Revenge of the Mummy (Florida)

Entrance to the attraction.

***Revenge of the Mummy***, sometimes advertised as ***Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride***, is a dark ride roller coaster hybrid located in the New York section at Universal Studios Florida. The ride opened in 2004 as a replacement for *Kongfrontation*, which closed in 2002. It is based on the 1999 reboot of *The Mummy*, and features riders initially being recruited as extras for a fake sequel also titled *Revenge of the Mummy*, hence the ride's name. Unfortunately for the guests, the curse of Imhotep is very real, and the Mummy once again awakens, hungry for souls. Other rides with the same name were later opened at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore, but they differ greatly in storyline and track layout, depending on which version you visit.

## History

In 2002, *Kongfrontation* was closed for unknown reasons, though it is heavily speculated that it was due to the heavy maintenance and unreliability of the King Kong animatronics featured in the ride. Due to the ride's popularity, several homages to the ride were made, the most prominent being a golden statue of Kong featured in the treasure room.

During construction, some of the pre-existing track of *Kongfrontation* was used. The ride building was also refurbished to feature more room underground, in order to make room for the final drop. *Revenge of the Mummy* opened on May 21, 2004, and was a success. Rides under the same name and theme, but different storylines and track layouts, later opened at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore. The proposed Universal Studios Dubailand was also planned to feature this ride, but plans for that park were scrapped. It was closed for refurbishment on January 7th, 2022, and reopened for technical rehearsal on August 30th, 2022. It is currently still in technical rehearsal and hasn’t officially reopened.

## Background

### Queue and Preshow

At Universal Studios Florida, riders enter a Museum of Antiquities, where Universal is planning to make a third *Mummy* movie called *Revenge of the Mummy*. TVs in the queue also display videos of how the 1999 film *The Mummy* was made, as well as rumors that the curse of Imhotep was actually real, and affected the making of the film. As a precaution, several people working on the film are asked to carry medjai symbols that are said to provide immunity from the curse. A crew member named Reggie has his medjai stolen, and ends up trapped in a sarcophagus. Guests then enter what appears to be an archaeological dig site, though it is unclear if they have been transported as an effect of the curse, or if it is the set of the film.

### Ride Experience

After riders board their vehicles, the ride begins with its dark ride segment. Here they encounter Reggie, who is still in the sarcophagus. He warns the riders by saying "Are you insane?! Get out of here! The curse is real, this whole place is a trap! He is after your souls!" Imhotep then appears, and tells the riders "Look for the medjai symbol, it's your only..." before being cut off by Imhotep who says "Silence!" and steals his soul. He then focuses his attention on the riders and says "With your souls, I shall rule for all eternity!"

The cars swiftly move to another room filled with treasure, where Imhotep bribes the riders to become his servants in exchange for priceless treasures. During this scene, a golden statue of King Kong can be seen in the background. This is a reference to *Kongfrontation*, a *King Kong*-themed ride that used to occupy this area. Imhotep also threatens to use force against the riders if they refuse, as multiple mummy soldiers rise to surround the ride vehicle. The ride vehicle then heads to another room, where they hit a wall, causing scarab beetles to scatter in the room.

The cars then travels backwards to a projection above, where Imhotep appears, once again threatening the riders. As he shouts "Your souls are mine!" the coaster segment of the ride begins, and riders are thrust into darkness, where various lighting effects of Imhotep are seen as the car travels swiftly throughout the ride.

After this, the cars come to a stop, where a ride attendant can be seen giving safety instructions to exit the ride. She is interrupted and attacked by Imhotep, who steals her soul and smashes through the glass of the operating cabin. He now sets the ceiling on fire, where the riders can feel the heat and shouts "Prepare to forfeit your souls! Death is only the beginning!" as the cars continue to dash through the darkness, with more intensity than the previous segment, before approaching and passing a medjai symbol, defeating Imhotep.

As the cars approach the exit, they see a screen with a fictionalized version of Brendan Fraser, who portrays main protagonist Rick O'Connell in the films. He welcomes the riders back, and angrily demands a cup of coffee from staff, as he previously requested it during the preshow. Imhotep arrives with the coffee, and although Brendan doesn't notice him at first, he then looks up to see the title antagonist and screams in horror as the screen goes black. Riders then depart into the Sahara Traders gift shop, where guests can purchase their ride photos and other merchandise primarily based on *The Mummy* franchise.

## Trivia

* Imhotep appears four times throughout the ride, twice as an animatronic and twice as a projection.
* Arnold Vosloo, who portrayed Imhotep in the first two films of the 1999 reboot series, returned to voice the character for the ride.
* Brenden Fraser plays himself in the post-ride film, as the setting of the ride is based on if the title character from the films was real.
* Due to the ride replacing *Kongfrontation*, a homage to King Kong was made in this ride. A golden statue of a gorilla can be found in the scene where Imhotep bribes the riders to give up their souls in exchange for endless treasure. Also, if one were to get a special "Behind the Scenes" look of the ride with the lights on, when walking through the fast-paced section that's usually covered in darkness; if one was to take a look up at the ceiling, they would see the actual cable car tracks from *Kongfrontation* still attached up above.
	+ However, King Kong returned to Universal Orlando Resort several years later in *Skull Island: Reign of Kong*, a dark ride/simulator hybrid that was built in between the Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park sections at Islands of Adventure.
* At Universal Studios Hollywood, a similar ride under the same name exists. However, this version features a much different layout and storyline, and does not feature the subplot of guests serving as extras for a new movie. It replaced that park's version of *E.T. Adventure*.
* At Universal Studios Singapore, a similar ride under the same name and slightly same track layout as Florida version exists. However this version features a different storyline, animatronics, and the ending.
* This is one of the rides at the resort with a tour, and you can ask an employee at the front to be your guide.
* *Sahara Traders* has mail which identifies the location of the Museum of Antiquities as being, "1203 Harryhausen Drive", a tribute to legendary animator Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013) who provided stop-motion special-effects for various monster movies.
* Details in *Sahara Traders* infer that the Museum of Antiquities' exhibit of ancient Egyptian artifacts was assembled and curated by Carl Denham, the amoral film-director character from King Kong (1933), who was responsible for King Kong's rampage. This is a tribute to Kongfrontation, and the store contains multiple other tributes to the King Kong franchise. Amongst the most notable are Denham putting on a, "Living Mummy" exhibit in the Museum, the dig site in the queue being one of his curated exhibits, him purchasing artifacts from the 1990s mummy franchise from Jonathan Carnahan, and being implied to have acquired the Book of the Dead from said films.
* The queue identifies the fictional Mummy film being shot as being the third in the series. This means that the fictional, "Revenge of the Mummy" film replaced the real-world *The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor* (2008), which is still referenced in Sahara Traders.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/OrlandoFun/comments/cxbmz9/revenge\_of\_the\_mummy\_universal\_studios/