Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a 541-acre (219 ha) theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. Following the opening of Universal Studios Florida in 1990, NBCUniversal moved forward with plans to expand from a single park into a large resort hoping to compete with Walt Disney World. In 1999, a second theme park called Islands of Adventure opened in addition to CityWalk, a shopping promenade and nightlife district that incorporates a variety of themed hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. A 30-acre (12 ha) themed water park, Volcano Bay, was added in 2017, and a fourth upcoming theme park, Epic Universe, is scheduled to open in 2025.
Universal Destinations & Experiences, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. They are also referred to as Universal Studios Theme Parks or Universal Theme Parks.
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketing headline is "The Entertainment Capital of LA". It was initially created to offer tours of the real Universal Studios sets and is the first of many full-fledged Universal Studios Theme Parks located across the world.
Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and other aspects of the entertainment industry. Universal Studios Florida was the first of two theme parks to open at Universal Orlando Resort, joined later by Islands of Adventure in 1999. In 2019, it ranked eleventh in the world – sixth in North America – for overall attendance among amusement parks with approximately 10.9 million visitors. A third park, Epic Universe, is expected in 2025.
T2-3D: Battle Across Time was an attraction at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. The version of the show in Hollywood had its final performance on December 31, 2012; the show then closed January 1, 2013. The version in Florida had its final performance on October 8, 2017; the show then closed October 9. The version in Osaka closed on September 14, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the show on September 13, 2020, the final performance.
Shrek 4-D is an animated 4D film based on the Shrek franchise created by DreamWorks Animation, itself based on the book by William Steig. It also is a 4D simulator ride attraction with motion-based effects and water sprayers located at various theme parks around the world. It is currently shown at Universal Destinations & Experiences in Japan, Singapore, and previously in Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood, where it closed on August 14, 2017, in Hollywood to make way for the DreamWorks Theatre attraction while the one in Orlando closed on January 10, 2022 and was replaced by Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast. Outside the Universal parks, the movie was shown at Movie Park Germany in Germany from May 2008 until July 2011, and Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia from September 2005 until August 2010. A spin-off attraction titled Donkey's Photo Finish is located at the Florida venue while Meet Shrek and Donkey is located at the Hollywood venue. In Universal Studios Japan, the attraction is shown in the same theater as Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic, with the Shrek 4-D film shown for the first 12 hours of the day, and the Sesame Street film shown for the next 12 hours of the day.
Universal Studios Japan (ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン) is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by USJ LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal. The park is similar in layout to Universal Studios Florida and contains selected attractions from both Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, in addition to a small number of unique attractions.
The Studio Tour is a ride attraction at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park in Universal City, California near Los Angeles. Studio Tour is the theme park's signature attraction. It travels through a working film studio, with various film sets on the Universal Studios Lot. Guests sit on multi-car trams for the duration of the ride and looking behind the scenes of Universal Pictures. The tour lasts about 45–60 minutes and is led by an in-person "tram guide", with the aid of pre-recorded videos of Jimmy Fallon. It travels through the Front Lot, Backlot, and various attractions, passing sets and properties from movies along the way. The tour inspired a smaller but similar version at Universal Studios Florida, which was removed in 1995.
Universal Creative is the division of Universal Destinations & Experiences responsible for designing, developing, engineering and producing themed attractions, rides, and resorts. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida the company operates at Universal Parks & Resorts locations around the world in the United States, Singapore, Japan and China.
Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show is a live musical revue stage show based on the film of the same name and Universal Classic Monsters. It is located at Universal Studios Japan, and formerly played at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida.
Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! was a dark ride attraction at Universal Studios Florida. Set on a soundstage of a fictitious movie company, Disaster! was based on the park's former Earthquake: The Big One ride, which comically illustrates how special effects are filmed for use in movies. The attraction's climax cast the riders as movie extras for a movie final scene involving an earthquake in a subway station. Using high-speed editing techniques, the riders got to see themselves in the form of a movie trailer that included film sequences shot throughout the attraction's pre-show and main ride.
NBC Media Center is an attraction located at Universal Studios Florida. It is seasonal, and is an interactive survey attraction that allows park guests to preview and focus-test an upcoming Universal Studios' film or television show. The attraction is located in the "Garden of Allah Villas" section of the park's Hollywood area.
Universal's Halloween Horror Nights is an annual Halloween-themed event at Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Singapore. The longest-running & most successful iteration of the event, in Orlando, Florida, began as Universal Studios Fright Nights in 1991 as a 3-night event at Universal Studios Florida. The following year, it was re-branded as Halloween Horror Nights, advertised as the "second annual event". Since then, it has evolved into a scare-a-thon event filled with themed haunted houses, scare zones & shows that runs over the course of select nights from early September until late October/early November, inspiring offshoots at other Universal Studios locations across the globe.
Special Effects Stage was an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. Originally located in the park's Lower Lot area, it was relocated to the Upper Lot’s Castle Theater to make way for Transformers: The Ride 3D. The attraction opened in this second and final location on June 26, 2010. The show permanently closed on January 8, 2023 alongside Universal's Animal Actors, and both will be replaced by a Fast & the Furious-themed rollercoaster.
This article details the appearance of Harry Potter theming in amusement parks. In the late 1990s, Universal Parks & Resorts began discussing the possibility of purchasing the license for Harry Potter to create and theme amusement park rides. As Time Warner owns the license, a small walkthrough attraction was constructed at Warner Bros. Movie World called the Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience in 2001. This attraction was removed two years later. In 2010, Universal Islands of Adventure park opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Similar attractions have also opened in Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan and are planned for Universal Studios Beijing.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park near Los Angeles. The area is themed to the Harry Potter media franchise, adapting elements from the film series and novels by J.K. Rowling. The attraction—the second Harry Potter-themed area to exist at a Universal resort—was designed by Universal Creative from an exclusive license with Warner Bros. Entertainment.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a chain of themed areas at Universal Destinations & Experiences based on the Harry Potter media franchise, adapting elements from the Warner Bros.' film series and original novels by J. K. Rowling. The areas were designed by Universal Creative from an exclusive license with Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Fast & Furious: Supercharged is a motion-based dark ride attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida and that was cancelled at Universal Studios Beijing. The attraction is based on the Fast & Furious film franchise, which features Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson. The Hollywood version, opened on June 25, 2015 as part of the Studio Tour. The Florida version of the ride, which opened on April 23, 2018, features Ludacris and Jordana Brewster in the pre-show of the attraction.
Super Nintendo World is a themed area at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood. Further areas are under construction at Universal Studios Singapore and the upcoming Universal Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort. A result of a partnership between Nintendo and Universal Destinations & Experiences, the area is based on Nintendo video game franchises, primarily the Mario and Donkey Kong franchises.
