We’re back with November’s photo update around CityWalk Hollywood! This month, we once again take a look at the progress of the projects across CityWalk, with an additional focus on the arrival of the holiday season at various locations.
Let’s get started!
Park Update Index
» Karl Strauss Brewing Company
» NBC Sports Grill & Brew
» Toothsome Chocolate Emporium
» CityFood
» GUESS
» LudoBird
» Christmas 2020 at CityWalk
» 2020 Holiday Merchandise
» A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Following the likely closure of the Karl Strauss Brewing Company, visible through its removal from the CityWalk directory, the upstairs patio area just outside the former location of the restaurant is now being used as additional dining space for the massively popular Antojitos Mexican Restaurant.
The inside of the building remains bare, making it clear that the restaurant will not be returning.
NBC Sports Grill & Brew
Since construction appears to have recently wrapped up, no visible changes have occurred to the interior or exterior of the new restaurant. Given the current restrictions on dining capacity in Los Angeles County as of this update, NBC Sports Grill & Brew will likely not be opening to the public anytime soon. In the meanwhile, its patio is being used as overflow seating for Antojitos Mexican Restaurant, with various bins of utensils stored just inside the building.
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium
Construction remains paused on the transformation of Hard Rock Café into Toothsome Chocolate Emporium.
CityFood
No visible changes have occurred at The Habit Burger Grill, indicating that it has likely completed its construction and will perhaps open soon.
Construction appears to have slowed or paused on the transformation of Subway into Firehouse Subs, as the building still remains bare without signage.
GUESS
All signage has been removed at the former location of GUESS following its closure. No announcement has been made regarding its future replacement as of this update.
LudoBird
A black fence and two medium plants have gone up around the former location of LudoBird, hinting that the location will likely remain empty for some time. Similar to GUESS, no official announcement of a future replacement has been made as of this update.
Christmas 2020 at CityWalk
Unlike this past Halloween, CityWalk appears to be in the midst of putting up decorations for the upcoming holiday season. A massive Christmas tree has gone up in its usual location in front of the Universal Cinema, drawing attention many guests’ attention. Clotheslines have also been strung up across buildings in the area around Vivo Italian Kitchen in likely preparation for putting up other holiday décor.
Cinnabon has also fully decorated for the holiday season, including an array of stockings and snowflakes all across the windows of the building.
The massive voodoo doll doughnut just outside of Voodoo Doughnut now has green lips, likely in the midst of a transformation into a holiday version of itself.
2020 Holiday Merchandise
An assortment of holiday merchandise items has made its way to Production Central and the Universal Studio Store. Rather than describe each item, we have provided a handful of photos below.
Firstly, here is a look at some of the holiday merchandise available for purchase at Production Central.
Below is a look at most of the additional holiday merchandise that can be found at the Universal Studio Store, including Grinchmas apparel, Wizarding World ornaments and stockings, and more.
Guests can purchase a chocolate frog to receive a unique 2020 collectible card, as shown below.
A 2020 collector’s edition wand is also available for purchase in the Wizarding World section of the Universal Studio Store.
With a minimum purchase of $175, guests will additionally receive a free Wizarding World of Harry Potter wand.
A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That
As crowds increase and the parking situation grows tighter at Universal with the ongoing temporary closure of the Curious George, E.T., and Frankenstein parking lots, Jurassic Parking is no longer placing traffic cones in every other parking spot to distance vehicles.
Following the Los Angeles Dodgers’ recent World Series win, the Dodgers Clubhouse has been booming with business. Be sure to arrive early to best avoid long waits to enter the store amidst its limited capacity.
After reclosing only weeks after reopening with CityWalk back in June, Starbucks is once again open for business.
The Universal Monsters pressed penny machine has moved to the back of the store with the rest of the classic Universal Monsters merchandise following the end of Halloween season, replaced by a machine printing a handful of mixed Universal designs.
A new chocolate frog mask design based on the popular Wizarding World treat is now available for purchase at the Universal Studio Store.
That’ll do it for this month’s photo update. As always, we hope you are doing well and thank you for following our continuing coverage of Universal Parks and Resorts.
