Universal Studios Florida is an amusement park located in Orlando, Florida and is part of the much greater Universal Orlando resort.
The amusement park is twinned with its sister resort, Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, although their origins are quite different. The Hollywood based amusement park was originally a TV and film set which subsequently became a theme park and tourist attraction whilst the one in Orlando was designed both as an amusement park and a working studio from the beginning.
In 2008, the amusement park was visited by 6 ¼ million people making it the fifth most popular amusement park in the USA in that year.
The amusement park is divided up into 7 different sections.
Production Central is at the main entrance of the amusement park. It serves as a series of film stages, all of which are inspired by
familiar TV shows and films. Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast is a ride simulator featuring some of Nickelodeon’s most popular characters, including the Rugrats and SpongeBob SquarePants and there is also a Shrek 4-D exhibit.
New York is a section in the amusement park which brilliantly replicates some of the architecture that you’d see in New York City today or in days gone by. Twister…Ride Out simulates the effects of experiencing an actual tornado, whilst you also have the opportunity to watch The Blues Brothers performing live.
In the section of the amusement park called Hollywood, you can actually walk down a replica of its world famous Hollywood Boulevard and see just exactly how horror movies are made in the Universal Horror Make-up Show. There is also a live 3D experience combined with stage show based on the film Terminator 2.
Who can ever forget the film Jaws? Well, it has been recreated in the San Francisco/Amity section of the amusement park, alongside a live show featuring some of Hollywood’s most famous (and scariest!) monsters such as Dracula and Frankenstein in Beetlejuice’s Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue.
For younger visitors to the amusement park, the park’s mascot, Woody Woodpecker, hosts the ‘Kidzone’ and will also be entertained by Barney and his friends in his live stage show ‘A Day in the Park with Barney.’
See also:
Amusement Parks: Wild Waters - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Silver Springs Nature Theme Park - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Old Town - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Miami Seaquarium - a Potted History