Backdraft was a fire special effects show at Universal Studios Hollywood and

Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Destinations & Experiences, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operat ...

, based on the 1991 film of the same name. Visitors could learn how the pyrotechnic effects were created and experience some of them first hand. It was the first theme park attraction based on an R-rated film, and the first one to be at the Universal theme park as well. The Hollywood attraction was supposed to officially close after

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

2009 to be replaced by Transformers: The Ride – 3D in 2011, but remained open to appease visitors due to temporary closures of other attractions for annual refurbishment. The Hollywood attraction officially closed on April 11, 2010. The Osaka version of the attraction was temporarily closed on September 14, 2020 in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. However on May 16, 2023, Universal Studios Japan announced the park had no intentions to reopen the attraction.The Japan attraction was replaced by Illumination’s Villain Con Minion Blast which became part of ''Minion Park'' which open in Summer 2025.

History

Following the 1986 success of King Kong Encounter during the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood, MCA (then-owner of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

) began expanding the park as a must-visit destination in all of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. In 1991, E.T. Adventure opened at the park, and a giant set of escalators called the Starway was built on the hillside that led to various attractions, shops, and food courts. After the 1991 film '' Backdraft'' became a critical and commercial success, MCA Planning and Development (now known as Universal Creative) began constructing the attraction and opened it on July 1, 1992. The attraction has been ported to

on the opening day of March 31, 2001.Backdraft in Hollywood and Japan: Part 7A of our Fire Series.
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Summary

Queue

For the Hollywood version, guests entered a sound stage in the Lower Lot where ''Backdraft'' was being filmed. For the Japan version, guests enter a building facade in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and into a soundstage where ''Backdraft'' is being filmed.

Pre-show

As guests walk into the "Backdraft filming center", Ron Howard appears on a video screen and talks to the guests about making ''Backdraft''. For the Hollywood version, guests enter another soundstage. For the Japan version, guests enter a set of a city alley, where the fire is burning the building. The stars from the film, Scott Glenn and Kurt Russell appear on the video screen and talk about the fire. The moment they finish, the fire surprises the guests. They are finally led into a set resembling the warehouse scene in the movie.

Main show

The guests line up on a tiered observation platform, overlooking a simulated warehouse scene. The main show begins with a narration, "There is a fire in the center office. It burned up everything in the room, until it ran out of oxygen. Oh, it may look quiet now, but that is its deception...for hiding inside are unburned natural gases. Waiting...for a breath of fresh air..." Suddenly, fire breaks out in the warehouse, causing a backdraft. A series of explosions creates more fire. After a final explosion, the platform on which the guests are standing suddenly drops a few inches. Participants are then directed to exit through the building. The sound of crackling flames can be heard throughout the show, but this is actually a sound effects recording. The fire seen in the show is created by the ignition of flammable gases, a process which makes little to no sound.

In popular culture

The warehouse set was prominently featured in the television show '' Sliders'', in the third-season episode titled "The Fire Within". In an episode of ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' titled " The Trip",

George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rel ...

expresses interest in seeing the attraction. There is a reference to the attraction in a third-season episode of the television show ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...

'' called "Earth, Wind and... Wait for It".

References

{{Universal Studios Japan Attractions 1992 establishments in California 2001 establishments in Japan 2010 disestablishments in California Amusement park attractions based on film franchises Amusement park attractions introduced in 1992 Amusement park attractions introduced in 2001 Amusement park attractions that closed in 2010 Backdraft (franchise) Former Universal Studios Hollywood attractions Universal Destinations & Experiences attractions by name Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Japan