A Deep Dive Into Classic Universal Studios Florida (Complete)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Today we're going to be taking a deep dive into classic Universal Studios Florida from the 1990s. This video is the complete video essay, originally divided into two parts because I felt it got far too long. However, I've decided to post it in its original form as intended, working as a comprehensive deep dive into the classic park and covering all of the attractions for what was originally Universal's flagship park.
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As a original USF team member, I have a different recollection of the tram tour. I don't recall it being part of the opening day line up of attractions. I don't even think it was part of the plan. As I recall, it was added in reaction to guests not understanding Universal Studios Florida was planned as a full theme park, and wanting the Universal Studios Hollywood tram tour experience. Parking lot trams were put into service as tour trams in the park. This experience was ultimately not successful, as the park was not designed to accommodate such an experience.
What did I state in the video? I wrote and produced it back in February, so I honestly can't remember the details.
@@PoseidonEntertainment You said it opened with the park
Yes, a *studio tram ride tour* was expected as a part of a *Studios theme park*, and was made a part of both Universal Florida and Disney's Studios park.
I was an Original USF Member as well. It wasn't part of opening day. And Universal called themselves a real working Movie Studio but the Guest wanted a Theme Park so they ditched that idea about a year after Opening. In fact, Team Members got in trouble if they called it a Theme Park. I have a ton of videos back from that time. Opening day and walking around the park before we opened. Also back of house. I don't post on TH-cam anymore because I was getting so many fake copyright strikes.
@@TELEVISIONARCHIVES I would love to see these, I'd be willing to upload them myself if you didn't want to get copyright strikes even
I miss Jaws. There has never been anything else quite like it. It did such a great job of being very immersive. I wish they could have found a way to add Diagon Alley while keeping Jaws.
I know it's Iconic I miss back to the future ride too
@@onehorseopensleigh I never thought about that. That could be amazing.
It's been a year but have you seen that Universal Osaka still have their Jaws the ride?
One of my favorite changes to Universal over the past few years - they completely embrace their legacy and celebrate their former attractions wherever they can. It means a lot to a fan of classic Universal
@@AwesomeAnthonyProductions lol wow you biased universal fans/Disney antis are something else. Anyways yeah, your comment is false. While subtle, Disney almost ALWAYS makes callbacks to its attractions predecessors, arguably more than universal actually. But whatevs
Universal wouldn't have to reference them if they hadn't torn ALL of them down. 😂 Odd comment.
@@imtired1696 well over time things change. Not only was Jaws the perfect location for a Potter expansion, the ride was expensive to keep up. I think that fire explosion would cost them $75 per ride or something like that. You need new rides to attract business and you also want to improve the technology of your offerings, so since they need to close certain rides down, at least they honor them. What is so wrong with that idea? Lol
I’d take having the original attractions over having a silly Easter egg...
*laughs in Transformers The Ride and Fast and Furious cameo*
Nicely done! FUN FACT: a friend of mine worked on the Kongfrantation ride and said the banana breath effect had to be turned off because the chemicals were melting Kong’s vinyl skin!
An hour and a half long deep dive into the Golden age of Universal Studios Orlando that only a weirdo like myself and others who like niche content about the world of IP licenses, shady corporate politics and theme park architecture is into?
Oh yeah It's like an early Christmas!
Yessir!
hello is this where the line starts?
Oh good, look, the line is short so far 😂
What I heard about the line and here I am.
I got stuck on the I-4, can I still get in line??
just a few words about kongfrontation:
it will definitely look stupid to people
in 2022, but as a kid in the 90s, it was my favorite ride. i didn't realize it was at the time, but it's the ride i remember most fondly, and here's why: the theming really transported you to a nyc subway, and like poseidon said, it strongly conveyed a sense of imminent danger. the queue had a distinct smell that was absolutely perfect when combined with the true to life weathered walls and graffiti that you walked by. i remember the actors in the news clips on the little tv monitors in the queue being pretty convincing too, and the whole thing was just a master class in execution. obviously nobody was actually scared of the animatronic; that wasn't the point. but it's really difficult to convey something like this if you haven't experienced it. great video, cheers.
Does it look stupid though? I was quite young when I experienced it, but I still feel that it would hold up a lot better against Skull Island.
I understand what you mean, but I think it would still be popular today, especially if they had updated the Kong animatronic over the years.
