Sprung One
Sprung Two
Parade Building (B79)
Disaster Queue
SS21 (likely two houses)
SS22
SS24

It looks like we’ll be going back to eight houses again this year, assuming they put two houses into soundstage 21. It’s the largest soundstage on Universal property, so it’s entirely possible they’ll build two houses there, much like they typically do when they use soundstages 20 and 23. This will also be the first year they’ve ever used soundstages 21 and 24 before, so that should be interesting to see.

We’ve included images of the permits below. Be sure to check back as the permits undergo the review process by the city over the next two weeks, as that usually provides us with interesting details like scene names.

Project is an amusement park attraction: a monopole +/- 12′ dia. round steel tube approx. 304′ high. On top of the tube is a cylindrically-shaped steel machine room and open rail +/- 20′ dia. and approx 26′ high. A +/- 59’ dia. seat system moves up and down around the tube as a part of the ride.

What’s interesting to note is that the original construction timeline for the installation of the tower was a mere two weeks; from December 4th 2012 – December 18th 2012. This would have likely left enough time to get the attraction open by early this year. However, with construction yet to begin, and reports from Screamscape about delays, it’s looking like this project could have been pushed back to 2014.

Busch Gardens recently sent out an e-mail teasing they had some big news to ‘drop’ on June 11th, so we’ll likely find out the planned opening date then. A late 2013 opening is entirely possible if construction starts next month and they can stick to the two week schedule for assembling the tower. Included below is a screenshot of the FAA filing:

Ever since the introduction of the Transformers characters in the park two weeks ago, there have been consistently long lines to have a photo taken with them, so moving the characters to a permanent, indoor location could make sense, given their popularity.

Universal has seen similar success with the introduction of the indoor meet and greet location in the Spongebob store, and even went so far as to completely re-do the Shrek and Donkey meet and greet after its original location had to be demolished to make room for the Transformers ride building. So clearly the idea of a permanent meet and greet isn’t unprecedented.

Alternatively, and probably a bit less exciting, this could also be a new food and beverage kiosk that would feature the popular Energon drink sold at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Singapore. However, that beverage could just as easily be sold at roll-away carts and existing food and beverage venues, so the addition of an entire building seems a bit overkill. But without any solid proof either way, it’s anyone’s guess for now. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think it is!

UPDATE 3/22/13: A new permit filed with the City of Orlando today has confirmed that this project is, indeed, for a new meet and greet location and photo sales kiosk for the Transformers characters. The building permit is included below:

We’ll start our aerial tour behind the Men in Black building, on the large, vacant plot of land being used as a staging area for Project 722. Laid out here are several pieces of the black roller coaster track and supports for the rumored Gringotts attraction.

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Our next stop is the Project 722 construction site, and there’s quite a lot to see here. The most prominent feature is the massive show building for the rumored Gringotts attraction. You can also see the foundation work for the area’s several other buildings starting to take shape. In the lower left of the image, the rumored USF station for the Hogwarts Express attraction is also starting to take shape.

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Speaking of the Hogwarts Express, you can clearly make out many of the footers and pylons being constructed backstage in these high resolution images. A quick game of connect the dots shows the path the rumored attraction will take during its backstage journey. The footers have been highlighted in yellow and the track is roughly traced with a black line in the picture below.

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Our final Potter related stop is the rumored IOA station of the Hogwarts Express. The building’s foundation work is well underway, and the queue area is also starting to take shape.

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Heading back to USF now, we get a nice overview of work going on for Project 971, which is an all-but-confirmed Springfield expansion.

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Also worth looking at in USF is the nearly complete Transformers building. In just the few short weeks since this aerial photo was taken the giant yellow crane has been removed, exterior theming of the building is nearly complete, and the road on the Shrek side of the building has been re-opened.

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Heading out to CityWalk, we get a nice overview of the now completed Hollywood Drive-In Golf.

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The final stop on our aerial tour of Universal Orlando is the Cabana Bay Beach Resort construction site. The first three buildings are already coming along nicely, with foundation work for the entry hub looking to begin soon, if it hasn’t already.

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Universal has been selling Transformers themed merchandise at various stores and kiosks throughout their parks for the past month or so, so getting this shop open sooner would give all that stuff a place to call home, and allow them to offer even more items for sale in a cool, themed environment. Plus, Universal opened Super Silly Stuff, the Despicable Me gift shop, before that attraction officially opened, so the idea of opening an attraction’s retail location early clearly isn’t unprecedented.

The project has been dubbed “The BVD Corridor Stormwater Project” and phase I of the plans were filed with the SFWMD yesterday. Phase I simply consists of the necessary groundwater infrastructure changes to facilitate the expansion of Downtown Disney. To quote the letter filed with the plans “The BVD Corridor Stormwater Project allows the master planning of an existing 269.11 acre mixed use parcel.”

The next phase of the plans is where it gets interesting. The Downtown Disney area as a whole will be re-branded into “Disney Springs”, which encompasses six distinct neighborhoods: The Gateway, The Town Center, The Springs, The Landing, The West Side, and The Village Marketplace. Each neighborhood will have its own distinct look and feel, described briefly below.

The Gateway, as you probably could have guessed, will be the main access point into Disney Springs. Its main goal is to improve the current parking woes and traffic nightmare Downtown Disney faces during peak seasons. The biggest addition to The Gateway will be a five level parking garage that will sit roughly where the current parking lots C and D are. Parking lots A-H will be removed to support the necessary infrastructure for the new garage, as well as a new, larger bus drop-off and pick-up area.

