Welcome to a chilly, crowded day at the Universal Orlando Resort. It’s a busy day and everyone is bundled up around the parks. Let’s see what’s new.

Over the weekend, another new sign was installed at the new Universal Studios Store in CityWalk. This looks like a good sign the project is moving along nicely, right?

There’s also a new divider at the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine that was recently added to CityWalk.

We started our afternoon at Islands of Adventure and spotted the torches lit along the entrance of the Jurassic World VelociCoaster. We can’t wait to get an even closer look when the attraction opens.

We stopped into Mythos for a quick lunch and we found that they have debuted several new items on their menu. The grilled LAMP chops sound delicious, but for that price, they better come with a light bulb.

We sampled the new Octopus Salad, which is now served warm with a red sauce rather than cold like the previous version. We much preferred this version and think it was a nice improvement. We also had the perfect view of VelociCoaster testing and even spotted a couple of riders on the vehicles.

Crowds through Hogsmeade weren’t too bad, but the bypass bridge was closed during the afternoon so all guests were forced to travel through the Wizarding World to get to Jurassic Park.

We spotted a new mist feature testing with the Jurassic World VelociCoaster. Every little detail has us excited for the opening!

All these VelociCoaster updates have us craving a Dulce de Leche Churro from Natural Selections. We can’t wait for them to roll out a new flavor next month!

If might be a little dark and dreary today, but that’s still better than a rainy day.

Dudley Do-Right’s Rip Saw Falls reopened over the weekend after its refurbishment, but with the cold weather today, we didn’t spot too many riders.

Our heroes seem to be missing today in Marvel Super Hero Island.

The cold weather and threat of rain seemed to thin out the crowds later in the day.

On our way over to Universal Studios Florida, we noticed that NXT signs have taken place of the old Blue Man Group advertisements.

Spongebob and Patrick look so cute and festive in their Mardi Gras outfits! We love them!

Beetlejuice has left the building. The Beetlejuice preview merchandise, grave, and banners are gone now from the 5 & 10. You can still find the Loungefly bag in the Silver Screen Collectibles store that connects to the Hello Kitty Shop.

The Fear Factor Live cars are out in the Fear Factor U-Rest location.

If you’re planning to do some shopping, there’s a new promo around the Universal Orlando Resort. You can receive a free non-interactive wand with the purchase of a Universal merchandise card with a minimum of $250.

That’s all for today! We’re going to grab a Butterbeer and make our way out of here, but be sure to keep following WDWNT and Universal Parks News Today for more updates!

Annie Wilson