Recently Universal Studios Hollywood added an option to purchase an early entry ticket for Super Nintendo World. This is in addition to your already purchased ticket and grants you access one hour early before park open to the land. Opening weekend for this ticket has already sold out more than two weeks in advance and is showing strong demand so far.
Super Nintendo World officially opens on February 17th and all tickets including early entry tickets can be purchased here.
Well well well, due to Gov. Newsom not giving any theme park reopening guidelines until after July 4th, Disney has released a statement saying that it is impossible for them to reopen July 17th. Downtown Disney and the hotels will reopen on schedule as they have already been approved.
I must say I am disappointed, but I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. There was tremendous pressure from the unions to delay the opening and Newsom listened to them. I just really hope everyone wears a face covering whether they like it or not and that everyone can come to an agreement to open up the parks sometime next month. This hereby “delays” Universal, Six Flags, and the other California theme park reopenings as all of the ones mentioned were preparing to reopen next week.
I will have a lot more to say in tomorrow’s livestream on my youtube channel so check it out and subscribe for all of my thoughts on that, but what do you think of this news? Let me know down below!
Following in Disney Springs’ footsteps, Universal has announced that Citywalk in Orlando will be reopening Thursday May 14th.
Select locations will be open from 4pm-10pm each day. Dining locations such as Bubba Gump, Margaritaville, Red Oven Pizza Bakery, Voodoo Doughnut, and Auntie’s Anne’s Pretzels will be open. On the retail side of things, the Universal Studios Store, Airbrush, the retail section of Huntington Tattoo Company will be reopening with the same hours as the restaurants.
With both California and Florida under Stay at Home orders, Universal has decided to close their domestic parks through at least the end of May. They had originally been closed through April 19th, but were extended due to the coronavirus situation not slowing down.
Some good news is that stats show that California has started to flatten the curve and computer models moved up its peak to April 14th, which is as soon as next week. Those projection models have the state social distancing until Mid May to complete flatten the curve. That would coincide with the time frame that Knotts and Six Flags would like to open up their parks and give Universal enough room to decide to push up the opening of its Hollywood park should the situation vastly improve by that time.
Here is the official statement from Universal below:
Universal Studios Hollywood’s Lunar New Year starts January 23rd and goes through February 9th. It will be located in the main plaza where all of the events at the park are held and for the most part seems like a repeat of the offerings from last year.
This year Universal will be offering:
Will you be going to this year’s Lunar New Year festival? What of the above offerings are you looking forward to the most? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and follow this blog for constant theme park updates!
Universal quietly dropped their annual pass prices and did so pretty significantly some time in the past couple of weeks. According to an insider Universal is pretty happy with the amount of tourists and VIP’s visiting the park, but is underwhelmed by the amount of local traffic. Repeat visitors are what drives in park spending the most so Universal really relies on passholders during the slow and busy seasons to keep up the bottom line.
The new amounts are listed as follows:
Platinum (Includes no blackout dates and Universal Express): $629 now $449
Gold: $329 now $249
Silver: $179 now $174
I expect once Secret Life of Pets opens next year and when Nintendo opens in 2021 those prices will shoot back up so I would purchase a pass and enjoy the reduction while you can. Another great option, which is what I always purchase, is the season pass which for $149 ($10 more than a one day ticket) grants you 9 months or 275 days of access to the park. It does not include parking, but I always just park at the nearby Metro stop which is only three dollars and take the tram to the entrance.
Will these new price reductions encourage you to purchase a pass? Do you think Universal still does not have enough to do to get a pass? Let me know in the comments below!
Today Universal Hollywood announced that on March 19th and 20th they will be hosting a Food and Wine Festival. The only difference between this one and other theme park festivals is that Universal’s will be an after hours hard ticket event.
The event will start at 7pm each night and cost $179 to attend on each night. That price includes food tastings, beer, wine, live competitions and photo ops with Top Chef talent, live entertainment, merchandise, and a gift. For $300 you can get a VIP ticket that allows you access to Universal Studios starting at 12pm and preferred parking with VIP tasting with alumni from Top Chef or for $199 you can get a day and night combo ticket that starts at 12pm but does not include free parking and the special VIP experiences.
If you have not guessed already this event is themed to Bravo’s Top Chef and you will be able to taste some of their delicious meals all night long! Will you be attending this festival? Would you rather it be included in regular park admission like at California Adventure? Do you think what your getting is worth all that money? Let me know in the comments below!
Universal Studios Hollywood announced today that the Toothsome Emporium is set to take over the space occupied by Hard Rock Cafe and open in 2021. Hard Rock Cafe will be closing January 8th to begin the transition.
The restaurant will feature all of the goodies in the Orlando version and be two stories. It will also feature a gift shop, dessert bar, and all day brunch. Universal Citywalk over the past few years has undergone a massive overhaul including the opening of Margaritaville, Antijitos, Voodoo Doughnuts and more. New dining and retail options should be announced in the coming months as there are several more vacant spaces throughout the entertainment center.
What do you think of the Toothsome Emporium coming to Citywalk? I personally love chocolate so I am very excited for this new addition, but let me know in the comments below what you think about this recent change to Citywalk!
Universal Citywalk continues to go through major changes as the large and iconic Hard Rock Cafe is set to close at the beginning of January. It is rumored to be replaced by a Toothsome Emporium that is currently at Orlando’s Citywalk.
Above is a picture of the Toothsome Emporium in Orlando and as you can see it is a two story full service restaurant with a large dessert section as well. There is also a gift shop attached. Have you been to the Emporium in Orlando? Are you excited for it to come to Hollywood? Let me know in the comments below!
Universal today announced the opening date for the second half of the Endless Summer Resort to be called Dockside Inn and Suites.
This hotel will when open complete the Endless Summer Resort at Universal Orlando and it will be the eighth hotel within the resort and according to Universal this is just the beginning as they plan to add another 2,000 plus rooms in the coming years.
Dockside Inn and Suites is a 2,050 room hotel and will be affordable for everyone with rooms starting at $85 a night. The hotel will open March 17th, 2020 and be right across the street from the first phase, Surfside Inn and Suites.
Anyone staying at either hotel will get perks such as free transportation to the Universal Transit Hub and Citywalk, early entry into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the ability to charge merchandise to your room at Citywalk.
Will you be staying in this resort next time you visit Universal Orlando? Let me know in the comments below!
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