| Nickelodeon Studios | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Nickelodeon Studios in 2004 | |
| Universal Studios Florida | |
| Area | Building 17 Soundstage 18 Soundstage 19 (Production Central) |
| Coordinates | 28°28′28″N81°28′7″W / 28.47444°N 81.46861°W /28.47444; -81.46861 |
| Status | Closed |
| Opening date | June 7, 1990 (35 years ago) (1990-06-07) |
| Closing date | April 30, 2005 (20 years ago) (2005-04-30) |
| Replaced by | Blue Man Group (Universal CityWalk) |
| Ride statistics | |
| Attraction type | Studio tour and working production facility |
| Model | Television studio soundstage |
| Theme | Nickelodeon programming |
| Duration | 45 minutes |
 Universal Express was available | |
Nickelodeon Studios was aproduction studio andtheme park attraction run by the television networkNickelodeon atUniversal Studios Florida.
Opening on June 7, 1990, asThe First World Headquarters for Kids, the studio attracted young tourists as contestants and audience members for Nickelodeon's live-action programming. At its peak, the studio employed 400 people and was the largest production studio inFlorida, bringing $110 million in business to the state by 1994.
The studio closed permanently on April 30, 2005, after much of Nickelodeon's production had moved toNickelodeon on Sunset in Los Angeles. Nickelodeon Studios produced over 2,000 episodes of original programming.
In November 1988,Nickelodeon contracted space within the soon to be builtUniversal Studios Florida for its firstproduction studio.[1] Universal had determined throughmarket research that a working studio was crucial in attracting guests to amovie themed park, and they offered Nickelodeon asweetheart deal to supply that production.[2][3] The promise of a custom-built studio at no expense, coupled with rent-free production, lured Nickelodeon away from negotiating withDisney-MGM Studios.[4] The contract stipulated that Nickelodeon promote Universal Studios Florida on-air 1,000 times per year, while also broadcasting the park'stelevision commercials.[1]
Turner Construction Company began erecting two 16,500 sq ft (1,530 m2)soundstages (18 and 19) and an adjacent 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2)video production facility (Building 17) within theProduction Central area of the park in 1989.[5] The exterior of the facility was designed by networkproduction designer Byron Taylor, and the interior was designed by networkart director Don St. Mars.[6][7]Viacomsenior vice president Scott Davis would supervise the design and construction of the complex, and he was later named the firstgeneral manager of Nickelodeon Studios.[8]
Super Sloppy Double Dare in April 1989 andThink Fast in January 1990 were the first Nickelodeon productions filmed at Universal Studios Florida, and they were shot on the 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m2)Soundstage 21 while Nickelodeon Studios was still being constructed.[9][10] Like other Nickelodeongame shows, both programs were previously filmed atWHYY-TV inPhiladelphia.[11] Nickelodeon's live-action productions had traditionally been shot on rented soundstages in multiple cities, which was not cost-effective and limited the network's growth.[3]
Prior to the studio's completion,Double Dareexecutive producer Andy Bamberger,Double Dare creatorGeoffrey Darby,Nickelodeon PresidentGeraldine Laybourne, and Nickelodeon Studiosgeneral manager Scott Davis wrote their names in Building 17's secondstory concrete floor. Bamberger, who also served as executive producer ofMake the Grade andTotal Panic, wrote "I Love TV Production" above his name.[12]
On June 7, 1990,Universal Studios Florida officially opened to the public.Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration! was broadcast live from the studio onNickelodeon, hosted byMarc Summers ofSuper Sloppy Double Dare.[13] The event was announced byJohn Harvey ofSuper Sloppy Double Dare and co-hosted byGreg Lee ofTotal Panic, Skip Lackey ofThink Fast,Christine Taylor and Kelly Brown ofHey Dude (in character as Melody and Brad respectively), and Alie Smith, Matt Brown, Wendy Douglas andWill Friedle ofDon't Just Sit There!. Celebrity appearances were made byAndrea Elson,Bill Cosby,Brooke Theiss, Danny Ponce,Gerard Christopher,Jane Seymour,Jason Hervey,Kellie Martin,Les Lye,Linda Blair,Steven Spielberg andWil Wheaton. The broadcast included live performances byKid 'n Play,Perfect Gentlemen andThe Cover Girls.
