is a

spinning roller coaster A spinning roller coaster is a roller coaster with cars that rotate on a vertical axis. Models Virginia Reel The first spinning roller coaster was the Tickler, built in 1908 by Henry Riehl at Luna Park. Instead of trains, the ride had tubs w ...

Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Destinations & Experiences, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operat ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The ride opened on March 18, 2010, as a replacement for the E.T. Adventure

dark ride A dark ride—or ghost train when horror themed—is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live spe ...

. The ride is themed to a journey through space and features an array of special effects and immersive theming including interactive projection screens, on-board audio, lasers and

fibre optics An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

History

In March 2009, Universal Studios Japan announced that they would be closing E.T. Adventure on May 10, 2009. Following the ride's closure in May, the ride system was removed with Universal Studios Japan temporarily reopening the attraction as a walkthrough attraction for five days from July 18, 2009. On September 14, 2009, the park announced a new indoor ride would open in 2010, replacing in E.T. Adventure. Although Universal Studios Japan did not announce full details of the attraction, they did state it would be

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

-themed and measure long. Less than one month later, the park announced their new ride's name would be Space Fantasy – The Ride. In December 2009, Universal Studios Japan stated the ride was scheduled to open on March 18, 2010. On March 18, 2010, Space Fantasy – The Ride officially opened to the public. The ride is often overlaid to work with VR for half a year in order to promote the

Cool Japan refers to the aspects of Japanese culture that non-Japanese people perceive as " cool". After the success of " Cool Britannia," the Japanese government started using the phrase. The Cool Japan strategy is part of Japan's overall brand strategy, ...

campaign.

Characteristics

Space Fantasy – The Ride is a spinning roller coaster manufactured by

Mack Rides Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Ge ...

, a German amusement ride manufacturer. The ride was custom-built so it could fit within the existing

show building Show building is the name often given to various enclosed structures at theme parks that contain attractions such as rides and entertainment shows. The exteriors of such buildings may be themed on some or all sides, but their hidden "backstage" a ...

, formerly used for the E.T. Adventure ride.

Statistics

The ride is

enclosed Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

in a show building high with a floor area measuring . The ride features three friction wheel-powered

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from t ...

s which take the ride to its maximum height of . Space Fantasy – The Ride reaches a top speed of over the course of its 275-second ride. The trains are themed as solar shuttles.

Trains

As Universal Studios Japan is the busiest non-

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

park in the world, Space Fantasy – The Ride features nineteen 8-person trains catering for an hourly capacity of 1920 riders. Each train features a pair four-seater cars. Riders are grouped in pairs and sit back-to-back on the round vehicles. The trains are fitted with on-board speakers which provide a soundtrack throughout the roller coaster ride, as well as

monitors Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

which display various items relevant to the ride's theme and storyline. Riders must be at least tall to ride alone or tall if accompanied by an adult.

Theme

Space Fantasy – The Ride is themed as a journey through space. Riders begin their journey on planet

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

with the objective of restoring life to the

sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

by collecting stardust. Their journey takes them past many planets including

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

and Mercury, as well as past

voids Void may refer to: Science, engineering, and technology * Void (astronomy), the spaces between galaxy filaments that contain no galaxies * Void (composites), a pore that remains unoccupied in a composite material * Void, synonym for vacuum, ...

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

e and

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

s. To help develop this theme, Universal Studios Japan contracted American-based interactive technology firm GestureTek. GestureTek's 3D camera tracking technology and

multi-touch In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one somatosensory system, point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CE ...

technology was employed to recognise gestures of guests both in the queue and on board the ride.

Ride experience

Riders enter the queue for Space Fantasy – The Ride from the Hollywood section of Universal Studios Japan. As part of the ride's theme, queue features an wall which is able to recognise the movements of up 132 hands on 66 guests without them physically having to touch the wall. The wall is powered by 22 3D cameras and 13

projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer type ...

s connected to an array of 16

quad core A multi-core processor (MCP) is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit (IC) with two or more separate central processing units (CPUs), called ''cores'' to emphasize their multiplicity (for example, ''dual-core'' or ''quad-core''). Ea ...

computers. Space Fantasy – The Ride features separate queues for single riders and holders of Universal Express Passes, as well as offering "child switch" where one parent can experience the ride while the other parent looks after their child before switching their roles. The

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

of the roller coaster features a

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to a belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with a closed loop of carrying medium—the conveyor b ...

loading system. This system allows the ride to achieve its relatively high throughput of 1920 riders per hour. Once the trains are loaded they are dispatched up the first lift hills. On one of the lift hills, riders are able to interact with the surrounding screens by effectively collecting "stardust clouds" to help power the sun. Aside from interactive technologies, Space Fantasy – The Ride also features a collection of standard

projection screen A projection screen is an installation consisting of a surface and a support structure used for displaying a projected image for the view of an audience. Projection screens may be permanently installed on a wall, as in a movie theater, mounte ...

