Demolition has reached Mythos as The Lost Continent continues to disappear for a new land at Islands of Adventure. Pull-through testing is wrapping up next door at Universal Studios Florida as the new coaster’s entry facade takes shape. And the first work walls have arrived around construction of a new ride at Epic Universe, rumored to be an indoor coaster themed to Bride of Frankenstein.

Let’s check in on construction projects from all around Universal Orlando in today’s news update. See the video version of this story below for additional visuals.

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Lost Continent Mythos Demo

Active demolition has moved to Mythos, as rockwork is being meticulously picked away behind the restaurant at Islands of Adventure.

This dining location is still open while this work is happening around it in The Lost Continent.

These hollow rockwork forms have been cut away and slowly dismantled over the past two weeks, starting with a simple hole, to now seeing entire sections removed on both sides of some the larger false rocks.

This is taking place on a guest walkway along the waterfront, at the backside of the restaurant.

Exterior dining areas for Mythos are still open, but the pathway back here is blocked off where work is actively going on.

From the air it appears that a new bypass pathway may be constructed.

Thanks to these recent aerial photos from Bioreconstruct we can see how the pathway behind Mythos has been lengthened, connecting it to the Jurassic bypass bridge nearby.

Currently this dirt path is being used to bring in heavy equipment related to the rockwork demolition, but many are theorizing that we could see a new guest bypass pathway constructed here later.

Mythos was announced to remain open through the end of 2026, but is set to close some time next year.

Once it has closed, a new bypass pathway that connects directly to the bridge to Jurassic Park would allow Universal to close off guest access to all of Lost Continent.

This could allow for the demolition of any remaining structures in the area, including Mythos itself.

While we believed Mythos would not close until the park’s new full service location was ready, a re-do of the former Thunder Falls Terrace in Jurassic Park, work has seemingly not yet started on that project.

Photos taken of interiors visible through windows do not seem to show any progress happening inside, with ordering stations still visible.

While most of larger sections of The Lost Continent have been demolished, including the former Poseidon’s Fury and Sindbad theater attractions, some structures still remain.

In addition to Mythos, a small outdoor quick service location named Fire Eaters Grill, as well as a small outdoor gift shop will need to be removed on the left side of the land.

On the other side of the current guest pathway, there are still restrooms and the park’s first aid building.

From the air we can see a new trailer-based first aid building has been set up. A new access road is being formed to connect this first aid trailer to the main backstage roadway around the park.

What may be new backstage gates that will lead to the new access road can be seen staged here on the ground, shown at the arrow in this photo. They will likely be installed at number 4 in the photo above, where the access road connects to the park.

The current first aid is set to be demolished once the new one is ready, and the current access road will be removed as well. This will create a much larger connected area for new attractions to be built for a new land.

Universal Orlando has not yet announced what will be replacing The Lost Continent, only saying that the area is being prepared for future development.

Most theme park fans on the forums and on social media seem to think we could see Pokémon take over the area, with a new large dark ride as the leading theory as the main attraction, and a possible interactive show as a secondary attraction.

If the work happening behind Mythos will in fact be for a future bypass pathway, we may see Mythos close permanently soon after the new year.

This would mean we’re now entering our last days to be able to walk through what’s left of this area, and hear the background loop one more time.

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Islands of Adventure Projects

Also in this park, the large-scale refurbishment for Jurassic Park River Adventure has been extended through December 16th. That means it will have been closed for nearly a year when it reopens on December 17th, since it closed on January 5th.

Looking at recent aerial views we can see how more upgraded dinosaur animatronics have returned, like the adult stegosaurus, seen below without her skin across from the juvenile.

The water for the attraction was recently turned on, and boats have even been testing on the big drop.

More refreshed boats have been arriving to the ride in the days since water started flowing again as well.

Nearby, Skull Island: Reign of Kong has ran into an issue and a sign sits out front to warn riders that the attraction has been modified.

During routine maintenance the large Kong animatronic allegedly received catastrophic damage and will be out of commission until it is repaired.

While he is absent, a large black curtain hangs over the spot where the figure is usually placed. The sounds of Kong roaring and dialogue from the driver remains in place during this modified show. No word from Universal on how long he will be missing from the attraction.

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Hollywood Drift Testing & Facade

Pull-through testing is wrapping up at Universal Studios Florida as the lead car makes its way back to the station after completing a slow trip around the complete circuit.

This car, themed as Dom’s Dodge Charger from the Fast & Furious series, has been outfitted with a reach envelope frame.

Rather than use cranes, this pull-through was accomplished using track-mounted winches. That way the guest pathways below could remain clear for Halloween Horror Nights traffic.

The pull-through was not the only test for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift that’s been happening in recent weeks.

The fast-moving track switch has also been testing, as seen in the video below.

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This track switch will move as soon as the trains have passed on their way up the 170-foot tall spike.

Theming work continues near the start of the ride, where a semi truck’s trailer is being enclosed to appear as if it has a shipping container on it.

We will pass under this semi’s trailer at the start of the ride.

