Wasn't there a rumor that Spielberg was so angry that ET was replaced in Hollywood and Japan that he locked it into some sort of contract where the park could not get rid of it? I feel like I heard that about a year ago and, to my knowledge, I have not heard anything to the contrary yet. I do think the ride could use an update along the lines of what Disneyland is planning on doing with their Alice in Wonderland ride. Add updated AA's and just generally clean the whole ride up.
Wasn't there a rumor that Spielberg was so angry that ET was replaced in Hollywood and Japan that he locked it into some sort of contract where the park could not get rid of it? I feel like I heard that about a year ago and, to my knowledge, I have not heard anything to the contrary yet. I do think the ride could use an update along the lines of what Disneyland is planning on doing with their Alice in Wonderland ride. Add updated AA's and just generally clean the whole ride up.
I don't believe anything was added in a contract, but I do know Spielberg was angry at the E.T. closures and threatened to step away as a consultant for Universal theme park rides if they took down the Orlando version or something along those lines.
But I think everyone is in agreement that it at the least needs to be worked on. It wouldn't upset me if they replaced it since I think it is the worst of the classic rides that are already gone. The human AAs in the beginning of the ride need a lot of work and the end sequence is just odd...I think the ride needs more than a simple rehab.
I wish they didn't feel like they have to replace everything. I know space is limited, but they should save a bit of nostalgia for people who have been going to the park since the beginning. Sure the animatronics are dated but I still think the ride is excellent and it is truly my favorite in the park, and not just for sentimental reasons. I'll be so sad when they announce ET is closing.
I don't think Universal will remove the ride, they obviously realize now that closing classics doesn't make the park fans that happy :mean:. But, I think T2: 3D is the next one to go because the Hollywood one closed over a year ago and a lot of the elements in the Pre-Show and queue video are extremely out-of-date for a "future" themed ride.
I would love to see Space Fantasy brought to Orlando but I would be sad to see ET leave. Maybe if it could somehow replace T2 I think that would be perfect, would also create a 'speed bump' along Hollywood Blvd which, honestly, right now doesn't have much of anything to slow down the average tourist before they rush on towards Simpsons.
Not sure how you could theme space to Hollywood but then again Mummy is in New York so...
Space Fantasy isn't happening, no appeal to most US visitors.
I've always loved the first half of the ride where to tries to recreate the movie and i love when you are flying in the air. But I always hate when you get to ET's home world. Makes me wish i could get out of the ride before that lol.
Funniest thing about ET is that it has to be the most nonsensical story ever, first of, Botanicus appears in the queue line, why does he not take ET with him? And then you get on your bike, and you fly in outer space, but you have no space suit on ... are we suppose to hold our breath? And how do we survive the decompression?
But they could take the ride system and theme it to something else...(cough...Star Trek...cough cough)
Funniest thing about ET is that it has to be the most nonsensical story ever, first of, Botanicus appears in the queue line, why does he not take ET with him? And then you get on your bike, and you fly in outer space, but you have no space suit on ... are we suppose to hold our breath? And how do we survive the decompression?
Shhhhhhhh that's not important to the small children we all become upon entering that building To be honest, though, I don't think the average guest will think about any of the ride's giant incongruities for more than a split second; I mean, the first time I rode this I could've sworn the "bikes" had pedals (mind you, I was four, but still)
I remember thinking you had to actually pedal the bikes for the ride! The commercials for Universal in the early 2000s featured the flying bike scene over the parks... so I actually thought the ride would have us fly over Universal Studios when I was little :bonk::rofl: now it's the ride I go on to get AWAY from heights and thrills