{"id":290389,"date":"2026-05-30T20:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/290389\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T20:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:42:12","slug":"the-deep-dark-history-of-universals-r-rated-attraction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/290389\/","title":{"rendered":"The Deep Dark History of Universal’s R-Rated Attraction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the Jaws segment was introduced to the original studio\u2019s Tram Tour five decades ago, Universal\u2019s theme parks have consistently featured IP and attractions that would be a bit too risque for other theme parks like Disney. In fact, over the years, Universal Orlando has featured attractions based on R-rated material, from seasonal Halloween Horror Nights houses<\/a> to permanent attractions like T2:3D<\/a> and the Psycho House.<\/p>\n

\"\"Universal Studios Florida<\/p>\n

What\u2019s that? You don\u2019t remember the days when the foreboding home immortalized in the infamous Alfred Hitchcock film (and, notably for this discussion, its sequels) was located at Universal Studios Florida? Well, sit back \u2014 or perhaps more thematically appropriately on the edge of your seat \u2014 to learn why it was there, where it was located, and the\u2026 surprising replacement that currently sits in its former home.<\/p>\n

The facades of the main sets from Psycho \u2014 the Bates Motel and the Bates Mansion have long been part of the aforementioned Tram Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood, so it\u2019s unsurprising that Universal decided to install a version of the set at the Florida park near the original Hard Rock Cafe.<\/a> However, when the park opened on July 7th, 1990<\/a>, the sets were even more of an attraction than Universal had anticipated.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Psycho sets<\/p>\n

You see, the sets were used to film Psycho IV: The Beginning (yes, there were 4 Psycho films made between 1960 and 1990, just in case you thought that sequels and franchises were solely the purview of modern Hollywood), which was supposed to be completed before the park opened. However, due to both construction and production delays, filming lasted until July, so guests who visited Universal Studios Florida during the park\u2019s first month were actually able to see the film being made.<\/p>\n

\"\"Universal<\/p>\n

Following the completion of Psycho IV\u2019s production, both of the Psycho sets remained part of the park, with the latter serving as the setting for the Psycho Path Maze haunted house for several years during the early days of Halloween Horror Nights.<\/p>\n

They also served as a thematic complement to the Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies attraction, which was located in the Production Central area of the park. That attraction \u2013 part-3-D film, part live-action show featured recreations of several sequences from the director\u2019s films, including the shower scene from Psycho in the main show with narration by Norman Bates actor Anthony Perkins.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hitchcock props on display in the lobby of the Horror Makeup Show.<\/p>\n

The pair of Psycho sets both stood until 1995, when the Bates Motel was torn down to be replaced by A Day in the Park with Barney (yes, really). The Bates Mansion held out a bit longer, closing in 1998 to make way for Curious George Goes to Town (once again, yes, really).<\/p>\n

\"\"Barney<\/p>\n

Both the Barney show and the Curious George play area were folded into the larger Woody Woodpecker\u2019s KidZone area, meaning that the former stomping grounds of R-rated film icon Norman Bates became the KID-FRIENDLY AREA OF THE PARK. That sounds like the setup of a horror movie if we ever heard one.<\/p>\n

\"\"Curious George Sign<\/p>\n

Of course, the KidZone was closed in 2024 for a major makeover into the park\u2019s current kid-friendly area, DreamWorks Land.<\/p>\n

\"\"Shrek\u2019s Swamp<\/p>\n

When Universal Studios Florida opened back in 1990, the park was home to real, screen-used sets of the iconic Bates Mansion and Bates Motel from the Psycho franchise\u2026 right in the area where Universal\u2019s kid-friendly lands currently sit! Stay tuned to AllEars for more tidbits on Universal history.<\/p>\n

This Universal Announcement Could Be a Game Changer for Islands of Adventure<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do you remember the Psycho sets at Universal? Let us know in the comments below. <\/p>\n

Post a Comment <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since the Jaws segment was introduced to the original studio\u2019s Tram Tour five decades ago, Universal\u2019s theme parks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-290389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}