Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park opened in 1999 and in its almost 25 years of life, a lot has already changed. It's been home to most of the resort's most recent additions including The Velocicoaster and the equally impressive Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. And there are still quite a few attractions that have been there since day one. Unfortunately, very soon there will be fewer of them. Today it was announced that the Poseidon's Fury live show is set to close, with the final performances taking place on May 9.
UPNT broke the news that Universal Orlando team members were informed this morning of the closure, Universal Orlando has since confirmed the closure, and says Poseidon’s Fury will be closing to make way for new entertainment, though exactly what that could be is anybody’s guess at this point.
Poseidon’s Fury was a somewhat unique attraction as it wasn’t a ride or a stage show but a sort of combination of the two, where guests walked through the attraction, going through a live tour led by an "archeologist." Various supernatural happenings would occur over the course of the tour. While the story of Poseidon’s Fury would change over the attraction’s lifetime, it has been around in one form or another since the very beginning and there are absolutely going to be fans who will be sorry to see this one go.
The other thing that made Poseidon’s Fury stand out is that it’s one of the few attractions in the park that is a completely original story that is not based on a previously existing IP. Considering how attaching theme park attractions to existing content has only become more important in recent years, it seems all but certain that whatever replaces this one will not be an original story.
While it’s not necessarily a shock to see an attraction like this close its doors, it perhaps is a bit more surprising with this particular one at this moment. Poseidon’s Fury just underwent a brief refurbishment a few weeks ago. It was also one of the very last attractions to reopen after the global pandemic closure of the park, so while the show has been around for a long time, it hasn’t been as available to guests as recently.
Universal Orlando Resort is in the middle of one of the most extensive updates that we’ve seen from a single resort in a long time. In addition to Poseidon’s Fury closing down at Islands of Adventure, the KidZone at Universal Studios Florida is also closed, making way for some sort of new attraction coming to that space. Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast is also currently under construction, taking over the space of the former Shrek 4D theater, another longstanding attraction. The new Minions experience is set to open later this year. And oh yeah, there’s also Epic Universe, the third gate coming to Universal Orlando in 2025.
On top of that, Universal Destinations and Experiences is also moving forward on a new Universal theme park in Texas and a dedicated horror experience in Las Vegas.
