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I visited Universal Orlando Resort this week to check out the new experiences in store this summer at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, with the bulk of the trip being focused on the highly-anticipated new land, DreamWorks Land. Located towards the back of the park, the new themed area is filled with experiences for kids and adults that are inspired by three animated franchises:Shrek,Trolls, andKung Fu Panda.
In addition to DreamWorks Land, Universal Studios introduces two new shows for guests to check out towards the end of their nights in both parks. First is a nighttime water and drone show in Universal Studios Florida called Cinesational and the other is Hogwarts Always, a new night show insideHarry Potter’s land that’s presented against Hogwarts Castle — both are incredibly exciting and worth seeing.
And like clockwork, there’s also a brand-new tribute store, called the Summer Tribute Store, in the Hollywood area of Universal Studios Florida that will be a must-see (even if you’re not buying anything) for any fans of Universal’s iconic films likeE.T.,Jaws, andBack to the Future, as well asGhostbusters! But I have much more to share with you on everything below.
DreamWorks Land
DreamWorks Land opened on July 20, 2025, and is located towards the back of the park, near the Hollywood area and E.T. Adventure. Its purpose, as its name suggests, is to showcase the wonderful animated franchises from the DreamWorks studio. While there are only a small handful of series showcased at its opening, hopefully more will come in the future.
Trolls
DreamWorks Imagination Celebration
DreamWorks has never hidden the fact that it’s a studio that prides itself on exploring the imaginations of their creators and animators. The core theme of imagination and not losing it with age is at the center of the new musical show in DreamWorks Land, located inside the DreamWorks theater — a round auditorium with three sections and a stage in the center, which has three ramps. (Pay attention to the walls surrounding the theater: there are screens that display scenes that contribute to the show.)
Throughout the DreamWorks Imagination Celebration show, the main two cast members, as well as their three backup dancers, will run and dance on the ramps and in front of audiences in each section. The show’s story centers on two people who were childhood friends — a young man and young woman. They used to look at the sky and let their imaginations run wild with what they saw in the clouds, but now the young man can no longer see anything in the clouds, so the woman is encouraging him to open up once more.
Kung Fu Panda
At the very back of DreamWorks Land is Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp, but beware:this is definitely a wet zone. It may look auspicious at first, but while most of the area has little sprinkles here and there, there’s one part that is equivalent to a water fall — if you’re unlucky, you might just get drenched. But there’s at least a dryer nearby that you can use to dry off.
Cinesational: A Symphonic Spectacular
Have you ever wondered if Universal Studios could compete with, and perhaps beat, Disneyland and their World of Color? They might have just done that. There’s always been something beautiful about World of Color and its ability to pull viewers back into their childhoods — but here, with Cinesational, Universal Studios does something equally as beautiful, but perhaps much more cinematic (hence the name). Rather than pull at the strings of childhood nostalgia, it pulls on viewers’ imaginations and awe, showcasing every corner of Universal Pictures’ backlog.
Cinesational is a water-and-drone show that takes place over 20 minutesand features movies such asE.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, The Mummy(the Brendan Fraser movies),Jurassic Worldand the entireJurassicfranchise again,Back to the Future, andFast and Furious, among many, many others. It was awesome to see a giant, silhouette shark displayed on the buildings behind Central Park while the Jaws theme played, and it was equally awesome to see animated franchises likeMinions,Shrek, andTrollsget their well-deserved due, the latter two just in time for DreamWorks Land’s opening.
Hogwarts Always
Harry Potter is often considered a fall or holiday movie series, but this summer Universal’s Islands of Adventure is introducing a new projection show in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It’s called Hogwarts Always because it’s not necessarily about Harry Potter himself or anyone else, or any story in particular, but rather about a year-in-the-life of a Hogwarts student.
Summer Tribute Store
A couple of times each year, Universal Studios Florida redoes their tribute store, building a new one revolving around that time of year. And this time they’re going very hard on the blockbuster season, focusing entirely on nostalgia for the movies and culture of the 1970s and 1980s. Thefour movies that make up the bulk of the Summer Tribute Store areJaws,Ghostbusters,Back to the Future, andE.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, with new, unique, and eventually rare merchandise.
Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, we did not get to see the new floats that will be used in this summer’s Mega Movie Parade, beginning on July 3rd. But everything else is now available to the public as of June 14th.
