Entertainment at Universal Orlando

There are quite a few shows at Universal Orlando, especially at Universal Studios Florida, but I only saw a few of them, so this post will be relatively short. Universal Orlando also only has one nighttime show (Cinematic Spectacular), and it wasn't showing any of the three days that I was in the parks.

Universal Studios Florida

San Francisco

Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue - This show has kind of a strange concept - a bunch of horror movie characters singing pop songs. It was vaguely entertaining, and they get bonus points from me for singing a couple of lines from The Fox, but it wouldn't see it again even if I could (and I can't, because apparently it closes in a few weeks).

Harry Potter - Diagon Alley

Tales of Beedle the Bard - This is a small group that performs Beedle the Bard stories with the help of large puppets. There are two different stories told - The Fountain of Fair Fortune and The Three Brothers. The times of the performances are not listed in the guide map but they were in the Universal iPhone app. However, as far as I'm aware there was no way to find out in advance which story would be told. We managed to catch both though, and found them entertaining but not amazing. It distracted from the magic a little that there was obviously a guy standing in the audience with an iPad controlling the sound effects and special effects.

Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone

Animal Actors on Location - This was a fun show with animals (dogs, cats, pigs, birds, etc.) doing tricks. The animals were cute, although they didn't always do exactly what they were supposed to do.

Hollywood

Horror Make-Up Show - This is a show demonstrated how prosthetics and other make-up effects are done for horror movies. I'm not really in to horror movies so I didn't find the show that interesting - I was a little disappointed after reading good reviews. I managed to sneak in just before the show started so at least I didn't have to wait at all (it looked like there was no admission after the official show time).

Terminator 2: 3-D - This is an old show that I've seen a few times before at other Universal parks. It's a mix of a 3D movie and live action. It wasn't as corny as I remembered, and the actress in the pre-show was very funny (also, some of the "futuristic" products in the pre-show which are supposed to be creepy now seem eerily plausible). Apparently the pre-show has been updated since I saw it; I hope they didn't get rid of any of the bits I liked.

Islands of Adventure


Harry Potter - Hogsmeade

Frog Choir - This is a small choir which performs songs from Harry Potter with the help of animatronic frogs. It was mildly entertaining but nothing special and probably not worth standing out in the sun for. It also seemed that the showtimes were not published anywhere - the only option was to ask a Team Member.

Triwizard Spirit Rally - This show involves dancers from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. It felt even more skippable than the Frog Choir and similarly difficult to find out the schedule for.

The Lost Continent

The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad Stunt Show - I skipped this show the last time I was at Universal but decided to try it this time. I don't think I would bother seeing it again. The most entertaining part was actually the pre-show which attempted to produce the show with volunteers from the audience.