ORLANDO, Fla. — Universal Orlando is being sued by a ride manufacturer that says it's owed millions of dollars for work it did on the attraction Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon and that the theme park company is using its intellectual property without permission.


What You Need To Know

  • Lawsuit filed against Universal Orlando over Jimmy Fallon ride

  • Ride maker Dynamic Motion Rides says Universal owes $5M in unpaid invoices

  • Parties disagreed on a number of things during ride's development, suit says

​In the lawsuit filed last month, Austria-based Dynamic Motion Rides GMBH (referred to as Dymorides in the suit) alleges Universal still owes it $5 million in “unpaid invoices with interest.”

The dispute stems from what the suit says is Universal’s “unauthorized use of Dymorides’ intellectual property related to a motion system” on the Race Through New York attraction, which debuted at Universal Studios Florida in 2017.

Dymorides and Universal disagreed on a number of things during the ride’s development, including design changes, according to the 64-page lawsuit.

“Universal embarked upon a pattern of significant changes without providing the proper written notices to Dymorides as required by the MPA (master purchase agreement),” the lawsuit says.

The suit also alleges that Universal failed to properly staff the project with enough Universal engineers and that there was a “profound lack of communication” between Universal engineers and the Universal creative team.

Universal terminated its agreement with DymoRides and contracted another company, Utah-based Petersen Inc., to work on the project, according to the lawsuit.

“When the attraction opened to the public in April 2017, Petersen took public credit for the development and construction of the attraction which employs DymoRides’ IP to this day,” the lawsuit says.

Dymorides says Universal’s ongoing use of its IP without payment or authorization is a breach of the agreement.

As of this story's publication time, Universal had not responded to Spectrum News's request for comment.

Race Through New York is a 3D motion simulator attraction that takes riders through different parts New York City. The ride and its queue is themed after NBC’s Tonight Show, which stars Jimmy Fallon.

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