Nintendo, King Kong, NBC Sports and redefining the water park experience? It’s all change at Universal it seems! The theme park operator has made some exciting announcements in the last month.
First, and possibly the most exciting, Universal is promising to bring to life “an entirely new water theme park experience for our guests”. It released the first artists impressions of the planned water park on May 28th in this blog post.
Called Volcano Bay, the water park will feel as if it is set in picture-perfect tropical islands, formed by a massive volcano – and Universal says it will have something for every member of the family.
The company has already broken ground on Volcano Bay and construction is expected to move quickly, with the opening planned for 2017.
Universal said “Volcano Bay shows how Universal Orlando is continuing to evolve at an unprecedented rate that will not slow anytime soon. Since 2010, we’ve launched more than 18 remarkable experiences across the destination – from new attractions and theme park lands to new on-site hotels and restaurants. Our team will continue delivering new guest experiences that push the limits of theme park entertainment.”
The Volcano Bay announcement came hot on the heels of Universal’s May 7th announcement that the theme park will partner with Nintendo.
This exciting news caused much press speculation about exactly which of the games company’s characters would be brought to life.
And only the day before, on May 6th, Universal had announced the opening of a new King Kong attraction in 2016… and the promo video for this is really impressive:
With all these new attractions lined up, it seems maybe Universal won’t miss the NBA, which is switching allegiance over to theme park rival Disney, it was announced five days ago. The NBA City restaurant at Universal’s CityWalk will close soon, but Universal is still committed to the Sports theme – only a day earlier it announced plans for an NBC Sports themed restaurant – the NBC Sports Grill and Brew – which will open Autumn 2015 at CityWalk.
As the Orlando Sentinel reported: Both theme park resorts have made enhancing their entertainment districts a big priority. Downtown Disney — being renamed Disney Springs — is undergoing massive expansion and Universal Orlando has opened or revamped about a dozen venues at its CityWalk entertainment area.
We will keep you posted!
