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Park News - (8/27/10) Fans of Terminator 2 – 3D may want to check out an old interview with James Cameron about the creation of the attraction. (8/23/10) Universal has been testing a new virtual queue concept at Jaws lately it seems, assigning guests to a Boat # and they call your group when your boat is ready to depart. You can see it a bit more in detail at Orlando Parks News. On a related bit of news, I’ve heard from another reader that more survey takers were out in the park near Disaster trying to get guest’s opinion of Jaws. After taking the survey, it was revealed to our reader that the park is trying to judge the public opinions of Jaws as they are eyeballing it as well as ET as the next two rides expected to be shut down to make way for new attractions in the future. (8/19/10) Orlando United reports that the Universal Horror Make-Up Show has been updated again sometime lately. All references to Van Helsing have been removed from the show and replaced with new references to this year’s Wolfman film instead. (8/4/10) A fantastic idea has been brought to life through the magic of YouTube… as we see what an upgraded version of the JAWS ride could be like. Dare we dream it to come true?
(7/26/10) Take a final look at Fear Factor Live this week over at Orlando Parks News. (7/15/10) A new photo update from Universal Studios Florida has been posted to Orlando Parks News. (6/30/10) We’ve heard that Fear Factor Live may have come back to live at Universal Studios Florida for one final summer run. I’m told that shows started on Sunday and will run through August 4th. (6/23/10) Orlando Park News drops into Universal Studios Florida for a bit only to find the Rockit coaster down for some unknown technical issue with a ton of park staff standing on a platform looking over it. (6/17/10) Good news for fans of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster as Screamscape has heard that as-of-yet unannounced upgrades are in the work for the ride as well as a slew of new audio tracks. It seems many new artists and labels who may have been opposed to the idea of getting involved with the Rockit the first time have changed their tune and are chomping at the bit to get their tracks on the ride now. It was also alluded to that we could first see some changes made to the ride in time for Halloween as “seasonal” upgrades are also being planned. (4/15/10) Lots of rumors lately seem to indicate that Universal Orlando is attempting to choose their next attraction target for demoltion, making way for some new unknown new attraction. While Behind the Thrills mentions that Jimmy Neuton’s r
ocket is currently missing as a sign that the ride could be on the way out, a Screamscape reader also took a survey for Universal last week that paints a different picture. The main focus of the survey seemed to ask a lot of specific questions about two older park attraction… ET Adventure and Twister. While Twister did replace Ghostbusters years ago, and has really failed to make a big impact, ET Adventure is one of the park’s remaining original attractions. Of course about a year ago we had heard numerous rumors that painted a rather grim picture for the future of Terminator 2 / 3D as well. Put the four together, and I think we’ve got a nice short list. Which would you rather see removed?
2010 - Nothing new is likely at this point in time.
???? - New Show - Rumor - (2/2/10) It looks like Universal is trying to come up with some more ideas of show ideas to fit into the Fear Factor Live venue. A reader was asked to take a survey yesterday with questions about how they felt about a variety of show ideas including a new a new Western themed show concept based on Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday a the OK Corral as well as ideas for an A-Team themed show, one based on Animal House, Scooby-Doo, Young Frankenstein and a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Musical. Bueller? Bueller? A Musical?! What crack are they smoking? Young Frankenstein would be funny, but that could be a replacement for Bettlejuice instead. An A-Team show could be the way to go, especially with the new feature film on the way. Boy… I remember seeing the original A-Team Stunt Show at Universal Hollywood as a kid. (1/31/10) Based on how the former Fear Factor: Live show has covered up the old logo, the chance of the show returning don’t look good at this point. Anyone know more about what may be planned for this show venue? (8/21/09) We’ve heard one minor rumor claiming that Universal may be looking into a cost evaluation to see what it would take to bring back a modified version of the old Wild West show. Apparently they are just looking at all the options, so nothing to get excited or upset about yet…
The Future - (1/31/10) Over the past decade Universal Studios Florida has been focused on updating pretty much every old attraction in the park. King Kong became Mummy, Back To The Future became The Simpons, Earthquake became Disaster and so on. At this point however, there are really only two ‘old school’ attractions left in the park: ET Adventure and Jaws. Considering that ET was given a costly upgrade in the past decade to replace the track system to allow for an increased number of seats per car, I don’t think it’s going anywhere just yet. This leaves Jaws as the last ride standing... so to speak. Could a new attraction be in the works to replace Jaws in the not too distant future? I’d say the chances are good... eventually, however stronger rumors point the finger at a possible new attraction to replace Terminator 2: 3-D before Jaws takes the deep six. For now, enjoy them both while you still can.
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