Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit (closing Sept 2025)

[Casper Gutman]

The Ghostbusters Spooktacular show (at least the second version with the updated preshow) had a plot line where they were franchising the ghost busting business and looking for franchisees. It was a clever excuse to invite a large group of guests into the Firehouse, (us,) for a demonstration.

If people always say something doesn’t work because it’s not represented in the media, I always remember how creatively theme park designers can invent a scenario to make it make sense.

The Simpsons Ride was originally going to take place in the Nuclear Power Plant, until Sheerer wasn’t available due to, reasons, so they completely rewrote the concept to take place as Krustyland, which honestly, works better in my mind. But they still needed the excuse to do the giant Maggie gag. What did they do? Just make the theme park run on nuclear power. And have Maggie wander in to the reactor. No one ever questions it or batts an eye, but that’s a holdover from the original ride concept that was well integrated into the replacement.

What was my point? Oh yea, Hagrid’s.

I thought it would have been weird to have a bunch of Hagrid motorbikes in a row, even said so in my rumor reporting before it was officially announced. After all, there’s only one of his bikes in the films. They shut me up real quick with one line in the preshow (and later in the queue in case preshow not running) saying they’re duplicating the bike with magic. Boom. Problem solved. And no one ever questions it.

Back to the Future features Doc Brown’s new invention, the 8 passenger DeLorean. And it’s a convertible, “because you can just travel to the sunny days.”

A long Ecto-1 that holds 20 people seems silly now, but I bet with the right preshow or story or even a clever premise explained on a sign in the queue, I’d buy it. Because I like fun rides.

And how killer would it be to hear the Ghostbusters theme on-board a coaster drifting around New York that blares the siren as it passes by the guests waiting behind the firehouse?

VelociCoaster is my example because it has incredible queue theming, a well-explained story, the real actors incorporated, and raptors on the ride. It’s not just an unthemed coaster. It has more rockwork on this one ride than an unthemed amusement park would dare place on their entire grounds.

But none of this matters, because of course the new ride is probably just going to be Fast & Furious.

The problem isn't that Ghostbusters won't work because long Ectos or flying cars aren't "represented in the media." We all know rides require a degree of narrative contortion on the part of creators and the suspension of disbelief from guests. The argument is that the things that are appealing about GB - the witty humor, the characters, the ghost designs - are not things that can be captured by the type of coaster reports indicate the Rockit replacement will be. The examples you give are all rides with narrative elements throughout the attraction that capture key elements of the property - Simpsons is funny and satirical, Hagrid is charming and magical, etc. If Universal wants to build a Hagrid-style Ghostbusters coaster, one that is intricately themed from beginning to end and loaded with well-done story elements that capture the spirit of the franchise throughout the entire attraction, I certainly wouldn't complain... but that doesn't seem to be what we're getting.

FnF creates a fairly plausible narrative explanation for the attraction's ride system. Everyone (but me) hates it because they feel the ride system fails to capture what makes the IP special.

If Velocicoaster wasn't in a large, intricately themed Jurassic land, directly across from a ride with extensive AAs and dark ride elements that represents the franchise very well, it would be a fairly poor representation of the IP - although, unlike the Ghostbusters films anyone cares about, at least the Jurassic films feature high speed chase scenes.

If the coaster is themed to FnF, great.

 

[Lucky Planet]

Funny example because Jurassic World is themed to…a theme park.

Ghostbusters is about a bunch of schlubby guys who start a business.

Not seeing the parallel here at all.

The Ghostbusters Spooktacular show (at least the second version with the updated preshow) had a plot line where they were franchising the ghost busting business and looking for franchisees. It was a clever excuse to invite a large group of guests into the Firehouse, (us,) for a demonstration.

If people always say something doesn’t work because it’s not represented in the media, I always remember how creatively theme park designers can invent a scenario to make it make sense.

The Simpsons Ride was originally going to take place in the Nuclear Power Plant, until Sheerer wasn’t available due to, reasons, so they completely rewrote the concept to take place as Krustyland, which honestly, works better in my mind. But they still needed the excuse to do the giant Maggie gag. What did they do? Just make the theme park run on nuclear power. And have Maggie wander in to the reactor. No one ever questions it or batts an eye, but that’s a holdover from the original ride concept that was well integrated into the replacement.

