A Deep Dive Into Classic Universal Studios Florida (Complete)

nobody else grabs you twists you turns you curls you shakes you shoots you rocks you loves you and puts you right in the middle of all the action and adventure you've seen on the screen not anyone if you want to go on the greatest rides based on the biggest movies there's only one place you can you've got to go to orlando and go to universal studios florida the number one movie studio and theme park in the world universal studios florida the only place on earth where you can ride the movies in spring of 2021 universal orlando moved its main merchandise store and citywalk to a new and larger location this new store follows the trend of other theme park retail sitting in a generic space that can be slightly re-themed when new seasonal merchandise drops however universal decided to leave the store's former location intact slightly re-theming it instead to the universal legacy store walking in this retail space acts not just as an opportunity to sell more retro merchandise but also works as a celebration of the history of the resort the content of the store itself is fascinating using models and props to represent both current and past attractions however it is also a reminder of how different universal studios florida was when it first opened in 1990 it reminds me of how epcot center when it opened in 1982 was a completely different park from what we know today featuring many classic but extinct attractions that park has devolved from what it once was and has essentially become unrecognizable in its front half in the same vein as this universal studios florida as we now know it is completely unrecognizable from the park it once was today when we walk in we'll find an abundance of screen-based experiences and a handful of decent rides and shows however the park has essentially changed so much that through its long history of demolishing attractions and replacing them it has transformed into something completely different the one single experience that still remains is the et adventure a classic reminder of what the park once used to be as universal continues to explode in popularity especially with their new park on the way i think it's time to tell the story of the classic park that universal essentially demolished i would like to take a look back at the incredibly advanced and creative attractions that defines that park reminiscing and reflecting on what we're missing today why were such impressive attractions like jaws or confrontation replaced their ambitious scope hasn't really been matched since and i think it's important to highlight what universal once was exploring the reasons for why this park has been torn down and reinvented [Music] with that being said join me today as we ride the movies back in time to classic universal studios florida [Music] [Music] carl wemley immigrated to the united states and settled in chicago in 1884. as a young immigrant from germany lemley relied on working miscellaneous jobs and taking loans from his older brother who had settled in the united states 12 years prior however after about 10 years of trying his hand at different professions and having become fluent in english when we spotted an opportunity and took the job of bookkeeper for the continental clothing company a retail chain located in oshkosh wisconsin while essentially an accountant the job allowed him to try his hand at advertising and having been successful in helping to create a strong brand for the company eventually found himself in a cozy management position intending to use his saved money to start his own retail chain he one day observed the popularity of a nickelodeon and realized that the new moving pictures industry could be quite lucrative [Music] just a quick note for those who don't know nickelodeons were the first movie theaters showing short films for the cost of a nickel the name is derived from the five-cent admission price in conjunction with the greek word odion essentially meaning a theater with a roof in 1906 limway quickly moved to open his own nickelodeon the white front on milwaukee avenue in chicago he then quickly opened a second called the family theater because the film distribution process was to put it lightly inconsistent and messy in the early days of the industry memory also opened his own film exchange in the same year this allowed him to secure higher quality and more entertaining films without fear of them being poached by other theaters in addition to opening up better communication channels with the producers of course his services extended to other theaters as well and by 1908 wembley film service had offices across the united states becoming the largest film distributor in the country his success undoubtedly came from jumping on the opportunity of a rising industry but his advertising and marketing experience played a large role in this as well by offering a square deal in contrast to the shady practices of other film exchanges lemley's business gained a strong and trustworthy reputation in 1912 lenway and a number of other independent film producers were found to universal pictures and lovely would later become soul owner in 1915 as film production ramped up he realized that he would need to expand and move the entire production unit first from chicago to new york and then shortly from there to california with lands being cheap and with a desirable climate lumley settled universal pictures in san fernando valley on a former chicken farm and incorporated the studio into a city known as universal city from the start limbo believed in advertising as directly as possible opening up the studio to tours from the public people could pay an admission fee of 25 cents to receive a boxed lunch and to watch his movies were being filmed however as the era of the silent film came to an end so too did the studio tours crowds of tourists would generate far too much noise to produce films with them nearby and so the studio would close its gates to the public around 1930 as films will sound would become the norm [Music] for 30 years the studio would remain close to the public until 1961. with the rising popularity of television studios in hollywood had to find more creative ways to make money among diminishing returns on their films [Music] noticing the popularity of guided bus tours in hollywood universal would outsource to the greyline bus company where tourists would be treated to a script provided by the studio highlighting the functionality of the campus and promoting new films as part of the program tourists would be dropped off at the commissary to help boost food sales at the struggling studio however universal would really open the studio back up in 1964 with the introduction of the glamour trams for a fee of two dollars and fifty cents visitors would tour the studio back out on the trams and be entertained through a number of different demonstrations this would include an exhibition of various movie costumes a dressing room walkthrough a movie makeup demonstration and a small western shootout stunt show as the transform continued to gain popularity over the years major additions would be added three major staples of the tour would premiere under the direction of barry upson leading the earliest team for universal creative the first of these was the flash flood introduced in 1968. the tram would drive into a mexican town where the guide would make a demonstration of different rain and thunderstorm effects pretending that the effects went out of control the scene is triggered allowing water to rush down towards the tram and destroying the town another of these effects is the parting of the red sea debuting in 1973 and draining part of park lake allowing the tram to move down through it [Music] the following year the collapsing bridge would be added which seems pretty self-explanatory various scenes would come and go over the years but the first sign of life for universal studios florida would premiere in 1976 [Music] [Music] following the popularity of steven spielberg's jaws just a year prior the tram tour would incorporate the jaws experience bringing guests up close with the rampaging great white shark from the film in 1986 an even more ambitious scene would have the trams exit new york street and drive into a sound stage here they would witness the destruction of new york city as the tram drove right up to the impressively sized king kong animated figure hanging onto the bridge kong would shake it violently and guests could smell bananas on his breath as he roared at the tram one last significant addition to the train tour would be in 1988 with the inclusion of earthquake in this particular scene based on the 1974 film the trams would drive into an underground metro station which would suddenly be rocked by an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the richter scale from there guests would witness the chaos that would ensue the tram tour was the main attraction for the studio but as it evolved other shows and attractions would be added to the lot as well slowly evolving it into a full theme park based around movie production however as it began to take shape an idea for an east coast studio and theme park located in orlando florida would start to be conceptualized in 1981 universal's parent company at the time mca sent president of the recreation services to meet with executives at paramount to propose a possible joint venture in building the park among the paramount executives was the president michael eisner it appears that no progress was made in that meeting as paramount never committed to the project but as many watching this know eisner would later be offered the position of ceo at disney it would take the role in 1984 in the following year eiser would announce that disney would be building their own studio park at walt disney world in conjunction with mgm known as disney mgm studios including an alleged similar layout to the universal plans and both tram and walking tours mca executives were furious to discover that eiser had essentially stolen their park plans in an effort to snuff them out however as they had no partners to go forward on the project with the wind had been taken out of the sails for the new florida park this would change when the kong scene on the tram tour would premiere showing mca and universal that a theme park was a viable competitor to disney if done on a more ambitious scale the kong animatronic was also worked on by peter alexander a former disney imagineer and college roommate of steven spielberg having invited spielberg to the sound stage during the testing phase and having been impressed spielberg asked him to develop a new attraction based around back to the future the story goes that as george lucas had just finished with the development of star tours at disneyland in 1987 he had teased spielberg that universal could never create anything like it in an effort to prove him wrong in seeing the technical capabilities of kong spielberg not