The Action Theater is a

motion simulator A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provid ...

ride that debuted in 1993. Located formerly at

California's Great America California's Great America is an amusement park located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, it originally opened in 1976 as one of two parks built by the Marriott Corporation. ...

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...

Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park primarily located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park is owned and operated by Six Flags. Carowinds straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, adjacent to Interstate 77, with a portion of the park ...

Kings Dominion Kings Dominion is an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia, United States, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, featuring over 60 rid ...

and

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...

. The attraction was previously known as "Paramount Action F/X Theater" before being renamed following the purchase of the Paramount Parks chain by Cedar Fair in 2006.

History

Action Theater first opened in 1993 at

and

, operating as a

themed to the Paramount film ''

Days of Thunder ''Days of Thunder'' is a 1990 American sports action drama film produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Caroline Williams, a ...

''. The following year, the attraction was installed at

, and

. In 1998, Action Theater was renamed "Paramount Action F/X Theater", and a new

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

-feature debuted at each location called "James Bond 007: License to Thrill" – a play on the title of an older Bond film called ''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond (literary character), J ...

''. Dino Island 3D was shown from 1999 to 2000, Meteor Attack in 2000, and Superstition in 2000 and 2002. In 2001, the theme parks presented The 7th Portal (based on the web comic by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

) as a three-dimensional ride in which the riders help the Data Raiders fight the Nullifiers. In 2003, SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D made its debut at all locations. In 2006,

The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' is an American animated syndicated programming block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on a weekly schedule and was performed in live action. The program ran from 1985 to 1994. Overview The ...

was presented. It had been closed after its last run in 2002 at

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...

. In 2008, the theater was renamed Action Theater to remove ties to the Paramount branding, and the action movie signage was replaced with a comic book theme. In 2013, Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia was being shown at Carowinds and Kings Island, while "Happy Feet: Mumble's Wild Ride" was being shown at California's Great America. Canada's Wonderland's Action Theater featured Monsters of the Deep 3D, and

's featured "The Lost World 3D". The theaters playing Dinosaur-themed films have had the motion seats removed. In 2015, California's Great America announced that a 4D holographic attraction themed to BioWare's

Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...

video game (titled '' Mass Effect: New Earth'') would debut in a newly renovated Action Theater for the 2016 season. Also in 2015, Carowinds announced a similar renovation of their Action Theatre for 2016. The 3D gaming attraction, named ''Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: 3Z Arena'', was based on the '' Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare'' video game until its closure in 2022.

References

External links

Mass Effect: New Earth at California's Great America
{{Authority control Amusement rides introduced in 1994 Carowinds Cedar Fair attractions Six Flags attractions