When Universal Studios Florida opened in 1990, the emphasis was on “creating the movies”. The theme park, of course, was attached to an actual, working production facility, and many of the attractions were of the “edutainment” variety – teaching guests about the movie-making process as well as serving up traditional theme park thrills.
Over the years, the park’s offering has evolved significantly. The emphasis now is on “riding the movies”, with guests being placed directly into the worlds seen on screen. Physical effects, too, have become less important – there are fewer audio-animatronic characters, and more digital projection screens.
Universal Orlando has a policy of ripping out old attractions and replacing them with new ones when they become out-of-date, so many of the attractions that made the park great have long since been shuttered. Here are 10 long-lost rides and shows that have a special place in our hearts.
10. Phantom of the Opera Make-Up Show
Universal Pictures has a long and celebrated history of producing horror movies. $6 million was therefore spent on creating the Phantom of the Opera Make-Up Show, which included footage from classic movies including The Exorcist, Beetlejuice and An American Werewolf in London.
The star of the show was a recreation of the creature from The Fly (not a Universal movie, but licensed from 20th Century Fox). The five-feet-tall, 200-pound creature, covered in a substance that resembled human skin, swang out onto the stage on a mechanical arm. A computer program controlled the movements of its arms and head.
The show lives on in a new form as Universal’s Horror Make-Up Show.
9. Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera
Universal Studios Florida was going head-to-head with Disney-MGM Studios. Universal, of course, was not associated by the public with cartoons in the same way as Disney, which would make the art of animation a key feature of its park. Rather than focus on the process behind animation, then, Universal instead licensed a host of widely-recognized Hanna-Barbera characters for use in a child-friendly simulator attraction, the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.
The seven-and-a-half minute show threw guests directly into the world of animation, with Yogi Bear and Boo Boo Bear enlisting them to help save Elroy Jetson, who had been kidnapped by Dick Dastardly. Boarding moving “spaceship” vehicles, guests were taken through recognizable locations such as The Flintstones’ Bedrock and The Jetsons’ hometown of Orbit City. An accompanying post-show interactive play area allowed them to play the Flintstones’ piano with their feet, and to “shrink in size” to explore Pebbles’ playhouse.
Though it was billed as a simulator ride, the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera would differ from traditional simulator attractions such as Disney’s Star Tours in one key way. Rather than riders being seated in separate simulators, the show would instead be presented on a huge theatre screen in a large auditorium, with a dozen “motion car” vehicles lined-up facing the screen. The ride system is still in use by Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem.
8. Wild, Wild, Wild West Stunt Show
A year after the park opened, Universal looked to boost the capacity of Universal Studios Florida by adding the Wild, Wild, Wild West Stunt Show. Its amphitheater could accommodate some 2,000 people, helping to handle large crowds. The show itself was designed to be a fitting tribute to the western movies that had established Universal’s reputation as a major movie studio.
Universal hired a total of 20 stunt performers for the Wild, Wild, Wild West Show, with five appearing in each performance. Most were seasoned stunt artists, although some had a background in dance or acrobatics. The show became a long-running fixture at Universal Studios Florida, entertaining audiences for more than a decade, before eventually being replaced by Fear Factor Live.
7. Ghostbusters: A Live-Action Spooktacular
While many of the attractions at Universal Studios Florida celebrated classic Universal pictures, Universal was not above signing licensing deals to fill perceived gaps in its portfolio, just as Disney had done with MGM. One of the most significant deals it struck was with Columbia Pictures, which enabled it to use the characters from smash-hit action-comedy Ghostbusters in the park.
Ghostbusters: A Live-Action Spooktacular became the headline show at Universal Studios Florida. The 15-minute performances were hosted in a recreation of the Temple of Gozer, the rooftop area that provides the setting for the final scene of the movie. A number of recognizable ghouls from the movie, including snarling Terror Dogs and Gozer herself, would make appearances, with the Ghostbusters arriving to save the day.
The show ran until 1997, when it was shuttered to make room for Twister: Ride It Out.
6. Murder, She Wrote Mystery Theater
The focus at Universal Studios Florida on its opening day was not solely on movies, with Universal being among the prevalent producers of television content at the time. One of its most popular shows would be the subject of the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Theatre, an interactive show that would see guests being selected to be “executive producers” on a new episode of Murder, She Wrote.
The 25-minute show took visitors through the steps of the production and post-production process, including make-up, visual effects, editing and the recording of additional dialogue. They would even have the chance to decide which actor would be the “bad guy” and which would be the surprise guest star. It closed in 1996 and the site is now occupied by Transformers: The Ride – 3D.
5. Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies
One of the most ambitious “edutainment” attractions in the park’s original line-up was Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies. In the attraction, inspired by the works of the legendary “Master of Suspense”, Universal employees guided guests through recreations of scenes from classic movies such as Strangers on a Train, Vertigo and Saboteur. The cornerstone, though, was the gritty shower scene from Psycho.
In the shower scene, a blonde “starlet” would dress in a full body stocking similar to that worn by Janet Leigh in the movie. The water would then be switched on, with the audience being shown how Bates’ “Mother” kills the young lady with a butcher’s knife. Among the snippets of information shared with guests would be that the scene took some seven days to shoot with a 40-person crew, and that chocolate syrup was used in place of stage blood because it looked better on black and white film.
Shrek 4-D now occupies the Alfred Hitchcock show building.
4. Nickelodeon Studios
One of Universal Studios Florida’s biggest coups was to persuade Nickelodeon, the children’s cable television network, to set up its own studios at the park. Nickelodeon occupied two dedicated soundstages (numbers 18 and 19), and made Orlando its primary center for production.
The studio doubled as a major attraction when the theme park opened in 1990. Batly, Magellan and other popular network characters roamed around the studio. Even the bathrooms were designed to be fun, stocked with Gak soap – made with the trademark goo that was dumped on contestants on Double Dare game show. Even more of the goo was pumped out of a slime geyser in front of soundstage 18.
By 2004, only a single show, U-Pick Live, was being produced in Orlando. Although a further show, SPLAT!, debuted in summer that year, it was the last to be produced on the site. Nickelodeon Studios shut its doors in April 2005, with soundstage 18 being transformed over the following two years into a 1,000 seat venue for the Blue Man Group performers, who began their shows in June 2007.
3. Jaws
Capitalizing on its consulting deal with Steven Spielberg and building on a set-piece from the existing Universal Studios Hollywood tour, Universal decided to bring Jaws to Orlando. In Hollywood, Jaws’ great white shark lunges out of a lagoon at the Studio Tour’s trams. The Florida version of the experience would be significantly expanded and enhanced. Riders would now board flimsy-looking boats, placing them in much greater jeopardy. And just as Kong lifted up riders’ tram cars, Jaws would actually grab the boats with his sharp teeth.
Unfortunately, the Jaws ride proved to be a liability. It closed after just a few months, having cost some $30 million to build. It was completely rebuilt at a cost of a further $40 million, however, and proved to be an enduringly popular attraction until its removal in 2012 to make way for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.
2. Back to the Future: The Ride
Opened in 1991, Back to the Future: The Ride was Universal’s answer to Disney’s Star Tours. Ostensibly, the attraction would be similar to Star Tours: a simulated flight through a fictional universe. However, on a technical level, Universal would approach the project very differently to Disney’s Imagineers.
The ride’s plot revolved around the theft of Doc Brown’s time machine by villainous Hill Valley resident Biff Tannen, the movie’s “bad guy”. Riders assisted Doc Brown by boarding another time machine and chasing Biff through the past. The queue wound through the Doc’s Institute of Future Technology, with riders being batched into groups before watching a short pre-show during which Doc Brown explained that on a time travel excursion back to 1955, the young Biff had stowed away in the DeLorean time machine. He was now on the loose, and up to no good. Both Christopher Lloyd and Thomas F. Wilson (who portrayed Biff in the films) reprised their roles, with Biff eventually hijacking the time machine.
Riders boarded recreations of the DeLorean, before being lifted into place in front of an enormous OmniMax screen to begin their adventure. Unlike the individual simulators employed by Star Tours, 12 were arrayed in front of each screen. The system is still in use by The Simpsons Ride, Back to the Future’s eventual replacement.
1. Kongfrontation
Another star of the Universal Studios Hollywood tour would have his very own attraction at Universal Studios Florida: Kongfrontation, based on the 1976 version of King Kong. The plot revolved around Kong being on the loose in New York. Guests were informed of this in the queue line, before boarding the Roosevelt Island Tramway to “escape”.
After passing through realistic scenes of destruction, they would twice encounter Kong, before discovering that they had been “filmed” and were starring in a new King Kong movie. The second encounter with Kong would be particularly spectacular, with Kong actually picking up the tram and then throwing it to the ground after coming under fire from a helicopter.
Many fans were up-in-arms when Kongfrontation was closed in 2002. Its soundstage is now occupied by Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride.
Learn more about the history of Universal Orlando
To learn more about the history of the Universal Orlando Resort, check out Universal Orlando: The Unofficial Story – the first book ever to document its creation and evolution, from its debut to the present day. The book is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in paperback and Kindle formats.
