to the Studio Tour, ‘opening’ this Summer.

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Let’s look at some Wizarding World of Harry Potter! More snowy and detailed buildings!The pretty entrance to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The castle construction continues. Same goes for the Forbidden Journey ride! Look at that building, it’s massive! 

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Let’s move on to Springfield! Which is seriously very close to being finished! Construction on the backdrop continues. This building received awesome detailing! You see those walls? Yup, they should be removed within the next week or so, revealing Springfield! The old Ben&Jerry’s and Italian Pasta restaurant are currently undergoing the Springfield transformation too!Next to the Special Effects Stage in Stage 56, more of Springfield is being developed. 

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Let’s move on to the disappointment of a life-time. Jurassic Park- The Ride… I really wanted to check out all the changes, contacted management multiple times, checked the website many times before visiting, and was confident it was going to be open, like it said everywhere. I got to the park to figure it was closed, bummer. Then multiple employees of the park told guests it was going to reopen later in the day. Then we headed down to the Lower Lot, where we were told it was not opening at all that day. During lunch, multiple crew members said it would reopen at 2PM. Which never happened either. I understand technical difficulties can cause issues that may not be resolved easily. But on a 90 degree day, with 1-2 hour lines everywhere, it was almost a necessity to manage to open it up anyways. So then the JP crew gave Jelly Beans to people…

Nonetheless, there were some changes we can talk about now. Such as the lagoon and the track repaints. Look at the fresh lagoon! (Splashdown).The track has been repainted to match the pool, and look more murky. Which really worked, wish I could’ve seen and photographed the boats in action. The track leading up to the station was repainted the same color. The station and lift-hill itself received a new color too, pure gray. Like the JP River Adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure has too. (UIoA is located at the Universal Studios Florida Resort in Orlando). Here’s a close-up of the new track colors, notice some new magnetic breaks and bolts on the track. It sure looks pretty, even though it wasn’t running!I’m so in love with this ride, and was so upset they couldn’t get it running, and that guests were messed around with, by providing endless amounts of different information about its reopening. Luckily for those visiting from Sunday (today) on… Jurassic Park- The Ride is officially reopened on Sunday. We’ll be back soon to discuss the changes on the actual ride, which are supposed to be quite significant, so stay tuned!

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WaterWorld had 8 performances today, March 14th. And interestingly enough, the later performances featured an entirely new crew! Action Horizons and Universal Studios Hollywood recently added many new stuntmen to the Atoll, many young ones. And they were performing today. They have a long way to go, as they are definitely not as convincing and experienced as the current/older crews, though there’s some real talent! It was interesting seeing a bit different plot, where Helen doesn’t jump out of the collapsing structure, the Mariner doesn’t kick the Smoker from his Jet-Ski, and several other minor differences. Hopefully the new actors will have the entire show down before the summer crowds!  

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Last but not least, here’s a sneak-peak to the Night Time Studio Tour! Across from big scenes new LED lights have been placed, lighting up the facades and buildings for the Night Time Studio Tour! Besides that, buildings have lights turned on around the Metropolitan Sets. As well as the older sets, like 6 Points Texas, on the Backlot. And my favorite shot of them all. (Took many pictures, most failed with focusing in the dark on a moving Studio Tour Tram). Here’s the 747’s engine in the War of the Worlds scene on the Studio Tour! That was it for this update! Thank you very much for checking it out! We will have a new Universal Studios Hollywood Update soon, revealing more changes on Jurassic Park- The Ride, and revealing most of Springfield.

Have an amazing day!