The Making of Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida

Creating Men in Black: Alien Attack

Universal Orlando wasted no time acquiring the theme park rights to Men in Black in summer 1997. The new ride was scheduled to open at Universal Studios Florida in about two and a half years. That was a short amount of time to turn an empty plot of land and blank sheets of paper into a fully functioning attraction, so Universal needed a talented team to take on the challenge.

“The really great thing about a project such as this is that people really respond when faced with such a challenging schedule; they pour their heart and soul into it.”
Dave Cobb, Starlog, 2000

Approaching the late ‘90s, the theme park industry was thriving but stretched thin. Many professionals were busy developing new theme parks around the world and locally in Orlando, namely Islands of Adventure and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

So, to take the creative director role for its imminent Men in Black attraction, Universal called on a new recruit: a theme park fan turned professional, Dave Cobb. But, he was not alone as the project had a full team ready for the creative and technical collaboration ahead.

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Unlimited Technology from the Whole Universe

Men in Black: Galaxy Defender—as the attraction was originally known, later renamed to Men in Black: Alien Attack—was essentially a blank canvas.

One of the attraction’s many question marks was its ride system. Because of the project’s strict schedule, Universal didn’t have time to develop a ride system from scratch. To make the process quicker, the crew had to replicate an existing Universal ride system.

An Amazing Option

Over at the soon-to-be Islands of Adventure, a few dark rides were under construction—including The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and its revolutionary SCOOP ride vehicle. The innovative motion simulator, manufactured by Oceaneering International, was an enormous step forward for the theme park industry and an exciting option for the Men in Black ride.

The Spider-Man technology was temping, but the Creatives still had to find out whether it could work for MIB as an interactive shooting dark ride. The team went to the Spider-Man show building and set up makeshift laser tag targets throughout the layout; they cycled around in the SCOOP vehicles while zapping at targets.

The test runs were thrilling but excessive for an interactive ride. The Men in Black ride was being designed for gameplay, not intensity.

The Spider-Man ride vehicles had an advanced range of motion that made aiming at targets overly difficult. The advanced ride system was designed to sync with a variety of media and immerse guests with its high sides, which reduced visibility and playability. These features didn’t translate well to an interactive ride, especially one being designed for a wide demographic.

The expensive SCOOP vehicles proved to be too much for the Men in Black project. The team passed on the Spider-Man ride system and looked for a simpler, cheaper option.

Turning in a New Direction

The crew turned to another dark ride that was under development at Islands of Adventure: The Cat in the Hat. This slower-moving ride system was a more appropriate match for Men in Black. Manufactured by MTS Systems Corporation, this vehicle base could rotate for dark ride purposes or for gentle thrills. Without an advanced range of motion other than spinning, these ride vehicles were much more stable and had minimal visual obstructions for wide-open gameplay.

This simpler ride system didn’t have all the bells and whistles of Spider-Man’s SCOOP, but it met the Goldilocks principle of being “just right” for the MIB ride.

Ford P.O.S.

While Men in Black: Alien Attack borrowed an existing ride system, the vehicles would be fully customized.

Originally, the team drafted ride vehicles that looked like the film’s 1986 Ford LTD Crown Victoria—or the Ford P.O.S. as Agent J called it. However, the sedan-style car didn’t fit right on the small ride vehicle base. So, the ride vehicles were redesigned with an original look, blending the style of government-issued equipment with extraterrestrial technology.

Functionally and stylistically, this ride system was working out for Men in Black—with one exception.