Biggest Universal Studios Stories of the Year

Universal Studios has grown in popularity in recent years to the point that its executives brag that it’s a viable threat to the Disney theme park empire.

During 2022, the various parks proved this point repeatedly. Of course, the past year also proved trying in some ways.

Here are the biggest Universal stories of the year, most of which are positive. A couple of these stories are a bit of a bummer, though.

Escape Rooms Debut

Ever since escape rooms ascended in popularity, fans wondered when their favorite theme parks would get in the game.

After all, most escape room designers are rank amateurs: inexperienced and often flat-out terrible at theming.

What could a company like Universal achieve with the same premise?

We learned the answer late in 2022 when a pair of escape rooms opened at Universal CityWalk Orlando.

Guests have their choice of Jurassic World: Escape or Back to the Future: OUTATIME.

Both themed experiences recreate your favorite moments from those two franchises and underscore how brilliant and immersive Universal storytelling is.

Face Mask Requirements End

On Christmas Eve 2021, Universal officials acknowledged the elephant in the room. Florida had suffered another COVID-19 outbreak.

So, management had no choice but to reinstate pandemic restrictions as Universal entered 2022.

Finally, on February 12^th, Universal ended its COVID-19 face-covering policies once and for all. And the parks haven’t looked back since then.

Halloween Horror Nights 31 Has The Weeknd and No Restrictions

While Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) operated during the pandemic, let’s be honest about how it was a lesser version.

Social distancing restrictions forced the Scareactors to stand behind plexiglass and other preventive barriers.

Thankfully, in 2022, the HHN event required no such safeguards…and let’s be honest, we do NOT want to feel safe at HHN!

Scareactors returned to their ominous ways of chasing innocents down the street or lurching at them from surprise locales within the houses.

Fans were happy again.

Even better, this year’s event hosted something new and creative. Wildly successful record artist The Weeknd hosted his own house!

Called The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare, this house paid tribute to the artist’s After Hours album. And it was incredible!

You can watch video of it here:

Hurricane Ian Damage

In some ways, this was the most unpredictable but significant story of the year.

When Hurricane Ian approached the Florida coastline, everyone braced for the worst.

The state likely suffered more than $100 billion (with a B) in property damage.

Sadly, Universal Orlando Resort couldn’t avoid this fate. Here’s a tweet of some damage:

Photos of damage to the Jurassic Park River Adventure show building at Universal's Islands of Adventure. https://t.co/Un5efcfAuB

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 29, 2022

Yes, that’s Jurassic Park River Adventure missing a sizable portion of the building’s wall.

That wasn’t even the worst of the damage. Here’s how the flooding looked near the Universal Studios entrance:

This WAS the entrance to the Double Tree by Hilton hotel at Universal Studios.

And those cars across Major Blvd used to be working cars. Likely not anymore. @MyNews13 #HurricaneIan#flooding pic.twitter.com/CpoHyAqeQD

— Jeff Allen (@News13JeffAllen) September 29, 2022

Cars aren’t supposed to float off, right? At least we know that the one car’s brake lights really work.

I’m joking here to mask my frustration over this entire turn of events.

Hurricane Ian was terrible for everyone in Florida and several other coastal states. Hopefully, the 2023 hurricane season will prove much calmer.

Monsters Café Closes

In hindsight, none of us should have been surprised by this turn of events.

Still, the news broke my heart to report. In 2022, Universal Studios permanently closed the Monsters Café.

A few months later, park officials also removed the spinning Classic Monsters from the nearby booth.

As a reminder, Universal’s Epic Adventure will contain a complete themed land based on Classic Monsters. As such, Monsters Café had become superfluous.

Like many of you, I’m really gonna miss it, though.

The Revenge of the Mummy Mystery

Late December marked the end of an era at Universal Studios Florida…and a strange one at that.

Revenge of the Mummy finally changed its status from technical rehearsals to open. This may not sound like a big deal on the surface, but it ended an odyssey.

At the start of 2022, we knew the indoor roller coaster would shut down for as much as half the year.

