Never fear -- creepy-crawly fun is on way
`Fear Factor' is the first show NBC will incorporate into an attraction at its Universal parks.
Fear Factor, the gross-out reality-TV show, will become an attraction at Universal Orlando, making it the first NBC show to earn a permanent place in the company's theme parks.
Park executives have been looking for ways to incorporate the television network's properties since last year, when NBC acquired them as part of a $14 billion purchase of Universal's entertainment properties.
The new Fear Factor attraction, called Fear Factor Live, is set to open in May both at Universal Studios and at the company's Hollywood, Calif., park. It will allow tourists to take part in a scaled-down version of Fear Factor, a show that rewards guests with big bucks for completing stunts such as s__________g down a duck-embryo shake, walking barefoot across broken glass or getting covered in 500 tarantulas.
"When you think Fear Factor, everyone expects sticky, ooey and gross, and we will not disappoint," said Scott Trowbridge, vice president of Universal Creative, a division of Universal Parks and Resorts.
The theme-park stunts will rotate and will stick tourists knee-deep in creepy-crawlies and test their fear of heights.
Universal expects to run five to eight shows per day. Though only a few "contestants" will take part each time, designers plan to build in ways for the audience to participate.
Contestants on the reality game show can win thousands of dollars. Trowbridge said the parks plan to award smaller prizes -- perhaps a spot on the TV show -- to winners, but the details are still being worked out.
In Florida, Fear Factor Live will be staged in a refurbished venue that once hosted a wild-west stunt show. The site, near the Men In Black Alien Attack ride, has been unused since 2003.
Universal does not comment on how much it spends on new attractions, but is expected to cost less than Universal's newest ride, Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor roller coaster opened in 2004 at an estimated cost of $45 million.
There has been widespread speculation that General Electric Co., NBC's parent, would sell the parks. But for now GE is beginning to use the parks to promote NBC shows.
That has led to Peacock golf balls in the gift shops and other less ambitious crossovers. Earlier this month, Fear Factor taped an episode at Islands of Adventure. The new attraction, Fear Factor Live, marks the first permanent NBC attraction to hit the parks.
The move is similar to the way Walt Disney World incorporated ABC television shows into its parks after purchasing that network in 1996. Tourists can eat at an ABC commissary and play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, an interactive show based on the game show.
Turning a reality show into a permanent attraction is a smart move, given the popularity of the genre, said Dennis Speigel, a Cincinnati-based theme-park consultant.
"If I were a park owner and I had ties to television properties, I'd be doing as many of these shows as I could right now. They are a sign of the times," he said.
`Fear Factor' is the first show NBC will incorporate into an attraction at its Universal parks.
Fear Factor, the gross-out reality-TV show, will become an attraction at Universal Orlando, making it the first NBC show to earn a permanent place in the company's theme parks.
Park executives have been looking for ways to incorporate the television network's properties since last year, when NBC acquired them as part of a $14 billion purchase of Universal's entertainment properties.
The new Fear Factor attraction, called Fear Factor Live, is set to open in May both at Universal Studios and at the company's Hollywood, Calif., park. It will allow tourists to take part in a scaled-down version of Fear Factor, a show that rewards guests with big bucks for completing stunts such as s__________g down a duck-embryo shake, walking barefoot across broken glass or getting covered in 500 tarantulas.
"When you think Fear Factor, everyone expects sticky, ooey and gross, and we will not disappoint," said Scott Trowbridge, vice president of Universal Creative, a division of Universal Parks and Resorts.
The theme-park stunts will rotate and will stick tourists knee-deep in creepy-crawlies and test their fear of heights.
Universal expects to run five to eight shows per day. Though only a few "contestants" will take part each time, designers plan to build in ways for the audience to participate.
Contestants on the reality game show can win thousands of dollars. Trowbridge said the parks plan to award smaller prizes -- perhaps a spot on the TV show -- to winners, but the details are still being worked out.
In Florida, Fear Factor Live will be staged in a refurbished venue that once hosted a wild-west stunt show. The site, near the Men In Black Alien Attack ride, has been unused since 2003.
Universal does not comment on how much it spends on new attractions, but is expected to cost less than Universal's newest ride, Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor roller coaster opened in 2004 at an estimated cost of $45 million.
There has been widespread speculation that General Electric Co., NBC's parent, would sell the parks. But for now GE is beginning to use the parks to promote NBC shows.
That has led to Peacock golf balls in the gift shops and other less ambitious crossovers. Earlier this month, Fear Factor taped an episode at Islands of Adventure. The new attraction, Fear Factor Live, marks the first permanent NBC attraction to hit the parks.
The move is similar to the way Walt Disney World incorporated ABC television shows into its parks after purchasing that network in 1996. Tourists can eat at an ABC commissary and play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, an interactive show based on the game show.
Turning a reality show into a permanent attraction is a smart move, given the popularity of the genre, said Dennis Speigel, a Cincinnati-based theme-park consultant.
"If I were a park owner and I had ties to television properties, I'd be doing as many of these shows as I could right now. They are a sign of the times," he said.