only helped develop back to the future as a major attraction but signed on as a creative for universal giving them new confidence in going forward with the florida park while universal studios sparta would still be utilized as a working movie studio also including a tram tour and bringing over various shows from the hollywood park it would also shoot for something more ambitious it would take certain segments from the hollywood transform like kong earthquake and jaws turning them into exciting and bombastic full-blown attractions running full speed ahead mca would partner with cineplex odeon corporation to fund and announce the project in december of 1986. after three years of construction universal studios florida would open in 1990 just one year after the premiere of disney mgm studios [Music] just a quick favor but the time effort and research that goes into these videos can be pretty extensive if you enjoy these video essays you can help the channel out by leaving like on the video or sharing it around with people who never really got to experience this early part i also recommend subscribing if you like this kind of stuff [Music] it's difficult to know where to start when covering this park so i think that we should begin with the main entrance working our way clockwise and discussing each attraction as we move through when we make our way to universal studios florida today we first have to travel through the shopping and dining district of universal citywalk before making a right and passing the universal globe before entering the iconic archways of the park however in the early days citywalk didn't exist if visitors would park in a lot directly in front of the entrance before you entered the park a different but still iconic globe would greet you and the main entrance was flanked by gargoyles which you can see up close at the universal legacy store today as you move into the park the first area that guests would find themselves in was production central in this area guests could see sound stages that hosted various in-park shows but could also see others that were really used for film and television production making a left guests would find themselves at nickelodeon studios on the outskirts of the park which really did act as a working studio for the nickelodeon television channel i'll cover that a little bit later but i would first like to cover the production tram tour which was a short-lived attraction that opened with the park and only ran until 1995. to experience this attraction guests would board the tram right next to nickelodeon studios it would take them backstage alongside the working sound stages the guide on the tram would highlight films and television shows that had been filmed there before then circling back to the park and entering an area known as the boneyard here discarded movie props from famous films were on display to give you a sense of bearing the boneyard was located where the music plaza stage is located today from here the tram would then enter either the new york or hollywood sections of the park changing the route depending on if there was any active filming going on it was more likely that the tram would enter new york first with the guide pointing out various attractions and listing out films that had utilized this area of the park for a movie set i'm sure you've also noticed that the tram just makes its way through crowds of park goers which i was surprised to find out about as well moving along the tram passes a sound stage that hosted various shows and makes a right into hollywood where the tram guide continues to list film productions that use the various facades exiting hollywood the tram moves back through production central and drops the riders back off in front of nickelodeon studios i think it's obvious why the tran tour didn't stick around as it lacked the depth of the hollywood version spending the majority of its time trying to interrupt people walking around the park while early universal studios florida did also have its fair share of film and television production though the tour didn't really show you anything interesting other than the gray walls of the sound stages making for what appears to be an underwhelming experience still despite having some production going on the park never really became the movie making center on the east coast that i wanted to be an issue that disney mgm studios encountered as well in fact the majority of production from universal's florida park came from nickelodeon studios which was allowed to move in rent free in exchange for public tours and promotion of the park on their channel out front visitors would encounter the iconic slime geyser having been added a few months after the park had opened it would shoot out water that had been dyed green guests to the studio would embark on a 45 minute walking tour first taking nickelodeon themed escalators up to the second floor from there the tour would take them to see various production elements like a central control room it would also go through viewing areas where nickelodeon game show sets on sound stages could be viewed walking downstairs guests would see the wardrobe department and gak kitchen where one lucky kid would be able to consume some signature nickelodeon slime finally the tour would end in an audition room where kids could audition to participate in the shows being filmed though as far as i can tell this was oftentimes more of a show rather than an actual audition that being said because universal promised guests that they would be able to view a live production pretty much whenever they visited and because that obviously wasn't the case the audition room was later changed to a false game show titled game lab where kids from the tour would participate and one of them would be slimed at the conclusion nickelodeon studios while popular in the first half of the 90s would continue to decline in production due to corporate changes at the company opting instead to move filming to sound stages located in california over the years with this came the rise and popularity of nickelodeon's animated series turning away from game shows and effectively becoming the focus of the network in 2001 with essentially no filming going on at this point the nickelodeon studio tour was shortened to a 10-minute walkthrough downstairs with guests participating in an abbreviated version of game lab the tour could not continue limping on though and despite some half-hearted attempts at reviving it like giving the facade a new paint job the final tour will be held on april 30th 2005. going through some minor construction and a new paint job the former nickelodeon studios would be removed from the park now converted into a theater hosting blue man group and opening as part of universal citywalk in 2007. from this point forward the show would run until the shutdown of 2020 and now has been permanently removed [Music] while we have yet to get to the more exciting attractions found further in the park production central did host a number of different experiences and shows that i find interesting if we start again from the front of the park and move past the street that leads to nickelodeon studios and the production train tour we will first encounter the fantastic world of hannah barbera on the left which was a simulator attraction that would take visitors into the iconic cartoons of the hanna-barbera production company after waiting through the outside portion of the queue visitors would enter a pre-show room where yogi bear would approach the guests asking them for food booboo then shows up and tells them to stop pestering people announcing that everyone is here for an animation demonstration yogi replies that he's happy to do it but he doesn't actually know how the process works booboo says he doesn't know either but that's probably why the big bosses william hannah and joseph barbara are here viewers then turn to a different screen where hannah and barbara are addressing scooby-doo fred flintstone barney rubble and george and jane jetson directing them to stage 14 for a new production as they leave hannah and barbara start to talk a little bit about the animation process and the many iconic characters that they've drawn over the years including the villain dick dasterly barbera then starts to demonstrate by drawing elroy jetson who comes to life as he's being drawn hannah then speaks about how computers are changing the animation industry as the computer draws dastardly spaceship once finished dastardly and his sidekick motley rise out of the cockpit where dastardly gloats about how deliciously evil he is and how he should star in the next henna barbara cartoon however he's told that elroy would be next and in his anger he states that if he can't be the star no one will be mutley then shoots a plunger at elroy reeling him into the ship and kidnapping him as they escape into the computer causing it to start to malfunction and transform into a black hole yogi and booboo then ask the guests to quickly hurry through the opening doors and board the rockets where they'll give chase to dastardly to get elroy back [Music] okay folks once seated the ride sequence starts where the simulator vehicle is lift up in conjunction with the action on the screen booboo asks how the rockets are powered and yogi replies that they're just going to be using a big rubber band right does the guest for slingshot 3 portal to bedrock catching up to dastardly and motley the rockets chase them through the canyons of mr slate's construction site before then encountering fred flintstone and entering the town [Music] throughout the chase a series of gags playouts before then launching back into the sky and chasing dastardly through another portal entering a graveyard the rockets encounter shaggy and scooby in the mystery machine and then veer off to follow dastardly into a haunted castle here the writers encounter shaggy and scoby again as well as some ghosts before then crashing through a wall and entering another portal to continue the chase [Music] finally the rockets end up in orbit city flying through buildings and dodging flying cars eventually the jetsons join the chase which continues into a floating theme park [Music] the rockets follow dastardly onto a roller coaster track the jetsons attempt to recover elroy and eventually succeed in doing so [Music] dastardly and mighty then crash into a building destroying their rocket and are then picked up by the police the jetsons thank the riders and the rocket now flies back to the launch station and approaches for a crash landing at the end of the runway a large balloon stops the momentum throwing yogi out of the vehicle thanking them for joining him on the ride uh yeah meant to do that so folks thanks for joining in the ride as guests exit the attraction they would enter an area where kids could meet with many of the iconic characters and could then play with a number of interactive exhibits [Music] the fantastic world of hanna-barbera opens with