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Blue Man Group Theatre | |
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Universal Orlando | |
Area | Citywalk |
Status | Removed |
Opening date | June 6, 2007 |
Closing date | February 1, 2021 [1] |
Replaced | Nickelodeon Studios |
Replaced by | TBA |
Ride statistics | |
Attraction type | Live show and residency |
Model | Theater |
Theme | Blue Man Group |
Music | Blue Man Group |
Audience capacity | 1,000 per show |
Duration | 1 hour, 45 minutes |
Sponsor | Sharp Aquos (2007–2012) |
Closed captioning available |
The Blue Man Group Theatre (previously named the Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre until 2012) [2] was an indoor theatre located at Universal Orlando Resort's CityWalk, which housed a live show and residency by the Blue Man Group, featuring their unique musical and humorous performances. It opened on June 6, 2007 [3] in the former Nickelodeon Studios building, which was re-zoned into Universal CityWalk Orlando. [4] As a stand-alone experience within CityWalk, it required separate admission from the theme parks.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, the Blue Man Group Theatre closed along with the rest of the resort in March 2020. Performances were put on hiatus when the resort re-opened later that year. In February 2021, the Blue Man Group announced they would be ending their residency. [1]
Upon its opening in June 2007, the theatre was a permanent home for the Blue Man Group; Sharp Aquos was the sponsor of the theatre until 2012. The original show featured some of the same humor and routines from the other Blue Man Group shows in the United States, as well as new routines and components not seen in any other show. [5] The setlist ended with a remix finale of "Last Train To Trancentral". [6] In 2012, Blue Man Group introduced a new show as part of Universal's "Year to Be Here" campaign, that featured new bits and a new finale, featuring Blue Man's Booty Shaker song, all mixed in with classic Blue Man Group comedy from the previous show. Each show lasted approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. [7]
On November 9, 2006, Universal Orlando Resort announced that Blue Man Group would occupy soundstage 18 in a new, unnamed theatre, which in May 2007 was named the Sharp Aquos Theatre. [4] Construction began shortly after the announcement. The theatre is contained within soundstage 18, which was occupied by Nickelodeon Studios from 1990–2005.[ citation needed ] The sound stage was home to shows such as Slime Time Live , Figure It Out , and Double Dare 2000 . In 2005, the sound stage was used for Where Evil Hides, a haunted house for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror event. [8] The theatre is located between the Hard Rock Cafe and the main entrance to Universal Studios Florida. [7]
The 1,000-seat theatre featured a 30-foot-tall (9.1 m) Blue Man facade, and is accessible both from the Universal CityWalk as well as the Universal Studios theme park. [9] In preparation for the rezoning of the building into CityWalk, a walkway was constructed between the Universal Studios theme park and the resort's Hard Rock Cafe allowing guests to enter the theatre without paying admission to the theme park, while the former Nickelodeon Studios entrance at the theme park was turned into an attended exit from the theme park to the theatre's entrance. The theatre's seating was organized into five different "zones", out of which, the Poncho Zone is a highly-probable "splash" zone that consists of the first four rows of the theatre that guests would need to wear a poncho included in their purchase of admission. [10]
Between October–November 2008, the pathway to the theatre was moved for construction of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, a roller coaster which opened in 2009. Construction on the coaster also resulted in the removal of The Boneyard for the Universal Music Plaza Stage and the entrance of Rockit, and the reconfiguration of the queue of Twister...Ride it Out. In January 2012, the Nickelodeon Kiosk closed in favor for the Blue Man Store, which opened on March 1, 2014. In November 2012, the front wall of Soundstage 18 was repainted with a Blue Man holding up the Blue Man Group logo, the "Sharp Aquos Theatre" signage on the awning were removed, the box office was redesigned, and the BMG Gear store was redone as well. In February 2016, the Blue Man Group Theatre began expansion and renovations into previously abandoned areas of the studio with the first floor and lobby area repainted. [11]
On February 1, 2021, it was announced that the Blue Man Group would be ending their residency at Universal Orlando, [1] [12] due to the impact of the coronavirus affecting its operations. The show had not been operating for nearly a year at the time of the announcement, shutting down along with the rest of the resort on the night of March 15, 2020 due to the pandemic, and remaining closed even after the resort reopened in June 2020. A permanent replacement for the show is currently unknown. In November and December 2021, the theatre housed the Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular stage show. [13]
Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply Universal, formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. Universal Orlando is the second-largest resort in Greater Orlando, after nearby Walt Disney World Resort. Universal Orlando covers 541 acres of land.
Nickelodeon Studios was a production studio and theme park attraction run by the television network Nickelodeon at Universal Studios Florida.
Universal Parks & Resorts, also known as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort properties around the world. Universal Parks & Resorts is best known for attractions and lands based on famous classic and modern pop culture properties from not only NBCUniversal, but also third-party companies, for all of its parks.
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Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal and features numerous rides, attractions and live shows. Universal Studios Florida was the first component of the larger Universal Orlando Resort to open, ranking eleventh in the world and sixth in North America for attendance among amusement parks in 2019 while hosting approximately 10.9 million visitors.
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Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites – Waterpark is an all-suite hotel in Orlando, Florida, United States, near the Universal Orlando Resort and one mile from Walt Disney World Resort. It is a Holiday Inn Resort. From 2005 to 2016, the hotel was themed after the cable television channel Nickelodeon.
Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Parks & Resorts. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and serves as an entrance plaza from the parking lots to the theme parks. CityWalk can also be found at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan, and Universal Beijing Resort in Beijing, China.
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Universal Creative designs and creates themed attractions, rides, and resorts, for Universal Parks & Resorts. Its divisions include master planning, creative development, design, engineering, project management, and research and development. The Universal Creative team is composed of artists, architects, engineers, designers, producers, builders, writers and more who design and create all of the themed entertainment experiences for Universal Parks & Resorts.
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Twister...Ride It Out was an indoor special effects attraction based on the 1996 film Twister, located in the New York themed area at Universal Studios Florida. It replaced Ghostbusters Spooktacular and opened to the general public on May 4, 1998. Hosts Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, stars from the original film, were featured in recorded video footage and audio narrations throughout the attraction. Guests experienced a life-like encounter with a simulated tornado in the main show area which included water, fire, and the movement of objects across the stage among other audio and visual effects. Declining popularity due to a lack of long-term cultural significance led to the attraction's permanent closure on November 1, 2015. Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon opened in its place two years later in 2017.
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