History Ride / UniversalStudios

** The Lost Continent is notable as the only area of Islands of Adventure to be based around these, drawing from Myth/ClassicalMythology (''Theatre/PoseidonsFury'') and the Literature/ArabianNights (''Theatre/TheEighthVoyageOfSindbad''). Originally, a key section of this land was "Merlinwood", inspired by the King Arthur mythos, but this was subsequently incorporated into ''Ride/TheWizardingWorldOfHarryPotter'' and its two roller coasters were rethemed (''Dueling Dragons'' to ''Dragon Challenge'' and ''The Flying Unicorn'' to ''Flight of the Hippogriff'').

-->-- '''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd''' describing attractions in the early years of Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida during his review of the ''Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure'' LicensedGame for UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube

** 2019's Universal Cool Japan event featured an attraction that depicts the characters of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' facing off against Franchise/{{Godzilla}} (which isn't as random as it may seem, since they're both part of the {{thematic|Series}} ''Franchise/ShinSeries'').

** The entirety of Woody Woodpecker's [=KidZone=]. While the attractions still draw decent crowds, most of the characters the attractions are based off of are no longer recognizable to the under-10 audience Kidzone targets. ''Ride/ETAdventure'' is the lone exception, due to its ties to the park's history and the fact that ''[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T.]]'' is a certified classic family film on a par with ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. Beyond that, ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' has become more obscure over the years, the ''Literature/CuriousGeorge'' franchise never exactly became a huge hit for Universal, and WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker only lives as the park mascot these days. The only major additions to the area since the '90s is a store themed to ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', replacing the former store themed to the animations of Creator/WalterLantz, and a Creator/DreamworksAnimation meet and greet area replacing ''A Day in the Park with Series/{{Barney|AndFriends}}'' (which lasted until ''2020'').
** Relatedly, ''Ride/ETAdventure'' and ''Theatre/UniversalsHorrorMakeUpShow'' are the last two attractions at Universal Studios Florida that were there when the park originally opened in 1990. It's been rumored that the only reason why ''E.T.'' hasn't been replaced is due to the personal intervention of Creator/StevenSpielberg, who was reportedly furious when the ride was removed from the Hollywood and Japan parks and threatened to end his working relationship with Universal Parks & Resorts if the Orlando ''E.T.'' ride were ever to be closed. Every proposed redesign for the [=KidZone=] has retained ''E.T. Adventure'', even in cases where it would be thematically isolated.

** The entirety of Woody Woodpecker's [=KidZone=]. While the attractions still draw decent crowds, most of the characters the attractions are based off of are no longer recognizable to the under-10 audience Kidzone targets. ''E.T. Adventure'' is the lone exception, due to its ties to the park's history and the fact that ''[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T.]]'' is a certified classic family film on a par with ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. Beyond that, ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' has become more obscure over the years, the ''Literature/CuriousGeorge'' franchise never exactly became a huge hit for Universal, and WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker only lives as the park mascot these days. The only major additions to the area since the '90s is a store themed to ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', replacing the former store themed to the animations of Creator/WalterLantz, and a Creator/DreamworksAnimation meet and greet area replacing ''A Day in the Park with Series/{{Barney|AndFriends}}'' (which lasted until ''2020'').

** There is a large amphitheater in Toon Lagoon (Islands of Adventure) that has consistently failed at maintaining any kind of show in it. After ''Pandemonium Cartoon Circus'' ran for a few years, it was followed by a Mat Hoffman stunt show, THEN served as the filming location for NBC's iVillage. After a few years of emptiness, Mat Hoffman's Aggro Circus began in March 2010... only to be made into a seasonal show, performing during spring break and the summer. It was then cancelled altogether, leaving the empty amphitheater shut year-round.

