A Detailed Look into Men in Black Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida

This article is a continuation of the history of Men in Black: Alien Attack. READ PART I or READ PART II

The Debut of Men in Black: Alien Attack

Men in Black: Alien Attack debuted in Universal Studios Florida on Friday, April 14, 2000, at 9 a.m. Its opening celebration was as theatrical as the film itself—featuring a helicopter, agents rappelling from towers, and a blast to open up the attraction’s entrance.

Will Smith and Rip Torn made an appearance to give the ride and its riders a hero’s welcome on its first day.

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The Men in Black: Alien Attack Experience

Facade

Men in Black: Alien Attack sits in a retro-futuristic corner of the former Expo Center area, now World Expo.

One of the first features guests will notice outside the attraction are its three towers, two of which are capped with discs. The third spire is broken at the top, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has seen the Men in Black film—after all, these discs are spaceships in disguise.

Speaking of UFOs, the greenery around the plaza are trimmed like flying saucers.

The ride’s facade was designed in a charming mid-century style by architect Stephen Kanner. Features of yesterday’s tomorrow—for instance, the crimped awning and graceful archway—were inspired by mid-century landmarks such as Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium and St. Louis’ Gateway Arch.

The facade has a geometric design, shimmering after sundown with flow neon lights that soar like shooting stars along the night sky. The lettering on the ride’s main sign also transforms at night from green to red.

The architecture by the gift shop and restrooms are in the shape of the letters M and I; the B, which would have been discretely visible across the lagoon’s reflection, was never built.

Exterior Queue

The Men in Black: Alien Attack experience begins under the guise of a relocated exhibit from the 1964 New York World Expo. Guests enter under the arch and line up for The Universe and You: an educational tour about the cosmos. The pavilion’s extended queue reinforces the mid-century aesthetics with its architecture, lounge music, and classic Disneyland-inspired posters.

Pre-Show

Once inside, guests gather in the lobby of The Universe and You, decorated with retro handiwork. A host welcomes guests and plays an audio presentation to introduce the tour ahead.

Based on 1960s scientific research, The Universe and You is a bit outdated, but it asks a timeless question: “Are we alone?” Voiced by Rodger Bumpass of SpongeBob SquarePants fame, the narration tape slows to a malfunctioning pause as the lights dim. Plot twist: The presentation is cut short, and a spotlight shines on a hidden elevator as guests are granted access to a Men in Black training program.

Agent Zed’s voice directs the recruits into the stainless-steel elevator, which descends from all the phony theme park nonsense and down to the Men in Black headquarters.

Interior Queue

The doors slide open, leading to the monochrome hallways that curl through the top-secret MIB facility.

The halls have small touches like announcements over the intercom, a directory, and a bulletin board stocked with Easter eggs; the Oxygen Free Zone and Fingerprint Removal office doors may surprise curious trainees who jiggle the doorknobs.

“Attention: Agents E and I. Agent O will now meet you in Mission Debriefing. Once again, to Mission Debriefing. That’s Agents E, I…E, I, O.”

The Break Room is stationed in the middle of the hallway where two worms crack jokes over a cup of coffee. The talkative worm was voiced by the same actor who played Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson over at Islands of Adventure; the closedmouthed worm was one of a few characters voiced by the ride’s creative director, Dave Cobb.

Trainees then walk past the MIB locker room, through a scanner, and toward the Immigration and Control Room.

Immigration Room

This two-story area is the main hub for the hustle and bustle around the MIB facility.

It’s just another 37-hour workday on Centurian time in the futuristic headquarters, decorated with the World’s Fair mural across the way. Trainees walk along the second-story mezzanines above workstations on the main floor where the Twins, Bweryang and Bob, monitor their control panel. These animated figures are more than 5 feet tall with tentacles reaching 12 feet wide.

The Twins sit in front of the Immigration Room’s Eggtron display, showing alien activity and an MIB crash course by Agent Zed.

When the attraction first opened, the Eggtron played a longer video of what trainees see today, but it was soon after trimmed down. At one point in production, this room was planned to have more animatronics as well as projections along the frosted glass.

Depending on availability, recruits may take a tour around the Immigration Room main floor.

Weapons Room

The queue continues into the Weapons Room, showcasing MIB weaponry and gear—some of which are toys, and others are zappers from the ride.

The room has hazmat equipment, alumni photos, and informational posters with gameplay tips for the ride. A training video called Doofus and Do-Right plays on the TVs overhead. The Doofus and Do-Right video was inspired by the classic Goofus and Gallant series from the Highlights for Children magazine.

Training Facility

The queue reaches the MIB Training Facility where recruits can put their alien-zapping skills to the test.

Guests head down a set of stairs to the garage floor and board into six-passenger vehicles on one of the ride’s two tracks. The MIB training vehicles are equipped with zappers and a red button—for emergencies only—in front of every recruit. When the ride first opened, it had two zappers available: the current S4 Alienator (AKA the Jumbo Judy) and the now-defunct Noisy Cricket II, which is still on display in the queue’s Weapons Room.

The ride vehicles are dispatched in pairs along the dual tracks, passing by an alien board operator and into the ride’s first scene: the training range.

The Ride

Training Range

The ride starts with some target practice around a plainly designed city display. Trainees zap at alien cutout targets and pass through a garage door to the next training room, but an emergency interrupts the program.

Crash Site

The crumbled facility walls open up to a crashlanding where a prisoner spacecraft from Planet LV-428smashed smack dab in the middle of Manhattan. This is not a drill as the zappers are energized to full power, and the recruits are rushed into the action.