However, early reports during the refurbishment suggested that the process was well ahead of schedule. I mentioned that I’d heard it could open by July 4^th.

Well, Revenge of the Mummy most assuredly didn’t return then. In fact, it remained offline for most of the year.

Some technical rehearsals occurred on August 30^th, and then the ride was regularly hosting guests a bit later in the year.

For whatever reason, these technical rehearsals remained for nearly four more months, though.

Guests at the park found attempts to ride Revenge of the Mummy rather chaotic since it could feasibly close at any time. That’s how technical rehearsals work.

Thankfully, the whole affair has ended, although it would have been nice of Universal to add more clarity about the matter during the second half of 2022.

Shrek 4-D Closes, Minions Announced

Here’s a story that started and ended the year at Universal Studios Florida.

In early January, Shrek 4-D closed its doors forever. At the time, rumors suggested that a Despicable Me attraction would replace it.

However, Universal officials specifically chose not to confirm that until December.

Here’s the huge announcement from December 8^th:

BREAKING: Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast is coming to Universal Orlando Summer 2023. Put your skills to the ultimate test as you attempt to blast your way to supervillain stardom.

Sign up for email updates at https://t.co/jvwBrsmJek pic.twitter.com/9IsdUk8eOT

— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) December 8, 2022

Yes, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast will arrive this summer, merely six months from now!

Simultaneously, Universal will convert this area into a new themed land, Minion Land!

Finally, circling back to a previous story, the former Monsters Café will become Minions Café!

Universal Executives Retire in Large Numbers

Here’s a weird story that only happened recently. So, we still don’t know the full extent of what its impact will be.

Comcast is notoriously carrying lots of debt due to some ill-considered, mega-expensive acquisitions.

As a reminder, Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which has left the subsidiary cash-strapped for a long time. Comcast carries a LOT of debt.

Recently, Comcast instructed NBCUniversal to offer retirement package incentives to certain members of its workforce.

While we will never know the details of what transpired, many senior executives accepted these offers. They’re leaving or have already retired from the company.

One report suggested that virtually every Executive Vice-President has left.

The worrisome part is that many of these people were in charge of Epic Universe projects.

What impact will these retirements have on construction? Nobody knows.

Universal Park Attendance Beats Most Disney Parks

Recently, the leader of NBCUniversal gloated about the growing appeal of Universal Studios theme parks. And he had reason to do so.

When the Themed Entertainment Association announced attendance totals for 2021, the industry gasped in shock.

Universal Orlando Resort claimed two of the three most popular theme parks in the world for that year!

While part of the explanation stems from COVID-19 shutdowns, this feat still counted as a feather in Universal’s cap.

First, I should confirm that I am discussing 2021, not 2022. The attendance totals take a while to compile.

Still, Universal Orlando’s parks beat every Walt Disney World park except for Magic Kingdom.

So, for at least one year, Universal claims bragging rights over Disney.

The Universal Tribute Store Dazzles

Seriously, how great is this?

At various points this year, Universal decorated the Tribute Store with unique theming. You just looked at the one with E.T., Jaws, and Back to the Future.

Universal also hosted a Classic Monsters one – and just in time since we lost Monsters Café soon afterward! Here is that one:

Meanwhile, two different seasonal ones arrived for the holidays. Here’s the HHN version:

And here’s the yuletide Tribute Store:

Audiences couldn’t get enough of these overlays, encouraging Universal to do this regularly.

Universal Wins the Brightline War

Here’s a story with profound implications for Universal’s next Orlando theme park.

For the longest time, expectations called for Disney to add a high-speed railway station near Disney Springs.

If that project had happened, Disney would have gained a massive competitive advantage, as Brightline tracks will eventually connect Florida’s metropolitan areas.

However, Universal execs started their own negotiations, eventually winning a bid for the so-called Sunshine Corridor.

This new station will connect the railway tracks from Orlando International Airport to a spot near Convention Center.

Conveniently, that building resides a short distance from the upcoming Epic Universe. Yes, guests can take Brightline almost directly to the new park!

 

 

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Feature Photo: Universal