Anyone have pictures and/or memories of Nickelodeon Studios?

[Brownie54]

We also took the tour. I remember that my husband and our niece got selected for the game. In DH's case, he had to wear giant pants and use them to try to catch the rubber chickens that our niece shot at him.

We were disappointed when it shut down.

Thanks for the great memories. I too, played the "catch the chickens in your pants" game with my ds. I remember the cm who was helping me put on my pants<G> told me to dance with her when she said so and not listen to the mc. So here we are dancing while the mc is trying to tell us how to play the game. The cm just kept telling me not to stop! My dw and dd's were sooo embaressed.

 

[Faith09]

My DS is 18 now but I have pictures of him in 1998 at Nickelodeon. What sweet memories!!!! I need to learn to upload pic on here to share.....

 

[pufnstuf]

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I joined just so I could post my memories of Nick Studios in '93 when I was 7 (during my first ever trip to WDWR).

First of all, let me say I did a DWR stay in 2009 (my most recent one) and we spent a day doing Universal Orlando as well. I had been to UO 3 times from '93-2000 and I was looking to relive some of the amazing times - but I was pretty disappointed. USO was an absolutely top-notch experience for me every time in the 90's but by 2009 I found most of the classic attractions were gone, the park was filthy and empty, people were pushing us to do surveys, employees were rude and detracted from the experience, and many guests were belligerent (but I guess that's almost everywhere nowadays). I never got a chance to ride Kongfrontation again and was lucky to be able to ride Jaws again before its removal (if they get rid of E.T. I will just cry..). But most depressingly, Nick Studios and its amazing, iconic fountain of slime was gone - in favor of Blue Man Group...and the only remnants of Nick's presence in the park were a store and some Jimmy Neutron attraction, which was basically already an outdated fad in 2009.

Back to Universal 1993. My dad took me on the Nick Studios tour and I was so ecstatic - to a kid who watched only Nickelodeon, it was pretty much a mecca. After every show filmed there in those days, they would play a clip of the slime fountain with a notation that the show had been filmed at Nick Studios in Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida. So to actually be there was really something special. The studio building was colorfully decorated and the tour guide and other employees were very animated. I vividly remember being shown the place where they "make the slime", and we were told what the slime was made out of, which was basically dye, powdered sugar, and water. We were allowed to taste some in small cups and it was a sweet, bubblegummy flavor. The show that was filming at the time was Clarissa Explains It All, which was amazing as it was my favorite show. From a hallway, we were able to look through huge windows down at the production of the show. I had the biggest smile on my face seeing the actors and the sets, it really did feel like a dream come true, which isn't a feeling most experience too many times throughout their lives. At the end of the tour, we watched an audience participation show which was pretty amusing and very Nickelodeon-esque. I remember feeling vaguely disappointed that we weren't able to be in the audience of a show like Double Dare or What Would You Do?, but it overall it was a very memorable and magical day, especially for me at that time in my life. I'm very glad I got to experience USO and NS at their peak.

 

[sjs314]

i was there in 2003 on my senior class trip. It was fun i remembering waiting in a line for a lil while and going and seeing a show. It was just an audience participation show. I remember some people sitting in baby pools and getting slimed. I was so bummed i didnt get picked i always wanted to be slimed lol. It was a fun time! i was very sad to see that its not there anymore.

I got slimed on my 13th b-day. I used to have the t-shirt and certificate that came with it. If only they could have been saved....

I remember running and getting a seat in some bleacher Type seating ? And my DH and youngest DS where chosen to participate and DH got slimed

 

[sjs314]

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I joined just so I could post my memories of Nick Studios in '93 when I was 7 (during my first ever trip to WDWR).

First of all, let me say I did a DWR stay in 2009 (my most recent one) and we spent a day doing Universal Orlando as well. I had been to UO 3 times from '93-2000 and I was looking to relive some of the amazing times - but I was pretty disappointed. USO was an absolutely top-notch experience for me every time in the 90's but by 2009 I found most of the classic attractions were gone, the park was filthy and empty, people were pushing us to do surveys, employees were rude and detracted from the experience, and many guests were belligerent (but I guess that's almost everywhere nowadays). I never got a chance to ride Kongfrontation again and was lucky to be able to ride Jaws again before its removal (if they get rid of E.T. I will just cry..). But most depressingly, Nick Studios and its amazing, iconic fountain of slime was gone - in favor of Blue Man Group...and the only remnants of Nick's presence in the park were a store and some Jimmy Neutron attraction, which was basically already an outdated fad in 2009.