** This is partly why ''The Funtastic World of Creator/HannaBarbera'' was replaced by ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]]'s [[Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} Nicktoon]] Blast'', and why the latter was also replaced in favor of ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe Minion Mayhem''. When ''Hanna-Barbera'' closed in 2002, the licenses featured weren't very popular with kids anymore (with the lone exception of ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''), and so they were replaced with popular Nickelodeon animated series from the early 2000s. When ''Jimmy Neutron'' closed in 2011, the only shows represented in the ride that were still airing were the [[LongRunner long-running]] ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' and ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddParents'', and so they were replaced with a popular series of animated films from the early 2010s. (It helps that Universal actually owns the rights to ''Despicable Me'', so [[MoneyDearBoy they don't have to pay licensing fees]] to operate the ride.)
** ''Ride/ETAdventure'' and ''Theatre/UniversalsHorrorMakeUpShow'' are the last two attractions at Universal Studios Florida that were there when the park originally opened in 1990. It's been rumored that the only reason why ''E.T.'' hasn't been replaced is due to [[ExecutiveVeto the personal intervention]] of Creator/StevenSpielberg, who was reportedly furious when the ride was removed from the Hollywood and Japan parks and threatened to end his working relationship with Universal Parks & Resorts if the Orlando ''E.T.'' ride were ever to be closed.
** The Marvel Super Hero Island at Islands of Adventure, as explained in [[http://themeparkuniversity.com/editorial/will-disney-world-add-marvel-attractions/ this article]]. Even after Disney bought Creator/MarvelComics and its [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse associated film studio]], Universal's contract with Marvel [[GrandfatherClause gave them the exclusive rights in perpetuity]] to use the Marvel characters in parks east of the Mississippi (i.e. in Orlando), as long as they used them in good faith and didn't misrepresent them. This means that Universal will likely never add any new attractions to the area, as this would give free promotion to one of Universal's competitors as a film studio, but they'll never close any of them down either, lest they risk the rights reverting to their proper owner, who happen to also be their direct theme park rival. Meanwhile, Disney has found legal loopholes to add Marvel material in Walt Disney World: They can't use Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Avengers, the X-Men or the Fantastic Four, but they can freely use Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange, both of whom were not implicated in Universal's contract, as long as they don't brand them with "Marvel's" in the title.
** The original ''Hard Rock Cafe'' that was built next to ''Ride/ETAdventure'' was closed when a newer version of the restaurant opened with the [=CityWalk=] area in 1999; however, the old structure itself continued to sit untouched and abandoned for well over ''ten years'', and was in clear sight of anyone walking through the [=KidZone=] area. It finally came down at the end of 2011, to make way for extra backstage facilities.
** ''Ride/MenInBlackAlienAttack'' is the last remaining part of the World Expo area at the park. It was initially designed specially to fit in with the area and complement ''Ride/BackToTheFutureTheRide'' by having it be themed as a World's Fair pavilion that secretly acted as a base for the MIB, but this all fell apart when BTTF was replaced by ''Ride/TheSimpsonsRide'', with the surrounding Expo theming eventually being converted into a Springfield area. Because of this, ''Alien Attack'' is now thematically-isolated. ''The Simpsons Ride'' itself is an artifact now due to Disney acquiring Fox and its intellectual properties in 2019; similar to the Marvel characters above, Universal is now giving free promotion to a property owned by one of their biggest rivals. Universal's contract with Fox is expected to last until 2028.

** The entirety of the Lost Continent is this, [[RuinsForRuinsSake almost]] [[{{Pun}} literally]]. With the re-theming of Dueling Dragons to fit with the Harry Potter zone (and its eventual closure to be replaced entirely by ''Ride/HagridsMagicalCreaturesMotorbikeAdventure''), and the closure of ''Sinbad'' in late 2018, it was left the only area in the park with a single attraction and no licensed attractions. Poseidon's Fury was "temporarily" closed due to COVID-19 in 2020, and finally reopened in March of 2022 after an extensive refurbishment, seemingly indicating it isn't going anywhere soon.

** 2019's Universal Cool Japan event featured an attraction that depicts the characters of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' facing off against ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' (which isn't as random as it may seem, since ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' was written by ''NGE'' creator Hideaki Anno).

