“CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular” is now ready for Universal Studios visitors and being staged on select nights on and above the theme park’s lagoon.
“This is a journey for our guests through memorable movie moments but utilizing the emotional power of cinematic music, and that is the thread, The music is the story here,” Michael Aiello, senior director of entertainment creative development at Universal Orlando, said before a Thursday evening preview.
“You’re going to experience all of the amazing brands that Universal Orlando has to offer, both in present day, our past with brands like ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Ghostbusters,’” he said. “But then we also have brands that lean into where we’re going in our future, like ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and the Universal Monsters.”
What it isn’t
“It’s not a drone show,” Aiello emphasized. Yeah, but there’s definitely 600 or so of the flying units looming above the park.
“It was important for us as a creative team to ensure that the drones were a texture that’s not any different than our fountains and our lasers and our pyro.” Aiello said. “And it is a texture. It is there to serve the story and to expand our story when we want it to.”
What it is
In “CineSational” the drones aren’t always visible. They pop in and out of the picture and story being told. They may be more present than the traditional fireworks in this show, but maybe less than the high-shooting water fountains, which have become a hallmark of Universal’s nighttime spectaculars over the years.
There are also projections along the backdrop buildings and movie clips on semicircular water screens plus dramatic, colorful lighting. Sometimes all of this happens at once, plus the water jets start a swaying motion. In those moments — such as during the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” song — the show could be named “Kitchen CineSink.”
One trend is a swooping motion, right to left if watching from Central Park. Sometimes it’s merely a light streak; sometimes it’s a shark.
Over and overture
“Jason McManus is our creative director. He and I worked together for months about how we wanted to evolve,” Aiello said. “And examining our prior show, it really was the segmentation that we wanted to try and change. “Two minutes to ‘Jurassic World,’ and it goes to black. And now here’s two minutes of ‘Trolls.’
“This show does not do that,” he said. “This is a near-seamless overture.”
Drone home
The drones appear in the same general area throughout the show, usually going dark between formation changes. (We couldn’t see them in black-out mode from our Central Park perspective.)
At first the formations are pretty straightforward representations of characters such as a Minion or Shrek and Donkey, but they coincide with the music and other images of the show.
As the production continues, things get more complicated. There are subtle touches in the King Kong image (he’s in Empire State mode), and a dramatic addition to the “Back to the Future” stretch. The lights don’t go out as the “Transformer” logo, well, transforms. Near the end, there’s an animated “E.T.” moment.
Epic (chug) moment
We would never suggest a drinking game that includes having a shot every time Universal drops the word “Epic.” But here’s how the show ends: “These enchanting melodies will continue to echo within us becoming universal harmonies that inspire us all to live our own [slight pause] epic adventures.”
“CineSational” can be seen on select nights through Aug. 25 — aka five days before the launch of Halloween Horror Nights 2024 — Universal says. “Hogwarts Always,” a new castle-projection show next door at Islands of Adventure, also runs through Aug. 25.
DreamWorld Land is now officially open to the public at Universal Studios park, which will also be the home to the new Universal Mega Movie Parade, scheduled for select days between July 3 and Nov. 14.
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