Any Efforts to Document the Final Days of JAWS?

Bairstow

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
haveyoumetmark said:
:cry::cry::cry:

All good things must come to an end I guess. Sad I couldn't be there for the final voyage. :(
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I love the part where the crowd starts singing, "Show me the Way to Go Home".

71jason said:
Agreed. Skipper covered it nicely, "He must be underwater, but I think I got him!"

What struck me the most on my final trip to Amity was the detail in the queue--it's almost as good as Potter's, but it was done 20 years ago. As good as HM or PotC or anything at WDW...I guess the shame is it was never used for anything other than HHN for a decade or so.
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I wouldn't go that far.

The queue was neat, what with all the fishing gear and customized fake news clippings and all, but it wasn't even in the same ballpark as masterpiece queues like Potter, Kali River Rapids, or Tower of Terror.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXP9Htbh1LU
 
c-one

c-one

Well-Known Member
Mousesteps has a nice little Amity retrospective today: http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=734&Itemid=76

Have to admit, even though I didn't like the ride that much, I'm kind of sad to see Jaws and Amity go away. I grew up on Cape Cod, and this park area captured the New England coastal feel perfectly. The architecture and the references were so spot on (other than misspelling "Vineyard Haven" on that sign, anyway). I'm a big Harry Potter fan and the new Diagon Alley is going to be great I'm sure... but I'll miss that sentimental value.
 
Skip

Skip

Well-Known Member
I was on the last "public" boat tour (there was one additional VIP, ticketed boat tour billed as "the final voyage" behind us). Great trip, great skippers, great memories. I truly believe Universal made a big mistake in scrapping this ride... like Kong, they'll never build anything like it again. Shame.

For those of you who are a fan of Halloween Horror Nights, I actually happened to find this on my Facebook news feed a couple days ago. Cool rundown of the history of Jaws's influence on the event, a good read. http://www.horrornightfrights.com/jaws/
 
Skip

Skip

Well-Known Member
ParentsOf4 said:
What was the queue like for the last ride? How difficult was it for you to get onto the last boat?
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We walked into the entrance of the queue (right inside the boathouse) and waited with several other guests literally right past the doors. That way, we'd be guaranteed a spot whenever they decided to close the doors. Around 8:02 they brought security over and asked people to start moving forward - there was quite a lot of people who were trying to do the same thing we were, so no one budged. A plain clothed security guy threatened to dump the queue if people didn't start moving, which naturally was somewhat effective. I had to tie my shoes :)lookaroun) so I was able to hold my position fairly well. I ended up with about 12 people behind me, and from there on it was pretty smooth sailing. When they shut the doors to the queue everyone inside roared (couldn't tell if it was cheers or jeers to be honest) and people outside started snapping pictures like crazy. I know the "Final Voyage" folks were waiting directly outside. The queue moved very quickly, everyone was rather chipper/melancholy all at once. We were loaded into the front row of the final public boat and had a female skipper with reddish hair - she did a fantastic job.

So, all in all, it was a very loving atmosphere (lots of chanting and some crying). Wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be to get on the technical penultimate cruise. I'm glad I did, though, will make for a fun story.
 
pumpkin7

pumpkin7

Well-Known Member
end of an era! so sad it's gone and gutted i haven't ridden in around 3 years. it's such a classic ride, and i can't believe they are replacing it with potter filth...!!
 
Skip

Skip

Well-Known Member
AswaySuller said:
Anyone have any idea who the VIP final voyage was? Would it just be suits or anyone more exciting?
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No suits I don't think. I'm pretty sure the skippers got to chose who was on the voyage, meaning skippers' friends and some super fans. One media group that I know was invited was Orlando Attractions Magazine (they're the ones who posted the video after all), but I think he was a friend of a skipper or someone. The ride wasn't conducted in secret, everyone waited for them to return.

The skipper was fan-favorite "Michael Skipper" whose performance you can see in the video Orlando Attractions posted. (I believe I heard he was voted to do the job by his fellow skippers as well.) Wasn't too much a fan of it, but the VIPs seemed to enjoy it so I'm glad they were happy.
 
Timekeeper

Timekeeper

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I haven't been back so see what - if any - changes have been made to the Amity area. Are there walls up? If so, where?
 
Skip

Skip

Well-Known Member
Timekeeper said:
I haven't been back so see what - if any - changes have been made to the Amity area. Are there walls up? If so, where?
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Walls are up all the way through Amity. Nothing's been demo'd yet. Universal movie posters are placed along the pathway.
 
Timekeeper

Timekeeper

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So then "the shark" is blocked off from photos too...? :cry:

Also, does anyone know if they "penny" machine (that impresses images onto pennies for $0.50) was move to an accessible location? There were 2 Jaws images, but also 2 Simpsons images. :shrug:

And are the shops accessible (like the Oakley store), or did they close down and get blocked off too?
 
Matpez

Matpez

Well-Known Member
Everything is blocked off.
389985_289512367765673_165309580185953_858521_198513466_n.jpg


Pics from: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.289512267765683.81301.165309580185953&type=1
 
cheezbat

cheezbat

Well-Known Member
Yep...everything's blocked off. No Jaws ride, no photo op, no carny games, no shops. The path is all that's open to guests. A sad thing to see...but it sure will be interesting to see what will happen once construction starts.
 
pumpkin7

pumpkin7

Well-Known Member

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