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Universal Orlando Has NBC's TODAY Hosts Fronting a New Quarterly Series, With Al Roker Touring All Four Parks in Episode One
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Universal Orlando Has NBC's TODAY Hosts Fronting a New Quarterly Series, With Al Roker Touring All Four Parks in Episode One

Michael Travels
·
Published

NBC's TODAY show now has a Universal Orlando spinoff, and Al Roker is the first host through the gates.

Universal Orlando used its blog on July 29 to introduce Universal TODAY, a quarterly series built around the hosts of NBC's TODAY show and filmed on site at the resort. Roker fronts the first episode. Universal's own summary of the concept runs to one sentence: "Think TODAY, but make it all about Universal Orlando Resort."

Three segments, four parks

The series is built around three named segments: "Walk in the Parks," "Let's Eat" and "Behind the Attraction." Universal says the series is filmed on-site and features "the TODAY hosts you know and love," walking guests through what it calls their boots-on-the-ground methods for getting more out of a visit.

Episode one sends Roker through what Universal calls "all four theme parks," meaning Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Epic Universe and the Volcano Bay water park, covering attractions, entertainment and seasonal experiences. Universal's blog introduces him as "one of America's friendliest faces" and advises readers not to be afraid to take his advice.

Al Roker in a cap and glasses petting Toothless the dragon on the snout while a costumed Viking character watches

Roker greets Toothless while a costumed Viking looks on, in a scene from the first episode of Universal TODAY. Image: Universal Orlando Resort via BroadwayWorld.

Where you will actually run into it

The episode is on YouTube, and that is not the only place it will run. Universal says viewers can "catch the series throughout the theme park and Universal Orlando hotels." It does not say on which screens.

NBCUniversal, in its own write-up dated July 27, said the series is hosted by TODAY talent, released quarterly and designed to "evolve with the seasons, highlighting new experiences, limited-time offerings, and returning favorites across the resort." It billed Roker as "one of America's most beloved personalities."

Two official announcements, two different start dates

Universal and its own parent company do not agree on when this started. NBCUniversal's write-up, published July 27, opens by saying that "On July 6, 2026, NBCUniversal officially launched Universal TODAY." Universal Orlando's blog, published two days later, says instead that "July 29, 2026, marks the premiere of Universal TODAY."

Neither has been corrected, and neither acknowledges the other. The video itself favors the later date: the episode both articles point to, "Summer Spotlights at Universal Orlando Resort with Al Roker! | Universal TODAY," was published to Universal Orlando's YouTube channel on July 29, and the channel posted nothing at all between July 21 and July 29. NBCUniversal's article links to that same July 29 video, which went up two days after that article's own stated date. Universal has not explained what the July 6 date refers to.

No press release, just a blog post

For a launch fronted by Al Roker, Universal never took this to its press office. The news ran as a post on the Discover Universal Blog, bylined by Yasmene Warren, an associate news writer at the resort. Universal's Orlando press room has published nothing about it: its most recent Orlando release, dated July 22, covers a new Halloween Horror Nights scare zone inspired by Fortnite's Fortnitemares event.

The handling fits what Universal has described. Not a one-off announcement, but a content series it plans to keep feeding four times a year. Which leaves the obvious open question: which TODAY host gets the next one.

Sources

Image credits: Universal TODAY promotional art, a cutout of Al Roker set over the Universal Studios Florida globe, Universal Orlando Resort. Roker with Toothless, a still from the first episode of Universal TODAY, Universal Orlando Resort via BroadwayWorld.

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