Theme Park Rangers Radar: New Universal shop, Disney ride names, little items in big auction

For this week’s Theme Park Rangers Radar, we browsed the new UNIVRS store’s offerings at Universal Orlando, went on a deep-apostrophe dive thanks to Princess Tiana and thought about just who would scrape off Disney wallpaper and sell scraps at auction.

Radar is a weekly listing of musings and must-sees from Central Florida’s theme parks and attractions. It appears at OrlandoSentinel.com on Wednesdays.

Hopping shopping

Universal Studios has tweaked one of its in-park stores to showcase summer collections based on “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and Felix the Cat.

The UNIVRS storefront, a reimagining of an existing structure near the entrance of the theme park, is a bright, bold, eye-catching departure. It’s a arched montage of the currently featured product lines plus other Universal properties, including “Back to the Future,” “The Office,” “Shrek” and the bride of Frankenstein. Large Felix and shark heads at ground level make for photo ops.

There’s a fair share of Minions and bananas on the facade, which is not a surprise because the building is a neighbor to the impending Minion Land.

More surprising was the amount of merchandise devoted to Felix, a character more than a century old with roots in the silent-film industry. There must be a feline following, as UNIVRS offers a wide line of Felix goods including T-shirts, socks, bucket hats, sweaters, vests, pants, skirts and more.

The designs tend to be a more subtle than standard theme-park fare, although the images can get big … but arty. This extends to its merchandise for films such as “E.T.,” “The Fast and the Furious,” “Jaws” and others.

The store was developed by Universal Products & Experiences, and it aims to install new styles in limited quantities seasonally, according to a news release. The products are available only at the UNIVRS store in Orlando and at its first location at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park in California.

UNIVRS is the centerpiece of the building, with Hello Kitty and Betty Boop merch remaining on the edges of the space. There are also sprinklings of Marvel characters, “Harry Potter” gear, “Ghostbusters” things and Funko Pop.

Bonus fact unearthed in Felix research: Felix’s girlfriend is named Kitty Kat, also known as Miss Kitty White. And Hello Kitty’s “real name” is Kitty White.

Owning Disney rides

Whilst staring at the tiara-topped water tower at Magic Kingdom, my mind wandered to the new name for the Splash Mountain space, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Just how many Disney characters “possess” a current Walt Disney World attraction?

After eliminating seasonal offerings, restaurants and stores – and checking disneyworld.com – I landed on eight, nine if we count Tiana’s, which is a work in progress.

When Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2020, a talking point what that it was the first Mickey namesake ride. But the big cheese’s name also is attached to Mickey’s PhilharMagic and “Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire” show at Magic Kingdom.

Other possessive attractions include Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (Epcot), Peter Pan’s Flight (Magic Kingdom), Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy (Hollywood Studios), Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (Magic Kingdom) and Bruce’s Shark World (Epcot), which is borderline. Then what about Donald’s Dino-Bash, a meet-and-greet at Animal Kingdom?

A notable exception: Cinderella Castle. So is it named after her, not owned by her? Are we overthinking? But also Prince Charming Regal Carrousel is not a possessive title. Is that a royal thing?

Two more, but we’re drifting out of character territory with Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, both at Magic Kingdom.

Disney auction oddities

Van Eaton Galleries’ catalog is out for the upcoming auction titled “The Joel Magee Disneyland Collection.” Magee is the South Florida man who is selling thousands of Disney pieces that he has collected over decades. He’s also known as “America’s Toy Scout.”

Van Eaton regularly has Disney auctions but ordinarily from multiple vendors. The catalog, available online, shows all the options with interesting write-ups about the history and current condition of the item.

I like to browse and spend time on the big-ticket items, but here are three less showy but still fascinating finds.

• Nearly a square-foot of wallpaper from Disneyland’s Club 33. The floral pattern with gold finish was removed for a 2014 renovation. There’s also a bigger piece of Haunted Mansion wallpaper from Disneyland in the auction. My birthday is coming up, but I don’t want wallpaper. (These samples are lots 713 and 727 in the auction catalog.)

• “A complete Orange Bird ring display” from Magic Kingdom in the 1970s. It has rings and 12 necklaces (Lot 1299). Staying in the OB family, there’s also a set of 11 necklaces, a dozen stick pins and a a display of 24 bracelets in the auction.

• A 4-inch-tall model of the Monsanto’s House of the Future at Disneyland, made in 1996 (Lot 1172). It “glows from within,” the catalog says. Batteries are not included.

For more information and to see the entire catalog, go to vegalleries.com. The three-day auction begins July 17, Disneyland’s birthday.

Weekend outlook

• The concert series for SeaWorld’s Summer Spectacular event starts Saturday with English Beat (“I Confess,” “Mirror in the Bathroom”) and Little River Band (“Reminiscing,” “Lonesome Loser”) on Sunday. Showtime is 6 p.m. both days at the park’s Nautilus Theater. The performances are included with regular SeaWorld Orlando admission.

• Walt Disney World starts selling tickets for its holiday special events on Thursday. The new Disney Jollywood Nights event at Hollywood Studios is on select dates between Nov. 11 and Dec. 20; Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom is on select nights between Nov. 8 and Dec. 22.

• Museum of Illusions Orlando introduces its Enchanting Illusions: A Night of Wonder event, which has a stint inside the neighboring Max Action Arena on Friday.

• At noon on Friday, Orange County Regional History Center hosts Lunch & Learn: Carving His Own Destiny – The Life and Legacy of Albin Polasek. Collections manager Emily Coughlan will tell the story of the namesake of Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. (The sculptor’s journey goes from Czech Republic to Rome to Chicago to Central Florida.) There are in-person and virtual options.

• Sunday is the final day to ride SandSerpent at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The roller coaster is being removed in favor of an another attraction that has not been revealed.

What’s on your radar? Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com.