List of allusions to the Disney Parks in Universal Studios

Universal's main rivals are the Disney Parks, who they sometimes make allusions, tributes or parody references to.

## Islands of Adventure

### Jurassic Park

#### Jurassic Park River Adventure

* In videos for the Jurassic Park river adventure, John Hammond says, "I hope we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mosquito". This is a parody of Walt Disney's line, "I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse".

### Lost Continent

#### Defunct attractions

##### Poseidon's Fury

* Lord Darkenon's disembodied voice telling guests "Welcome mortals (to your destiny)" may be a reference to or inspired by the Ghost Host from the classic Disney Parks the Haunted Mansion, in which the unseen Ghost Host famously greets riders with the words "Welcome foolish mortals".

### Skull Island

#### Skull Island: Reign of Kong

* Richard Armstrong describes the Eight Wonder Expedition Company's ongoings on Skull Island as a, "True-Life Adventure". This may be an allusion to Disney's True-Life Adventure series of animal documentary films which are the namesake for *Adventureland* and inspiration for the *Jungle Cruise* at the Disney Parks.
	+ The queue and theming for Reign of Kong has some similarities to the Jungle Cruise and Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

### Toon Lagoon

#### Dudley Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls

* The scene of Snidely Whiplash trying to escape jail is a reference to a similar scene from Pirates of the Caribbean.
* The scene of going under the train may be inspired and/or an allusion to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

### Halloween Horror Nights (Florida)

#### Seeds of Extinction

* A plushy of Figment the dragon from Journey Into Imagination made a cameo in this house.

#### Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store

* In 2023, the Boris Shuster mystery area had a sign for a, "ONE WAY TUNNEL" next to a pair of traffic lights, one of which had a bullet in it. This was an allusion to the defunct Great Movie Ride of Disney's Hollywood Studios, where the mobster Mugsy Tocatta shot a red light at a one-way tunnel before moving through it.

### New York

#### Defunct attractions

##### Twister: Ride It Out!

* Flattened Mickey Mouse ears appeared under a car tire in the queue.

### Production Central

#### Defunct attractions

##### Shrek 4D

* Posters throughout the queue referenced Dulacland parodies of Disney Parks attractions such as: Lord Farquaad's Enchanted Tick Room (Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room), Donkbo (Dumbo the Flying Elephant; also has a reference to the Mad Tea Party), and Great Moments with Mr. Farquaad (Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln).
	+ Lord Farquaad's role in the original Shrek was to be a parody of then Disney president Michael Eisner, whose evil plot mirrored how the Disney Company monopolizes on otherwise public-domain intellectual properties. Dulac in Shrek had elements of Disneyland parody.
* At the beginning, a frog attempts to eat Tinker Bell from Peter Pan who is a mascot of Disneyland.
* The dragon fight through the trench echoed *Star Tours*.

### San Francisco

#### Defunct attractions

##### Jaws

* The ride system, submerged animatronic animals and cast-member actors named, "Skippers" seemed to be a parallel to the classic Disney Parks attraction the Jungle Cruise. Incidentally, the Jungle Cruise's animals were largely designed by Bob Mattey (1910-1993) who also designed the original Jaws shark for film.

### Springfield

#### The Simpsons Ride

* The attractions of Krustyland satirize various Disney Parks attractions. The Haunted Condo is the Haunted Mansion, The Sea Captain’s Queasy Time Lagoon is the Jungle Cruise, Captain Dinosaur’s Pirate-Rip Off is Pirates of the Caribbean, the Hall of Secretaries of the Interior is the Hall of Presidents, and the Four Food Groups Singing Spectacular references extinct EPCOT attractions Kitchen Cabaret and Food Rocks.
* On the map of the park, Sleeping Itchy's Castle references Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland, It's a Long Long Line! is another reference to It's a Small World, Krusty's L.A. Traffic Jam may reference Disney's infamous Superstar Limo (often considered to be amongst the worst Disney rides ever made), and the Spit 'n' Watch Aerial Gondolas reference the Skyway.
* The Happy Little Elves in Panda Land in the ride is a clear parody of *It's a Small World* which Bart describes as, "A fate worse than death". The *Captain Dinosaur’s Pirate-Rip Off* scene has visible inspiration from Pirates of the Caribbean, with Sideshow Bob's appearance on the waterfall even being inspired by the Davy Jones/Blackbeard projections of said ride which were removed from American parks in 2018.

### The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley

* There is a window which has copies of *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea* and *The Wind in the Willows*, referencing the Fantasyland Disney Parks attractions *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage* and *Mr. Toad's Wild Ride* which both were shut down in Florida.
* The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has had comparisons made between it and Disney due to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter featuring various offensive racial and ethnic caricatures (carried over from the bigotry found within the original books and film adaptations) which were also present in Disney albeit steadily removed. Examples include the Haitian accented shrunken heads, allusions to the the slavery of some races, and money obsessed jewish-coded goblin bankers who prominently appear as villains in *Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts*.

### World Expo

* The World Expo is inspired by the 1964 World's Fair, which debuted various theme-park technologies and attractions made by Disney.

#### Men in Black: Alien Attack

* Several of the Men in Black themed vintage posters are inspired by vintage Disneyland posters, particularly for Tomorrowland.

## Universal Studios Hollywood

### Defunct

#### Jurassic Park River Adventure

* In videos for the Jurassic Park river adventure, John Hammond says, "I hope we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mosquito". This is a parody of Walt Disney's line, "I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse".
* Mickey Mouse ears floating in the water implied that the dinosaurs killed a Disney Parks tourist.

## References

1. ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/s6\_disneyatuniversal/
2. ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2023/09/halloween-horror-nights-32-great-movie-ride/
3. ↑ https://insidethemagic.net/2023/03/universal-rides-that-make-fun-of-disney-ao1/
4. ↑ https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2022/01/09/photos-shrek-4-d-closed-universal-studios-florida/
5. ↑ https://insidethemagic.net/2023/02/former-universal-employee-boycott-harry-potter-game-ea1/