a park in 1990 and would continue running until 2002. in 2003 it would retain the same ride system but would incorporate a new film and open as jimmy neutron's neptune blast working as a spiritual successor by having guests sport rockets and following jimmy neutron through various equiloading cartoons [Music] finally this attraction would close in 2011 reopening again as despicable me minion mayhem in 2012 still using the same ride system in the building today [Music] across the street from hanovera was alfred hitchcock the art of making movies a show that highlighted filmmaking through the lens of the iconic director guests would first enter the building and see movie posters and props from some of hitchcock's more famous films from there they would enter a pre-show room where guests were handed 3d glasses soon a film would start introduced by hitchcock using archive footage of him and displaying iconic scenes from his most popular films suddenly the screen would seem to tear apart where crows would appear with a 3d effect attacking the audience and lifted from the film the birds once this portion concludes guests are then moved into a theater for the main portion of the show inside the theater was a small recreation of the bates motel from psycho in a video would play hosted by anthony perkins the actor who played the murderous norman bates in the film he would explain how innovative the film was for the time using different camera angles and movements to convey the action of the knife to convincingly film the murder in the iconic shower scene a stage in front of the audience would contain a set recreating that particular scene and the show director would pick out an audience member to portray norman bates from here a recreation of the scene would play out where an actress in a skin-colored bodysuit would be murdered by bates and the footage would be spliced into other pre-filmed shots to create a full scene at the conclusion of this segment perkins would reappear and provide information on how the scene was shot in the original film once the video ends the scene is recreated again but this time from a different angle putting a black screen over the face of the volunteer to help illustrate how certain shots from the film are executed finally perkins appears one last time to present the original scene a shot for the film interrupted by a flash of lightning the director is then chased by the guest dressed as norman bates who then turns and stalks members of the audience [Music] he then approaches the shower set to find the hiding show director pulling the curtain back and revealing that the original volunteer is still in the same place he then pulls off the mask to reveal that he's one of the stage crew illustrating the concept of the plot twist that hitchcock helped popularize as a method for storytelling in film once the show ends viewers funnel into a post show area where a number of different demonstrations from hitchcock's films can be viewed the first of these is from saboteur where guests from the crowd can be chosen to simulate falling off of the statue of liberty another segment had volunteers reenacting the out-of-control carousel fight scene from strangers on a train last visitors could grab a pair of binoculars and look out into a building set based on the film rear window they would look out into the various scenes attempting to spot a murderer before he spotted them the post show area was also full of educational material in addition to showing iconic clips of hitchcock's films [Music] while alfred hitchcock the art of making movies isn't as well known as the more ambitious attractions that define to the early park it still played a significant thematic role in that it went behind the scenes and showed visitors how certain aspects of filmmaking were pulled off i also admire how it aims to be educational trying to highlight why hitchcock was such an innovative director and how the methods he used in his films helped change the industry [Music] the attraction would close in january 2003 gutting the stages and reopening the same year in may as the theater show shrek 4d which would survive until its permanent closure in january of 2022 [Music] production central would stretch down to the park's lagoon with the building located there hosting an attraction based on the popular show murder she wrote known as the murder she wrote mystery theater the show inside would showcase different facets of producing a television episode the first room would have guests watch a short film hosted by angela lansbury the actress who played the main character of jessica fletcher for the show [Music] here she congratulates the visitors on becoming executive producers and lists out the roles that they'll play through the post-production process the next room has everyone travel into a studio where a host covers how important editing can be to a final product she plays a clip of a surprise slansberry substituting in different shots like a firearm or a kissing couple to demonstrate how powerful editing can be in recontextualizing a scene a small clip then plays from a faux episode in which lansbury states that the killer forgot to clean the flower off of his shoes the actress playing the editor cheekily states that the director forgot about this one too to remedy this issue the editor demonstrates how computers can be used to add in effects like the flower on the shoes to help fix mistakes in the editing process next the show moves towards a sound effect or foley stage named after universal's own jack foley who helped pioneer how many sound effects were created for films here a new host demonstrates how sound effects are produced for television by bringing up some volunteers one comical example is having a kid roaring toy microphone before playing it over a clip of animatronic kong later various volunteers were chosen to help fill out the sound effects for an episode of murder she wrote from here the show would move into a final theater where its host would cover what happens with unclear dialogue here volunteers are picked out to provide an auto dialogue replacement which are segments of dialogue recorded by actors in post-production the volunteers are then given lines to read which are finally edited together into the final product for the episode like the arts of making movies i appreciate how the murder she wrote mystery theater focused on production but this time with television while not a particularly exciting show it was entertaining and educational for the viewers having opened in 1990 with the park the attraction was closed with the cancellation of the show in 1996 being replaced in 1997 with hercules and xena wizards of the screen this attraction will be based on two popular television shows hercules the legendary journeys and xena warrior princess the actual attraction itself would work a lot like murder she wrote bringing guests to various theaters where different elements of television production would be demonstrated also including audience participation as well i can't really cover the show in any depth because information and video on it is pretty scarce but despite not being an opening day attraction i still very much consider it as part of the classic era for universal studios florida by highlighting elements of production it still fit organically into the theme of the park and would close in 2000. the building would sit abandoned until 2004 when it hosted a halloween horror night's house it would later be condemned by the orange county health department in 2005. eventually the building was demolished in 2011 making way for transformers the ride in 2013 small attractions in production central would include the mca recording studio a small interactive exhibit that opens with the park and allowed guests to experiment with sound effects in film later it would be replaced with stage 54 in 1997 it worked as an area used to showcase props from upcoming universal films such as the lost world jurassic park and the 1999 reboot of the mummy this one then closed in 2003 becoming donkey's photo finish a meet and greet that still exists today even with the closure of shrek 4d to wrap up in production central and get onto the more exciting attractions an outdoor soundstage located adjacent to the murder she wrote mystery theater would host the rocky and bullwinkle show which opened in 1992 was based on the cartoon of the same name finally this was replaced the following year with star tunes another outdoor theater show that i cannot find any footage of but featured classic hannah barbera characters then closing in 1996 and being moved to kidzone as a meet and greet until 2008. [Music] the next area of the park is new york designed as a functional studio set when needed and historically hosting some of universal's best attractions the anchor e ticket for this area was confrontation an attraction designed as an expanded version of the king kong encounter from the universal hollywood tram tour the facade of the building was designed to emulate pennsylvania station a railroad hub for new york city built in 1910 as you enter the building a news broadcast plays out over the speaker's televisions throughout the queue relating that new york city is under attack by king kong and that authorities are doing everything they can to evacuate residents and take down the monster the lobby area then transitions into a new york subway station that's located right under the platform for the roosevelt island tramway interesting details throughout the queue include advertisements like you would see in a subway station and pretty extensive graffiti as you reach the ramps to go up and board the tramway you can look out into the city streets of the 1970s and see some surprisingly detailed facades that reveal a level of commitment to immersing riders into the environment i can't speak enough about how great this is because there's elements out there that most people would miss but are still present regardless acting as a true testament to how ambitious this early park really was moving up the ramps the guests then reached the station where they will board the trams suspended from the ceiling each featuring a tram driver who would deliver exposition and help sell the ride experience as the tram moves out to evacuate riders from the city you can look down over the incredibly detailed city streets as the tram turns a corner the driver exclaims that it looks like they're entering a war zone and riders can see a building on fire to their right authorities then come in over the tram's intercom warning the driver that kong is moving towards them and that they should stop the tram immediately the driver frantically replies that the tram is stuck in automatic it won't stop and suddenly points on something happening on the left side of the tram a helicopter spotlight shines onto a building revealing the shadow of kong as he's just around the corner as the continues forward riders can look down and see the destruction caused