Universal Studios Florida

Universal Studios Florida, usually known as Universal Studios or USF, is a theme park in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1971 by the Universal Studios Corporation. This amusement park, which is mostly themed to movies and television shows, as well as other parts of the entertainment business, first opened its doors to the public on June 7, 1990.

In addition to various rides, attractions, and live performances, Universal Studios is owned and operated by NBCUniversal and is located near Orlando, Florida. With about 10.9 million visitors in 2019, Universal Studios Florida ranked twelfth in the world and sixth in North America in terms of attendance among amusement parks. It was the first component of the bigger Universal Orlando Resort to open.

As well as focusing on the theme park aspect, the park’s early design emphasized offering guests with a behind-the-scenes look into film and television production, with a large portion of the park functioning as an active production studio.

Due to a lack of interest on the part of producers and filmmakers in filming on location in Orlando, Universal’s strategy evolved, switching to a first-person perspective for its elaborately themed rides, regions, and attractions, among other things.

With the addition of two new theme parks, Universal’s Islands of Adventure in 1999 and Volcano Bay in 2017, as well as the restaurant and retail centerpiece Universal CityWalk, which opened in 1999, the resort’s size subsequently increased.

Many of the attractions that have been built over the years have been done so in close collaboration with the directors, producers, and performers from the films on which they are based. The performers that played the parts in the original attraction often reprise their roles, bringing in fresh language and footage to fill pre-show queues and action sequences within the attraction itself. For example, Rip Torn and Will Smith appeared in Men in Black: Alien Attack, Brendan Fraser and Arnold Vosloo appeared in Revenge of the Mummy, and various members of the Simpsons cast appeared in The Simpsons Ride, among other films and television shows.

Steven Spielberg assisted in the development of E.T. Adventure and served as a creative consultant for Back to the Future: The Ride, Twister…Ride it Out, An American Tail Theatre, Jaws, Men in Black: Alien Attack, and Transformers: The Ride. He is best known for his work on the films Back to the Future and Twister…Ride it Out.

Visitors to Universal’s theme parks can purchase an extra, per-person pass known as Universal Express, which allows them to bypass long waits at various attractions across the park. A separate fee for Universal Express is required in addition to the cost of park admission, and there are only a limited number of tickets available each day.