Daily tours were given of the studio, starting with aqueue area outside Soundstage 18 that led into Building 17. The 45-minute tours took park guests upstairs through thecontrol room, through a viewing area that allowed glimpses of Soundstages 18 and 19, then downstairs through thewardrobe department and Gak Kitchen, with the tour concluding in Building 17's largeaudition room.[14] While game shows were often shot 5 days a week while in production,sitcoms such asWelcome Freshmen would rehearse during the week and only shoot on weekends. This became problematic, as Nickelodeon's contract with Universal stipulated that their guests would be able to witness shows being filmed, "seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, during all hours of the tour's operation".[4] To remedy this, the audition room was renamed Soundstage 17 and began hosting Game Lab, a mock game show at the end of every tour that culminated with one of the guests getting slimed.[15]
Nickelodeon unveiled its Slime Geyser (also known as the Gak Geyser) in front of the studio on October 27, 1990.[16]Russell Johnson, famous for playingThe Professor onGilligan's Island, appeared at the unveiling ceremony.[17] The 17-foot highfountain would "erupt" with green colored water every 10 minutes.[18] The network subsequently used a recording of the Geyser erupting as thesign-on for their broadcasting day.
On April 30, 1992, the Nickelodeontime capsule was buried near the Slime Geyser. The burial ceremony was broadcast live onNickelodeon and hosted byMike O'Malley ofGet the Picture andJoey Lawrence ofBlossom, with an appearance byDr. Emmett Brown ofBack to the Future: The Ride (portrayed by the park'scostumed performer and notChristopher Lloyd).[19] It contains items deemed important to the children of 1992 as voted upon by Nickelodeon viewers. These items included aBarbie doll,baseball,books (comic book,endangered species book,history book,phone book,TV Guide and WorldAtlas),bubble gum,CDs (MC Hammer andMichael Jackson),hat featuring the catchphrase ofJoey Lawrence,news reports (1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt,Dissolution of the Soviet Union,Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS andOperation Desert Storm), Nickelodeon Gak,Nickelodeon Magazine,NintendoGame Boy,pencils, photos of things too big to fit inside (bicycles,cars,celebrities,planes,politicians andtrains), piece of theBerlin Wall,Reebok Pump sneakers,Rollerblades,skateboard,t-shirt featuring theNicktoons charactersRen and Stimpy,Twinkies, andVHS movies (Back to the Future andHome Alone). The final items put in the capsule were a tape of the event itself and thecamcorder used to record it.[20]
Roundhouse moved toCBS Studio Center inLos Angeles for the filming of its second season in 1993.[21] The show'sunionized cast, crew and musicians were unhappy that working inOrlando deprived them ofresiduals.[22] As aright-to-work state,Florida had attracted producers looking toavoid union costs and regulations that were prevalent inCalifornia.[23]
An episode ofWeinerville shot on February 14, 1994, marked the 1,000th episode of live-action programming filmed at the studio since its opening. Nickelodeon Studios had at that point brought $110 million in business to Florida, and regularly employed between 280 and 330 people on a weekly basis.[24]
Universal Studios Florida trailedWalt Disney World in attendance at the end of 1994, with Universal hosting 7.7 million guests that year compared with Disney's 28.9 million.[25] To stay competitive, Universal broke ground onIslands of Adventure in 1995, recommitting itself primarily as atheme park with the $2 billion expansion.[26] Universal by then saw theproduction studio aspect of the park as secondary to itsthrill rides, shortening theirmarketing slogan fromSee the Stars. Ride the Movies toRide the Movies. The number of new productions began decreasing not only at Nickelodeon Studios, but atUniversal Studios Florida proper and the competingDisney-MGM Studios.
Rugrats in 1995 had become an unexpected success inreruns, causing Nickelodeon to heavily invest inanimation and producing new episodes of the show.[27] Nickelodeon's in-houseNicktoons animation at the point was produced atGames Animation inLos Angeles.Albie Hecht, the network's President of Film and Entertainment, met with his in-houseanimators in 1996 to solicit opinions on what a newanimation studio should look like.[28] That same year, producersMike Tollin andBrian Robbins requested Nickelodeon move filming of their hit live-action showAll That fromOrlando toLos Angeles so they wouldn't have to leave home for production. The network obliged, and the third season ofAll That was filmed on a rentedsoundstage atParamount Pictures while Nickelodeon searched for a permanentHollywood studio.
