Marc N. Kleinhenz

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 […]

Jill and Kevin Levett joined Orlando Informer’s Facebook community when it first opened a year-and-a-half ago, and in the time since, the British couple has proven to be extremely popular with the 30,000+ members of the group. The reason is obvious: above and beyond their penchant for giving away Harry Potter goodies (such as shirts […]

UPDATE (10:17 am 10.18.17): the Orlando Sentinel has just confirmed that the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort will, indeed, be getting an expansion –a third tower that will consist of 350 rooms. You can read all of the original details below. All eyes may be on Pandora: The World of Avatar, the new […]

2017, it’s safe to say, was an absolutely mammoth year for Orlando. From Volcano Bay to Pandora: The World of Avatar, Kraken Unleashed to Lego Ninjago World, there was not only a breadth of new attraction openings, but also a depth that is typically rare, even in the most-visited city in the country. That’s what […]

When Universal first debuted Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories on May 8, 2012, it was part of an unprecedented push to introduce more new attractions in one calendar year than had ever been done in Universal Parks and Resorts’s five-odd-decade history. (The lagoon show’s 2012 brethren included an upgraded Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, […]

On September 13, Universal went ahead and made the announcement that everyone had been waiting so long to hear: the dates for the next round of A Celebration of Harry Potter, the annual event that looks to, well, celebrate the Harry Potter franchise in all of its various multimedia forms. (The company did, indeed, drop […]

Ever since the Boy Wizard first flew his broom into Universal Orlando Resort, a brand-new element has emerged on the theming landscape: food. From 2010 onward, no theme-park experience would be considered complete without an accompanying exclusive dish or beverage, such as the Wizarding World’s Butterbeer or Volcano Bay’s Pan-Pacific lineup. Since then, however, we’ve […]

Let’s be blunt: SeaWorld Entertainment isn’t doing very well right now. In late August, it was announced that its former CEO, Jim Atchison, is under investigation by the Department of Justice for insider trading. A few weeks before that, it was revealed that the company’s national attendance for the first half of the year was […]

UPDATE (1:08 pm 10.04.17): the second wave of HHN 2017 merchandise has arrived, including items from this year’s haunted houses. See below for pictures and more info. When Williams of Hollywood quietly opened in November 2015, offering a smorgasbord of former theme-park props and vintage movie memorabilia, fans instantly fell in love. From perusing pieces […]

This year’s Halloween Horror Nights may have gotten off to an incredibly slow start in terms of its announcements – we’ve never gone so close to the event’s kickoff without knowing its full slate of attractions, which may or may not point to some problems behind the scenes – but the payoff turns out to […]

Disney blew out its resort-wide Christmas celebrations at Walt Disney World today, and it’s easy to see how the company is clearly itching to make this year the biggest – and, quite possibly, the best – holiday season it’s ever had across the destination’s 46-year history. There’s so much going on in November and December, […]

Not familiar with Voodoo Doughnut, East Coasters? That’s going to change – and soon. Universal will be bringing the fast-growing mom-and-pop doughnut chain to CityWalk. It’s a good fit – not only is the small company’s quirky sensibilities and funky wares compatible with the likes of The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar (or, even, Bread Box […]

In Universal and parent company Comcast’s never-ceasing effort to upgrade nearly every square inch of Universal Studios Florida, they have leveled an entire swath of older attractions, many of them dating back to the park’s earliest years: Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast, Jaws, Lucy: A Tribute, Twister: Ride It Out, Disaster: A Major Motion Picture Ride […]