lifestyle WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015

FEATURES

Visitors enter andUniversal leave the Men In Black attraction at Universal Studios. OrlandoGuests stroll past the shopslooks of Hollywood Boulevard at Universal Studios.back 25 years, more innovation ahead

hen the Universal Orlando theme park Island: Reign of Kong attraction, themed on King opened in 1990, it was a way for visitors Kong, along with another hotel and a new water Wto have fun inspired by the movies they theme park, Volcano Bay. loved - without traveling to California. Director Both the Orlando and California parks had Steven Spielberg held the scissors at the ribbon- record attendance this past summer, thanks to the cutting. One of the first rides was themed on his Potter attractions in Florida and the Fast & movie “E.T.” Even ads for the park had the tone of Furious-Supercharged ride in California. Comcast’s a movie-quality teaser, promising the “greatest NBCUniversal division, which owns the Universal Hollywood production ever.” Jason Surrell, cre- theme parks, said in October that its parks division ative director at Universal Creative, saw that ad generated $896 million in revenue for the third while still in college. “This is one of the reasons I quarter. The Hollywood park will open its own moved down to Florida because at the time I Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2016. One knew it was becoming Hollywood east,” he said. thing that’s defined Universal Orlando’s rides since One thing the new Florida park couldn’t do the beginning is an emphasis on the latest tech- was show visitors the authentic Hollywood back- nology, said Chick Russell, a Universal Creative lots in Los Angeles where Universal has made director and executive producer who’s worked on movies for over a century. Those backlot tours the Potter attractions and others. Even in the remain a staple of the company’s first theme park, park’s early days, the E.T. Adventure ride invited Universal Studios Hollywood, which opened in patrons to tell the host their names at the begin- 1964. But in the last 25 years, Universal Orlando ning of the ride, and a robotic E.T. would repeat has emerged from the shadow of its older sister the names later. “That was a pretty advanced park to forge its own identity celebrating the thing to do 25 years ago,” Surrell said. entertainment industry. It’s built thrilling roller In 1996, the Terminator 2: 3-D attraction coasters, incorporated the latest interactive tech- opened, bringing 3-D effects and live-action nology into rides and in 2010 opened one of the actors to the park. More recent rides, like those most successful attractions in theme park history, inspired by “Spider-Man” and “Transformers” The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, with a sec- movies, “create the illusion of speed and the ond Potter area added in 2014. excitement you wish you could live when you see It’s also grown from a single theme park, the the films,” Russell said. The Harry Potter attrac- original Universal Studios Florida, to two, with the tions offer an even more immersive experience, opening of Islands of Adventure in 1999. That’s wrapping guests into a realistically detailed fic- when the complex was renamed Universal tional world the minute they step into Diagon Orlando Resort. The CityWalk dining and enter- Alley. It’s a trend Universal expects to continue in tainment area was added that year as well. Today its next 25 years. “It feels like we’ve evolved from there are also four hotels, with 18 new attractions riding the movies to living the movies,” Surrell and experiences added in the last five years. said. “It’s really about putting people right square Growth through 2017 includes the new Skull Street performers entertain guests at Universal Studios. in the middle of the action.” — AP

Park guests relax in the shade of rotating globe at Universal Studios.

Park guests ride the Dragon Challenge roller coaster at Universal Studios.

A Lucille Ball character waves to guests as she walks along Hollywood Blues Brothers characters entertain guests at Universal Studios. A character actor greets visitors at the entrance to the Revenge of the Boulevard at Universal Studios. Mummy ride at Universal Studios.