DreamWorks at Universal Studios Florida crosses ogre one year of construction
A year after Universal Studios Florida closed much of Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone, construction progresses on a future DreamWorks-themed land, set to open sometime in 2024.
Jan. 15, 2023 was the final operating day for several long-running attractions in the kid-focused corner of Universal Orlando Resort’s original park. Among them were a kiddie coaster, multiple play areas, and character experiences.
Six months later, Universal formally announced the real estate would be occupied by a land themed to DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda.”
Now, a year after construction began (and thanks to photos shared with us by bioreconstruct) we can take a peek inside the DreamWorks construction site to see what remains from KidZone and what might be on the way.
Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone, One Year Later
Bioreconstruct captured this photo in January 2023, with the land’s entrance from the park’s lakeside promenade in the top center:
A year later in January 2024, here’s a similar vantage point:
Notable observations, all of which we’ll break down further in a moment:
- the kiddie coaster and indoor theater are still in place
- a new structure at the land’s entrance resembles Shrek’s house
- the framework of the water play area remains
Pivoting angles, the below photo was captured in February 2022, but the area looked nearly the same upon its closure in January 2023. The land’s entrance is in the bottom right corner of this frame.
A year after shuttering, the former KidZone looks like this today:
What’s Still Open?
“Animal Actors on Location,” SpongeBob StorePants, and E.T. Adventure (all considered part of KidZone) survived the mass closures. They’re all still open today, with no plans to vacate.
The photo below shows how the DreamWorks land is situated alongside the portion of Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone that remains open. Guests approach the area from the top center of this frame, greeted by the open-air “Animal Actors on Location” theater (the large, aqua-bordered rectangle) and SpongeBob StorePants (the rounded-roof building). Continuing, E.T. Adventure juts very close to what will eventually be the entrance to the DreamWorks land.
What Closed?
Not too long ago, if you’d ventured beyond these attractions and into KidZone proper, you’d have encountered:
- Fievel’s Playland, a playground and water slide themed to “An American Tale”
- Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster, a kiddie coaster
- Curious George Goes to Town, a ball pit and water play area (and frequent pathway to Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses)
- “DreamWorks Destination,” a live, indoor character experience (in a theater formerly home to “A Day in the Park with Barney”)
- Shrek’s Swamp Meet, a character greeting with Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey
What’s Coming?
Universal has yet to announce any of the specific attractions within this still-unnamed DreamWorks-themed land. The roller coaster is still intact, though, as is the indoor theater.
Though yet-to-be officially confirmed, a newly built structure near the future entrance to the land clearly resembles Shrek’s house. Meanwhile, the kiddie coaster appears to be re-themed to “Trolls.” The resort’s initial announcement teased experiences themed to “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Trolls,” and “Gabby’s Dollhouse.” Let’s take a closer look.
Shrek’s Swamp
Shrek’s house stands immediately out front of the entrance to E.T. Adventure. Like E.T., Shrek himself has maintained a longtime residence in this very park, having starred in the now-defunct “Shrek 4-D” for nearly 20 years. The photo below shows just how close Shrek’s house is to the entrance of E.T. Adventure.
Guests can already get a good look at the sculpted details of Shrek’s swampy home. The photos below were captured at ground level from inside the park.
What guests will experience inside Shrek’s house remains to be seen. Here’s a look at Shrek’s former character greeting in KidZone, which had only just relocated from elsewhere in the park a mere six months before KidZone’s closure.
Mystery Area #1
Just beyond Shrek’s house, the area formerly home to Fievel’s Playland contains the foundations for an unknown attraction.
Universal’s 2023 announcement mentioned “themed, interactive play spaces.” Is this one of those spaces?
A tree-like structure could indicate a connection to Shrek’s house, or might just be aesthetically similar.
Further inside this mystery space, another structure appears already themed as a small, wooden, elevated shed, almost like an oversized birdhouse.
“Trolls” Kiddie Coaster
Continuing into the DreamWorks-themed land, our next stop is the “Trolls” re-theming of Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster.
The kiddie coaster’s previously red track is now bright shades of orange, green, and yellow. The roof of the load station is rainbow-colored, on-brand for the vibrant production design of “Trolls.”
Rotating angles, here’s another viewpoint.
The coaster itself remains the same track layout and experience as its predecessor. Get an idea of what to expect in our POV of the kiddie coaster from its final day of operation under Mr. Woodpecker’s reign.
Mystery Area #2
The dead end of the DreamWorks land was formerly home to Curious George Goes to Town. For now, the framework of that play area remains. This includes the large bucket that dumped water onto guests.
Universal has not announced what will reside in this space, which DreamWorks story it will highlight, or how much of the previous infrastructure will stay in place.
More Construction at Universal Orlando Resort
While substantial, the DreamWorks land is far from the biggest ongoing construction project at Universal Orlando Resort. Construction teams are hard at work building the new Universal Epic Universe theme park and multiple hotels.
For a peak at a recent construction milestone for an Epic Universe area likely themed to Universal Classic Monsters, check out our previous story:
What do you hope to see in the upcoming DreamWorks land?
