In the hours leading up to Universal Oralndo’s official unveiling of Dark Universe, the online hype was off the charts as horror fans awaited details on this Epic Universe realm.
Greetings, I am Haley and in the words of Dracula, I bid you welcome.
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The way Universal does its Epic Universe announcements makes us forget that its opening is still a year-ish away. They are feeding the beast in all of us.
Epic Universe
🧛🏻♂️ Classic Universal Monsters have a place
Leading up to Thursday, we were kind of in the dark about Dark Universe. Like the genre itself, there was a lot of mystery surrounding this realm.
Dark Universe is a nod to Universal’s horror films from its early decades, but it’s also getting a modern update.
There are two attractions, dining options, and monster meet-and-greets. There’s even going to be a makeup studio where it’s made to feel like Halloween year-round.
One of the attractions I have to delve into right now — Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. Universal calls it the most terrifying attraction yet. It features not only several Classic Universal Monsters but cutting-edge technology that will appease all senses.
The Universal Creative team explains the story premise in the video attached to this web story. One takeaway is that the team talks about the fear factor scale. Dark Universe will toe the line between “being family-friendly and PG-13″.
There’s another thing I wanted to point out in the concept art above. If you look above Frankenstein’s right shoulder, we have seats that look familiar in the Universal toolkit. Likely, this attraction will have very similar ride mechanics to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
Now that we’ve gotten our epic introduction to Dark Universe, this means the augmented reality model at the Epic Universe Preview Center will be updated with information on Dark Universe.
I recently chatted with Julie Broughton on Take 6 about the Epic Universe Preview Center. You can check out that interview, photos, and more videos by clicking here.
SeaWorld Orlando
🐧 Will trek for penguins
From talking about one of the scariest attractions being built, to what I think will be one of the friendliest. We now have an opening date for Penguin Trek at SeaWorld Orlando.
With the newly reconstructed Antarctica area’s reopening last month, we knew the family coaster wasn’t too far behind. It’ll be nice to escape the July heat in a queue line that will make you feel like you’re about to go on an Antarctic expedition.
Click here for details on the grand opening date. If you’re a SeaWorld Pass Member, you’ll have the chance to experience the ride at an earlier time.
What I’m most excited about though is the return of penguin encounters that will come at the end of the journey.
🧊 Stay and chill
A great thing about a theme park vacation or staycation is getting thrills at the park and chills at the hotel.
To celebrate the newly-opened Antarctica Realm, Club Wyndham has partnered with SeaWorld during its 60th anniversary to introduce a custom-designed suite at the Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort.
There are plenty of penguins, cool blue lighting, and a kitchen built for snow cone making.
The themed suite is available for three and four-night reservations for a little over a month starting Aug. 1. A feel-good thing about booking this suite is that a portion goes toward the SeaWorld Conservation Fund.
Walt Disney World
🚪 We can sing about Bruno
Last week’s In the Loop edition talked a lot about Tiana, so I decided to hold off on talking about other summer additions at Disney World.
The opening of CommuniCore Plaza at EPCOT marked the completion of the multi-year transformation of World Celebration. It will serve as a big part of EPCOT festivals as well as the Mickey & Friends meet-and-greet.
If you can’t get enough “Encanto,” the “¡Celebración Encanto!” stage show is for you. The 25-minute, family-friendly sing-along features favorite songs and is performed six times daily through Sept. 6.
For a lineup of summer fun at Disney World, click here.
🏊🏻♀️ Safe swimming at Disney World and beyond
Swimming happens year-round in Florida, but pools and beaches are obviously busier in the summer.
Every year, Disney hosts the world’s largest swimming lesson at its Typhoon Lagoon water park and invites kids from several nonprofits in Central Florida.
Besides having a fun day at Disney World, the goal is to spread water safety awareness.
Discovery Cove
🦩 Just hatched!
When I visited Discovery Cove in April to check out the new Flamingo Point habitat, the aviculturists mentioned they were awaiting the arrival of a new flamingo.
Earlier this month, a new baby hatched, and while the chick is not residing in the new habitat just yet, visitors may observe the rest of the graceful flamboyance up close.
For more photos of the cutie and information on Discovery Cove bookings (I highly recommend the Flamingo Mingle), click here.
The hype is getting real when it comes to Epic Universe.
As always, I’m always looking for your hype rankings of Epic Universe lands. Feel free to keep me in the loop through my email or reach out to me on my X or Instagram.
If you head out to the parks this summer, don’t forget to post those photos to our PinIt! page.
See you next week!