Get ready for a Cinematic Celebration at Universal Orlando this summer

June 14, 2018, 8:07 PM · Last month we told you about the preparations for Universal Orlando's new nighttime lagoon show, which will debut this summer at Universal Studios Florida. Today, Universal officially confirmed the name of the show and some of its elements.

Universal Orlando's Cinematic Celebration will feature scenes from Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Fast & Furious, Despicable Me and more films on water screens with dancing fountains, a touch of pyro, and projection mapping.

Universal Orlando's Cinematic Celebration

Replacing Universal's Cinematic Spectacular, which closed last year, the new production pretty much begs comparison to World of Color of Disney's California Adventure, with its panoramic water screens and animated fountains. Universal show director Michael Aiello tweeted a daytime test of this show's new fountains this afternoon.

Universal is building a dedicated viewing area for the show in the "Central Park" area between Hollywood and the KidZone, but views should be available for the production from around the lagoon.

Replies (17)

June 14, 2018 at 8:15 PM

Boy, I hope this is a good show. I remember many years ago when the park brought in a group of Sea-Doo riders who did a quasi stunt show. At the end of each show they would turn their craft around and soak the audience with water from the exhaust for a couple of minutes. People loved that part of the show.
By the end of the summer, it was just a couple minutes of stunts and then about 10 or 15 minutes of blasting folks with exhaust water. Thing is...people loved it. You never can tell what will be popular.

June 14, 2018 at 9:48 PM

Had high (possibly misguided) hopes when I first saw Cinematic Spectalular. That turned out to be a train wreck of a production. Needless to say...my enthusiasim is at a low for this one until I see the finished product. Great new original name btw.

June 14, 2018 at 8:58 PM

Ok now, how awesome it would be if they just threw out all other IP and focused on dinosaurs invading the park.

June 14, 2018 at 10:50 PM

Universal Orlando is continuing their transformation into a Disney style copy cat park. Universal Creative has admitted, Comcast brass want family entertainment PRIORITY #1!

UC research has revealed the Harry Potter expansionS will reignite their attendance. The research has also revealed the Jurassic Park coaster expansion will generate excitement. The internal debate: should UC push back on Comcast’s demand the coaster be family friendly.

June 15, 2018 at 12:52 PM

Cinematic Spectacular was a great show but was starting to show its age. Cinematic Celebration looks like a great upgrade that wraps in a number of Universal's most engaging properties.

June 15, 2018 at 1:22 PM

I hate clip shows but if they trow enough other stuff at it I probably can swallow it.

June 15, 2018 at 1:34 PM

"The research has also revealed the Jurassic Park coaster expansion will generate excitement."

What are you talking about? There's no Jurassic Park coaster in development or even rumored. USH is upgrading its Jurassic Park attraction to link more closely to Jurassic World, but nothing beyond, and certainly not a roller coaster.

WWoHP is getting a new "family" roller coaster in Hogmeade (IOA) for 2019.

June 15, 2018 at 2:27 PM

@RM

The rumored Jurassic roller coaster is for IOA.

June 15, 2018 at 4:01 PM

"Cinematic Celebration" - I'll bet that half of the guests have no idea what the word "cinematic" means. (How often do people use the word "cinema" anymore?) Universal should call the show "Celebrate the Movies!"

June 15, 2018 at 5:02 PM

A welcome addition to the evening entertainment. Looking forward to experiencing it.

June 15, 2018 at 8:03 PM

There is a lot of rumors about a new coaster coming to JP Orlando for 2020. Markers are also showing up around JP.

June 20, 2018 at 6:42 AM

There is zero rumors about it. Theres rumors about a wizarding world coaster but not jurassic park.

June 20, 2018 at 12:44 PM

For the 2 anonymous posters, there is ZERO validity to a JP coaster being added in the next 3-5 years. First, there's absolutely nowhere to put a major coaster at IOA without taking out an existing attraction (River Adventure, Camp Jurassic, or Discovery Center). The park is up against its perimeter on virtually all sides with JP being the most space constrained area in the park right now. There is some space between the two bridges and Discover Center on the lagoon side of JP, but that would still not be enough space for a major roller coaster - perhaps a kiddie coaster or small shuttle coaster, but nothing that I would call major.

I was just at IOA 2 days ago, and the only survey markers currently in the JP section of the park are for utilities, which are pretty common when there's construction going on nearby and utility corridors are being upgraded, repaired, or rerouted.

Also, given the synergy between the US parks, I would expect any JP expansion to focus on updating the River Adventure to Jurassic World similar to what is happening at USH.

Finally, this notion of a 2020 opening just doesn't make any sense given what is expected for UO over the next couple of years. 2019 will see the opening of the Harry Potter Forbidden Forest family coaster, which is currently under construction, and appears to have slightly more than half the track in place (including a very interesting near-vertical section of track). The replacement for T2 is likely to open sometime in 2019 or may be delayed until 2020. After 2020, UO is likely going to be turning its attention to the long-rumored Ministry of Magic expansion where the Fear Factor Live stage is currently. Also, with the announcement of the two new hotels coming online in 2019 and 2020, I think it's a pretty good bet that 2021-2023 will see the opening of a new gate, which will require all of UC's attention for at least 2-3 years. Building a JP coaster (aside from a small kiddie coaster or off-the-shelf shuttle) just doesn't make any sense right now, and there are ZERO legitimate sources supporting such a rumor. This notion is nothing more than fanboy gossip.

June 20, 2018 at 9:34 PM

@Russell Meyer

Original IOA plans included a coaster for the Jurassic Park area. While you could argue space is not available, WDW is expanding beyond the berm. Sure it takes more $$$ to do so, but the ROI will be there for UC just like it’s there for WDI. UC could also repurpose existing space.