Back to Universal 1993. My dad took me on the Nick Studios tour and I was so ecstatic - to a kid who watched only Nickelodeon, it was pretty much a mecca. After every show filmed there in those days, they would play a clip of the slime fountain with a notation that the show had been filmed at Nick Studios in Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida. So to actually be there was really something special. The studio building was colorfully decorated and the tour guide and other employees were very animated. I vividly remember being shown the place where they "make the slime", and we were told what the slime was made out of, which was basically dye, powdered sugar, and water. We were allowed to taste some in small cups and it was a sweet, bubblegummy flavor. The show that was filming at the time was Clarissa Explains It All, which was amazing as it was my favorite show. From a hallway, we were able to look through huge windows down at the production of the show. I had the biggest smile on my face seeing the actors and the sets, it really did feel like a dream come true, which isn't a feeling most experience too many times throughout their lives. At the end of the tour, we watched an audience participation show which was pretty amusing and very Nickelodeon-esque. I remember feeling vaguely disappointed that we weren't able to be in the audience of a show like Double Dare or What Would You Do?, but it overall it was a very memorable and magical day, especially for me at that time in my life. I'm very glad I got to experience USO and NS at their peak.

When we visited US it was either 93 or 94 and my DS had the same excitement for Nickalodean. I haven't been back to US since 95 or 96 and all the rides I loved I guess are gone too, Back to the Future, Jaws, King Kong, is Earthquake still there ?
US just seems to be all cartoony now to me, I much preferred it as a "Movie Studio" themed Park

I want to go back but the main draw for me will be staying at Portofino Bay Resort not the theme parks although HP looks amazing

 

[pufnstuf]

When we visited US it was either 93 or 94 and my DS had the same excitement for Nickalodean. I haven't been back to US since 95 or 96 and all the rides I loved I guess are gone too, Back to the Future, Jaws, King Kong, is Earthquake still there ?
US just seems to be all cartoony now to me, I much preferred it as a "Movie Studio" themed Park

I want to go back but the main draw for me will be staying at Portofino Bay Resort not the theme parks although HP looks amazing

I think they turned Earthquake into "Disaster", which was really boring.

It was really awesome when it was a "Movie Studio" themed park, in its original concept. Nothing about that park disappointed back then, and it was NOT just because I was younger and "more filled with wonder", etc...I'm 27 now and love theme parks just as much now as I did then, but I'm worried for UO. It seems very much in limbo right now and the "theme-ing" is all over the place. Back in the 90's their big saying was "ride the movies" and that slogan really did fit. Between the original rides, Nick Studios, the Blues Brothers, Beetlejuice...it really did give parkgoers the feeling of their favorite movies/entertainment being brought to life, and it was a really fun and submersive thing. IMO that's a theme that could have stood the test of time - just like there are classic rides, there are classic films, so there should be room in the agenda of the park to keep their original attractions alive and expand with new attractions (and not just ten more god-awful 3D simulator rides - I can go to a 3D movie for 9 bucks at home and have someone shake me if I wanted to do that). UO is still a decent time (but now very overpriced for what you get), but "it's no Disney" - and I used to genuinely feel like both parks were on equal footing back in the day.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

I'll respectfully disagree... I think Universal is far better off now than it ever has been. It is becoming a destination of its own, with so many more additions which are still based on film properties. The park is in incredible shape with refurbishments happening all over and new attractions opening up. Disney has been able to operate on nostalgia but Universal wasn't- I never waited in line for Jaws until the very last day of its operation, and the construction in its wake is far more impressive than Amity ever was despite only being steel rafters at this point. Back to the Future was showing its age towards the end, and Kongfrontation was replaced with the incredible Revenge of the Mummy. Personally I'm extremely excited for the future of UO.

 

[Ash20]

I don't mind what Universal have done with the park now and enjoy a lot of the updated attractions, but I still have fond memories of a few of the old ones.