* HauntedHouse: As a way of promoting the ''Film/{{Casper}}'' movie in 1995, the Universal parks in Florida and Hollywood featured a [[https://youtu.be/goxmo-qc9ug?t=38 temporary walk-through attraction]] that had guests traveling through replicas of the film's sets and having multiple run-ins with Casper and the Ghostly Trio. More famously, Theater/HalloweenHorrorNights features haunted houses themed around different properties and storylines that become more elaborate each year.

[[caption-width-right:260:[[{{Tagline}} See the stars. Ride the movies.]]]]

* DevelopersForesight: So what happens when you actually "[[Film/AnimalHouse ask for babs]]"? While Babs herself would not show up, apparently, [[https://legendsrevealed.com/entertainment/2013/02/19/did-universal-studios-used-to-offer-an-incentive-based-on-a-joke-from-animal-house/ Universal did used to offer an incentive]] to those who bothered to actually ask for her early on (what that incentive is though is not clear and would allegedly range from a free shirt to discounted tickets). However, after a couple of years, Universal would eventually stop offering any incentives to those who asked the phrase beginning in 1989, allegedly due to employees getting fed up with the phrase.

[[https://www.universalparks.com Universal Parks & Resorts]][[note]]originally known as Universal Studios Theme Parks[[/note]] is a chain of five theme park resorts owned/licensed and operated by Creator/NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Their first attraction, the Ride/StudioTour, [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to 1915]] (just three years after Creator/{{Universal}} Pictures' founding in 1912), and the first theme park started in 1964. They are [[DuelingProducts the largest competitors]] to the Ride/DisneyThemeParks, and often regarded as the only theme park group close to its quality. Compared to Disney attractions, Universal attractions tend to appeal more to thrill-seekers than families of all ages, and thus are considered more "extreme." Most of the rides at Universal parks are centered around movies and television shows; unlike Disney, a good number of them are not from Universal's own library.

Universal Parks & Resorts[[note]]originally known as Universal Studios Theme Parks[[/note]] is a chain of five theme park resorts owned/licensed and operated by Creator/NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Their first attraction, the Ride/StudioTour, [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to 1915]] (just three years after Creator/{{Universal}} Pictures' founding in 1912), and the first theme park started in 1964. They are [[DuelingProducts the largest competitors]] to the Ride/DisneyThemeParks, and often regarded as the only theme park group close to its quality. Compared to Disney attractions, Universal attractions tend to appeal more to thrill-seekers than families of all ages, and thus are considered more "extreme." Most of the rides at Universal parks are centered around movies and television shows; unlike Disney, a good number of them are not from Universal's own library.

** ''[[Series/BarneyAndFriends A Day in the Park with Barney]]'' featured Mr. Peek-A-Boo, a live character created exclusively for the attraction. Come the late '90s, Barney's dialogue, "I'm so glad Mr. Peek-A-Boo made sure you all got here!", had the name shortened to just "[[GenderBlenderName Peek-A-Boo]]," allowing for actresses to portray the character as well.

* ChristmasEpisode: In addition to the various Christmas events at the Orlando parks, ''[[Series/BarneyAndFriends A Day in the Park with Barney]]'' and ''The Film/BluesBrothers Show'' get seasonal revamps featuring various holiday songs.

* '''Universal Studios Beijing''': Universal's newest park, which is also its third location in Asia. It largely functions as a "greatest hits" of Universal's attractions from the past decade, with lands focusing on contemporary properties such as ''Film/JurassicWorld'', ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'', ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' and ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda''. It had its grand opening on September 20, 2021.

* DevelopersForesight: So what happens when you actually "[[AnimalFarm ask for babs]]"? Apparently, [[https://legendsrevealed.com/entertainment/2013/02/19/did-universal-studios-used-to-offer-an-incentive-based-on-a-joke-from-animal-house/ Universal did used to actually offer an incentive]] to those who bothered to actually ask (what that incentive is though is not clear and would allegedly range from a free shirt to discounted tickets). However, Universal would stop offering incentives for asking the phrase beginning in 1989.

