The end of an era.
It would appear that the ride with the longest lineup, biggest building, and most exciting experience is to be closed down.
Universal Orlando has finally decided to address the rumors by going on record to confirm with the Orlando Sentinel that Back to the Future™…The Ride will indeed close soon to make way for a yet-unnamed attraction.
Back in 1997 I went to this park on vacation, and my friend Tran had gone 4 months previous to us. I asked Tran if he had any tips for experiencing the park, and he said “Do Back to the Future LAST”. His theory was correct. He said if I did that ride first that everything else would seem cheap and uninteresting.
I loved that ride. We did it twice despite the stupidly long lineups.
One thing I cannot understand however, is that they are not closing it because it’s broken or dangerous. Gualt was quoted as giving this as the reason:
The Back to the Future movie and the ride vehicles are based on a popular movie from the 1980s,” Gault told the Orlando Sentinel in early April 2002. “They could all be changed out for a story and vehicles that guests relate to better.”
Consider that attractions like Earthquake, JAWS and E.T. Adventure still stand. These are based on franchises that outdate Back to the Future. Earthquake specifically shows how disaster movie special effects are done in black and white movies, followed by a short “subway ride” putting you in the middle of an earthquake underground.
What do you think could be big enough of a “vehicle ride” to replace Back to the Future???
Edit: One of the commenters mentioned that Back to the Future was on TV all the time…. Well as I type this, Part 2 is currently airing on TBS. Check your local listings.