by the monster as a sparking utility pole begins to fall other elements include a destroyed fire hydrant an overturned ambulance and a derailed subway car bursting into flames as the tram rounds the corner another sparking utility pole is seen and riders can hear kong roaring as a silhouette appears on the bridge as the tram approaches searchlights simulate helicopters arriving as the tram driver yells that they're over 100 feet up and begs the helicopters not to start shooting the tram continues moving forward and the driver screams through everyone to hold on as the giant animatronic figure simulates hitting the tram having it shake violently like with the hollywood version being close to kong gives riders an opportunity to smell banana scents from the figure's breath suddenly kong takes out a helicopter as a static prop version on the bridge bursts into flame revealing the wreckage the tram manages to just escape making a right turn into another street the driver reassures riders that everything is okay and that they'll be returning to roosevelt station which is just around the corner suddenly kong's roars are heard again and the tram is blinded by the searchlight from another helicopter the driver yells at the pilot to turn the light out and as they do so a life-size helicopter is revealed on the left but another huge kong animatronic is suddenly revealed on the right the ride vehicle stops and the kong figure moves his hands underneath as the tram rises on the track simulating him picking everyone up now held up to kong's face the riders again smell his banana breath as he roars at the tram and the driver screams for help the helicopter fires at kong causing an explosion behind him resulting in the tram being let go it falls and flies forward dangerously then resuming motion and escaping away from kong as the helicopter continues to fire as the driver announces that they've escaped and made it back to the station a news report appears on the screen describing the close encounter of the train riders and kong splicing in reaction footage taken of the riders as the tram dropped while confrontation is largely forgotten today i still consider it one of the most ambitious attractions ever created while it suffered serious technical issues throughout its lifespan the ambitious scope of the ride just can't be matched especially with its full animated figures not only were the fully detailed new york sets impressively designed but the many show elements like the fog water and pyro effects were used to convincingly create a sense of danger the rye system was also used to help simulate kong either banging on the roof or picking up the tram it just continues to impress me how carefully these elements were used to make the ride experience feel convincing confrontation would close in 2002 and would be replaced by revenge of the mummy in 2004 while fundamentally different as an indoor roller coaster featuring many dark ride scenes mummy was definitely a worthy replacement despite how much i wish that kong was still there [Music] new york was also host to two other classic attractions the first of these being ghostbusters spooktacular and a vicious high budget show that opens with the park outside of the soundstage the iconic ghostbusters firehouse was present and as guests entered through an entrance adjacent to it they would find themselves in a theater once the show starts a set recreating the temple of gozer will light up behind large class panels revealing a tour guide who would give exposition on the ghostbusters franchise through this she expresses how she doesn't believe in ghosts and as she does so slimer appears behind her slimer and the other ghosts throughout the show are animatronic figures portrayed as translucent through the pepper's ghost effect as they're located under the stage and are reflected onto the glass in front of the audience as the host continues to provide exposition on how the temple scene was shot she reveals a twinkie on a platter that disappears as slimer consumes it with the host still oblivious to slimer he disappears as the set begins to rumble and other animatronic ghostly figures begin to appear suddenly the gates of the temple open and goeser walks out attacking the host she runs to a set phone and calls for help being attacked yet again suddenly the theme song begins to play as the ghostbusters appear using their proton packs to fight off the ghosts once finished gozer appears again dodging the proton fire as our heroes fail to defeat her the gates close as she declares that they must now choose their fate as to what monster she manifests as next recreating the scene from the film ray recalls the stay puft marshmallow man mascot and gozo now returns in that form the marshmallow man animatronic is the only one not using a pepper's ghost effect and the head which is twice the size of the heads from the kong figures rises up to the stage the ghostbusters battle gozer and eventually cause her to explode simulated through a fog effect that hides the figure as it retreats back under the stage while ghostbusters was well received as a show it did suffer from a lack of plot and was quite short only running in about 11 minutes because of this the attraction would be rewritten in 1993 becoming a longer experience than now started with a pre-show here guests would encounter an actor playing louis tully who announces that he's vice president of finance for the ghostbusters he first shows the room a commercial that attempts to recruit new members and as the commercial ends tully picks out volunteers from the crowd the first volunteer is a kid and tully will ask them to hold their hands out as he pours pink slime into them demonstrating what novice members will have to deal with the second volunteer is usually a middle-aged man that has a mind-reading machine placed on his head this machine is used to discover whether a customer really has seen a ghost or not and totally has the audience look up to a screen and see what the volunteer is thinking visually a picture of the man's head is then edited onto a ridiculous body which seemed to change show to show the final volunteer is usually a woman who totally gives a piece of ghost fighting equipment to guiding her as she sprays the audience with water and then puts the blame on her tully then instructs the audience to move into the next room known as the ectoplasma containment chamber this area is the theater from the previous iteration of the show and once the audience is settled he attempts to sell them overpriced ghost hunting starter kits his presentation is then interrupted by walter peck representing the environmental protection agency in stating that he's there to shut down the ghostbusters for fraud suddenly the lights turn out and when they come back on tully is operating a fake mechanical ghost in a failed attempt to scare peck away peck runs around the set disabling electronic fail safes and accidentally unlocks the ghost containment area still stating that he doesn't believe in ghosts the temple of gozer is illuminated and the show plays out in a similar fashion to the previous iteration peck is attacked by the ghosts at the direction of gozer the ghostbusters appear and fight them off and finally goser turns into the stay-puft marshmallow man who they fight off as usual just outside of the show building an outdoor street show called street busters would premiere in 1991 here the idea was that the ghostbusters were fighting their most elusive adversary beetlejuice who would take control of them during the show and have them dance to popular music that was current in the 90s this show would only run until 1993 and a spiritual successor extreme ghostbusters the great freightway would run for three years from 2002 to 2005. however impressive and popular ghostbusters spooktacular was as a show though it would close in 1996 to be replaced by a new attraction in 1998 the building would reopen with a new show called twister ride it out in which visitors would get up close to a destructive tornado based on the 1996 hit film twister despite having opened eight years after the park did i still consider twister to very much be an attraction that should be included in the discussion on classic universal studios florida as it still felt like a natural fit for the park in that era and during the queue you would see debris scattered throughout meant to invoke scenes from the film from there a crowd would be let into sound stage 50 a pre-show room decorated to look like prop storage for the movie once the audience is settled the pre-show first begins by showing clips from the film transitioning into a twister logo that swirls away in the form of a tornado next bill paxton introduces himself speaking a bit about his experience on the set of twister and describing the awesome power of the tornado as a force of nature next helen hunt appears on the other screen explaining the premise of the film as her and paxton played two scientists on the hunt for a rare and powerful f5 tornado the rest of the pre-show consists mostly of clips from the film but paxton and hunt appear again to explain that twister was some of the most intense filmmaking that they've ever endured inviting the guests to experience exactly what they did in the attraction ahead the doors to the room open funneling the crowd into a long switchback lined with television screens and designed to look like the interior of a ruined house that had been destroyed in the path of a tornado a favorite element of mine is the car protruding from the ceiling as the next pre-show starts emanating from television is designed to look like scattered debris more clips from the movie are shown and hunt appears speaking a bit about the film process that took place in the small town of wakita oklahoma paxton then appears providing more information on the filmmaking process speaking about how they had to withstand wind from a jet engine where blasted wood chipped ice to simulate hail and had to endure falling objects including an exploding gas tanker to capture the intense scenes of the film hunt and paxton both reappear providing more exposition on the filming process and the show ends on a dramatic note you start believing the twister is not just a weather condition it takes on a life of its own becoming an entity a demon spirit a devouring colossus spent on destruction by the end there's only one thing you can do hold on for your life having entered the theater visitors stand in one of three tiered rows and look out into a townscape of wakita as a news report and tornado sirens blair overhead once everyone is in the theater a flash of lightning hits a tree and it splits apart to start the show meanwhile a projected tornado is seen approaching the set as the wind picks up and raid effects kick in nearby a family sheltering in the diner shines a flashlight around yelling for everyone to get inside the tornado continues to get larger as it approaches finally reaching the set and