Universal Orlando has always been about bringing the movies to life, but there’s so much more to the park than just Harry Potter (although we do love the Wizarding World!).

Here are eleven HUGE movie franchises that have a major presence at Universal Orlando, including a few you might not know about!

Jurassic Park

This one is a gimme; it was the first movie franchise to get its own dedicated land at Islands of Adventure, after all!

While Universal Hollywood has been updated to Jurassic World, IoA still reps the original films… with the most immersive recreation of Jurassic Park anywhere in the world. This is Jurassic Park as Hammond meant for it to be: an attraction where you can come face to face with dinosaurs! Visit a recreation of the visitor’s center to watch a dinosaur hatch, or come face to face with a deadly velociraptor. Or you can go on a River Adventure for a peaceful tour through the park where absolutely nothing could possibly go wrong.

Speaking of giant dinosaurs trying to kill you…

King Kong

If I had a nickel for every time a giant dinosaur tried to kill me at Islands of Adventure, I’d have ten cents… which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?

Skull Island: Reign of Kong takes guests on an expedition to the land that time forgot in a ride that combines a haunted maze with an immersive 3D experience. Unlike the now defunct Kongfrontation (may it rest in peace), this ride isn’t based any particular King Kong film but the franchise as a whole. However, it does take design cues from Peter Jackson’s 2005 film, which inspired the King Kong 360 3D experience at Universal Hollywood.

Guests explore the jungles of Skull Island, coming face to face with its hostile inhabitants before boarding a ride vehicle that will take them into the depths of the jungle, leading to an encounter with enormous monsters… and a giant Kong animatronic! Hope you’re not afraid of giant bugs!

Despicable Me

The Minions, those adorable… mutant… Corn Pop things… have swept the nation with how adorable they are. So it’s no surprise that Gru and Co. have become such a major fixture at Universal Studios. In fact, they’ll likely be the first ride you’ll see upon arrival. This 3D Motion Simulator is built on the same structure as the Funtastic World of Hannah Barbara and Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoons Blast, transforming guests into Minions and taking them on a wild tour through Gru’s secret hideout. If your kids love the Minions, this is THE ride to visit.

Shrek

SomeBODY once told me that Shrek was one of the most memetic movies of all time. It came out 19 years ago, and yet somehow it hasn’t stopped being relevant. This irreverent take on fairy tale tropes is the Anti-Disney, and Shrek 4D is a breath of fresh air compared to the sometimes saccharine Magic Kingdom. In many ways, this ride is an evolution of the system that Minion Mayhem uses next door, combining motion seating and immersive 4D effects to really immerse guests into this sequel to the 2001 film.

Of course, you don’t have to feel left out if you can’t get to Universal. The ride film is available on Netflix as The Ghost of Lord Farquaad. Leg Ticklers and water sprayers not included.

Transformers

If you love the Michael Bay Transformers franchise, this ride is for you. You’ll go on a mission to defend the All-Spark from the Decepticons in this immersive experience, culminating with a wild escape through the city inside Evac, a name that longtime fans of the franchise should be familiar with as a long-time member of the Autobots.  Even if you’re more a fan of this franchise’s seemingly infinite variations, this is one thrill you shouldn’t skip.

The Simpsons

Alright, so they’re owned by Disney now. Also they’ve only had one movie. Still, America’s favorite dysfunctional family has one of the best rides at Universal, inviting guests into an immersive recreation of Springfield. Built on the same system as Back to the Future: The Ride, The Simpsons Ride takes guests on a demented tour through Krustyland that feels like the cartoon at its best. Be sure to keep an eye out for classic references from the series in and around the attraction!

Men in Black

Men in Black: Alien Attack is, in this writer’s humble opinion, one of the best movie-inspired rides at the park. After going through an appropriately cheesy World’s Fair set up, guests will be let into the MiB’s secret headquarters, recreated in loving detail. For fans of the original film, this is Rise of the Resistance-level theming. Even cheesy theme park tropes like ride vehicles and safety spiels feel entirely in place in the context of an MiB training session gone wrong. As a final gag, Will Smith neutralizes your vehicle for the ride photo before depositing you into an unloading area that feels like a Tomorrowland pastiche. Are aliens real? Of course not! Now stare into this little light… .

E.T.

E.T. is the it’s a small world of Universal Studios. It’s cheesy. It’s dated. We still love it and never want to see it leave. From a thrilling bike ride through the forest to a whimsical tour to E.T.’s home planet, this ride is theme park camp at its finest, and it never fails to tickle our sense of nostalgia. Everything from the fake forest scent to E.T. struggling to pronounce our names at the end is just dripping with charm. It may lack the wow factor of some of Universal’s other rides, but this is one extra-terrestrial experience you cannot skip.

The Fast and the Furious

So, we’ll be honest… this ride isn’t super great from a technical perspective. It’s the same ride system as Skull Island: Reign of Kong because this is an experience ported from the Hollywood Tram Tour. This makes sense for Kong, as so much effort is put into making the truck ride feel realistic, and the actual ride portion is the culmination of a longer experience. On Fast & Furious Supercharged, guests sit on a stationary vehicle as they “drive” through badly rendered CGI environments that the cast of the films are awkwardly superimposed onto. Compared to the high-speed, high-octane chases you see in Transformers: The Ride, this feels pedestrian. Fun as part of a larger tram experience, but not worth its own dedicated space… especially since the fantastic Earthquake and its humorous follow up in Disaster sacrificed themselves for this. Still, if you can’t get enough of cars and family, the queue alone is enough to tickle the fancy of any gearhead.

The Mummy

The Revenge of the Mummy was inspired by the fantastic Brendan Fraser iteration of the franchise and combines psychological chills with roller-coaster thrills. Starting out as a tour of the set for a fictitious sequel, the fourth wall soon crumbles away as guests come face to face with Imhotep himself. This ride is too good to spoil; if you haven’t experienced it, you need to. 

The Bourne Identity

Finally, one so fresh we don’t even have pictures of it yet. Jason Bourne (everyone’s second-favorite super spy) has taken over the old Cyberdyne building in an exciting stunt show that blends cinema and stage to immerse guests in Bourne’s latest adventure. This amazing new show was in previews just before the park closed in March, and is set to be their first major new attraction of 2020.

There are so many more franchises at Universal we didn’t have time to mention, like An American Tail, Rocky and Bullwinkle, the works of Doctor Seuss… not to mention an entire land based on Marvel comics. Was there anything that you thought was deserving of mention we didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments!

 

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