What was my point? Oh yea, Hagrid’s.

I thought it would have been weird to have a bunch of Hagrid motorbikes in a row, even said so in my rumor reporting before it was officially announced. After all, there’s only one of his bikes in the films. They shut me up real quick with one line in the preshow (and later in the queue in case preshow not running) saying they’re duplicating the bike with magic. Boom. Problem solved. And no one ever questions it.

Back to the Future features Doc Brown’s new invention, the 8 passenger DeLorean. And it’s a convertible, “because you can just travel to the sunny days.”

A long Ecto-1 that holds 20 people seems silly now, but I bet with the right preshow or story or even a clever premise explained on a sign in the queue, I’d buy it. Because I like fun rides.

And how killer would it be to hear the Ghostbusters theme on-board a coaster drifting around New York that blares the siren as it passes by the guests waiting behind the firehouse?

VelociCoaster is my example because it has incredible queue theming, a well-explained story, the real actors incorporated, and raptors on the ride. It’s not just an unthemed coaster. It has more rockwork on this one ride than an unthemed amusement park would dare place on their entire grounds.

But none of this matters, because of course the new ride is probably just going to be Fast & Furious.

it also depends on the type of dark ride, the space for it, everyone is saying that Ghostbusters would be an awesome dark ride, but what if the dark ride didn't feature any of the actors l but it was instead a screen like the minion blast ride or like toy story midway mania where you just shoot ghosts on screens, or something similar ( which would be the only type of ride that would fit Ghostbusters)

 

[Brian G.]

The problem with this is we most likely won't be getting a GB dark ride. Yeah, in a perfect world we would but honestly I don't see it happening. At least not for a very long time. I'll take what I can get at this point re: Ghostbusters being the retheme for RRR. It would work imo.

I’m with Piss here.

But also, I just can’t muster up the energy to give any kind of real thoughts into the debate for something without any kind of context.

 

[Alicia]

I’m with Piss here.

But also, I just can’t muster up the energy to give any kind of real thoughts into the debate for something without any kind of context.

Not that they couldn’t work out a more comprehensive licensing deal, but it feels to me like Universal is licensing GB for entertainment purposes. Parade, shows, Tribute Stores, (and of course individual HHN house contracts in recent years), so I could see a show of some sort, perhaps a street show somewhere after Rockit closes to help add quick capacity. But I’m not too hopeful for a ride.

You never know though.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I’m with Piss here.

But also, I just can’t muster up the energy to give any kind of real thoughts into the debate for something without any kind of context.

There's so many ifs that folks are forgetting this is speculation. Everyone needs to back away for a bit.

 

[Sneakman]

Not that they couldn’t work out a more comprehensive licensing deal, but it feels to me like Universal is licensing GB for entertainment purposes. Parade, shows, Tribute Stores, (and of course individual HHN house contracts in recent years), so I could see a show of some sort, perhaps a street show somewhere after Rockit closes to help add quick capacity. But I’m not too hopeful for a ride.

You never know though.

I mean, with the rumors of the past of mummy ghostbusters retheme, the supposed original “ghostbusters” version of villian con, and the old “spooktacular” rumors, it has seemed like universal has been wanting to do something permanent with ghostbusters for a long time, at least to me. Let’s hope they get it done.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I mean, with the rumors of the past of mummy ghostbusters retheme, the supposed original “ghostbusters” version of villian con, and the old “spooktacular” rumors, it has seemed like universal has been wanting to do something permanent with ghostbusters for a long time, at least to me. Let’s hope they get it done.

Just an FYI, but I've never heard of these rumors before.

 

[Sneakman]

Just an FYI, but I've never heard of these rumors before.

I’ll have to look for a bit to see where, ill
Get back to you on that.

Ghostbusters Rumored to Return to Universal Studios Florida

Rumors suggest the Ghostbusters may return to Universal Studios Florida, possibly in a new parade, lagoon show, and more. But could an attraction be on the way too?

orlandoparkstop.com

Universal Orlando Update: Rip Ride Rockit Rumors, Epic Universe News, & CityWalk Construction

Epic Universe's opening time frame news, rumors that Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is closing as soon as next year, new attractions at Universal Studios Florida, plus Zelda & Pokemon rumors

orlandoparkstop.com

Here. The mummy thing I gotta find. I will retract this if the articles info is out of date.
Thank you.


