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Twister

Twister at Universal Studios is one of the attractions that’s more experience than ride, but it was very well done. As you stand in line you’re treated to video interviews about the history of the film, how it was made, some stories from behind-the-scenes about some real tornados that happened near where the film was made, and stories about real storm chasers.

I didn’t know, for example, that the movie creators essentially destroyed 12 city blocks of a real town that had been hit by a tornado years before to make the movie.

You then enter a movie set of a small-town scene. There’s a gas station and a diner, and then the storm starts. The rain comes and the wind builds up. The lightning strikes the power lines creating sparks that start real fires. The gas station has a real explosion and the heat that hits you is very real – it makes you take a step back for sure.

Living in Kansas and having experienced tornados, the only detail they didn’t manage to create was that feeling in the air right before one hits. It doesn’t get windy. It gets still – very still – and the sky turns greenish.

But, perhaps that feeling isn’t possible to recreate on a stage. It was still very good!

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