Uni Photo Tour 4/5 - Transformers shop, Potter construction

It boggles the mind just how fast Transformers appears to be done on the outside. The construction walls are down - does this mean the Show installation is done too, and now they are just tweaking things inside the big box building? Simply amazing how fast that went.

Potter construction is accelerating. It used to be just the big show building in the back, but now there are towering steel structures right next to the pathway. Exciting!

Even the Simpsons area is chugging along, but it's slower there.

Enjoy the photos!

---
Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.

Universal Orlando to get a new hotel in 2014

Press Release

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT ANNOUNCES A NEW SPECTACULARLY THEMED ON-SITE HOTEL DEVELOPMENT

New Hotel Will Add 1,800 On-Site Suites and Standard Rooms

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 9, 2012) – Universal Parks & Resorts and Loews Hotels & Resorts will build a new hotel development at Universal Orlando that will add high-quality, high-value options for families wanting an affordable on-site experience.

Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort will offer two distinct experiences within the development's multiple buildings: 900 family suites, capable of sleeping six, that include kitchen areas and 900 standard guest rooms - offering both moderate- and value-priced accommodations. It will be operated by Loews Hotels & Resorts and is scheduled to open in 2014.

The hotel will be themed differently than anything else currently available at Universal Orlando. It will evoke the driving vacations so many Americans grew up enjoying with their families - spending time at sweeping motor courts just off the highway, where families relaxed and played after a long day's drive. The new hotel's hip, vintage look will be accented with bold design, dramatic, clean lines, bright, period colors and touches of neon. Inside areas including the lobby, dining areas and large, comfortable rooms will follow suit. The hotel will have two themed pool areas.

"Our new hotel will give guests an affordable, incredibly themed on-site hotel experience unlike anything else at our resort," said Tom Williams, chairman and chief executive officer, Universal Parks & Resorts. "Our new family suites and family-value pricing will give our guests on-site options they've never had before."

The hotel will be built on a 37-acre site within Universal Orlando Resort and adjacent to Universal's Islands of Adventure - just off Hollywood Way and Turkey Lake Road. Site work will begin soon. Pricing information, opening timeframes and room on-sale dates will be released over time.

The new hotel will allow families to choose between value pricing or the higher level of benefits and service that come with staying at other on-site Universal Orlando hotels - Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, the Hard Rock Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort. It will provide early park admission, proximity to Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios and resort-wide charging privileges - but will not offer complimentary Universal Express Unlimited Access.

"The Cabana Bay Beach Resort furthers our goal of operating special and distinct properties in important markets," said Paul Whetsell, Loews Hotels & Resorts president and CEO. "This is another important step in our plan to expand the Loews system in major markets across the United States."


---
Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem: pics, review

Earlier this week, Universal Studios Florida opened Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, a simulator ride that replaces the Jimmy Neutron simulator formerly in this location. I'll jump to the verdict: it's good, even for someone who hasn't seen the movie it's based on (that would be me). You'll want to include this in your Universal plans.

They built an extensive exterior for this new attraction, meant to be Gru's mansion. You see traces of this inside the queue as well, though much of it is "regular" switchback. There are videos playing a fake television show, talking about how humans are being converted to minions--which is what this ride purports to do to us. This is a minion recruitment center, as the posters around us show.

Once inside, we find ourselves in a very oversized (quite tall) living room, decorated with enough whimsical stuff to make me feel like the theme has been achieved without shortcuts. Bravo to Universal for continuing to go that extra mile in recent attractions; this is not theming lip service; it's real theming on par with Disney. It's not just decorations of minions; it's actual thought put into why the decorations are here, and each one often tells its own backstory.

The second queue room uses videos meant to be real people (Gru, minions) behind glass and looking down at us; they explain we'll be converted to minions. Then it's on to the main simulator room.

This room hasn't been reconfigured from Jimmy Neutron; it's still rows of simulator cars facing a very large screen. The action on screen is fast, furious, and funny. It might well make someone seasick if you're prone to motion sickness, but everyone in my family was fine. The movie traces what happens when something goes wrong in the minion process, and we bounce/fly around the place in a series of misadventures. Pretty standard plot, but well executed. Oh, and it's in 3D, so you're wearing polarized glasses.

After the movie, we exit to a... dance studio. Apparently the minions like to dance in the movie? (remember, I haven't seen it). Despite my initial confusion, I liked the concept and the high energy.

I also liked the store you empty into after that. It was highly themed--something Universal has done really well lately. Bravo all around.

---
Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.