Universal Studio - Earthquake
April 13, 2000
Initial reports indicate the quake is registering 8.3 on the Richter Scale.
Worst hit is the underground rail system, where subway riders can expect
collapsing ceiling, crashing subway trains, exploding gasoline trucks and
65,000 gallons of water flooding the station.
Over 65,000 gallons of water are released and recycled every six minutes.
Look out! The ride features a 15,000 pound "concrete slab" that slides right at your subway car.
Universal's 1974 film Earthquake, starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner, received the Oscar® for Best Sound, a Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects (the first ever "Special Effects" Oscar), and a Technical award for the development of the Sensurround System. The film was also nominated for Cinematography, Art Decoration/Set Decoration, and Film Editing.
Before the ride, you'll enjoy an informative film (narrated by Charlton Heston) explaining how the film's
amazing special effects were created. Afterwards you'll see the movie's actual miniature city that took
six months to build -- at a cost of approximately $2.5 million -- and just six minutes to destroy.
Along the walls of the pre-show area you'll find a collection of rare photos from the family of a
survivor of the 1906 San Francisco quake.
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