Outsiders can enter Orlando’s latest theme park via a televised special titled “The World of the Magnificent Space World.”
The 45-minute program originally aired on NBC is now available through the Peacock streaming service. It is hosted by actor Joe Manganiello. Joe Manganiello will offer guided tours with special guests such as Warwick Davis, Bowen Yang and the live-action star of How to Train Your Dragon. Viewers will watch director Steven Spielberg multiple times.
If you follow the development of Universal Orlando Park, there’s nothing much new here. However, in case it’s been a while since your visit, there are plenty of colorful footage of the attractions that serve as reminders. Still, it’s not a single hit travelogue. Some rides, including the Stardust Racer roller coaster, are limited to quick cameos, and you can see the Helios Grand Hotel in the centrepiece, but haven’t heard of it. Overall, it’s a positive spin that includes Comcast Corporate Cousins.
The timing may seem strange to Orlando since the park debuted three months ago, but the distant and spectacular visitors are probably many of their target audiences. There are periods of park construction, staged promotional footage, behind-the-scenes animatronic scenes (barefoot Dracula Alert), and the pre-opening Star Studden celebration scene.
Still, we share some interesting moments. (Wait, was it a “real” flying dragon?)
Preparation for the battle
Manganiello and Davis take a walkthrough of the battle line between Harry Potter and Ministry. They sit to absorb their surroundings.
“It’s really creepy. It’s really because this place matches exactly the set we filmed. Scale, details. It’s all the same,” Davis said. He also drops the fact that around 175,000 custom-made tiles were used in the queue.
Viewers then see the duo ride in the car and struggle with a seat belt.
Burke, big time
How to Train Your Dragon – The Berk Island section of the park will earn you more properties figuratively during the program. It may appear ai generated because it looks bright, wide and so authentic.
Stars of the “Dragon” film, Mason Thames and Nico Parker, were blind after passing through the Bark Portal.
“This is much bigger than I thought,” Parker said. They are also keen to be allowed on the rides in fact, and their front row experience riding Hiccup’s wing glider coaster appears in the special. They also spent time at stage shows with toothless encounters and gifts animatronics.
Once again authenticity was considered a surprise
“It’s very true to what we were in,” Thames said of the park’s Great Hall restaurant.
“It’s like we never left (set),” Parker said.
Zoinks! Volcanic Bay Nights with Scooby-Doo and Pals
Monster mash
Spielberg will be interviewed in the screening room and will be seen at Epic’s construction sites alongside Universal Destination and Experience Chairman and CEO Mark Woodbury.
“My eyes were pinching myself,” Spielberg said. “I was humbled when I saw it for the first time.”
As a creative consultant of universal destinations and experiences, he had a voice.
“I was looking for a kind of ride experience that made all of these famous monsters collide together in one very scary but entertaining experience,” he said.
Meet Igor
Manganiello, Yang, and Matt Roberts (creating the Las Culturistas podcast in Yang) appear in a dark cosmic city carrying a severed hand on a dark cosmic street that includes an invisible man and Ygor. The latter is also extremely important for chain rides of monsters.
“Are you the same Igor as Dr. Frankenstein, or is this just a generation?” asked Yang. (Answer: “The YGOR family has worked for the Frankenstein family for generations.”)
It’s even more spectacular
The program also includes sound bites from stars such as Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Bryce Dallas Howard.
When he hears a lot of epic wordplay over the past few months, Davis raises ante at the end. “It should be called a magnificent universe.”
Manganiello has a final word: “The most exciting thing… they’re just starting out.”
Hmm, what does Joe know?
Peacock is not done with its epic storytelling. A three-part docusary called “Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Park” will be seen on streamers later this year.
First Peak: Beak and Barrel, Pirate Izakaya at Magic Kingdom
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