From under my rock I climb, to finally bring you a new edition of Around the Universe. It’s been a long time since we last took a photo tour of Universal Orlando, and there’s a ton of new and exciting things to see. We’ll begin with a look at CityWalk to check out the latest on its recent expansion. A tour of Islands brings us to the front of the rumored Kong attraction, where the site is barely recognizable. Over in the Studios, there’s a new Christmas store, all sorts of Mardi Gras decor, and major construction going on at the Garden of Allah location. We’ll also take a peek at the construction sites for Sapphire Falls, the rumored water park, and the backside of Kongstruction. Then we’ll end with a look at the newly finished pedestrian bridge connecting Cabana Bay Beach Resort to CityWalk. All that and much more this week, as we go Around the Universe!
A new sign has been installed across the bridge that marks the entrance to CityWalk..
The Cowfish billboard has been added to the side of the AMC building.A new concierge desk has been built underneath the CityWalk escalators.The kiosk was quickly demolished and rebuilt, and it looks great!.The Guest Services window between Cold Stone and Red Oven is being refreshed, as well.The Cowfish is now open daily at 11 AM. Sun-Thurs until 11 PM, Fri and Sat until midnight.Over at the former NASCAR Grille location, exterior deconstruction appears to be finished.It’s been a few weeks since any visible progress.No word yet on what the replacement will be, but we expect an opening sometime this summer.Across the walkway, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels opened as the final component of the CityWalk Phase One refresh.The kiosk features a smaller menu, sticking to the classics..Hard Rock looking great on a beautiful day!Let’s head into Islands first..Shall we begin?Inside the Trading Company Store, this year’s Harry Potter Celebration commemorative poster ($250) is still available. It’s signed by the artists MinaLima and limited to 200 copies. Last year’s poster is still available, as well.Over in Marvel Super Hero Island, the green track of Hulk looks awesome in the sun..The heroes were out meeting guests throughout the island...The Popeye statue in front of Blondie’s was recently behind walls for a refurb.The patina looks great!The ride was also down for refurbishment, opening back up just recently.Not much of a wait in early February, as it’s still a bit chilly.Heading towards Jurassic Park, the building for Kong starts to become visible.With Bilge-Rat Barges back open, Ripsaw Falls has gone down for its yearly refurb..There were a few men airbrushing the themeing near the big drop.The view over the Toon Lagoon gate provides some interesting angles of Kong...Up in the perch of Camp Jurassic, you can see new rock work forming.The structure is still mostly steel, but you can start to see how the facade will be shaped...A single story outcropping has been added to the main structure, seen on the right side of this photo. No word on whether this will be part of the ride, the queue, or something else.The building towers over Thunder Falls Terrace.Hopping over to the Studios, Mardi Gras began this weekend and runs thru April 18th...This year’s Mardi Gras shirt, on sale at the Studios Store.Very colorful lanyards…that match the very colorful shot glasses.The full list of concerts, posted near the Music Plaza Stage.There is a small jazz stage set up near Central Park.The King and Queen of Mardi Gras.Be sure to check out the French Courtyard, where you’ll find the famous Beignets along with various other New Orleans themed food and drink.The newest shop at Universal Studios is the Christmas store located in New York.It replaces a former research center, where fellow OU staff member, Felipe, and I once participated in a paid study about bathroom fixtures (true story).The window decor brings a bit of Christmas cheer to the park year round...Inside, the store is packed to the ceiling with all things Navidad.Big fan of this 3D globe ornament.............Back outside, the newsstand shop next to the Blues Brothers stage is getting some work done.The shop remains open while the exterior work is being completed.The park was very crowded this weekend, with guests flooding in for the first night of Mardi Gras.Major construction has started on the Garden of Allah location.Construction walls are up, completely blocking guest views of what’s happening..The walls wrap from Cafe La Bamba, all the way around into Kidzone. No word from Universal on what is coming.Now it’s time to hop on the bus over to Cabana Bay for a look at Universal’s next resort, Sapphire Falls.Not a ton to see yet, but it’s obvious that they are working...On the other side of the building, work on the rumored water park plot is moving much slower.A large pile of dirt has appeared, though that’s about it...The view of the backside of Kong has hit a wall, literally. With the backside of the building already covered, there are no hints to be found on this side.And we’ll end this week’s update with a look at the recently opened pedestrian garden bridge, which connects Cabana Bay to the Royal Pacific Resort and CityWalk..Guests can choose to either take a set of stairs up to the second level, or walk the much longer ramp, which is wheelchair accessible..The bridge itself is gorgeous and full of foliage!In time you’ll barely be able to tell you’re on a bridge over a very busy road..Bamboo? On a bridge?!Full size trees, over a road!.There are plenty of places to sit and rest along the way.
And that’ll do it for this week’s installment. Thank you so much for following along! Be sure to get in touch with us on the forums, or with me directly @Triggernel. See you next week on an all-new Around the Universe! Make sure to check our report on opening weekend of Mardi Gras 2015 later tonight!
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