EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Out-of-Towners Miss Earthquake Ride : Universal Studios: But some locals are relieved to find the attraction has been closed since the temblor.

The Earthquake ride at Universal Studios remained closed Saturday, much to the irritation of out-of-town visitors such as Rama Vadgama of London.

“The Earthquake ride is the main attraction. That is why we are here,” said Vadgama, who, with her husband was visiting relatives in California. “Our friends told us that it’s an experience we shouldn’t miss.”

Locals who just came through the big Northridge quake, however, said they were not disappointed in the least that they would not get a chance to sample the simulated temblor. The ride would have ruined their visit.

“I got an earthquake ride less than a week ago. I don’t need that today,” said Robin Brown, 34, of Los Angeles, who was at the park with her three young children Saturday.

The Earthquake ride, which features a trip through a faux subway tunnel, where the ground begins to shake, causing a water main break and the crash of an approaching train, closed immediately after the earthquake hit Monday.

Deborah Humphrey of Thousand Oaks, who has been on the ride many times before, said the ride is nothing like the real thing. “After going through a 6.6 quake, that (ride) is such a fake 8.3 quake,” she said. “They are going to have to jazz it up.”

Park employees said the Earthquake attraction, along with the King Kong ride, are closed indefinitely out of respect for local residents.

“It’s like flying a flag at half staff,” said Joan Bullard, spokeswoman for the theme park. She added that she does not know how long the attractions will remain closed.

A third attraction, the Collapsing Bridge, is also closed, but that one was under repair before the temblor hit. None of the rides suffered serious enough damage to force their closure.

“They don’t want to scare any more guests,” said one employee working at the information center. “The King Kong attraction is closed because he shakes the building, and that is similar to an earthquake.”

It was Carmen Garcia’s second visit to the theme park, but the Arcadia woman was not at all troubled that she missed the Earthquake ride again.

“There is still a lot of aftershocks, and I didn’t want to get caught inside,” said Garcia, 34. “I will not go on any indoor rides.”

Still, some visitors said the decision about whether to ride should have been left to them.

“I don’t know if we are going in if all these attractions are closed,” said Tony Bauchamp, 21, of St. Louis.

“It’s a shame that it’s closed,” agreed Manfred Loschmann, 34, of Austria. “I will come back some day to see it. I heard it’s the number one attraction.”