20 More Years - The Nickelodeon Time Capsule

Nickelodeon Studios, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida 1992-2006:

It's April 30, 1992. I'm a 9 year old in my living room, living in San Diego, California, watching Nickelodeon. For weeks they had been advertising the burial of a time capsule in front of their studios in Universal Studios Florida. Today was the day they were burying it. I remember Mike O'Malley and Joey Lawrence hosted the ceremony. In the middle of it all, fake Doc Brown drove up to make sure there was still Gak 50 years into the future. Finally, they put the Kid-Cam - a video camera held by a girl named Vikki Horn - in the capsule, closed it up and lowered it. 

I'm not sure why, but the idea that this time capsule was being buried for 50 years appealed to me. Suddenly I felt like I wanted to be there when they opened it 50 years from now. I then promised myself that I would be there when it happened. Afterwards, I put some toys in a small box and "buried" it under my stairs for about a month until I wanted my toys back. ​

And then seemingly, nothing happened for a long time. The advertisements stopped and nobody spoke of it on the channel. However, if you visited Nickelodeon Studios in Universal Studios, Florida, you could see the burial marker for the time capsule in front of Studio 18, right next to the slime geyser. 

Full marker includes a green splat

Detailed view of the marker

The '90s became the 2000s and I eventually grew up. Then I heard the news that Nickelodeon Studios would be closing after 15 years. My immediate question was whether or not they were going to keep the time capsule there. The studio officially closed on April 30, 2005. The following month, they removed the Slime Geyser, but the time capsule marker remained... until August of 2006.  

Slime Geyser removed, but the time capsule marker remained

Time capsule and marker replaced with a concrete slab

Update:09/24/2022:
I recently found out that the burial marker that once laid there was kept by a studio staffer once the time capsule itself was removed. The marker is solid metal with a diameter of 42 inches that weighs almost 45 pounds.

Current satellite image of Building 17, Studio 18 and Studio 19 of Universal Studios Florida (former Nickelodeon Studios). The 1st green rectangle is approximately the location of where according to the video, the time capsule was buried. However, the time capsule was actually buried where the 3rd green square is. The 2nd splat on the map was where the Slime Geyser was located before being removed.

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Nickelodeon Suites Resort, Orlando, Florida 2006-2016:

Suddenly the question became: Where's the time capsule?

Turns out as they closed Nickelodeon Studios, they were opening Nickelodeon Suites Resort, also in Orlando, Florida. The time capsule was quietly transferred to the hotel and reburied in front of their lobby with an updated marker. The fandom soon found out and it became a tourist attraction. 

The time capsule at it's brand new location

Detailed look at the burial marker

Fast forwarding to 2016. I'm now 33 years old and divorced when I hear that the Nickelodeon Suites Resort would close. Once again the same question came up of whether or not the time capsule would stay. Turns out, it didn't. 

After the hotel closed, the time capsule and marker were removed from the front of the lobby. The tiles show the obvious disturbance in the patterns.

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Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Burbank California 2016-2022:

It was soon announced that Nickelodeon's Animation Studio, which moved to Burbank in 1998, was being expanded to add new buildings and a courtyard. It was confirmed in this article that the animation studio would be the next resting place for the time capsule.  The following year, after the ribbon cutting ceremony, it was confirmed by this tweet that the capsule was reburied in their courtyard.​

Click to go to the tweet

However, there seems to be no picture of the burial marker or the exact spot in the courtyard where the time capsule is buried. I sat through many videos and pictures of the studio's courtyard and well... this is my best guess:

This is the courtyard of Nickelodeon's Animation Studio in Burbank as seen from above. I noticed that there is a white square object in the grassy area.

I started watching video of the studio's construction and realized at that exact spot, they had installed a square concrete hole. Could that be were they buried the Nickelodeon time capsule? And is the white square object we see the burial marker?

Nickelodeon Animation Studios courtyard during construction

Closer look at the concrete hole

The truth is I don't know. *dodges slime bucket*

​I haven't been able to find footage or pictures that shows the square in full detail, so unless someone who works or visits the studio takes a picture of it and posts it online, there's really no way to tell.

It is now April 30, 2022. I'm now 39 years old. When April 30, 2042 comes, I will be 59 years old. I hope to be alive and healthy enough to go to the event where they will inevitably unseal the time capsule. My promise to myself as a 9 year old is still going strong 30 years in. Only 20 more years to go!

Update 09/24/2022:
After going missing for 16 years, the original time capsule burial marker that sat in front of Studio 18 in Universal Studios Florida from 1992 to 2006 went into auction at Heritage Auction. It sold for $19,200. The back of the cover has a list of all the object that were put into the capsule. 

But really, if you know the exact spot in the current courtyard where the time capsule is buried, please take a picture of it and post it online and send me a link on my twitter account.