Universal Expansions

[PcMan]

Universal City Orlando

Overview
The applicant is requesting approval for an amendment to the original Universal City Master Plan, which was approved on January 11, 1988. The proposed uses are (1) resort hotel; (2) timeshare units; (3) multi-family residential; (4) office; (5) retail; and (6) commercial resort dwelling unit. These uses are designed to complement the existing site uses which include two theme parks (Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure), hotel units, and commercial (Universal CityWalk). The multi-family residential component is intended by the applicant to serve as "workforce housing" primarily for employees of the Universal Studios Park and resort area.

The site is approximately 800 total acres, with about 104 undeveloped acres which are the substance of this Master Plan Amendment request. Parcel "D" as indicated on the boundary survey is slated to be developed as a resort area, while outparcels fronting Vineland Road will contain the proposed multifamily residential units and 45,000 sq. ft. of support commercial.

Recently, the applicant has proposed the following mix of the aforementioned units:

Multifamily - 316 units
Commercial 45,2000 sq. ft.
Office - 120,000 sq. ft.
Hotel - 2,600 rooms

[PcMan]

Looks like 2 new hotels 800 room and 1800 room past the Royal pacific.
will extend the waterway.
Looks like the 800 room will be upscale and  " exclusive to this site  " the 800 room Hotel will / may be a Egyptian themed I'm in Orlando as I write this and this was told to me here.

this is the 1800 room below

[WadeJ]

This is a mixed bag.  They need the onsite housing so that = good thing.  But then I bang my head on my desk when I think of all the land they sold off which now has them in this situation.  This is going to be so crammed in that I'm not sure it will turn out as a Disney alternative.  Royal Pacific is bad enough as it is with their "I-4" view rooms and all the noise that comes with it.  Even on the other side you wake up to the Hulk with its B&M roar @ 6AM (not that I minded lol).

Personally, I'd really like to see them get their sh*t together before pursuing these initiatives.  The parks are dying and the existing hotels are in sad shape.  ESP the Royal Pacific.  And no, the Simpsons coming along aren't going to save them.  Just picture our Sponge Bob overlay on our Mach1 theater and you get the idea .

[PcMan]

Yes We had the Room looking at the pool and IOA.
I just spent 5 days there at the Royal Pacific (I only went since I had a free room and my girlfriend was going)

but yes they should be using this space for more Rides and Attrations not more hotels.
THe Blue Man group open in 2 weeks but no big deal
I can only do Shrek so many times.
I rode the Mummy and Spiderman about 10 times and Hulk and Dragons a few times.
But I can see the Simpsons being just another Back to the Future but with a Simpsons theme
(nothing new). and Harry Potter (replacing lost continuant) being about the same.

The lost continuant will stay or at least it will be half the size

[PcMan]

News a week old but official: 6-8-07



ORLANDO -- Is there room at the inn for Harry Potter, Bart Simpson and all their friends and followers?

If there isn't, there soon could be -- Universal Orlando is considering expanding its hotel inventory to accommodate the demand those new attractions will create.

While multimillion-dollar expansions like the Simpsons family ride in the spring of 2008 and a new Harry Potter land in late 2009 have grabbed headlines worldwide, this week Universal quietly asked for permission to expand its infrastructure.

The plans call for a controversial 316-unit, on-site apartment complex for employees, as well as two hotels with 2,600 rooms, an undetermined number of time share units, 44,000 square feet of retail space and 120,000 square feet of office space, most likely to be used for corporate expansion.

Universal hasn't estimated the costs or actually committed to doing the projects yet, but spokeswoman Cindy Gordon says it's likely the theme park will need more on-site rooms by late 2009.
Unhappy neighbors

Universal asked the Orlando municipal planning board May 15 to amend its master plan with the additional developments on about 100 of its 800 acres, according to documents obtained by Orlando Business Journal.

Next, the request -- approved 6-1 by the planning board -- will go before the Orlando City Council for approval. Each project also would go through an individual review and approval process, should Universal decide to move forward with them.

However, area residents oppose the idea of on-site employee housing, and a group of Universal's neighbors already have hired attorney Alison Yurko to appeal the planning board's decision.
Lagoon centerpiece

According to the proposal, one 1,800-room hotel would be built just west of Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park, which is where "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" will be built. A conceptual rendering shows two 16-story towers flanking a main lobby-like structure.

As for the remaining rooms, industry speculation began last fall about plans to replicate the Royal Pacific Resort's 1,000 existing rooms and meeting space with an eight-story, 800-room expansion and another 150,000 square feet of convention space, using property next to the existing hotel -- making the lagoon area the hotel's centerpiece.

The site plan submitted to the city of Orlando includes a hotel in that location. At 1,800 rooms, that would make the two new Universal hotels the fourth- and fifth-largest in Orlando.

Loews Hotels has an agreement with Universal that gives it the right of first refusal for the hotels and the planned time share component. Loews, an 18-hotel chain, would not discuss the opportunity to expand, calling the situation too preliminary.

[Dubya91]

Big expansion is going on here, however as Wade said, I hope this doesnt turn into a giant traffic jam because of all of the clustering...It's good to see that they are actually doing something but lets hope its result isnt a negative one. I am curious to see what HogWarts will do to the rides in the proposed area...

[PcMan]

From screamscape.com 

2009 - Hollywood Dream - Rumor - For the last several weeks I?ve been hearing a new rumor that honestly I just wasn?t ready to believe. Not that it wasn?t believable? but the way things are shaping up in 2009 for the Central Florida theme parks, it was just the icing on the cake for an park enthusiast?s dream come true. If the rumor holds out, we?ve heard that Universal Studios Florida may be planning on adding their very own version of the Hollywood Dream coaster added to Universal Studios Japan earlier this year. In that case, it was a family sized junior hyper-coaster style design made to swoop, turn and dive over the entrance and Hollywood themed area of Universal Studios Japan, all with an on-board soundtrack system allowing riders to choose one of five different soundtrack options. Now I?m hearing that a similar concept is in the works for Universal Studios Florida in 2009 since in all likelihood we wont see the Harry Potter area completed until late that year or in 2010. Universal?s previous track record says that they would buy a B&M most likely for this project, but right now if all the rumors hold true (SeaWorld & Busch Gardens), that means we could be seeing three new B&M coasters added to central Florida in 2009 along with a rumored spinning Ratatouille coaster at Disney?s Hollywood Studios followed by the rebirth of an all new version of Space Mountain as well. Like I said? a coaster enthusiasts dream come true. Do we dare to dream?

[PcMan]

Another early Universal Studios ride has closed so that it may be transformed into a new attraction.

Earthquake"Earthquake - The Big One," a train ride through a collapsing San Francisco, allowing riders to see how Hollywood used to handle some big special effects, has closed. It will be replaced within weeks by a newly-themed attraction, called "Disaster!"

According to Universal Orlando resort, the ride, located in the San Francisco section of the theme park, should repen by the December rush, with more of an interactive experience and no specific movie tie in. The new ride's full name will be "Disaster! A Major Motion Picture Ride ... Starring You."

The ride originally was based on the 1974 disaster movie, Earthquake!, starring Charlton Heston. Unlike many of the other movies that Universal rides are based on, such as Jaws, Terminator 2: 3D or the other recently closed ride, Back to the Future: The Ride, so many visitors to Universal might never relate to the movie tie in.

Back to the Future is being replaced with a ride themed on the animated TV show, The Simpsons, slated to open next spring.