A newly cleared portion of an 87.2-acre site along Universal Boulevard near International Drive in Orlando, Florida, is drawing attention as the latest mystery project connected to Universal Orlando Resort, with few details publicly confirmed so far.
Thanks to aerial coverage from @Bioreconstruct on X, we have a look at the latest endeavor from the Universal Orlando Resort. On Universal Blvd, a little less than 2 miles from Universal Epic Universe, is an entertainment complex containing a Topgolf and Andretti Indoor Karting & Games Orlando.
Universal has no comment on the land clearing
While Universal has not commented on what the project could be, its proximity to their newest park and International Drive leaves a lot to speculation. Earlier this year, The Orlando-area Shingle Creek Transit and Utility Community Development District voted on commissioning Elon Musk’s The Boring Company for “transportation infrastructure improvements”. If you’re not familiar, The Boring Company has dug tunnels for transportation in the past, such as the Vegas Loop in Las Vegas.
This sparked ideas for the proposed infrastructure to connect Universal CityWalk to Universal Epic Universe, which are about 3.6 miles from each other.
Speculation surrounding the site has ranged from a potential transportation hub tied to The Boring Company to a possible “CityWalk 2.0” concept. The surrounding corridor already functions as a more family-oriented counterpart to the Las Vegas Strip, raising questions about how this development could further shape the area. For scale, Universal’s year-round Universal Horror Unleashed experience in Las Vegas occupies just 2.5 acres—significantly smaller than the footprint of this site.
Size and location
To put the scale of this newly cleared 30 acres of the 87-acre site into perspective, it rivals — and in some cases approaches — the footprint of some of Orlando’s most well-known entertainment districts.
- 30 acres of 87 acres – Newly cleared Universal Boulevard site
- ~30 acres – Universal CityWalk Orlando
- ~110 acres – Universal Epic Universe
- ~120 acres – Disney Springs
At 87 acres, the site is nearly three times the size of CityWalk and not far off from the scale of full-day destinations like Epic Universe and Disney Springs, underscoring the potential for something far more substantial than a single attraction.
To get your bearings, the yellow arrow indicates where the portion of the Universal Orlando Resort that houses Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and the current CityWalk. On the other side of the street sits ICON Park and the rest of International Drive.
Repositioning around the plot in the photo below, we can see the other side of Top Golf as well as Andretti.
Aerial images of Universal’s latest project
Here are some more images of the mystery project, as well as some surrounding area:
Thanks to early reporting from Orlando ParkStop, details about the land clearing and associated permits began to come into focus…