Universal's Closed Store at Orlando's Airport Has a Construction Wall of Warped Mario Merch, and WDWNT Says the Images Are AI
Yoshi's head sits on a long white stalk of a neck. Peach looks like she was drawn from memory. And the hoodie that looks like it wants to say Super Nintendo World spells out nothing at all.
That is the construction wall now up at the Universal Orlando Resort store in Terminal B at Orlando International Airport, and WDW News Today reported on September 25 that the merchandise pictured on it is AI-generated.
Part of the wall graphic at the closed Terminal B store. Screenshot: @walkintheparktravel on Instagram, via WDW News Today
What is on the wall
The images come from a video posted by Instagram user @walkintheparktravel, which WDWNT embedded in its report. The store sits in the East Hall of Terminal B, and WDWNT says it is temporarily closed for renovation with no reopening date announced.
The wall is dressed up to look like a well-stocked Universal shop. Look closer and it falls apart:
- A row of Mario-themed T-shirts where the character faces are off-model and the text on the Yoshi shirt is gibberish.
- Red and white spotted plush that look like Toad's cap, next to shelves of small Mario-style figures in red caps and overalls, some with doubled faces.
- Rows of mustached, Mario-style faces in red caps on an upper shelf.
- A red hoodie with a colorful logo in the style of Super Nintendo World, in letters that do not spell anything.
WDWNT says other Universal franchises also show up on the wall, including How to Train Your Dragon, Jurassic Park and the Minions. Those sections are not in the frames we are showing here.
Plush, figures and caps on another stretch of the wall. The word "Orlando" is the creator's video caption, not part of the wall. Screenshot: @walkintheparktravel on Instagram, via WDW News Today
Is it really AI?
That is WDWNT's call, not Universal's. We have not seen Universal say how the wall graphics were made, and we have not seen a comment from Universal or from the airport. WDWNT describes many of the characters and lettering as distorted and unreadable, and those are the kind of flaws AI image tools are known for: faces that warp or fuse together and lettering that looks like text from a distance and turns into nonsense up close.
It is a strange look for a resort whose Super Nintendo World shops sell official Mario, Yoshi and Peach merchandise, and this wall sits in the airport that many Universal Orlando guests fly into.
The hoodie that almost says Super Nintendo World. The word "what" is the creator's caption. Screenshot: @walkintheparktravel on Instagram, via WDW News Today
Where to shop at the airport instead
According to WDWNT, two other Universal stores at Orlando International Airport are open:
- Terminal C, Palm Court: 5:00am to 10:00pm
- Terminal A, West Hall: 7:00am to 9:00pm
Separately, the airport has announced a larger renovation of Terminals A and B and the airsides, estimated at $351 million, according to WDWNT. WDWNT does not say whether the store closure is part of that work.
If you are flying out of Terminal B, take a look at the wall on your way past, then let us know: can you figure out what the hoodie is supposed to say?
Sources
Image credits: Screenshots from a video by @walkintheparktravel on Instagram, as published by WDW News Today.
