How Universal Transformed the Upper Lot to Build The Wizarding World (Ep. 98)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Hill and Eric Hersey race through breaking Universal news before Eric hits the road, covering everything from a surprising park entry tech failure to visible demolition at Islands of Adventure. They also dig into new developments around Epic Universe expansion plans and international park oddities. Then, in honor of a major milestone, Jim walks through the complex, multi-year transformation that brought The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Universal Studios Hollywood. NEWS • A temporary entry system failure at Universal Studios Florida raises questions about reliance on facial recognition and fingerprint ticketing • Demolition begins in Lost Continent at Islands of Adventure, with walls up around the former Sinbad theater and Poseidon’s Fury area • New land clearing near Epic Universe sparks speculation, though Universal calls it routine site prep • Celestial Park fountain drained as nighttime show development continues at Epic Universe • Universal Studios Japan adds Peanuts characters to its 25th anniversary celebration with a new live show FEATURE • The 10-year anniversary of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood • Why Hollywood’s version took longer to build than Orlando and Japan • How Universal used the project to justify a $1.6 billion overhaul of the park’s Upper Lot • Behind-the-scenes look at how Springfield USA and Hogsmeade were designed to visually block each other for immersion HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Eric Hersey - IG: @erichersey | X: @erichersey | Website: strongmindedagency.com FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSOR Planning a trip to Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World? Save on tickets and now Express Passes with Unlocked Magic. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to the Epic Universal podcast. I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill, and this is the podcast where we cover the latest universal news, rumors and history.
0:10.9	And as always, I'm joined by my co-host, Eric Hersey, who, you know, we're doing this just before you get in a car and drive to Virginia.
0:21.3	Is that right?
0:22.9	Yeah, this is going to be hot off the press, Jim.
0:24.3	I think this is the quickest turnaround.
0:25.4	Dave's ever going to have an episode.
0:28.0	So the news is really breaking here today.
0:35.9	So, yeah, we're heading at Virginia to do a cheer comp for the last one of the season, thankfully. and then we can go on with our merry life until
0:39.1	baseball season starts, which is right now.
0:41.5	Okay, okay.
0:42.7	And I want to say it was on last week's show that you put out the word that we were looking
0:49.1	for some reviews of the Epic Universal podcast over on iTunes and Spotify and the like.
0:56.9	And our lovely listeners actually deliver the goods, right?
1:00.6	Right, right.
1:01.2	We're trying to get 100 reviews before our 100th episode.
1:03.6	So we got a couple.
1:04.2	And I was, we were very thankful.
1:05.8	We ended up getting up to 87.
1:07.4	So we have a couple more to go.
1:08.7	But that's not too bad for one request. So as we promised,
1:12.5	I would love to give a shout out to Flash, Stash, who would, I think I've been the first
1:17.1	one to give it and says, love the new park and love hearing all the news here. So thank you.
	...

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