Yesterworld: Universal's Abandoned Tram Tour Attractions (Universal Studios Hollywood Tour))

I took the tour as a kid in the summer (June) of 1983. I really feel that it was during probably the best stretch to take the tour. Nearly all of the old "classic" events were still there; the collapsing bridge (which was fun) and there was part of a car, the parting of the Red Sea, the rotating ice-tunnel, Battle for Galactica, Jaws, the Mexican flash flood (with the falling down tree), the run-away train (I was in car 4, so I got to see the animatronic conductor) even the mid-tour prop plaza stop where I got to lift the A-team van and pose with oversized objects. The "spooky" 2nd Empire mansion (Norman Bates) residence and hotel were not crowded in by Whoville and the crashed airplane still was the waterfall and natural spaces along with a better discussion of the fake Ocean blue screen set (it still had clouds painted on it at that time). The tour was longer, more informative, and had many more moments where the tour guide provided actual information. I hope to find those old photos again.

I miss the animatronic King Kong. There was a wind effect when he roared and his breath smelled like bananas.

"I really don't think we should go inside that spaceship." Lasers firing "On second thought, maybe we should.' Lasers continue to fire WHAT! WHY!

"I sound like a Jungle Cruise skipper." You say that like it's a bad thing.

I lifted that van as a kid when the tram would drop you off in the middle of the tour where you would walk into the stage area. They had the six million dollar man and bionic woman at the time. They picked out me as Steve Austin and a girl for the bionic woman. It was fun, they took me in the back stage telling me that I was gonna kick the tire and it would explode then I would lift the van. As we got in front of the audience I was so nervous, I forgot to kick the tire and when I lifted the van i walked away as it was still in the air...hahaha I was in 3rd grade at the time and did it in front of my whole school at the the time as we were on a field trip that day! I will never forget that!

In reference to all the fires on the backlot, I'm not at all surprised. Universal Studios Hollywood is literally built in the Hollywood Hills, a natural landscape full of native chaparral plants very prone to catching fire. Much of the chaparral in California is highly adapted to wildfires, even containing oils within the plant itself to promote the spread of fires since many of the plants can only reproduce when there's a fire, with seeds only opening and taking root after a fire sweeps through. (This is partly why wildfires are such a problem in California with suburbia encroaching on this natural landscape more and more). Anyway, Universal Studios was built on these hills in an environment naturally very prone to fires.

1986- what a year! Knight Rider, Jaws, the King "Kongfrontation", E.T, Psycho, Back To The Future, and the truly superb Battlestar Galactica experience, were all on display. I waved furiously to be selected for a screen test. I got the part: I was tipped upside down in a plane wearing a striped jailhouse garb along with a complete stranger as a co-pilot. I had a ball. At the time I was itching to go to Disneyland, but Universal Studios was the ultimate in unrivalled fun. Disney had nothing on this! I purchased a hefty sized foam rock from the Universal shop (a rock I managed to literally squeeze into my suitcase upon my flight back to Australia). This latex covered foam rock looked so realistic, it fooled everybody! I would say, "here, catch." I would hurl this benign chunk of foam at my confounded friends and watch them jump back; their face a billboard of horror. It was hilarious. Also, the people working there all looked like they wanted to be there. It actually rained a touch and I wasn't able to talk with Kit the car "in person", but they gave everybody blue ponchos to ward off the drizzle and a free pass to another event. Seriously, I could have gone home with four different families in the group by the time the tour finished- that's how much fun we had. I was just the right age (10) at just the right time, 1986. If only we could go Back To The Future.

Man, I want to go to Universal Hollywood back when these effects could have a strong effect on me rather than riding a dark ride covered in screens at Universal Florida

10:38 What is it with theme parks making extremely expensive animatronics and then just driving them down the highway without any kind of protection? JUST COVER IT WITH A SHEET OR SOMETHING, ANYTHING!

I have always thought that those fires were manmade in order to drive publicity for new attractions. But that's just my conspiratorial mind talkin'. I'm so glad I was able to experience Kong Encounter before it was burned down.

This is the best USH documentary I've ever seen, even at 16 minutes. You've researched attractions I never heard of for this video. I also wanted to compliment you on something all to rare nowadays; when you don't know something you actually admit that you don't know it. Keep up the good work!

Fun fact: The airplane seen briefly at 1:40 was a real P-51D Mustang which has been restored and kept as part of the Commemorative Air Force Collection in California. Apparently it was in the 1957 film 'Battle Hymn' and displayed at Universal for nearly a decade before being auctioned off.

i get that they need to evolve attractions and keep things fresh.... but that king kong replacement and the fast n furious thing is just..... poor effort

They actually found one of the Cylon Animatronics under the Simpsons ride. It was on display for the anniversary of the tour I believe. Also somebody reportedly stole the Cylon that was in the gun turret outside of the building one night years ago

If there's a major fire at Universal by the end of this year, i'm gonna be officially spooked.

Former Studio Tour employee here. It's so interesting to see how much the tour has changed over the years. I left in 2015 right after we finished the Fast and Furious addition. As of then, the collapsing bridge and the parting seas were still used, but very rarely. Sometimes when trams would cross the collapsing bridge, it wouldn't activate (which actually happened a lot with a few of the other attractions as well). And sometimes the red sea would still flood the trams, depending on how fast the tram drivers got through there. We had some VERY interesting stories about the tour XD

This video is such a weirdly nostalgic trip for me. We visited Universal once when I was a kid, probably around 1980. I remember almost all of this stuff. But there's so much I don't remember, which is even more fascinating to me.

I remember the collapsing bridge, the rotating tunnel, Galactica, and jaws.

I once went through the Parting of the Red Sea on the tram tour back in 2012, and the four car lost traction in the middle of the track and we got stuck for like three minutes. Pretty freaking exciting.

In 08, was working in the cutting room on a Universal Studios movie when the fire happened. At the time the big worry was what was lost in the film storage rooms/vaults. Nitrate film is highly combustible and know improper storage has been blamed for multiple fires since the 30's in all the studios and memory serves was the factor in many of the ones you mentioned at Universal.