After The Gateway you’ll encounter The Town Center, located on what will have been parking lots E-G. The Town Center will be a busy area featuring many new retail establishments. Following The Town Center you’ll arrive in The Springs, a peaceful, relaxing area along the waterway that runs between it and the former Pleasure Island. Cross one of the new bridges, and you’ll end up in The Landing, full of dining and drinking options and offering nice views of Village Lake. Here you can expect to see several new restaurants and retail locations, as well as a new amphitheater by the water’s edge, next to Paradiso 37.

The West Side and The Village Marketplace will remain virtually the same as their current state, with a few small additions. On The West Side, the most notable changes include Planet Hollywood being turned into something called ‘The Observatory’ and losing its surrounding body of water, and a new Starbucks location replacing the current Wetzel’s Pretzels. An overhead railway (for thematic purposes only) will also run above the main stretch of path from Disney Quest down to the new Starbucks. Meanwhile, over in The Village Market Place, the former bus drop-off and pick-up area will become home to two new retail buildings, and a new bridge leading to Saratoga Springs will be constructed.

So there you have it, a brief overview of Disney Springs, the future of Downtown Disney. Below I’ve included a colored and labeled overlay of what the proposed plans will transform the area into. It’s definitely a massive project, and one that will likely create its fair share of headaches during construction. But overall, it looks to be a worthwhile addition to Walt Disney World, and hopefully one that will solve some of the current issues and criticisms that Downtown Disney faces.

While a generic trademark application like this one is by no means confirmation of a coming themed land or park, it does show that the company has intent of using it’s Middle-Earth mark in the amusement/theme park sector someday. Right now though, there’s no way of knowing how soon, if ever, anything could come to fruition, or what parks, if any, the company is in talks with.

The full trademark is included below:

• February 9th, 2013 – Lifehouse
• February 16th, 2013 – Steve Miller Band
• February 17th, 2013 – Boys Like Girls
  
• February 23rd, 2013 – Trey Songz
  
• March 2nd, 2013 – Demi Lovato
  
• March 9th, 2013 – Montgomery Gentry
• March 15th, 2013 – Sean Kingston
  
• March 16th, 2013 – Matchbox Twenty
• March 22nd, 2013 – Austin Mahone
  
• March 23rd, 2013 – Phillip Phillips
• March 30th, 2013 – Pat Benatar
• April 6th, 2013 – Kool & The Gang
  
• April 13th, 2013 – Pitbull
• April 20th, 2013 – The All-American Rejects
  

Articulated Waterslide

The first patent, for an articulated waterslide, details a new waterslide concept “that is flexible or articulated at one or more locations such that features of the waterslide can be maneuvered into different arrangements to provide a variety of flow paths. “ This concept offers many possibilities; for example, a waterslide built with multiple articulation segments and multiple paths could theoretically offer a different ride experience each time. Alternatively, a specific themed waterslide could be built with both “wild” and “mild” paths, and the rider could select which path they’d like to take, that way everyone could experience that particular themed slide, no matter their thrill preference. It’s definitely an interesting concept, and one I’d totally love to see executed in the near future. Included below are a few example drawings, and you can download and read the full patent by clicking here: Articulated Waterslide Patent.

Multi-Directional Wavepool

The next patent’s title is pretty self-explanatory. It details a method for creating a wavepool with multi-directional waves. As the patent describes, this would allow for the creation of a circular wavepool, with waves being generated from the center and expanding outwards in all directions. The patent also discusses the possibility of different wave types being generated in different sections of the pool, so guests could choose their preferred wave type and stay in that section, or swim around and experience them all. Special wave types, like spiral waves, would also be possible with this configuration. A massive, circular wavepool would be an excellent centerpiece for a new water park. You can download and read the full patent by clicking here: Multi-Directional Wavepool Patent.

Beach Visual Effects

The final new patent details different visual effects that could be created in a water park beach environment using different sand materials and/or lighting effects from below the beach surface. Examples included multi-colored or rainbow beaches, an illuminated or back-lit beach, or the creation of different shapes or patterns. Special iridescent or phosphorescent sands could also be used to create a visually interesting beach. These concepts would definitely be an exciting way to spruce up the typical, mundane water park beach environment, and could allow for some pretty elaborate effects and themed beach areas. Below are two example drawings from the patent, which can be downloaded by clicking here: Beach Visual Effects Patent.

Overall, these seem to be some pretty unique and interesting new water park concepts, and pretty much right on par with what we’ve come to expect from the creative minds at Universal. Hopefully we see these ideas implemented in a future water park project, and hopefully that project is for Universal Orlando Resort. What do you think of these patents? Be sure to leave your comments in the comment section below!

To the north of the property are the three buildings, A, B, and C. These three buildings consist of phase 1 of the resort’s construction and will likely contain the family suites. In the middle of these three buildings is a large pool, which we saw in the concept art released with the resort’s announcement, as well as various other amenities.

On the other side of these buildings is what appears to be the very large hotel lobby/main building, which was also shown off in concept art. Then, jutting out of that building in an interesting zig-zag pattern is what looks like the remaining two buildings of the resort, likely to contain the standard guest rooms. It’s hard to tell from this image, but it looks like there could also be a pool or some kind of recreation area in the middle of these two buildings as well.