Its just all those old rides you could reach out and feel them. Jaws kk ET now they use screens and they're good but also lacking in that reach out feel and smell.
In Universal Orlando I can't help but think they could've moved the Jaws attraction to the San Francisco lake or river they have on the center of the park ( even if it meant doing it smaller).
I gotta say, it doesn’t look stupid at all. I’d love to give it a ride today, or ride some sort of updated version.
It’s crazy to me how at first Universal Studios Orlando Resort was just a small studio lot park with some incredible attractions like Kongfrontation and Jaws (well, when they worked lol), and is what it is now.
The resorts are very well themed and some of the best I’ve ever stayed in Orlando, Citywalk is super nice for a night out with the fam, Islands is without a doubt the best theme park I’ve ever visited, Volcano Bay is the best water park I’ve ever been to, and now Epic Universe is on its way!
The one that started it all is still there and while not the crown jewel of the resort, is still immensely fun and with some of my favorite attractions in Orlando. Love this park, flaws and all!
Kinda like with Disney, another thing that’s crazy to me since it just started out as that plot of land in Anaheim lol, now it’s the biggest theme park corporation out there lol
The sets and buildings throughout Universal Studios are excellent. Whenever we visit the resort, just sitting down in an area for a little while is a nice experience because of how cozy and interesting the different areas are. Sitting on a bench in New York with The Godfather theme playing and walking down the Hollywood area are some of the memories that stick with me from a trip almost as much as the rides and shows
I only experienced Twister once as a kid, and "intense" was an understatement for me 😂 the roof slamming back down still makes appearances in my nightmares
I did go to the ghostbusters show that predated twister when I was little and i did get scared
I guess I wasn’t ready for the ghosts props
Alfred Hitchcock Experience is probably the one I miss the most. An absolute love letter to film making with one of the best to ever do it. Nothing quite like it anywhere else.
The Universal content on this channel is by far my favorite! Loved this deep dive on my third favorite Orlando park (Islands is my favorite and Animal Kingdom my second)!
I was about to lose it until you said a islands is your favourite. Elite taste!
@@NTWoo95 thank you lol, and yeah saying Universal is your third favorite park in Orlando never goes over well with people lol, but it used to be my fourth behind EPCOT. And then EPCOT kept shooting itself in the foot with its theming and overall I just think the park (while still amazing in aspects like the World Showcase and attractions like Spaceship Earth and Living with The Land) hasn’t been seeing the best kind of improvements or expansion imo. So I decided what the hey and moved Universal up a spot lol 🤪
I love Pandora, especially at night. But animal kingdom just doesn't have enough attractions for me.
Agreed! All the Universal content is awesome and my favorite
@@himynameiscorey yeah lol love my theme park TH-cam channels, I’m absolutely stoked for Epic Universe!
Ah, the nostalgia. I was lucky enough to visit in 1991 and again in 1998 so I got to experience all these attractions. Back to the Future, Kongfrontation and Jaws were definitely my favorites. Thanks for taking me back to better days!
As a 90s kid(and even further, A Florida kid), I really love and appreciate the depth you went into for this video. It warmed my cold millennial heart as the parks are like a second home to me. Universal Orlando is the first park I remember visiting as a child going through the struggles of my early life and my experiences there helped shape the adult I am today.
Same here. Grew up in Orlando in the 90s. Parents took me here often. I was a regular a Nickelodeon studios and was scared as hell at that king kong. Good memories
Man that Alfred Hitchcock attraction looked and sounded AMAZING for a cinephile such as myself.
One year, ‘01 or ‘02 Halloween Horror Nights ran a haunted house on the ground level of the entire Kong ride. It was So incredibly cool
I wished I could have experienced that. Really though, I also wish I had gotten into HHN earlier. My first year was 2017, but I had the opportunity for most of my life and opted for Howl-o-Scream instead.
Hmm, I've been recording each year since the original Fright Nights. I don't remember that.
@@TELEVISIONARCHIVES it was actually 3 years they had a “house” in Kong. The Ooze Zone being the most famous and last one.
I always loved the King Kong ride and even tho the mummy was a somewhat adequate replacement, it would of been cool being down in the streets of the New York City they had in the attraction.
