“Universal Orlando’s Cinematic Celebration” has officially ended its run at Universal Studios Florida to make way for a new nighttime spectacular.
“Universal Orlando’s Cinematic Celebration” began in 2018. Performed in the Universal Studios Florida lagoon with dedicated viewing in the Central Park grass, it utilized fireworks, water curtains with projections, projection mapping, and over 120 fountains. It used footage from “Harry Potter” films, “Jurassic World,” “The Fast and the Furious,” “E.T.,” “Despicable Me,” “Transformers,” and more. The show was suspended for several months in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions but returned in October of that year. In 2021, it included a preshow for the Tokyo Olympics.
Universal Orlando described the spectacular as an epic show with a colossal celebration of music, water, and light that transforms the park and “takes you into the movies like never before.”
The announcement of the closure of “Universal Orlando’s Cinematic Celebration” is sudden, not providing fans a chance to revisit the show before it ended. It’s still listed in the Universal Orlando Resort app but as “closed.” For now, there will be no nighttime spectacular at Universal Studios Florida as a debut date for the new show wasn’t announced.
No details about the new nighttime spectacular were announced either but there have been rumors of a new show using drones. Sources stated that testing of this possible show has already begun. Drones can be used to create images in the sky and this technology has been used before by both Disney Parks and Universal, but sparingly.
Drones would provide a solution for Universal’s nighttime show problem. Because Universal Orlando Resort is in the city proper (unlike competitor Walt Disney World Resort) and surrounded by residential neighborhoods (including an apartment complex directly backed up to the property), their shows feature little to no pyrotechnics. Drones could be substituted to create the “impressive” element that many guests have complained is missing from the lagoon shows.
The drones could supplement a grander show still utilizing water curtains and projection mapping.
How do you feel about the sudden end to “Universal Orlando’s Cinematic Celebration”? Are you looking forward to a new nighttime spectacular in Universal Studios Florida? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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