List of Former Universal Studios Florida Attractions - History

History

Since Universal Studios Florida's opening on June 7, 1990, a total of 35 attractions have been retired, and usually replaced or re-themed into new attractions, 16 of them being original attractions.

The first major attraction to be retired from the park was An American Tail Theatre in 1992, due to low attendance capacity. The show was replaced in the same year by Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue, and the Fievel's Playland attraction, also based on the film An American Tail, opened in the park's Expo Center area simultaneously, and is now part of Woody Woodpecker's KidZone.

In 1996, the interactive show attraction Murder, She Wrote Mystery Theatre was closed due to the cancellation of the Murder, She Wrote television show on which it was based; also retired around the same time was the next door MCA Recording Studio, also an interactive show. The two attractions were replaced the following year by Hercules and Xena: Wizards of the Screen and Stage 54. The Hercules and Xena attraction was later closed and abandoned in 1999, and Stage 54 followed in 2003, with the latter of the two replaced by "Donkey's Photo Finish", an interactive meet-and-greet.

Two further attractions were retired in November 1996. Ghostbusters Spooktacular closed on November 8 due to the end of a contract, and was replaced in the spring of 1998 by Twister...Ride it Out. The nearby The Screen Test Home Video Adventure followed on November 11, and was replaced in the following year with the Islands of Adventure Preview Center. The preview center itself was closed following the grand opening of Islands of Adventure in 1999, and its former space was used for Universal Express distribution, and is now currently used as an extended queue area for Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride.

Other closures of minor attractions occurred throughout the 1990s . The Swamp Thing Set, used for the production of the television series Swamp Thing up until 1993, was demolished in 1994. Men in Black: Alien Attack was constructed on the previous site in 2000. How to Make a Mega Movie Deal was closed due to unpopularity in 1993. In 1998, Universal attempted to revive it with the similar AT&T at the Movies attraction, which would later close in 2001, with its entrance used for Universal Express distribution. In the New York area of the park, the StreetBusters show was performed from 1991 until 1993. In 2002, an update version of the show titled Extreme Ghostbusters: The Great Fright Way was brought back, and was later closed in 2005 when the park did not renew their contract to the Ghostbusters characters. The Marvel Show, also located in the New York area of the park, was discontinued in the summer of 1995. The Bates Motel Set, which was used for production of Psycho IV: The Beginning, was demolished in 1995, with A Day in the Park with Barney constructed on the site in the same year. Similarly, The Bates Mansion Set, also used for production of Psycho IV, was demolished in 1998, with Curious George Goes to Town constructed on the re-landscaped site.

In February 2000, the park's finale show Dynamite Nights Stunt Spectacular set in Universal Studios' lagoon was closed due to maintenance issues. Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular began inhabiting the space in July 2006.

In 2002, the park announced that The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera and Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies would both be closed by the end of the year. Before that, Kongfrontation was retired in a grand closing ceremony on September 8, 2002, and was replaced in May 2004 by Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride. The closure of Kongfrontation has been viewed as the most park changing and notable closure in Universal Studios' history which caused a great deal of controversy among theme park fans. Following the closure of Kongfrontation, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera closed on October 20, 2002, and was replaced in April 2003 by Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, which utilized the same ride system and technology. Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies was retired on January 3, 2003, and was replaced later in the year by Shrek 4-D, a 3-D short film.

In early September 2003, The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show was closed due to a loss of the attraction's usual capacity. It was replaced in 2005 by Fear Factor Live, another live stunt show. Two years after Wild Wests closure, the Nickelodeon Studios facility and attraction were disestablished on April 30, 2005 due to Nickelodeon moving their production facilities to Burbank, California. The former space was left abandoned until it was re-designed in 2007 for the opening of Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre, an attraction in Universal CityWalk Orlando.

In September 2006, half of the Back to the Future: The Ride attraction was shut down, preparing the ride for a complete closure which eventually occurred on March 30, 2007. It was replaced on May 15, 2008 by The Simpsons Ride. The closure of Back to the Future has been viewed as the second notable attraction closure in the park after Kongfrontation. The second attraction to be retired in 2007 was Earthquake: The Big One, on November 5, with the attraction's pre-show portions already having been discontinued on September 8. The ride was replaced two months later, in January 2008, with Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You!. Similar to Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, the attraction uses the same ride system and technology as the previous attraction, however, the queue and pre-show portions are completely different.

In 2008, The Boneyard attraction was retired, and was replaced in the spring of 2009 with The Universal Music Plaza Stage, and open-air amphitheatre used for the park's music concerts.

On March 14, 2011, Universal announced that the Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast ride would begin operating on a seasonal schedule on April 1, 2011, preparing the ride for a permanent closure which eventually occurred on August 18, 2011. They confirmed on May 19, 2011 that it would be replaced with a new Despicable Me themed attraction which is among several new concepts in development for the Resort over the next few years. Shortly after the closure of Nicktoon Blast, Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular was removed in early September 2011, to make room for Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories.

On December 2, 2011, Universal Orlando announced that the Jaws attraction, as well as the surrounding Amity area of the park, would be permanently closed on January 2, 2012 to make way for a new experience. The removal of Jaws has been viewed as the third most notable attraction closure in the park's history after Kongfrontation and Back to the Future: The Ride.

Two further shows throughout the park's history have been revamped several times. The first was StarToons which replaced The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle Show which closed in 1993. StarToons, located in the Production Central area, operated from 1993 until 1996. When the newest section of the park, Woody Woodpecker's KidZone, opened in 1998, the park brought back the show as StarToons Character Meet and Greet. It was revamped once again in 2008 as StarToons: 80's Rewind. The second of the two shows was Animal Actors Stage which was replaced by Animal Planet Live in 2001. When Universal's contract with Animal Planet ended in 2006, the show was revamped as Animal Actors On Location. The show is similar to the original but with updated segments.

Throughout the park's history of attraction closures, merchandise shops connected to major attractions have been closed and refurbished to fit the theming of the replacement attractions. The park's former gift shops include Nickelodeon Kiosk, Hanna-Barbera's Store, The Bates Motel Shop, Paranormal Store, Safari Outfitters Ltd., Shakin's Souvenirs, Back to the Future: The Store, Nick Stuff and Quint's Surf Shack, which have been replaced by Shrek's Ye Olde Souvenir Shoppe, Aftermath, Sahara Traders, and Kwik-E-Mart.

Three dining establishments have also been retired since the park's inception. The first of which was The Studio Stars Commisary, which was themed to the various famous movie stars. Due to modest feedback from park guests, the eatery was closed in 1991, and replaced in the same year by The Universal Studios' Classic Monsters Cafe. The second cafe to be retired was the original 1990 Hard Rock Cafe. While it was originally considered to be the world's largest Hard Rock Cafe, the company built a larger facility for the opening of Universal CityWalk Orlando in 1998, with the original Cafe closing shortly afterwards. The original building sat unoccupied in the park from 1999 until 2011, when it was completely demolished. The third dining establishment to be removed was The Midway Grill with Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, which was closed along with the park's Amity area on January 2, 2012.