I really really wish I was born just a bit earlier so that I could’ve rode these rides. The Hannah Barbara one looked the most fun
It was really fun...but man oh man I miss back to the future and jaws
Believe it or not murder she wrote and the Alfred Hitchcock thing LOL
I feel grateful to have be just old enough to ride everything and live only 2 hours away. Original universal was my whole childhood!
It was pretty great. There was even a post ride section where you could do the voices for an episode of Scooby Doo.
You were born at the time to be able to experience all the new rides coming to Orlando very soon!
This was an amazing video! Great job. As an MCA Recreation Services executive from the 1990s, this brought back some great memories. The one addition I can share is about the MCA Recording Studios attraction- this was not an attraction on motion picture sound recording as you mentioned… this was an attraction meant to showcase the MCA Music Entertainment division (at that time MCA was one of the largest music companies in the world)… the attraction allowed guests to record their own vocal tracks of music from the MCA music library.
I miss many of the older original attractions at USF… but as you know… there have been so many corporate owners and JV partners at Universal Orlando that the various masters impacted varying degrees of bad decisions in desperate attempts to understand how to make money in the theme park industry.. remember Universal was owned by MCA, which was then bought by Matsushita/Panasonic of Japan, which was then sold to the Seagram Company and renamed Universal Studios, Inc. Seagram then sold Universal to French company Vivendi which kept the video game and music business and then sold what was left of Universal to NBC, which itself was eventually acquired by Comcast. The Orlando property itself had various joint venture owners though out the last 30 years… the first few years was a joint venture with Cineplex Odeon, that was then bought by the Rank Organization and that was sold to Blackstone. Count the number of corporate owners and JVs in the last 30 years and you can understand all of the changes.
That's five corporate owners in 30 years. Damn that explains a lot. By the time you've got a plan together for a great ride, there is a new CEO and owner to impress.
The Kongfrontation ride had the most amazing waiting in line experience ever, just so may little details of old New York down to a crazy amount of chewing gum on the floors and walls, which looking back was probably helped a lot by guests 😂
I love your celebration of classic Universal studios, as it does not receive as much acclaim as it used to after HP took over. The older attractions are marvels in ingenuity and design, and definitely deserve to be remembered when discussing theme park history.
As someone with a deep fascination for the history of theme parks and their attractions, this is equivalent to an Oscar-winning movie! I'm absolutely fascinated by the way Universal has evolved as rides, attractions, shows and properties come and go over the years, like an ever-shifting medley of the cultural Zeitgeist of the relevant time periods. I had the pleasure of visiting Universal Studios Japan recently, where I experienced something rather peculiar and humourous: I chose to dine at 'The Lost World' restaurant, and I couldn't help but notice that the entire building was not only expertly themed to the Jurassic Park area it was in, but it also had a distinctly 90s/early 2000s aesthetic about it in the furniture, walls & ceiling fixings and overall architecture from when the park first opened. The intention of the theming was of course to make visitors feel they were in the 'real' Jurassic Park, but for me, I found it unintentionally hilarious that I genuinely felt I was back in 2001. Little things like these about Universal's parks make me love them more than any other in the world.
Twister feels like it could've really benefitted from projection mapping technology, enhancing the tornado and the feel of flying debris.
I just came back from Universal Studios last Saturday. While there I was remembering all the classic rides my kids have missed out on. Thank you for making this video.
I grew up in orlando and basically grew up at universal and disney world. Been to both countless times and have seen both change. Its good to have experienced this park from the beginning
This was an amazing video it is wonderful to see the roots of Universal Florida and amazed to see how it still growing .
How did you watch the entire video in less than 30 minutes?
@@GTNover I did see the complete video essay. I along with many on this site; watched the original version when it was divided into two parts. Now we are fortunate to see the complete original form and my feelings concerning the video essay about Classic Universal Studios Florida have not changed.
@@bjvincent8786 Thanks. At the time of my original comment I did not know this was just the two parts together. I was hoping there was a way to access the information ahead of time.
@@GTNover No problem, sadly there is no way to get early access to these excellent video essays. But "A Deep Dive Into Classic Universal Studios Florida" part 1 was aired in Feb 20, 2022 and part 2 was aired in Mar 4, 2022.
Today's screen technology on rides is cool and all, but I'll always regret not being able to experience those ENORMOUS King Kong animatronics. It's just a different kind of thrill, and I love it.
It closed when I was 10 years old... but I remember it being really fun as a kid.
