It's April 30, 1992. I'm a 9 year old in my living room 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. 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 was like "I wanna be there when they open 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. 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 hear 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
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.
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 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 it would stay. It was announced that a new animation studio was being built in Burbank, California. 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.
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!
But really, if you know the exact spot in the 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.
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