Universal Studios Florida & Islands of Adventure: From Spider-Man to Bourne Stunt Show Spectacular
It had been three decades since I last visited Universal Studios Florida. It was damn near unrecognizable! We spent most of our day there and a bit near the end at its sister park, Islands of Adventure. The Florida sun was getting pretty hot, but we got our money’s worth out of the day.
That all being said, here are my impressions of the rides we did.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA
E.T. Adventure: A real classic that feels a lot like the classic Peter Pan ride. After recreating much of the end of the movie being chased by cops in the woods, you travel via bicycle to E.T.’s home planet where you save them from an environmental catastrophe.
The Bourne Stuntacular: While not technically a ride, this was the thing that surprised me the most. After a way too lengthy video intro, guests are seated in a large stadium with a curved screen. Video plays on the curved screen as stunt actors are on the stage in the foreground. There’s fights, climbing, explosions, and exciting music. At times, the stage rotates to provide a mock-3D effect. The story is a kind of simplified version of what’s in the Bourne movie, but the cleverness of the presentation makes this a must.
The Simpsons Ride: Originally, this was the Back to the Future Ride that was later rethemed to be The Simpsons. Not that we did any coasters this time, but The Simpsons Ride was the roughest of all the rides with the vehicle tilting so hard at times it feels as if you’re going upside down. The humor helps separate this ride from the rest.
Men in Black Alien Attack: A novel combination of a track ride and a gun ride. Shoot aliens attacking the city (believe it’s NYC?) and it has two different endings depending on how you do. Funny detailed aliens animatronics both in the queue and on the ride make this a lot of fun.
Fast & Furious - Supercharged: This delightfully idiotic affair has acting worthy of a 1990s CD-ROM game. You get on a party bus that is pursued by the FBI for reasons. There’s a nice near 360 degree video effect that has exciting video clips of car crashes and gunfire, but the bus itself does little more than buckle side to side as you get splashed by the occassional water or steam.
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem: Get turned into one of those yellow minions in a ride that feels like a gentler Star Tours. You don’t crash into walls as much as bounce off of surfaces. The humor on this is sort of annoying; hope you enjoy banana and fart gags.
Illumination Villain-Con Minion Blast: This was a bit of a letdown. You stand on a spot on a moving sidewalk as you fire at different screens causing mayhem. The gun features a score, but there are so many people targeting the screen that it’s easy to lose track of where you are.
ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: Super impressive ride combining 3D glasses, animatronics, and forced perspective as you ride in a fancy news van getting attacked by various Spidey bad guys. Even though this is older, the CG is stylized enough to still hold up.
The Cat in the Hat: A gentle ride in the vein of Disney that likes to spin you around a lot as you relive the plot of the book where the Cat is a jerk and makes a mess of a suburban house as the fish complains. Fun visuals and the line had the best air conditioning of the bunch.
Tomorrow I’ll be tackling Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, so please look forward to it.