After we got a glimpse at concept art during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Disney has officially announced the Moana splash pad and Wailulu Bar & Grill coming to Disney Vacation Club’s Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

Moana’s Voyage Splash Pad

Moana’s Voyage is a new splash pad area with a figure of Moana and her outrigger canoe, plus water features. It will be at the new Cove Pool, which has a courtyard with a sandy beach area, whirlpool spa, and views of Seven Seas Lagoon. Island Tower will also have a fitness center.

We spotted Moana’s outrigger canoe already at the construction site earlier this week.

Island Tower guests can also enjoy the pre-existing Lava Pool and Oasis Pool at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and will be able to view Magic Kingdom fireworks and the Electrical Water Pageant.

Wailulu Bar & Grill

The new Wailulu Bar & Grill “evokes the natural beauty of the islands.” The restaurant features banquette seating surrounded by flowing water and a lava rock-inspired bar overlooking Seven Seas Lagoon. It also includes views of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom. Guests can enjoy an on-the-go breakfast and an all-day lunch and dinner menu, plus a walk-up pool bar and grill.

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The facade for the 2024 Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store has been installed in Universal Studios Florida.

Halloween Horror Nights 33 Tribute Store Facade

As is traditional, the Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store is in the park’s New York section, with guests entering through the I. Stein & Co building. The Halloween facade resembles a graffiti-covered shipping container.

“Tribute Store” is across the front of the reddish-brown container in big blue and white letters. Large arrows in various colors point towards the open ends of the container where guests will enter. Currently, temporary fencing blocks the entrances.

“TS” for “Tribute Store” is painted above a blue bat.

There are various graffiti tags — possibly the initials of Team Members who worked on the store. “R.I.P” is over a white element resembling a skull.

A painted ghost is saying “Woooooo.”

There are red exclamation points and a classic “Cool S.”

“S.O.S” is written over a detailed jack-o’-lantern with Xs for eyes.

A ramp leads into the shipping container. We actually saw crew members moving props inside, but everything was covered.

Both ends of the crate are open. There’s another opening inside in front of the actual door into the building.

There’s also more graffiti inside.

We could make out a “33” for Halloween Horror Nights 33.

What do you think of this year’s Tribute Store facade? Let us know in the comments or on social media.

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The Halloween Horror Nights 33 medallion and haunted house posters have arrived at the Universal Studios Florida entrance.

Halloween Horror Nights 33 Medallion & Posters

The medallion hangs from the center archway of the Universal Studios Florida entrance. This year’s medallion has a stormy design with pink and blue clouds against a black background with lightning. “Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights” is in white text.

Unusually, it doesn’t feature the event dates. Halloween Horror Nights 33 is on select nights from August 30 through November 3.

There are four house posters hanging above the smaller archways to the side. They’re set against chicken wire with crooked frames.

Only the IP-based houses are represented. From left to right are posters for Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, A Quiet Place, and Insidious: The Further.

The posters feature the same artwork previously released for each house.

Universal’s other 2024 houses are Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America, Slaughter Sinema 2, The Museum: Deadly Exhibits, Major Sweets Candy Factory, Goblin’s Feast, and Triplets of Terror.

Tickets are available for Halloween Horror Nights 33 on the Universal Orlando Resort website.

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Universal has shared new details about Epic Universe’s in-park hotel, Universal Helios Grand Hotel, including concept art.

INSPIRATION & THEMING

With eight already-existing Universal Orlando hotels and two previously-announced, coming-soon properties (Stella Nova Resort and Terra Luna Resort), Universal Helios Grand Hotel will be Universal Orlando’s 11th hotel and will join an extraordinary portfolio of hotel experiences. Yet I have a feeling it will have absolutely no problem whatsoever making a name for itself given one incredibly cool feature it can claim as its own. 

“This hotel isn’t just theme-park-adjacent, it is at the theme park,” Russ Dagon, senior vice president of resort development for Universal, says. He’s not exaggerating, either — this hotel is the backdrop of Celestial Park, a world inside of Universal Epic Universe.

Need a refresher on Celestial Park? Here you go!

“It’s definitely going to be one of our most immersive hotels with the park views and its own dedicated entrance directly into the theme park,” David Bartek, senior vice president of operations for Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando, says. 

Because of the physical cohesion between the theme park and the hotel, the creative teams behind both entities worked closely together throughout the development process for Universal Helios Grand Hotel. Even something as specific as the color palette for the exterior of the hotel needed to be aligned with Celestial Park. So if one team tells the other “your coloring is slightly warmer than what we’d expect,” there’s a pivot to ensure that future guests have a coherent transition from park to hotel and vice versa.