~Jump To A "Scene"~
0:00 Intro
3:48 History Lesson on Universal Florida's Origin
14:36 Studio Tour
16:48 Nickelodeon
19:19 Hannah-Barbera
21:31 "Try it now Yogi!"
24:24 Alfred Hitchcock
28:10 Murder She Wrote
31:45 MCA Recording Studio+Other Attractions in Production Central
32:56 Kongfrontation
38:37 Ghostbusters+Streetbusters
43:47 Twister
46:05 "Hold on for your life"
49:04 Earthquake+Disaster
57:16 BeetleJuice
58:40 JAWS
1:03:36 The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show
1:05:00 Back To The Future
1:09:44 Swamp Thing Set+Men In Black
1:10:44 ET Adventure
1:13:33 Animal Actors
1:14:23 Bates Motel+Barney
1:15:59 Bates Mansion+Curious George & Fivel's Playland/Kidzone
1:17:27 Lucy-A tribute
1:19:33 Horror Make-up Show
1:21:34 T2-3D
1:26:08 Dynamite Nights+Cinesphere 360
1:28:14 Universal Florida Today+Closing Notes
Thank you for this wonderful trip down memory lane. I use to go every summer with my grandfather. Now that he’s gone seeing this just reminds me how he took me on every ride there with a smile on his face.
Right of the bat that commercial hit me nostalgically hard. Universal always just looked SO cool in the 90s; Disney was magical but Universal felt like it had edge.
I'm one of the lucky few who has amazing memories of both the Hitchcock Experience and the Hercules and Xena show. I was probably only 8 or 9 when I saw them, but they made a huge impression on me! In the Hercules and Xena show my little brother was picked to be a centaur and I was picked to help control the dragon. It was an awesome experience that I still talk about!
Been waiting for this
I've always wanted to visit Universal Studios Florida since its beginning (sigh, I am indeed that old), and now, by valve and by cuspid, I'm putting it on my Bucket List so I can finally check it out for myself.
Thank you so much for this deep dive!
My family made one visit to this park around 1991 and I can't believe how clearly I remember some of these attractions. They might look hokey now, but they made a huge impact on me at the time. Thanks for this, it's brought back a lot of really cool memories.
Well worth the wait. Still one of my favorite video essays on the platform 👍
This video brings back a lot of memories. Thanks.
Love this park. Worked for this park. Best park combo in Florida
This is a great video! We watch it every couple of months or so and we pick up on something new every time! Thank you for the great content!
Good stuff man, appreciate these in depth videos
Man, I don't get nostalgic often, but this brought back *SO* many memories to when my mom and dad took me to Universal Studios Florida in 1999. And, in retrospect, these rides & attractions are so much cooler than Disney's (we just went to Epcot instead of the whole but I remember way more of Universal's rides than Disney's). I never knew that Spielberg actually consulted for the design of the Back to the Future ride, and how could anyone forget Earthquake, Kong, and Jaws? The only regrets I have were not being able to get into Nickelodeon studios and doing more of the interactive movie making attractions. And no offense to the current park, this classic era is just so much better in every way and if it wasn't for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, then Universal probably would've went out of business a long time ago. But this is what happens when greed and corporate mergers ruin the fun. So happy that I experienced this when it was still this cool & my mom and dad were fortunate enough to take me then.
I went to Universal in ‘97 at 7 yrs old. The only rides I distinctly remember was Jaws, T-2, and Hitchcock. I have vague memories of Back to the Future as well. Those attractions were next level in my 7yo mind.
I went to Universal Hollywood in 1985, right before Kong, and later Earthquake. I didn't go again until 2006 in Florida, and luckily caught Back to the Future, Terminator, and Jaws before closing. So many rides, tours, and interactive shows missed... We bought a resale timeshare in Orlando, and have 6 nights booked this August. No more missing out!
Man I loved seeing the breakdown of Kongfrontation. I vividly remember how incredibly immersive it was as a child. Remains tied as my favorite ride of all time along with ExtraTERRORestrial at Disney.
if you were at the end of the line on twister you could see everything resetting back in place, or if you poked your head out the car on back to the future you could see the other car and the mechanism that holds the cars, kills the thrill a bit lol
I appreciate your content so much! You do a great job!
so excited to watch this all the way through!! I last went to USF in 2000 and I cant wait to enjoy this nostalgia heavy video! :D
Man, I really wish I could've visited Universal in its hey-day. I visited in 2012...and you could just tell that a lot of original magic was missing
It breaks my heart that every ride I remember is gone now except for E.T.