In the meantime, to get back on track, Martin, the guy we were discussing earlier, has mentioned that the layout of this coaster will apparently have a spike. Interested to see how that turns out.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I figured they’d want to start construction before Epic opens. Showing this opening soon after is a good tease to get guests back if they’re intrigued enough. A big part of us enjoying UOR growing up was all the construction and wondering what the “new” thing was each trip.

 

[WebHead1138]

Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be a minions coaster?

 

[Alicia]

Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be a minions coaster?

Not if they move the entrance to New York. Plus, if it’s a major thrill ride it misses the target demographic for Minions (which is small children, despite what memes boomers post on Facebook).

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Not if they move the entrance to New York. Plus, if it’s a major thrill ride it misses the target demographic for Minions (which is small children, despite what memes boomers post on Facebook).

Hilarious plot tho if Gru tricks a bunch of children and tourists into a high thrill coaster when they expect a Seuss Trolley experience.

 

[Scott W.]

The Ghostbusters Spooktacular show (at least the second version with the updated preshow) had a plot line where they were franchising the ghost busting business and looking for franchisees. It was a clever excuse to invite a large group of guests into the Firehouse, (us,) for a demonstration.

If people always say something doesn’t work because it’s not represented in the media, I always remember how creatively theme park designers can invent a scenario to make it make sense.

The Simpsons Ride was originally going to take place in the Nuclear Power Plant, until Sheerer wasn’t available due to, reasons, so they completely rewrote the concept to take place as Krustyland, which honestly, works better in my mind. But they still needed the excuse to do the giant Maggie gag. What did they do? Just make the theme park run on nuclear power. And have Maggie wander in to the reactor. No one ever questions it or batts an eye, but that’s a holdover from the original ride concept that was well integrated into the replacement.

What was my point? Oh yea, Hagrid’s.

I thought it would have been weird to have a bunch of Hagrid motorbikes in a row, even said so in my rumor reporting before it was officially announced. After all, there’s only one of his bikes in the films. They shut me up real quick with one line in the preshow (and later in the queue in case preshow not running) saying they’re duplicating the bike with magic. Boom. Problem solved. And no one ever questions it.

Back to the Future features Doc Brown’s new invention, the 8 passenger DeLorean. And it’s a convertible, “because you can just travel to the sunny days.”

A long Ecto-1 that holds 20 people seems silly now, but I bet with the right preshow or story or even a clever premise explained on a sign in the queue, I’d buy it. Because I like fun rides.

And how killer would it be to hear the Ghostbusters theme on-board a coaster drifting around New York that blares the siren as it passes by the guests waiting behind the firehouse?

VelociCoaster is my example because it has incredible queue theming, a well-explained story, the real actors incorporated, and raptors on the ride. It’s not just an unthemed coaster. It has more rockwork on this one ride than an unthemed amusement park would dare place on their entire grounds.

But none of this matters, because of course the new ride is probably just going to be Fast & Furious.

The original story for the OG Ghostbusters ride works perfectly here and franchising idea has been in the movies since the beginning.

"The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams." - Peter Venkman

The story I'd put forward is this:

You, the guests are there to see about becoming the latest Ghostbusters franchisees. You get a pre show with some Ghostbusters history, a queue showing off all the ghost capturing equipment plus ghost storage but it's acting buggy and then you get to see the latest Ecto 1. A big Ecto 1, designed for carrying many Ghostbusters because of recent data, I'll let Egon explain:



You get in the Ecto 1 and go for a small drive where the Ecto 1 becomes possessed (because obviously something needs to go wrong):



Cue crazy roller coaster experience.

Ray comes over the coaster train speakers, saying that they're trying to lure the Ecto 1 back to the fire station, as they have a trap planned.

Ecto 1 comes back into the final brake run, small dark ride segment as lights, fog fill the room. Ghost captured, Ecto 1 back to normal. Exit through the gift shop and fill out your franchise application and start buying merch for your new business venture.

