Back to the Future: The Ride at Universal Studios Japan closed on May 31st, 2016.
This was the last iteration of the ride based on the film Back to the Future as the other versions of the ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando were closed in the year 2007 and replaced by the Simpsons Ride in the year 2008. The ride follows Doc Brown, head of the Institute of Future Technology going on a time travel chase in the past to capture Biff Tannen before he could do irreparable harm to the timeline. The ride is a motion simulator with the cars located under a two 70-foot (21.3–m) IMAX Dome screen. Each of the 12 cars is mounted on three pistons, allowing the vehicle to rise, fall and tilt, following the motion on the screen. The cars are arranged on three tiers and staggered to prevent them from seeing the other vehicles in the theater. The front section of the cars rise eight feet (2.4 m) out of the “garage” when “flying”. The actual range of motion from the simulator base is about two feet (0.6 m) in any direction. The motion and the visual input from the screen images combined to make the riders feel as if they were in a high-speed pursuit, as they chased Biff through 2015, prehistoric times, and the beginning of the Earth before finally tracking him down back at the present. It is currently unknown what will replace the Japanese version though rumors speculate a Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem iteration or a Nintendo attraction. Only time can tell what the future has in store for what is next at Universal but a classic ride has seen its last day.