The entry facade for the new coaster is quickly taking shape, extending the city skyline in the New York section of Universal Studios Florida.

Located directly to the right of the Ghostbusters’ firehouse facade, there seems to be a ride entrance opening on the right side of this new facade.

The mock up image below from Tommy Hawkins shows his theory for how the new entrance may work, with guests exiting on the other side of the firehouse after riding.

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Universal Studios Florida Updates

In front of the park, the iconic Universal Studios arch is receiving a makeover.

The entire arch is covered in scrims and scaffolding during this transformation, but an image on the front gives us an idea of what the new arch colors and design will look like. The logo is being replaced at the top with new larger words as well.

Also in this park, it was officially announced that Blumhouse properties are being added to Horror Makeup Show when it reopens this winter.

The show has been closed since May for a major update, and now we know it will feature Blumhouse when it comes back. An exact date has not yet been announced.

The Animal Actors show is closing permanently after November 2nd to make way for new experience.

This opening day attraction will no longer run starting November 3rd, but Universal hasn’t offered any clues as to when or what it’s replacement may be.

Many believe it could be part of a larger project that either involves eventually expanding DreamWorks Land, or replacing all of Springfield USA. As of now though, there is no indication that The Simpsons are going anywhere.

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Dark Universe Expansion

Jumping now to Epic Universe, work on a new ride for the Dark Universe section of the park keeps progressing.

Concrete is being poured into drilled holes to help prepare for a possible future foundation.

Additional pile-driven spots can be spotted throughout the work zone, covered by plywood squares.

Deeper into the expansion area, located behind the ride building for Monsters Unchained, holes can be spotted dug out along the perimeter where framing for a new ride building will be built.

This expansion area has grown since we last checked in, now reaching all the way to the guest pathway in Darkmoor.

The first guest-facing work walls for this construction project are even visible now in these latest aerial views from Bioreconstruct.

Theories and/or rumors for this project are that it will be an indoor ride starring The Bride of Frankenstein, and may feature a ride vehicle similar to Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios Florida.

This of course has not been confirmed by Universal. In fact, they have not even admitted that they’re building a new ride here at Epic Universe yet, even after permits have posted describing the future structure’s size of 93,000 square feet, and mentioning that it will contain a ride maintenance bay on the first floor of the three-story building.

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Epic’s Potter Expansion

Despite being permitted first, there hasn’t been any visible work for the Harry Potter ride expansion project on the other side of Epic Universe.

Even though work has not started, another one of the permits related to the future attraction’s 95,000 square foot ride building was recently issued, so development work on this project has not stopped behind the scenes.

Another new permit just posted as well, this one for a 58,000 square foot structure.

If this new structure is related to the project, it could be for the new attraction’s queue areas, so when added to the ride building, brings us back to the original 150,000 square feet, the full size of the Wizarding World’s expansion plot.

The mock up graphic below by Tommy Hawkins illustrates how a smaller structure could contain queue, preshow spaces, and even the load/unload areas, leaving the larger structure for the entire tracked ride to take place.

The ride is rumored to be a tracked flying broomstick ride which fans think could be themed around the Quidditch World Cup, as teased through signs in the land.

Like the Dark Universe expansion, this project is also expected to be placed indoors, to help the park with its capacity problems when storms are in the area.

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More Epic Universe Updates

The other project for Epic Universe that has been under construction for several months now, is the multi-purpose events space near the front of the park.

Despite not being completed yet, the company has started promoting the space for corporate rentals on their event booking website.

An official rendering of the interior of the event space’s ballroom is included on the site, describing it as able to accommodate up to 700 guests in this 19,000 square foot space “just steps away from the park’s attractions.”

The image file name calls the indoor events space the “Celestial Expo Meetings Events Room.”

The official website lists this new events space as opening in 2027.

Also happening around Epic Universe, the nightly spectacular, Celestial Goodnight, has seen its large pyro return. The fireworks have been part of the show again since October 1st, after being absent temporarily due to technical difficulties.

And the holidays are expanding this year at Epic Universe, as more of the worlds are getting in on the festivities. In addition to decor in the Wizarding World and Celestial Park, Super Nintendo World is celebrating this year for the first time, and How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk will be expanding their Snoggletog festivities.

Decorations and music have already started to arrive to Celestial Park and decor is starting to show up in Wizarding Paris as well this week.

And speaking of Christmas, it was just revealed that not only will a new Earl the Squirrel balloon debut in this year’s holiday parade at Universal Orlando, but he will also be traveling to New York to be featured in the real Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

That’s all for now, but subscribe to the news feed or enter your email below to never miss an update as we follow these projects around Universal Orlando. See the video version of this story for additional visuals.

A big thanks to Bioreconstruct for the incredible aerial views. You can follow him on YouTube and social media for more theme park photography.

Subscribe to the RSS feed or enter your email address below to never miss an update. Official Art: Universal Destinations & Experiences | Original Photos: Alicia Stella | Aerial Photos: Bioreconstruct | Permits: City of Orlando & Orange County Government | Other Images as Captioned

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