A Tale of Two Mummies - Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride
Part 2: Revenge in Orlando
Shortly before I left for Florida, a friend asked me what I was most looking forward to there. When I mentioned trying out Universal Studios Florida’s Revenge of the Mummy ride among other things, he asked, “didn’t you already go on the one here [in Hollywood]?” I don’t think the general public knows just HOW different the California and Florida versions of the ride are. I certainly didn’t, and as a result I was positively blown away by USF’s Mummy. For those who don’t want to hear anything that even merely resembles a spoiler, let me just assert here that nearly every aspect of Florida’s Mummy ride is vastly superior to California’s. For those who’d like to know a little more, continue reading knowing that I’ll save the major spoilers for the full ride-through description in the clearly labeled “spoiler section.”
The exterior of the ride is definitely a step-up from Hollywood’s basic tan soundstage. Set in the New York area of the infinitely more detailed Florida park, the ride’s entrance resembles the columned façade of an Egyptian museum. The juxtaposition of New York and Egypt is a bit of a stretch (the surroundings made more sense for the New York-based Kongfrontation ride which Revenge of the Mummy replaced) but it doesn’t matter much once you enter the building because immediately your surroundings change to take on the appearance of being backstage of a movie set. Props for Stephen Sommers’ Mummy movies lie scattered around while TV monitors show interviews with the cast and crew, from underrated actor Brendan Fraser to the no-talent ass-clown Sommers. Though I only caught a bit of the interviews (the line was short that day so we were moving quite briskly) I heard several interviewees mention a rumor that the Mummy set was cursed. From here the line moves into said “cursed sets,” which were nicely detailed and darkly atmospheric. As with the Hollywood version of the ride, there are a few interactive artifacts in this tomb-like area, though what they accomplished was more difficult to discern than the straightforward, startling Hollywood ones. The queue winds up a staircase, which wraps around a precariously hanging stone statue, before reaching the load area.
Article comments
1 - Chris Beaumont
Nice,
I went to USF for the first time in mid-January, and that was the ride that blew me away the most. You have captured it nicely, and brought me back there.
2 - brat07
Actually Brendan Fraser does not screem "oh, thank you--aaaaaaahhhhh!" but yet he says OH GOD THAT FEELS GOOD. you have to listin to it verry closely. Just wanted to add that.