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2. Highly-themed, screen-free thrill rides

Image: Disney

HOW DISNEY DOES IT: At the intersection of screens and thrills lie simulators, and while Disney has its share (increasing by the year), it also offers a catalogue of thrills that buck the trend.

First of all, Disney has a number of exciting roller coasters (from mild to wild) but almost always manages to cement them so well into their theming, they transcend mere “roller coaster” consideration: Big Thunder Mountain, a Lost Legend: Space Mountain – De la Terre à la Lune, and Expedition Everest are full-fledged E-Tickets renowned not only for their thrills, but for their stories. Sure, they’re “roller coasters,” but of a different echelon than the Incredible Hulk or the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit.

Image: Disney / Lucasfilm

But Disney’s also mastered the genre beyond simply theming roller coasters… Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, DINOSAUR, and Radiator Springs Racers, for example, create thrills out of unlikely and innovative ride systems, while The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain instead use standard ride systems to do something spectacular – themed, thrilling, and without a screen in sight.

WHERE UNIVERSAL DOES IT ALREADY: It's not at all that Universal doesn't already do this. Jurassic Park River Adventure, Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, Revenge of the Mummy, and Men in Black: Alien Attack are all standouts in this “screen-free thrills” category.

Image: Universal

Each is proof that Universal can and does create thrill rides that approach Disney standards… though oddly, all four of those examples fall into the “middle ages” of Universal Orlando history – the mid-1990s-to-early-2000s, or “after opening but before screens.”

OUR IDEAS: Imagine you and 70 of your closest friends strapping into one of the largest ride vehicles ever created, hoisted eighty feet high before the piercing eyes of an ancient goddess...

Image: Paramount / Viacom

...sent hurtling through the darkness to a synchronized musical score; rocketing skyward and slamming to a halt inches from razor-sharp icicles, flipping through a steaming volcano, and dangling over bubbling, glowing lava pits. It's hard to believe what Paramount's Kings Island in Ohio was able to accomplish at a seasonal, regional park, but you can experience it all in one of Theme Park Tourist's most popular features, Lost Legends – TOMB RAIDER: The Ride.

Image: Paramount / Viacom / Technifex

While TOMB RAIDER: The Ride closed at the hands of a new, IP-free park owner, the concept was brilliant and could literally be rebuilt at Universal today and feel innovative, current, and spectacular. Most importantly, rides like Indiana Jones Adventure and TOMB RAIDER: The Ride prove that strong concepts don’t even need continuous face-to-face encounters with celebrity look-alikes on screens in order to feel that you’re part of an exciting, living, cinematic world.

On the next page, we'll propose just two more kinds of attractions that would radically change Universal Orlando for the better... Read on...

 
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Comments

Brian, always adore your content on this site! I love the history of theme parks, and thoroughly enjoy your conjectures on the best method forward for both Disney and Universal. As a Columbus native, also really love anytime you bring up Cosi or the Ohio parks. Keep up the great work!

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