** The Studio Tour was quite different in the first few decades from what it is now. Originally, it was more akin to a static show than an actual attraction, where you can watch films as they were being made from bleachers. The original version of the tour was closed in 1930 and it wouldn't be until 1964 that the more famous tram incarnation of the Studio Tour would open.

[[caption-width-right:260:[[{{Tagline}}See the stars. Ride the movies.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:260: [[Film/AnimalHouse (Ask for Babs)]]]]

* GenderBlenderName: When the ride staff/actors are communicating with pre-recorded characters on screens, the on-screen characters use gender-neutral names for flexibility in staffing.

->''You know, the ''Back to the Future'' ride and then there's volcanoes and shit, and then you're ridin' the bike with E.T. and then the--the truck almost comes and hits ya, and then the waterfall, and then th-th-the T. rex comes out and then--then fuckin' Jaws is jumpin' out of the water and King Kong is shakin' the tram, and then there's earthquakes and there's other movies (you don't even know what the fuck they are, nobody cares)! It was'' '''''awesome.'''''
-->-- '''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd''' on ''Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure'' for UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube

Universal Parks & Resorts[[note]]originally known as Universal Studios Theme Parks[[/note]] is a chain of five theme park resorts owned/licensed and operated by Creator/NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Their first attraction, the Ride/StudioTour, [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to 1915]] (just three years after Creator/{{Universal}} Pictures' founding in 1912), and the first theme park started in 1964. They are [[DuelingProducts the largest competitors]] to the Ride/DisneyThemeParks, and are often regarded as the only theme park group close to its quality. Compared to Disney attractions, Universal attractions tend to appeal more to thrill-seekers than families of all ages, and thus are dubbed to be more "extreme." Most of the rides at Universal parks are centered around movies and television shows; unlike Disney, a good number of them are not from Universal's own library.

* ''Theatre/WaterworldALiveSeaWarSpectacular'' ('''Hollywood''', '''Japan''', '''Singapore''')

Universal Parks & Resorts[[note]]originally known as Universal Studios Theme Parks[[/note]] is a chain of five theme park resorts owned/licensed and operated by Creator/NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Their first attraction, the Ride/StudioTour, [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to 1915]] (just three years after the studio's founding in 1912), and the first theme park started in 1964. They are [[DuelingProducts the largest competitors]] to the Ride/DisneyThemeParks, and are often regarded as the only theme park group close to its quality. Compared to Disney attractions, Universal attractions tend to appeal more to thrill-seekers than families of all ages, and thus are dubbed to be more "extreme." Most of the rides at Universal parks are centered around movies and television shows; unlike Disney, a good number of them are not from Universal's own library.

The idea of Universal's theme parks surfaced in 1962, following MCA's takeover of Universal Pictures. The idea began as a suggestion by executives to refresh the studio tour, which led to the inclusion of staged events during the tour. This plan was ultimately realized two years later, leading to the birth of Universal theme parks.

** '''Universal's Epic Universe''': The third theme park of Universal Orlando (fourth counting Volcano Bay, which Universal does), located some miles south of the main resort area. It is currently slated to open in 2024 or 2025. Details are scarce, but it is known that the Orlando port of Super Nintendo World will be located here.

Universal Parks & Resorts[[note]]originally known as Universal Studios Theme Parks[[/note]] is a chain of five theme park resorts owned/licensed and operated by Creator/NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The studio tour [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to 1915]] (just three years after the studio's founding in 1912), and the theme park started in 1964. They are [[DuelingProducts the largest competitors]] with the Ride/DisneyThemeParks, and are often regarded as the only theme park group close to its quality. Compared to Disney attractions, Universal attractions tend to appeal more to thrill-seekers than families of all ages, and thus are dubbed to be more "extreme." Most of the rides at Universal parks are centered around movies and television shows; unlike Disney, a good number of them are not from Universal's own library.

* '''Universal Studios Hollywood''': The original park, which opened in 1964. It started as a reimagining of their old studio tour, but soon grew to its own theme park. It opened a shopping complex, called [=CityWalk=], in May 1993. It also has its own [[UsefulNotes/LosAngelesMetroRail Metro]] stop.

