As one of Universal’s most iconic properties, it should come as no surprise that Back to the Future has maintained a presence inside the parks years after the beloved trilogy came to an end. Although Doc Brown and Mary McFly are no longer traveling through time on the big screen, the adored duo continue to appear in the parks decades later. Today, we will be doing some time traveling of our own, documenting the full history of Back to the Future inside the Universal theme parks.
In 1990, Universal Studios Orlando opened to the public for the first time. Though the Back to the Future simulator ride was planned to open a few months into the park’s operation, construction delays resulted in the opening date being pushed back to May of the following year. On May 2, 1991, the first incarnation of Back to the Future: The Ride opened in Universal Studios Orlando.
Two years later, the second incarnation would join Universal Hollywood’s roster. Similar to the Orlando version, the ride suffered from construction delays and finally opened on June 12, 1993. The last version of this ride was added to Universal Studios Japan on March 31, 2001.
The ride itself maintained the same storyline throughout all three of the parks and introduced guests to the Institute of Future Technology, founded by Doc Brown, that was seeking volunteers to test out new inventions.
“Volunteers” would proceed through the queue where they would be informed they were being sent a day into the future inside a newly developed DeLorean time machine that could seat up to eight passengers. Guests were then cautioned to be on the lookout for Biff Tanen, the main antagonist throughout the Back to the Future series, who had escaped from his time period and was on the loose, causing chaos in the time-space continuum.
Just as Doc prepares to send the volunteers on their mission, Biff arrives in the Institute of Future Technology, steals the DeLorean, and disappears into time. Doc pleads with guests to follow him and retrieve the stolen DeLorean before Biff causes irreparable damage to the timeline. The new prototype DeLorean could lock onto Biff’s location and send guests directly to his pinpointed current location in time. All guests would need to do is bump the other time machine with their own, which would send both DeLoreans back to their original time…
After the doors close on the ride vehicles, the DeLorean accelerates to 88 miles per hour and travels through time in search of Biff. During this transition scene, the ride vehicles would be lifted up into a large dome where the chase would be simulated on a massive screen.
Biff first leads guests through 2015 Hill Valley, with all the wacky futuristic technology viewers grew familiar with during the events of Back to the Future II. Biff circles the iconic clock tower and departs again. The volunteers pursue Biff through time and emerge in the ice age. Biff lures them into an icy cavern where he honks his DeLorean’s horn and triggers an avalanche that the riders narrowly escape. Biff again jumps through time, but as the riders attempt to follow, the engine lags after being damaged by the ice. Doc manages to restart the engine and sends the riders further back in time to the Cretaceous Period.
Biff and the volunteers chase each other around a volcano and the snapping jaws of a tyrannosaurus rex. Biff’s DeLorean is struck by the dinosaur, sending it spiraling out of control. The rex swallows the riders’ DeLorean, but spits them back out. As the volunteers’ DeLorean drops down, guests see Biff in his damaged DeLorean, unable to move as he is swept away on a river of lava. He pleads for help from Doc and the riders, and as he and his DeLorean plunge over the edge of a lava waterfall, the volunteers accelerate their DeLorean and bump Biff’s, sending everyone back to the Institute of Future Technology.
Biff exits the DeLorean and thanks guests (and Doc) for their help, but he is swiftly taken into custody by the Institute’s security. Doc Brown thanks the guests personally as the ride comes to a close, reminding the volunteers that “the future is what you make it!”. The ride doors open and guests are encouraged to exit “quickly! Before you meet yourself coming in!”
Outside, guests had the opportunity to have their picture taken with one of the modified DeLoreans and the Jules Verne Time Train from the third film. The ride was (and remains) a fan favorite in the park, and despite its now-outdated technology there are many fans that still wish it was a part of Universal’s active roster to this day.
As time crept on, the ride’s popularity dwindled, especially in the early 2000s. The news broke on September 7, 2006, when Universal announced they would be pulling the plug on this iconic and beloved attraction. The Florida park’s version was the first to close on March 30, 2007. Hollywood followed suit on September 3, later the same year. Japan’s version of the ride held steady until 2016, when it was closed to make room for Despicable Me Minion Mayhem.
In Orlando and Hollywood, Back to the Future was replaced by The Simpsons. The Florida Institute of Technology was rethemed to Krustyland, a whimsical carnival-style area. Next time you wait in line for the Simpsons Ride, keep an eye out for the homages the animators pay to the original ride, including Comic Book Guy wearing one of Marty McFly’s jackets, and Doc Brown himself appearing in one of the cartoons. Doc seeks funding to reform his Institute of Future Technology. Professor Frink arrives in a DeLorean, to which Doc curses “that mercenary clown!”
Along with the on-ride homages, guests can still get some of the Back to the Future experience. The DeLorean and Time Train are still on display in Orlando and make an essential photo stop for any fan of the series. Luckily, many of the Universal gift shops still contain merchandise for the franchise, so make sure to stop by one to pick up a memory from this beloved attraction. If you’re lucky, you may even run into the elusive Doc Brown himself, wandering around the park!
