At Least This Gives E.T. A Stay Of Execution

[Crockett]

After watching Uni gradually weed out their classics like Kong and BTTF, up until the Jaws announcement I was beginning to fear that E.T. would soon see the same fate. Not to say it won't see the same fate someday, as it is a classic, which means it should be gutted to please today's generation of thrill-seekers. BUT, with Uni's decision to remove Jaws...how much of a stay of execution will this give E.T.?

I personally am a big fan of the E.T. Adventure. The attraction holds (imo) every key element of story & ambience that Walt Disney himself would have approved of for his parks. The forest-at-night queue is up to par with (if not better than) anything WDW has come up with for their attractions, next-gen or non. Hands-down one of my all time favorite Orlando attractions period. But it holds the curse of being a Uni classic/fan favorite...which means it's doors will one day close, and it too will sit along side Doc. Brown, King Kong, and Jaws in the memories of Uni yesteryear.

That is, unless Uni wises up and realizes that not every classic needs to be changed to please current generations. What if WDW did this to ALL their classics, and HM was replaced by Wizards of Waverly Place, IASW & Peter Pan changed to 4D simulators, and POTC an indoor Phineas & Ferb ride? A steel coaster could easily fit onto the space where Jungle Cruise sits now. Afterall, those ARE dated attractions.

Luckily WDW has a few "protected" attractions left which may get a face-lift from time to time, but overall remain the same classic people have known through the decades. My plea to Uni...do the same for E.T.!!! This is a time-tested ride which never should be removed.

 

[Skip]

After watching Uni gradually weed out their classics like Kong and BTTF, up until the Jaws announcement I was beginning to fear that E.T. would soon see the same fate. Not to say it won't see the same fate someday, as it is a classic, which means it should be gutted to please today's generation of thrill-seekers. BUT, with Uni's decision to remove Jaws...how much of a stay of execution will this give E.T.?

I personally am a big fan of the E.T. Adventure. The attraction holds (imo) every key element of story & ambience that Walt Disney himself would have approved of for his parks. The forest-at-night queue is up to par with (if not better than) anything WDW has come up with for their attractions, next-gen or non. Hands-down one of my all time favorite Orlando attractions period. But it holds the curse of being a Uni classic/fan favorite...which means it's doors will one day close, and it too will sit along side Doc. Brown, King Kong, and Jaws in the memories of Uni yesteryear.

That is, unless Uni wises up and realizes that not every classic needs to be changed to please current generations. What if WDW did this to ALL their classics, and HM was replaced by Wizards of Waverly Place, IASW & Peter Pan changed to 4D simulators, and POTC an indoor Phineas & Ferb ride? A steel coaster could easily fit onto the space where Jungle Cruise sits now. Afterall, those ARE dated attractions.

Luckily WDW has a few "protected" attractions left which may get a face-lift from time to time, but overall remain the same classic people have known through the decades. My plea to Uni...do the same for E.T.!!! This is a time-tested ride which never should be removed.

Who are you and what have you done with Crockett!?

Great post. Horror Makeup Show should always live on (thank goodness) - while that show has gone through several iterations, it is still technically a park original. Beatlejuice's Graveyard Revue opened in 92, I think... not quite an original, but it'll probably stick around for a long while. I also see MIB staying until Columbia stupidly forces it out for some reason (see, Ghostbusters). Mummy is super popular, won't leave for ages. Everything else... is up on the block, apparently, with the closure of Back to the Future and JAWS in recent years. Saddening.

Give ET a proper Haunted Mansion-reboot style refurbishment! Clean the whole place out, improve all of the animatronics, maybe a new effect here or there. Even now though the ride excels... I never fail to get goosebumps when I walk into the forest, or emerge from the smoke and roar of the volcanoes into a smoldering Green Planet. Amazing.

 

[Timekeeper]

Give ET a proper Haunted Mansion-reboot style refurbishment! Clean the whole place out, improve all of the animatronics, maybe a new effect here or there. Even now though the ride excels... I never fail to get goosebumps when I walk into the forest, or emerge from the smoke and roar of the volcanoes into a smoldering Green Planet. Amazing.