Best video yet. Hard works pays off, great job.
Classic Universal Studios Florida was so different, and so great
Agreed.
My dad got to do the hitchcock scene and it was such a fun time when i was a kid.
Visited in 1992 and it was such a difference to today. But some great attractions I miss so thank you for this trip down memory lane!
This video drew me to the realization that I've been on every single attraction in the park's history 😮
I love rides like Jaws and the Jungle Cruise at the Disney parks. Having a staff member as a guide that is also playing a character adds so much to multiple ride-throughs and it's just really neat to have an actor instead of just a robot or voice
Thank you for this video, I last went to Universal Studios back in 1995 when I was just a boy, pretty much went on every ride/show so it was VERY nostalgic watching your video as I relived some lost memories.
Very comprehensive and Well Done video! Thank you!
I truly miss the “Ride the movies” era 😢still love universal though
Man this is incredible. I really appreciate the effort you put into making this video it’s amazing! Keep up the great work
Whenever i have nothing to watch poseidon ends up uploading something. Its great
YES! INCREDIBLE! AN HOUR AND A HALF LONG VIDEO ABOUT CLASSIC UNIVERSAL. EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR! TIME TO PROCRTASTINATE
I remember the graveyard review and I still have my annual pass for both parks now it has changed so much
Come on, Disaster was amazing. Anything with Christopher Walker in is going to be great. There was nothing wrong with the original Earthquake, but the comedy in Disaster added an extra element and made the overall experience more interesting. You could argue they could have done without the commentary during the actual ride element, but overall the ride was brilliant. Unfortunately newer rides that aren’t tied to popular IPs generally struggle so it was scuppered anyway.
Awesome Video! very informative! Love the Theme Park History.
This is amazing content! So much research!!!
Thank you for making such a comprehensive look at what Universal Studios Florida used to be. As a kid in the 80’s and 90’s who was really into movies, both Disney MGM and Universal were places I saw from afar growing up in the Midwest. My family got down to Orlando 5 times from 1987 to 1997, and both parks and the area had such an enormous influence on me that I went to college for film and video production. Also watching how Orlando seemed to be growing into the “east coast Hollywood”, while not being quite as crazy as L.A. or New York City-wise, all I wanted was to live and work in Orlando. I ended up moving to Orlando in 1998, finishing school in 2000, and have lived here ever ever since. Sadly the professional industry was just on its way out around this time, and has exited even more since, leaving my dream in a perpetual state of failure, as I’ve now lived here for almost 25 years, and I’m very rooted and attached to the area, but without much of my industry. But I wish younger people today could experience this park in the way that I did. I missed its opening by 1 year being here in 1989, and finally was able to return in the spring 1994 when I was 14. For a kid that age, waiting 5 years was between ⅓ to half your life! So my anticipation was crazy. Universal didn’t disappoint me, and I just loved it all to death. Upon moving to Orlando, I got an annual pass and was at the park, and shortly thereafter both parks, at least once a week with a friend. Sadly I don’t really enjoy hardly any of the current rides or areas, maybe with the exception of the Potter areas/rides. It’s hard to describe how, for the time, just how amazing all of these original rides and attractions were. At least to me. And everything in the area was SO new, vibrant, and exciting. On top of not being as crazily crowded as it all is today. It used to feel more relaxing and exclusive in that respect, and I miss that. I showed up for final day of both the Kongfrontation ride, for which the entire crowd were given bananas for a “banana salute”, as well as the last day for Jaws. Both I miss an incredible amount. I can even remember walking through the base of Kongfrontation under the tram during Halloween Horror Nights. Back to the Future was always my favorite ride though, and I was so hurt when it closed for the awful Simpsons ride. I understand that technology changes, and many kids today aren’t as interested in movie franchises from the 80’s or before, but I still long to go back in time to the early 90’s and experience this park again the ways that I did.
I've never been to new universal. I went as a kid back in the early 90s with the fam so this is pretty much what my Universal experience was.
I was born in Orlando but my family moved to Alabama a few years later, and every summer we would go to Disney World, Universal Studios, and other attractions in the area. I loved Universal in the late 90s...Back to the Future and the Kong ride were two of my favorites!
