>Whittling down the list

Here’s what we have so far:

• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
• E.T. Adventure
• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• Men in Black: Alien Attack
• Revenge of the Mummy
• The Studio Tour

Even after some brutal cuts, that’s seven attractions for only four spots. Looking at this list, it’s easy to understand why Mount Rushmore challenges are so tricky. And I still have more work to do. I must eliminate three more phenomenal attractions to finalize the list.

Fortunately, one cut is easy. I shouldn’t place two Harry Potter dark rides on Mount Rushmore. Harry’s face isn’t photogenic enough for that. The debate comes down to the gravity of the first Harry Potter ride versus the excellence of its sequel.

I’ve chosen something odd here and dropped the ride that I believe is better, Escape from Gringotts, due to a combination of recency and lack of importance. Sequels rarely deserve status over the original.

Then, I’m dropping Men in Black: Alien Attack since it’s the “worst” of the remaining attractions. Don’t get me wrong. I still love it and wish I were riding it right this second. It just lacks the grandeur of some of the other options.

The final cut is the harshest. I really, really wish that sculptor Gutzon Borglum had carved five faces into Mount Rushmore rather than four. Since he took the lazy way out back in the 1920s, I’m forced to eliminate Revenge of the Mummy. It’s arguably the best indoor roller coaster ever (I said *arguably*, Disney fans!), but it lacks the gravitas of the other options.

Universal’s Mount Rushmore

Okay, we’re past the hard part. Let’s briefly discuss the four attractions that I believe belong on Universal’s Mount Rushmore.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

While Disney's constructing its own Spider-Man ride as we speak, Universal has already built a perfect one. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is legitimately the most honored theme park attraction of the past 20 years. It's won so many awards that I couldn't possibly list them all.

Instead, I’ll mention that while Disney created the dark ride, Spider-Man dominated the market for a full decade until the third Mount Rushmore selection arrived. It's both phenomenal and critical to Universal's credibility pre-Harry Potter.

E.T. Adventure

Every now and again, a rumor percolates that Universal might replace the E.T. attraction. I suspect that someone does this to get a rise out of strangers because it's the quickest way to irritate the entire city of Orlando. Theme park tourists passionately support undeniably the world's most fabulous bike ride, at least until Hagrid showed up. What I love best about the ride is that it really feels like a scene from the movie, yet you don't have to know anything about E.T. to enjoy it.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

The Boy Who Lived is also The Boy Who Changed Everything at Universal Studios. Before Universal executives took a swing at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the park wasn’t merely in the shadow of Disney. It was like a permanent eclipse. Since Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey debuted, the balance has shifted, at least slightly, and Universal is no longer a laughing stock. While Escape from Gringotts is a better attraction, Forbidden Journey matters the most due to significance.

The Studio Tour

For decades, when people thought about Universal Studios, they thought about this ride. The two concepts were synonymous, as any park visit came with a Jaws Encounter. Although I miss the days of the King Kong Encounter, I accept that Universal’s had to modernize the ride over the years. It’s understandable since the Studio Tour is actually older than Disney attractions like Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Mountain. It’s the elder statesperson at Universal and the ride that made/kept the park famous.