E.T. Adventure
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| E.T. Adventure | |
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| Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Hollywood | |
| Area | Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone (USF) Hollywood (USJ) Lower Lot (USH) |
| Attraction type | Dark ride |
| Theme | E.T. |
| Opening date | June 7, 1990 (USF) March 31, 2001 (USJ), June 12, 1991 (USH) |
| Closing date | March 14, 2003 (USH) |
| Vehicle type | Bikes |
| Height requirements | 40" (102 cm) |
| Replaced By | Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride (USH) |
E.T. Adventure is a dark ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Japan, and, formerly, Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
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[edit] Current Ride
The current ride, at Universal Studios Florida, has guests begin by entering a sound stage.
[edit] Exterior Queue
The exterior queue is themed to a sound stage where E.T. is being filmed. TV monitors above guests' heads display the filmmakers disscussing their experience on creating the film as well as E.T. trivia. There are also E.T. posters from the film's 20th Anniversary re-release on display near the end of the queue. Guests are then ushered into the pre-show room.
[edit] Pre-Show
Before going into the interior queue, Steven Spielberg appears on TV screens above us and tells us that E.T.'s teacher Botanicus needs E.T. to come to his home world, "The Green Planet" because the planet is dying. Only E.T.'s magical healing touch can save the planet, so it is up to the guests to bring him home. He also tells the guests that you make your journey on bikes, and that you need a "Interplanetary Passport" to get there. The guests then enter a second room where they give their name to one of Speilberg's assistants which is programmed into a card, that is used later in the ride.
[edit] Interior Queue
The interior queue is a forest setting where it is established that the police are looking for E.T. Guests then board the ride vehicle which is a car suspended from a track.E.T.'s teacher Botanicus is seen pleading for E.T.'s return.
[edit] Ride
Each individual seat is a bicycle, whose handles come down as the lap bar. The bike in the middle of the front row contains E.T. The vehicles travel past NASA and police officials who give chase and try to arrest the riders. As they are about to be caught, the bicycles begin to fly over the city and then into outerspace. Arriving at the Green Planet, the guests encounter Botanicus who urges the visitors to save E.T.'s friends. E.T.'s healing touch travels through the planet, reviving his friends and beginning a celebration with baby E.T.s. At the end, guests pass an animatronic E.T. who thanks them all by the name they gave to the travel agents.[1]
[edit] Attraction Facts
The rides at both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Japan are still in operation. The ride is located in Woody Woodpecker's KidZone in Florida, and in the Hollywood area in Japan. The ride at Universal Studios Hollywood, which opened on June 12, 1991, was closed March 14, 2003 to make room for Revenge of the Mummy. For a short time, an unauthorized golden E.T. statue was placed by a crew member in the treasure room of the Revenge of the Mummy attraction as a tribute to the former tenant of the building at Universal Studios Hollywood. This did not last long.
After the closing of the Hollywood ride, Steven Spielberg told Universal that they were not permitted to close the Florida and Japan versions. Universal agreed, So it is highly unlikely that the Florida and Japan versions will be leaving anytime soon. The ride is rumored to appear in the upcoming Universal Studios Singapore park when completed in 2010.
In November 2004 on the attraction at Universal Studios Japan, a 35-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture, Japan suffered nerve damage in her right wrist, resulting in the loss of use of two of her fingers and ultimately losing her job. This occurred when her hand got stuck in a safety bar as an employee pulled it down to secure it. The woman sued the park and received ¥14 million in an out-of-court settlement.
The attraction at Universal Studios Florida originally featured a different pre-show which ran from 1990-2002. During this pre-show, Steven Spielberg is in a movie theater watching E.T. and informs us that we have volunteered to be actors in a sequel to the film. The original pre-show was discontinued, because Speilberg wanted to change it for the 20th Anniversary. It should also be noted that the original pre-show was projected onto a large screen, while the current one is seen from multiple TV monitors.
- Original music: John Williams
[edit] References
- ^ E.T. Adventure Ride at Universal Studios Florida KidZone (HTML) (English). theotherorlando.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
