POPEYE AND HIS PALS HEAD SOUTH TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

CHESTER, Ill. -- Popeye is heading south.

Executives from King Features Syndicate, Universal Studios Florida and MCA Inc. were in the comics character's hometown last weekend to announce that Popeye, Wimpy, Olive Oyl and others from the cartoon cast will be key players in an Orlando, Fla., theme park.

Universal Studios Florida, a $650 million theme park and working movie/TV studio that opened in 1990 on 200 acres a few miles north of Walt Disney World, is expanding, and Popeye will be a part of that expansion by MCA.

The $2 billion expansion for Universal, to 840 acres, will include four theme hotels and villages, including "Sweethaven," a special town for Popeye and his pals.

The expansion of Universal was announced a year ago. Last April, Universal Studios and ITT Sheraton Corp. agreed on four theme hotels. Two months later, Universal and Marvel Entertainment Group Inc. announced an agreement for the licensing of Marvel Comics characters -- Spider Man, X-Men, Incredible and others -- for one of the theme parks.

The announcement of Popeye's "Sweethaven" came Saturday during the annual Popeye Picnic in the hometown of Popeye's creator, Elzie Segar.

King Features President Joseph D'Angelo, Universal Studios President Tom Williams and RCA Recreation Services Group Chairman Ron Bension jointly announced the plans for the new theme park to be called "Universal's Islands of Adventure."

Another area of new development at Universal will be a park based on the hit movie, "Jurassic Park," Bension said.

"We have a lot more things up our sleeves," he said.

Construction schedules are being worked out.

Bension said shopping and entertainment areas will be built first, followed by the first two hotels.

Universal hopes to open the Island of Adventure by mid-1999. The company also plans to build a tennis center, golf course and meeting facilities.

Angelo said Popeye has been in print continuously since 1929. About 100 newspapers carry the strip in the United States, and another 100 carry it overseas.

King and MCA declined to discuss details of the licensing agreement. King is a part of Herst Corp., and MCA is owned by Japan's consumer electronics giant, Matsushita Electric Industrial. MCA owns Universal City in a joint venture with a British entertainment company, Rank Organization PLC.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot statue of Popeye will continue to welcome visitors as they cross the Mississippi River bridge. And, the annual Popeye Picnic will continue each September.

"We had a great turnout for this year's Popeye Picnic," said Mike Brooks, president of the national Popeye fan Club. More than 200 members attended the Popeye Club dinner.

The 1994 extravaganza, which ended Sunday, marked the 100th anniversary of Elzie Segar, Popeye's creator. It's also the 65th year for Popeye himself, who has been featured in more films than any other animated character or human film star in history.