Poseidon’s Fury

Image: harshlight, Flickr (license)

Over at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, space isn’t quite as cramped as it is in the Studio park. However, there is an ever-expanding territory in the park that Universal’s management is always looking to expand: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

When it was created, The Wizarding World took over half of the “Lost Continent” section of Islands of Adventure, leaving behind a handful of old attractions still themed to the mythological tales. One attraction left behind was, of course, Poseidon’s Fury.

More of a Las Vegas-style effects show than a theme park attraction, Poseidon’s Fury is a walk-through experience that puts guests in the middle of a battle between an evil god-like figure and Poseidon himself. The show is the epitome of cheese, but its much greater sin is that it takes up a very large amount of space that could be devoted to its magical neighbor.

With the forthcoming Forbidden Forest-themed roller coaster on its way, it seems unlikely that we’ll get another major expansion to the Wizarding World any time soon. But when it does happen, expect to see Poseidon’s Fury depart to make way.

Toon Lagoon

Image: mokaiwen, Flickr (license)

Universal’s Islands of Adventure was a glorious experiment when it first launched in 1999. It built its islands around unifying intellectual property themes, which included Jurassic Park, Marvel superheroes, and even comic strips.

It was this last IP that really gave the park’s designers the most space to showcase their skills, however, and Toon Lagoon was born.

The result is a endlessly creative and hilariously fun mishmash of different art styles that features, at its heart, two incredible water attractions called Dudley-Do-Right Ripsaw Falls and Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges. The former is a clever and thrilling log flume ride that, while not nearly as innovative as Splash Mountain, has a tremendous amount of heart and even more of an ability to get you wet. The latter is, arguably, the best river rapids ride built before 2018. 

But, as newspapers slowly fade from relevance and the Sunday Funnies find themselves on shakier ground than they’ve ever been on before, it’s hard not to look at Toon Lagoon as something of an anachronism. The rides might be great, but the characters aren’t particularly relevant in modern times. It’s possible Universal could opt for a retheming rather than a full demolition, but it seems very unlikely that they’ll sit by and let a large chunk of the park be dedicated to IP that they don’t control and have no monetary interest in.

Of course, Toon Lagoon is one of the most refreshing places to be on a summer day. And while the allure of IP can be tough for large companies to ignore, going without a couple of premier water-centric attractions might be even harder for a theme park based in Florida.

These are just my opinions about what might close next in Universal as the park seeks to expand once more. Obviously, attractions closing is never fun, and we all want there to be more to do than ever before. But, as we’ve seen in the past, Universal often must close things before it can open new attractions. Time will tell if that is still the case.