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

s. Throughout the 275-second ride, the individual four-seater cars perform both magnetic-controlled spins and uncontrolled spins; the latter relies on the riders'

weight distribution Weight distribution is the apportioning of weight within a vehicle, especially cars, airplanes, and trains. Typically, it is written in the form ''x''/''y'', where ''x'' is the percentage of weight in the front, and ''y'' is the percentage in t ...

coupled with the

force of gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

. After navigating the track, the trains return to the station where riders disembark and return to Universal Studios Japan's Hollywood themed area.

Reception

Space Fantasy – The Ride has generally been well received. ''Park World Magazine'' stated the ride is "packed with exciting features and fun theming". They also commended the ride for its "controlled car movements and added effects", when compared with other spinning roller coasters. Christina Warren of ''

Mashable Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...

'' provided a review of the ride's special effects, describing them as incredible. Warren also stated she "can't wait for some of this technology to hit American theme parks". In November 2011, Space Fantasy – The Ride received a Thea Award For Outstanding Achievement. The 18th Annual Thea Awards were presented by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and held at the

International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...

(IAAPA) trade show in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. TEA described the ride as "a thrilling experience that delivers an engaging story using advanced effects in a meaningful way, making an on-the-spot connection with its target audience". Although the ride did not receive a ranking in its debut year, Space Fantasy – The Ride ranked 91 out of 365 roller coasters featured in the worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll. The Best Roller Coaster Poll is recognised by park owners and enthusiasts alike, due to its ranking algorithm which prevents the poll from being purely a popularity contest.

XR Ride

During special events such as Universal Cool Japan, Space Fantasy may receive a temporary overlay where it operates as an "XR Ride". During an "XR Ride" guests can experience the world of each themed overlay in 360 degrees while wearing VR goggles. During these overlays, the ride vehicle is altered so that it does not rotate, and only the front seats are used. In addition, guests under 132 cm tall cannot ride the XR ride even if accompanied by a guardian. *

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu , known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (Hiragana: ), is a Japanese singer, model and tarento. Her public image is associated with Japan's ''kawaii'' and ''decora (style), decora'' culture, centered in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. Ky ...

XR Ride (January 15, 2016 – June 26, 2016) - First introduced as part of Universal Cool Japan 2016. * Evangelion XR Ride (January 13, 2017 – June 25, 2017) - Introduced as part of Universal Cool Japan 2017. *

Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...

XR Ride (January 19, 2018 – June 24, 2018) - Introduced as part of Universal Cool Japan 2018. * Evangelion XR Ride (July 6, 2018 – January 6, 2019) - It was brought back in response to many guests' requests for its return. *

Lupin the Third , also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese media franchise created by Monkey Punch. The series follows the endeavors of master thief Lupin III, grandson of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, jo ...

Car Chase XR Ride (January 18, 2019 – June 23, 2019) - Introduced as part of Universal Cool Japan 2019. *

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to a ...

XR Ride (January 21, 2020 – July 5, 2020 ) - Introduced as part of Universal Cool Japan 2020. * "STAND BY ME Doraemon 2" XR Ride ( August 4, 2020 – January 6, 2021) - Introduced in collaboration with "STAND BY ME Doraemon 2" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...

. * Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba XR Ride: Mugen Train (September 17, 2021 - February 13, 2022, February 1, 2024 - June 9, 2024) - Introduced in collaboration with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. * Attack on Titan XR Ride (March 4, 2022 – July 22, 2022) - Introduced as a revival of the 2020 ride as part of Universal Cool Japan 2022. * Doraemon XR Ride: Nobita and the Sky Utopia (February 23, 2023 - September 3, 2023) - Introduced in collaboration with the movie "Doraemon: Nobita and the Sky Utopia." * Demon Slayer XR Ride ~Race through the Swordsmith Village~ (July 19, 2024 - January 5, 2025)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Space Fantasy - The Ride Roller coasters operated by Universal Destinations & Experiences Universal Studios Japan Universal Destinations & Experiences attractions by name Outer space in amusement parks Gesture recognition 2010 establishments in Japan