What's New at Universal

One of the latest additions to the park is a roller coaster located at the “Islands of Adventure” on Jurassic Park Island. This rollercoaster is called the Velocicoaster and was opened June 10th 2021. With the ride going up to 70 mph in 2.4 seconds, this makes the Velocicoaster the fastest launch coaster out of any Universal park. The maximum height for the Velocicoaster is 155 feet, which also makes it the tallest roller coaster at Universal. The Velocicoaster features intense features like a 360-degree spin, four inversions, an 80-degree drop, upside-down turns, sideways turns, and right-side-up turns. Another amazing feature is that the Velocicoaster maintains a high speed until the end of the ride. Because of all of these things, the Velocicoaster is a must-do ride at Universal for thrill seekers.

Dreamworks Destination is the new section in the kids’ zone, which replaced the previous Barney section and opened this spring. Dreamworks Destination allows kids to meet and greet their favorite characters from things like Kung-Fu Panda, Trolls, Madagascar, and Shrek. The characters that come out for each show are randomized, and only three characters are shown each show. The show lasts for one hour, with each character getting 20 minutes of showtime. People are allowed to leave and enter the show whenever they like to. The Dreamworks Destination is a great place for young kids to visit.

Two new things that will be coming to Universal Studios Orlando include a new area in CityWalk, as well as construction on a new theme park called “Epic Universe.” CityWalk has been showing signs of construction, with there appearing to be some new retail space. This space could end up being a new store, restaurant, or something else. Whatever the construction is, it seems to be moving very fast. In 2019, Universal Studios Orlando announced that they would start construction on a new theme park, called Epic Universe, to add to their current three parks. People expected the new theme park to be open by 2023, but due to the pandemic last year, there had to be some delays. These delays included the existing theme parks being forced to close down, as well as the construction on Epic Universe being put on hold. When the parks reopened a couple months later, construction was back on, but the release date for the new theme park was pushed back to 2024. There is still little detail on this new theme park, but it will have a themed section based on J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” franchise. Mario Land, featuring Nintendo characters, will be released in the theme park as well. There are some theories that there will also be a “How to Train your Dragon'' section and a Universal monsters section, but this isn’t confirmed.

Universal Studios Orlando has a lot to offer, and will continue to offer more in the future such as the Velocicoaster, Dreamworks Destination, the new area in CityWalk, and the Epic Universe park. The future of Universal Studios looks very promising and people look forward to attending these new attractions when they finally come out.