I went there in the 90’s as a teenager and loved it! It was so interesting learning about how films were made and the many different shows were all great as well. Back then there were few rides but it didn’t matter because you had plenty of other interesting things to see that actually taught you something you likely didn’t know. Unfortunately, those past generation X have little interest in any of that and only care about what’s new and what’s the most thrilling rides. It’s a shame because Universal truly was a very unique park and while I still love it and I’m looking forward to my next trip (even though I can’t ride roller coasters, I still enjoy the scenery, shows, and lighter rides) and I’ll always support Universal over Disney any day!
The Pegasus mention just to show the clip was pure gold 😂😂
Kongfrontation was my favorite!!
Never visited the place but this was great, I really enjoyed watching it.
I held the pink slime at Ghostbusters as a kid. Absolutely loved it. Also ate slime for the pre-show at Nickelodeon & my family and I got picked for different things at Disaster and Hercules & Xena.
I miss the old attractions but still love Universal!
I went to the ghostbusters show when I was almost 4
Ghostbusters 2 was the first movie I ever saw in the theater
I thought I was ready to see the ghosts in person but I was not
I was scared shitless
Amazing work! Nothing will ever top the Original line up.
More awesome content from you guys. Love your videos
I'm a current team member i enjoy watching the history of the park i grew up with. Also you forgot the pysco house was the house form capser for a tiny bit as well before it was replaced by kidzone not many people remember this.
Fantastic documentary, sir!
Incredible quality as always.
I remember going there in 1999 and went on Kongfrontation, Back to the Future and Jaws. The lagoon stunt show brilliant.
It really sucks how much this park has gone downhill. I lived in Florida during the mid 90’s and used to frequently visit this park. It’s a shame they got rid of such classic rides like Jaws, Kongfrontation, T2, Earthquake and Back to the Future. They already have a Harry Potter attraction in Islands of Adventure (the neighbor park) but yet they decided to replace Jaws with ANOTHER Harry Potter attraction! WTF? There are no classic movie rides left here except ET, and that ride is dated and lame. Why did they need to make a whole area dedicated to the Simpsons? They replace the classic and always popular BTTF with essentially the same ride but with the Simpsons… I used to love walking around Amity Island and feeling like I was back in Massachusetts (where I was born and raised) and the Jaws ride so iconic! Now Amity is a lame ass Harry Potter environment. The rides in this park are just bad now… a Despicable Me ride?? Seriously? The park is such a joke now. I went here last year (2021) because I was curious how the park held up since I hadn’t been there since the 90’s and I was incredibly disappointed.
When I think back to when my anxiety started, i can trace it back to that tram tour in California 😂 I went on it when I was like 4 or 5 and scared the crap out of me then but now I look back at it with rose colored glasses with just how cool the ride was.
This was a great video re-capping USF. I am not a long time fan of USF, and only made my first trip last year. Yes, I'm a Disney convert, I just refuse to pay those prices. We have very much enjoyed USF and learning about all the older attractions is great. Reminds me more of Disneyland - they can be brutal over there about removing attractions to keep the park fresh. I look forward to more videos.
I might be a bit off with this timeline and crossing over multiple visits, but I vividly remember “my” classic era.
I do remember there would be an area with constantly changing walk through experiences for upcoming features such as Jurassic Park and Casper. You would interact with dinosaurs, there would be floating life-size models of the ghosts for photos etc. I even remember this area also previewing Islands of Adventure at one point with models of attractions on display.
I agree the rides had an expectation date and new attractions continuously made these classics show their age.
I remember being on Kongfrontation as a kid. It turned into a walk-on ride. I experienced it by myself with the family elsewhere there were only a few others on the ride with me and once the ride was done, there was nobody waiting to board the next one. The actor on board asked if I wanted to ride again! Didn’t even get off the cable car from what I remember!
Such great memories - thanks so much for sharing this video.
I remember going tot he Hercules and Xena experience. Part of the audience participation included being selected to showcase the practical/ camera effects by dressing up as a Centaur, then being filmed on a blue screen, hiding the bottom half of your torso by hiding it behind a blue frame. They chose 2 people from the audience, a father and son. That’s all I remember, though.
i cant believe they finally shut down the curious george area and fivel’s playland finally 😢😢 they were my favorite classic part of universal since i remember going there when i was really little.
I adored the Lucy Store ❤
Thank you, this is excellent.
