Universal Studios Orlando Is Shutting Down Its ‘Terminator 2’ 3D Experience
If you’ve been reading the site for any length of time, then you know that movie-themed amusement park rides are a bit of a passion for Editor-in-Chief Matt Singer. Matt has previously written about the end of the Great Movie Ride and run pieces on the upcoming Avatar amusement park as well; that, combined with his enduring appreciation of all things Terminator 2, means that he should probably be the one to write up this news item. But since he’s not here and I am, I guess I’ll deliver the bad news: the Terminator 2 3D ride is being shut down.
As covered by Entertainment Weekly (via SyFy), Universal Studios Orlando will be giving the ol’ molten-lava-thumbs-down to its long-running Terminator 2 experience. As Entertainment Weekly notes, this is only a few years after Universal Studios shut down its Hollywood version of the ride, leaving the world sadly now devoid of 3D Terminator 2 experiences. In its wake, Universal released a statement promising an an “all-new live action experience based on a high-energy Universal franchise,” which, ouch, right? Let the poor thing die with its dignity.
It’s worth noting that the Universal Studios attraction was no cheap thrill: the aforementioned SyFy article prices the entire attraction at $60 million, with $24 million of that being applied directly to the 3D film. It’s also worth noting that Universal Studios is cancelling the ride the same year that James Cameron was finally able to bring Terminator 2 back into theaters in a 3D format, suggesting that audiences aren’t particularly enamored with a 3D adaptation of Cameron’s blockbuster masterpiece regardless of the format. Times change, of course, and amusement parks come and go, but Terminator 2 3D is one of the few amusement park rides that vaguely sticks out from my childhood, though I could not tell you when or where I saw it in theaters. Rest in peace, you beautiful mixed-media action experience. May a flight of bankrupt 4DX screens sing thee to thy rest.