It’s time for another Universal Studios Hollywood Update! As we all know not a single park is ever so changing as Universal Studios Hollywood, so we’re back with another content filled update including the new security measures and checkpoints, the Walking Dead maze, (re)opening of restaurants, some Wizarding World of Harry Potter Updates, and way more! Check it out! 😀

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Let us start over at the entrance to the park, where the new security checkpoint has opened. Instead of randomly selecting people to screen, now everyone will be screened upon entering. The new screening area is huge, and has 2 main sections. There are lots of new palm trees of course, so just like pretty much anything Universal Studios Hollywood does, it sure looks good. Same counts for the details around the new security checkpoint. The section in between the two checkpoints seems to be under construction still, with these temporary walls still in place I’m curious if we’ll see a third security checkpoint. Looking at the ones they have so far, it seems like they may need to up the capacity before the summer Potter crowds arrive. This is what the Universal Studios Hollywood entrance plaza looks like now, with the globe as master center piece. It almost looks as if this was what the entrance should’ve always looked like. I love the look of it. Let’s move inside the park. Where we find that the old front section of the Studios Store is still undergoing some sort of refurbishment. I’m curious to see if this will have anything to do with the Walking Dead attraction that’s coming, as it is connected to the back of the building where the maze will presumably be. But more on that later. Across from the Studios Store we find the Hollywood and Dine restaurant that has received the full repaint, new branding, and seems to be ready to open up at any time now. The patio looks very nice, and the canopies they created is something I haven’t seen before. It sure stands out! Here’s an overall shot of the refurbished/new dining establishment. Moving on to more dining in between Paris and London… Mel’s Diner has finally reopened after a lengthy closure and refurbishment. The touch-ups were nice, and everything in the area looks fresh. Though there aren’t any real huge exterior differences. Down on the Lower Lot the Studio Cafe has also opened its doors to guests. They sell pretty much the same as the two bistros on the Upper Lot. To which I must add it’s actually very high quality to-go sandwiches and salads. Back to the Upper Lot we see the building that will most likely house the new Walking Dead attraction. Which is the year-round maze, which most people see as a replacement of the previous House of Horrors in a brand new building. These walls remaining here divide the construction zone behind and the walkways for guests, the new Walking Dead attraction is opening up this summer. This is the poster they placed all over the construction walls. Back to the Lower Lot, the stairs and viewing platforms above the Jurassic Park splashdown lagoon have reopened, making the blue and green paint even more obvious and weird. The dining area on top is currently being remodeled. There is a good chance we may even see this become seating-only, as the windows haven’t been used to serve food for a while. On the Studio Tour the sides of the Fast & Furious: Supercharged show buildings (that face the Back Lot) have been painted green to blend in during filming on near-by sets. Exiting the Studio Tour, you may notice that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attractions have been added to the Studio Directory. This is the case for all Studio Directories around the park. We may as well continue our Wizarding World talk by taking a look at the work that’s being done inside. The Shrek 4D building is getting covered in paintings of trees and several tree-tops that are added on top of the building to make it blend in more. Universal is working hard on making the sight-lines the least obtrusive they could possibly be. So this part of the Forbidden Journey show building is receiving a brick exterior look, similar to that of the rest of the this side of the show building. In the line it was possible to see the beige show building even though there’s a brick facade to make it seem as if it was just the castle (when you’re in line) it seems as if they are also adding more to cover that up, as the entire side of the building is being prepped for some sort of work. And that was about it for this Universal Studios Hollywood Update! Let’s finish with this shot of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter I took at the preview at 8am. The fog over Hogsmeade and surrounding Hogwarts was truly magical!

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