Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
I have a very clear memory of both attractions, despite your concerns.
Both felt very, for lack of a better term, stagebound. Jaws never felt like anything other than a trip in a tight circle around a loop of water in a theme park. Jungle Cruise, for instance, does a much better job of “losing” the rider in the space of the ride and thus creating a sense of immersion. Kong had this same issue, being obviously a tight loop of track. (In fairness, the same charge can be leveled against neo-Kong and FaF.)
Both had terribly designed ride vehicles that limited guests’ ability to see the action. Riders often caught little more than glimpses of the action that was the meat of the ride. Kong may have been a good AA, but the vehicles weren’t designed to let most riders see that.
The effects never felt organic. The movement of the cars in Kong, for instance, never actually gave the impression that one was being shaken by a giant ape.
And while Kong had a nicely done queue, the line for Jaws was certainly nothing to write home about. And for its many faults, I don’t think anyone can claim Uni hasn’t really upped their themed queue game.
My impression, even among Uni fans, is that, despite nostalgia for the rides, their flawed nature was fairly widely acknowledged. Certainly, Uni was never held up as genuine competition for WDW until both rides were gone or on their way out.
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