Universal Studios is not your average theme park.
Let me give you an example...The Terminator 2 ride. *Spoiler alert*
The show begins as a classified Cyberdyne Systems weapons demonstration in a large auditorium. Giant robots rise up from the ground and begin firing their machine guns over our heads as we are told about how Cyberdyne will make our world safer, more connected and free of fear. As the overly enthusiastic "Head of PR" continues her speech in front of a large cinema screen displaying a rotating Cyberdyne logo, two armed guerrillas are suddenly abseiling from the ceiling. Hitting the ground they fire their sub-machine guns into the air to get our attention, sending the PR lady running for cover. It is John and Sarah Connor. 'Listen up everyone,' she shouts. 'Cyberdyne is evil. Their latest project, "Skynet" is going to bring about the end of the world as you know it. We tried to warn you. You have one minute to get out of the building. We are going to stop them.'
Then, from behind the scenes, the terrifying T1000 from the Terminator 2 movie strides out onto the stage, in full police uniform with motorcycle helmet. 'John, look out!' cries Sarah. As the "robot" pursues John across the auditorium, the loud roar of an engine is heard, and there, from beneath the screen at the rear of the stage, The Terminator rides out on his Harley Davidson, skids to a halt in front of the T1000, pulls out his shotgun and pumps two deafening shells into the guy who goes flying backwards to the ground. By the way, this is all happening live on stage in front of us - it is not a movie (yet). He grabs John, swings him up onto the back of the motorbike and, after firing yet another shot at the now back-on-his-feet police guy, goes roaring up the ramp at the back of the stage and into the electrified time portal which has opened up in the screen behind them. Then, with the help of our 3D glasses, we are all transported to a post Judgement day world as the Terminator and John pop up on the screen in a short but thrilling 3D movie, directed by James Cameron himself - as if they have actually left the stage to be transported into the film we are now watching. They race across the post-apocalyptic landscape, pursued by robotic flying, laser-beam blasting drones towards the Cyberdyne headquarters. There, we are once again back in the live action as the screen stretches around the entire room, turning it into the futuristic power plant at the centre of Skynet, an artificial intelligence responsible for the annihilation of mankind.
Once again, the Terminator and John appear on the stage, this time firing laser cannons at the large liquid metal scorpion/spider creature which guards the Skynet central computer. The 3D film interacts incredibly with the live action on stage and as Arnie, sorry, The Terminator, fires his gun, laser beams shoot across the screen in 3D and into the squirming metallic creature which reaches out into the audience with razor sharp tentacles. John and his robotic companion then run through the audience, passing right in front of us, and over onto a spiral staircase leading to two bridges, which stretch out into the movie screen. With extreme precision, they each pass through a doorway to be, magically, back in the movie again for the grand finale where we see the Terminator swing over the scorpion type thing, land on the super computer at the centre of the room and blow it up with a rucksack of TNT, showering us all in smoke and ice cold liquid metal, (ie. water), just as John swings in the other direction into another time portal, transporting him back to the present and, after the smoke has cleared from the room, back onto the stage and into the arms of his mother.
The whole experience is like nothing else in the world - where a movie franchise as famous as the Terminator can be brought to an audience in a real life, live-action stage performance, to then transport them into the movie itself and throw them back out again, utterly exhilarated, just a few hair-raising minutes later.
Another highlight of the two parks was the Spiderman ride - a jaw dropping blend of roller coaster, super hi-tech simulator, hi-def 3D movie and hair singeing, fireball-flinging live staged action. I cannot even begin to describe it. We did it four times!
Another ride that saw us line up four times, each time opting for the slightly longer line to ride in the front seats, was The Incredible Hulk - A bright green, world renowned roller coaster, famous for its negative G's, super fast, face-melting accelerated launch system, and loops - lots and lots of loops:
The Islands of Adventure park also contains several water rides. And we got absolutely soaked - despite the funky ponchos...
Having thoroughly "done" Orlando, we said a teary goodbye to my parents in a Seven-Eleven carpark and after two days on the road, arrived in New Orleans, (pronounced round here as "N'awlins") in the state of Louisiana, in time for a live music and beer festival in a brewery...