As brilliant as Veloci is I don’t really love it as a Jurassic Park coaster. You could strip the IP away and lose very, very little.

I think VC makes perfect sense for the land and story wise of Jurassic World. Customers were getting bored with dinosaurs and needed to add more thrills to the park. Putting a roller coaster through the raptor paddock makes perfect sense in Jurassic World logic. It's like an extreme Reef Plunge at Aquatica.

 

[mainejeff]

In Universal We Trust. This is going to be great no matter what it is. Universal has been firing on all cylinders and are throwing money at the parks...what a great time to be alive.

 

[Lucky Planet]

The original story for the OG Ghostbusters ride works perfectly here and franchising idea has been in the movies since the beginning.

"The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams." - Peter Venkman

The story I'd put forward is this:

You, the guests are there to see about becoming the latest Ghostbusters franchisees. You get a pre show with some Ghostbusters history, a queue showing off all the ghost capturing equipment plus ghost storage but it's acting buggy and then you get to see the latest Ecto 1. A big Ecto 1, designed for carrying many Ghostbusters because of recent data, I'll let Egon explain:



You get in the Ecto 1 and go for a small drive where the Ecto 1 becomes possessed (because obviously something needs to go wrong):



Cue crazy roller coaster experience.

Ray comes over the coaster train speakers, saying that they're trying to lure the Ecto 1 back to the fire station, as they have a trap planned.

Ecto 1 comes back into the final brake run, small dark ride segment as lights, fog fill the room. Ghost captured, Ecto 1 back to normal. Exit through the gift shop and fill out your franchise application and start buying merch for your new business venture.



I think VC makes perfect sense for the land and story wise of Jurassic World. Customers were getting bored with dinosaurs and needed to add more thrills to the park. Putting a roller coaster through the raptor paddock makes perfect sense in Jurassic World logic. It's like an extreme Reef Plunge at Aquatica.

it could be like a mix between the mummy and Aerosmith roller coaster with part dark ride elements in the beginning and end. the ride car could look like the ecto 1. have outdoor parts where the ecto1 escaped and it's going crazy around.
it would be amazing. have the coaster with speakers blasting the siren sound of the ecto1.

 

[saint.piss]

I’m with Piss here.

I need to get this printed.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

The Ghostbusters Spooktacular show (at least the second version with the updated preshow) had a plot line where they were franchising the ghost busting business and looking for franchisees. It was a clever excuse to invite a large group of guests into the Firehouse, (us,) for a demonstration.

If people always say something doesn’t work because it’s not represented in the media, I always remember how creatively theme park designers can invent a scenario to make it make sense.

The Simpsons Ride was originally going to take place in the Nuclear Power Plant, until Sheerer wasn’t available due to, reasons, so they completely rewrote the concept to take place as Krustyland, which honestly, works better in my mind. But they still needed the excuse to do the giant Maggie gag. What did they do? Just make the theme park run on nuclear power. And have Maggie wander in to the reactor. No one ever questions it or batts an eye, but that’s a holdover from the original ride concept that was well integrated into the replacement.

What was my point? Oh yea, Hagrid’s.

I thought it would have been weird to have a bunch of Hagrid motorbikes in a row, even said so in my rumor reporting before it was officially announced. After all, there’s only one of his bikes in the films. They shut me up real quick with one line in the preshow (and later in the queue in case preshow not running) saying they’re duplicating the bike with magic. Boom. Problem solved. And no one ever questions it.

Back to the Future features Doc Brown’s new invention, the 8 passenger DeLorean. And it’s a convertible, “because you can just travel to the sunny days.”

A long Ecto-1 that holds 20 people seems silly now, but I bet with the right preshow or story or even a clever premise explained on a sign in the queue, I’d buy it. Because I like fun rides.

And how killer would it be to hear the Ghostbusters theme on-board a coaster drifting around New York that blares the siren as it passes by the guests waiting behind the firehouse?

VelociCoaster is my example because it has incredible queue theming, a well-explained story, the real actors incorporated, and raptors on the ride. It’s not just an unthemed coaster. It has more rockwork on this one ride than an unthemed amusement park would dare place on their entire grounds.

