Integrated Shade Hardware Spotted at Universal Kids Resort
We’ve already documented how Universal Kids Resort is being designed with plenty of natural shade. Last month, the park took delivery of several massive Texas live oaks. Today, we spotted another shade strategy, this time, the engineered kind.
Several large poles destined to support shade sails are currently staged in the resort’s main parking lot. Before diving into photo edits, I sent Aahs n Oohs a quick iPhone snapshot of the hardware. His response came almost immediately: “That’s an anchor point. Maybe for a shade structure?”
That’s when it clicked.
The poles look just like the integrated shade structures you’ll find at every Frisco elementary school. And there’s a reason for that. It gets hot here. Unbearably hot. Kids on playgrounds need protection from the sun, just like they will in the many free-play areas planned for Universal Kids Resort.
The massive hardware comes in four colors: teal, orange, white, and brown. Each includes one or more lug plates, which serve as attachment points for the shade sails. We also spotted a handful of smaller-diameter poles mixed in.
Where we expect shade
During a Frisco Rotary Club meeting last month, Universal Kids Resort Vice President and General Manager Dan Cuffe told attendees that the park’s free-play areas will include these canopies. He also made it clear that the concept art doesn’t show every planned canopy. That tells us these structures will likely appear in several areas throughout the park.
We did find two areas with integrated shade in the renderings. The first is just inside the park entrance in Isle of Curiosity.
The other can be found in Jurassic World Adventure Camp. Look for the shaded play area in the very center of this image.
Other candidates for shade are Shrek’s Swamp Splash & Smash and Pineapple Paradise, a wet play area in SpongeBob SquarePants Bikini Bottom. The teal and orange poles, in particular, feel like a match for that land’s theming.
Universal’s concept art also reveals smaller shade structures in Shrek’s Swamp, TrollsFest, and Minions Vs. Minions: Bello Bay Club.
Concept art rarely tells the full story, especially when it comes to infrastructure like shade. But with mature trees already on site and purpose-built shade structures waiting in the wings, it’s clear Universal Kids Resort is treating sun protection as a core design feature.
