RickR Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 Who here remembers the BTTF ride at Universal? Here's a good write-up on the experience at Yesterland: https://www.yesterland.com/backtothefuture.html I remember riding it back before I had children. Universal still had the old giant King Kong animatronic on their tram tour back then, which I also remember very well (it's now CGI on giant screens). Anyway, Back to the Future. I remember being a bit disappointed. The screen was dim and the view was a bit distorted unless you got lucky to ride in the cars that were right in the center. When I returned to Universal many years later, the ride was gone! I didn't know it at the time, but it was replaced with "The Simpson's"....well, I realized it only when we got on the ride and it's the exact same building/ride only with Simpson's theme. It is worse as The Simpsons. I actually felt nauseous after riding. One ride I never did get to ride at Universal is the ET ride. I have no idea if that one was good or bad. Justin and TrekMD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 I was proudly on the last voyage back to the future on March 30, 2007 at Universal Studios Florida. Here is a video of the final ride, you can see me in the background throughout, I'm tall, wearing a "2015" lenticular hat and black shirt. At 17:34 you hear me say "We're going back to '91 so we can do it all over again" and helping guide the person filming to get the car with the best working fog 😭 I loved the theme park ride as much as I loved the movie. I suppose you could say it made an impression on me. Proud to have been here for this moment in history. Enjoy: TrekMD and RickR 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 Oh that's awesome. It looks like the Florida version is a lot more elaborate than what I remember of the California one. And it was there a lot longer too. Thank you for that video, it brings back the memories!! Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 50 minutes ago, RickR said: I remember being very disappointed. The screen was dim and the view was a bit distorted unless you got lucky to ride in the cars that were right in the center. The reason for this is they were neglecting repairs as they were waiting for some decisions to come down as to if the ride would be refurbished as BTTF or if it would become something else (eventually Simpsons) and that is when the money was spent to refurb the dome screen and projectors. During most of the '90s the ride was bright and clear, all the cars had working fog, there were separation points in the screen, it felt very real for the time. I'm glad you got to go on it 🙂 RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 That friggin' Biff! Always causing trouble. And there you are at the end there...32 mins in. So awesome. Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 Oh I sure do! It was so much better than the Simpsons ride! RickR and Justin 1 1 Quote 🖖 Going to the final frontier, gaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 1 minute ago, TrekMD said: Oh I sure do! It was so much better than the Simpsons ride! THANK YOU for saying that!! @TrekMD TrekMD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 I'll share a few more goodies from Universal that you guys might enjoy ☺️ When the ride was scheduled to close, Universal sent out invitations to annual pass holders and VIPs to come visit the ride "before it's history". I received two invitations in March, 2007 and have kept them in the back of a photo album. These were fairly large mailers, 6x10 RickR and TrekMD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 Here's my family's invitation / ticket to the sneak preview (soft launch) of Universal Studios Florida on February 28, 1989. Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) served as M.C. of the event: RickR and TrekMD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 Here are a couple pictures from visiting with Gene Landrum during the final days of BTTF: The Ride in Spring, 2007. I've talked a lot about Gene before, he put together Atari's Home Consumer Division and the development and launch of the Atari 2600, and developed Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater while at Atari and left to run it with Nolan. Incredible guy. Loved BTTF: The Ride, too. The second picture is one I took of Gene outside of the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure. TrekMD and RickR 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 Pure gold. Thank you so much for sharing all this. I wish I could ride it again. Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 @Justin, have you ever been to Universal in California? I've been to the CA park probably 3 or 4 times in my life, but never to the Florida version. I suspect the CA one is much smaller. It's set on a hill, and there's actually a very long escalator (I'd guess it's about 15 minutes long) to get to the lower lot. Given the limited space, the rides are smaller and there just isn't space to add much more. For the new Nintendo World, I'm not sure where they put it or what they may have removed. I suspect it may be pretty modest in size. I will say that the Harry Potter area is pretty spectacular, but also limited in size. This is all conjecture based on your video. The FL BTTF seems gigantic to what I remember of the CA ride. Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 Hi @RickR! 7 hours ago, RickR said: @Justin, have you ever been to Universal in California? I have, once I was older. I lived very close to Universal Studios Florida for a number of years, close enough that I'd use my pass to get into the park 3-4 times a week just to jog around the lake and enjoy the views, maybe grab lunch with a friend, go on one ride and go home. That probably sounds weird to most people but I'm sure your son or anyone who has worked at Disney or Universal can tell you the parks can become central to daily life, as there is so much to do there. 7 hours ago, RickR said: I suspect the CA one is much smaller. Yes, that's true of both Universal and Disney parks. 7 hours ago, RickR said: It's set on a hill, and there's actually a very long escalator (I'd guess it's about 15 minutes long) to get to the lower lot. I always thought that was cool! The cool thing about Universal Studios Hollywood is they have all of the classic film sets, and still film on site. "Hill Valley" is there along with many other famous locations on the backlot. When they first built Universal Studios Florida we had a working backlot as well, and they were filming movies here like "Parenthood" with Steve Martin, and of course we had Nickelodeon Studios as well, but for whatever reason that didn't last very long. Georgia and Canada became the places to film outside of California, partially due to tax credits and other film-friendly incentives. 7 hours ago, RickR said: For the new Nintendo World, I'm not sure where they put it or what they may have removed. I suspect it may be pretty modest in size. That's a good point! Our Super Nintendo World is supposed to be located behind Back To The Future: The Ride, where the Bates Motel from Psycho used to be with the original Hard Rock Cafe, in what is now a "kiddie" area. I would be okay with them terraforming that into Nintendo World, as long as it's well done. I suspect they may want to make a "Nintendo Island" over in Islands of Adventure, but that part of the park is pretty packed full already too. 7 hours ago, RickR said: I will say that the Harry Potter area is pretty spectacular, but also limited in size. Everything at our parks tend to be pretty massive. 7 hours ago, RickR said: This is all conjecture based on your video. The FL BTTF seems gigantic to what I remember of the CA ride. That's true! When I was young I loved our BTTF ride and the idea of it being "The Institute of Future Technology" and the whole vibe of bringing "artifacts back from the future" - but I also used to wonder "This is a giant rectangular building.. why didn't they just make it the Clock Tower?" I think the reason for that is California, and the fact that the real Clock Tower square is on the backlot tour at USH and it would be weird for them to have two Clock Towers simultaneously. Being that they want to parts share and keep the rides similar in style, they opted for something other than a Clock Tower look and feel. California's ride was a lot like Japan's. The two domes were split, and the building was split into two halves. In Florida we had one giant building, and ours was the first to open, ahead of California by about two years. I don't know why they made the changes that they did, I was always happy with our ride experience. RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifan95 Posted March 9, 2023 Report Share Posted March 9, 2023 If I recall correctly, my DVD set of Back to the Future actually has the footage from The Ride on it. I don't remember much of what happened in it though. I'll have to give it a rewatch. RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 More photos from a special moment in space and time: RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 Smell Dawg and RickR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 I'm adding this photo I took of my own car just because I thought it looked really cool 🙃 RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 Those are some cool photos! Man, I miss this ride! Justin 1 Quote 🖖 Going to the final frontier, gaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 1 hour ago, TrekMD said: Those are some cool photos! Man, I miss this ride! Thank you! Me too. I wish they had kept it going much longer. I always enjoyed driving past Universal on the way home, looking up at that part of the park for I-4 and knowing, somewhere up there, tourists were blasting through time at any given moment. And touring Amity Island, surviving Earthquakes, running from dinosaurs, and flying on bicycles with E.T. and Elliott TrekMD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted August 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 Great pics. Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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