With no warning and no farewell performance, the “Universal’s Cinematic Celebration” lagoon show has ended its run at Universal Studios Florida.
The roughly 20-minute show debuted in 2018 following months of work on a new platform allowing for water screen and projection effects on the park’s lagoon. Segments of the show were dedicated to movies represented in the Universal parks, including “Harry Potter,” “Jurassic World,” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
The show was suspended for part of 2020 during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its final day of operation ended up being Feb. 3, 2023.
The predecessor to “Cinematic Celebration”, “Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular,” closed in 2017 also without a final performance — though that exit was blamed on damage to its equipment caused by Hurricane Irma.
Universal Studios Florida is now without a regular nighttime show or parade, as Universal’s Superstar Parade shut down last June. Halloween Horror Nights will also be left wondering whether this means the end to seasonal lagoon shows that used the “Cinematic Celebration” infrastructure.