Universal Orlando’s CineStational is a celebration of harmonized storytelling
During the day, the lagoon at the center of Universal Orlando’s Universal Studios offers a calmness, as the glass-like surface reflects the surrounding buildings. While the occasional duck might skuttle across the water, the daytime stillness disappears as the sun fades. As the first note strikes, Universal Orlando’s CineStational: A Symphonic Spectacular transforms the darkness into a vibrant celebration of movie magic.
Theme parks, at night, have a vastly different feel than the early mornings where guests scurry to be the first ones to ride that epic rollercoaster. Even if there is a slight tiredness from too many hours in the sun, the promise of visual delights illuminating the sky keeps guests lingering a little longer.
Over the past several years, the Universal Studios lagoon has not seen a bubble released from those fountains. Several years ago, the walls of water showcased swimming sharks and scary monsters during Halloween Horror Nights. While the Wizarding World nighttime show in Islands of Adventure brings those iconic Harry Potter images to the castle, the Universal Studios theme park has had a less emphatic closure to guests’ days.
With the launch of CineStational: A Symphonic Spectacular, the Universal Orlando Resort Entertainment Creative Team did more than reimagine a concept that worked well in the past. It has blended technology, musical score, and emotional connection to movies in visually stunning experience that has guests coming back nightly.
The tremendous endeavor brings together 228 fountains, 4K projection mapping, more than 600 drones and an original score. From Jaws slicing through the water to the Minions causing a little mayhem, the transition from scene to scene is seamless.
A new element to this nighttime spectacular is drone usage. When asked, Mike Aiello, Senior Director, Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Orlando Resort commented, “Drone technology and all technical aspects of CineSational fall under the same ideology: What, how, and when is it going to serve our story best? Each component is vital in playing its part. No different, in fact, than how every instrument in an orchestra is vital to the entire musical composition. All are needed, but what is important is the balance of those elements within the experience.”
A well-orchestrated musical piece builds to that powerful crescendo. This nighttime show ebbs and flows to keep the audience engaged till the last water drop returns to the lagoon.
Aielo explained, “From the beginning, we knew that we wanted to expand the visual palette of how our guests engage in this nighttime spectacular. Obviously, drones are a wonderful tool to do just that, but we knew this needed to be more than a drone show. This needed to be a spectacular that incorporates drones meaningfully into the overall moments we are building. We wanted the reveals to be surprising and unexpected. They also needed to support the overall moment the rest of the show’s “instruments” were performing. It’s fantastic that our story is about movie music and the moments we love because every instrument in our visual orchestra performs beautifully.”
In a way, this nightly performance is another example how the Universal Orlando Creative team creates immersive experience. Just like a great queue builds anticipation for the fast paced roller coaster plunge, the final experience in a theme park needs to summarize all the best moments of the day. From beloved characters to unexpected surprises, this show captures all those “whoa” moments that guests will remember fondly.
Universal Orlando’s CineStational: A Symphonic Spectacular is a nighttime show at Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Florida. Check with the theme park for daily show times.