But none of this matters, because of course the new ride is probably just going to be Fast & Furious.

In almost all of these examples the route/justification they went with had tie-ins to a precedent set in the franchise. Trying to justify an eight-seat Delorean is way, wayyyy easier than trying to justify a Delorean that flies…but they didn’t have to because the Delorean flies in the movies.

The only real stretch you’ve outlined here is The Simpsons Ride…which I think we would all agree is an underwhelming IP slapped on a ride system.

Either way I dont care that much, just thought that initial response needed a little more time in the oven.

 

[Alicia]

The original story for the OG Ghostbusters ride works perfectly here and franchising idea has been in the movies since the beginning.

"The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams." - Peter Venkman

The story I'd put forward is this:

You, the guests are there to see about becoming the latest Ghostbusters franchisees. You get a pre show with some Ghostbusters history, a queue showing off all the ghost capturing equipment plus ghost storage but it's acting buggy and then you get to see the latest Ecto 1. A big Ecto 1, designed for carrying many Ghostbusters because of recent data, I'll let Egon explain:



You get in the Ecto 1 and go for a small drive where the Ecto 1 becomes possessed (because obviously something needs to go wrong):



Cue crazy roller coaster experience.

Ray comes over the coaster train speakers, saying that they're trying to lure the Ecto 1 back to the fire station, as they have a trap planned.

Ecto 1 comes back into the final brake run, small dark ride segment as lights, fog fill the room. Ghost captured, Ecto 1 back to normal. Exit through the gift shop and fill out your franchise application and start buying merch for your new business venture.



I think VC makes perfect sense for the land and story wise of Jurassic World. Customers were getting bored with dinosaurs and needed to add more thrills to the park. Putting a roller coaster through the raptor paddock makes perfect sense in Jurassic World logic. It's like an extreme Reef Plunge at Aquatica.

Great, now this is what I want. And will settle for nothing less.

 

[Clive]

The original story for the OG Ghostbusters ride works perfectly here and franchising idea has been in the movies since the beginning.

"The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams." - Peter Venkman

The story I'd put forward is this:

You, the guests are there to see about becoming the latest Ghostbusters franchisees. You get a pre show with some Ghostbusters history, a queue showing off all the ghost capturing equipment plus ghost storage but it's acting buggy and then you get to see the latest Ecto 1. A big Ecto 1, designed for carrying many Ghostbusters because of recent data, I'll let Egon explain:



You get in the Ecto 1 and go for a small drive where the Ecto 1 becomes possessed (because obviously something needs to go wrong):



Cue crazy roller coaster experience.

Ray comes over the coaster train speakers, saying that they're trying to lure the Ecto 1 back to the fire station, as they have a trap planned.

Ecto 1 comes back into the final brake run, small dark ride segment as lights, fog fill the room. Ghost captured, Ecto 1 back to normal. Exit through the gift shop and fill out your franchise application and start buying merch for your new business venture.



I think VC makes perfect sense for the land and story wise of Jurassic World. Customers were getting bored with dinosaurs and needed to add more thrills to the park. Putting a roller coaster through the raptor paddock makes perfect sense in Jurassic World logic. It's like an extreme Reef Plunge at Aquatica.

I won't lie, this is a really good pitch.

 

[fryoj]

Not that they couldn’t work out a more comprehensive licensing deal, but it feels to me like Universal is licensing GB for entertainment purposes. Parade, shows, Tribute Stores, (and of course individual HHN house contracts in recent years), so I could see a show of some sort, perhaps a street show somewhere after Rockit closes to help add quick capacity. But I’m not too hopeful for a ride.

You never know though.

For some reason I thought GB was a Uni property lol.

Yeah I'm more sold on it being F&F knowing that.

Not if they move the entrance to New York. Plus, if it’s a major thrill ride it misses the target demographic for Minions (which is small children, despite what memes boomers post on Facebook).

Super Silly Fun Land had a high speed roller coaster in the movie, so thematically it fits. Move the Music plaza to FFL. Do the ride entrance and add a flat ride or two in the Plaza area with some games and a shop. Maybe a show. Coaster probably wouldn't be as intense as we'd like. Doubtful that's the plan, but it's not completely out in left field.