This past weekend, my husband and I decided we needed a little fun and should go on a date. We hadn’t been to an amusement park in months and wanted to enjoy the summer weather and get on some rides. Since we live in Los Angeles, where attractions and fun is seemingly endless, we chose to go to Universal Studios: Hollywood, where we haven’t been in over a year.

One of the rides we’ve been dying to go on since we saw commercials for it was Transformers: The Ride-3D. My husband grew up watching Transformers and one of our first dates when we were dating was to see the first Transformers movie. Seeing that there was a 3D ride got us pumped, and it did not disappoint.

First off, this isn’t your average roller coaster. You’re not just on a track going from point A to point B screaming the whole time. And it’s not just a show or experience, but a combination of the two. When we’ve watched the movies, we both imagined being in Sam Witwicky’s (the main character of the Transformers movie) shoes, helping the Autobots save the world from the Decepticons. We got a look into that possibility.

While standing in line, there’s screens showing what’s going on and giving us a mission.

Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, tells everyone in line, “Humans, you are in grave danger. The Decepticons have taken over. We need your help!” When Optimus Prime recruits you, you don’t say no.

The line to the ride isn’t just a regular line, zigzagging your way through until you get to the car. Instead, you’re going through the Nonbiological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty (N.E.S.T.) headquarters, and you’re not just roller coaster riders, but recruits in orientation. There’s a welcome message from General Morshower, and we meet our Autobot partner Evac, as we’re briefed on our mission to protect the All-Spark from the Decepticons. Evac seems to be a newer Transformers character, since my husband didn’t know about him. I was expecting Bumblebee, but he came along a little later. Having a mission like this made us feel like we weren’t in line for a ride, but really getting ready to save the world.

When it was time for us to get on the ride, we were pumped. With an intro like we just had, we were excited to see what kind of adventure we were getting into. Instead of a plain roller coaster cart, 12 riders (or recruits) got into our Autobot Evac, and the journey began. The All-Spark is stolen, and it’s our job to get it back.

When they say high speed roller coaster, they were serious. We got up to 60 mph while dodging Decepticons, running from Megatron, trying to help Optimus Prime, and keep the All-Spark safe. The ride really was in 3D, with us feeling like Megatron was really going to tear us apart. We were ducking and dodging, while Evac was zipping and spinning 360 degrees. It really felt like we were in the movie’s action scenes on the streets. We didn’t realize these 3D images were projected on screens; it was so realistic. Usually you remember you have on 3D glasses. Not on this ride. Those glasses were our protective eyewear from all the mayhem going on in front of us.

When the ride ended, our mission was accomplished. My husband and I were pumped, like we actually saved the world or something. We truly got to be in Transformers, and we were talking about all the amazing things we saw, how realistic it felt, and the possible things we may have missed that we’ll catch the next time we ride it. It was unlike anything we’ve ever rode before. Blending a ride, with a movie, with an experience, Transformers accomplished all its goals, and set the bar super high for future themed rides.

My husband was upset that the Back to the Future ride was traded for The Simpsons ride, but he said Transformers is now his new favorite ride because he became a part of it. It’s my favorite too! We can’t wait to ride it again.