The "Back to the Future: The Ride" debuted in 1991 at Universal Studios Florida taking over the former "Battle of Galactica" show building. The motion simulator ride was state-of-the-art and two years later made its way to Universal Studios Hollywood. The ride also was part of the attraction lineup in Universal Studios Japan from 2001 to 2016.
Having served its time, "Back to the Future: The Ride" closed both at the Florida and Hollywood parks in 2007. The time-traveling series was replaced in 2008 with another zany IP--The Simpsons. "The Simpsons Ride" used the same basic technology as its predecessor.Â
In 2024, Universal Studios decided to scrap The Simpsons ahead of its 2028 deadline to release The Simpsons theme park rights to Disney. Pokemon was chosen for the Florida park and seemingly for the Hollywood park...that is, until Joe Universal showed up to a Universal Creative meeting!