ON THE POP-CULTURE RADAR
THE OPENING OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO
According to EW, this theme park, which opened in 1990 as a competitor to Disney World, boasted ''444 acres and $600 million worth of pristine movie back-lots, cavernous TV studios, and a pulsating fleet of high-tech, movie-theme adventure rides''... plus Steven Spielberg as a creative consultant. (Take that, Mickey Mouse!) Today, as back in 1990, the rides are centered around popular movies, though it's interesting to note which attractions survived since the opening (''Jaws'' and ''The E.T. Adventure,'' both based on the Spielberg movies), and which ones died (''Mel's Diner,'' based on American Graffiti, ''The Phantom of the Opera Horror Makeup Show,'' and ''Kongfrontation'') to make room for more modern fare, like ''Shrek 4-D'' and ''Men in Black Alien Attack.'' (Read the feature)

Originally posted Jun 22, 2005
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