Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! — Former Ride · History & Timeline

Former Ride · the memorial record

⚰ Permanently closed · Sep 8, 2015operated 25 years · 1990–2015

Also known as Earthquake: The Big One.

↩ On the former site of Earthquake: The Big OneReplaced by Fast & Furious: Supercharged →

This ride is gone, but its history stays documented — the full lifetime log is below.

Ride history

the lifetime record

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2018

Update2018#

Fast & Furious: Supercharged opened on the site in 2018, taking over the former Disaster! building along with the adjacent Beetlejuice theater space.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
2015

◆ Latest milestone

RefurbishmentSep 8, 2015#

Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! closed permanently on September 8, 2015, ending more than 25 years of operation for the building.

September 8 is the closing date Universal announced, as reported by Orlando ParkStop and carried in both Wikipedia entries. Attractions Magazine, publishing on September 8, 2015, reported that the final ride for guests took place on September 7, 2015.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
Coming SoonAug 25, 2015#

Universal announced Fast & Furious: Supercharged for Universal Studios Florida and confirmed that Disaster! would close permanently on September 8, 2015.

Wikipedia's Fast & Furious: Supercharged article gives the announcement date as August 25, 2015; Orlando ParkStop's report, published August 26, 2015, states Disaster! 'will close permanently on September 8, 2015' and that Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue would close later that year.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
2008

ChangedJan 17, 2008#

The attraction reopened on January 17, 2008 as Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You!, keeping the same ride system while replacing the Earthquake tie-in with a fictional Disaster Studios premise, a new queue and pre-shows, and a Musion Eyeliner projection of Christopher Walken as studio head Frank Kincaid recruiting riders as extras for a fictional disaster film called Mutha Nature.

Wikipedia gives a soft opening of December 23, 2007 ahead of the January 17, 2008 grand opening, and states the ride used the same ride system and technology as before while the queue and pre-show portions were completely different.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
2007

ChangedNov 5, 2007#

Earthquake: The Big One closed on November 5, 2007 so the building could be rethemed.

Wikipedia notes the attraction ran in two versions: the original film-based show from 1990 to 2002, then a version incorporating other Universal films from 2002 to 2007.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes
1990

NewJun 7, 1990#

The attraction opened with Universal Studios Florida on June 7, 1990 as Earthquake: The Big One, a special-effects show and subway simulator based on the 1974 film Earthquake.

Opening-day attraction, listed in the park's San Francisco area.

Tracked byTheme Park Patch Notes

Questions & answers

When did Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! open?

Per the documented record, Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! at Universal Studios opened on Jun 7, 1990.

When did Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! last close for refurbishment?

The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! is dated Sep 8, 2015: Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! closed permanently on September 8, 2015, ending more than 25 years of operation for the building.

What changed recently on Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You!?

The latest documented change (documented 2018): Fast & Furious: Supercharged opened on the site in 2018, taking over the former Disaster! building along with the adjacent Beetlejuice theater space.

How many changes are on record for Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You!?

6 documented changes, dating back to 1990 — the fan-kept ride changelog nobody else keeps.

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