Could ONE PIECE Sail to Orlando? Inside the Grand Pirate Show’s Year-Two Surge at Universal Hollywood

If you’d told a Universal Orlando fan five years ago that ONE PIECE — the long-running anime about a rubbery pirate in a straw hat — would be one of the most-talked-about original entertainment offerings at any U.S. Universal park, you’d have gotten a polite nod. In April 2026, that’s exactly where we are. The ONE PIECE: Grand Pirate Show at Universal Studios Hollywood is in its second year, has a brand-new 20-minute stage version on the WaterWorld arena, and is fueling the question Orlando fans have been quietly asking for months: when does this come east?

Image: Universal Studios Hollywood / Discover Universal

What the show actually is

The ONE PIECE: Grand Pirate Show is a separately-ticketed offering inside Universal Studios Hollywood’s annual Universal Fan Fest Nights, a fandom-themed after-hours event. The 2026 edition runs 12 select nights: April 23–25, May 1–3, May 7–9, and May 14–16.

The setup, per Universal’s announcement and on-the-ground coverage:

• Venue: The WaterWorld arena — Hollywood’s 30-year-old stunt-show stage, normally home to the Waterworld day-time spectacular. The same stage hosts USJ’s long-running One Piece Premier Show.
• Length: A 20-minute production blending fight choreography, pyrotechnics, watercraft, and audience engagement.
• The story: Set on Midori Island, the show follows the Straw Hat Crew — Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper — as they search for “Pop Greens.” The Marines arrive, action erupts, and rival pirate Buggy gets pulled into the chaos.
• What follows: A character meet-and-greet at the One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering Fan Zone.

Production was a Hollywood–Japan collaboration. Universal Studios Japan, which has been producing One Piece shows at its WaterWorld stage since 2007, partnered with the Hollywood team on the new production — bringing “coordinating partners” into the development per the Discover Universal blog.

Image: Universal Studios Hollywood / Discover Universal

Year-two return: how it’s landing

2026 is the show’s second appearance at Hollywood’s Fan Fest Nights. The 2025 inaugural year was lower-key — a character experience plus themed food and a One Piece fan zone — which Universal has described as one of the most popular areas of last year’s event. The Pop Greens storyline and the expanded “Grand Line” alcove are new for 2026. Senior director and Fan Fest Nights executive producer Stephen Siercks said the year-one response “was not only surprising, but exciting,” and that it “really allowed us to see a vision of how anime can continue being a pillar of Fan Fest Nights.” The Discover Universal blog characterized bringing One Piece back for year two as “a no-brainer for Stephen and team.”

Some specifics worth flagging:

• The expansion is a strategic bet on anime IP overall. Universal’s framing positions the One Piece show alongside Scooby-Doo Meets the Universal Monsters and the returning Dungeons & Dragons content as part of a broader fandom-event push.
• Theme Park Insider’s Robert Niles, in his April 25 week-in-review column, openly mused whether One Piece should permanently replace WaterWorld at Universal Studios Hollywood. Niles is speculating about Hollywood, not Orlando — but the underlying signal (a rights-holder relationship strong enough to support a permanent slot at one Universal park) is exactly the kind of indicator that historically precedes a multi-park rollout.
• WDW News Today and Inside Universal have both run extensive on-the-ground coverage of opening weekend, with social-media reaction tracking heavier than any other Fan Fest Nights experience this year.

Whether Universal calls the show a hit on a corporate level (with year-three plans, an extended run, or a permanent slot) is the real signal to watch over the next 30 days.

Has anything been announced for Orlando?

The honest answer: no. As of this writing, Universal Orlando Resort has not announced any One Piece attraction, show, or themed area for any of its three theme parks — Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, or Epic Universe.

What has happened is speculation. Two factors have driven it.

Factor 1: real estate is opening up at Islands of Adventure. Universal Orlando is in the middle of demolishing the remaining Lost Continent footprint — roughly 4.9 acres (per Universal’s demolition permit) — following the May 2023 closure of Poseidon’s Fury and the September 2018 closure of The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad. The cleared land sits next door to the Wizarding World’s Hogsmeade Village. Universal has said nothing about the replacement project. Daily Ridge and other regional outlets have spent the last few weeks floating One Piece as a candidate.

Factor 2: Epic Universe has unbuilt headroom. Universal’s newest park sits on roughly 120 acres, of which around 40 acres are still undeveloped. The park is built as five themed areas: the Celestial Park hub plus four portal lands — Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. A future fifth or sixth land, on a runway that’s already built into Epic’s master plan, is not a stretch.

Photo: Attraction Insight

Both speculative homes have advocates. The Lost Continent argument is shorter-term: the parcel is being cleared now, the Wizarding World adjacency provides natural foot-traffic, and a fully-themed environmental land is exactly what Universal does well with anime-adjacent IP (see Super Nintendo World). The Epic Universe argument is bigger and longer-horizon: a full themed world, multiple attractions, character meets, themed dining — the Super Nintendo World playbook applied to a different IP.

Neither is more than reader speculation today. Universal’s only confirmed One Piece presences in the United States remain the Hollywood Fan Fest Nights show and last year’s character experience.

Does the “Hollywood-first” pattern actually predict Orlando expansion?

This is the question that matters. The short answer is: Universal does, in fact, repeatedly take Hollywood- and Japan-originated entertainment and bring it to Orlando — especially when the IP travels well. Some examples:

Super Nintendo World — the cleanest precedent

• Universal Studios Japan: opened March 18, 2021.
• Universal Studios Hollywood: opened February 17, 2023.
• Universal Epic Universe (Orlando): opened May 22, 2025.