manifesting as a practical effect everything begins to shake with the utility pole shooting out sparks and lightning flashes illuminating the set suddenly the sound of glass shattering from the diner plays as the audience is sprayed with water to simulate the effect of being covered in it next the weather device from the film flies in front of the audience lightning continues to reveal the tornado and the drive-in sign sparks as it's ripped off of its structure crashing into a garage the set continues shaking violently until a cow carried by the wind of the tornado flies by as it moves the tornado continues to move closer and the tin roof of the theater shakes to signify this suddenly the parked truck is slammed into a gas pump causing it to leak and eventually ignite from the sparks created by the impact as the flame trail moves it eventually reaches the tornado which erupts into flame and the roof of the theater crashes down towards the audience a narration from paxton comes on over the speakers thanking the audience for surviving twister and instructing them to leave on their left as he does so a flashlight shines from the diner showing that the family survived while the tornado effect was never really convincing the attractions still managed to maintain a pretty intense experience even the pre-shows focusing heavily on clips from the film would really just act as filler until the next show would reset still they managed to do a pretty good job of setting a tense atmosphere and really building anticipation for the experience even if the show itself was pretty short again while swisster was not an opening day attraction for universal studios florida it most definitely fit the attraction style of putting visitors right into a disaster scene from a popular film [Music] continuing on from new york the next area visitors would walk through was san francisco amity i'm not sure why these two very different areas were considered to be part of the same thing by the park but they're distinct enough from one another that i'm just going to focus on the attractions of san francisco first [Music] this land was anchored by another of the park's major e-tickets called earthquake the big one this attraction shares the most in common with its trantor counterpart in hollywood as the ride experience is essentially the same [Music] however what makes it stand out is that the ride portion is prefaced by a series of interesting pre-shows [Music] when walking into the building the first room holds visitors in an area set up to look a bit like a museum [Music] looking around various photos from the infamous 1906 san francisco earthquake are on display this extends even to the wallpaper as well once the room is settled a casting director starts to recruit volunteers to help recreate scenes from the 1974 film earthquake which is a disaster film that takes place in los angeles once this segment of the attraction concludes doors will open in the crowd will funnel into a theater where they will view a pre-show that plays clips from the film [Music] eventually charlton heston appears the leading actor for the movie in the pre-show he provides exposition on how models were built and destroyed to create a convincing large-scale earthquake effect for the film at the conclusion to this segment the screen raises to reveal a scale model portraying los angeles in the 1970s with the casting director stating that this was one of the models used in the film and provides a little bit of information on it from here the crowd moves into the final pre-show room where scenes from the film will be recreated another small video will have heston reappear speaking this time about how matt's paintings were used in conjunction with live actors to create convincing scenes for the film eventually heston hands off the show to the casting director who first leads with a demonstration of someone falling off of an office building an assistant brings out a dummy to the top of the set and a video in front of the audience shows what the scene looks like from the perspective of the camera the director calls for action and the dummy drops allowing visitors to see how this particular scene was shot for the film and describing how the dummy fell onto an airbag at the bottom of the set next heston reappears to introduce the composite shot and the volunteers from the first room are brought up on stage this includes three shoppers to act like they're experiencing an earthquake in a shopping mall and two aids to trigger effects during the scene the casting director gives them direction on how to act throughout the shot it also briefly describes the role of the blue screen in filmmaking as the scene begins the director yells action and the volunteers begin to stagger pretending that they're experiencing an earthquake the director then yells for the first rope to be pulled causing part of the set to collapse the second rope is then pulled releasing styrofoam meant to look like chunks of concrete down onto the volunteers the casting director yells cut and then congratulates the volunteers for acting out the scene heston then appears one last time it speaks about how everyone has now witnessed different aspects of what goes into creating a movie scene however he now wants everyone to turn around and go through the doors behind them stepping onto the set for a large-scale disaster scene that involves a whole crowd as the doors open the visitors step into the oakland station for the bay area rapid transit which is portrayed as an underground subway system here as the crowd lets out they board the open-air subway and prepare for the ride experience as the train dispatches from the station the lights begin to dim and it enters a dark tunnel this simulates moving over a long distance in a tunnel under san francisco bay it then enters a recreation of the embarcadero subway stop in san francisco itself once it has parked a rumbling sound could be heard slightly shaking the train as well as the set causing lights to flicker a warning comes on over the speakers telling the riders that they're just experiencing a slight earthquake and that everything is going to be okay it appears to stop but the station then suddenly experiences a far more intense series of tremors causing the set and the train to shake even more violently this time resulting in much more destruction as electrical systems begin to spark cracks begin to appear all throughout the station and part of the roof collapses causing a gasoline truck to slide down into the station and explode right next to the train continuing to shake the riders can hear another train approaching and as it emerges out of the other tunnel it derails and slams into the ceiling just missing everyone on board as sirens from emergency vehicles outside can be heard the air pressure suddenly changes and from the right a flash flood occurs starting to fill the subway station with seawater out of nowhere a sec director walks out into the station and yells cut congratulating the riders for surviving and thanking them for participating in the scene as the water drains and the set pieces begin to reset the subway moves backwards it then arrives back to the oakland station and has everyone exit on the right to return to the park when islands of adventure opened in 1999 and as universal studios florida continued adding in new thrilling attractions the popularity of earthquake began to wane in an effort to revive the experience earthquake closed for a little over a month in 2007 and was re-themed into disaster a major motion picture ride starring you opening in 2008 keeping the layout of the building the same this edgy retheme would take visitors into a fictional high octane movie studio that specialized in disaster films the first room where the volunteers are picked introduces the owner of the studio frank kinkade who is played by christopher walken the second room where the los angeles scale model used to sit now has the casting director interacting with kincaid the chief of the use of a music screen here it's revealed to the audience that kincaid is an eccentric director who asks everyone to star in his film like with earthquake the next stage has volunteers filming movie scenes but this time for some nonsense high budget disaster film finally the room lets out into oakland station where the ride experience is essentially the same as before but this time with a director on the overhead screen instructing people how to react as the train moves through the tunnel once at the main set piece everything plays out exactly as before but this time with a more dramatic lighting package and no director running out into the set finally as the train retreats back into the tunnel a trailer for the new film plays featuring dwayne johnson as a hero of park ranger saving people from a series of worldwide disasters and splicing in footage of the volunteers from the pre-show portion i don't consider disaster to exist within the spirit of the original era of the park despite still reusing the same ride system but i wanted to briefly cover its content because it will become relevant later having failed to revive the popularity of the attraction disaster would close in 2015 with universal completely demolishing both the building housing it as well as the adjacent stage then replacing it with fast and furious supercharged in 2018. speaking of the stage it opens with the park as an american tail theater hosting a children's music show based on the animated film an american tale vivald goes west as a pretty underdeveloped show it would close in 1992 and be replaced the same year with beetlejuice's rock and roll graveyard review another show that focused on music the initial version of the show would start with beetlejuice wrapped up in bandages trying to convince the audience to release him by saying his name three times when they do so he comes out onto the stage and steps down into the audience interacting with them and telling inappropriate jokes later he introduces the universal monsters and transforms them into rock stars having them sing and dance to a variety of different classic rock songs with the show also including a decent degree of pyrotechnics the show would remain popular and go through four different iterations until its last performance in early 2016 with the theater being torn down shortly after while i didn't particularly care for it the show did manage to remain quite popular with dedicated fans and is very much a staple of the classic era for the park even if its execution was rather simple in comparison to everything else that the park offered [Music] continuing on from san francisco the next area that park goers entered would be amity recreating the new england town from jaws based on the jaws experience from the hollywood tram tour the premise of the attraction was that the events of the film really took place inspiring steven spielberg to produce it after the shark attacks though tourism decreased to the island and in an effort