“This hotel is always going to be part of the backdrop of the theme park experience and interwoven into Epic Universe,” David says. “It’s a completely immersive experience that is integrated as part of the overall theme park destination.” In fact, the gold cartouche on the building facade of the hotel (which can be seen from Universal Epic Universe) is directly on axis with the central tower of the Kronos gate at the theme park’s entrance.

“We like to refer to Universal Helios Grand Hotel as a different book in the same series as Celestial Park,” Jessica Iaconis, assistant director of facility design for Universal, says. “We took the same language and style and made an extension of the story, so it really is a seamless experience.”

If Celestial Park is a world between worlds, Universal Helios Grand Hotel is a palace for its namesake, the Greek god of the sun. The creative team approached this concept not necessarily in a literal sense, but more so in chasing that celestial and terrestrial feeling. It’s Mediterranean-inspired floral and fauna; it’s constellations and the passage of time; it’s a touch futuristic with a touch more of fantastical; it’s downright otherworldly. 

“As you’re going through a process like this, it’s not as simple as creating a [vision] board and saying ‘we want a hotel that looks like all these things mashed together,’” Russ explains. “But there are some images you find that are inspirational and you can start with.”

One of the physical manifestations guests can expect from these themes revolves around the transition from day into night. Within the elevator lobby there will be a show element displaying the sun and moon, stars, and clouds. When guests head out to one of Universal’s four theme parks in the morning they will see the daytime, sun-forward iteration, and when they return at night it will be a different, twilight-y experience. This is just one example of how the team aims to set a tone within the hotel and create different atmospheres throughout the day.

“I think one of the things that we’ve always done well with our hotels is theming them,” Jessica says. “It’s not just a hotel, there is a theme to it and that’s what you get from a theme park company, right? That’s what we do every day and we bring that to the hotels. And I think that this is at a different level than we’ve ever done before.”

“I get nervous when I hear the word ‘theme’” Russ adds, “because it sounds applied and it’s not — it’s woven throughout.”

“Yes! It’s thought out,” Jessica says. “It’s not characters, it’s not props. It is the material, the finishes, the atmosphere. Our goal whenever we start on one of these projects is to create a relaxing space outside of the theme park but connected in attention to detail — down to the nametags, the wardrobe…we even smell the soaps!”

EATING, SLEEPING, & CHILLING AT UNIVERSAL HELIOS GRAND HOTEL

I travel a fair amount in my life and there are more than a handful of necessities I am looking for when selecting a hotel. In talking with David, Russ, and Jessica, I am confident Universal Helios Grand Hotel will be checking all my boxes. 

“We put the guests first every step of the way in this design process,” Jessica says. “We always approach every facet and decision based on how we can enhance the guest experience. The impact of that is felt the moment you walk in the door and throughout the entire hotel.”

Let’s Talk Lodging

Universal Helios Grand Hotel will have 500 rooms and 35 suites. The majority of the rooms will be two-queen-beds rooms. The hotel will also offer King Suites, Hospitality Suites, Presidential Suites, and more. But that’s not all, because this is a hotel at Universal and lucky for all of us, this time that means How to Train Your Dragon themed Kids’ Suites. [Reader, for reference, this is the part of the interview where I totally lost my cool.]

“The main kind of bedroom and living room area will look like a typical suite, but there will be a double-twin room for the kids behind a rustic, wooden door,” Jessica says. “Inside there will be a graphic with Toothless and Light Fury. It’s like sleeping in a dragon’s house; it’s really awesome.”

All the guest rooms at Universal Helios Grand Hotel will have tablets for guests to digitally control elements of the room (drapes, lights, thermostat and room service). They will also have the standard partition between the bathroom and vanity area so multiple people can get ready for their theme park day at once.

Russ describes the rooms as “sophisticated and comfortable at the same time” while Jessica mentions the gold accents throughout as a “nod to Helios, god of the sun”. One of the coolest elements is the headboards in the rooms, which were created by one of the artists the team drew inspiration from in their early creative stages. “The entire headboard is a piece of art,” Jessica adds.

Fuel for the Day

The dining offerings at Universal Helios Grand Hotel are a crucial element in the overall synergy. As Russ explains, “The dining experience will play right into the theme park and there’s no better place to watch the fountain shows than our rooftop bar.”

