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, Universal Epic Universe, is scheduled to open in Summer 2025.
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur.
Planet Hollywood International Inc. is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl Enterprises was founded by Robert Earl.
Universal Destinations & Experiences, 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 Destinations & Experiences 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.
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 three theme parks to open at Universal Orlando Resort, joined later by 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. A third park, Epic Universe, is expected in summer 2025. It is expected to be the largest Universal park in the United States.
Vivo or VIVO may refer to:
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is a United States–based hospitality company that manages and franchises a casual dining American restaurant chain, retail stores selling Jimmy Buffett–themed merchandise, and hotels.
Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Destinations & Experiences. 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.
The Walt Disney World Swan is a resort hotel located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and across from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Dolphin. Both hotels were designed by Michael Graves, and are connected by a palm-tree lined covered walkway crossing a lagoon. The Swan opened on January 13, 1990, as part of a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company, Tishman Hotel Corporation, MetLife and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which was merged into Marriott International in 2019. The land the resort occupies is owned by the Walt Disney Company and leased on a 99-year term to the Tishman Hotel Corporation and MetLife who own the buildings and contract the operation to Marriott International under the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand. The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin are a part of the Walt Disney Collection of resorts; because of this they are Disney branded and guests of the resort have access to special Disney benefits available to Disney Resort Hotel guests only.
Disney's BoardWalk Resort is a hotel and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. First opened in 1996, the BoardWalk Resort is located in the Epcot Resort Area, alongside Crescent Lake, and is situated between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. The inn and the villas share a common lobby with the rest of the resort. The Inn, Atlantic Dance Hall, and other features of the boardwalk were designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various Universal-owned theme parks, amusement parks, or water parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.
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. The residency featured the group's unique musical and humorous performances and routines, 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 is the division of Universal Destinations & Experiences responsible for designing, developing, engineering and producing themed attractions, rides, and resorts. Headquartered in Orlando, the company operates at Universal Destinations & Experiences locations around the world in the United States, Singapore, Japan and China.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a motion-based dark ride located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-themed areas of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida; Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California; Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan; and Universal Studios Beijing in Beijing, China. The ride takes guests through scenes and environments in and around Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series of books and films. Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, described the ride as an in-depth look at the world of Harry Potter, which utilizes never-before-seen technology which transforms "the theme park experience as you know it". The ride first opened at Islands of Adventure with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on June 18, 2010; subsequent versions opened at Universal Studios Japan on July 15, 2014, at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 7, 2016, and at Universal Studios Beijing on September 20, 2021.
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.
Universal Studios Beijing is a Universal theme park in Beijing that opened on September 20, 2021 as part of Universal Beijing Resort. Invited-only test operation started on September 1, 2021. The park would become the fifth Universal Studios-branded theme park in the world, the seventh Universal-built park overall, and the third in Asia, after Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Singapore. However, it would also be the first Universal-built park in Asia to not include Sesame Street as one of its licensed properties.
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 franchise.
A virtual restaurant, also known as a ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen or dark kitchen, is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick-up based on phone and online ordering. Virtual restaurants are stand-alone businesses that either operate out of an existing restaurant's kitchen or from a separate kitchen set-up away from a restaurant. By not having a full-service restaurant with a storefront and dining room, virtual restaurants can economize by occupying cheaper real estate. The reduced space lowers overall overhead and operational costs, thus yielding higher profit margins, as the price of the food provided is typically not changed. The virtual restaurant's single kitchen format allows for multiple brands to share kitchen space.
Disney's Riviera Resort is a Disney Vacation Club resort at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It was built by Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. It is the first newly constructed resort to be served by the Disney Skyliner gondola system and the 15th Disney Vacation Club property to be built. The resort is themed after Walt Disney's trips and experiences in Europe and a love of the French and Italian Riviera. A collection of his travel images are incorporated into the resort's decor. Popular Disney characters are also painted into the overall theme of the resort including known characters' boat storage. It opened on December 16, 2019.
Vivo Italian Kitchen, Orlando
Vivo Italian Kitchen, Hollywood
