Universal Orlando’s CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular Review

With the opening of Universal’s newest park, Epic Universe, just about a year away, Universal is stepping up their game at their two existing parks. This summer saw the opening of Dreamworks Land, the new kid’s area at Universal Studios Florida park, and the Mega Movie Parade is on its way as well, set to debut in July. The other big addition for this summer at Universal Orlando is the park’s newest nighttime show, CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular. Last week, I got the chance to see this brand new show, which features water screens, projection mapping, giant fountains, fireworks and drones. Here is my review, be warned, there will be spoilers for the show.

CineSational takes place in the lagoon in the center of the Studios park, which was also the location of one of my favorite theme park shows I’ve ever seen, 2022’s Ghoulish, a nighttime show just for Halloween Horror Nights. CineSational centers around the idea that music, specifically film scores in this case, can inspire the imagination. The show features sections devoted to Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, King Kong, Jurassic Park/World, Jaws, Universal Monsters, Harry Potter, and many more.

As someone who absolutely loves all of these movies, and also these film’s scores, I was already excited going into CineSational. We arrived about an hour early, which was good because the crowds were already forming in the park’s Central Park area, the best place to view the show. The show begins with opening narration and then gets right into the film scores, showcasing a highlight reel of many of the movies named above.

It is a very inspired idea to devote a nighttime spectacular to mainly instrumental scores rather than lyrical songs, but I think this was a bold decision that paid off in a big way. This is Universal having the confidence to let the scores speak for themselves, knowing full well that everyone in the audience has a strong emotional attachment to them, which allows the show to elevate those emotions using the various technologies.

The show really shines when all of the elements are working together. During the Back to the Future section, the drones are used to make the lightning bolt that strikes the clock tower, which is projected onto the buildings across the lagoon. After the lightning strike, the DeLorean flies off of the buildings and onto the water projection screens in a seamless and fun sequence linking all of the show’s elements.

My favorite section was probably Ghostbusters, not only because of how much I love the movie, but because the show perfectly encapsulated the feeling of that movie for me. That’s what the show is all about, using the music to bring those feelings to life. Hearing the Ecto-1 siren blaring over the lagoon while purple fog rolls in and the ghosts are projected onto the screens is an incredible moment.

The Jaws section was fun as well, I am always clamoring for more Jaws representation in the parks (I can’t wait for the Mega Movie parade), and they utilize the projection screens in a clever way by having the shark “swim” through the water, half submerged. I liked that in some of the other sections, they used some parts of the film scores that aren’t just the main themes, but for Jaws that’s an exception, you have to use the classic theme and it really works well here.

I was also (pleasantly) surprised with some of the other movies that were included. I loved how prominent the King Kong section was, and especially seeing clips from the 2005 Peter Jackson version, which I have always felt was underrated. The show also heavily features the 1999 Brendan Fraser Mummy, which has been seeing a resurgence of fans in recent years. The Transformers section was a welcome surprise as well, and I’ve always loved the music in those movies, which proved to me that this show is truly dedicated to the scores themselves, and the clips are just the accompaniment.

But the biggest audience reaction of the entire show was Jack Black’s Bowser from the 2023 Super Mario Bros. Movie, singing Peaches. To be honest, I forgot that movie was a Universal release, but it makes complete sense because they also want to get people excited about the new Super Nintendo World, opening at Epic Universe next year. This was also a great choice because teens and older adults will be interested in the 80s movies, but there is also a lot for kids as well, such as Trolls, Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon, and Shrek.

I was happy to see Harry Potter in the show too, that also got a big cheer from the crowd. Smartly, the section isn’t just a collection of Harry’s greatest moments, it’s mostly devoted to Ron and Hermione since it is set during the show’s portion dedicated to love and friendship. The drones form a massive Hogwarts emblem at the end, which is incredibly detailed.

For me personally, my biggest surprise was seeing Fast and Furious included in the show. I let out a big cheer when I saw clips from Fast X and saw Dom Toretto driving his Dodge Charger through the water projection screens. It’s not there for long, but it was so fun to see my not-so-guilty pleasure franchise featured towards the beginning of the show.

I haven’t talked much about the drones yet, but they are utilized perfectly in the show. Sometimes they are integrated with other sections, like the aforementioned Back to the Future segment, but sometimes they are separate images. Highlights included the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the Jaws shark, a flying Toothless, the ET bike scene, and a transforming Autobot/Decepticon emblem.

The fireworks are definitely the least prominent aspect of the show, but they are used in good spots and accentuate the rest of the show very well. The fountains are really massive, reaching 131 feet in the air. This gets me especially excited for what’s to come at Epic Universe.

If I had to give any constructive feedback, it would be to use the narration and story more frequently to really tie together the storytelling aspect. At times, CineSational felt more like a clip show of my favorite movies instead of a nighttime spectacular as advertised. Something that Disney does very well in their nighttime shows is use familiar songs to tell a new story, whether the goal is to inspire or entertain. I think I was looking for a little more of that from Universal. I already know that I like Back to the Future, Jaws, etc. What I was looking for is a reminder of why I like them. I think having a more dedicated through-line story would elevate CineSational from a show to a spectacular. This is a fairly minor nitpick, just because I am so passionate about these movies and about storytelling, but in the grand scheme of things, I am just happy to have such a great nighttime show at Universal.

Overall, CineSational is a smash hit for Universal, and brings back the much-needed nighttime entertainment to the park. As someone who loves movie scores, specifically for these movies, it is incredible to see such a big production dedicated to showcasing them. It really seems like the show was made just for me, I never thought that the instrumental music would get this treatment. I’m so happy that it does and I will forever applaud Universal Creative for boldly subverting the norm. The show truly highlights, the past, present and future of the Universal parks themselves. The Universal classic movies represent the past, then things like Trolls, Transformers and Fast and Furious showcase the present age of blockbusters, and Monsters, How to Train Your Dragon, Mario, and Harry Potter are there as a teaser for the Epic things to come. I can’t say enough good things about CineSational, except that I can’t wait to see it again, especially in tandem with the upcoming Mega Movie Parade. On the drive home from the park after the show, I listened to the Jurassic Park score, and if that’s not an indication of a successful show, then I don’t know what is.

CineSational runs select nights through August 25th.