Nickelodeon hotel attempting Ninja Turtles gathering record this weekend for release of TMNT

Friday sees the debut of the much-anticipated (for good and bad) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action reboot, courtesy of summer tentpole carnival barker Michael Bay’s production company.

And while we would love to just run a photo gallery of Megan Fox (cast as April O’Neil), we instead want to talk about another TMNT return happening this weekend: the largest gathering of people dressed as Ninja Turtles.

On Saturday, the Nickelodeon Suites Resort in Orlando, Fla., will attempt to be just the third successful group to break the record for the largest gathering of TMNT’ers in the six-year history of the record.

The Nick Hotel, as it’s referred to, has deemed 2014 the “TMNT Summer of Shell,” but if they plan on doing Leo, Donny, Raf, and Mikey proud, they have big shells to fill.

(Although not literally – full shells or body costumes aren’t required for the record; a green TMNT top, mask, and/or facepaint, however, are)

In March 2012, the current-record 836 people dressed as Ninja Turtles (above) to help open the TMNT Shell Shock ride at the Nickelodeon Universe theme park inside Minnesota’s Mall of America.

While all participants received a green TMNT t-shirt and colored mask, many attendees brought their own homemade costumes. Some fans even drove overnight for a spot in line to set history and open the park.

In April 2008, students from Rutgers University (above) established the first attempt at this record, gathering 786 fans dressed together for the cause, helping celebrate the 25 ^th anniversary of the heroes in a half shell.

And now, with the rest of the nation catching turtle-fever at the box office, the pizza torch has passed to The Nick Hotel. We’ll see how well the box office and the record books respond.

Nobody wants to disappoint Master Splinter.

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