Yep, rooftop bar. This regal hotel will have a rooftop bar (Bar Helios), a three-meal restaurant (Flora Taverna), a pool bar (Lotus Lagoon), and a grab-and-go station (Aurora Market). “We’ve been working all summer curating what our food and beverage experiences are going to be and we’re really emphasizing very authentic, fresh dishes that are Mediterranean-inspired,” David says. “Our goal in this whole process is really creation not imitation.”

I, personally, wanted to hear more about the food offerings. You do, too, right? Great.

BAR HELIOS | “It’s a rooftop bar and restaurant. We’re going to lean into that Mediterranean approach with sliders, salads, lamb and chicken gyros, tapas, antipasti. We’ll serve really sunny-type cocktails, like spritzes, bellinis, martinis, and negronis in addition to typical cocktail, beer, and wine options.” – David

FLORA TAVERNA | “It’s all authentic, high-quality, fresh ingredients, leaning heavily into grilling. It’s simple flavors made with exceptional ingredients and complemented by bringing in olive oils, citrus and herbs and just emphasizing that Greek/Italian style of cooking and dining. Think fish, seafood, lamb, roasted chicken and steaks. But of course also flatbreads and a great burger because we know some of our guests like that.” – David

LOTUS LAGOON | “This is a casual poolside bar offering burgers and salads, familiar poolside fare plus cocktails, beer and wine.” – David

AURORA MARKET | “We want to make sure theme park guests have a simple, artisanal, grab-and-go option throughout the day, but especially in the morning. This will have freshly roasted coffee, paninis, wraps, salads… everything to really get people started for their day and in and out of that space quickly.” – David

David also hinted at a “new way to enjoy an ice cream sandwich” which sounds fairly exceptional. “I’ve taken one for the team doing all this due diligence with menu offerings,” David adds.

Never Miss an Opportunity to Swim

Truly what is a hotel without a pool? I don’t want to ever find out. 

The pool at Universal Helios Grand Hotel is in the front of the hotel because, as David puts it, “Our Universal Creative partners had other plans for the backside of the hotel…” 

Theme park in the back and pool in the front of a hotel sounds like a pretty great hotel sandwich to me. “It’s going to be well-landscaped and bring in this serene experience so guests won’t necessarily feel like they’re just steps away from a theme park,” David says. “It’s going to be a very serene, tranquil place to take a break and fit in a pool day during your theme park vacation.” 

“This hotel will be interesting with that idea,” Russ chimes in. “Because it’s so close to Epic Universe, you can do a partial pool day. You can do half a day in the theme park, half a day back at the pool. It offers more flexibility.” 

“You could take a midday nap!” Jessica adds.

As for me, I might just take a midday nap at the pool…

The Basics, at a Glance

 Two-queen-beds rooms, King Suites, Hospitality Suites, Presidential Suites, and themed Kids’ Suites (limited availability)

Rooftop bar

Three-meal restaurant

Pool

Poolside bar and restaurant

Grab-and-go food offerings

Dedicated entrance to Universal Epic Universe (separate theme park admission required)

Transportation by bus to Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Volcano Bay and Universal CityWalk

Theme park benefits like Early Park Admission, and more (Valid theme park admission required)

THE PATH TO OPENING

For our Universal Creative and Loews teams, Universal Helios Grand Hotel has been a years-long project that is finally close enough to touch. 

“This is a once-in-a-career-moment,” David says. “That’s what I keep telling my team — we have the privilege of being part of everything coming to Universal in 2025. It’s a transformational year for Loews Hotels but also for Orlando. It’s that next big step forward, and to be part of that — it’s been really exciting and we want to make sure that we take that in and understand our role in that.”

“I agree,” Jessica says. “I think, because we’ve been working on this for so long we’ve just learned a lot about ourselves and our resilience along the way. There are ideas that we started with six years ago that are finally being implemented today and to go out on the site and see the plan all come together, and know that we’ve accomplished that design vision that we started out with… it’s incredibly rewarding.” 

Universal Orlando and Loews Hotels have been partnering together for 25 years and Universal Helios Grand Hotel is the culmination of that relationship.

“On the operational side as well as the design side we have been able to do all these big things with Universal Helios Grand Hotel that we’ve thought of over the years,” Russ says. “You hear about bands having trouble with their second album because they do it all in their first — that’s not the case here. We’ve had ideas building up that we’ve been waiting for the right hotel to be able to say OK this is it. This hotel is it. It is absolutely gorgeous. It was gorgeous on day one on the drawing board and it’s going to be gorgeous the day we open it for our guests.”

Bookings will be available soon for Universal Helios Hotel.

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