Paramount's Orlando Escape

**Paramount's Orlando Escape** (Previously known as Paramount's Hollywood Adventure from 1990-2002) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by SegaParamount, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and other aspects of the entertainment industry. Paramount's Orlando Escape was the first of three theme parks to open at Paramount Orlando Resort, joined later by Islands of Adventure in 2002 and Sega HyperWorld in 2019, and Peppa Pig Theme Park in 2022. In 2019, it ranked eleventh in the world – sixth in North America – for overall attendance among amusement parks with approximately 10.9 million visitors. A fourth park, Mega Galaxy, is expected in summer 2025. It is expected to be the largest Paramount Park in the United States.

The success of its sister location, Paramount's Great America, in the 1980s fueled the desire to build a similar park in the Orlando area to compete with Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida. Many of its themed attractions over the years were developed in close collaboration with the directors, producers, and actors of the films they are based on. An early layout and design of the park also incorporated active production studios, similar to the Hollywood location, which provided guests a behind-the-scenes look at film and television. As the interest to produce films in the Orlando area quickly faded, the design of the park transitioned to a more immersive, first-person perspective.

Paramount's Orlando Escape operates a well-known annual event during the fall season called *Paranormal Mountain*, where the park transitions to a Halloween theme featuring haunted houses and scare zones on select nights. One of the park's biggest draws is *Star Wars*: Galaxy's Edge, a themed area inspired by the *Star Wars* franchise that opened in 2019. Other notable attractions include *The Twilight Zone* Tower of Terror, which debuted with the park's grand opening in 1990, Men in Black: Alien Attack as well as roller coasters Sonic Speed-Coaster and *Guardians of the Galaxy*: Cosmic Rewind.

## History

In 1982, Paramount contemplated the idea of opening an amusement park in Florida to compete with Disney. They considered building a similar version of their Studio Tour tram ride located at Paramount's Great America, retaining the studio backlot tour theme to set it apart from what Disney was offering at Disney World. However, Paramount abandoned the idea after attempts to partner with a skeptical Paramount Studios failed to materialize. The Studio Tour in Los Angeles continued to thrive, especially with the addition of a new, massive scene based on the 1984 *Transformers* animated series. It opened in 1986 as Devastator Encounter and became an instant hit with guests, boosting attendance and prompting Paramount to revisit the idea of building a theme park in Orlando.

That same year, former Disney Imagineer Peter Alexander, who worked on the life-size Devastator animatronic and later became an executive at Paramount Creative, met with Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer to discuss the creation of a *Top Gun* simulator ride. *Star Wars* creator George Lucas, who recently helped Paramount design the well-received Star Tours attraction at Paramount's Great America, had previously boasted to Bruckheimer that Paramount was incapable of building such a ride. Bruckheimer and Alexander gladly accepted the challenge and began working on the ride's concept. Paramount was already working on the design for its backlot tram tour attraction in Florida, which would include multiple scenes depicted at the version at Paramount's Great America.

In 1987, Disney CEO Michael Eisner – previously the CEO at Paramount when they pitched their Florida park idea several years earlier – announced intentions to create their own studio backlot tour at Walt Disney World. The new area, to be called Disney-MGM Studios, was a preemptive move to counter Universal's planned introduction into the Orlando market. Paramount claimed that Eisner took advantage of his prior access to their plans for Orlando, borrowing some of the concepts, but Disney denied Eisner ever saw them. They also noted that planning for Disney-MGM Studios began in 1981, long before Eisner was hired. The corporate war between the two had spilled over into the public relations sector, described as a "nasty feud" by the *New York Times* in 1989.

Paramount had publicly revealed their plans for Orlando ahead of Eisner's announcement, but Disney was in a better position to fast-track construction and open sooner. This forced Paramount to rethink their approach and abandon the tram tour concept design for the park. Instead, they opted to build standalone attractions while retaining the overall studio backlot theme. Their projected opening day lineup would include *Transformers*: The Ride, *The Twilight Zone* Tower of Terror, and the Cruise-Bruckheimer-Alexander collaboration project, *Top Gun*: The Ride,

A large theme park with separate attractions was a new concept for Paramount, and their creative team ran into multiple obstacles during development and testing. Among the casualties from the early troubles was the *Top Gun* ride, which had its opening delayed by nearly a year.

