Universal Orlando Is Permanently Closing Attraction at Universal Islands of Adventure

Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida, is permanently closing one of its Islands of Adventure attractions: Poseidon’s Fury. The attraction is located in The Lost Continent section of the Islands of Adventure theme park; the final day of operation for Poseidon’s Fury will be May 9th, with Universal teasing “exciting new experiences” coming to replace the ride. 

Poseidon’s Fury first opened in 1999, offering parkgoers the experience of walking through the legendary Temple of Poseidon, with an archeologist (Taylor) guiding their way in order to return the sea god’s trident. The ride took guests through various Poseidon-themed environments, culminating in a big battle between Poseidon and Lord Darkenon, a fire warrior who is Poseidon’s nemesis. Guests would progress through the temple until they could return the trident to Poseidon, arming him for his battle against Darkenon. 

The announcement that Poseidon’s Fury is closing comes right on the heels of Comcast NBCUniversal announcing that it’s doing an entire rebrand of its theme parks division:

“Universal Destinations & Experiences aligns with our aspiration to be the Destination of Choice in the markets where we are today and the markets we enter in the future,” said Mark Woodbury, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, of Universal Destinations & Experiences in a statement. “We are thrilled to expand how we bring the Universal brand to life in new, immersive and compelling ways for fans around the world using our rich collection of stories, characters and franchises.”

Universal theme parks include Universal Studios Hollywood in California, the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, as well as theme park destinations in Japan, Singapore, and Beijing. A one-of-a-kind Universal family theme park focusing on young children is being developed in Frisco, Texas, while a year-round horror-inspired entertainment experience in Las Vegas will act as an extension of the Halloween Horror Nights franchise. 

Universal theme parks are indeed making a run to compete against the likes of Disney right now. In addition to phasing out old attractions like Poseidon’s Fury, the park is expanding into a whole new market with Super Nintendo World, which has opened in Japan and just had a second location open at Universal Studios Hollywood, with an additional location in the works to be added to Universal Orlando, Florida. With the current breakout success of The Super Mario Bros. movie at the international box office, Universal Orlando could definitely use more room for the like of Super Nintendo World. 

Poseidon’s Fury will be closing on May 9th.