I can't think of another reason to be there. The weather stinks. Every single day I was dealing with thunderstorms. It's an inhospitable place to shoot film and TV shows. And there's not a tremendous talent pool to work with there.[29]
Corporate changes also began affecting the future of Nickelodeon Studios.Geraldine Laybourne, longtime champion of the Orlando facility, left her position asPresident of Nickelodeon in February 1996 and was replaced byexecutive vice presidentHerb Scannell.[30] Nickelodeon Studiosgeneral manager Scott Davis exited in 1997 and was replaced byNickelodeon Guts creator Scott Fishman.[31]
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo was shut down by alabor strike in August 1997 when the production switched fromvideotape tofilm stock.[32] Movies and television shows shot onfilm stock were regulated by theInternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The show's producer,Alan Goodman, would move production ofThe Mystery Files of Shelby Woo toMontreal for the filming of its final season.[33] Canada was attracting American productions at the time withtax incentives and a favorableexchange rate.[34]
Nickelodeon opened two new studios in California, the live-action studioNickelodeon on Sunset in 1997, and theNickelodeon Animation Studio in 1998. Nickelodeon Studios partnered withvisual effects companyKinetix in August 1998 to upgrade Building 17 with a training center for Kinetix software, attempting to remain viable against Nickelodeon Animation Studio.[35][36]Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids launched in 1999, airing reruns of game shows produced by the network with newwraparound segments filmed at Nickelodeon Studios.[37]
The studio began laying off employees in March 2001 since a majority of Nickelodeon's closed-set productions had moved to California,game shows were no longer being produced, and the network's highest rated programming wasanimated.[38] The studio auctioned off its remainingprops in storage at their offsitescene shop in June 2001.[39] The final program taped at the facility wasNickelodeon Splat!, which aired live on August 17, 2004. The studio closed permanently on April 30, 2005.[40]
Nickelodeon Studios was responsible for producing over 2,000 episodes of original, live-action programming forNickelodeon.[41] The facility employed 400 people at its peak, at which point it was the largest production studio in Florida.[42]
Eureeka's Castle won theCableACE Award (1990) for Best Children's Series,[43]Roundhouse won theCableACE Award (1993) for Best Original Song,[44]Legends of the Hidden Temple won theCableACE Award (1995) for Best Game Show Series,[45]Taina won theALMA Award (2002) for Outstanding Children's Television Programming,[46] andMelissa Joan Hart received theYoung Artist Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) for hertitle role inClarissa Explains It All.[47]
Clarissa Explains It All received anEmmy nomination (1994) forOutstanding Children's Program,[48]Nick News: Space Shuttle, Phone Home received anEmmy nomination (1995) forOutstanding Children's Special,[49] andGullah Gullah Island received anEmmy nomination (1997) for Outstanding Preschool Children's Series.[50]
On November 9, 2006, Universal announced that Soundstage 18 would be redesigned to become a 1,000-seat permanent venue for theBlue Man Group'sself-titled residency show.[51] The new theatre opened on June 1, 2007, and was sponsored bySharp Aquos until 2012. Their residency ended on February 1, 2021, leaving Soundstage 18 vacant.[52]
The Nickelodeontime capsule buried by the network in 1992 was removed in August 2006 and reburied at theNickelodeon Suites Resort. Upon the hotel's closure and rebranding in 2016, it was reburied at theNickelodeon Animation Studio and is set to be opened on April 30, 2042.[53] The time capsule's original cover was sold byHeritage Auctions in 2022 for $19,200.[54]
Nickelodeon returned to filmMy Family's Got Guts in 2008, using some of the former Nickelodeon Studios facilities including thegreen room.[55] Training was in Soundstage 19, and the actual production was filmed nearby on Soundstages 23 and 24.
The complex became popular forurban exploration, as Universal left much of the original Nickelodeon branding intact for years after the studio closed. In 2012,YouTube personalityAdam the Woo gained access to Soundstage 19 and the upper floors of Building 17, documenting vastly untouched murals and decor from the heyday of the studios.[56] A majority of these remnants were removed following a 2018 renovation.[57]
This is a list of programs that were filmed at the studio byNickelodeon.[58]
Links to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
