Universal Orlando has revealed more details about the DreamWorks Land set to open at Universal Studios theme park sometime this summer. Among the elements: a Trolls Trollercoaster ride, Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp and Shrek’s Swamp Meet.
The area is under construction on the footprint of what was formerly known as KidZone. The refurbishment will include character interactions, playgrounds, themed foods and retail outlets.
The Trollercoaster will be “family-friendly,” Universal said, with Caterbus-themed ride vehicles and spiders among their webs. It will be near Poppy’s Playground, which will feature bouncing and climbing structures beneath a 20-foot mushroom. Trolls Treats will be an ice-cream kiosk transformed from Poppy’s boombox seen in “Trolls Band Together.”
Trolls will also be featured in the coaster’s queue, and Poppy and Branch will be incorporated into a fountain in the land.
“Shrek” activities will include the Swamp Meet, where visitors will encounter the title character, Princess Fiona and Donkey; a playground for “little ogres”; interactive lily pads that make music at King Harold’s Swamp Symphony; and Mama Luna Feline Fiesta, an on-screen interactive experience themed to a retirement home for cats, inspired by “Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish.”
Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp will include wet and dry play areas, including chances to help pandas with their laundry with water cannons, dump buckets and giant fans, Universal said. The rendering of the area harkens to a previous tenant named Curious George Goes to Town, but includes a gong front and center.
Visitors will be able to interact with Po nearby. DreamWorks Land was designed to accommodate other film characters as well as future ones.
KidZone was closed in January 2023, and construction began. A ride there named Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster was not entirely dismantled. The tip-top of the Shrek stump now towers over the construction wall near E.T. Adventure, an opening-day attraction that remains open to Universal visitors.
KidZone also featured Fievel’s Playland and, at one point, A Day in the Park With Barney attraction, which officially closed in 2021 and was replaced by DreamWorks Destination, which allowed interaction with characters in the round.
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