King Kong - Yes it was old and had to go but it was the first US ride I went on as a kid and it was like nothing I had experienced before.

Back to the future - I love that trilogy and this was my fav ride every time I went to Orlando as a kid. I loved the silly scenes with Biff and Doc in the queue and of course the ride itself. I was so sad when it closed but understood the need, sadly plenty of people have no idea about the films, but everyone knows the Simpsons.

Nicklodeon Studios - I loved the channel and therefore loved the tour. I remember eating the slime! I also remember taking part in a gameshow type thing which they put on for the guests. I had to go up on stage with other kids and we kept playing different games with people getting knocked out along the way. Some of the games were just like the ones I used to watch on the channel.

 

[pufnstuf]

I'll respectfully disagree... I think Universal is far better off now than it ever has been. It is becoming a destination of its own, with so many more additions which are still based on film properties. The park is in incredible shape with refurbishments happening all over and new attractions opening up. Disney has been able to operate on nostalgia but Universal wasn't- I never waited in line for Jaws until the very last day of its operation, and the construction in its wake is far more impressive than Amity ever was despite only being steel rafters at this point. Back to the Future was showing its age towards the end, and Kongfrontation was replaced with the incredible Revenge of the Mummy. Personally I'm extremely excited for the future of UO.

I'm excited for the future of UO as well, especially hearing about the upcoming King Kong attraction in 2015. I actually really want to do Disney and Universal again in 2015/2016, as I haven't even been able to do IOA yet. However, our UO visit in 2009 was very disappointing, the worst experience I have ever had at a Universal theme park.

Back to the Future was showing its age, but in all honesty, The Simpsons ride isn't that much of a step up. I'm a huge Simpsons fan and was excited to try the ride, and it was fun - but I feel it could have been so much more than what it is. I did like the theme-ing of The Simpsons area in general, but the actual ride was just OK IMO. I'd like to see Universal do a BTTF coaster attraction, it is a classic movie and there are rumors of a reboot.

Jaws was still fun, but it was better back when it had crazier pyrotechnics - those were eventually cut back to scale down operation costs of the ride. IMO Jaws still has a place in UO if they completely re-did the ride to make it scarier and better than ever before. Again, Jaws is a classic film and enormous man-eating sharks are never going to stop being scary.

As for Kongfrontation, it never should have been replaced. IMO Kongfrontation should be standing alongside ET at UO as the two "nostalgic rides". The Revenge of the Mummy is a pretty exciting, albeit brief and not very memorable indoor coaster themed around a novelty film. King Kong is an all-time classic character and Kongfrontation was the absolute flagship ride of USO. I rode Kongfrontation last in 1995 and my memories of that ride are extremely vivid, whereas I can barely remember Revenge of the Mummy, except for the fact that it was the only ride with a very long wait that day. Then I remember saying out loud, "That was it?".

And the park was dirty and unkempt during our visit, and full of very aggressive people trying to get the public's feedback on cereal bars. They wanted us to go into a weird office in a desolate area of the park to complete a 20-minute survey - seriously?? Not to mention a few encounters with rude park employees.

We had a good time at UO in '09 but it didn't have the same feel as it did during my earlier trips, and for me it was no longer worth the admission price - especially since we shelled out for the Express Pass or whatever they call it. So while it definitely comes down to personal preference, I personally feel like UO has lost much of its original charm.

 

[jenfromjersey]

I remember going in the early 90's and we saw a taping of Legends of the Hidden Temple! We actually saw two partial tapings. The beginning water segment of two different episodes. We did end up seeing ourselves in the audience when one of them aired

Anyone remember the Adventures of Pete and Pete? It actually filmed up here in NJ and my fiance was in the pilot

 

[Ash20]

Anyone remember the Adventures of Pete and Pete? It actually filmed up here in NJ and my fiance was in the pilot

I remember Pete and Pete, but I wasn't too keen on the show. I preferred Clarissa explains it all, Sister Sister, Secret world of Alex Mac and Kenan and Kel. When I was young Nick had better shows centered around kids than the Disney channel. I only really remember Boy meets world on Disney.

