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Resort News - (7/3/09) I’m not sure how much faith to put into this rumor yet but we have heard buzz about a possible Freddy VS Jason themed haunt for this year’s HHN. While that’s a fun idea, I think I’d still like to see a very well done version of “The Mist”, packed to the gills in fog effects, maybe along with some special flashlights. 
  (7/2/09) Good news for Universal Orlando this week as a lengthy lawsuit between them and the Orange County Property Appraiser’s Office has reached a settlement that will give the resort a $1.4 million tax refund. Read more here.
  (6/29/09) While we still don’t know much more about this year’s Halloween Horror Nights, an early rumor we received a few weeks ago does now hold more water. At the time they claimed that this year’s event would be more ‘movie’ themed once again, and that this year’s icon character may actually be some kind of twisted old-fashioned movie theater Usher character with a flashlight. Time will tell if this rumor also holds water.
  (6/26/09) The cat is now out of the bag it seems as Universal Orlando launched a new Halloween Horror Nights website yesterday. The theme and likely name of the event according to the site is “RIPPED From The Silver Screen” where they show off a creepy movie theater entrance area with movie posters for Chucky, Saw and The Wolfman. Unfortunately the details end there, and while I’m excited for it once again, I do have to ask… Why Chucky? Why?
  According to a press release HHN will heavilty promote the Saw and Wolfman haunts this year, as the Wolfman haunt itself will serve as a special preview treat for the new Wolfman film which will be released into theaters on Nov. 6th.
  (6/23/09) OrlandoUnited made a surprise return this week with the first peeks at construction taking place on this year’s new Halloween Horror Nights haunts. Meanwhile if your already planning your trip, the official list of nights for HHN can be found here.
  (6/8/09) In case you missed it in the last Halloween Horror Nights posting, there are now the 2009 dates for HHN posted on the official website for all 23 nights of horror. The park is also offering a few special HHN packages such as the Gory Getaway (2 nights hotel stay, 1 day / 2 park admission plus a ticket to HHN. For you locals, you can also buy your frequent fear pass now.
  (6/2/09) It’s June... and the first little update about Halloween Horror Nights has hit the web it seems. Jump over to the official HHN website and then click on Behind the Screams where you will find a new “08” drawer containing a bunch of goodies from last year’s event. I’ve got a feeling it wont be long before we start to see the first hints of this year’s story start to unfold.
  (5/18/09) Universal Orlando is having a summer concert series this year from mid-June to July 4th, with performances by Jordin Sparks, LL Cool J, Natasha Bedingfield and The O’Jays announced here.
  (5/16/09) Several new building permits have been filed with the city for review for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. So far I’ve found permits requesting to perform work inside Soundstage #22 & #23, Sprung One & Two, the new Parade Building structure, the Disaster Queue and Jaws Queue locations. These seven locations represent the same locations used to house last year’s 8 Haunts, so it’s a fairly safe bet right now that we’ll see 8 haunts again this year. Unlike last year however, Universal got smart and didn’t post the names to this years Haunts, only the locations.
  (4/29/09) In what sounds like a big waste of time, a company by the name of ICC Designs (doesn’t ring any bells for me...) has filed a lawsuit against both Universal Orlando and New Line Cinema over the use of the characters, Freddy, Jason and Leatherface in Halloween Horror Nights. Yes... believe it or not, they’re suing New Line Cinema for using their own character in a Halloween event. ICC claims that they were the ones to first approach New Line Cinema about using the characters for such an event back in 2005. The talks between the two to make it happen broke down in late 2006, which is when they claim that New Line switched gears and started working with Universal instead.
  (4/27/09) While the performances of Brian Brushwood were said to be popular and stunning for the last two years during Halloween Horror Nights don’t count on seeing Brian at Universal Orlando this fall. According to Screamscape sources, Brian (who enjoyed the gig) contacted Universal to see about returning again this year and was told that at this point in time, they currently aren’t planning shows to take place this year inside the Animal Actors Stage area where he performed before.
