Who remembers these Universal things?

[WebmasterBarry]

The following things are no longer at Universal, but who remembers them?

USF:
AT&T at the Movies
Psycho House
The old Hard Rock Cafe
The parking lot and trams
Extra Crispy (guys who played grills like drums)
The Swamp Thing set
Herc and Xena show
Ghostbusters
The old Jaws
Dynamite Stuntacular

IOA:
Bandits Out of Time street show
Confscio's character lunch
The tank by the Hulk Coaster
The old Eighth Voyage of Sinbad show
The old Posideon's Fury show
Jet ski show in the lagoon
Island Skipper Tours
Spice Island Sausages

Anything else?

 

[apanopio]

I remember some kind of Miami Vice show and a Star Trek audience participation show. That may have been Hollywood though.

 

[CoasterFEV]

Don't forget:

USF:
The old backlot tram tour at Universal Studios Florida
Murder She Wrote (before Herc & Xena)
Rocky & Bullwinkle Show

Also:

IOA:
Ja-Roo
Pandemonium (sp?) Cartoon Circus (who COULD forget?)
The "old" drop on Ripsaw Falls
When the regular queue at Spiderman went through the Dark Rm
When anyone could ride Pteranadon Flyers
The original version of Triceratops Encounter
The original (and MUCH more dizzying) Cat in the Hat?

also (p.s.) if you watch carefully, the Tank has returned to Hulk - it's sits out back near the last inversion and Storm Force.

 

[WebmasterBarry]

Now I remember Ja-Roo! I remember them standing around while one of them did a trick.

How about the steel drum band at Jurassic Park?

 

[MrNonacho]

Universal Backlot Tour? I honestly can't remember this one.. What exactly did the tour involve?

 

[WebmasterBarry]

The tour was a tram tour that went around and around USF. It showed clips of movies. I have a USF souvenir video and I saw a glimpse of the tour.

 

[CoasterFEV]

Yep! I remember the steel drum band (used to perform in front of Jurassic Outfitters).

Also, let's not forget:

- Fast Track
- Universal Express (the ORIGINAL Universal Express, the one with the cards handed out at the turnstiles - valid open to 11am)
- 7am daily openings
- River Adventure WITHOUT the padded lap bars

 

[deena]

I definitely remember Psycho House, AT&T at the Movies Ghostbusters, Dynamite Stuntacular, backlot tram tour, and Murder She Wrote.

 

[chris mcfly]

What about...

1) The attraction that blue-screened you into a little universal promo video (before it was the IOA preview center) (before it was KONG distribution)

2) When Monica Lewinsky came out at the Bill + Teds show with a big white stain on her dress (which was promptly removed)

3) When the earthquake pre-shows had about an extra 5 minutes of interaction with C. Heston that was just toooo long.

4) When the place was going to be called "Universal City Florida"

5) When, by far, the best experience in the park was when the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man got destoyed and the audience got blasted with fog (a-la t23d)

6) When you actually beleived the Production Buildings at the entrance to USF were ACTUALLY where the producers and directors were.

7) When the USF Studio Guide had a page of pictures of about 50 celebrities that you thought you might get to see if you kept your eyes open.

8) When Tickets were called "Studio Passes", and the passes listed which areas you had access to as a studio guest (commisaries, front lot, etc)

9) The old Nametags with the globe on them. Or the really old name tags with the Marquee on them. Or the REALLY old nametags with the pink marquee on them. Or the original IOA logo nametags with the kooky first logo.

10) Or the second IOA logo with the centered and symmetric font.

11) Or when there was going to be a golf course on property by now, and expanded soundtage facilities.

12) Or when CityWalk was called E-Zone. And there was going to be the USA's largest SEGA arcade there. And Tower Records. And the E! studio.

 

[Notatourist]

Originally posted by chris mcfly
What about...

1) The attraction that blue-screened you into a little universal promo video (before it was the IOA preview center) (before it was KONG distribution)

You mean when it was called the Screen Test Home Video Adventure-with a Star Trek Adventure, Hosted By Gene Roddenberry, and a Your Day at Universal?