I am looking forward to trying out Transformers when I go to US this year and checking out the added Simpsons area. It seems Universal are really invested in improving both the parks so the future looks promising.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

I think you should give the Universal another chance. You visited in 2009 and the parks have vastly improved. It is under new ownership and with the opening of the Wizarding World in 2010 it is being maintained and improved in ways it has never been before. So much money has gone into the parks lately I think it is every bit as nice as the Disney parks. There are already so many new additions and more on the horizon.

 

[DCTooTall]

I'm excited for the future of UO as well, especially hearing about the upcoming King Kong attraction in 2015. I actually really want to do Disney and Universal again in 2015/2016, as I haven't even been able to do IOA yet. However, our UO visit in 2009 was very disappointing, the worst experience I have ever had at a Universal theme park.

Back to the Future was showing its age, but in all honesty, The Simpsons ride isn't that much of a step up. I'm a huge Simpsons fan and was excited to try the ride, and it was fun - but I feel it could have been so much more than what it is. I did like the theme-ing of The Simpsons area in general, but the actual ride was just OK IMO. I'd like to see Universal do a BTTF coaster attraction, it is a classic movie and there are rumors of a reboot.

Jaws was still fun, but it was better back when it had crazier pyrotechnics - those were eventually cut back to scale down operation costs of the ride. IMO Jaws still has a place in UO if they completely re-did the ride to make it scarier and better than ever before. Again, Jaws is a classic film and enormous man-eating sharks are never going to stop being scary.

As for Kongfrontation, it never should have been replaced. IMO Kongfrontation should be standing alongside ET at UO as the two "nostalgic rides". The Revenge of the Mummy is a pretty exciting, albeit brief and not very memorable indoor coaster themed around a novelty film. King Kong is an all-time classic character and Kongfrontation was the absolute flagship ride of USO. I rode Kongfrontation last in 1995 and my memories of that ride are extremely vivid, whereas I can barely remember Revenge of the Mummy, except for the fact that it was the only ride with a very long wait that day. Then I remember saying out loud, "That was it?".

And the park was dirty and unkempt during our visit, and full of very aggressive people trying to get the public's feedback on cereal bars. They wanted us to go into a weird office in a desolate area of the park to complete a 20-minute survey - seriously?? Not to mention a few encounters with rude park employees.

We had a good time at UO in '09 but it didn't have the same feel as it did during my earlier trips, and for me it was no longer worth the admission price - especially since we shelled out for the Express Pass or whatever they call it. So while it definitely comes down to personal preference, I personally feel like UO has lost much of its original charm.

If you are basing your current feelings of the park on the 2009 visit..... I can't blame you any for getting that feeling of the resort. I'd even be willing to say that the 2008/2009 period at the Universal resort was probably close to the worst in it's history [well... short of the horrible pains the first few months of Universal Studios Florida when pretty much NOTHING was working properly]. That being said, After the 2010 opening of the WWoHP, and quickly escalating once Comcast completed it's initial purchase of NBCUniversal and Blackstone's 50% of the UOR.... Universal is in MUCH better shape now that I think it's been in in a LONG LONG time. The whole Orlando area Film Studio experiment of the 90's (Disney-MGM and Universal Florida) never really took off and ended up dieing, But Universal has done a MUCH MUCH better job transitioning their Studio Park into an enjoyable and cohesive modern Theme Park than Disney has with theirs.


and FWIW.... My memories of Kong honestly are of it's constantly breaking down or having technical difficulties whenever I wanted to ride it in the 90's. I think I may have actually ridden the attraction once or twice in all my trips during that time period. (between lines and breakdowns). While I am sad as others to have seen it gone, I don't think you can call the Mummy a Novelty Film. While the attraction may be themed and based around the latest incarnation, The Mummy is actually an Older Universal property than King Kong. (The Mummy - 1932. King Kong - 1933)

 

[SashaFarce]

What a blast from the past thread bump! My first trip was in 1996 and we loved the Nick studios tour a lot. The day we were there we got to look down on a TV show being filmed and directed by Malcolm Jamal-Warner (in retrospect, the show had to be Kenan & Kel) and then we got to take part in some audience participation games, which my cousin was chosen to be a member of. She was a really shy kid but she loved it.

