Universal Studios’ Hollywood Studio Tour is undergoing a major revamp, with plans to include refurbished tram vehicles, a night time tour and a multi-million dollar 4D finale based around
The Fast and the Furious franchise.
The refurb is part of a larger US$1.6bn (€1.4bn, £1bn) investment into the theme park and surrounding property – which will include the Wizarding World of Harry Potter land opening in 2016.
Universal Studios Hollywood president, Larry Kurzweil, said: "We are putting a lot of focus on the roots of the park, on the attraction that got us here today.”
As part of the revamp, the tram vehicles will be refurbished to include more comfortable seats and ultra-high-definition monitors to show clips from films recorded at the studio. The largest part of the investment will go on the ending to the tour, which will now see the trams enter a 50,000sq ft (4,654sq m) structure housing a 360-degree screen. Passengers will then be shown a 4D thrill ride based on the
The Fast and the Furious, with the attraction putting guests into the “high-stakes underground world of fast cars”, having them join the likes of The Rock in a high-paced, frantic escapade.
While Universal has not commented on the cost of the attraction, it will rely on similar technology to the previous King Kong version, which cost around US$100m (€88m, £65m) when it opened in 2010.
Universal Studios’ parent company, NBCUniversal, reported a 19 per cent increase in revenue for the three months that ended in September, with that new revenue primarily being attributed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction that opened in Orlando last year.
Despite the arrival of the popular boy wizard and his incredibly lucrative IP, Universal Studios Hollywood is planning to keep the studio tour, which has been in operation for more than 50 years, as its premier attraction. It is in fact so popular that park officials credit the tour for bringing in more than 90 per cent of its visitors.
"This will be the biggest upgrade we've ever made," said Scott Strobl, senior vice president and head of operations at the park. "This will put a cap on our tour, something everybody will be excited about."
