It is official! DreamWorks Land is coming to Universal Studios Florida. This re-themed land will feature “Shrek,” “Trolls,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Gabby’s Dollhouse.” Thanks to Bioreconstruct on Twitter we have new aerial images of construction efforts going vertical.
Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone was officially closed January, 2023. Since then the Universal Orlando Resort has been busy modifying this space for future enjoyment. This article contains rumors alongside the construction update images. Unless revealed by the Universal Orlando Resort, these should be taken as rumors and not fact.
E.T. Adventure Ride construction
One of the most obvious areas of work is at the E.T. Adventure Ride entrance. At the blue arrow is the current entrance and exit for the attraction. The E.T. Adventure Ride is the only remaining opening day ride at Universal Studios Florida. This ride will not be demolished during the Dreamworks Land construction.
The green arrow is where noticeable vertical construction can be seen, even when on the ground. At the yellow arrow is where restrooms are offered for this section of the park. Even with construction and a modified entrance, this restroom is still currently open.
Rumors for the DreamWorks Land offerings
Zooming out, we can see an overview of the DreamWorks Land construction. The yellow circled area is where we were just looking, at the E.T. Adventure Ride entrance. The blue circled area is the previous Woody Woodpeckers Nuthouse roller coaster. And the red circled area shows the old Curious George Goes to Town and Ball Factory kids area.
According to rumors, the land will be split up into four main themed areas, starting with “Shrek”. The vertical construction efforts near the E.T. Adventure Ride may be a Shrek swamp play area, complete with Shrek meet and greet and food stand.
Moving back, and including the Woody Woodpecker coaster, will be a “Trolls” area. This area would include this singular ride, as well as a dance party area that could be used day or night. The dance party area would occasionally have characters and would serve as the hub of this DreamWorks Land.
In the previous DreamWorks Destinations building there may be a section rumored to feature “Gabby’s Dollhouse.” There are no substantial rumors at this point to explain exactly what would be offered in this indoor space.
Lastly, but perhaps most exciting for some is the potential for a “Kung Fu Panda” large play space. Taking over the previous indoor and outdoor play area from Curious George, this re-themed area would feature accessible playground elements and seating areas.
Shrek’s Swamp
Looking at this vertical construction and concept art, it is easy to understand why rumors suggest that Shrek’s swamp home is coming to Universal Studios Florida. This would be a clear indicator of the “Shrek” property without the large scale castles of Duloc or Fiona’s tower.
If rumors are correct, this area will host an interactive kids playground and a meet and greet with “Shrek” characters. In a perfect world, it would also serve Donkey’s waffles.
Trolls area with re-themed roller coaster
The Trolls area is expected to cover approximentally the area shown above. This re-themed roller coaster will be the highlight attraction of the new land. The majority of this “Trolls” themed area would be the roller coaster, with the remaining space used for the dance party.
According to Universal’s own concept art, the “Trolls” rumor seems pretty secure. Seen at the top of the roller coaster lift hill appears to be a tarantapuff. Tarantapuffs are huge, yet fluffy, spiders in the “Trolls” universe. This roller coaster could take riders through the world of “Trolls,” flying past some of its most iconic creatures.
Kung Fu Panda playspace
There is some leftover blue steel and a water dump from the “Curious George” outdoor play area. While the theming is gone, this skeleton remains. Hidden behind the trees, some of the red steel remains as well from the other outdoor multi-level playspace.
With a remaining framework, the rumors of a re-themed area with the original skeleton seems it will be correct. It is currently unclear if this area will be themed to the Valley of Peace, Jade Palace or another area from the film.
“Gabby’s Dollhouse” and Halloween Horror Nights
The yellow circled area is where the rumored “Gabby’s Dollhouse” section of the DreamWorks Land construction is occurring. Again, there are very limited rumors as to what is happening here. But this space was previously used for a character meet and greet and dance party area. It made for a nice air conditioned area with plenty of characters for kids to interact with.
Located in the blue circles, three separate Halloween Horror Nights houses are currently being worked on. On the left we have the “Hershey Kiss” houses, which usually hold original idea houses. On the right is where large, usually intellectual property, haunted houses are held. Last year, this was the location of The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare.
The Universal Orlando Resort is hard at work with many, many projects. In the next few years we are expecting the Universal Epic Universe park, a new nighttime show for Universal Studios Florida, a daytime parade, the DreamWorks Land, a new theme for the Lost Continent land, a rumored Universal Epic Universe preview store and more.
