I agree Earthquake has a nice looking realistic station but it's ruined by the laughable collapse of the ceiling when the truck falls down... pure comedy!! Kong had an amazingly realistic tram station but that's not reason enough to keep a dull attraction.
I think Twister is an often underated attraction and takes alot of un-necessary slack. I think It should close and be re-imagined... I kind of feel like it's Universal creatives e xeperiment to see if they can make a realstic looking tornado, which they can, they just need now to make a kick ______ ride out of it which Twister could so easily be, here's how I see it...
You're in a Jeep/truck with the Dorothy II strapped onto your back, it's a very similar ride system to the Indianna Jones Adventure/Countdown to extinction (Dinosaur) and you start off driving through th country about to chase a Twister, all contact is via a raidio on your truck with Helen Hunt or Bill Paxton providing the voice who are (supposidly) in a truck in the same area trying to track the same Tornado but they're out of site as ther location is say half a mile in the other direction! They tell you you're "close" and to "stay put" the wind picks up and you see lightning in the distance where you also see a Twister the radio voice tells you to "Get Closer" and gives you the location of the Tornado. You Drive off on avery bumpy track on to the next scene. The TOrnado is much closer here and moving closer towards you, the wind has dramatically picked up, debris is flying everywhere, rain is hammering down and the lighning and thunder is crashing above your head. They again tell you to get closer as you drive onto the next scene (made to seem like you're driving around the side of the Twister) Here the twister is much closer literally feet from you the wind is affecting the truck's handeling and you get the go ahead to go up close to it and release "Dorothy". the truck backs up inches away from the tornado and the wind is really s__________g you up, it lifts the back of your truck off the ground and almost starts to spin you, you turn a little but the truck is resisitng revving away, it's then a race AWAY from the Twister which follow you shacking you uncontrollably threating to toss you like a toy car in seconds. You're too close and the truck is sucked up and you're surrounded by spiralling smoke and you can feel the truck lifting up like you can feel yourself rising up in Spider-Man. Then all of a sudden with a crash of lightening BANG the twister is gone and you hit the floor, destruction is all around but you're ok. You speed off into the distance and The Dorothy is gone... Job Done.
hardly any planning went into that I just thought as I typed but you get the idea! I'd have great emphasis on the Radio Commentary making the whole thing alot more exciting and maybe have the other truck visable at the end with a screen of Helen Hunt in it asking if you're ok and giving you the thumbs up!!!
If some of that doesn't make sense I apologise I haven't read through it!!
Anyways... Jaws has a couple of years left in it IMO!!!