Construction is moving right along at Universal Studios Florida. Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon may be set to open April 6, but the gift shop, aptly named “The Tonight Shop,” is looking more and more ready by the day. It’s been my assumption that it will open much sooner than the ride, especially considering work walls are down around the store and we can already see merchandise showing up inside. I bet you can’t wait to get your very own Hashtag the panda plush! Fast & Furious Supercharged construction continues as they have started building a large queue structure in front of the giant ride building.
Universal has been testing their new Virtual Line system at Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, (more details about that can be found here.) Also going on in the park, there’s minor construction happening at the Candy store in New York, free phone chargers have been installed throughout the park sponsored by Coca-Cola, and The Simpsons Ride is temporarily closed for regular maintenance until January 22nd. Check out the video for full coverage as well as the complete photo update below! And stay tuned for more theme park news and construction updates.
Photo Updates
Looking towards the bathrooms at Jimmy Fallon
Decorative elements now painted above the bathrooms
Skyline windows near bathrooms
Soundstage walls have been painted to match new facade
Looking towards the building front and The Tonight Shop
Door that is located between the bathrooms and the store
“Stage Door”
Looking through the “stage door” window
Yay! Ride testing going on inside!
The Tonight Shop entrance
NBC logo in colorful lights on the ceiling of gift shop
Coming *how* soon?
Some of the merchandise visible in the windows
Hashtag the panda! Yes, that is a hashtag stitched onto its butt.
Store window
Overall view of the entire building
Corporate Synergy
There may be a lot of logos on the building, but in their defense that is how it really looks in New York
Taking a look around the steps in front of the store…
Temporary crates and flowers on top of what will eventually be lamps or lighting features
Hookup for one of the street lamps can be seen under this A-frame sign
Closer view of lamp hookup
This beautiful ground brickwork was accomplished using a rubber mold on poured concrete. An old Hollywood technique used throughout Universal’s backlots
Looking towards the New York side of the building
Scaffolding is up around the ride entrance marquee
An intricate ornate design element is being installed above the entrance
Looking at the entrance marquee
A new stripe is beginning to be added along the side of the Fallon cutout
The work walls that are now up are plain black, replacing the ones with jumping Fallon’s on them
The ride is scheduled to open April 6, 2017!
Work walls up around the candy store in New York area
This is only a small window for ordering snacks and drinks
I wonder if this little shop will be expanded beyond a window
Work walls go down the alley a little ways
Across the street in front of the arcade a new phone charging station has been installed
These charging stations have been added in multiple places throughout the park
It’s completely free to charge your phone, with no time limit
Looking to Fast & Furious Supercharged construction
A structure for the queue is being built in front of the show building
A piece of the original building visible here
Some pieces of wall still missing on large show building
They’re using two brick designs, one matching London on the right and one for San Francisco on left
Wall being closed up on left side of show building
Closer view of wall being closed up
Where they were working while I was there
Inside the building you can see insulation has been installed
The fountain that used to be in front of Beetlejuice still remains
Overview of the area
Old Disaster entrance still has no changes visible
Also no change at the old Disaster exit
View of massive show building from London side
Building is completely closed in from this view
Original Disaster building is now connected to the new ride building
View of the massive building as seen from across the lagoon
The Simpsons Ride is closed for regular maintenance until January 22nd
Work walls are up along the left-side of the building
That’s all for this Universal update! Check out our previous coverage for all theme park construction here!
That’s all for this update. See all USF updates here and subscribe to the feed for more continual updates!
And subscribe to the YouTube channel for more theme park videos and construction updates coming soon!
Subscribe to Receive Email Updates
Consider supporting us on Patreon for as little as $1/month. All patrons receive behind the scenes posts and exclusive podcasts. Learn More
0 Comments