*Note* The original article segments have been cleaned up and checked for grammatical errors.
5. King Kong to Islands of Adventure
(From 2014) Several months ago, in the heat of Diagon Alley construction, Universal Orlando fanatics started to notice something peculiar. A large section of land, previously only used for queuing for Halloween Horror Night's houses placed in the Thunder Falls Terrace restaurant, had been cleared, and obvious construction had begun. Something is coming into the space, located more specifically behind and in between Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park. A strong rumor circulating around the theme park industry is that King Kong, last seen in Universal parks in the old Kongfrontation attraction, could be making his return to Universal Orlando. Thought to be a beefed up combination of King Kong 360 at Universal Studios Hollywood, and The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios, Kong would even feature a live tour guide to guide guests through the dangerous territory of Skull Island. The location of this attraction had supposedly been thought to be where Disaster is now. Universal has switched gears and placed the ride in Island's of Adventure, hence the cleared spot. Of course, none of this has been confirmed yet, though there's no doubting the excitement from Universal fans at the thought of Kong returning.
That rumor was TRUE!
4. The Lorax to Seuss Landing, Jurassic World expansion to Jurassic Park
(From 2014) These two rumors tie the spot for number 4, mostly because they both involve a rather nice sized expansion to a park that could use some sort of non-Potter expansion to its roster. Many have reported that the small area of land located behind Seuss Landing, and consequently right between IOA and Universal, could be used to expand Seuss Landing and would include a large indoor, E-Ticket Lorax themed attraction. The Lorax would be the perfect character from Seuss to pick. The movie was a decent success when it released a few years ago, and the story begs itself for a richly immersive dark ride. Some even believe this expansion could include a themed connector from Islands of Adventure to Universal in this area, so that the non-themed backstage areas would no longer exist. In Jurassic Park, expansion is just begging to be done. Always considered the weakest land attraction wise, Jurassic Park could use another solid attraction to help round up what it currently has to offer. River Adventure is nice, but is, after all a replicated attraction originally from Hollywood. Nevermind the fact that with Jurassic's major ride being a water ride, it limits the success the land can have when guests refuse to get wet. Some theme park fans report that a Jurassic World expansion could be coming depending on the success of the film being released by the same name.
Those rumors were FALSE!
3. Star Wars Land to Hollywood Studios
(From 2014) As much as people are expecting Star Wars at the Studios to be confirmed and construction to start, this is STILL technically a rumor until released by Disney. Some say that Hollywood Studios, the park that most fans believe needs the most love, should be seeing a rather large Star Wars expansion. Rumor has it, not only could Echo Lake be paved over and used as land for the expansion, but that Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Show Spectacular could be finally seeing its last show as the space is used for a large E-Ticket Star Wars attraction to accompany Star Tours. There's also talks that the Jedi Training Academy could be moving indoors (Presumably to the old Sounds Dangerous theater), and that everything as far up as Hollywood and Vine close to Hollywood Boulevard would be axed for the expansion. Star Wars is coming to the parks, there's no doubt about that, though time will tell if Hollywood Studios will be the park to see this expansion.
That rumor was PARTIALLY TRUE!
2. Wizarding World of Harry Potter Phase 3 w/ Ministry of Magic
(From 2014) Diagon Alley at Universal Studios has just recently opened and already a Phase 3 of the Harry Potter universe could be rearing its head. This expansion could possibly include axing the rest of Lost Continent, or a demolition of Fear Factor Live to make way for the Ministry of Magic, expanding upon the Diagon Alley area that already exists. Naturally, this leads one to wonder what the future could be not only for Fear Factor Live, but even the beloved Men in Black: Alien Attack. Some believe this ride, popular as it may be still for guests, could actually be the attraction to become Ministry of Magic, with the area where Fear Factor was could become themed land leading to the building. It looks like Potter isn't done yet at the parks, though for Universal, it's mostly a no-brainer.
That rumor is UNRESOLVED!
1. Maelstrom and Norway to become Frozen themed
(From 2014) The number one rumor currently circulating the theme park world is none other than the purposed Frozen expansion into the Norway pavilion at Epcot. All evidence would indicate a definite transformation from Norway to Frozen theme. Anna and Elsa were prominent figures in Norway for awhile before moving their meet and greet over to Magic Kingdom. The Maelstrom gift shop has seen a steady increase of Frozen themed merchandise. Not only that, but a recent news story out of Norwegian news station reports that Disney offered Norway the chance to invest in their pavilion again, yet Norway refused. That could very well mean the last straw for Norway, who pulled out a lot of their interest in their pavilion in the early 2000's when a poll indicated that people weren't really visiting Norway because of the Epcot themed land. For Disney, this could be a huge no-brainer. Guests want Frozen more and more every day, and with there being nothing to represent the famous film aside from some temporary events over at Hollywood Studios, it could be time that Disney, for once, capitalizes on the instant success of a money grabbing machine. Rumor has it, Maelstrom is gone by January of next year, and at that point the transformation will begin.
That rumor was TRUE
Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane and seeing how much of what I wrote before actually happened. Look for a new rumors Top 5 (2017 Edition) coming soon!
Written by Chris Coburn