to combat that a seaman by the name of jake grundy would open a morbid boat tour that took taurus through the various locations of the shark attacks while the attraction did open with the park in 1990 it did encounter a number of serious technical issues that resulted in it closing two months later in fact the technical issues of the ride were so bad that universal actually sued the manufacturer and instead brought in a number of other companies that essentially rebuilt the attraction from the ground up reopening in the spring of 1993. the scrapping of the original project also meant losing certain show effects such as a scene where the shark emerges and bites the boat dragging it and spinning riders around at 180 degrees in addition to the technical issues plaguing this performance the actual shark figure would sometimes pierce and damage the boats with its teeth leading to a definite removal for the new version another notable former scene was how the shark dies with the skipper using a grenade launcher to convincingly blow up the shark coloring the water red and simulating an explosion the rebuilt experience of 1993 would first have guests enter the boathouse for captain jake's amity boat tours then loading into the waterways to explore the town as the boat travels the skipper provides exposition speaking about the exploits of chief brody and pointing out his house on the left as the boat approaches the lighthouse an emergency transmission plays over the speakers where a voice can be heard screaming and it fizzles out into static the skipper contacts home base and says that it sounds like gordon from amity3 base replies that they received the distress signal and to keep an eye out for the boat as they contact chief brody as the boat rounds the corner the riders witness the remains of amity iii sinking into the water as they approach suddenly the finn of a shark is spotted spooking the visitors as it swims under the boat [Music] the skipper then pulls out a grenade launcher asking if it's actually loaded and aims at the shark missing it in the water the skipper shoots a second time misses again and suggests driving into a nearby boathouse to reach safety as they wait for brody as the boat comes to a stop a loud banging sound is heard from the back as the skipper realizes that the shark is ramming the walls they try to move forward but the boat refuses to drop into gear the walls start to shake as the shark continues ramming it and then as the boat moves forward the shark crashes through a wall and attacks the boat just narrowly escaping the stunned skipper keeps driving ahead and is contacted by brody stating that he'll be there in 10 minutes the skipper picks up the grenade launcher and looks to his right just as the shark emerges on the left and attacks the boat again shooting the grenade launcher the skipper misses and hits a gas stock causing it to erupt into fire and eventually explodes the skipper moves the boat forward as if to escape the fire by driving through it but the fire dissipates as they get near continuing forward the skipper announces that they're going to try to get everyone off at the nearest dock when suddenly the shark's fin is spotted again to the left swimming past a high voltage barge [Music] in this new ending the shark attempts to attack the boat instead chewing into a submerged power cable and electrocuting itself finally the noun charged shark emerges from the water with what was apparently supposed to be a roasted shark scent being pumped at the boat not quite dead the skipper shoots one last grenade at the shark and everyone escapes with the skipper contacting brody and letting him know that they all made it out just fine on their way back to the loading dock the skipper asks to keep this incident between themselves hinting that it might not be good for business on the island despite continued technical issues throughout the years jaws would continue to impress visitors until itself and the amity area closed in 2012 being replaced with the hogwarts express diagon alley and harry potter in the escape from gringotts in 2014 still considered part of amity for some reason the area would also include the wild wild wild west stunt show which would premiere in 1991 as the western stunt show for the early hollywood glamour trams would evolve with the park it would eventually get its own stunt show amphitheater in 1980 [Music] this florida version was essentially the same thing but the premise of the show being that of a western stunt demonstration hosted by two cowboys interrupted by a group of outlaws the 20-minute show didn't really have a structured narrative so much as it was a series of comedic slapstick gags and stunts meant to entertain the audience some of these are actually pretty impressive because of how dangerous they were and the show ends with an iconic set piece the stunt show would close in 2003 to be replaced with fear factor live in 2005 reusing some of the sets and incorporating volunteers who would perform stunts based on the show of the same name this attraction would continue running until 2020 it is quite odd that both shows were considered to be part of the amity area but at the very least like with beetlejuice the western stunt show leaves a popular legacy as an entertaining attraction that superseded the lack of thematic integrity [Music] the next area of the park was world expo designed to replicate elements from the 1964 new york world's fair also incorporating various movie sets and being anchored by back to the future the ride as discussed earlier back to the future was intended as spielberg's attempt at a universal version of star tours unlike that attraction though back to the future would put everyone into a box with the screen at the front but would instead provide open-air cars designed to look like a delorean once seated the cars would rise up to a domed imax screen and the vehicles were designed in such a way so the riders couldn't see the other cars that was the idea at least normal for the time but interesting in retrospect with the abundance of cgi today the ride film was also created practically flying a camera through miniatures and models to create the content of the film it was great when the original star tours did it and now not so great when it relies so heavily on cgi while both attractions may be simulators the reliance on practical filming allowed both attractions to retain a sense of physicality that's missing from more contemporary screen-based experiences the premise of the attraction is that guests are visiting an expo pavilion this one hosted by the institute of future technology which was founded by doc brown in hill valley as he decided to settle there in the year 1991 this was also the same year that the attraction opened at universal studios florida as it wasn't quite ready for opening day as guests enter the expo building to board a time machine and travel one day into the future it's revealed that bif tannin has escaped from 1955 by stowing away in a delorean used by one of the facilities scientists now loose in the facility he finds doc and traps him in his office then running off and stealing a delorean-free joyride doc then turns to the visitors and enlists their help asking them to take one of the time machines and chase him down the method for doing so is accelerating to 88 miles per hour and bumping biff's vehicle forcing him to travel through time with them after the pre-show concludes riders are seated in a delorean and dock uses a remote control to cause it to hover upwards introducing riders to the imax dome the car accelerates to 88 miles per hour and follows biff to hill valley in the year 2015. the visitors chase biff as he leads them through the town crashing into signs flying over neighborhoods and dodging other flying cars [Music] eventually the chase loops back to the square and biff escapes through time the riders follow him smashing into the clock tower as they do so they emerge now in the ice age following biff for a bit and then diving into a ravine [Music] biff then appears from behind an ice sheet honking his horn and provoking an avalanche having escaped the rider's vehicle stalls and lands on the ice just as they witness biff escape the vehicle teeters forward falling down as dog attempts to restart the vehicle he successfully does so and reverses quickly sending riders back in time to the cretaceous period the riders then encountered biff again chasing him alongside lava and eventually following him into a volcano now inside they encounter a tyrannosaurus rex which lifts its tail and causes a rock pillar to fall towards the riders the t-rex hits biff's vehicle sending him spinning and then attempts to attack the visitors eventually it manages to briefly swallow the vehicle before spitting it back out having riders fall down into a lava river with biff's disabled vehicle up ahead flying down a lava fall the visitors manage to hit biff's falling vehicle as they fall to 88 miles per hour jumping through time the vehicles crash into the expo building and end up back in the garage biff gets out of the vehicle thanking the visitors for saving his life but is immediately apprehended by security and the vehicles pulled down into the loading station despite some clunky transitions between shots back to the future was well loved but would close in 2007 being replaced by the simpsons ride which would open the following year the nearby back to the future store and the international food and film festival quick service restaurant would eventually be re-themed into springfield opening in 2013 to complement the simpsons ride located between back to the future and the western stunt show was the swamp thing set opening with the park in 1990 and acting as the filming location for the show of the same name it would be demolished in 1994 and the plot of land would remain empty until men in black alien attack opened there in 2000. one of the last attractions of the classic era for this park men in black really helped to thematically expand the world expo theme as an indoor dark ride that took recruits through the streets of new york to fight off an alien attack using on-board blasters the attraction was built with the hope of being large enough to spread out people among both parks as islands of adventure had just opened the year before however because the premise is pretty straightforward and because the attraction still exists today i'm not going to cover it because most people watching are already familiar with it at the other end of world expo were a hint full of other attractions which would either be replaced or still exist in some form today the largest attraction was the et adventure which is the only original opening day attraction that still remains in the park and was developed a spielberg sequel to the film moving through the line which is themed to the exterior of a sound stage televisions above play a video that discusses the filmmaking process for the movie from there guests are