2) When Monica Lewinsky came out at the Bill + Teds show with a big white stain on her dress (which was promptly removed)
It just kept getting larger.

3) When the earthquake pre-shows had about an extra 5 minutes of interaction with C. Heston that was just toooo long.
Yep.

4) When the place was going to be called "Universal City Florida"

5) When, by far, the best experience in the park was when the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man got destoyed and the audience got blasted with fog (a-la t23d)
This would be the Ghostbuster attraction

6) When you actually beleived the Production Buildings at the entrance to USF were ACTUALLY where the producers and directors were.
Well, they still are there.
No really, they are still there.

7) When the USF Studio Guide had a page of pictures of about 50 celebrities that you thought you might get to see if you kept your eyes open.

8) When Tickets were called "Studio Passes", and the passes listed which areas you had access to as a studio guest (commisaries, front lot, etc)
And they were blue!


9) The old Nametags with the globe on them. Or the really old name tags with the Marquee on them. Or the REALLY old nametags with the pink marquee on them. Or the original IOA logo nametags with the kooky first logo.
Is this the slanted logo or the straight one? The straight one was first (no tag) then the slanted wacky logo.

10) Or the second IOA logo with the centered and symmetric font.
See the above.

11) Or when there was going to be a golf course on property by now, and expanded soundtage facilities.

12) Or when CityWalk was called E-Zone. And there was going to be the USA's largest SEGA arcade there. And Tower Records. And the E! studio.

 

[Notatourist]

Originally posted by MrNonacho
Universal Backlot Tour? I honestly can't remember this one.. What exactly did the tour involve?

This was a fifteen minute tour that took you by tram around the soundstage area, by the Swamp thing set, and through the backlot street sets giving you information about the studios, how we used them, etc.

The way original version of this was a tour of the frontlot-who remembers this?

 

[pathubia]

Wow, I had forgotton all about ghostbusters, i loved that, and we did go on the tram tour. That was in July of 1994.

Patty

 

[Robinrs]

I'll never forget the Herc and Xena show. My son named my cat after her! (And then was shocked that there was actually a show about it!)

I remember all the stuff from the IOA list Barry gave, especially the Island Skipper tours and the :sniff: Confisco Character lunch! It had become a tradition with us!

 

[johare]

I moved down here in 1990 and had a celebrity annual pass for the first couple years so I remember nearly everything on Barry's list. Wasn't there more than one version of the Ghostbusters show or was there something else there in between Ghostbusters and Twister? I also remember a different 'globe' out in front of the Universal Studios entrance. btw: Do they still do the second part of the Hitchcock show where they re-enact the shower scene?

 

[Notatourist]

Yes, there were two versions of Ghostbusters-

one with the hostess, the other with Louis Tully-

As for the Globe, you mean the metal one...Not the spiffy blue one that is there now.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I remember those videos! Just got the tape out, I think the name of the store is Screen Test Home Video Adventure, we did ours in Oct 93. We chose the Star Trek episode but I also remember there being a Laruel and Hardy episode. It is one of my most embarassing moments, the employee behind the counter popped the tape in and let everyone in the store see our really bad acting skills. Universal should bring back unique things like
that. My acting skills are much improved,

 

[RUN]

I never had a chance to go on the Ghostbuster's ride. What was it like?

 

[chris mcfly]

Originally posted by IOArules
I never had a chance to go on the Ghostbuster's ride. What was it like?

It was a show. The GBs would run around a building rooftop and shoot ghosts created with the "pepper's ghost" trick, like the Haunted Mansion. It climaxed with a huge inflatable marshmallow man.

 

[Mouser]

I remember all the Universal Stuff, and some of the IOA stuff...been going there a long time as you can tell....

 

[UKPhil]

What about the Hollywood Hi-Tones (a capella singing group who appeared outside Mels Diner at Universal Studios). They were great!

Or are they still around and just weren't appearing on our last trip?