2013 Theme Park Insider Tournament: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man vs. Revenge of the Mummy

March 5, 2013, 11:34 AM · Thrills and theme can live together, and the best theme parks find ways to appeal to heart, mind and physical senses by blending thrills and theme in unique attractions. Universal provides two of the better examples of themed thrills with its Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and Revenge of the Mummy.

Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man opened with Universal's Islands of Adventure in May 1999. Disney had introduced a mash-up of a flight simulator unit on a dark ride track with Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure in 1995, but Universal took that platform a step further by adding 3D projection to the mix. If you think that's only an incremental improvement, let's remember that creating the illusion of 3D is dependent upon maintaining a proper visual focal point for viewers. That's tough enough to do in a stationary movie theater. Now imagine doing that for viewers in a vehicle that's not only moving along a track, but bucking and swaying as it moves, too. The perspective and focal point of the 3D image must shift to accommodate those viewers, then seamlessly transition to pick up viewers from the next vehicle, too. Spider-Man not only accomplishes this, but does so in service of a fun, action-packed story that has won raves from Theme Park Insider readers.

Revenge of the Mummy

Universal debuted Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Florida in May 2004, with an abridged version opening at Universal Studios Hollywood a month later. Themed indoor roller coasters have been around since Disney's Space Mountain debuted in the 1970s, but with Revenge of the Mummy Universal created the most ambitious blend of a roller coaster with an animatronic dark ride to date. Each installation of Revenge of the Mummy differs from the others substantially, with the Florida original involving film series star Brendan Fraser in a sarcastic subplot that "resolves" with a fun twist at the end. In Hollywood's shorter version, Fraser's gone, but good triumphs over the evil Imhotep anyway. It's in Singapore that Revenge of Mummy fully embraces its dark side, allowing the bad guys a rare theme park win.

(I strongly considered matching up Singapore's Revenge of the Mummy against Efteling's Fata Morgana in this year's tournament, creating a battle of rides with unhappy endings. But Florida's Revenge of the Mummy earned its place in the top 16 with so much support from Theme Park Insider readers over the years, and I didn't want to give Mummy two spots in the tournament, so in the end I decided to go with the more popular Florida version and to leave the rarely-rated Fata Morgana out this year, in favor of a more-often-rated attraction.)

Here's an on-ride video of Florida's Revenge of the Mummy, for those who haven't experienced this version of the ride:

And here's a snippet of the new 4K imagery from Universal's 2012 revamp of Spider-Man:

Time to vote!


Undecided? Let's see if some of your fellow readers would like to make the case for their favorite, in the comments.

Tomorrow: Journey to the Center of the Earth vs. Sindbad's Storybook Voyage

Replies (24)

March 5, 2013 at 11:51 AM · We need a both Button…

Both are Great..

March 5, 2013 at 12:33 PM · Both are great attractions...I went for Revenge of the Mummy because it has more re-rideability for me than Spiderman. I love that launch after the backwards section on the Orlando version, and the effects are impressive too.
March 5, 2013 at 12:38 PM · Love both of these rides. Mummy's the best ride at Universal Studios Florida, at least until the expansions kick in. The attraction really grows on me. The first couple of times I rode it, I considered it very good. But with repeat rides, I enjoyed it even more, and now rate it excellent. In most cases I would give it a win. But Spiderman, with the new HD, is just awesome. My girlfriend and I rode it 14 times during our last Universal vacation. A tight vote, but Spiderman's rejuvenated version wins out.
March 5, 2013 at 12:39 PM · I went with Spider-Man on this one. Both are great rides but Spider-Man is just a little bit better all around ride to me. And the new 3D really looks awesome!
March 5, 2013 at 12:49 PM · Ah crap, this is a tough decision. I'm going with Spiderman on this one. While I love both of them, Mummy is too short.
March 5, 2013 at 1:33 PM · I went with the Mummy. My original instinct was to go with Spider-Man since the Mummy is so short, but then I thought about which one I ride more when I'm there and went with the Mummy. But I love both rides.
March 5, 2013 at 1:39 PM · I guess I didn’t experience the best version of each, since I only rode the California’s Mummy and the previous version of Spiderman, but based on what I experienced Spider wins.

I would like to know if the current version of Spiderman is as good as Transformers, since the old one is inferior.

