Bang! Zoom! Smash!
At Disney, Walt used to say it all started with a mouse, but at Universal it all really started with Harry Potter.
At Comcast, it all started with corruption!
King Kong’s coming!Don't forget your umbrella...
Oh, you!
I went on this one when I was a kid… I don’t remember banana breath, but definitely the breakdowns. We ended up stuck in the line for it for three hours because it kept breaking down. I seem to remember that there were plenty of entertaining details along the line’s path that helped, but it also went through a building so you couldn’t get any idea of just how long the line was until it was too late.
Our experiences with the Universal park were mostly being impressed with whatever the new thing was, and imagining that all the other rides and attractions must have been nice when they were new, before most of the features broke and trash got scattered everywhere. As an archaeologist, I get to practice my craft at Universal- “I bet this was designed originally to function in the following way…” . The Disney equivalent is the Great Movie Ride, which has fewer moving parts every time I ride it. But that seems to be the exception for Disney, and the rule for Universal.
Yay! I can’t wait to take the kids to the Giant Gory Insects Eat Your Head attraction:
Make it a school trip, get the teachers eaten. Instant success!
I remember riding it around '91 or so. It broke down with us right in front of his face, banana breath heaving on the tram. This must have happened a lot, because they had us out of there in just a few minutes.
My memory of Universal Studios at that time was of a dirty, trash-strewn park filled with bored-looking teenagers running rides and paint already chipping off all the attractions. It was a stark contrast to the clean, chipper WDW. I understand the park’s gotten a lot nicer since then (and much more expensive).
They’ve hugely spruced up the ride in the last year or so, with its new TCM sponsorship. Lots of things that haven’t worked in years are running again. It pretty much looks like it did back when it opened.
I am happy to hear that they have improved the Great Movie Ride.It was never a fabulous experience, but it was sad to see it slowly break down, especially having been there when it was new. The first thing I remember going was the gangster car, which used to roll into scene. I always though it must be a simple fix. The water effect in the Esther Williams scene was probably more complicated. Like I said, It was never a great ride, but it was relaxing and air conditioned. My wife and I honeymooned at Disney the same year TGMR opened, so I see it’s age and decay paralleled in myself.
If you mean the Footlight Parade scene, that’s sadly been broken since the first year the park opened. I got to see it rotating with the water jets that year, but even with the extensive renovations, they’ve kept it static with just bubbles and projections ever since then. Apparently it flooded the ride on a regular basis.
You are right Ruby Keeler, not Esther Williams. I lose points for that one.
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