Marc N. Kleinhenz

Ever since SeaWorld first announced its revolutionary Infinity Falls river-rapids ride a little over a year ago, interest has been sky-high, and it’s easy to see why: at 40 feet, its final drop is the biggest in the world for an attraction of its type, and the entire experience is the very first built-from-the-ground-up manifestation […]

There has been something of a learning curve with Universal’s handling of the Harry Potter property in its theme parks, despite the fact that everyone knew before its debut that it would be an extremely popular part of Universal Orlando Resort’s lineup; the necessity of having, say, a permanent queuing area for the original Ollivander’s […]

On October 10, 2017, Universal revealed a surprising development: it had quietly pulled the plug on its Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories lagoon show. Well, okay – it wasn’t that surprising, as the nighttime spectacular was some time past its premise, having been originally conceived (as the name might suggest) to celebrate Universal […]

Note: this article was written on Thursday, May 31, in the final hours before my latest trip to Universal Orlando. We are presenting it as originally composed. Tomorrow, I will be arriving at Universal Orlando Resort for a quick two-and-a-half-day trip (you may or may not know the occasion why). While I do have an […]

The original version of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (located here in Orlando’s Islands of Adventure, but of course) has been remarkably stable across its eight-year lifespan, seeing only the smallest of – if any – changes. While this might initially seem like a rather standard state of affairs, given how infrequently Universal tinkers […]

There’s a reason why Portofino Bay Hotel is considered the flagship resort of Universal Orlando – it’s beautiful, impeccably-themed, and is positively huge, despite having one of the smallest room counts on-property (only Aventura Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel have fewer rooms). It’s not unusual to hear of first-time guests getting lost on the premises, […]

‘Tis already the season – Universal is making the first announcements for the biggest annual event it throws, Halloween Horror Nights, and a number of eager, diehard fans are already making their on-site hotel reservations and are getting ready to scoop up their tickets. It’s a magical time. Except for those, perhaps, who will happen […]

A short while ago, we took a very fond and nostalgia-laced trip down memory lane, revisiting Production Central’s original slate of attractions. It’s time to continue our time-traveling adventures, this time focusing on the next stop as we work our way through the Universal Studios Florida of old: New York. The New York backlot, interestingly […]

It’s something of déjà vu for Halloween Horror Nights fans: the anthology film Trick ‘r Treat is arriving as a haunted house this year. Fans will remember the property as the headlining scare zone from last year’s event, which ended up becoming a number of attendees’ surprise star of the show (and which, no doubt, […]

When Universal CityWalk Orlando first started to open at the end of 1998, one restaurant stood out from all the other original venues, quickly establishing itself as the flagship eatery at the nascent dinning/shopping/entertainment complex: Emeril’s Orlando. With such words as “gourmet,” “high energy,” “sophisticated,” and “upscale” being deployed in its official descriptions, and with […]

Have you been following the progress of Universal Studios Beijing, the currently-under-construction theme park in China? We couldn’t blame you if you said no – Universal only recently took full ownership of Universal Studios Japan, attempting to upgrade it to the new standard currently being set by Universal Orlando Resort, and Universal Studios Singapore remains […]

It may be uncharacteristically early for Universal to do so, but the company has gone ahead and revealed the first original (that is to say, not based on a pre-existent intellectual property) haunted house for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights: Dead Exposure: Patient Zero. While it may be surprising to be getting an original announcement […]

A little over a year ago, we broke down the secrets of Minion Park, the new land at Universal Studios Japan that ultimately debuted in April 2017. It seems only appropriate, then, that we follow it up with the latest word out of Osaka: a second – and, as of right now, exclusive – attraction […]

Disney today had some interesting, if rather vague, news: a new smart-phone app will soon be arriving at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts, to be used in conjunction with the omnipresent My Disney Experience. Called Play Disney Parks, it has the potential to change the way that guests will wait and, well, play […]

Fast & Furious is, without a doubt – and rightly or wrongly – a major cultural and economic force. The 17-year-old franchise has grossed over $5 billion worldwide, making it Universal Pictures’s highest earner, and with two more sequels – plus a spinoff trilogy titled Hobbs & Shaw – in the pipeline, it has no […]

It’s been a long, winding road to reach this point regarding Universal Orlando Resort’s seventh (and eighth) on-site hotel. Nearly a year ago, Universal filed paperwork with the city of Orlando, revealing just the bare-bone basics of the new hotel complex; this past November, the company went ahead and made the new property’s existence official, […]