Parks in '''bold''' are locations where the attraction is still operating or in the process of being added. Locations not in bold indicate that the attraction has been retired.

* ''Ride/TheIncredibleHulkCoaster'' ('''Islands of Adventure''', '''Beijing''')[[note]]Rethemed to the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries''-based ''[=DeceptiCoaster=]'' in Beijing, as Universe does not hold the Marvel theme park license there.[[/note]]

* ''Ride/TheAmazingAdventuresOfSpiderMan''
* ''Theatre/AnimalActors''
* ''Ride/BackToTheFutureTheRide''
* ''Theatre/BeetlejuicesGraveyardRevue''
* ''Ride/TheCatInTheHat''
* ''Ride/DespicableMeMinionMayhem''
* ''Ride/{{Disaster}}''
* ''Ride/DoctorDoomsFearfall''
* ''Ride/DudleyDoRightsRipsawFalls''
* ''Ride/DuelingDragons''
* ''Ride/EarthquakeTheBigOne''
* ''Theatre/TheEighthVoyageOfSindbad''
* ''Ride/ETAdventure''
* ''Ride/FastAndFuriousSupercharged''
* ''Ride/TheFuntasticWorldOfHannaBarbera''
* ''Theatre/GhostbustersSpooktacular''
* ''Ride/GodzillaVsEvangelionTheReal4D''
* ''Ride/HagridsMagicalCreaturesMotorbikeAdventure''
* ''Ride/HarryPotterAndTheEscapeFromGringotts''
* ''Ride/HarryPotterAndTheForbiddenJourney''
* ''Ride/TheIncredibleHulkCoaster''
* ''Ride/{{JAWS}}''
* ''Ride/JimmyNeutronsNicktoonBlast''
* ''Ride/JurassicParkRiverAdventure''
* ''Ride/{{Kongfrontation}}''
* ''Ride/KungFuPandaAdventure''
* ''Ride/MenInBlackAlienAttack''
* ''Ride/PopeyeAndBlutosBilgeRatBarges''
* ''Theatre/PoseidonsFury''
* ''Ride/RaceThroughNewYorkStarringJimmyFallon''
* ''Ride/RevengeOfTheMummy''
* ''WesternAnimation/ShrekFourD''
* ''Ride/TheSimpsonsRide''
* ''Ride/SkullIslandReignOfKong''
* ''Ride/SpaceFantasyTheRide''
* ''Theatre/SpecialEffectsShow''
* ''Ride/StormForceAccelatron''
* ''{{Ride/Studio Tour}}''
* ''Ride/SuperNintendoWorld''
* ''Ride/Terminator23DBattleAcrossTime''
* ''Ride/TransformersTheRide''
* ''Ride/TwisterRideItOut''
* ''Theatre/UniversalsHorrorMakeUpShow''
* ''Theatre/WaterworldALiveSeaWarSpectacular''
* ''Ride/TheWizardingWorldOfHarryPotter''

As previously stated, a good number of attractions at Universal parks tend to feature franchises licensed from other media companies, and not from Universal's library. The most common license Universal had was for Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} characters, as the park was the home to the production facility Nickelodeon Studios. Although the facilities closed in 2005, Universal continues to possess the rights to select Nickelodeon characters (''[[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants [=SpongeBob=] [=SquarePants=]]]'' and ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'') at the parks in both California and Florida. Other licensees include Creator/DrSeuss characters, Creator/MarvelComics (in Florida and Japan only), Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate, Creator/{{Nintendo}}, and Creator/{{Sanrio}}. Creator/DreamWorksAnimation and Creator/JayWard Productions (which was absorbed by [=DreamWorks=] in 2002) used to be licensees, but after Comcast bought out [=DreamWorks=] Animation in 2016, Universal now owns them outright. [[note]]There are [=DreamWorks=] attractions in other amusement parks, such as at [=DreamWorld=] Australia and Motiongate Dubai, that still exist due to licensing deals that occurred prior to the buyout.[[/note]]