Backdraft is a fire special effects show at

Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCU ...

and formerly at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies wi ...

, 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 attraction based on an R-rated film at the Universal theme park. The Hollywood attraction was supposed to officially close after

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...

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 attraction remains part of the Osaka park. A similar styled show demonstrating storm effects,

Lights! Camera! Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg Lights! Camera! Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg is a show attraction located in the New York zone of Universal Studios Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa and the Hollywood zone of Universal Studios Beijing at Tongzhou District, Beijing (und ...

, opened at Universal Studios Singapore in 2010.

History

Following the 1986 success of King Kong Encounter during the Studio Tour at

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

(then-owner of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

) 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 region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. In 1991, E.T. Adventure opened at the park, and a giant set of escalators called the Starway was built on the hillside that lead to various attractions, shops, and food courts. After the 1991 film ''

Backdraft A backdraft (North American English) or backdraught (British English) is the abrupt burning of superheated gasses in a fire, caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a window or door to an enclosed s ...

'' became a critical and commercial success, MCA Planning and Development (now known as

Universal Creative Universal Creative designs and creates themed attractions, rides, and resorts, for Universal Parks & Resorts. Its divisions include master planning, creative development, design, engineering, project management, and research and development. The ...

) 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 A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

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

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

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

Pre-show

As guests walk into the "Backdraft filming center",

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

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 Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26) is an American actor. His roles have included Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in '' Urban Cowboy'' (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), Emmett in ''Silverado'' ...

and

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the western series '' The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with Th ...

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 fire crackling can be heard throughout the show, but this is actually a sound effects recording. The fire is created by igniting jets of flammable gases, which are virtually silent.

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. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

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 re ...

expresses interest in seeing the attraction.

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 Parks & Resorts attractions by name Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Japan