I love this particular retrospective. I was a very nerdy 11 year old reading about this new park opening up and was fascinated by all the things you describe here. Unfortunately my family was a bunch of naysayers who said the rides would be broken down, nothing would work, etc, which I learned later was kinda true. Of course I never, ever went to Universal for whatever reason, so I missed all the early things they had.
I would say that it's worth visiting today, even though it's so different. But I suppose yeah, ironically the park did have serious technical issues with its attractions lol.
@@PoseidonEntertainment definitely still want to go, they now have Harry Potter world, after all. :D
I recently got to go on Jaws the ride at Universal Studios in Osaka Japan. It was a lot of fun! It's a bummer it's the only one left.
18:45 I remember taking the tour in the early 90s and the Clarissa explains it all set was on the stage shown here, part of it anyway it was her bedroom and the living room that was visible at the time.
I remember throughout the 90s my dad would take me to Universal and Disney World twice a year as a kid due to him being in the hotel business at the time in the area (I vaguely remember as a toddler the first time my dad took me there in 1993 on summer vacation, was a completely different vibe back then) but in the early 00s we stopped going because it was not only changing drastically but getting more expensive with March 2005 being our last trip for 15 years (I was one if the last ones in Nickelodeon studios that year a few months before it closed and was remodeled). When I last went with my dad for Christmas 2020 I felt like I barely recognized the place, it didn't feel the same anymore most of the rides I knew and loved were either long gone or remodeled into something else, even a month after that trip even more rides were closed indefinitely its not the same experience it once was 30 years ago. It was still fun though (at least more than how much Disney World changed) but I don't think its really worth the much higher prices they're charging now to go now even the food is way more expensive while serving less (you can't even order food at Disney with using the app now on your phone). I was devastated when I found out the original Star Tours ride was long gone, its just not worth it anymore i don't think ill be going back anytime soon.
As a 9 year old at the time, I remember the hype for USF before it opened. They visited a Chicago area mall (Orland or Woodfield) and had Frankenstein and Woody Woodpecker on hand, I even got a Woody USF sticker that has since been lost to time. Aside from the characters, they put a short version of the WWW West stunt show, I all remember was one of the cowboys spitting out “teeth” into a bucket after a punch. The marketing did its trick, as I couldn’t wait to go there on our next trip to Orlando.
Very great video! I’m a very recent Universal fan and I think I love it more than DisneyWorld (not to say I don’t like it, I still VERY much love Disney).
People’s complaints of Universal relying on too many screens is justified but as someone terrified of coasters but want thrill, Transformers, Spider-Man, etc are perfect for me. That doesn’t mean I want it all to be screens, Forbidden Journey is the perfect amount of screens and physical sets. And as someone who isn’t a fan of coasters, Gringotts is THE BEST. I can’t wait to see Epic Universe next year!
Growing up in Florida, there's a handful of these that I remember before they were torn down. As a child I was terrified of the Jaws ride, and it wasn't until I got older that I really wanted to ride it but it was long gone :(
Looks like more fun than the current one.
I remember back in 2007, the lines for the Jaws ride were short enough that my brother sister and I went on it 14 times together over the course of two days (I was 7 at the time, and found all of the effects really cool)
definitely the ride I missed the most when my family returned to the park in 2014
Only 5 mins in "okay this is my new all-time favorite TH-cam video"
Excellent job my friend you've got a new sub
So many rides I still dearly miss and wish could be recreated or _worthily_ spiritually succeeded.
If I were able to time travel, Id go to the opening days of some of these rides. Not only to experience them, but to do so when they were at their prime and peak functional state
its neat watching this since they had most of the preamble information about the forming of the company in the orientation when i was hired to be a cook at the park in HollyWood
My mom, dad, my younger brother and I had a tour of the Universal Studios Orlando, Nickelodeon Studios back in 1991 because my younger brother got an opportunity to eat some Orange slime which tasted like Oranges.
Back in 1991 I was 10 years old when my family and I went to Orlando Florida for my birthday gift.
We even visited Epcot and Disney World too.
I forgot how jankey the ET ride was! Why was I so impressed by that as a child?
Here because despite being born and raised in Orlando I never got to go to pre-2000s Universal.
I'm sooooo not still bitter about it and soooo don't remember literally being able to hear Slime Time Live when my parents would drive down I-4 😭