Universal Orlando Resort has confirmed that Poseidon’s Fury will have its last shows on May 9, 2023. This walk-through attraction within the Lost Continent area of the park will officially be closed beginning May 10, 2023.
The company has not announced a replacement for the long-running attraction, only saying that they are preparing “for exciting new experiences for our guests.”
Official photo of exterior of Poseidon’s Fury from Universal Orlando Resort
The walk-through attraction takes guests through the ruins of the ancient Temple of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea, where “you’re caught in a colossal battle between Poseidon and the evil Lord Darkennon.” The attraction boasts four types of lasers and over 200 individual flame effects in the finale for this special effects experience.
Poseidon’s Fury is the last remaining attraction within Lost Continent, which first saw half of its area removed and rethemed for the original Wizarding World area, which opened in 2010, based on Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle.
The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad stunt show closed permanently in 2018. Its stage has remained dormant since, only being used for extended queue for the nearby Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure attraction on busy mornings.
Now unused theater from Eighth Voyage of Sindbad in Lost Continent
When Poseidon’s Fury closes next month, all that will remain within the Lost Continent area will be the Mythos full service dining location, two small outdoor quick service dining locations, and a few small shops. Universal Orlando has not revealed if these offerings will remain open or not at this time.
Many are now speculating if this closure could mean that the long-standing rumors of a Legend of Zelda attraction or land replacing the Lost Continent area could come true.
With the success of the initial Super Nintendo World lands in Universal Studios Japan and now Hollywood, as well as the initial box-office success for The Super Mario Bros. Movie from the company’s Illumination animated films division, some are wondering if a new Zelda land may have finally been greenlit for Universal Orlando.
Universal Orlando reportedly sent a notice to Team Members last night stating that the Poseidon’s Fury attraction would be closing “to prepare for exciting new entertainment for our Guests.” This morning they have answered guest requests for comment stating that the attraction was closing so they could “prepare for exciting new experiences for our guests.”
These vague statements are all that we officially have from the company at this time.
Poseidon’s Fury was recently refurbished, with the exterior temple receiving new paint, new pipe work done for the exterior and interior water features, and more effects improved. The attraction reopened in March 2022, after being closed for awhile due to pandemic costs savings, as well as the several-month long refurbishment.
The attraction building has been rumored to still be experiencing plumbing issues, despite the extensive refurb nearly two years ago. It is possible that the timing for this closure may be related to ongoing issues. Rather than attempting another refurb, perhaps they have decided to close the attraction now, even if plans to replace it won’t be executed for some time?
The nearby Mystic Fountain entertains guests within the Lost Continent
Other than the dining locations, a few small shops, and the delightful talking Mystic Fountain, the Lost Continent area will soon offer not much more than a pathway between Seuss Landing and the Wizarding World beginning May 10, 2023. Without an official announcement of what will be replacing Poseidon’s Fury, or the entire area itself, we are left to speculate and wait and watch for changes or demolition to begin.
It is possible that the closed Poseidon’s Fury attraction may remain dormant for some time, as its neighboring Sindbad theater has since 2018, until an actual plan to do something with the area is put into motion.
The water tunnel scene from Poseidon’s Fury is a guest favorite
One rumored plan from before the pandemic struck, was for this area to be converted into a Legend of Zelda land. The space where Poseidon’s Fury and the Sindbad theater sits was to be entirely replaced with a large indoor dark ride.
Patents that have been said to be related to this project show how the ride would have started as a free-floating boat ride, but then turn into a flying suspended ride system halfway through the attraction.
Patent image for a hybrid ride vehicle system, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Rumors at the time said that the company was taking a wait-and-see approach, seeing how the initial Super Nintendo World lands were received by the public, before greenlighting additional Nintendo-based properties for additional lands at the parks.
Like how the Wizarding World has been spread around to all of the Orlando theme parks, (including the possibility of getting a third such land at the upcoming Epic Universe theme park,) perhaps we could see additional Nintendo lands within Islands of Adventure, and maybe even Universal Studios Florida, someday as well.
Universal Orlando’s initial Super Nintendo World land is set to open within their newest theme park, Epic Universe, in summer 2025.
I would not expect a large-scale replacement of the Lost Continent area to be ready until 2026 or 2027 at the soonest, but that is just me guessing. We already have the new Illumination Villain-Con Minion Blast opening at Universal Studios Florida this year, and a replacement for KidZone (rumored to be based on DreamWorks properties) expected to open in 2024.
