What Is the Best Tribute Store at Universal Orlando Resort?
We convene an all-star panel to answer the question.
One of my most favorite types of features, for as long as I have been reading articles on this wonderful thing we call the internet (and that’s been a long time), is a roundtable discussion. The interplay of analysis and personalities, the sometimes-comedic and tangent-laden turn of their conversations, the more literary delivery of content – it all intermingles to create a special type of experience for the reader that can be pretty hard to beat.
It’s no wonder, then, that I started convening roundtables of my very own shortly after I accidentally got into the online writing game myself (which has also been a long time ago now), starting with my spate of videogame assignments and culminating, of course, in the world of theme parks. Unfortunately, however, as my career progressed and as “search-engine optimization” dictated the progressive watering down of content, those very qualities that I listed as the format’s benefits were deemed by my editors or publishers as negatives, and I found myself barred from doing roundtables ever again.
Until now, of course.
Substack not only provides the perfect vessel to help wade back into analytical waters, but this week’s developments also afford a rich subject: Universal Orlando Resort’s Jurassic World Tribute Store closed this past Monday, August 9, capping off one of the best iterations of the Tribute concept thus far and paving the way for what can be another strong version, which is expected to open within the next two or three weeks and which will be dedicated to Halloween Horror Nights 30.
Tribute, for all those unfamiliar, is a fully immersive retail space, serving up a plethora of Easter eggs to one intellectual property or another along with, more recently, exclusive dishes and drinks that are equally as themed. It started off life back during Horror Nights’s big 25th anniversary, in the fall of 2015, commemorating the event’s hallowed past; it’s since grown to become a more-or-less throughout-the-calendar affair, offering takes on Mardi Gras, Christmas, and, now, Jurassic World (which may or may not represent the first-ever summer variation, but we’ll see about that).
What makes the store so compelling is that, much like the annual event that originally birthed it, it’s a completely different experience each and every time it opens for its limited run – as you can see in this list of every Tribute showing thus far, which includes links to video walkthroughs:
Such an accounting of the Tribute Store’s evolution only makes theme-park nerds like me ask the inevitable question: which iteration was the best? And if you’re really nerdy, like we’ve already demonstrated I am, you ask a number of your buddies who also devote a large portion of their lives to covering and discussing and thinking about the very same questions.
As such, may I present:
Hunter Fagan – (co)host of the Grim Grinning Hosts and Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights podcasts
Seth Kubersky – author of The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando
Drew Marchese – long-running personality in the theme-park community
Kenneth Lemming – guitarist for Pangolin and co-host of the Rush of Fear and DreamJerks podcasts
Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
The Tribute Store has been, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest experiments/creations that Universal has done in a decade that's been full of 'em – between the theming, the food offerings, and the merchandise, it creates this wonderful little hybrid between a themed walk-through attraction and a traditional retail store.
But being the nerd I am, a question, of course, has been percolating through my little brain, and it won't let me sleep at night as I feverishly count down the days to this year's Halloween Horror Nights: which iteration of Tribute has been the best?
Now, by "best," I mean any criteria that you find appropriate – overall theming/atmospherics, the merch on hand, the role that year's version played in the overall evolution of the space (such as, say, when HHN 2016 moved the store to its now-customary location in the New York backlot, or when Halloween 2020's version featured food items for the very first time).
So... what say you?
Seth Kubersky, author:
To be perfectly honest, I'd completely forgotten about the first HHN Tribute Store until rewatching that video [that you sent]. While it sure was nice seeing the Twister: Ride It Out gift shop again, that version barely even hinted at what the future had in store.
In my opinion, the Tribute Store first started hitting its stride (in terms of theming) with the 2017 and 2018 versions, but the 2019 version's rooms dedicated to different IPs really raised the bar, and make that my favorite Halloween store so far. I could spend hours just examining the Ghostbusters Easter eggs, and I liked the Stranger Things section better than that year's haunted house. Plus, they expanded into the back room with a spectacular Classic Monsters theme.
2020 could have been my all-time favorite (thanks to Beetlejuice and Frankenstein), but it suffered from having its Haunting of Hill House theming removed at the last minute.
As far as food goes, I don't think anything has topped Earl the Squirrel's backyard buffet in 2020's Holiday Tribute Store; even if you didn't eat anything, the hilarious visuals made for a perfect finale to the walkthrough.
Ultimately, I think the recent Jurassic World Tribute Store outdoes all the earlier incarnations. Keep in mind that these are all designed by the relatively small Visual Merchandising team, who is used to complimenting the Entertainment department's haunted houses on a fairly limited budget. This time, they had to replicate Universal Creative's work on the VelociCoaster queue – which had millions of dollars at their disposal – and they succeeded brilliantly at a fraction of the cost. I was especially impressed with the way they resurrected vintage set pieces and unearthed screen-used props to enhance the Jurassic Park areas.
