E.T. Adventure is the last opening day attraction left at Universal Studios Florida and it’s stood the test of time because of the nostalgia it presents. It’s almost as though it’s a time machine that takes you back to a simpler time for Universal movies, for theme parks, for tourists, and we call this time 1990…
History…
E.T. Adventure is a dark ride at Universal Studios Florida that was designed mostly in-house by Universal Creative with Steven Spielberg acting as a consultant and collaborator. In 1989 Universal Studios and Steven Spielberg began working on a new attraction for Universal Studios Florida, the park that was set to open the following year. The challenge for everyone involved was to create a memorable experience from a movie and condense it into just a few minutes of a ride. They decided to build a story that would play on the iconic chase scene from the film and have it change into a scene inspired from E.T. The Book of the Green Planet that was written in 1985 to be a sequel to the film. They then began to envision these scenes, but Spielberg insisted on making it a very personal experience and wanted the Green Planet to be shown and displayed as a friendly place.
Sally Corporation was brought in to assist and manufacture over 300 different animatronics and plants for the set. To provide the personal experience that Spielberg was after Universal Creative brought in Birket Engineering to design an animatronic E.T. that would say goodbye to guests by name as they passed by before unloading from the ride car. The system had the ability to recognize over 20,000 names.
The ride opened on June 7, 1990, with the opening day festivities at Universal Studios Florida and was a hit. Universal later opened it in Universal Studios Hollywood in 1991 and Japan in 2001 both of which have closed since to make way for new attractions but the original at Universal Studios Florida still endures to this day.
The Ride…
As soon as you enter the queue, you’re hit with nostalgia with TV monitors that are reeling through trivia as well as clips from the production of the film. When you enter the pre-show none other than Steven Spielberg himself appears on the overhead monitors to explain the ride and the storyline of what you're about to embark on. The grainy film of the 1980s-1990s is so bittersweet for anyone who grew up watching TV and film like that and offers a look into the past for younger visitors who never have experienced that. The interior queue is where this ride really becomes iconic, there’s a woodsy forest smell that cannot be described well enough to do it justice, it’s what keeps so many of us coming back. The queue from this point is a dark forest setting and is made to resemble the scene in E.T. where they are trying to evade capture. Several easter eggs from the film can be seen while making your way through the queue.
Once you’ve made your way through the queue you walk up to the loading platform where you’re seated on a bicycle that has handlebars that double as lap bars. E.T. is riding along in a basket in the front of the middle bicycle on each ride cart. You and E.T. make your way through the woods on the bicycle getting away from police and NASA scientists until finally the bicycles begin flying over the city simulating that iconic scene from the film. The next scene you move into is a portal of sorts with flashing lights that then turn into The Green Planet. You see an animatronic of Botanicus who asks you to help save E.T.'s friends. You travel through the Green Planet helping his friends with E.T.s healing touch. Once the ride is almost over you pass by E.T. who thanks you by the name you gave the ride attendant at the Pre-Show part of the queue. You then round the corner and are in the unload area.
Review…
This ride is fun, nostalgic, and a great ride for all ages. It does bring you back to a simpler time and gives a look at a legacy property for Universal Studios and shows the roots of the park. The experience is immersive, whimsical at times, and is always certain to entertain which is why it’s a must ride for us every time!
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