Line #12 Ride/MenInBlackAlienAttack


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mibaa.png]]
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3	->''"That kind of shooting is not gonna get you a suit! Let's go, let's go!"''
4	-->-- '''Agent J'''
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6	''Men in Black: Alien Attack'' is an interactive dark ride, part of the [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal Studios Florida]] theme park. It follows the story of the original ''Film/MenInBlack'' film, where the organization is looking for recruits to add to its ranks. Both Creator/WillSmith and Rip Torn reprised their roles for the attraction, and Creator/StevenSpielberg served as a creative consultant.
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8	Guests enter what at first appears to be a World's Fair exhibition called "The Universe & You", but in the middle of the presentation see that it's just a disguise for the MIB headquarters. The guests are then taken into the heart of the organization, where they are filled in on the existence of aliens and told they will start their training to join MIB.
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10	After viewing several instructional videos while waiting in line, the guests board vehicles that are equipped with interactive laser guns and get sent into training. The training is almost immediately interrupted when aliens invade New York City. The riders are forced into battle, where the goal is to shot targets on the aliens and earn as many points as possible. Along the way, they are pitted against an opposing vehicle and then a gigantic alien which can only be destroyed with the emergency "red button". At the end, depending on the average score of the riders in a vehicle, they are either accepted as MIB agents or not.
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12	Development of the ride began immediately after the release of the original movie in 1997, when Universal saw the ride potential in it. Early online insiders began spreading word of the attraction as soon as late 1998; and planning documents that were filed in 1999 describing the new attraction as an "alien-themed laser tag ride" only further let the cat out of the bag. Universal officially announced the ride in October 1999, a mere few months before its grand opening on April 14, 2000.
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14	Built on a budget of $70 million [[note]]which by today's inflation would be somewhere near $110 million[[/note]], the attraction was at the time the biggest dark ride Universal had ever built, covering 70,000 sq ft. It was also a record-breaker for Universal in terms of how many animatronics it contains: a whopping 127.
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16	The attraction received lavish praise upon its opening for its sheer inventiveness, receiving a "Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement" by the ''Themed Entertainment Association''. Although it is no longer being used in advertising, the attraction to this day is still viewed by many fans as being an EnsembleDarkhorse[[invoked]] of the park, with most agreeing that it was way ahead of its time.
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18	Despite the attraction's success, it is notable for being one of the few Universal attractions that has never been cloned to any of the other parks around the world.
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21	!!Men in Black: Alien Attack provides examples of the following tropes:
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23	* AffectionateParody: The posters in the queue line for "The Universe and You" were purposely designed to resemble the classic Disneyland attraction posters.
24	* AlienInvasion: An extra-terrestrial prison transport crashes into Earth, freeing the prisoners.
25	* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: The ride is Universal's answer to the ''Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin'' ride at Walt Disney World, which is also an attraction where guests can take aim at targets and rack up points.
26	* AlternateContinuity: The attraction isn't really meant to be seen as canonical, especially with inconsistencies like the MIB headquarters suddenly switching locations.
27	* TheArtifact: In recent years, the ride has become this, as it was initially designed specifically so it would fit in within the World Expo area that ''Ride/BackToTheFutureTheRide'' occupied. A few years later, BTTF was closed and then replaced with ''Ride/TheSimpsonsRide'', and much of the surrounding expo theming was eventually converted into a Springfield area. As a result, this ride has now become thematically isolated.
28	* AttackItsWeakPoint: The vehicles have a "fusion exhaust port" that you're supposed to shoot when it's revealed that the vehicle next to you is actually filled with aliens disguised as humans.
29	* BeamSpam: Pre-ride instructions encourage this approach with your laser guns. One sign near the children's waiting area states: "This is not a game of accuracy...if it's alien, zap it! Zappers never run out of ammo...so keep zapping!"
30	* {{BFG}}: Sometimes the employees can be seen carrying one around.
31	* BigApplesauce: The invasion takes place in none other than New York City.
