The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respectively, as lead vocalist 'Joliet' Jake Blues and harmonica player/vocalist Elwood Blues, donning black suits with matching trilby hats and sunglasses. The band was composed of well-known musicians, and debuted as the musical guest in a 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live, opening the show performing "Hey Bartender", and later "Soul Man".
Ernest Saves Christmas is a 1988 American Christmas comedy film directed by John Cherry and starring Jim Varney. This is the third film to feature Varney's character Ernest P. Worrell, the most commercially successful film in the Ernest franchise, and chronicles Ernest's attempt to help find a replacement for an aging Santa Claus.
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Marty Sklar, Randy Bright, and Michael Eisner, the park opened on May 1, 1989, as the Disney-MGM Studios (Theme) Park, and was the third of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. Spanning 135 acres (55 ha), the park is dedicated to the imagined worlds from film, television, music, and theatre, drawing inspiration from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a 541-acre (219 ha) American theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. Following the opening of Universal Studios Florida theme park 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, Universal Epic Universe, is scheduled to open in 2025.
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 three theme parks to open at Universal Orlando Resort, joined later by Universal's Islands of Adventure in 1999 and Volcano Bay in 2017. In 2019, it ranked eleventh in the world – sixth in North America – for overall attendance among amusement parks with approximately 10.9 million visitors.
Shrek 4-D is a computer-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 Orlando 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 to be 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 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 second 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.
Blue Man Group was a live residency show by the performance art company of the same name at Universal Orlando Resort that ran from June 6, 2007 until February 1, 2021, and featured the group's unique musical and humorous performances and routines. The residency was housed in a new theater in the former Nickelodeon Studios, which was re-zoned into Universal CityWalk Orlando as a stand-alone experience within CityWalk, that required separate admission from the theme parks.
Universal Creative designs and creates themed attractions, rides, and resorts, for Universal Destinations & Experiences. 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 Destinations & Experiences.
Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular was a fireworks show attraction located at Universal Studios Florida. It replaced the Dynamite Nights Stunt Spectacular, and featured famous scenes from Universal Pictures' films projected onto four large inflated domes in a lagoon located in the center of the park. The show generally took place at the hour of the park's closing. It was directed by John Landis, whose other works include The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London. In 2009, the show was edited and some shorter scenes were removed and replaced by other clips.
The Universal Music Plaza Stage is an outdoor amphitheater located in Orlando, Florida. The venue opened on February 21, 2009, and is located within Universal Studios Florida, in the Production Central section of the park, replacing the former attraction, The Boneyard. It hosts 15–20 concerts per season. The amphitheater can hold 8,000 spectators in standing-room capacity.
"Santa Claus Is Back in Town" is a Christmas song written in 1957 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and first recorded that year by Elvis Presley as the opening track on Elvis' Christmas Album, the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of all time in the United States. The song has become a rock and roll Christmas standard.
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.
Animal Actors on Location is a live stage show at Universal Studios Florida, and formerly at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. The show features multiple animals performing stunts and tricks.
Universal's Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories was a lagoon show at Universal Studios Florida. The attraction replaced Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular in the park's center Lagoon. It featured famous scenes from Universal Pictures films projected onto large waterfall screens mixed with fountains and pyrotechnics. The show was narrated by actor Morgan Freeman, and was part of the 100th anniversary celebrations for Universal Studios throughout 2012. It opened on May 8, 2012. The music for the "spectacular" was a combination of scores from different films, with some original pieces composed by Brian Tyler, who also adapted Jerry Goldsmith's Universal Pictures fanfare for the studio's current logo and composed the "Universal Pictures 100th Anniversary Theme" that was also based on Goldsmith's fanfare. The closure of the show was announced on October 10, 2017. Universal stated that the show was replaced with a new night show named Universal Orlando's Cinematic Celebration, which opened on July 16, 2018, and closed on March 9, 2023.
Revenge of the Mummy, officially named Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride, is an enclosed roller coaster located at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Singapore. Its theme is based on The Mummy film franchise, and the ride features linear induction motors (LIMs) that launch riders from standstill to a maximum speed of 45 mph (72 km/h) in a matter of seconds. The Florida and Singapore locations have the same track layout, and each location offers a slightly different virtual experience. The three attractions were manufactured by Premier Rides and feature track switches installed by Dynamic Structures. Universal Creative and ITEC Entertainment Corporation created the theme at each location, with Adirondack Studios responsible for several of unique elements implemented at the Singapore location.
Springfield is a chain of themed areas at Universal Parks & Resorts in Florida and Hollywood, based on the town of the same name from the long-hit American television animated sitcom, The Simpsons.
The Christmas Chronicles is a 2018 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman. The film stars Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp, Lamorne Morris, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Oliver Hudson. It is the first installment in The Christmas Chronicles film series. The film was produced by 1492 Pictures and Wonder Worldwide and was released on November 22, 2018, on Netflix.
