Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular

Waterworld is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic film directed by Kevin Reynolds and stars Kevin Costner. The setting is in the distant future where the polar ice caps have completely melted and the sea level has risen over 7,600 m (25,000 ft), covering nearly all of the land. The plot focuses on an otherwise nameless antihero "The Mariner," a drifter who sails the Earth in his trimaran, trying to help a woman and her young child reach dry land while being targeted by outlaws on their journey.

Notorious for being the most expensive film ever made at the time with a budget of $172-175 million, Waterworld opened with mixed to poor reviews and was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office with only $88 million in North America, though it fared much better overseas with $176 million that accounted for a worldwide total of $264 million. While the film was still in production, Universal Studios Hollywood opted to make a live stunt show based off the movie that would use the same venue originally built for Miami Vice Action Spectrablast, which opened in 1989 and closed in 1995 to begin construction on Waterworld. It was originally planned to open on July 28th that year to coincide with the film's release, though after the film bombed, Universal was left in a tough spot on whether or not to quickly retime or cancel the attraction.

Regardless, Universal decided to stick with the theming as planned and Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular first opened on October 21st 1995. The ride's reception was much more modestly received than its source material as it won a 1996 Thea Award from the Themed Entertainment Association. Adapted by Ben Hurst, the attraction's story occurs after the events of the movie, beginning with Helen's return from "Dryland" to get her friends from the "Atoll". The show includes the characters Helen, the Deacon, and the Mariner, as well as several "Atollers" and "Smokers". The show is 16 minutes long and includes stunts on water, land, and overhead, supported by many pyrotechnic, flame, water, and other special effects, including the explosive crash landing of the seaplane. The stunt show's unique soundtrack was crafted from snips from the movie score. The seating is in three sections of arena seating. The first five row of seats are the "Soak Zones", which are the target of splashes from the Jet Skis and various wet special effects. The 40,000 square foot 3-feet deep pool with 1.4 million galls of recycled water (the waves are created by a drum that moves up and down in the water) that once featured the Miami Vice jungle set was now made to look like one of the ram-shackled Atolls as seen in the film. The entry tower that the audience passes through to enter the arena is themed after the tower used by Gregor the balloonist in the film and contains at least a few props from the film. In the queue line is a photo op where guests can sit on a replica of one of the jet skis used by the Smokers (a legitimate screen-used version could be seen in the Planet Hollywood restaurants of Times Square and Duisburg). As the pool is unheated, the performers wear wetsuits of differing thicknesses according to personal preference. There’s a hot tub behind the scenes for them to warm up before or after the show.

Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular was duplicated for the Universal Studios parks in Japan and Singapore, as well as Beijing which is set to have an entire land based off the Kevin Costner movie; which is quite amazing considering the negative reception it still has in the film genre, especially considering the scene where the main character drinks his own urine. The only park that does not feature the Waterworld stunt show is Universal Studios Florida.

References:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterworld:_A_Live_Sea_War_Spectacular
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGWcRzLzAUQ
www.thestudiotour.com/wp/studios/universal-studios-hollyw...

Taken on: April 3, 2010

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Camera: Sony DSC-W80, f/8.0, 1/200 sec, 5.8mm, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony DSC-W80
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Focal Length:	5.8mm
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
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