### Development

Many of the attractions over the years were developed in close collaboration with directors, producers, and actors from the films on which they were based. In many cases, actors reprised their roles, contributing new dialogue and footage to fill pre-show queues and action sequences within the attractions. Rip Torn and Will Smith contributed to Men in Black: Alien Attack, Tom Cruise collaborated with Paramount Creative on the opening day attraction, *Top Gun*: The Ride, and multiple members of *The Simpsons* cast collaborated on The Simpsons Ride. Other examples involved directors, such as George Lucas' assistance on the development of several rides including Indiana Jones: Adventure and the *Star Wars*: Galaxy Edge area of the park.

### Production facilities

Paramount's Orlando Escape was originally designed to function as both a theme park and working production studio. Several movies, television series, commercials, music videos, and other forms of media have been produced onsite throughout its history. Nickelodeon Studios was one of the early pillars behind the working studio concept, and it was featured in various locations throughout the park in the form of soundstages. Popular kids' shows such as *Double Dare* were produced on location, and guests could tour the facilities for a behind-the-scenes experience. Film production also occurred onsite.

For a brief time, Paramount's Orlando Escape featured a backlot tour tram ride attraction, called the Production Studio Tour, with elements that were similar to the version at Paramount's Great America. Guests toured active production set facilities in use for film and television. Disney heavily invested in the same working studio concept, but shortly after Paramount's Orlando Escape opened, filming at the parks and even in the state was becoming less attractive. Producers complained of the logistics, expenses, and limited available resources. Consequently, Paramount ended the Production Studio Tour only five years into the park's history in 1995. Smaller shows and commercials continued to be produced, but the backlot studio concept was becoming less of a draw for visitors.

With each new attraction, Paramount gradually moved away from the incorporation of the fourth wall convention, where cast and crew directly addressed guests. Instead of a behind-the-scenes filmmaking experience, the perspective shifted in the direction of putting guests in the middle of the action. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – with the completion of Hogsmeade in 2010 and Diagon Alley in 2014 – accelerated this transition and reflects the park's modern strategy and approach to the guest experience.

Despite the evolution and growing emphasis being placed on the theme park aspect, some soundstages at Paramount's Orlando Escape remained active. *Wheel of Fortune* was relocated to the park in 1999 to help promote the upcoming debut of Islands of Adventure. The 2009 iteration of The Price is Right: $1,000,000 Celebrity Spectacular was filmed on site for CBS, the show returned in 2015 as *The Price is Right: Celebrity Edition*. The 2010–11 season of RTL Group's *Family Feud* was filmed on site, coinciding with the show's debut of new host Steve Harvey, but the show was relocated in 2011 to Atlanta, Georgia. The revival of Howie Mandel's *Deal or No Deal* in 2018 was filmed in Soundstage 21 for CNBC. Local and national commercials were also shot at various soundstages.

### Financing and ownership

Paramount's Orlando Escape was built for an estimated $630 million, with 50% ownership in the hands of SegaParamount and 50% belonging to The Rank Organisation leisure company. While owned by National Amusements, SegaParamount would again partner with The Rank Group (corporate successor to The Rank Organisation) a decade later in a major $2.5 billion expansion that would transform the park into a resort. The expansion led to the creation of Paramount Florida Resort with the addition of Islands of Adventure, Universal CityWalk, and several hotels. In 2000, The Rank Group sold its 50% stake to Blackstone Capital Partners for $275 million, who in turn sold it to SegaParamount in 2011 for $3.165 billion, giving the company 100% ownership of the resort.

### Branding

Slogans marketed by Paramount's Orlando Escape over the years included: *See the Stars. Ride the Movies.* (1990–1998); *No one makes believe like we do!* (1990–1998); *Ride the Movies* (1998–2008); *Jump into the Action* (2008–2012); *Experience The Movies* (2012–2015) and *Vacation Like You Mean It* (2013–2019). The slogan was last changed in 2020 to "Let Yourself Woah" for the Paramount Florida Resort. It was eventually applied to all global tourist locations, including Paramount's Great America.

