Back to the Future: The Ride

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Back to the Future: The Ride was a simulator ride based on the film trilogy by Universal Studios.

You and seven other people have offered to volunteer at the Institute of Future Technology for Dr. Emmett Brown's time travel experiment in his new eight-passenger DeLorean. The original plan was to send the eight of you one day in the future. Doc contacts you through his hover-cam, as he is back in the year 2015 -- presumably a few hours before Doc and Marty showed up in Part II of the films. He knows that, somehow, Biff has gone missing from the year 1955 - but has no idea of where or when he is.

Shortly after Doc returns to the present we learn that when some of Doc's time travel assistants were working on a time travel experiment in 1955, Biff managed to stow away to the future. Doc tries to stop Biff -- but, unfortunately for him, Biff has managed to trap him into his own office.

As Doc is unable to leave his office, he decides to enlist his eight volunteers (of which you are one) to capture Biff and stop him by bumping into the car that Biff is in. He is able to use his remote control, though, to guide you along. Biff makes his first stop in October 25 of 2015, as he leads you on a chase through Hill Valley -- causing you to crash into some signs. Biff then goes back by about a million years, during one of the ice ages. He tries to stop you by breaking the ice pieces -- and manages to succeed, momentarily. Finally, Biff goes back by a few more million years, during the time of the dinosaurs. Biff tries to sic the dinosaurs on you, but it manages to backfire on him. The same dinosaur than swallows the car that you're in, but then spits you back out. Biff is now pleading for you and Doc to rescue him. Finally, you manage to bump Biff -- which brings both cars back to the present.

Also shown during the lobby monitor are two short films:

  • "Doc on the March" shows the journey's of Doc throughout time. First, he witnesses a speech given by Thomas Edison -- and even gets a signed light bulb from him. Then he goes to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where he witness the first flight of brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright. He then shows up for Albert Einstein's speech on the theory of relativity -- and even brings his dog, named after the scientist, along. Then he shows up at a press conference for Richard Nixon's inauguration speech, and looks tempted to change history. Finally, he shows up for The Beatles' first appearance in the United States and takes a picture of them.
  • "Doc Brown: The Inventive Years" shows some of Doc's early inventions. First, there is a quick shot of a toaster where you put in toast on one side -- and then it comes out the other side. Then we see a failed invention. Then we see the flap jack maker that can make 300 pancakes an hour, but the experimental sawdust batter kept it from being a success. Then we see the canine cafeteria, where pet owner can fill up a dog's food dish -- and then close it, until feeding time. Then we see the static-o-matic -- which causes the hair to stand up on end, to make for easier cutting. Doc reveals that he's been using it for years, and proudly shows off his hair. Finally, we see the bronze gun, which can turn various items to bronze.
Tropes used in Back to the Future: The Ride include:
  • Excellent Adventure: In "Doc on the March", Doc was visiting various historical moments throughout time -- and gets to meet the historical people.
  • Never the Selves Shall Meet: Doc warns the audience to not communicate with their other selves.
  • Portal to the Past: Doc's sub-ether hover-cam allows him to directly communicate with people from another time period.
  • Retraux: "Doc on the March" was done in the style of an old newsreel, with Doc inserted into various footage Forrest Gump style. See him get an autograph from Thomas Edison! Watch him get a photo of The Beatles! Witness him resisting the urge to bump off Richard Nixon!
  • Temporal Sickness: Doc suggests that travelling more than one day into the future can be hard on your system.
  • Terminator Twosome: Doc send his volunteers back (and forward) in time to prevent Biff from messing up the timeline.
  • Time Travel for Fun and Profit: Biff attempts to use time travel for this, as his older self did in Part II of the film series. Admittedly, this may also be the motive of Doc and his time travel associates at the IFT -- but they are just more cautious about it.
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