Could a NEW Twister Ride Come to Universal Orlando?

Whether you’re Team Disney or Team Universal (don’t worry, you can be both!), one thing is true — not all attractions last forever.

Oftentimes it’s due to lack of popularity, with certain rides falling into pop culture obscurity. But, we’re fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on who you ask) enough to live in the day of remakes — and one is giving us hope about the prospect of one of our favorite Universal Orlando attractions being resurrected.

Let us transport you, Dear AllEars Reader, back to a time when things were a bit simpler. It was a time when people were entertained by being placed smack dab in the middle of a natural disaster — in fact, they paid for it. We’re talking, of course, about Twister… Ride It Out at Universal Studios Florida.

In 1998, Twister… Ride it Out opened at the theme park, putting guests smack in the middle of a raging tornado. The attraction, based on the 1996 film Twister, was a theater show that utilized a system that could “generate constant winds of 35 miles per hour” for a full tornado-size effect generation. The theater also featured 65,000 gallons of water that would simulate a rainstorm every six minutes, 20 laserdisc players, 300 speakers and 60 monitors.

Cow from Twister attraction | ©Universal

Twister — an “epic disaster film” based around storm chasers starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton — was the second-highest-grossing film of 1996, so at the time it made sense for Universal to capitalize on that. The attraction ultimately closed in 2015 and was replaced with Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon, which opened in 2017.

But, Universal and Warner Bros. are releasing a new installment in the Twister franchise called Twisters — so does that mean we could see a revamp of this attraction?!

If history is any indication, we’ll likely have to wait and see how Twisters does in the box office before Universal considers making any moves. With the original film being such a hit, it’s possible the company could decide to make hay with a new attraction once again.

Although, Universal is already hard at work in Orlando with the opening of the new Epic Universe theme park set to open in 2025, a new attraction at Universal Studios probably isn’t at the top of creatives’ and executives’ minds right now.

While there are no signs that a new Twister attraction could come to Universal Orlando as of now, we know we’ll absolutely be hoping it does. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer for Universal Pictures’ Twisters below: