Ever wish you could play the slick sidekick to some wise guy in a cool action-adventure flick? Consider it done. There's just one caveat--you need to grab your dark suit, shades, and oh, yes, alien zapper, and head to Orlando, where you will receive a very important assignment to help save the planet from intergalactic terrorists. Of course, all this earth-saving is courtesy of the MEN IN BLACK (MIB) Alien Attack attraction at Universal Studios Florida, the flagship of the Universal Orlando entertainment resort complex.
In keeping with the techno-futuristic theme of the smash-hit film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack will convince even the most cynical of riders that the threat is real and that aliens are out there. So step up to the challenge, leave your identity at the door, and join the MIB for a ride-cum-real-life-video-game. And the best part? You and your fellow guest-trainees get to determine the outcome of each ride by your individual and collective abilities.
MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack is located in a massive 70,000-square-foot building at the north end of the Universal Studios lagoon. It's disguised as a retro-modern-style plaza reminiscent of the 1964 New York World's Fair. This attraction is très cool for several reasons--including the fact that it combines several new cutting-edge innovations in attraction technology. Chief among them is the newest generation of "roving motion platform" (RPM), which helps give the word "interactive" a whole new out-of-this-world meaning. It is this technology that helps riders (a.k.a. agents) feel as if they are flying or speeding through landscapes even while remaining in one place.
So here's the deal: Every agent is armed with an alien zapper to shoot enemies and targets. When a battle breaks out, your shuttle falls under attack. The ride's advanced technical system registers the aliens' blows to your craft. In turn, all sorts of chaos breaks out on the ship, as the platform reacts to direct hits and ricochets from alien attackers. Keep on your toes, agents, and don't let your ship spin out of control. When an alien is hit, the shot is registered in the ride's system. At the end of the mission, the number of aliens destroyed determines the outcome of the ride. While no one has ever lived to tell the tale, rumor has it that there are six different endings.
Ready, Set, Zap
Things have changed on earth since the events depicted in the film. MIB now recruits and trains agents. You know the basics: aliens live in disguise among us here on earth. Your job as a trainee is to round them up for departure on a shuttle leaving for Planet LV-428. The shuttle departs today. Your tools: alien zappers. Your training: the short course in alien spotting. Are you ready?
Once your mission begins, you learn that the shuttle has crashed in the city. The aliens, who were stuffed in the ship, are now armed, dangerous, and roaming free. You are humankind's only hope. In fact, you and your fellow trainees are the only thing standing between the planet's annihilation and survival. As the training vehicle clears out, a massive alien attack is unveiled. You and your team unleash a vicious counter-attack. Everywhere you look, there are bugs a-popping, trainees a-firing, and one intense battle a-raging.
As the attack intensifies, the monitor in your vehicle receives a special transmission--and it's bad, bad news. The radar is picking up the presence of a huge alien bug. It's hungry, angry, ugly, and heading straight for you! The enemy is a warehouse-sized alien bug that's 30-feet high with eight-foot-wide teeth and 20-foot-long claws. (It also happens to be the largest animatronic ever built.)
Unfortunately, your high-tech weapons aren't powerful enough to overtake the bug's amazing strength, and he easily nibbles and gnaws on your vehicle. You are instructed to shoot your way out of the slimy intestinal cavity, and split-second decisions become critical. Yours and your shipmates' performance determine your fate and final outcome. So what'll it be? Have you found your final resting place or are you going to prove that humans do not make tasty snacks for hideous space bugs? As the ride's designers were zapped with MIB neutralizers, they can't divulge any of the possible outcomes. No doubt, though, they range from a hero's return to a loser's discharge.
So are you up for the assignment? Come on, help protect earth from the scum of the universe. Put on the last suit you'll ever wear, head to Universal Studios Florida and join the Men In Black. This is one intergalactic thriller you will want to star in and you won't want to miss.•