To be continued...
Let me give you an example...The Terminator 2 ride. *Spoiler alert*
The show begins as a classified Cyberdyne Systems weapons demonstration in a large auditorium. Giant robots rise up from the ground and begin firing their machine guns over our heads as we are told about how Cyberdyne will make our world safer, more connected and free of fear. As the overly enthusiastic "Head of PR" continues her speech in front of a large cinema screen displaying a rotating Cyberdyne logo, two armed guerrillas are suddenly abseiling from the ceiling. Hitting the ground they fire their sub-machine guns into the air to get our attention, sending the PR lady running for cover. It is John and Sarah Connor. 'Listen up everyone,' she shouts. 'Cyberdyne is evil. Their latest project, "Skynet" is going to bring about the end of the world as you know it. We tried to warn you. You have one minute to get out of the building. We are going to stop them.'
Then, from behind the scenes, the terrifying T1000 from the Terminator 2 movie strides out onto the stage, in full police uniform with motorcycle helmet. 'John, look out!' cries Sarah. As the "robot" pursues John across the auditorium, the loud roar of an engine is heard, and there, from beneath the screen at the rear of the stage, The Terminator rides out on his Harley Davidson, skids to a halt in front of the T1000, pulls out his shotgun and pumps two deafening shells into the guy who goes flying backwards to the ground. By the way, this is all happening live on stage in front of us - it is not a movie (yet). He grabs John, swings him up onto the back of the motorbike and, after firing yet another shot at the now back-on-his-feet police guy, goes roaring up the ramp at the back of the stage and into the electrified time portal which has opened up in the screen behind them. Then, with the help of our 3D glasses, we are all transported to a post Judgement day world as the Terminator and John pop up on the screen in a short but thrilling 3D movie, directed by James Cameron himself - as if they have actually left the stage to be transported into the film we are now watching. They race across the post-apocalyptic landscape, pursued by robotic flying, laser-beam blasting drones towards the Cyberdyne headquarters. There, we are once again back in the live action as the screen stretches around the entire room, turning it into the futuristic power plant at the centre of Skynet, an artificial intelligence responsible for the annihilation of mankind.
Once again, the Terminator and John appear on the stage, this time firing laser cannons at the large liquid metal scorpion/spider creature which guards the Skynet central computer. The 3D film interacts incredibly with the live action on stage and as Arnie, sorry, The Terminator, fires his gun, laser beams shoot across the screen in 3D and into the squirming metallic creature which reaches out into the audience with razor sharp tentacles. John and his robotic companion then run through the audience, passing right in front of us, and over onto a spiral staircase leading to two bridges, which stretch out into the movie screen. With extreme precision, they each pass through a doorway to be, magically, back in the movie again for the grand finale where we see the Terminator swing over the scorpion type thing, land on the super computer at the centre of the room and blow it up with a rucksack of TNT, showering us all in smoke and ice cold liquid metal, (ie. water), just as John swings in the other direction into another time portal, transporting him back to the present and, after the smoke has cleared from the room, back onto the stage and into the arms of his mother.
The whole experience is like nothing else in the world - where a movie franchise as famous as the Terminator can be brought to an audience in a real life, live-action stage performance, to then transport them into the movie itself and throw them back out again, utterly exhilarated, just a few hair-raising minutes later.
Another highlight of the two parks was the Spiderman ride - a jaw dropping blend of roller coaster, super hi-tech simulator, hi-def 3D movie and hair singeing, fireball-flinging live staged action. I cannot even begin to describe it. We did it four times!
Another ride that saw us line up four times, each time opting for the slightly longer line to ride in the front seats, was The Incredible Hulk - A bright green, world renowned roller coaster, famous for its negative G's, super fast, face-melting accelerated launch system, and loops - lots and lots of loops:
The Islands of Adventure park also contains several water rides. And we got absolutely soaked - despite the funky ponchos...
Having thoroughly "done" Orlando, we said a teary goodbye to my parents in a Seven-Eleven carpark and after two days on the road, arrived in New Orleans, (pronounced round here as "N'awlins") in the state of Louisiana, in time for a live music and beer festival in a brewery...
To be continued...
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