E.T. Adventure

***E.T. Adventure*** is a dark ride located in the Woody Woodpecker's KidZone section of Universal Studios Florida. It is based on the 1982 film *E.T. The Extra Terrestrial*, by longtime Universal collaborator Steven Spielberg. It opened with the park on June 7, 1990, and is the only opening day attraction at the park that is still operating to this day. It is also the only version of the attraction that is still operating to this day, as ports of the ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan previously existed.

## History

During the planning phases for Universal Studios Florida, park representatives chose to use *E.T. The Extra Terrestrial* as one of the films represented in the park. The film was chosen because it was a film directed by Spielberg, released by Universal, and a family-friendly film that could rival the characters at the nearby Walt Disney World resort.

Like many of the rides at Universal Studios Florida, Steven Spielberg had a significant involvement in the development of the ride, especially due to directing the film it was based on. *E.T. Adventure* opened with the rest of Universal Studios Florida on June 7, 1990.

The success of the ride led to ports of it later opening at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1991, and Universal Studios Japan (along with the rest of the park) in 2001. Both versions of the ride later closed in 2003 and 2009, respectively, with the Orlando version also set to close. However, Steven Spielberg was upset with the previous two closures, and threatened to end his involvement with Universal Parks and Resorts if the Orlando version was closed. As a result, the ride continues operation as of 2022.

Just recently, the iconic scent of the ride was removed.

## Background

### Preshow and Queue

Once guests enter the ride building from the outside queue area, they are greeted by Steven Spielberg, director of *E.T. The Extra Terrestrial*, and frequent collaborator with Universal in both their film and theme parks. He informs riders that E.T. needs their help to get him back to his home world, the Green Planet, where the wildlife and inhabitants are dying, and only E.T. has the power to heal the planet. E.T. then appears, saying "Steven...trouble..." Spielberg then informs riders that E.T. will help the riders get to his home planet using his levitating powers on bikes, similarly to a prominent scene in the film, but they will require passports that will be given to ride attendants. Guests then enter a queue that resembles a forest, where Botanicus, one of the aliens from the Green Planet, occasionally appears, broadcasting a message to E.T. to come home. Before boarding their bikes, guests give their passports to a ride attendant, who then directs them which bike they will board.

### Ride Experience

The ride vehicle is a moving platform with bicycle-like structures standing on top of them. The bikes serve as the seats. Due to not fitting classic ride car layout, special seats are also available for disabled guests. However, guests can only ride on standard wheelchairs, and will have to transfer to one if using another mobility device.

Once on board, the bikes travel up a hill, where the police are looking for E.T. and the guests. Trucks and officers approach the guests, but E.T., who is sitting in the basket in front of the bikes as he did in the film, uses his power to make the bikes fly, much to the awe of the officers. The riders then pass by an owl, and soar above the trees before viewing a city from the sky, and pass by the moon in a similar fashion to the film.

Once getting to space, E.T. uses his power to teleport the bikes to his home world. E.T. sadly says "Home..." as the scene features dying plants, accompanied by hot air, steam, and red lights. E.T. immediately gets to work on saving the Green Planet, and various aliens begin to thank him as the plants and wildlife return to normal health. The ride then transitions to a celebration with E.T., where a version of the film's theme is played in an instrument style based on the aliens featured. Many miniature versions of E.T.'s species can also be seen climbing vines and playing in water. At the end of the ride, a second animatronic E.T. can be seen, thanking the guests, many of which he thanks by name. He then sends them back to Earth, and the guests depart at the exit.

## Trivia

* It's possible that this ride is Universal's answer to *Peter Pan's Flight* at the nearby rival Walt Disney World, especially considering that both rides feature a significant portion of simulated flying over a city, and visiting a foreign world during the second half of the ride.
* Prior to the 20th Anniversary of *E.T. The Extra Terrestrial*, the ride featured a different preshow in which Spielberg had recruited the guests to be actors in a sequel to the original film. This was changed in 2002, the 20th anniversary of the ride.
* The ride also originally featured ride cars based on the spaceship that E.T. arrived in. Due to the popularity of the bike-based seats on the ride vehicle, the spaceship seating was removed in 2004.
* The passports in the queue are actually computer codes that allow the E.T. animatronic at the end of the ride to pronounce the rider's names. However, the technology for this is heavily flawed (possibly due to the technology of the time), and E.T.'s pronunciations tend to either sound silly, or inaudible.
* It's worth noting that E.T. already went home in the film, yet he is back on Earth in the beginning of this ride. It's possible he returned to see Elliot and his friends again, or that the beginning of the ride is set during the middle of the film and features an alternate ending, while we are expected to assume that Elliot and the other kids are among the guests during the ride.
* Possibly because their actors had grown up since the release of the film, none of the human characters from the film appear or are even mentioned in the ride.
* At Universal Studios Hollywood, this ride was closed to make way for their version of *Revenge of the Mummy*. However, the ride differs in several aspects from the ride of the same name at Universal Studios Florida, and only shares the name and theming of *The Mummy*.