With the Comcast mandate for more Disney like rides, revisiting the JP coaster idea is not unexpected. IT’S SMART!

UC is examining all ideas, past and present, to combat WDW’s massive investment.

QUESTION IS...
Will UC develop such an AMAZING plan, it’s saved for the THIRD Park???

Regarding “fanboy gossip” this blog welcomes such tips!

June 21, 2018 at 8:29 AM

Actually, the original IOA plans included a Jurassic Park Jeep-themed motion base dark ride that was supposed to be located where Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey now sits. It was believed that such a ride may have included some coaster-like elements, but there is no corroborated source for a roller coaster past or present in Jurassic Park aside from Pteranadon Fliers.

WDW is not expanding beyond a "berm", they're building the Tron Lightcycle Coaster utilizing space currently used for a drainage pond, which will require relocation of that pond beyond what is currently allocated as park space. UO doesn't have that luxury on the western perimeter of IOA, where Jurassic Park is located. The land is up against Turkey Lake Road with a public high school (Dr. Phillips) on the other side of the street. We're not just talking about $$$ if UO wanted to expand west to increase the footprint of JP, we're talking about purchasing government-owned land and relocating a high school along with a major roadway. That's virtually a non-starter, meaning IOA's western perimeter is locked, and the only way to fit a roller coaster into Jurassic Park would be to take down an existing attraction or squeeze it into the space between the Discovery Center and Hogsmeade - certainly not enough space for what would be considered a "major" coaster. UC did move some backstage support to open up some extra space for the Forbidden Forest coaster now under construction (along with some staging areas for construction equipment and materials), but in Jurassic Park, there simply isn't any backstage space on that side of the park. This isn't a situation like Disneyland where Disney owned the property beyond the current park perimeter and could relocate and re-purpose backstage areas to make room for Galaxy's Edge. There's simply nowhere for UC to go to expand Jurassic Park to the west.

This website certainly doesn't prohibit "fanboy gossip", but it does cater more towards legitimate rumors confirmed by insider sources and official leaks by industry veterans that can speak with some level of authority and feasibility. The fact of the matter is that multiple anonymous posters are spewing complete nonsense that is not backed up with any relevant or verifiable sources. I'm merely debunking these myths and highlighting them as fallacy for the benefit of others that may not know as much about UO and the current and near-future plans that have already been confirmed. If you have a confirmed source indicating that there is actually a plan to install a roller coaster in IOA's JP section, you should not hide behind an anonymous username, and bring your verifiable information to Robert, who has a long history of protecting sources if you do need to remain anonymous (he revealed the Gringott's plans almost a year before they were officially announced while protecting the source(s)). Don't spew unsubstantiated nonsense that is not being rumored or reported on any other legitimate theme park website on a random discussion thread here.

June 21, 2018 at 8:39 AM

Actually, the original IOA plans included a Jurassic Park Jeep-themed motion base dark ride that was supposed to be located where Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey now sits. It was believed that such a ride may have included some coaster-like elements, but there is no corroborated source for a roller coaster past or present in Jurassic Park aside from Pteranadon Fliers.

WDW is not expanding beyond a "berm", they're building the Tron Lightcycle Coaster utilizing space currently used for a drainage pond, which will require relocation of that pond beyond what is currently allocated as park space. UO doesn't have that luxury on the western perimeter of IOA, where Jurassic Park is located. The land is up against Turkey Lake Road with a public high school (Dr. Phillips) on the other side of the street. We're not just talking about $$$ if UO wanted to expand west to increase the footprint of JP, we're talking about purchasing government-owned land and relocating a high school along with a major roadway. That's virtually a non-starter, meaning IOA's western perimeter is locked, and the only way to fit a roller coaster into Jurassic Park would be to take down an existing attraction or squeeze it into the space between the Discovery Center and Hogsmeade - certainly not enough space for what would be considered a "major" coaster. UC did move some backstage support to open up some extra space for the Forbidden Forest coaster now under construction (along with some staging areas for construction equipment and materials), but in Jurassic Park, there simply isn't any backstage space on that side of the park (aside from a small parking lot and maintenance area behind the River Adventure show building). This isn't a situation like Disneyland where Disney owned the property beyond the current park perimeter and could relocate and re-purpose backstage areas to make room for Galaxy's Edge. There's simply nowhere for UC to go to expand Jurassic Park to the west.

This website certainly doesn't prohibit "fanboy gossip", but it does cater more towards legitimate rumors confirmed by insider sources and official leaks by industry veterans that can speak with some level of authority and feasibility. The fact of the matter is that multiple anonymous posters are spewing complete nonsense that is not backed up with any relevant or verifiable sources. I'm merely debunking these myths and highlighting them as fallacy for the benefit of others that may not know as much about UO and the current and near-future plans that have already been confirmed. If you have a confirmed source indicating that there is actually a plan to install a roller coaster in IOA's JP section, you should not hide behind an anonymous username, and bring your verifiable information to Robert, who has a long history of protecting sources if you do need to remain anonymous (he revealed the Gringott's plans almost a year before they were officially announced while protecting the source(s)). Don't spew unsubstantiated nonsense that is not being rumored or reported on any other legitimate theme park website on a random discussion thread here.

June 21, 2018 at 7:16 PM

@Russell Meyer

WDW is expanding beyond the berm for TRON. Just like Disneyland did for STAR WARS. A berm does NOT include back stage.

Regarding the rumored IOA: Jurassic Park coaster, your mistaken that no other blogs, websites, YouTubers, etc. haven’t discussed it. And, your dismissal of all, but what you define as credible is irrational.

This blog site has previously stated, rumors welcomed. And, has followed that with names NOT required.

As with any rumor, IOA: JP fans can sit back and see what happens! Just like they do for every other theme park rumor.

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