  While some may jump to the conclusion that this could be a cost cutback on this year’s HHN experience, I wouldn’t be so quick to make that assumption just yet. For starters, Universal does like to keep the HHN experience fresh and ever changing. While Brian was just one of several performers the first year, his solid act put him under the solo spotlight last year for everyone to see. It may simply be time for a change, since there is no reason to repeat themselves every year. Another big factor is the new stage they just built… which may become the location for any new performance this year, allowing them to simply close off the other venue entirely and not disturb the animals. Finally… and I really doubt this is the case, but this could even be a possible sign that HHN could be moving to IOA again. Again… I really doubt this is the case, especially with the Rockit set to open this year which will also be a big draw for the HHN crowd, but you never know when HHN may decide to swap parks again.
  In any case, there is a semi-organized effort of support out there to bring Brian back for one more year, and if you are dying to see him perform again, visit Orlando United’s online petition. Like him or not, the more shows there are going on in the park, the less people there are standing in the haunt queues.
  (4/21/09) Bad news for Universal Orlando, as the Orlando Sentinel reports that attendance at the resort is down 20% so far for the year (Q1) compared to the same period the year before. This has been caused by a combination of the downturn in the economy as well as the moving of Spring Break out of Q1 and into Q2 this year.
  (4/8/09) According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal Orlando may be facing a bit of a cash flow problem in 2010 unless they are able to get the banks to work with them to perform some refinancing magic. You can read all the details here.
  (3/26/09) Universal Orlando has reported a $9.3 million decline in profits for Q4 (55%), dropping from $16.8 million in 2007 to just $7.5 million this past year. While the parks are only responsible for a 4% attendance loss, the company lost out the rest due to investment losses, and troublesome interest-rate swaps.
  (3/18/09) Universal Orlando has decided to partner with the Royal Caribbean cruise line to offer their own Cruise/Theme Park package deals under the name, Way More Than A Cruise. The new packages are available starting March 31st. Right now guests will sail on Monarch of the Seas, stopping in Nassau, Bahamas and CocoCay. In May new longer 7-night cruises on the Freedom of the Seas will also become options, touring the Eastern and Western Caribbean routes.
  (3/16/09) According to an interview posted to Haunted Attractions UK with the creators of the Saw films, they confirm that they have signed a deal with Universal to bring Jigsaw and the world of Saw to Halloween Horror Nights at the Orlando and Hollywood parks this fall.
  (3/11/09) Pictures of the open Whopper Bar and new Moe’s at Citywalk have been posted to Orlando Rocks as well as at Orlando Attractions Magazine.
  (3/7/09) According to the Orlando Sentinel, attendance, revenue and profits all slipped at Universal Orlando. The attendance drop wasn’t that huge through, with a reported drop of only 1.9% over the previous year, dropping from 10.8 million in 2007 to 10.6 million in 2008. While revune dropped, it also only dropped 1%. The good news however is that Universal Orlando has not let this news cut back on their capital spending, with the Hollywood Rockit and Harry Potter construction in full swing, along wit the completion of the new Hollywood Bowl style concert stage, and expansions and improvements over in Citywalk as well.
  (2/18/09) Universal Orlando has launched a new Military Salute program that offers service members a free 7-day pass good to both Universal Orlando theme parks and discount ticket offers for their family and friends. Check with Universal for all the details, this offer is good now through June 28th, 2009.
  In other news the Orlando Sentinel reports that Lombard’s Landing & Confisco’s new seasonal operational schedules will only see them closed on Mondays and Tuesdays for now. They will revert back to full time operations once the busy Spring crowds arrive.
  (1/1/09) Universal Orlando has just made a big mistake in my opinion and according to an official announcement on their website, starting today parking after 6pm will now be $3 instead of the free parking we have all enjoyed for the past decade. The whole point of the free parking was to get everyone to come into Citywalk at night for dinner, movies, dancing, drinks or whatever. And it worked… but in this current economic situation where people are starting to watch every dollar they spend it just makes very little sense to hit people up for an extra $3 when they can easily just head down the road to Downtown Disney and park for free. I’m sure Universal’s clients who lease space in Citywalk have got to be less than pleased as well as this can only serve to hurt their bottom line.