 

[pufnstuf]

If you are basing your current feelings of the park on the 2009 visit..... I can't blame you any for getting that feeling of the resort. I'd even be willing to say that the 2008/2009 period at the Universal resort was probably close to the worst in it's history [well... short of the horrible pains the first few months of Universal Studios Florida when pretty much NOTHING was working properly]. That being said, After the 2010 opening of the WWoHP, and quickly escalating once Comcast completed it's initial purchase of NBCUniversal and Blackstone's 50% of the UOR.... Universal is in MUCH better shape now that I think it's been in in a LONG LONG time. The whole Orlando area Film Studio experiment of the 90's (Disney-MGM and Universal Florida) never really took off and ended up dieing, But Universal has done a MUCH MUCH better job transitioning their Studio Park into an enjoyable and cohesive modern Theme Park than Disney has with theirs.


and FWIW.... My memories of Kong honestly are of it's constantly breaking down or having technical difficulties whenever I wanted to ride it in the 90's. I think I may have actually ridden the attraction once or twice in all my trips during that time period. (between lines and breakdowns). While I am sad as others to have seen it gone, I don't think you can call the Mummy a Novelty Film. While the attraction may be themed and based around the latest incarnation, The Mummy is actually an Older Universal property than King Kong. (The Mummy - 1932. King Kong - 1933)

I'm glad to hear that UO is in much better shape now than it was during my last visit - I was hoping it was more of a dark period and less of an ongoing trend. I know the new Harry Potter attraction has really boosted things for the park, they were still in the building process of WWOHP when I was last at the park. I'm very excited at the idea of a 2015 Orlando trip and doing a "redemption visit" to UO. I definitely didn't mean to sound like I'm against the UO in general, because that's not the case at all. 2009 was the only rough patch I've encountered with a Universal park. The fact that I love UO so much just makes me sad that my last visit left me with such a bad taste in my mouth, especially since we opted to do UO again over IOA (which I somehow have never been to!) on the one day we had to do Universal. Next time I'll make sure I have a day for each park.

And touche on the Mummy being older - and my opinion on the potential future relevancy of new Brendan Fraser franchise doesn't really matter, it does have its place in the park. But I still don't think it is worthy to have *replaced* Kongfrontation - just in my opinion . Thrill coasters are everywhere, but the huge "in-the-flesh" Kong animatrons were really special.

 

[humphreydog]

Here's the only one I have:

 

[melissabryant]

We went to wdw in '96 wirh one day in UO. I do remember going on the tour. That was the big highlight of the day. Because I was a little older than my siblings (13 and they werw 11, 9, 8) I used to watch nick at nite. I loved when we went though the tour and saw Dick Van Dyke's door because he was 'chairman' tasting the slim and seeing the nicka t nite taxi out front (taxi was on at the time) and the slime fountain. So much fun.

 

[Liberator]

I wish I could have been there!!


We had a german version of Nickelodeon from 1995 to 1998. All the kids here, myself included, were addicted to it!

We had the same shows and series like in the USA, e. g. Clarissa, Pete&Pete, Aaaah Monsters, Rockos modern life etc.

I had a crush on Clarissa back then!!!!

They even had the "XYZ was produced at Nickelodeon Studios in the Universal Studios in Orlando Florida" at the end of shows like Clarissa.

Since some years we have again Nickelodeon, but with completely different series and shows.


Is there still something like a time capsule with things like a classic Game Boy anywhere in the studios?
I remember something..

 

[Bluer101]

I wish I could have been there!!

We had a german version of Nickelodeon from 1995 to 1998. All the kids here, myself included, were addicted to it!

We had the same shows and series like in the USA, e. g. Clarissa, Pete&Pete, Aaaah Monsters, Rockos modern life etc.

I had a crush on Clarissa back then!!!!

They even had the "XYZ was produced at Nickelodeon Studios in the Universal Studios in Orlando Florida" at the end of shows like Clarissa.

Since some years we have again Nickelodeon, but with completely different series and shows.

Is there still something like a time capsule with things like a classic Game Boy anywhere in the studios?
I remember something..

The time capsule was dug up and moved to Nick Hotel.

 

[Bluer101]

My first trip was late 1990 and then May 2 1991. I was there on a trip but not in the late afternoon for the grand opening if Back to the Future.