E.T. Adventure
Encyclopedia
E.T. Adventure is a dark ride
featured at Universal Studios Florida
and formerly, Universal Studios Hollywood
, and Universal Studios Japan
theme parks. The ride is based on the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
. It is expected to open at Universal Studios South Korea
and Universal Studios Dubailand in the near future.
. E.T. Adventure is expected to open at Universal Studios South Korea
and Universal Studios Dubailand in the near future.
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 the riders that we have volunteered to be actors in a sequel to the film. The original pre-show was discontinued, because Spielberg wanted to change it for the 20th Anniversary. It should also be noted that the original pre-show was projected onto a large single screen, while the current one is shown on multiple TV monitors.
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 they make their 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 Spielberg's assistants which is programmed into a card that is used later in the ride. People that have been on this ride before sometimes fake their name to see how E.T. says it at the end.
Dark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects....
featured at Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
and formerly, Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
, and Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan
, located in Osaka, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong,...
theme parks. The ride is based on the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
. It is expected to open at Universal Studios South Korea
Universal Studios South Korea
Universal Studios South Korea is a future theme park to be constructed in the vicinity of Seoul, South Korea. The park would become the sixth Universal Studios theme park in the world, and the fourth in Asia, after Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Singapore and the future Universal...
and Universal Studios Dubailand in the near future.
History
E.T. Adventure originally opened at Universal Studios Florida in 1990. One year later, the attraction opened in Universal Studios Hollywood. In 2001, the third installation of this attraction was opened in Universal Studios Japan. On March 14, 2003, the Hollywood version was closed and later replaced by Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride. More recently, on May 10, 2009, the Japan version was closed and later replaced by Space Fantasy: The RideSpace Fantasy: The Ride
Space Fantasy: The Ride is a steel roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan. The ride opened on March 19, 2010....
. E.T. Adventure is expected to open at Universal Studios South Korea
Universal Studios South Korea
Universal Studios South Korea is a future theme park to be constructed in the vicinity of Seoul, South Korea. The park would become the sixth Universal Studios theme park in the world, and the fourth in Asia, after Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Singapore and the future Universal...
and Universal Studios Dubailand in the near future.
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 the riders that we have volunteered to be actors in a sequel to the film. The original pre-show was discontinued, because Spielberg wanted to change it for the 20th Anniversary. It should also be noted that the original pre-show was projected onto a large single screen, while the current one is shown on multiple TV monitors.
Summary
The ride at Universal Studios Florida has guests begin by entering a sound stage. Some elements of this description may not be accurate for the Hollywood and Japan installations.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 discussing 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, in English and various other languages. Guests are then ushered into the pre-show room.Pre-Show
Before going into the interior queue, Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
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 they make their 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 Spielberg's assistants which is programmed into a card that is used later in the ride. People that have been on this ride before sometimes fake their name to see how E.T. says it at the end.
Interior Queue
The interior queue is a forest setting where it is established that the police are looking for the guests in the line. In the interior queue, Botanicus, E.T.'s teacher, is seen beaming down from his ship every few minutes pleading for E.T.'s return, and on the way the guests pass by a Speak & Spell seen in the movie, while the letters H-E-L-P E-T come onto the screen of it while its signature loud clacking is heard, and then the letters erase, and ad lib. A hare from the film pops up every few seconds. The guests then board the ride vehicle.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, a police car appears out of nowhere and just as they are about to hit it, the bicycles begin to fly over the city and then into outer space. From on their bikes, they can see the miniature city below, including real moving cars and even a football stadium. The bike is then transported to a kind of portal area with flashing lights which, when finally turned around, arrives at the Green Planet. Then 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. This lasts for about 3 minutes, and is a huge contrast to the beginning; the beginning was dark and scary, and this part of the ride is light and colourful, with spurting water and singing. At the end, guests pass an animatronic E.T. who thanks them all by the name they gave to the travel agents.See also
- Universal Studios FloridaUniversal Studios FloridaUniversal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
- Incidents at Universal parksIncidents at Universal parksThis is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various Universal-owned theme parks, amusement parks, or water parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are...
(info on 2004 incident in Japan) - List of amusement rides based on film franchises