then funneled into a pre-show room where they view a film hosted by steven spielberg he sets up the premise for the attraction informing visitors that et's homeworld the green planet is dying and e.t needs their help to return him there only et's magical touch can save the planet and so riders will have to receive an interplanetary passport to help get him back once got out from the pre-show visitors will move up to a counter where a team member will ask them their name scanning it to a passport which is given to them the interior cue is designed to look like a californian redwood forest from the film occasionally et's teacher botanicus will project his image to the guests pleading for help and returning e.t to the green planet riders will then board bikes giving their passport to the team member to scan once secure the ride dispatches and moves off into the forest once there eti pops up from the basket as the writers encounter nasa scientists and the police it would chase them through the woods after a series of scenes the bikes begin to levitate escaping the police and flying out over a cityscape of la [Music] the riders then travel quickly through space and return to the green planet only to find that it's a harsh desolate place covered in lava [Music] the riders then pass botanicus and his spaceship urging e.t to return to his friends and use his magic touch to restore the planet the next few scenes show him doing so and the ride then continues through a series of set pieces showcasing a celebration as the planet has now come back to life finally riders encounter an et animatronic who thanks them by name for helping him come home soon after the bikes returned to the station i chose not to cover e.t in more depth because the majority of people are familiar with the attraction just like men in black as they're both still around still et is a classic and definitely helps to find the early era for the park making it a pretty significant attraction across from the et adventure was the animal actors stage which opens with the park and was a show lifted from universal studios hollywood that opened in 1970 the premise of the show is that it features animals trained to act in film [Music] this live show brings out trainers who work with the animals in a series of comedic scenes to show how their training can be used in the filming process animal actors would change and evolve at scenes over the years becoming animal planet live in 2001 and then finally changing into the version that's still around today as animal actors on location in 2006. despite these changes the stage has essentially stayed the same and the concept of the show has pretty much stayed intact despite adding and removing various scenes over the years towards the back of this area were two sets both opening with the park the first of these was the bates motel which was built for the filming of psycho 4 the beginning it would stick around for a few years and even be used for halloween horror nights as both a stage and a house it would then be demolished in 1995 and was replaced with a day in the park with barney the same year this children's show would start with an outdoor theater where visitors would meet mr peekaboo who was forgetful and couldn't remember how to find the door to barney's park he asked the audience to use their imagination and a waterfall covering the doors to the theater dissipates allowing visitors into the park once seated mr peekaboo appears again asking the audience to use their imagination to summon barney by chanting his name the lights go out and as they turn back on barney appears and he and his friends go through a series of songs from the show which audience members are encouraged to sing and dance along to as the show ends and barney says goodbye the audience is let out into barney's backyard an interactive play area while most people weren't aware that the show even existed and it left little impact i do consider it as a defining attraction for the early park even if not that significant [Music] barney would stick around until 2021 when it was closed and the theater was refitted for the dreamworks destination an upbeat character experience that brought in a rotating cast of popular dreamworks characters behind what was the bates motel was the bates mansion also built for the filming of setgo 4 but stuck around a bit longer until 1998. it was then demolished and replaced by curious george goes to town in the same year which still exists today as an interactive water play area and ball pit in 1992 the area would add in a children's playground called fibo's playland based on the american tale of films and also resulting in the removal of the show in san francisco mentioned earlier that was replaced by beetlejuice eventually all the attractions of this area of world expo would be incorporated into a new land in 1999 known as woody woodpecker's kid zone [Music] woody was pushed by universal in the late 90s to become a mascot for the company just in the same way that mickey mouse was iconic for disney kidzone was part of this effort in addition to adding in woody woodpecker's nuthouse coaster the same year a small junior coaster manufactured by bacoma obviously while many people probably recognize woody he never did achieve the fame of mickey and never became the universal icon that the company wanted him to be today kidzone still exists as an aging relic one that stuck in the late 90s but still has its charm as it feels like stepping back in time finally we've reached the last area of the park known simply as hollywood consisting mostly of shops and shows ironically hollywood was always intended as the equivalent of main street for universal studios florida where guests would turn right and do their shopping yet due to its odd location that never really became the case its counterpart at disney mgm studios did a far better job stretching out from the entrance of the park and enticing guests in with the recreation of the chinese theater however because production central was right in front of the guests at universal most of them continued traveling forward rather than making it right into what looked like an empty street the area would include some smaller attractions and at the end of the street closest to production central a building would house lucy a tribute this small walkthrough museum would celebrate lucille ball famous for various film and television roles most famous of which was the sitcom i love lucy it was a pretty minor but well-loved attraction that opened in 1992 and would eventually be replaced in 2015 with the betty boop and hello kitty store [Music] at the far end of hollywood would be another small exhibit known as how to make a mega movie deal there are very few details on what this actually was but as far as i can determine it was a walkthrough that would chronicle the rise of a studio male boy into a movie mogul adding in educational material about the movie industry [Music] this attraction seemed to consist of multiple kiosks where visitors would move around to view different short clips this was replaced in 1998 with a t at the movies which has even less information on it available though i get the impression that it was similar finally this would close in 2001 it would open as cafe la bamba in 2002 working as a seasonal restaurant that only really seems to serve as a lounge for vip tours today nearby was the phantom of the opera horror makeup show which opens with the park it was inspired by the land of a thousand faces a makeup show that opened in 1975 at universal hollywood as a horror-themed spiritual successor the horror makeup show would first have visitors wait in the lobby where they could view various posters from universal's collection of horror films once the doors are closed the lights begin to flicker and the chandeliers swing as the crowd hears the phantom of the opera introducing himself he then suddenly burst three paper facade of his movie poster introducing everyone to the show and encouraging them to step into the theater ahead once inside the main stage consists of various props from scary films and is led by two hosts these two present a lot of interesting information about filmmaking mostly focusing on the practical effects and makeup used to allow horror films to appear convincing however because of the intense nature of the material the hosts riff off of each other in a humorous manner presenting the show through a series of comedic gags and going out of their way to tease individual members of the audience like animal actors the show has evolved over the years and the current version that still exists in the park today most resembles the 2008 revamp however many elements are still around such as using a fake knife to cut the arm of an audience member or showcasing the pneumatic technology behind the werewolf effect from an american werewolf in london the most notable change that's not present today is the removal of the teleportation chambers based on the 1986 film the fly to finish up the show one of the actors will enter the chamber and three series of comedic gags is presented as being teleported back and forth each time coming out increasingly disfigured finally they come out as seemingly normal as the hosts thank the audience for coming and as they turn around to leave it's revealed that they still have a pair of wings from a fly the very last attraction hosted by hollywood was terminator 2 3d battle across time it would premiere in 1996 working as a high caliber special effects and stunt show fitting into the terminator film timeline as a mini sequel to terminator 2 judgment day entering the queue guests would be subjected to propaganda on the television's place throughout being presented on the cyberdyne interactive network before entering the pre-show ahead guests would also pick up 3d glasses that were presented as safety visors for an upcoming presentation from cyberdyne once the doors open and everyone settles into the pre-show room an actress playing a character named kimberly duncan comes out and greets the audience introducing herself as cyberdyne's director of community relations and media control she then presents a promotional video that highlights cyberdyne's technological achievements in future the tone is positive yet ironically comes off as concerningly dystopian the presentation is then interrupted by john and sarah connor who warned the audience that cyberdyne will soon launch the automated defense system skynet which will wage war on humanity only days after its launched they warned the audience that they're here to destroy skynet and urge everyone to leave quickly before the situation escalates duncan then manages to regain control over the feed and finishes out the cyberdyne presentation then apologizing for the interruption and asking the audience to move into the presentation room ahead ignoring what appears to be a crazy few once seated the show begins with duncan introducing the new age of armed combat through robotics