Men in Black: Alien Attack

The facade of the attraction.

Men in Black: Alien Attack is a interactive ride in Universal Studios Florida. It is a laser shooting game, based on the 1997 film, Men in Black. It resembles the fictional 1964 New York World's Fair Expo (based on World's Fair).

The attraction opened on April 18, 2000.

Ride Summary

Exterior Queue

Attraction facade with Expo Towers

Guests approach the building under the guise of visiting an exhibit called The Universe & You - Are We Alone? which has been transplanted from the 1964 New York World's Fair. The exterior queue is flanked by posters advertising extraterrestrial activity and microphones giving "updates" on the fair.

Pre-Show

Guests are then ushered into the building and into the retro-themed exhibit. The 1960s narration, however, is cut short by a MiB agent terminating the false program and issuing the "recruits" into Men in Black Headquarters. One of the walls of the exhibit splits, opening up into an elevator, which travels deep into the Earth.

Interior Queue

MiB HQ Interior queue.

Worms

Upon exiting the elevator, guests enter a hallway within the secret MIB Headquarters. Traveling down the hall, they pass the film's famous "Worms" on break, several doors to various labs, and through the alien scanners.

At the end of the hallway, guests overlook the immigration processing room, with a large video screen broadcasting the training information. They then move into the weapons room, and finally into the training facility, where a vehicle awaits. The twins, Idikiukup and Bob can be seen in Immigration Control center.

Ride

Pitted against another team of players (riding on a separate vehicle), the recruits board their training vehicles (equipped with laser guns) and proceed into the training room, blasting at cardboard cutouts and crudely-drawn images of aliens amid flashing red lights. Soon, however, Zed (played by Rip Torn) informs the trainees that an alien prison ship has crash landed in the middle of New York City.

The crashed prisoner transport ship in Times Square.

The guns are then "set to full power" as the trainees are instantly launched into the heart of New York, attempting to score as many points as they can by shooting the aliens in their vulnerable areas (the eyes and shoulders). Aliens vary from large, plain-in-sight creatures to small ones hiding in windows and bushes. Certain aliens will fire back causing the cart to spin out of control.

After a brief romp through the city, the two head-to-head vehicles face each other and pass on either side of a large green scanner. The scanner reveals that the opposing car is really full of aliens in disguise, thus prompting a shoot-out between the two paired vehicles. Both cars race to shoot the other's "fusion exhaust port," a glowing red light atop their vehicle. A hit causes the opposing vehicle to wildly spin out of control, offering more time to collect points while they spin.

The "Mega Bug".

The battle between the cars comes to an end when Jay appears on a giant television screen in Times Square, alerting the riders to "get their game faces on" because a "really big Bug" has been found. Turning the corner, riders come face-to-face with the massive cockroach-like alien. The Bug is immune to the weak guns' laser fire, so Zed orders the riders to press the much-dreaded red button.

There is a small window of time when the button is effective, and the first rider to press the button during this window are granted a 100,000 point bonus (average first time riders will score about 40,000 to 60,000 points, without the bonus, while experienced riders with good aim will already be anywhere between 350,000 to 700,000 points). Both cars enter into the bugs mouth and spin out of control amid fog and strobe flashes.

During the wind down, Agent Jay (played by Will Smith) will comment on the scores, comparing the two cars' average (one commentary might read: "Y'all over here got a C, you passed. Y'all got an F, only cause I can't give you a G.").

The two carts separate to view the final scene; if your cart achieves a low score, an alien "coach" will appear, saying "Basically, you zigged when you shoulda zagged! You gotta learn when to run and gun and when to lock and load baby. Try again!" and Agent J saying "Better luck next time, slick!" or "Not bad, slick... but not good enough" before the riders are "neuralized."

The vehicle with the best score pulls up to an alien tailoring a black suit and telling the riders " your suit will be ready next Wednesday", however Agent J will say "That was pretty hot, wasn't it? Too bad you're not gonna remember any of it" and neuralizes the riders anyway.

With the rider's memories "erased," the vehicles re-enter a retro-themed atrium with the "Universe & You" logo on the wall in front of them, and the big question answered: "Are We Alone? Of Course We Are!" Riders then exit into the Men in Black Gift Shop.

Trivia

• The ride takes place chronologically after the first film, so Agent K does not appear. Jay takes the role of the senior agent, and the guests are the new recruit.
• Both Will Smith and Rip Torn reprise their roles as Agent J and Zed.
• At one point, the red button on the ride vehicles was meant to make the cars travel at high seeds through a tunnel similar to the car in the first movie. However, this effect was abandoned when designers felt that it was impossible to convincingly simulate the sensation of speed, and thus it was replaced with the scanning scene.
• Before landing on the New York World's Fair attraction as the disguise for the MIB Headquarters, the ride's developers initially considered having the disguise be an orange juice factory or a terminal at the Orlando International Airport.

Men in Black Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida

POV of the attraction.