Universal Orlando celebrates movies in new nighttime show
Disney World is known for its kiss-goodnight pyrotechnics extravaganzas. Think fireworks exploding over Cinderella Castle or colored shells illuminating the sky above Epcot’s World Showcase. Universal Orlando? Not so much.
Because of local restrictions, the Mouse’s neighboring theme park resort has been more muted in its nighttime send-offs. That’s been changing, however. For last year’s holiday season, Islands of Adventure introduced “The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts.” The fireworks in the nightly shows at Islands of Adventure were minimal, but the lavish presentations included impressive, large-scale projections mapped to Hogwarts Castle in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It proved that Universal could give its guests a big kiss goodnight without having to rely heavily on pyrotechnics.
The resort’s other park, Universal Studios Florida, will take it to the next level this summer with “Universal Orlando's Cinematic Celebration.” It will incorporate massive water screens, colored fountains, lasers, digital projection mapping, and (probably a judicious dash of) pyrotechnics.
“It’s the biggest nighttime show we’ve ever done at Universal Orlando,” says Mike Aiello, director of entertainment creative for the resort. The presentation will be a total revamp of the park’s previous nighttime lagoon show, “Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular.” Introduced in 2012 during the 100th anniversary of the famed Hollywood movie studio, it was largely a clip-fest honoring Universal’s movie legacy. “We want the new show to be a cap to our guests’ day at Universal Orlando. It will feature many of the characters and brands at the parks,” adds Aiello.
Instead of telling a linear story and without the aid of a sonorous narrator, the show will be divided into sections celebrating the franchises that inspire the parks’ headline rides and lands. Of course, Harry and his wizarding buddies will get a major shoutout. There will also be segments devoted to "Jurassic World," "The Fast & the Furious" films (which recently got its own ride at USF), and a finale featuring the goofball Minions from "Despicable Me." Unlike the park’s last nighttime show, which included scenes from movies such as "The Silence of the Lambs" and Alfred Hitchcock’s "The Birds," Aiello says the new presentation will be geared more to families. To that end, it will also incorporate a section centering on "How to Train Your Dragon," "Trolls," and "Kung Fu Panda," animated hits from DreamWorks (which is now owned by NBCUniversal).
The park is reorienting the focal points and sightlines for the show. Audience members will gather in a refurbished area in Universal’s Central Park knockoff that can accommodate up to 6,500 people with tiered viewing. Because USF lacks a castle or any other large, central structure, the show will use the facades of multiple buildings in its New York area as surfaces on which to map projected movie scenes and other content. Additional imagery will span massive water screens in the foreground on the lagoon.
There will be seven fans of water, each about 20 feet high and 40 feet wide, which will, in total, provide a liquid canvas nearly 300 feet long. Accompanying the screens will be 120 full-color fountains, some of which will be able to shoot up to 130 feet in the air. The show will last 19 minutes.
Islands of Adventure is also hosting a nightly show, “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle.” Like the holiday presentation, it wraps Harry Potter’s iconic alma mater with digital projections. The short show, which runs continuously each evening, pays homage to the school’s four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