Exactly :sohappy:

Just because an attraction is outdated doesn't mean that it has to be replaced with something completely different. It can be replaced by a better version of itself. Example: Star Tours. I mean, come on, isn't Star Wars just as outdated as ET? Yes. But they can both be timeless classics deserving of a breath of fresh air.

 

[dxwwf3]

Just mentioned this in another thread. ET needs a refurbishment NOT a replacement. When I think of the Universal Studios movie company, the two films that immediately come to mind are Back to the Future and ET. It would be a shame to have neither represented in their parks.

 

[daikonjam]

I personally love ET (even though I was scared of it as a kid) and it always wows me (not so much when ET says "friend" instead of my name though) so I agree whole heartedly, refurb that sucka!

 

[AswaySuller]

Am I the only one that thinks ET isn't all that?

The best think about the ride is the queue! and maybe the fact that someone gets to have ET in their basket.

The animatronics (particularly the human ones) are laughable....
SOme of the sound effects suck... ie when you "land" on the car roof!
The new characters are so annoying... I almost hope we don't "save the planet" like Ragdoll!
He reels off peoples names so fast you can barely make them out...

Now Jaws and BTTF have gone they may aswell bulldoze this too IMO

 

[figmntal95]

Am I the only one that thinks ET isn't all that?

The best think about the ride is the queue! and maybe the fact that someone gets to have ET in their basket.

The animatronics (particularly the human ones) are laughable....
SOme of the sound effects suck... ie when you "land" on the car roof!
The new characters are so annoying... I almost hope we don't "save the planet" like Ragdoll!
He reels off peoples names so fast you can barely make them out...

Now Jaws and BTTF have gone they may aswell bulldoze this too IMO

I'm with you. Im sure if they found a suitable replacement that replace it anyday. Japan replaced theirs with an ORIGINAL attraction that isn't based off a movie. Maybe something like that could work... But I highly doubt it.

 

[c-one]

I'm with you. Im sure if they found a suitable replacement that replace it anyday. Japan replaced theirs with an ORIGINAL attraction that isn't based off a movie. Maybe something like that could work... But I highly doubt it.

Have you seen any photos or video of that Japan ride? It looks like even more of an acid trip than the end of E.T., and that's saying something!

I think E.T. is a cool little ride. The movie still seems to resonate (especially given that it's re-released every 10 years...), and the queue is truly a work of art. It's true that ride seems outdated technologically, but I wonder if they'd be open to refurbishing the animatronics and sets.

 

[SyracuseOrange]

Am I one of the only people that cares more about a good ride experience than nostalgia? I say: screw history give me a GOOD ride. Some of the Uni classics are showing their age, so they are making the smart choice to get rid of them and install rides with new technology. I support it.

 

[dxwwf3]

Japan replaced theirs with an ORIGINAL attraction that isn't based off a movie. Maybe something like that could work... But I highly doubt it.

I didn't think theme parks were allowed to do that anymore :lol:

 

[AswaySuller]

Am I one of the only people that cares more about a good ride experience than nostalgia? I say: screw history give me a GOOD ride. Some of the Uni classics are showing their age, so they are making the smart choice to get rid of them and install rides with new technology. I support it.

No, you're not at all... But Jaws WAS a good ride.. and now we're left not knowing.... I do trust universal creative though but I hope they knock this one out the park

 

[c-one]

Am I one of the only people that cares more about a good ride experience than nostalgia? I say: screw history give me a GOOD ride. Some of the Uni classics are showing their age, so they are making the smart choice to get rid of them and install rides with new technology. I support it.

Fancy new technology =/= good ride

 

[MarkTwain]

I was just thinking earlier today how much less value Universal seems to place on nostalgia and history than Disney does, in terms of what attractions they keep around. Jungle Cruise seems like one of one of those attractions that should have been scrapped decades ago using Universal's logic, and yet I have full confidence Disney has no intentions of ever touching it, save for the occasional refurb or touch-up.

I'm starting to gain a real appreciation for Universal and their much looser pockets and thirst for expansion, but I'm also kind of surprised that they're willing to so quickly scrap an attraction that was an icon of the park for decades.

