Universal Hired a British Ride Engineer for Islands of Adventure, and It Might Be the First Clue About What Replaces The Lost Continent

For months, every piece of news out of The Lost Continent has been about something coming down. The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad theater is gone. Poseidon's Fury is being pulled apart right now. A construction permit filed with Orange County is the first paperwork in a while that points the other direction, though it never names the land.

The Notice of Commencement contracts Garmendale Engineering Limited, a theme park ride systems firm based in Ilkeston, England, for work the form describes only as "Equipment Install." Theme Park Wizard surfaced the filing, and WDW News Today and Orlando ParkStop both reported it on July 20.

The griffin marking the entrance to The Lost Continent at Universal Islands of Adventure. Image credit: WDW News Today

What the permit says, and what it does not

The document itself is short. It lists the property as Universal City Florida 35/84 Lot 6A, names Universal City Development Partners, Ltd. at 1000 Universal Studios Plaza as the owner, and gives the general description of improvement as "Equipment Install." The contractor line reads Garmendale Engineering Limited, Ilkeston DE7 8EF, United Kingdom.

The Notice of Commencement naming Garmendale Engineering Limited as contractor for an Equipment Install. Image credit: Orange County Comptroller, via Orlando ParkStop

WDW News Today calls the address on the form generic, which is the important limit on all of this. The filing does not say The Lost Continent. WDW News Today's reasoning is that the site is the only place a new ride is expected any time soon, aside from Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, already under construction over at Universal Studios Florida.

The same report offers the competing explanation without being asked: it is possible Garmendale is working on the refurbishment of Jurassic Park River Adventure, also at Islands of Adventure, instead. Neither report includes a comment from Universal on the filing.

Why a contractor name is interesting at all

Garmendale has worked with Universal before, including on the gating system for Jurassic World VelociCoaster and other Jurassic rides around the world. That history cuts both ways. It puts a known Universal vendor on a fresh filing, but the work it is known for at these parks is queue and gate hardware rather than ride vehicles, which is worth holding onto before anyone declares a ride system confirmed.

Its work is broader than gates, though. WDW News Today lists Garmendale ride systems including peoplemovers, motion simulators, spinners, battery powered boats, and trains, and the company's own site sorts its catalogue into dark rides, family rides, water rides, bespoke systems, transportation systems, and its Shotgun gating line. Orlando ParkStop notes that Garmendale has its own version of an interactive omnimover type ride, which is interesting mainly because a long running fan rumor has a Pokemon ride in Orlando taking the form of an interactive omnimover. ParkStop is careful to say it is not yet clear whether the company is working on the Lost Continent replacement at all.

The demolition context

Whatever is coming will be built from scratch. The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad theater was torn down completely, and crews have moved on to destroying the Poseidon's Fury building, which rules out either structure being reused by the replacement land.

Demolition equipment working through the Poseidon's Fury show building. Image credit: Bioreconstruct, via Orlando ParkStop

Universal still has not said what the land becomes. Mythos Restaurant remains open through the rest of 2026 per Orlando ParkStop, with Universal having announced earlier this year that it closes permanently in 2027. Over in the park's Jurassic Park section, Thunder Falls Terrace has served its last day. WDW News Today puts that at July 19, and Orlando ParkStop reported it closed for good on July 20. Universal says the quick service space will reopen in 2027 transformed into a full service restaurant that takes the place of Mythos.

So: not an announcement, and not a confirmed ride. It is a name on a county form, and while the recent news out of The Lost Continent has been demolition from end to end, this filing points to installing something.

Sources

• WDW News Today, "Universal Orlando Hires Ride Engineer, Possibly for Lost Continent Replacement," July 20, 2026
• WDW News Today, "Thunder Falls Terrace Now Closed for Full-Service Transformation at Universal Islands of Adventure," July 20, 2026
• Orlando ParkStop, "Lost Continent Demolition Update: Poseidon's Fury is Being Demolished," July 20, 2026
• Garmendale Engineering Limited

Image credits: Lost Continent griffin photo by WDW News Today. Notice of Commencement via Orange County Comptroller, published by Orlando ParkStop. Poseidon's Fury aerial by Bioreconstruct, published by Orlando ParkStop.