If you've strolled through the New York section of Universal Studios Florida lately, you've probably noticed things looking a little rough around the edges — and intentionally so. Construction walls, scaffolding, and scrim have been steadily accumulating near Finnegan's Bar & Grill, and this week the work zone got a bit bigger.
Finnegan's has been closed since early January after being completely gutted. Scaffolding and plain scrim went up around the bar's facade back in June, and those were eventually swapped out for printed scrims designed to mimic the building's appearance. The venue is expected to remain closed through the rest of 2026.
Now the project appears to be expanding next door. Construction walls and scaffolding have spread to cover the adjacent Priscilla Hotel facade — a decorative building that's part of the New York streetscape theming. That scaffolding is currently wrapped in plain black scrim, though themed printed scrims may follow, mirroring what happened at Finnegan's. One of the fake hotel's architectural overhangs is still visible between the coverings, peeking out between layers of construction materials.
The Priscilla Hotel facade isn't a functioning building, but it's a familiar part of the street's atmosphere, and the activity suggests it's in line for the same kind of exterior sprucing up that Finnegan's is getting. No timeline for that portion of the work has been announced.
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Construction updates were first reported by WDWNT.
