Universal Orlando Resort announced on November 2, that more than half of the Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone area at Universal Studios Florida will close permanently on January 15, and that day has finally come.
Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone as we know it will cease to exist after today as Universal Orlando reimagine the area into what we believe will be a DreamWorks land, although Universal Orlando have not officially what it plans to do with the area.
Affected attractions include Fievel’s Playland, Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster, Curious George Goes to Town, DreamWorks Destination, and Shrek & Donkey’s Meet & Greet.
Thankfully we can all relax as the iconic opening day attraction E.T. Adventure will NOT be closing.
In addition, Animal Actors on Location, SpongeBob StorePants and its meet & greet, along with KidsZone Pizza Company will all remain open.
So just what is planned for KidZone? The honest answer is nobody knows for sure except Universal!
In the official announcement, Universal Orlando says that the experiences that are being closed are being replaced with “exciting new family entertainment that will immerse guests in the adventures of beloved animated characters.”
This extensive overhaul of KidZone at Universal Studios Florida certainly needs done, and to be fair there has been plans in the works for many years to modernise this dated section of the park
The closure today leaves a pretty large chunk of Universal Studios Florida to be redeveloped, so will the area be bulldozed and an entirely new land constructed, or will we see a cheaper re-theme of the existing attractions?
We think the later, but whatever happens, we're excited to see what Universal will re-imagine the area into.
While Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone badly needs a revamp, as a family that grew up with so many memories from this area of the park, we will certainly shed a tear when the area closes forever tonight at 9 pm.
Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster was our families first roller coaster together, then we would enjoy a Day in the Park With Barney on a weekly basis, and who knows how many times we've been left soaking wet at Curious George Goes to Town!
Since opening in the 90's as part of World Expo, the kids area of Universal Studios Florida has remained mostly unchanged.
The only major change in recent years has been the closure of A Day in the Park With Barney which officially closed in February 2021, and was replaced with the quite obviously temporary DreamWorks Destination.
Universal moved the DreamWorks characters into the former Barney theater last year as temporary fix, was this a sign for things to come?
Are we about to see a DreamWorks land filled with DreamWorks characters including Trolls?
The plans right now are not to demolish KidZone for an entirely new land (unfortunately), but to re-use the closed attractions and give each one a make over as part of... Universal's DreamWorks Animation Land which is scheduled to open in 2024.
Sources report that Fievel's Playland could be replaced with a Shrek play area, Woody's Woodpecker coaster could see a Trolls overhaul with a Trolls themed kids show planned for the theater building while Kung Fu Panda could be taking over the Curious George play areas.
Public documents were filed with Orange County in November to include demolition for sections of Fievel’s Playland, Curious George Goes to Town, and some of the surrounding areas, that aligns with the rumours for now.
Although not officially confirmed, this is believed to be the current plans, could they change?
Well, of course, and with Universal announcing a new kids theme park for Texas, we could even hope that some of the plans might end up coming to fruition here in Orlando, but its all up in the air until Universal make an official announcement.
As we say, nothing official has been announced, and until Universal confirm it everything here has to be considered a rumor.
For now its farewell to an old friend, Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone, thanks for the good times and the memories.