That’s a clear Japan → Hollywood → Orlando arc, with the Orlando version benefiting from learnings at the prior two parks. If Universal sees One Piece pulling sustained Hollywood crowds across two seasons, the same playbook is the obvious template.

WaterWorld itself — Hollywood’s most-replicated stage show

The very arena hosting the One Piece Grand Pirate Show is the Universal franchise’s clearest example of a Hollywood-first stunt show going global:

• Universal Studios Hollywood: 1995 (debut, still running).
• Universal Studios Japan: March 31, 2001.
• Universal Studios Singapore: 2010.
• Universal Beijing Resort: 2021.

Notably absent from that list: Orlando. WaterWorld never made the jump to Universal Studios Florida — partly because Florida already had its own stunt-show calendar (Disaster!, T2 3-D, the now-closed Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue). Whether Orlando’s entertainment lineup has the room or the venue for a One Piece-style 20-minute spectacular is a real, non-trivial question.

Fast & Furious — Hollywood ride to Orlando standalone (and back)

The Fast & Furious franchise gives us a different version of the same pattern:

• Universal Studios Hollywood debuted Fast & Furious as part of its Studio Tour in 2015.
• Universal Orlando opened a standalone version, Fast & Furious – Supercharged, on April 23, 2018, with an expanded character roster.
• And the next chapter is bouncing back the other direction: Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is now under construction at Universal Studios Florida, set to open in 2027 — with a Hollywood version targeted for summer 2026.

Halloween Horror Nights houses cross both ways

HHN content has historically moved bidirectionally between Hollywood and Orlando — sometimes the same licensed IP gets a different maze in each park (Stranger Things, Terrifier, Scarecrow), sometimes a concept originates in one and migrates. The franchise-licensed Terrifier maze, for instance, opened in 2025 at both parks within a week of each other.

So — what would an Orlando One Piece presence actually look like?

Putting the pieces together, here are the realistic forms a future Orlando One Piece presence could take, in order of likelihood given current evidence:

1. A character + show seasonal overlay at Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure. The lowest-cost, highest-flexibility option. Universal already runs seasonal overlays for Mardi Gras, HHN, and the holidays; a One Piece overlay along the Mardi Gras model would test demand without committing to a permanent build.
2. A walk-through experience or character meet at the cleared Lost Continent footprint. Filling demolished space with a temporary or semi-permanent IP-themed land has precedent at other Universal parks. Lost Continent could host a One Piece anchor while a longer-term land is master-planned.
3. A full themed land at Epic Universe, on the unbuilt acreage. The most ambitious version, on the longest timeline. This is the Super Nintendo World playbook — multi-year build, headliner attraction, themed dining, retail, character meets. Realistic only if Universal commits during the 2026 Epic Universe ramp-to-full-capacity period and announces in 2027–2028.
4. A short-form attraction (dark ride or stage show) replacing one of Universal Studios Florida’s aging Plot 1 buildings. Less likely given Universal’s recent focus on coaster-led headliners (Hollywood Drift, Stardust Racers, Mario Kart) but possible.

What to watch over the next 90 days

• The Hollywood show’s closing-night communications. If Universal announces a year-three return, an extended run, or a daytime version, that’s the strongest leading indicator that the IP is moving into the “permanent strategic priority” bucket.
• Permitting around Lost Continent. Permits filed at the Reedy Creek successor (CFTOD) for the cleared parcel will hint at scope long before any official announcement. Watch for square-footage, soils-prep, and themed-show-building cues.
• The Epic Universe master plan. Universal’s next round of expansion announcements — widely expected in late 2026 — is the most realistic venue for a One Piece commitment, if one is coming. The currently-rumored sixth Epic land is the most logical home.
• Toei Animation / Shueisha statements. One Piece’s rights holders periodically tease licensing deals at conventions and quarterly earnings calls. A Western theme-park reference there would be the closest thing to a leak.

Bottom line

The ONE PIECE: Grand Pirate Show is doing what Universal needs a Hollywood-original stage piece to do: drawing a passionate fanbase, making social-media noise, and putting in a year-two performance strong enough that the “will it stay” question has shifted to “will it grow.” History favors growth. Three of Universal’s biggest 21st-century franchises — Wizarding World, Super Nintendo World, Fast & Furious — followed cross-park migration paths that started or anchored elsewhere before reaching Orlando in mature form.

Nothing about that guarantees a Florida announcement — Universal Orlando’s long-running Mardi Gras event still hasn’t crossed to Hollywood; WaterWorld still hasn’t made the trip east at all. But the structural conditions for a future Orlando One Piece presence (open land at Islands of Adventure, unbuilt acreage at Epic Universe, a sustained fan-engagement signal from Hollywood) are all in place. If we’re going to see a Florida shoe drop, the next 18–24 months are when it’s most likely to happen.

Sources

• Universal Studios Hollywood — ONE PIECE: Grand Pirate Show press release
• Discover Universal — Behind-the-Scenes: ONE PIECE: Grand Pirate Show
• The Hollywood Reporter — Inside the One Piece interactive stunt show
• Theme Park Insider — Should One Piece go full-time at Universal?
• Inside Universal — New details on the Grand Pirate Show
• WDW News Today — Photos & video from opening weekend
• Daily Ridge — Is One Piece coming to Universal Orlando?
• Wikipedia — Super Nintendo World (Japan / Hollywood / Orlando timeline)
• Wikipedia — WaterWorld stunt show
• Wikipedia — Fast & Furious: Supercharged

Image credits: Discover Universal (One Piece show stills), Inside Universal (show render), Attraction Insight (Lost Continent demolition). Have a tip about Universal Orlando’s plans — or a counter-argument? Drop us a line via the contact page.