32	* BigRedButton: Every ride vehicle has one, and it's to be used only in "emergency situations". [[note]]Being the first to press the button when prompted by the ride experience gives the player 100,000 points.[[/note]]
33	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: There are a few secret targets where you have to shoot the aliens' guns, rather than the aliens themselves.
34	* BoomHeadshot: Before boarding, guests are specifically instructed to aim for the aliens' heads (or their shoulders) for the best chance at getting points.
35	* ButThouMust: If no one pushes the red button, the vehicle will still unleash the mega blast regardless.
36	* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: A few aliens can be seen hiding in some bushes, where only their eyes are visible.
37	* {{Cap}}: You can earn 999,999 points before maxing out on the ride.
38	* CatastrophicCountdown: During the Immigration Room briefing, a ten-second countdown to "planetary implosion" gets activated by mistake. It's quickly shut down at the 5-second mark with a car alarm chirp.
39	* ContinuityNod: Agent K is nowhere to be seen, as the attraction opened two years before ''Men in Black II'' came out.
40	* ContrivedCoincidence: The alien ship just so happens to crash on Earth about thirty seconds after you begin your training session.
41	* CoversAlwaysLie: Despite Agent K not being in the ride, he still appears in the ride's logo.
42	* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: In this attraction, the entrance to the MIB headquarters is disguised as a World's Fair pavilion.
43	* DoNotAdjustYourSet: J hacks into the video feed for one of the Times Square screens in order to talk to the riders.
44	* EasterEgg: Frank the Pug appears in the ride. If you shoot his collar, you'll get bonus points.
45	* FMinusMinus: If one vehicle gets the "Bug Bait" ranking, Agent J will sometimes use this as an insult.
46	-->Ya'll got an F, only because I can't give you a G. You in the back? You got an H.
47	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: No matter what ranking you get, J will still neuralize you. On the highest-ranked ending, it's uncertain whether your character actually gets accepted into the MIB or not.
48	* ForbiddenChekhovsGun: As mentioned above, a red button appears in every ride car. Like in the film, you are told never to press it. However, by the end of the ride [[GodzillaThreshold you face a titanic alien that's immune to your weapons]]. Guess what you have to do?
49	** An instruction video seen while waiting in line explains WHY you don't press the button: it's a ''nuke'' capable of frying the more {{Kaiju}}-esque aliens.
50	* ForcedPerspective: The two astro towers at the entrance employ this, making them look bigger from a distance than they actually are.
51	* GarbageHideout: Several aliens hide in trash cans and only poke their heads out, making it hard to shoot them.
52	* GoldenEnding: The ''Galaxy Defender'' ending, which is earned if the group of people in the vehicle have an average score of about 250,000 or higher. In it, your group is 'actually recruited' to join the Men in Black.
53	* HistoricalInJoke: And a rather dark one at that. A bulletin board paper in the queue states that JFK's assassination ''was'' indeed a conspiracy, as he was going to reveal to the world the existence of aliens.
54	* HydrantGeyser: One of the aliens can be seen riding on top of a geyser caused by a hydrant.
55	* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Despite there being a whole army of aliens throughout the NY streets, and your vehicle moving slower than most people could jog, virtually none of your foes are able to hit you.
56	* IncompletelyTrained: Guests are sent off into combat with escaped alien prisoners despite receiving merely a few seconds of training.
57	* InstructionalFilm: An animated short called "Doofus and Do-Right" is shown, which explains what to do and what not to do when embarking on MIB training.
58	* ISurrenderSuckers: One alien pleads to the riders, "Please! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!", only to reveal that you just walked into an ambush and orders his cronies to open fire.
59	* LetsSplitUpGang: After the first battle scene, Zed insists that the two vehicles split up.
60	* LightGunGame: The ride itself is this. You're trying to shoot target areas on alien statues with your laser pistol while [[RailShooter riding in a moving vehicle]].
