Category: Universal Studios
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The Insane Growth Of Halloween Horror Nights
At this point in time, Halloween Horror Nights has established itself as one of the most important events within the world of theme parks. These days, it has become a cultural icon in its own right. Even as someone who lives in the U.K., it isn’t that rare for me to see merchandise from the…
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The Halloween Horror Nights That Never Happened (HHN 2020)
In 2020, lots of bad things happened. It wasn’t a great year in most ways. The majority of this is all far too serious to discuss within a youtube channel dedicated to theme parks. But, the less serious discussions of how this affected the theme parks, is a much better fit. So, with the event…
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Why Theme Parks Need To Stop The Obsession With IP Lands!
The competition between Universal and Disney is an ever changing, high stake battle between two industry giants. It all really began back in the late 1980’s, when MGM Studios and Universal Studios Orlando opened just one year apart. The battle has raged on ever since and within this tussle we have seen different trends emerge…
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Celebrating the 25 Year History of Islands of Adventure
In 1999, Universal Orlando Resort opened up their second theme park, Islands of Adventure. Islands of Adventure was a major expansion and remains to this day the only non studios park built by Universal. Although, this is of course set to change very soon. In 1999, Islands of Adventure was unlike anything we’d ever seen…
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The Failure of Movie Studio Theme Parks – What Happened?
Millions of people a year visit theme parks to escape the realities of everyday life, so it’s no surprise that most revolve around themes of fantasy and adventure, drawing on already established literary and cinematic genres for inspiration. This idea has remained at the heart of most theme parks, allowing us, the guests, to travel…
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Is Universal’s Epic Universe a Waste of Money?
Set to open in 2025, Epic Universe will see Universal Parks & Resorts open their third theme park, fourth if you count Volcano Bay, in the Orlando area. With an opening date just a year away, progress is well underway for the park. A brand new theme park is always exciting, but it does come…
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Universal Studios Holiday Parade Featuring Macy’s: A Historical Deep Dive
Universal Studios Orlando is widely recognised for their contribution to the Halloween season. Halloween Horror Nights is the most widely recognised and celebrated theme park events and rightfully so. But, as Earl the Squirrel will let you know, Universal also does their fair share of contributing to the holiday festivities. From the Christmas tribute store…
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The History of Marvel at Halloween Horror Nights
Halloween Horror Nights Orlando is the world’s premier Halloween event and Marvel is one of the most widely recognisable brands out there, but did you know that at one point in time, in the year 2002 to be precise, these two worlds collided. In this video, I’m going to explore the most ambitious crossover ever……
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Does The Weeknd belong at Halloween Horror Nights? (The Weeknd After Hours Nightmare)
Many fans of Halloween Horror Nights were confused why The Weeknd had his own house at the event in 2022, and to that I said…you don’t know The Weeknd. I think it’s clear to see for those who got to experience this house, just how well The Weeknd worked at Halloween Horror Nights. Before the…
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Would you like to see a Jaws house at Halloween Horror Nights?
When you talk about Universal and Horror in the same conversation, it’s hard not to bring up Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film, Jaws. Jaws holds an incredibly large amount of cultural significance. It started the trend of summer blockbuster films and established the idea of high concept film narratives, suited for the new form of television…