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April 27, 2012 — Last week, FilmEdge previewed Universal Studios Hollywood's newest blockbuster-based attraction, the high-tech thriller TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D. Soon it will be your turn to join the Autobots in defending Earth against Megatron and the Decepticons in this dazzling multimedia ride simulator that puts you in the center of a towering bot battle! While Universal emphasizes that this attraction is still in technical rehearsals until its official opening on May 25th, our two spins on this dynamic and daring ride were flawless and we can easily say that Universal will have a huge summer hit at the Studio park this summer.
Based on the popular feature film series directed by explosion-meister Michael Bay, TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D continues the trend in very kinetic action sequences while eschewing all the sketchy character development and plotting — what you get is pure 3D dark ride fun. Your mission is simple: join forces with the good Autobots and defend the powerful AllSpark artifact from falling into the mechanical clutches of Megatron and his robotic baddies. Guests embark on this task in a new bot character created for the ride, Evac, who transforms into the shape of a high-tech transport vehicle (see promo art above) to speed you out of NEST's top-security bunker and into battle with the Decepticons. While these giant robots thrash the city and crush each other to obtain the AllSpark, Evac steers you through, under and over a maze of destroyed buildings, hangar bays and city streets. This spinning, soaring and tumbling adventure relies on larger-than-life action effects and adrenaline-pumping surprises to entertain riders on this journey of high-def illusion. TRANSFORMERS delivers thrills with great success in a ride that will wow your mind and senses.
Uniformed soldiers greet civilian "recruits" as they enter a top-secret NEST headquarters conveniently located on the lower lot of Universal Studios Hollywood, occupying the stages where the BACKDRAFT and SPECIAL EFFECTS shows previously existed. Ride guests are quickly initiated into NEST — that's Networked Elements: Supporters and Transformers to you — which serves as a high-tech command center where humans and Transformers collaborate to defeat the ruthless Megatron and his invading Decepticon army. Credit to the show's creative team for embodying this military theme fully as cast members' orders to proceed quickly put you in the mind-set of this impending tactical battle.
Note that the interior queue line alone for TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D is lengthy — on par with the winding temple queue for Disneyland's INDIANA JONES attraction — so the NEST bunker design gets plenty of time and linear footage to play out before you get into your Evac vehicle. This is good news for you park fans who enjoy a thoroughly themed attraction, and Universal exploits the NEST queue space well. Flat-screen display panels run continuous video feeds from General Morshower and Optimus Prime to prepare new recruits for battle. Universal's designers also filled the queue with dozens of "interactive" control panels which guests can switch, flip and twist to their hearts' content. Alas, we wish all these knobs and levers produced even simple interactive results like blinking lights or triggering sound effects, but they exist solely for show. Still the set decoration is considerable. Guest recruits circle the AllSpark power source which they're assigned to protect from the evil Decepticons, and soon are issued their 3D glasses for viewing the high-tech robot war ahead. |
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NEST officers (kindly) command recruits to assemble and line up in fours for the three seat rows inside Evac, who has now transformed into his personnel carrier mode. Once your group is locked in under the safety bars and a side panel slides down to complete car mode, Evac drives ahead to transport your team into action. FilmEdge won't ruin the ride for you by laying out tons of spoilers, but here is a summary of the action sequences you'll experience once you're on the roll with Evac:
 Battle against the Decepticons begins immediately as a tiger-like bot called Ravage has infiltrated NEST, causing havoc and attempting to steal the AllSpark. While an Autobot ally distracts Ravage, Evac's mechanical arm extends out of the car to grab the AllSpark cylinder case and backs out of the fight to escape.
Evac breaks out of the NEST bunker and hits the streets, teaming up with the films' iconic Autobot Bumblebee, who runs interference for you by clashing with a motorcycle-formed Decepticon named Sideways. This desperate race through the nighttime city streets really tests the abilities of the motion simulator combined with expert high-def 3D footage that effectively sells the illusion you're in a high speed battle of techno-titans around you. Environmental effects like wind, water and heat peppered throughout the action scenes enhance the multimedia, multisensory magic ahead.
 Optimus Prime and Megatron grapple in a furious fight which knocks and batters your Evac vehicle around to wild and fun effect. Since your team in Evac holds the AllSpark, expect every Decepticon in town to hunt you down and threaten your destruction to obtain this all-powerful prize!
Evac dodges and dashes through piles of bot battle debris in the city until cornered by Megatron once again. With no help in sight, Evac launches a missile at Megatron, enveloping the scene and your vehicle in fiery heat to jump start your senses and adrenaline as the battle intensifies.
Your escape is short lived as Evac gets pulled backwards into the yawning mechanical vortex swirling inside Devastator, a huge bot villain whose internal gears and spinning rotors threaten to engulf you and Evac for a truly devastating demise. Autobot allies save you from this fate but the battle rages on all around your vehicle.
We're not going to spoil the ending for readers, but expect Evac to continue your mission to protect the AllSpark by any transport means necessary . . . which includes a bit a aerial action both intentional and surprising! Will Evac and your team keep the AllSpark from the Decepticons and save the future of humanity? You can probably guess the answer but you'll never guess what it feels like to experience TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D in person until you go see it at Universal Hollywood this May. Buckle up, you're in for the 3D thrill ride of your life this summer!
This pulse-pounding chase through crumbling skyscrapers and battle-primed bots takes the previous ride simulator success of Universal Orlando's SPIDER-MAN attraction to new heights and levels of excitement, and we mean that literally. Having debuted TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D in its sister Singapore park last year, Universal Studios Hollywood now brings home this blockbuster dark ride to thrill American audiences. Michael Bay's three feature films are an ideal creative spark for this rocking blend of ILM's 3D movie magic and raucous motion-simulator technology. The concept of humans getting into a high-tech motion base vehicle to spin, bounce and thump through live-action sets seamlessly blended with high-definition CG cinema is not far removed from the fantasy of Transformer robots themselves. Perfect subject, meet the perfect use of themed entertainment technology, and watch the line between fantasy and reality grow very thin. Expect to do so with a huge grin on your face, too.
 
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Like the SPIDER-MAN ride at Universal's Island of Adventure, TRANSFORMERS sits you in a vehicle which looks like an ordinary ride car in many ways but acts anything but normally once the show begins. While the vehicle tracks through the show scenes, a multi-axis motion base hidden underneath you pitches, yaws and spins to simulate the crashes, jumps and bumps of robot battle around you. Now synchronize this moving vehicle with ingenious set decoration for that touch of physical reality, and blend massive projection screens into these scenes to expand the action in 3D.
For Universal regulars, imagine watching the TERMINATOR 3D show but you're driving through it in a car instead of watching passively from a theater seat, then add interactive flying simulator motion for added thrills. Take Universal's most recent hit KING KONG 360 3D and add spinning thrills and speed. That's TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D. |
Fortunately FilmEdge rode the SPIDER-MAN attraction when it debuted several years ago, and we're happy to report that TRANSFORMERS surpasses its considerable success by leaps and bounds. While some of the motion-simulator ride technology is the same here, SPIDER-MAN feels less believable by comparison since it was designed to mimic the comic book world of Spidey's origins. While transforming robots aren't any less a fantasy creation than Spider-Man, the modern reality in which they are portrayed surrounds ride guests in everyday icons of skyscrapers, downtown business districts and real-world military tech that make this battle against evil feel all the more believable.
ILM's high-def 3D film scenes blend almost seamlessly with the physical set pieces, and the synchronization of motion-simulator position to skewed 3D perspectives further erases the boundaries of these eye dazzling illusions. We've heard the 3D glasses themselves are top shelf, quite expensive products (note their mirror-finish lenses), and if so then Universal's expense is well worth it. The 3D film sequences contain practically zero strobing distortion (stuttering ghost images of moving film objects often seen in poor 3D displays) which is an amazing feat considering how both the viewers and the 3D perspectives are almost constantly on the move as the ride progresses. Such expert use of high-definition 3D film effects quickly allow guests to forget the technology and simply, if not literally, fall into the Transformers story being told.
The ride system and design is ingenious as well, though few riders will take the time to look away from colliding Autobots and Decepticons to notice clues of how Universal pulls off this stunner. For those who want to sneak a few peeks 'behind the scenes', FilmEdge recommends sitting in the front row of your Evac car for optimal views outside it at the show building around you. Sharp-eyed riders will notice that at two points during the ride, your car actually rides an elevator system up or down to transition between the upper and lower decks of the show building. Since the 3D film action cleverly synchronizes the battle action with these moves, you'll never feel such transitions as anything but part of the story. Your only clue on when to look for these level changes is to watch for two key scenes displayed on a giant panoramic screen, then crane your neck up and back to view the open ports where your ride car has exited one level to rise or drop to another. |
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Ride geeks like us will enjoy such peeks behind the curtain, but FilmEdge heartily recommends that all guests just sit back and enjoy the show's masterful on-the move illusions several times before ever attempting to figure out the magicians' secrets. Watch the video above for a more extensive look at how this ride was made.
Indeed, there is so much action happening all around you that it's truly impossible to appreciate TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D in one sitting. Hurtling forward (and backwards) through the cityscape maze of robotic conflict and destruction overwhelms the senses in the best theme park sense of the term, so plan on feeling the urge to get right back in line when your first ride ends. Universal has already made plans for long lines of fans eager to sample TRANSFORMERS this summer: not only does the attraction queue extend for a potential 60-plus minutes inside the show building, but on very busy days the exterior tented queue inherited from BACKDRAFT will also take the overflow of guests. At peak capacity, USH guests should expect at least an hour to two hours wait in line. We saw the wait time estimate display 130 minutes last week, but the actual wait time was shorter and we credit Universal's crew for keeping this undoubtedly fragile and still experimental ride system working problem-free to keep the lines short as possible.
TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D is worth nearly any length of wait to experience, and we'll bet most of you will echo that sentiment once you've experienced this high-tech adventure for yourselves. From an ingenious show design to recruiting all the original Transformers voice talent to high-def 3D action like you've never seen before, FilmEdge easily predicts that Universal Hollywood's TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D will be the must-see thrill ride of Summer 2012.
NOTICE TO ALL WHO WISH TO PREVIEW THIS ATTRACTION
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD has made it clear that a sneak peek of TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D may be accessible to theme park guests
during intermittent Technical Rehearsals now through May 22. Technical Rehearsals are subject to delay, closure or cancellation without notice,
and refunds will not be issued if the attraction is not available when you visit.
Guests must be 40″ (102 cm) tall to ride. Children 40-48″ (102-122 cm) must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (14 years or older). |
FilmEdge thanks our anonymous field reporter for permission to use the character walk-around photo and video clip above.
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