Despite Universal’s recent efforts, one land at Islands of Adventure is starting to show its age—and it’s becoming harder to ignore.
As one of the OG lands at Islands of Adventure, Seuss Landing is currently approaching its 26th birthday. Inspired by the colorful works of Dr. Seuss, the land is home to attractions such as The Cat in the Hat, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!, and the Caro-Seuss-el.
Unlike other lands, such as Jurassic Park and The Lost Continent, Seuss Landing hasn’t seen many major updates or changes since its opening. While it’s received some level of TLC – and introduced the occasional new feature, such as Grinchmas Wholiday Spectacular in 2000 to correspond with the release of the live-action adaptation featuring Jim Carrey – it’s remained pretty stagnant over the decades.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing (after all, enthusiastic theme park fans tend to be purists resistant to most change), but lately, a few signs of wear and tear have started popping up around the land.
For example, the pillars of the entryway from the Port of Entry currently contain random holes and some pretty significant chipping. The nearby Green Eggs and Ham sign has also been missing since January.
These issues come despite multiple rounds of construction and refurbishment in Seuss Landing over the years. The Green Eggs and Ham sign only recently returned from maintenance in November. The entire land was also repainted in 2022, while the Caro-Seuss-el, the If I Ran the Zoo playground, and Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous have all undergone refurbishment in recent years.
Universal Holds Back on Sensitivity Updates
Universal has also yet to implement changes implied by a public statement in 2021 in which it would evaluate the use of certain Dr. Seuss books. This followed a decision from Dr. Seuss Enterprises to stop publishing and licensing six books by the author, who claimed to “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”
“Seuss Landing continues to be very popular with our guests and we value our relationship with Seuss Enterprises,” Universal said at the time. “We’ve removed the books from our shelves as they have asked and we’ll be evaluating our in-park experience too.”
At present, the land still features several experiences inspired by some of the books removed from circulation. This includes the If I Ran the Zoo play area (based on the book of the same name, which has been criticized for its portrayal of Asian people), and both the Mulberry Street Store and portions of The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!
The latter two attractions are based on “And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street,” which Dr. Seuss Enterprises claims contains potentially offensive imagery.
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