The first haunted house announcement for Halloween Horror Nights 2018 was a doozy: Stranger Things, that massively popular Netflix original series, will be arriving, automatically becoming the de facto headlining experience of this year’s event. The news was met with widespread excitement, but beneath the unbridled joy was a decided undercurrent of discontent and, moreover, […]

Ever since Netflix jumped headlong into the original-content pool with 2013’s House of Cards, the streamer has managed to produce several high-profile and memorable series. None, however, has managed to top Stranger Things in terms of either cultural impact or creative synthesis – not to mention paranormal creep factor. Part X-Files, part John Carpenter, part […]

Even though I live all the way in cold, snowy, remote Cleveland, Ohio, I’m still able to visit Universal Orlando Resort multiple times a year thanks to my job (hey – even the Orlando Informers have to keep informed, right?). Despite these more-or-less consistent journeys, however, I still find myself getting a little twitchy even […]

Last October, we brought you a listing of all the new experiences that were being lined up at Orlando for the end of that year and on into this one. A lot has changed in the last five months, however – we have more details on some 2018 openings, and we’ve also gotten a much […]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned since starting to professionally write about theme parks six years ago, it’s this: the themed industry is increasingly at the very heart of businesses everywhere. Take Disney’s MagicBands, those wonderful little devices that act as ticket, hotel-room key, and credit card. They were designed by the company to try […]

When Universal originally decided to establish a presence in Orlando, Florida in the early 1980s, the company settled on essentially duplicating its Universal Studios Hollywood formula: a working film lot as the foundation, with a production tram tour as the main themed element. Such an approach, however, was not meant to be. Disney learned of […]

Yes, we’ve already gone on the record and said that the queue is the best part of a themed attraction. While this may be true, there’s still much else to love in the experience – particularly the very last moment, that brief period of time that designers can use to knock your socks off in […]

In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its fourth – and still newest – Walt Disney World Resort theme park, Disney will be throwing a party for the ages… and using the occasion to kick off a few other new experiences at Animal Kingdom. Let’s tackle these in order, shall we? Party for the […]

When undertaking a vacation to Walt Disney World’s theme parks, many families usually generate long lists of all the various experiences they’d like to tackle – and most, if not all, of these items are usually exclusive to the resort (such as, say, catching a particular character breakfast or, of course, hopping on a specific […]

At tonight’s D23 Expo Japan presentation at (where else?) Tokyo Disney Resort, Disney Parks and Resorts may not have revealed a tidal wave of new announcements – as the division did at the American counterpart’s event last July – but it still decided to unveil a series of smaller-yet-still-exciting details regarding its biggest and most-visited […]

The ride experience itself might be the heart of an attraction, but the queue just may be its very best part – establishing the tone, laying out the backstory, and building up the anticipation step by expert step, the line is that theme-park element that routinely makes us feel like we’re kids excitedly counting down […]

Last Christmas, Universal gave Harry Potter fans – and theme-park aficionados across the board – a very special gift in the form of a brand-new projection-mapping show called The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle, which debuted as part of the larger Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter celebration. Transforming the iconic Hogwarts […]

While not necessarily surprising, it’s still terrific to have the news officially confirmed: Voodoo Doughnut, that unique and fast-spreading West Coast start-up, is landing in CityWalk Orlando. We’ve already given you the full run-down on the idiosyncratic chain’s sensibilities and wares, from its wooden-coffin packages to its indie record label – and, of course, its […]

When word arrived in early 2017 that both Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood would be receiving projection-mapping shows utilizing Hogwarts Castle as their canvas, Floridians were, understandably, confused. Universal Orlando Resort had been the original Harry Potter trailblazer, after all, opening Hogsmeade several years before its counterparts and, even, topping it off with […]

The dining, shopping, and entertainment district formerly known as Downtown Disney may have finished its transformation into Disney Springs nearly two years ago, but that hasn’t stopped the area from continuing to unfurl new experiences and recruit new tenants. As of today, a whole swath of them are now open, representing something of a mini-landmark […]

We’ve already run down this year’s big new attractions, ranging from Fast & Furious: Supercharged to Aventura Hotel. It turns out, however, that we didn’t quite know every last item that is set to debut within the next 12-month period – Universal just today teased us all with some big announcements that are hovering on […]