The ride rolls out to the streets of New York City where the scum of the universe are running amok. Among the rubble, fugitive aliens have scattered and are hiding in plain sight around the city. They could be anywhere, like in baby carriages, storefronts, upper-story windows, vending carts, taxis, and streetlights.

One alien springs up from behind a stack of crates and blasts smoke at the ride vehicles, which spin out of control. A monstrous alien bursts from a corner building, waving its tentacles and weapon around, which is a big-ticket target in the game.

The ride rounds the corner and pivots under sprays of water from alien chaos. With the situation getting out of hand, the ride vehicles split up into alleyways.

Ambush

A lone alien at the end of the lane raises its hands in surrender, only to stand up and loom over the ride vehicle. Aliens pop out from trash cans and barrels, outnumbering riders in a surprise attack. The ambush sends the ride vehicle spiraling into Central Park.

In the small Central Park scene, high-value glowing eyes watch from some trees while aliens in disguise play chess.

Scan and Finale

Zed chimes in with a warning that the other training vehicle might be secretly infested with aliens, so the ride takes a detour to a nearby MIB scanner.

The scan reveals the other car is overrun by undercover aliens. Recruits are then instructed to zap at the opposing vehicle’s fusion exhaust port, which rises over the car like an antenna. Every hit triggers the other car to spin, rewarding the zapper as one of the more valuable targets on the ride.

Aliens are wreaking havoc around the construction site, some hiding behind posters on the wall, which are also worth a lot of points.

Moving on, more aliens sneak around clever hiding spots, and the ride continues toward Times Square. Agent J broadcasts from the mega screen warning the rookies about a colossal alien close by.

As the ride vehicle turns around, riders are up against a 30-foot-tall alien ready to swallow them alive. The 50-foot-wide figure was marketed as Universal’s largest animatronic when the ride first opened. The multi-eyed sculpted figure has some animated elements with its 20-foot-long claw.

The ride vehicle inches closer toward the bug as the recruits are swallowed whole—like Agent K from the movie. With only one thing left to do, Agent Zed tells riders to push the red button, which activates a 100,000-point bonus and deploys the subatomic thermal disruptor.

The ride vehicles spin a few more times inside the belly of the beast, which once had a few effects, like a themed scent, fog, and a spray of water.

Back at MIB Headquarters

Recruits find themselves back at the MIB headquarters where Agent J reveals the final score, making some jokes between the two ride vehicles. This scene and the next have a possible 36 variations depending on the gameplay results. The ride vehicles then split off into separate hallways.

Here, the car’s average score is graded into one of three categories: Bug Bait, Cosmically Average, or Galaxy Defender. Bug Bait and Cosmically Average groups get a pep talk from a John-Madden-inspired alien coach. Galaxy Defender groups surprise an alien tailor who’s altering a black suit, blurting out, “It’ll be ready next Wednesday,” as voiced by Dave Cobb.

Agent J neuralyzes the recruits, and the ride vehicle swerves into a phony Universe and You unload area. The attraction bookends the way it started, as if the whole Men in Black experience never happened. Guests exit up a set of stairs and pass by a door with the silhouette of an alien worm. This little shadow was Spielberg’s idea to hint that the MIB world still exists.

As the Men in Black song by Will Smith plays, a long hallway leads to the attraction’s gift shop where guests will find screens playing the film on a loop and intergalactic merch.

Reception

Men in Black: Alien Attack was enjoyed by many upon opening. Bill Wilson of Starlog said the ride was “as infectious as any life-size video game could possibly be.”

The reaction was positive, despite the resort’s struggles around the new millennium due to the clumsy Universal Studios Escape re-brand and failed marketing campaign. That was no fault of Men in Black: Alien Attack, however, as it’s considered among the best interactive dark rides to this day.

The ride is in the conversation for the most re-rideable attraction in the universe. Chasing a high score is just as thrilling as the attraction itself. As Dave Cobb told The Orlando Sentinel, “It’s just like a video game; you won’t figure it all out the first time you ride.” It is brimming with details to notice on repeat rides.

“It’s just like a video game; you won’t figure it all out the first time you ride.”
Dave Cobb, The Orlando Sentinel, 2000

Easter Eggs

Near the crash site, look out for Frank the Pug hanging out at the locksmith shop and a fake Steven Spielberg disguised on a bench, which was a personal suggestion by the creative consultant himself. A headgear stand in the Times Square scene has a nod to The Cat in the Hat; contrary to what some may say, the Spielberg and Cat in the Hat targets are not worth any points—just animation triggers.

The storefronts have a few references to other Universal properties, but the ride has one hidden detail riders will never see: A time capsule is built into the mouth of the big bug at the end for any potential demolition crew in the future to find—hopefully not any time soon.

Legacy

Universal Studios Florida has evolved since its early days, but Men in Black: Alien Attack has remained a consistent fan-favorite for 25 years and counting. The ride is surrounded by a passionate yet competitive community as friends, family, and fans share memories old and new with zappers in hand.

As one of the longest operating rides at the park, Men in Black: Alien Attack and its facade are an eye-catching backdrop across the lagoon as its towers add to the skyline.

Fans continue to honor the ride with recreations in video games, an elaborate virtual reality recreation, and many more tributes.

The attraction, its longevity, and its emotional draw are tremendous accomplishments for a project built under a strict time constraint. It was a technical and creative collaboration that anyone who has had a hand in its development or daily operation should be proud of.

So, are we alone? Of course we’re not.

“Working on a project like Men In Black is like having the keys to the greatest toy box on the planet and each of these people really put their hearts into their work.”
Dave Cobb, Animation World Network, 2001