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E.T. Adventure

E.T. Adventure

An Attraction in Universal Studios Florida

Last updated: December 20, 2024

At a Glance

Inspired by Steven Spielberg's classic 1982 film (and the not-so-classic 1985 sequel novel Book of the Green Planet), this is the only ride at Universal that's remained essentially unchanged since opening day. Guests board bicycle-like ride vehicles (suspended from the ceiling similar to Peter Pan’s Flight at the Magic Kingdom) on an adventure returning everyone's favorite Extra-Terrestrial from Earth to his dying home planet.

After a brief video introduction from Mr. Spielberg himself, guests provide their first name to an attendant and receive a credit-card-sized “interplanetary passport” (more on this later), before wending their way through a dark forest of tall pine trees; this is one of the most evocative indoor ride queues in any park. As the ride itself starts, you're weaving through the woods, evading the moon-suited scientists and earthly law enforcement officials trying to capture E.T. As in the film, you're airborne soon enough, flying your way over Los Angeles (a lovely tableau, Universal's answer to Peter Pan's London) and into a warp-tunnel to E.T.'s home planet. You arrive just in time to allow E.T.'s healing touch to save everything, and the ride ends in a mash-up of colorful flowers, lighting and aliens. Concerning the latter, where E.T. is reunited with family and friends, Len Testa likens it to The Wizard of Oz’s Technicolor transition, only restaged with a cave full of naked mole rats. (C’mon, Len, where’s the love?) Before you return home, E.T. bids each rider farewell by name; the speech system was overhauled in 2014, allowing E.T. to now say over 20,000 names (many of which you can now actually understand). A Baton, North Carolina, reader with perhaps too much time on his hands got to wondering:

Why do the inhabitants of E.T.’s home planet, who presumably have never visited Earth, speak better English than he does?

While the attraction's premise is good, its sophistication has lost some luster over its 25 year run. The human animatronics in the first half look laughably like dime-store dummies, and some of E.T.'s pals in the acid-soaked second act are downright disturbing with their out-of-synch facial animation. Even so, since E.T. is one of Universal's only family-friendly dark rides that relies on sets and robotics instead of screens – a type of attraction the resort could use more of – we hope it sticks around for a long time to come.

Current Standby Wait Time
Closed
Guest Overall Rating
Our Overall Rating
Preschool
Grade School
Teens
Young Adults
Over 30
Seniors
Location
Hollywood in Universal Studios Florida
Duration
8 min
Child Swap?
No
Minimum Height
34 in
Queues
Accessibility
  • Assistive Listening
  • Must Transfer to Standard Wheelchair

Touring Tips

When To Go
Within 30 minutes of ride opening or late afternoon.
Loading Speed
Moderate
Early Park Admission?
No
Wait per 100 People Ahead
5 min

Most preschoolers and grade-school children love E.T. We think it’s worth a 20- to 30-minute wait, but no longer than that. The ride often doesn't open until 10 a.m., and lines build quickly within 30 minutes of opening; waits can reach 2 hours on busy days. Ride in the morning or late afternoon. On peak days, a time-saving single-rider line is occasionally opened.

A mother from Columbus, Ohio, writes about horrendous lines at E.T.:

The line for E.T. took 2 hours! The rest of the family waiting outside thought that we had gone to E.T.'s planet for real.

Other attractions you might like

Users who like E.T. Adventure, generally also like:

Universal Studios Florida

Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon

Islands of Adventure

The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!

Islands of Adventure

Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges

Islands of Adventure

The Cat in the Hat
Wait Times

Here's roughly how many minutes you'll wait for E.T. Adventure at each Universal Studios Florida Crowd Level.

1
9 to 16
2
10 to 21
3
10 to 21
4
10 to 22
5
10 to 26
6
10 to 29
7
12 to 32
8
15 to 35
9
19 to 41
10
24 to 58
Hourly View
Monday,
Oct 23, 2023
View another date
Wait Times for
E.T. Adventure
 
Monday,
October 23, 2023

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