Universal Orlando Resort is getting ready to debut its new attraction, Hagrid’s Magical Motorbike Adventure in just a few weeks. And though the opening of this new, record-breaking attraction is very exciting, Universal has some other, unannounced projects in the works that we can’t wait to learn more about as well!
1. Untitled live action experience (Project 126)
Terminator 2: 3D closed forever back in 2017, and while it has been almost two years since this attraction shuttered its doors forever, details are still scarce at the moment about what is going to eventually be housed in this massive theater space.
Universal has previously confirmed that the theater that formerly housed this attraction will not remain empty, saying that “an all-new live action experience based on a high-energy Universal franchise” that’s set to open in 2019. However, considering we’re almost half way through 2019 and so far there have been no announcements about what the future occupant of this space will be, we’re starting to wonder if this project has stalled.
The lone update about this project comes from the Orlando Business Journal, who reported last year that permits were filed for a Project 126 (rumored to be the new show coming to this theater) that seemed to indicate that some construction work was happening inside this facility. But aside from that and the occasional social media report of movement inside this theater, nothing has been reported yet about this project, which definitely has us scratching our heads in regards to this project.
2. Jurassic World roller coaster (Project 791)
Image: Universal/ Legendary
Last year a demolition permit filed with the city of Orlando for “Project 791” for a 1.36-acre area. of the park. Like all permits, this one was pretty vague, specifying that a new attraction was planned for the area, with demolition and construction taking approximately 1 1/2 years. And though no hard details were provided at the time, in recent months construction walls have appeared around the Jurassic Park area of the park that seem to re-confirm that a new attraction is indeed being built in this area. And thanks to some well-placed rumors, we have some idea about what this new attraction is going to be.
According to several reports on the internet, this new Jurassic-themed attraction will be a multi-launch roller coaster with twists and turns and a top hat element, loosely themed to the raptors seen in the Jurassic World series. And though we don’t know many specifics about it right now, with the rate construction in this area is going (and Universal’s penchant for getting attractions done quickly), we’ll probably get an announcement very soon with an opening potentially as soon as 2020 or 2021.
3. Universal Fantastic Worlds
Image: Universal
Though Universal has only ever offered a firm “no comment” when it comes to its massive Real Estate purchase from the day before Christmas in 2015, their plans to build new theme parks on this land has been a very poorly-kept secret for several years now, with the new park plans being quietly confirmed inside Comcast’s second-quarter 2018 financial results. And though we still don’t have any official announcement for the public about this upcoming park, areal photographs show that land clearing for this new park has been completed in recent months, which means vertical construction should begin soon.
Though we don’t know much about the theme or what kinds of attractions will be featured as part of this new park, last year the name “Fantastic Worlds” was leaked after a business meeting with Universal Orlando Resort parent company Comcast. And as you can see, this leaked logo features Mario, which has fueled speculation that the original plan for Nintendo World inside Universal Studios Florida has been scrapped, with construction on this new land now moving to this new park.
Image: Nintendo
Though Universal has only just started construction on this new park, they have quietly been making plans with the City of Orlando for transportation facilitation, and will hopefully have a launch window for this upcoming park in the near future.