Whatever Universal Orlando has planned in the short term for Poseidon’s Fury, or the long term for the remnants of Lost Continent, remains to be seen. We will be keeping an eye on the area for any movement, as well as on new permit applications that may be related.
For now, we all have through May 9, 2023 to get our last visits with Taylor and the Global Discovery Group, for one more journey through the temple.
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3 Comments
Kevin Bhieey
I have a hard time believing it’s the plumbing for two reasons: One, they just had a refurbishment two months ago, which would have involved fixing the plumbing issues, and if they weren’t fixed then they wouldn’t have reopened, right? It’s not like people were clamoring for this to reopen. Two, if the plumbing issues are currently a problem, why run the thing for another month? Why not run it for 4 more months, to get through the busy season? Why not just close it again until the plumbing problem is truly fixed. Closing right before summer is just weird… Unless they have a plan that needs to go into place right now, say for a 2024 or early 2025 opening…???
Yeah, that seems ridiculous, but I said when they painted this thing in 2022 that they gave it a very cartoony Zelda-looking paint scheme. Even weirder, they tarted up the trident and the arm holding it but made the feet LESS colorful. Why? Because we all know Link wears boots, not sandals…???
I’ve said before I’m not buying this Zelda boat ride thing. While boating and flying are both things Link has done – though only one involves an actual vehicle – I don’t see them putting a FOURTH water ride into IOA when USF has none. And I don’t see them having a single ride for this huge chunk of land, though low attraction counts have definitely been “features” of their recent lands. Besides, that flying boat patent totally comes off as a “cheap” way to get SOMETHING into USF (retheming ET and adding a water section outside). With EU on the way, Universal can’t spend a lot on the current parks – hence the cheap retheme of KidZone – but they also can’t ignore them or EU will cannibalize their attendance.
Obviously, the “cheapest” way to get Zelda into the parks is by simply retheming Poseidon. The paint job might have been Universal’s way of showing Nintendo that a retheme won’t come off as cheap. That said, would Nintendo be happy with a similar storyline, with the Poseidon and Darkenon final fight being replaced by Link and Ganondorf? Possibly, though that could be a show for the theater next door. But then I remembered that Nintendo is requiring interactivity in their major attractions. Alicia has showcased several interactive patents that could totally be used in a Zelda attraction. In fact, with AR or VR – technology Universal is obsessed with right now – the interior wouldn’t even need much of a retheme.
Still, would Universal put something like this on the fast track? There’s still the issue of how poorly the VR Harry Potter rumor was received and Mario Kart’s AR isn’t winning it any Best Ride Ever awards. Then I remembered those sandaled feet and that now-gold bracelet. Link’s (gold) Power Bracelet could become a Power-Up Bracelet! The sandaled feet and pools fronting the attraction could be removed for Zelda “mini-games”, which are easily the most-loved feature of the Super Nintendo Worlds. After the dismal failure of the Fast & Furious ride, Universal wants to stick to proven entities, especially when they can make them gobs of money. These interactive “mini-games” would also explain the odd, plural “new experiences” part of the press release.
While I’d like to think this wouldn’t happen until 2025, to coincide with the opening of Epic Universe, can it wait that long? That will be 4 years between IOA attractions and Universal’s problem right now will be people not coming in 2024 because they want to wait until 2025 for Epic Universe to open. Some might say Nintendo wouldn’t allow something to open before Super Nintendo World, but Alicia has already covered rumors about both Zelda and Pokémon rides threatening to be built YEARS ago. After surviving SEVERAL close calls, KidZone was unexpectedly closed so it could open a new land in 2024, a year before EU. Now this unexpectedly closes when there’s an empty building sitting right next door?? If we see work walls go up in May, we may be getting another 2024 attraction!
Ryan
I heard that it’s getting an “Uncharted” themed overlay to extend its lifespan for another 3-4 years along with the recent refurbishments of its infrastructure before ultimately being replaced with Zelda once the newness of Epic Universe wears off. Supposedly there’s a physical Tom Holland animatronic replacing Poseidon in that final scene along with new video footage being shot specifically for the attraction. This would mean that, like Domhnall Gleason appearing in Escape from Gringotts at Universal and Rise of the Resistance at Disney, Tom Holland would appear in this attraction at Universal and Web Slingers at Disney Parks’ Avengers Campuses.
DYLAN
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