Fancy new technology =/= good ride

Yep. Most of the tricks in the Haunted Mansion have been around for decades (heck, its most impressive effect dates back to the 1860s), and in many people's eyes it remains the best theme park attraction anywhere.

 

[dxwwf3]

I was just thinking earlier today how much less value Universal seems to place on nostalgia and history than Disney does, in terms of what attractions they keep around. Jungle Cruise seems like one of one of those attractions that should have been scrapped decades ago using Universal's logic, and yet I have full confidence Disney has no intentions of ever touching it, save for the occasional refurb or touch-up.

I'm starting to gain a real appreciation for Universal and their much looser pockets and thirst for expansion, but I'm also kind of surprised that they're willing to so quickly scrap an attraction that was an icon of the park for decades.

That's the problem you have when you base so many attractions on movies and pre-existing properties. They tend to become dated easier. Original attractions like Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion are more timeless. I wish Disney wold remember that. But Universal is a bit different because they are a "ride the movies" type of park that would need to stay a bit fresher because of what they are trying to accomplish.

 

[invader]

If it left, I wouldn't lost any sleep. I don't see it leaving though as it's a KIDS ride in a KIDS area.

 

[Crockett]

But Uni has enough space if it wants to expand with fresher rides & attractions. I'm all for that. But at least keep ONE of the staple/signature classics which made the park what it is today. Why not let E.T. be that one survivor? True it could use some rehab work on it's AA's and other effects. But still keep the ride what it has always been...a classic story-immersive dark ride. If E.T. ever ends up biting it like Jaws and the others, then there will be NO more classic USF remaining as far as major attractions go. I'm not one of these stubborn traditionalists who wants everything to always stay the way it is...and I do agree that change/expansion is healthy for a park, and welcome that with open arms. But just one classic signature ride should be preserved for future generations to enjoy. I hope Uni upper mgmt realizes this. E.T. remains timeless in that it doesn't have to use 3D, 4D, cheap-thrill or simulator effects to be entertaining. It is an original concept (considering most of the ride storyline never actually occured in the film). It just picked up where the film left off and made it's own "what if" type of adventure, taking guests to E.T.'s home planet. I realize I've been critical of Uni in the past, but this attraction dwarfs (no pun intended) many of WDW's offerings in detail, ambience, and storytelling. And like I said before, probably the most amazingly detailed queue out there.

With the recent Jaws announcement, E.T. will now be Uni's "last of the Mohicans", so to speak. Uni, please keep one...THIS one!

 

[Skip]

But Uni has enough space if it wants to expand with fresher rides & attractions. I'm all for that. But at least keep ONE of the staple/signature classics which made the park what it is today. Why not let E.T. be that one survivor? True it could use some rehab work on it's AA's and other effects. But still keep the ride what it has always been...a classic story-immersive dark ride. If E.T. ever ends up biting it like Jaws and the others, then there will be NO more classic USF remaining as far as major attractions go. I'm not one of these stubborn traditionalists who wants everything to always stay the way it is...and I do agree that change/expansion is healthy for a park, and welcome that with open arms. But just one classic signature ride should be preserved for future generations to enjoy. I hope Uni upper mgmt realizes this. E.T. remains timeless in that it doesn't have to use 3D, 4D, cheap-thrill or simulator effects to be entertaining. It is an original concept (considering most of the ride storyline never actually occured in the film). It just picked up where the film left off and made it's own "what if" type of adventure, taking guests to E.T.'s home planet. I realize I've been critical of Uni in the past, but this attraction dwarfs (no pun intended) many of WDW's offerings in detail, ambience, and storytelling. And like I said before, probably the most amazingly detailed queue out there.

With the recent Jaws announcement, E.T. will now be Uni's "last of the Mohicans", so to speak. Uni, please keep one...THIS one!

Great post. Part of why I like E.T. is that, sans the queue video, it is one of the only attractions these days that does not rely on a single screen. It's all physically there. Love E.T.

 

[crazydaveh]

I like ET only because my little one can now ride it and she loves it. As for ET's future existence... Give it another year and you'll see a whole new wave over at the kid's area at USF. ET will be the first to go and redone with something new and then the rest of the area will change.

This is all speculation on my end, so I didn't hear it from the Uni bus driver who knows a guy dating a girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors last night.