## Areas and attractions

Paramount's Orlando Escape features nine themed areas all situated around a large lagoon.

The nine surrounding themed areas, clockwise from the entrance, are Production Central, New York, Hidden Temple, Pandora, World Expo, Springfield USA, Nickelodeon Central and Hollywood. Each area features a combination of rides, shows, attractions, character appearances, dining outlets and merchandise stores.

### Production Central

 Paramount Music Plaza Stage
 Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
 Paramount's Superstar Parade

The area is also home to a variety of dining outlets and shops for merchandise.

### New York

 TMNT: Revenge of the Shreader
 Delancey Street Preview Center

The New York section of the park features several dining outlets: *Finnegan's Bar and Grill*, *The Ninja Turtles' Mutant Pizzaria* and *Louie's Italian Restaurant* which were designed for the park as well as *Starbucks Coffee* and *Häagen-Dazs* which are commercial franchises. There are also two merchandise shops: *Sewage Shop* and *Rosie's Irish Shop*. The first two feature merchandise related to attractions within this area.

As Nickelodeon is headquartered in the park at the time, the opening credits for *Roundhouse* and *All That* (two of its shows) were filmed around this area of the park.

### World Expo

Sometime after June 2005 the optical illusion of the Space Shuttle was removed from this part of the park. As you headed towards **World Expo** from **Hidden Temple** it was one of the many designated photo spots throughout the park. There was a hanging platform that you would place your camera on and take the picture. The Shuttle would look as though it was sitting on the top of Top Gun: The Ride.

### Springfield

 The Simpsons Ride

Springfield used to be classed as a part of the World Expo until 2016.

### Nickelodeon Universe

 Shrek 4-D
 Special Agent Oso: Rapide Transport
 Phineas and Ferb's Nicktoon Blast
 Paw Patrol: Puppy Playland

### Hollywood

 *The Twilight Zone* Tower of Terror

Hollywood's two dining outlets are recreations of actual Hollywood outlets. Schwab's Pharmacy and Mel's Drive-In offer guests a variety of food and beverage options. A third outlet, named *Cafe La Bamba*, operates seasonally. Guests can purchase magic-related items from *Theatre Magic*. Paramount Media Mountain, a seasonal survey attraction that allows guests to preview upcoming SegaParamount films and shows, is located within the Hollywood section in a "Garden of Allah Villas"-themed area.

## Character appearances

Paramount's Orlando Escape features a number of well-known costumed characters that appear throughout the park, some at scheduled times. Examples include:

* Popeye
* Harveytoons characters
* SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs and Sandy
* Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda
* Jimmy Neutron
* Danny Fenton
* X-J9
* Lincoln Loud
* Transformers: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron
* Dora The Explorer: Dora, Boots, and Diego
* Sonic The Hedgehog, Tails, Streaker, Knuckles, Amy, Sticks and Dr. Eggman
* the Mavel Comics Characters
* The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
* The Power Rangers
* Gabby from Gabby's Dollhouse
* Agent J and Agent K from Men in Black
* Inspector Gadget
* Darth Vader, C-3PO, Stormtroopers, R2-D2, Tusken Raiders, Jawas, Chewbacca, Greedo, Boba Fett, Jarjar Binks, TIE Pilots, Kit Fisto, Jango Fett, Clone Troopers, Commander Cody, Captain Rex, C1-10P, First Order Stormtroopers, BB-8, Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, Porg and Din Djarin and Grogu from Star Wars
* Phineas, Ferb and Candace from Phineas and Ferb
* The Boss Baby
* Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey
* The Simpsons characters.
* Special Agent Oso
* Handy Manny
* Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny from South Park
* Pip from Pip Ahoy!
* Trolls characters
* Kit Casey and Sam Snow
* Finn and Jake
* Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable
* GaoGaiGar
* Paw Patrol Characters
* Nature Cat
* Alaina Gleen characters
* Twentieth Toons characters
* CJ Hemple
* Bluey and Bingo
* Peppa Pig
* Family Guy characters