You may not know Kolby Ratigan’s name now, but odds are you will in the future. The 18-year-old University of Redlands student (where he’s studying theater design and fine art, with an emphasis on themed entertainment design) is currently eyeing a job as either an art director or attraction designer for a major theme-park design […]

After nearly two months of (publicly-known) negotiations, The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox have come to a $52.4 billion agreement: the former now owns massive swaths of the latter’s film and television divisions (thanks to purchasing a commanding share of Fox’s stocks), which are global in nature and strong in brand-name recognition. The […]

UPDATE 11:15 am 12.08.17: today, Disney lifted the curtain on what some of the Skyliner’s various train stations will look like as part of its “12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas” countdown. Caribbean Beach Resort station – the main Skyliner station, the Caribbean Beach Resort stop will allow guests to transfer from one route to […]

While we’ve known for some time that Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World Resort would be getting something of an overhaul, we had no idea what, exactly, those details would consist of. Now we do, thanks to the “12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas” promotion that Disney’s currently throwing. Here’s what we know so […]

In October, the surprise announcement was made that the Superstar Character Breakfast would be retired the following month and would be replaced with a new, unnamed character dining experience sometime in 2018. What has turned out to be an even bigger surprise, however, is what that replacement is: Marvel. The Marvel Character Dinner will begin […]

On the one hand, designing The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley was a straightforward proposition for Universal Creative: take all the descriptions of the downtown London wizarding location from the novels and all the imagery from the films and use them to assemble a pitch-perfect recreation of a key part of the […]

Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen has arguably become the most popular CityWalk destination, and the reason behind its prominence is inarguably due to its spectacular lineup of specialty milkshakes. Interestingly enough, however, the restaurant has been frequently tinkering with its shake menu ever since its opening day of September 22, 2016, adding a […]

Everyone has been abuzz about Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and rightfully so – that new holiday program is nothing short of breathtaking, from the new musical performances to what arguably is now the crown jewel of the Wizarding World, the Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle projection-mapping show (you can read […]

Many people have wondered what will come of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, the 28-year-old motion simulator that got a refresh in 2011, once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens just down the road in Disney’s Hollywood Studios sometime in 2019. The new, ultra-immersive Star Wars land, after all, will be specifically placed during the sequel […]

We’ve had a few weeks now to check out the new (and absolutely stunning) Christmas decorations at both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Now it’s time to sink our festive teeth into the remaining Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter items that we have yet to experience in one shape, way, or form already […]

Yes, yes – amazing rides, such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and other engrossing attractions, like Tales of Beedle the Bard, make up the vast bulk of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s experiences (and generate most of tourists’ excitement). However, it’s been in another realm entirely that Universal has applied the most […]

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter may have originated in Orlando, but, it turns out, some of the most interesting attractions or experiences tied into J.K. Rowling’s sprawling mythology have existed solely in Universal’s other theme parks – with it being an open question of whether or not they’ll ever get fully realized on Harry’s […]

A week ago today, we entered the hum-drum work week to discover an early yuletide surprise: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade had been decked out for the holidays overnight, getting ready for the first-ever Christmas in The Wizarding World (which starts Saturday, November 18, for all those keeping track at home). Now, […]

When Wet ‘n Wild Orlando, the 1977 water park that Universal eventually purchased to be Universal Orlando Resort’s original aquatic destination, was shut down on December 31, 2016, word had already spread that the 64-acre chunk of land it sat on would be the future home for even more on-site hotels. It wasn’t much later […]

Universal may have originally announced that its Fast & Furious: Supercharged experience would be making the journey from Universal Studios Hollywood over to the East Coast back in August 2015, but it wasn’t until just today that the company blew wide open the ride’s exact contents. Here’s everything we now know, broken down into race-friendly […]

When Universal first announced back in April that its perennially-popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter was, at long last, getting the holiday treatment, we knew that it would be comprised of four different elements, and we knew the first of these was a series of elaborate Christmas decorations. What we didn’t know – what we […]

Universal and parent company Comcast may have been getting a lot of attention for their aggressive, new-attraction-every-year plan here at Universal Orlando Resort, but it turns out that a lot of their ground-breaking projects and technologies are first being debuted over in Universal Studios Japan, the park that the two companies only purchased in full […]