she then presents the cyberdyne series 70 autonomous infantry unit asking the audience to put on their safety visors as six terminators rise up from the sides of the stage and target slower above them the animatronic figures are then asked to put on a demonstration and shooted the targets across the room effectively proving their capability a security alarm suddenly activates as jon and sarah connor rappel down to the stage they then threatened duncan forcing her to deactivate the t70 terminators from out of nowhere the cyberdyne logo turns into liquid metal revealing itself to be the amorphous t-1000 terminator using the 3d effect to have it look around into the audience trying to find jon and sarah connor the figure then shrinks down and transitions into a physical actor who appears on stage seeing duncan the t-1000 walks over and strangles her as it attempts to reactivate the t-70s at the console before he can do so however a time portal opens and the reprogrammed t800 terminator rides out on a motorcycle transitioning to a physical actor on stage using a shotgun he fights off the t-1000 and tells john to come with him if he wants to live recovering the t-1000 attempts to re-approach before getting shot by both sarah and the t-800 they then ride back through the time portal and into the future where they are once again followed by the t-1000 from this point the show consists of a lengthy 3d film where jon and the t800 have to fight off a series of machines under the control of skynet in order to infiltrate one of their factories once inside live actors reappear riding an elevator down into skynet's central core aiming to destroy it and thus the machines after attempting to set up bombs around the facility the security system known as the t1 million becomes alerted and starts to hunt jon down the t800 manages to temporarily disable it sending jon back through a time portal to the present day as it stays to set off a bomb ensure that jon continues to live as the t1 million explodes with fog and strobe effects the audience is sprayed with water to convey its liquid particles falling down onto them to conclude the experience the actors playing sarah and john stand under an image of the t-800 with sarah reciting an epitaph reflecting on how she owes her son's life to that of a machine the terminator as a popular show and an extremely innovative one for its time it would eventually close in 2017 being replaced with the born spentacular in 2020 which is actually a pretty solid successor to finish off a day at universal studios florida in the 90s the park would premiere with the dynamite nights stunned spectacular inspired by the miami vice show at universal hollywood it took place every night at park closed in the central lagoon the premise was that a criminal organization was attempting to take over three key targets which would be a cargo ship a fuel platform and a texaco dock this high octane stun show would feature chases on boats and jet skis between the criminals and the police engaging in shootouts and performing some pretty impressive stunt work other portions of the show would feature actors fighting up close there was also a fair number of dangerous but impressive pyrotechnic effects the show lacked plot points instead impressing its audience through the high-energy choreography and stunt work this show would run until 2000 and the lagoon would sit empty until 2006 when a new nighttime spectacular would premiere this new show called universal 360 a cinesphere spectacular was a bit underwhelming in comparison the show consisted of playing movie clips from classic universal films onto spears placed throughout the lagoon sinking water jets lasers and an underwhelming quantity of fireworks to the clips being shown [Music] this show would only run until 2011 being replaced with two other shows over the years that were essentially the same thing i'm surprised with how little dynamite knights is actually mentioned and how little information on it exists as it appears to actually be a really impressive show if the current park wants to really step things up a return to a stunt show like this would actually be great now having covered all the major experiences that define the classic era for universal studios florida let's now reflect on what made these attractions so great explore why most of them were eventually replaced [Music] with a site of impressive and incredibly ambitious attractions universal studios florida was intended to open as universal's flagship park while it is true that universal studios hollywood certainly has the history and still works even today as an active movie studio it was never competitive in the theme park industry to the same degree that the farther part was intended to be in fact with as ambitious as florida was its opening was an absolute disaster park goers would show up for this brand new and exciting experience only to find that the attractions they wanted to ride were down all day power outages in the park would shut down kong and earthquake faulting out their computer systems and keeping them down most of the day jaws 2 which never really worked from the start would disappoint visitors by not being open elsewhere people would encounter long lines in a park that still needed additional experiences to really meet capacity demands however with the introduction of back to the future the next year and aggressively opening new shows and experiences the park did manage to capture the attention of florida visitors arguably working as a better experience the disney mgm studios going full speed ahead universal studios florida proved to the company that they were a viable competitor and quickly worked to build islands of adventure and convert the rest of their lands into a multi-day resort however the park continued to experience serious issues through what was its best era though the ride system on kong was extremely unreliable and many of the pyrotechnic effects never achieved what they were supposed to be throughout its life earthquake continued to be a mechanical headache and we already covered the many issues of jaws in addition both parks would continue to see declining attendance with the hit to the tourism industry post 9 11 resulting in some desperate attempts to bring people back in from 2003 through 2012 universal would enter an odd stage where it premiered a slate of edgy attractions that focused on more contemporary intellectual property that never really delivered kicking off this era the first of these attractions would be jimmy neutron nicktoon blast and while not bad per se it seemed to lack the charm of hannah barbera opening the same year was shrek 4d which just wasn't that good even if i liked the source material it's based on another issue would be replacing back to the future with the simpsons ride in 2008 which really seems like a miss to me i understand that the video portion for back to the future was looking quite dated at that time but the actual franchise manages to retain a classic quality that the simpsons never has even if the show continues to remain popular it also helps that back to the future was a much better attraction than the simpsons which doesn't really deliver [Music] 2008 would also see the premiere of disaster shoving in a distasteful overlay and a poor attempt to revive the earthquake experience finally the park would open hollywood rip ride rocket in 2009 an underwhelming coaster that contains elements that are downright unpleasant to experience perhaps it's just personal opinion but the inclusion of the annoyingly stale song selection has always felt like a rip off of disney's rock and roller coaster leaving the ride standing as a symbol of desperation to me i know that a lot of people who watch my channel disagree with my hatred for rocket but i think it's a truly awful coaster however the resort would see a significant attendance boost with the opening of hogsmeade and harry potter and the forbidden journey in 2010 really turning things around when comcast purchased nbc universal in 2011 they then pushed the parks in a different direction really aiming for more current ip integration but doing so with heavily screen based experiences in order to save on ride maintenance costs the first attraction of this era would be despicable me minion mayhem which opens in 2012 the last true attraction that fit is the classic era for the part was revenge of the mummy which replaced confrontation in 2004 i know that it overlaps with jimmy neutron and shrek but it's the last attraction to really embrace the studio aspect and continue the idea of having visitors actually ride the movies for as great as confrontation was mummy also very much feels like a worthy replacement as well to reflect on all of this i very vividly remember the classic era of universal studios florida it was a thrilling experience that brought you right up to monsters and natural disasters it was a place where the smell of propane from the pyrotechnics filled the air and it was a park that wasn't afraid to shoot for expensive and ambitious attractions [Music] while i never experienced many of the shows that i covered throughout the video i also appreciate the dedication to educating audiences on the filmmaking process making it a series of entertaining experiences with that being said i understand why so many of these classic attractions had to be demolished and replaced as they lacked the mechanical integrity to keep them running long term as much as i wish that many of these attractions were still around today they simply just didn't draw in enough people to keep the profitability of the park stable either instead the new comcast era replacing the older attractions with new ones has seen pretty significant success even if there's quite a bit of vocal criticism over the over-reliance on screens still within just the last few years universal has shown that it listens to its consumers and has reverted back to more physical attractions i remember riding hagrids for the first time and being absolutely stunned by how much it feels like a classic attraction from the 90s in its design universal studios florida has a rich but short-lived legacy demolishing its attractions one by one and sailing into troubled waters however the future for this park looks bright with universal hopefully learning from the mistakes of its past and building high quality but relevant experiences for the future still it's fun to look back at the incredibly detailed and unique experiences that started it all [Music] if you enjoy the video essays that i produce i strongly encourage you to hit the like button as it really helps the videos gain traction in addition i also recommend that you subscribe with belt notification so as to be alerted to new videos when they're released [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: Poseidon Entertainment

Views: 923,433

Keywords:

Id: Kt6ISj8CJJ0

Length: 95min 14sec (5714 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 29 2022