King of the Park: Memorable Movie-Based Theme Park Attractions

As Fanta launch their brand new King of the Park social game application on Facebook, we look at five memorable movie-based theme park attractions…


Back to the Future: The Ride

Opening in Universal Studios Florida back in 1991, Back to the Future: The Ride was a motion simulator that served as a mini-sequel to Back to the Future Part III and saw Steven Spielberg serve as creative consultant with Christopher Lloyd reprising his role as Doc Brown. Now located at Universal Studios Japan.

Jaws

Another Steven Spielberg related spin-off, Universal Studios Florida spent $65m on its Jaws attraction, which takes guests on a tour around Amity Harbor only for their boat to come under attack by the fearsome great white. A near identical version opened at Universal Studios Japan in 2001.

Jurassic Park: The Ride

The final Spielberg-inspired attraction to make our list (nope, no place for E.T. Adventure here I'm afraid) is Jurassic Park: The Ride, which opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1996 and culminates with a near-vertical 85 feet drop as guests plunge into a tropical lagoon to escape the dreaded Tyrannosaurus Rex.

T2 3-D: Battle Across Time

A mini-sequel to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, T2 3D: Battle Across Time includes a twelve minute short directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Robert Patrick. Costing $60m to produce, T2 3D originally opened at Universal Studios Florida and has since spread to Universal's Hollywood and Japan parks.

Star Tours

Originally launched at Disneyland in 1987, the $32m Star Tours motion simulator takes its guests on a space tour to the forest moon of Endor, only to come under attack by an Imperial Star Destroyer ultimately find themselves involved in the attack on the Death Star. Star Tours closed in 2010 and was replaced earlier this year by Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, while the original still operates at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland.

This post has been sponsored by Fanta’s ‘King of the Park’, a brand new Facebook game where you can create your own theme park, battle your mates in classic arcade games, sit back and have a chat and – best of all – be in with a chance of winning some brilliant prizes including a VIP trip to Gardaland Resort, Italy for you and three friends, along with one of fifty pairs of entry tickets to Alton Towers each week for eight weeks.


King of the Park…


Visit the site for more information here.