A Day in the Park with Barney

A Day in the Park with Barney was a show at Universal Studios Florida. It opened in 1995, on the former site of The Bates Motel Set used in Psycho IV: The Beginning. It is based on the children's television show, Barney & Friends. It also had a "Barney's Backyard" playground area with a chance to meet Barney in a meet and greet session before and/or after the main show in the Barney Theater. It was one of the few places where Bob West's voice could still be heard and one of Universal Studios' attempts to appeal to the younger generation.

A Day in the Park with Barney
Universal Studios Florida
AreaWoody Woodpecker's KidZone
StatusClosed
Opening dateJuly 11, 1995 (July 11, 1995)
Closing dateAugust 9, 2020 (August 9, 2020)
ReplacedThe Bates Motel Set (1990–1995)
General statistics
ThemeBarney & Friends
Duration30 minutes
Pre-show hostMr. Peek-a-Boo

Exterior

Outside of the attraction stands a large sign that reads "A Day in the Park with Barney". A bronze Barney statue stands on one foot inside of a fountain. The statue of Barney is all black and is in the same position as on the Barney's Great Adventure poster. The statue is 9 feet and 5 inches in height.

Show

Queue

The guests empty from the lines into a covered pre-show area with an odd-looking house facade, covered in pipes, knobs and doors. The setting for the pre-show is decorated very much like a child would imagine it; colors, bright lights, and even a rainbow over the house. The house is owned by the pre-shows conductor "Mr. Peek-a-Boo" who has not yet made his appearance when the guests enter into the pre-show area. Different songs and sounds are heard through the pre-show area as guest wait for the show to start, and time allows more people to make their way into the area.

Pre-show

The show started with the pre-show host, Patrick Alyosius Bartholomew (Mr. Peek-A-Boo for short) and his parrot, Bartholomew. Peek-A-Boo is a very close friend to Barney, Baby Bop and BJ. He is an elderly person, but soon proves to the audience that a viewer's only older in age since Peek-A-Boo's spirit is much like that of a child. Peek-A-Boo is a consistently forgetful character, but once a viewer is reminded what to do, Peek-A-Boo takes pride in reuniting the children with Barney. A song and dance routine then takes place with a few comedy gags in between. Trying to find the door to Barney's Park, Peek-A-Boo fails to realize that you have to use your imagination. Peek-A-Boo soon remembers and tells the audience to close their eyes and imagine a park (the show's theater). The rain waterfall that blocks the door (decorated to look like a cave) stops dripping, which shows it worked. Peek-A-Boo tells everyone that a viewer will meet them inside.

Main show

Inside is an air-conditioned theater, designed to look like a park. In the center, there is an elevated, circular stage in the middle where Barney, Baby-Bop and BJ perform with three ramps equally positioned on each side. In various points of the show, the theater lights change the setting from a sunny day to a starry night. In addition, snow, leaves, and rain fall from the ceiling during certain songs. There is also a special lightning effect for the image of a thunder storm during the point in the show where Barney and his friends prepare to sing "If All the Raindrops". Peek-A-Boo greets the audience and tells them to use their imagination to make Barney appear. Peek-A-Boo starts the show by asking everyone to chant, "Barney!". The lights dim and soft music plays as stars appear in the darkness. Barney appears via a trap door in the middle of the stage (and is thrown up in the air) and yells "Whoa!" as the crowd cheers, his theme song "Barney Is A Dinosaur" plays in the background, the lights turn on and confetti cannons explode with glitter, recreating his transformation on the television series.

Barney sings two songs (If You're Happy and You Know It/Imagine a Place) before Baby Bop and BJ make their appearances. Soon after that, They sing "Mr. Knickerbocker" "Down on Grandpa's Farm" and "If All the Raindrops". During the latter song, air fans in the ceiling drop mist and streams of water on the audience, and small pieces of what is imagined to be snow (soap flakes) on the crowd. After the song, Barney mentions how he has had a wonderful time with all of the guests, and says that only one song is left to finish off the day. The characters hold hands, and wrap the show the way they do on the television series with the song "I Love You". Baby Bop and B.J. make their exits on one of the ramps while Barney ends the show by saying, "And remember, I love you," and blows a kiss goodbye as streamers shoot from confetti cannons behind the hills. As children pick up confetti and streamers from the ground (they are actually allowed to), Peek-A-Boo then escorts the entire audience to Barney's Backyard, where everyone soon exits.

Post-show

After the show, guests exited out into Barney's Backyard, an indoor activity center for children, where they can also get their picture taken with Barney himself. At times this area will also have Barney's friends Baby Bop and BJ but usually Barney is by himself. The backyard is filled with games, colors, sounds and pods, that children can step on. There is a large colorful train near where Barney stands to have his picture taken that children can get inside and crawl through, and press different buttons to hear Barney say different things like "A train goes choo choo!". There is also a large tree house the children can climb inside and run around and play in with yet more buttons that they can press to hear Barney's voice. After the "A Day in the Park with Barney" show has ended, and the guests have filed into the backyard area, the lines for picture to be taken with Barney are usually short, and have an approximately 5-minute wait to meet the character. After children finish taking pictures with Barney, the dinosaur then leaves the backyard, and goes into the backstage showroom where they begin preparation for the next show. Music and different songs from the show are played throughout the backyard, as children play and run around. NOTE: Barney only stands in the Barney's Backyard area for 10–15 minutes.

COVID-19 pandemic

On March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, the show was temporarily closed, but reopened during the reopening in May/June of 2020 to only shut down again on August 9, 2020 which at the time was temporary, but on February 3, 2021, Universal Orlando published on their Twitter account that indeed the show had permanently closed.[1]


Songs

(1995–2020)
  1. Barney Theme Song
  2. If You're Happy and You Know It
  3. Imagine a Place
  4. Mr. Knickerbocker
  5. Down on Grandpa's Farm
  6. If All the Raindrops
  7. I Love You

Christmas Show
  1. Barney Theme Song
  2. Jingle Bells
  3. Frosty the Snowman
  4. Mr. Knickerbocker
  5. Down on Grandpa's Farm
  6. Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
  7. I Love You
  8. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
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