USA TODAY International Edition
Fallon: New ride is ‘ love letter to New York’
It’s not every day that someone gets to star in and be the focus of a theme park ride. In fact, except for fictional characters such as Harry Potter and King Kong, it virtually never happens. But The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon is the unlikely inspiration and star of Race Through New York, a simulator attraction that opened at Universal Studios Florida on April 6. Audience members get to compete against the comedian in a raucous showdown that sends them to iconic places in the city.
Fallon moved his TV show to Orlando for a week to help celebrate the new ride. He chatted with USA TODAY about his new attraction.
Q Where does your fascination with theme parks come from? What are some early memories?
A I grew up about four hours away from The Great Escape in Lake George, N. Y., and we used to go there. I loved the roller coasters. I love the idea of theme parks, because everyone is there to have fun.
It’s like the movie Vacation. Whether you like it or not, we’re going to have fun!
Q I was surprised to learn that you actually pitched the idea to Universal about doing a ride years ago, when you were on Late Night and before the parks were part of NBC.
A They politely told me no. I said “Well, maybe I’ll check back in.” They said, “Don’t even check in. We’re good. If you ever need park tickets, go call somebody else.” I figured I’d never see them again. Then we graduated and got The Tonight Show, and I got a call ( from Universal). They said “Remember pitching us that idea about the ride? We want to make it.” And I got goosebumps and got right to work.
Q What role did you play in developing the attraction?
A I worked on it with my two writers for three and a half years. They said no to nothing and yes to everything right down to the pizza smell ( that is piped in as part of the ride’s 4- D sensory effects). I wanted it to be a love letter to New York so people could see how great the city is.
Q You play yourself, but you have many other roles in the ride as well.
A You’ll bang into 10 different characters. I play a cab driver, a construction worker, and a 15- year- old girl named Sara with no “h,” because the letter is ew!
Q The ride is intense, but not like the roller coasters you grew up with.
A You won’t get sick on it. You feel like you’re actually cruising in the safest way, but there are a couple of wild moments. When you freefall, you feel it. There’s butterflies. All ages can do it. ( The minimum height is 40 inches.)
Q How does it feel to have your own ride? AI can’t even describe the feeling right now, because I’m just very lucky. I’m a comedian from Saugerties, N. Y., who was very psyched to be able to pay his rent. That’s all I wanted to do, you know? And now I’m hosting The Tonight Show, and that’s more than enough. To have my own ride, it really makes no sense. It’s something that’s beyond my dreams.
Q What do you think of theme parks as a form of entertainment?
A It’s all about having fun. On my ride alone, there is singing, dancing, a giant stuffed panda and there are interactive tables for you to send thank- you notes. They thought of everything.
Q What was it like filming the sequences?
A It took about two weeks. I had these little ( motion capture) dots on my face and what looked like little ping pong balls. I was actually sitting in a really crappy cart on what might’ve been an office chair.
Then they said, “Hey, we have to do the safety precautions.” We had to make that fun. We solved that. The Roots rap the safety precautions.
The last time I was here, I was wearing a hard hat, and it was a construction site. I said, “Oh my gosh. You’re going to make it look like 30 Rock?” Now, there’s a ( Tonight Show) museum. You see ( original host) Steve Allen, who would be so proud to be alive for this. Hopefully, the families of Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Johnny Carson get to experience this. ... ( Jay Leno visited April 13.)
Q What was your experience like the first time you rode Race Through New York?
A I got chills. I got a little emotional. It’s so realistic. Just hearing the stage manager saying, “OK, get the cue cards ready.” I felt like I was really at work. That’s when I got butterflies. The ride wasn’t even moving at that point.