Hunter Fagan, podcast machine:
I agree with Seth's assessment that the Jurassic World Tribute Store comes out on top overall due to the intense amount of passion on display in every category. From the theming of the individual rooms to the food, it so lovingly embraces its source material in a way that hasn't been fully replicated yet.
The HHN 29 Tribute Store, with a full recreation of iconic Ghostsbusters stuff, is very close to my heart; however, the Stranger Things theming in room two was a little lackluster by comparison, or so I felt.
For those reasons, I think it loses out in comparison to the HHN Lite variation from last year. However, personal HHN love aside, I want to show a lot of appreciation to the Mardi Gras store from 2020. It didn't get a full time to be appreciated [because of the covid-19 closure], but the first time I walked in there, I was amazed at the level of detail for something not HHN. Mardi Gras merch has always been lacking in my opinion, though, so it's really hard to put it on the same level in that regard.
Drew Marchese, HHN fiend:
I really have a hard time deciding between what I would consider the best Tribute Store and my favorite Tribute Store. As someone who has grown up with Ecto Cooler running through my veins, to be able to step into the environment they created in 2019 was like a nerd's dream. I could wander that room for hours and take in the attention to detail. You could truly tell that it was done with such love to the source material. Top notch. The rest of the store was somewhere between fine and good, but Ghostbusters really stole the show.
But "best"? I think, for me, it has to be the HHN 2020 Tribute Store. The first time I stepped into Frankenstein's lab, my mind was blown. It actually felt like a set from a house. The [Halloween Horror Nights] icons room was incredible. The decor was top notch. It gave it a fall feel even in the heat of summer. Then, to top it all off, the Beetlejuice room gave us a taste of what we were missing out (for the time) in the house. From a design standpoint, it is a masterpiece.
When you factor in the emotions of a year without Halloween Horror Nights, it struck a chord that we so desperately needed.
Kenneth Lemming, musician:
Watching those videos, it really struck me how the name "Tribute Store" doesn't really capture what these spaces are anymore. The name made a lot of sense for the first few years of the concept, especially the first year, which was essentially a museum and tribute to all of HHN history. The concept has evolved to be less of a tribute to whatever event it's tied to but more of an attraction unto itself! I could see the design team playing with the idea of more advanced theming in 2018 with the Stranger Things Upside Down room, which then became the fully themed, immersive walk-through experience that we've come to expect now starting in 2019.
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be a coin toss between Halloween 2020 and the Jurassic World store. The Frankenstein's Lab and Beetlejuice rooms were so unbelievably over-the-top elaborate – that store went a long way in softening the blow of not having a proper Halloween Horror Nights. And with Jurassic Park being one of my all-time favorite films, the Jurassic store just pushes all the right buttons for me. Walking around the abandoned labs from the original park? It's an emotional dream come true!
Yeah, I have to second Hunter's specific calling out of the Mardi Gras 2020 store – it was brilliantly themed, and it really showed how such an immersive concept could be applied to subjects or templates outside of the strict Halloween purview. I really think, when we theme-park nerds look back years from now, it'll be regarded as the turning point (in more ways than one) in Tribute's evolution.
Speaking of which, Kenneth's absolutely right – the name "Tribute" is only a loose appellation now. Actually, I'm really starting to believe that, at some point in the very near future, the store will become a permanent fixture on the Universal Studios Florida scene, even getting its own listing on the park map; it would just have a constantly rotating roster of theming and wares, not unlike the Williams of Hollywood prop shop.
What I'm curious about is what, if anything, happens after that. Does Disney respond with its own answer in Disney Springs? SeaWorld is already playing up its "fully themed" haunted bar for its first-ever Howl-O-Scream – will it also decide to go all-in on Tribute, as well?
Hunter Fagan, podcast machine:
I honestly feel like Universal is the only one in this game for a while. They seem to understand the importance of themed environments and new seasonal attractions better than anyone, and while SeaWorld could eventually do an entire themed retail space, I doubt it will be to the same level as what Universal provides. Additionally (and in my opinion), Disney has straight-up given up on theming in its retail locations, as evidenced by turning World of Disney into your local Pottery Barn.
Need even more Universal Orlando goodness from Nerdism In-Depth? Be sure to peruse my list of which six attractions need to die at the resort.
What a great post! I had nearly forgotten about those first iterations of the Tribute Store, and loved getting to see what it's become over the past year. Can't wait to see what they come up with this year for HHN.