![]() The ride operated sporadically for just two hours before thunderstorms in the afternoon forced it to be shut down for the day. While Kongfrontation and Earthquake were suffering, Jaws fared even worse. The “talkback” software that managed the interaction between King Kong and the tram holding his victims on Kongfrontation was still not operating properly, and technicians were forced to trigger the enormous animatronic creature’s movements manually in order to ensure that Kong didn’t snap his hand off. Things didn’t improve once guests were inside the park. At 4.30am, just hours before Spielberg cut the ribbon, a power outage knocked out the software that managed the special effects for headline attraction Earthquake: The Big One. ![]() Things began to go wrong even before the first guests arrived for the grand opening. Spielberg joined Jay Stein at the head of the line, cutting a filmstrip ribbon with an oversized pair of scissors. Fox, Bill Cosby, James Stewart, Linda Blair, Charlton Heston and Jane Seymour (“My god, it’s Rambo!” squealed one fan, according to the Orlando Sentinel, after catching a glimpse of Stallone). Among the line-up were Sylvester Stallone, Michael J. At 8am on June 7, 1990, Steven Spielberg led more than 50 well-known stars from stretch limousines down a red carpet towards Universal Studios Florida’s entrance. With celebrities booked and the peak summer tourist season looming, MCA opted not to delay the grand opening any further. The adjustments were complicated by the location of the ride’s machinery, much of which was 20 feet below the surface of the lagoon. If the timing was off, Jaws simply appeared to be thrashing around in the water for no reason – making the experience unintentionally hilarious, rather than terrifying. ![]() Timing the gyrations of the pontoon boats such that they matched the shark’s actions was proving to be difficult. In Jaws’ case, the robotic shark was still struggling with his big scene. In reality, all three of the headline attractions – Jaws, Kongfrontation and Earthquake: The Big One, were facing major issues. Even with this level of investment, there was widespread speculation in the press that the park’s rides would not be ready in time for its opening day. By now, delays and cost overruns had caused the budget for the project to balloon to around $630 million. The May 1 opening date would not now be met, with the park more likely to open to the public in June of that year. Instead, MCA was now targeting an opening date exactly one year after Disney, on May 1, 1990.īy January 1990, MCA was forced to concede that construction work on Universal Studios Florida had slipped even further behind schedule. The strain of producing a host of cutting-edge attractions on a company that lacked Disney’s experience had left MCA’s project behind schedule, if indeed the original intention of opening in late 1989 had ever been realistic. Over at the Universal site, things were progressing more slowly. Disney had promised to open Disney-MGM Studios in 1989, and it was as good as its word – the park’s grand opening took place on May 1 that year.
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