Summer has arrived and Universal Studios has officially opened their new Tribute Store which is always a unique experience. In previous versions they have had special medallions, but they were absent from the Holiday store so we will have to cross our fingers that the machine has returned.

The store has again returned to the Hollywood section of the park. There was talk about it returning to the New York section by the Mummy attraction but that seems to not be the case.

Each Tribute Store usually has a theme and this one is no different. This version is setup to be kind of like a retro strip mall that contains a Mega Video Rental Store, the Mega Castle Arcade and a Tribute Theater.

When you first enter the store you find yourself inside the Mega Video Rental Store. The employee desk is incredibly detailed and scattered with all sorts of easter eggs. The walls are lined with faux video tapes to rent and are of some actual Universal movies, plus a few Halloween Horror Night exclusives.

The second area is the Mega Castle Arcade decked out with plenty of black lights and neon all along the walls. There are some arcade games available and this is also where you will find the sweet treat counter.

Many of the snacks here are similar to previous versions just updated with different decorations. I loved the way these cake pops looked celebrating E.T. Jaws and Shrek.

The arcade is also home to a brand new collectible medallion machine. The cost has remained unchanged (unlike Disney) and are $5 each or you can get the full set of four designs (or four of one design if you like) for $15 which I think is a great deal. All four designs have the same design on the reverse which is just the Universal Studios Florida globe logo and copyright information along the bottom.

The medallions this time around I think have really great designs with plenty of little details. First we have a Jaws coin with large Shark mouth, Bite Me, The Original Amity Island, Beaches Closed. So many little nods to the movie this was is really great. Next is a Back to the Future design with the Delorean in flight and 1985 across the bottom along with a few Hazard logos you may recognize. Third is of E.T. with his healing finger and Phone Home in the center. Lastly is the iconic ECTO-1 from Ghostbusters.

Now I know we have the coins and probably just want to leave, but the last room in the Tribute Store is themed like a Movie Theater lobby. Decked out with some classic Coming Soon posters, and plenty of merchandise.

This room was fun and each wall was decorated for a different movie, E.T. , Ghostbusters and Back to the Future. There were some amazing decorations up high along the perimeter of the ceiling but honestly most of the merchandise in this area I’ve seen before and in other Universal stores.

The arcade was definitely my favorite room and brought me back to weekends when I was much younger spending hours and hours playing video games. Thankfully there was much less smoking that there was in the old days, and we got this great set of new collectible medallions. The Tribute Store will be around through the end of July and early August at the latest but then it will be transitioned into the Halloween version so don’t take too long in visiting and getting your set of coins.

Keep on Collecting!

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