chris c
20-05-2004, 22:51
Universal Studios unwraps its newest attraction on Friday, and it is expecting the ride to help draw big summer crowds.
With its creepy bugs, pretzel turns and real flames rolling overhead, Revenge of the Mummy should be anything but a curse to Universal Studios.
Opening Friday after a media preview today, the 'psychological thrill ride' is expected to help the Orlando theme park scare up some of its biggest crowds in years.
It's clear that Universal's Orlando park has high hopes for Mummy.
Park officials are so confident of big crowds that they have installed a long queue inside the Paradise theater façade next door to handle the expected overflow.
After winding through that queue, guests will enter the ride through the 'Museum of Antiquities' on Universal Studios' New York back lot. The building formerly housed Kongfrontation, which closed in 2002.
Revenge of the Mummy, based on Universal's 1999 remake of The Mummy and a 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns, combines the scares of a haunted house with the thrills of a roller coaster as riders try to escape the wrath of the evil mummy Imhotep.
Universal's third new attraction in a year, Mummy is being unwrapped just as kids are getting out of school and parents are getting back in the mood to travel.
Since the first of the year, attendance at Universal's parks here and in California has risen 15 percent compared with the period a year ago, and 'all indications lead to a strong summer,' Williams said.
At a roundtable discussion on the state of the travel industry Wednesday at Universal Studios, AAA Vice President Mark Brown said 94 percent of the auto club's travel agencies expect a nearly 20 percent increase in summer travel bookings.
The Travel Industry Association of America predicted a 3.2 percent increase in summer leisure travel, even as gasoline prices continue to climb.
Orlando Sentinel 05/20/2004
With its creepy bugs, pretzel turns and real flames rolling overhead, Revenge of the Mummy should be anything but a curse to Universal Studios.
Opening Friday after a media preview today, the 'psychological thrill ride' is expected to help the Orlando theme park scare up some of its biggest crowds in years.
It's clear that Universal's Orlando park has high hopes for Mummy.
Park officials are so confident of big crowds that they have installed a long queue inside the Paradise theater façade next door to handle the expected overflow.
After winding through that queue, guests will enter the ride through the 'Museum of Antiquities' on Universal Studios' New York back lot. The building formerly housed Kongfrontation, which closed in 2002.
Revenge of the Mummy, based on Universal's 1999 remake of The Mummy and a 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns, combines the scares of a haunted house with the thrills of a roller coaster as riders try to escape the wrath of the evil mummy Imhotep.
Universal's third new attraction in a year, Mummy is being unwrapped just as kids are getting out of school and parents are getting back in the mood to travel.
Since the first of the year, attendance at Universal's parks here and in California has risen 15 percent compared with the period a year ago, and 'all indications lead to a strong summer,' Williams said.
At a roundtable discussion on the state of the travel industry Wednesday at Universal Studios, AAA Vice President Mark Brown said 94 percent of the auto club's travel agencies expect a nearly 20 percent increase in summer travel bookings.
The Travel Industry Association of America predicted a 3.2 percent increase in summer leisure travel, even as gasoline prices continue to climb.
Orlando Sentinel 05/20/2004