Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, we’ll be revisiting Universal Studios Florida’s past and some of the nighttime shows that have been a part of the park over the years.
Universal Studios Orlando has been open for nearly three weeks now, and all seems to be going ok. Though there were some hiccups in the first week or two, it appears that things have normalized there with new safety measures being added to ensure team member and guest safety. It’ll be interesting to see how Universal, as well as Disney, proceed moving forward, with a huge spike in cases in Florida leaving people questioning whether the parks should remain open.
But for today’s article, we’ll be starting off with opening day at Universal Studios Florida, June 7, 1990.
Via Studio Tour
When the park first opened, they saw the success of the Miami Vice Action Spectacular at Universal Studios Hollywood and brought a version of the show to Florida, taking place in the lagoon in the middle of the park.
Via YouTube
Each night, the Dynamite Nights Stunt Spectacular would take over the lagoon and serve as a fitting culmination to the end of a wonderful day at the park. Generally, nighttime shows at theme parks are a medley of different properties, so it was fascinating to see a show like this centered around one television show, especially a television show that had already been cancelled by the time the theme park show had its debut. Now, that’s something you don’t see every day.
What stood out to me the most was how well they utilized such a large area. Even though the backdrops are so different all around the lagoon, the lagoon still felt like a homogenous stage area where the action was prevalent. Though it didn’t feel as homely as a true theater, it served its purpose very well.
If there was one thing that I wanted, it would be a bit more plot, but the show was a stunt spectacular, so plot isn’t necessarily an important part of that equation. And a lot of the stunts were a ton of fun to watch with the speed boats making some truly hairpin turns and high jumping jet skis. I certainly wouldn’t have been disappointed if that show was the end of my night.
It must have been a success because the show stuck around until February 10, 2000 when the show closed after nearly 10 years. It shows that the show must have been pretty popular for it to have lasted so long, even though the television show it was based on was not on the air for a single day of the theme park show’s run. But by its end, I believe it lost its luster as the props from the show stayed in the lagoon for another six years before a replacement finally debuted on July 1, 2006.
Via Wikipedia
To direct this new show, known as Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular, Universal called upon John Landis, who had directed classic Universal films like National Lampoon’s Animal House and An American Werewolf in London. To be fair, I’m not sure how much direction actually occurred as opposed to simply choosing which clips should be in the show, since the spectacular was basically just a glorified clip show.
Outside of all the clips, there were a few fireworks and lights that graced the sky, but for the most part, everything was centered around the film clips. Watching it on a computer screen didn’t make for the most thrilling experience, so I have to hope that it was a bit more exciting in person.
Via Thinkwell Group
Honestly, the biggest issue with the show was the titular spheres that all the clips were projected onto. I understand the idea behind them, but films are not made to be projected onto a spherical surface because the images can become pretty distorted as they did in this case. I think that if they had used water screens like we’ve seen in many other nighttime shows, Universal 360 would have been more successful.
In fact, Universal 360 was only shown during peak seasons and holidays, with the spheres being refurbished during the non-peak times. It seems like an odd move to only do it then because they didn’t use that many fireworks or other effects, so it can’t have been as expensive to pull off as other nighttime spectaculars. Nevertheless, the show stuck around for over five years, until its closure on September 9, 2011 when work began on replacing it with Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories, which just happens to be my next article in a couple of weeks.
Via Blazepress
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!