2009 - Wet ‘n Wild Express Pass - Confirmed - (3/11/09) It looks like any plans to add a new attraction to replace the Bubba Tub this year were put on hold. Instead an insider tells us that on March 27th, Wet ‘n Wild will introduce a new concept for waterparks… the Express Pass. From what I’ve been told the pass is good for one front of line access jump to several of the park’s major attractions, including The Black Hole, Disco H20, The Surge and Brain Wash.

Future Resorts, Parks & other Expansions - (12/4/07) Screamscape sources have sent a piece of concept artwork discovered showing off what the proposed new 16-story tall 1,800 room hotel project may look like. As described in the master plan amendment, this hotel would go right across Hollywood Way behind the Jurassic Park building, between Turkey Lake Road and Adventure Way. We also have map over the overall new master plan, a small piece of artwork showing off what the proposed employee apartment building would look like. There is also a photo of the billboard showing off The Promenade (mixed use office/retail/restaurant) going in across from the Hess station as well as a construction photo of the site posted to OrlandoRocks.
  (8/2/07) Today we have to discuss the fate of Wet ‘n Wild. It’s been a few years since anyone talked about this, but the latest rumors claim that the end of the road for Wet ‘n Wild may be in sight. For those who need a little history lesson, I confirmed a few years back that the property under Wet ‘n Wild is actually not owned by the park or Universal, but was part of a land lease deal signed by the creators of Wet ‘n Wild back before it opened in 1977.
  Even today no one really knows for sure just how long the term of the lease was for, but shortly after I uncovered that fact one of the local Orlando papers did their own research to contact the property owners who confirmed that there was little chance of them signing a deal to renew the lease due to the increased value of the property and it’s key location on I-Drive that could be put to better (and more profitable) uses. An older article in the Orlando Sentinel about Aquatica once mentions that the terms of their lease start to change in 2007 and the price is expected to rise through the roof by 2012.
  The bottom line… Wet ‘n Wild is living on borrowed time. This has led many to speculate about when and if Universal Orlando may take the next step to build their own new water park on their own resort property. It’s also been noted that all of the “new attractions” added to the waterpark over the last few years have either been rehabs of older attractions (The lazy river, The Blast) or larger above ground attractions (Storm, Disco H2O, Brain Wash) that would be fairly simple to move to a new location when the time comes.
  These days the rumor mill has picked up once again claiming that 2009 could very well be the last summer for Wet ‘n Wild. If this is true, then my best guess may be that Wet ‘n Wild signed a 35 year lease possibly as early as 1975 which could come to an end in 2010. Remember that the park will need time to remove their property from the site, so you can see where the 2009 closure idea may be coming from.
  Keep in mind that other than the fact that there is a ticking clock… everything else is just speculation right now. For all we know the park may have another 10 years left on their lease… or they could already be in some kind of overtime extension where the fees grow higher and higher each additional year. If the end is near, I’m sure we’ll hear more about this very soon and Universal is likely to promote this fact to drive up attendance in the final season when they find themselves up against the new waterpark on the block, Aquatica.
  (5/15/07) According to a post at UrbanPlanet.org, Universal Orlando is asking for an amendment to their master plan to add Timeshare Units and Multi Family Residential units to their 800 acre property. Currently only 104 acres are undeveloped and this plan pretty much fills up almost all the rest of the holes. The Residential section of the plan will add up to 316 units along Vineland that are intended to be used as Workforce Housing, most likely in much the same manor that Disney offers housing for their International and College Workforce programs. A new four story tall office building will be added not far from the current office building(s) along Turkey Lake Road. Meanwhile it looks the plot of land next to the Royal Pacific will become home to an 800 room 8-story tall hotel property and the land between Adventure Way and Turkey Lake Road will become home to a 1,800 room 16-story tall hotel project. From the look of the new Masterplan Map, the river system will be expanded to allow for transportation to these two new hotel projects. Looks like those rumors last week about the new Premium and Moderate sized resort projects were right on the money. Meanwhile the only big holes left open for future development include what’s left of the property from the new 1,800 room resort down the South end of Universal’s property on Turkey Lake (enough room to build a new waterpark still) and the large plot of land between the Men In Black ride building and Universal Blvd where they set up a few mazes at last year’s Halloween Horror Nights. Here’s another look at the Sat Map showing off the various site plans.