61	* {{Masquerade}}: The pre-ride waiting area is themed as an exposition exhibit titled "The Universe and You", which promises to teach the visitors "the truth" about extraterrestrial life. After the ride, you enter into the final part of the exhibit, where a large sign proclaims: "Are we alone? Of course we are! The universe is yours... make it a happy one!"
62	** Several aliens try to disguise themselves during their attack, like disguises as a baby and Steven Spielberg.
63	* LuredIntoATrap: As mentioned above, one alien leads the riders into an ambush by pretending to be innocent.
64	* TheMole: The riders in the vehicle beside you are revealed to be evil aliens in disguise.
65	* MeaningfulName: Doofus and Do-Right act exactly how their names would imply.
66	* MultipleEndings: Depending on how high or low the average score of the six riders in your car is.
67	** ''Bug Bait'': If you do abysmally, J will mock your performance before [[MemoryWipingCrew neuralizing]] you.
68	** ''Cosmically Average'': The most common ending. You are told "Not bad, Slick... but not good enough" and get neuralized.
69	** ''Galaxy Defender'': J praises your performance and your group is recruited as MIB agents. However, you still get neuralized anyway.
70	* NewcomerSavesTheDay: The guests are the ones to succeed in stopping the alien invasion in the end, even with it being their first mission.
71	* NewspaperThinDisguise: The alien disguised as Steven Spielberg holds up a newspaper in order to hide the exposed parts of its body.
72	* NotBad: If you get the "Cosmically Average" ending, you are told: "Not bad, slick. But not good enough."
73	* RedAlert: The Immigration Room gets put into one when the destruction of the world is accidentally triggered (only for it to be stopped with just 5 seconds to spare).
74	* RewatchBonus: There's a lot of revisit value to the attraction not only because of the multiple endings, but also because of the ''many'' different combinations you can get with what J says to the two vehicles at the end.
75	* RightWayWrongWayPair: The "Doofus and Do-Right" short is a picture-perfect example of this, with it showing what to do and what not do via the contrasting characters.
76	* ShoutOut:
77	** The previously mentioned alien disguised as Creator/StevenSpielberg. The newspaper he's reading is saying something about ''Film/JurassicParkIII''.
78	** There are three buildings inside the attraction that have shout-outs on their signs:
79	*** One building is titled "The I.M. Hotep Jewelery Store", a reference to Imhotep from ''Film/TheMummy1932''.
80	*** Another building is titled "Flaming Moe's", an obvious nod to ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''/
81	*** Finally, there's a building with the name "Louie's Taxi Service", which references the TV show ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' and its character Louie.
82	* SpectacularSpinning: The ride vehicle will spin violently every time an alien hits it.
83	* StealthPun: If one shoots the alien disguised as Creator/StevenSpielberg, it will reveal that it has three heads, a joke on how Creator/DreamWorksSKG has (or rather, had at one point) "three heads", with [[Creator/DreamWorksAnimation Jeffrey Katzenberg]] and [[Creator/DreamWorksRecords David Geffen]] serving as the other two.
84	* SwallowedWhole: This happens to the riders, until they blow up the big bug.
85	* ThisIsNotADrill: Zed mentions this when he gives the riders the sudden news that an alien invasion is taking place.
86	* ToiletHumor: Before getting blown up, the big bug lets out a particularly loud belch.
87	* TooDumbToLive: Most of the unarmed aliens in the ride don't make much of an effort to hide from the agency that is specifically aiming to kill them.
88	* WallOfWeapons: The queue passes through the "Weapons Room", which has a whole wall of any kind of MIB weapon you could imagine.
89	* TheWallsHaveEyes: In the vehicle face-off scene, there's a few alien eyes that appear on several posters behind the opposing vehicle.
90	* WhatTheHellHero: Do ''really'' poorly, and Agent Jay will sputter at your performance, suggesting that you get back in line to "try it again", or pointing to where the "''Men in Pink''" attraction is.
91	* YouWontFeelAThing: Before Zed sends the two vehicles through the bio-scan, he reassures, "This won't hurt a bit."
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Context Ride / MenInBlackAlienAttack