According to the LA Daily News, tourism is at an all time high for Southern California. That’s due in large part to the area’s theme parks, all of which have seen an increase in attendance due to new attractions. While the article names off several theme parks, they specifically say that Universal has seen a huge increase. The park is getting ready to open their all new Despicable Me ride, and Super Silly Fun Land, and is also looking at huge new attractions for the next several years. While the area waits on their broomsticks for a certain “Boy Who Lived” to come sweeping in on his broomstick, the article states that a fast new furious attraction could be springing to fields at the Studios as soon as next year.
Universal Studios Hollywood could very well adopt the Universal Orlando plan of a new attraction every year, and with Comcast at the helm, it’s a very likely possibility. Currently the park is a myriad of construction walls and projects, with Despicable Me wrapping up, Wizarding World of Harry Potter ramping up and Springfield slowly coming to life. Transformers The Ride helped the park become a huge hit through 2012, and Kong 3D helped push that two years earlier. What could be next?
Rumors indicate that next year could be a one two punch in Hollywood with the opening of an all new Springfield Fast Food Boulevard. The area opened at Universal Studios Florida in 2013 to rave reviews. While the area is said to feature mostly the same collection of restaurants themed to the animated TV series, The Simpsons, there are also said to be several little differences. Things such as a vastly different façade featuring the hills of Springfield, as well as an absence of the Kang and Kodos Twirl n Hurl that is present in Orlando, though a spinner very similar to Kang and Kodos is being constructed for Super Silly Fun Land to open this year.
Other rumors say that a Fast and Furious portion of the Studio Tour will be unveiled as well. Previously, Fast and Furious had a presences with cars attached to robot arms dancing to “Gasolina”. That part of the tour was recently closed, even though the films enjoyed a renewed success at the box office and with home media sales. If Fast and Furious comes back, it will be more like the Kong 360:3D and less like the recently closed animation, where guests will experience what it’s like to drive in the film via 3D. No word on whether the entire experience will be 3D, or if there will be interactive elements as well, but the area is currently under construction and is taking the place of the former Tomb of the Mummy location.
This could give guests a one-two punch of new experiences, similar to what Universal Orlando did in 2013 with Transformers and Springfield. In 2012, Universal Orlando Resort unveiled a new nighttime show and an all new parade. This year in Orlando, the entire resort is getting an expansion with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Diagon Alley going into Universal Studios, with a version of The Hogwarts Express that will travel between Diagon Alley, and an all new Hogsmeade Station in Islands of Adventure. The park’s CityWalk district is getting 8 new venues, and is having two of the older venues completely redone. The resort is also getting an all new hotel, Cabana Bay Beach, which is set to open in just a few weeks.
If Universal Studios Hollywood follows this pattern for the next few years, it will indeed be a fast and furious ride for guests, however, please keep in mind that these are just rumors at this point. Nothing is really happening until Universal Studios Hollywood officially announces it.
Stay tuned as we bring you more from Universal Studios Hollywood, and be sure to follow along with us on Twitter @BehindThrills for all the latest updates.