March 5, 2013 at 1:46 PM · I need to ride the Hollywood version of the Mummy again. I remember liking it better since it goes backwards more, but it's been 5 years since I last rode it. I finally got to ride the new version of Spider-Man back in the beginning of February and found it much improved, but I'm looking forward to seeing how different Transformers is.
March 5, 2013 at 2:08 PM · This is a tough one but i went with Revenge of the Mummy. The Mummy won my vote because of it's many surprises,emotions,and elements that you experience during the ride.Don't get me wrong Spider-man has many as well and is an awesome ride. Even though the Revenge of the Mummy is very short combining a roller coaster and a dark ride is just pure genius. (Rating Outstanding)
March 5, 2013 at 2:55 PM · Spidey - best attraction at Universal. Period. Maybe best attraction ever (besides Pirates, of course).

However, I want so badly to vote for Mummy because it is the only coaster in this tournament. Furthermore, it is a great attraction in its own right (my second favorite at Universal Orlando), but The Amazing Spider-Man has been keeping it real since 1963.

Plus, I gotta vote for a little bit of Disney at Universal, don't I?

March 5, 2013 at 4:29 PM · I love the Mummy. Love it. But, in my eyes, Spider-Man is the best dark ride out there currently. So Spidey gets my vote.
March 5, 2013 at 4:31 PM · Both rides are great, but I think the Mummy is a little more thrilling.
March 5, 2013 at 4:41 PM · Good lord this was tough. It took me a while, but eventually, I went with Mummy.

The show scenes are rich in detail, the coaster portion is surprising and fun and the special effects are unparalleled. However, Spider-Man is just as ground breaking, just as rich in detail and just as strong in the special effects department. What helped to give my vote to Mummy is with re-rides. I don't know if its because its a shorter ride than Spider-Man, or if its the coaster portion, but I could ride Mummy 4-5 times in a row, then later on in the day again. But if I'm only at Islands of Adventure for the day, then I'll only ride Spider-Man about twice throughout the day. I don't know if its fair to base on this, but its what helped me decide my vote.

March 5, 2013 at 5:24 PM · Another tough one, but had to go with the Mummy for a reason others have mentioned -- I can ride it over and over again on a visit. With Spidey, I'm good with just one go per trip.
March 5, 2013 at 6:37 PM · Really not a fan of the Mummy so it was an easy choice for me!
March 5, 2013 at 10:16 PM · I haven't been on the Florida version of Revenge of the Mummy or on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. However, based on my experience with California's Mummy and Transformers, as well as POV videos of both attractions and my general preference for coasters, I voted for Mummy.
March 6, 2013 at 2:01 AM · It has to be Revenge of the Mummy everytime for me as it is also one of my fave movies ever. The themeing of the queue is fantastic (as is spiderman), but overall the effects in the Mummy ride outweigh Spiderman. I mean, Spiderman doesn't have a roof made of fire! Plus added bonus, at the end of the ride, you get to see Brenden Fraser on large screen....what's not to like! ;-)
March 6, 2013 at 4:16 AM · Both amazing rides, so hard to choose. But now I'm not allowed anymore to ride coasters because of osteoporoses so I choose Spiderman just because I still can ride him without being afraid to brake some bones.
March 6, 2013 at 4:34 AM · This vote is too close. Spiderman is the 2nd ranked ride on this entire website. It should not only have 60% on a 2 minute coaster that goes backwards a little bit.
March 6, 2013 at 5:10 AM · Can we turn down all the crazy? Spiderman is the best themed ride Universal has ever created (yes I've ridden Transformers and HP) and perhaps the best ever. Lets all just listen to James Rao, he is guiding you to the truth, people.
March 6, 2013 at 8:29 AM · Oh so difficult!
My decision of The Mummy was made based on the following thought:
'Which of these would I throw a hissy fit about if I didnt get to ride it'
That was the bandaged guy :-)
March 6, 2013 at 11:23 AM · Much as I love the Mummy, I had to vote for Spidey, especially in HD. Still one of the most amazing rides ever made.
March 6, 2013 at 1:12 PM · That's right, Anon Poster 94.4.17.86, everyone else can have their silly little reasons for voting one way or the other, but I've got the TRUTH!!!! PWND!!!!!
March 6, 2013 at 1:58 PM · You may HAVE it...but can you HANDLE it?

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