Jurassic Park: The Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood to be re-themed to Jurassic World.... What does this mean for Orlando?

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I've heard that, but any specifics? Like how it was known that Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure was going to be themed around that before it was officially announced.

Discussion about the JP coaster project here:

And a look at inside info on the coaster from the same source that was one of the first authorities on what the Hagrid coaster became (and was right on about 95% of it from a very early date):


-Rob
 

UpAllNight

Well-Known Member
I’d like this to stay as park with a unique revamp....but I’d love to see a similar area refresh in Orlando. Any chance/Room they can squeeze in a flat too? Always felt like the area didn’t quite live up to potential...needs more life & things happening.
 

MouseMelly

Well-Known Member
Gonna be there in just over a week. I’m torn if I wanna watch the videos or not, haha. But I know I have two little boys that will be so excited!
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
This looks pretty good. I do hope that it remains a Hollywood exclusive though. Fix IoA's ride up a bit, but leave it as Jurassic Park.

I'd like to see ours remain JP as well, but it really needs a major overhaul, and I'm afraid a retheme is the only way that's happening.

Most of the changes they made here are for the worse IMO. I do want that new finale though, just with a spino instead of an I-rex. And no Chris Pratt.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
The aquarium screens at the beginning are kind of cool, but, although the animatronics in the original scene were... lacking, the giant gate opening to reveal the big lagoon was pretty neat. It gave the ride a sense of grand scale that is typically not found in Universal attractions. The area between the hydrosaur and the lift hill being completely devoid of any animatronics or visual action seems like a step back. But the new interior scene looks really great.
 
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Movielover

Well-Known Member
Seems like they took all the "urgency" and pacing out of the ride. The indoor section just seem to kind of plod along. Maybe the missing effects will fix this.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
The aquarium screens at the beginning are kind of cool, but, although the animatronics in the original scene were... lacking, the giant gate opening to reveal the big lagoon was pretty neat. The area between the hydrosaur and the lift hill being completely devoid of any animatronics or visual action seems like a step back. But the new interior scene looks really great.

I feel the same way.

But I will also say that outdoor dino AAs simply don't look good. There's a reason why Ford's Magic Skyway, Countdown to Extinction, Universe of Energy etc are all dark rides. The darkness partially obscures the creatures and the controlled lighting makes their skin look less like plastic. In broad daylight, with limited movement, they look really phony...even in 2019 after a good refurb. The ones that come out from the water fare a little better, though. That's why the indoor and screen sections work a lot better. Not that I'm advocating more screens at Universal, but that aquarium opening is one of their better efforts.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Seems like they took all the "urgency" and pacing out of the ride. The indoor section just seem to kind of plod along. Maybe the missing effects will fix this.
The absence of blaring alarms and flashing lights seems to remove a lot of the tension. Although Hollywood's version didn't have alarms before the lift like the IOA version does.
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
I'm not sold on the mosasaur scene. There's some nice interactivity with the water, but it doesn't look very convincing. The mosasaur apparently "breaks" the glass, but the glass would have to be at least a hundred feet thick to make him look that small and far way as he does it. The way it transitions is also a bit awkward. How tall is the tank supposed to be? Because you're not underwater... and then you are... and then you're not. o_O This could've been a decent scene in a different ride, but it feels shoehorned in here and shouldn't have replaced the original opening scene, which was much more cinematic. I would've just given the ultrasaurs an upgrade. As the centerpieces of the scene, they were lacking, but everything else was fine. Can they at least ship them here, since we only have one for no apparent reason? :cautious:

The raptor (and now I-rex) containment area is my biggest concern. It's trying to set up the story for the remainder of the ride, but it feels so dead without any kinetic visuals or effects. The area where the boat used to be, in particular, is bizarrely empty. What's with the gratuitous blood splatters? Did they let John Murdy redesign this thing?

The dinosaur that knocks your boat off course looks much better than ours. I've never seen it spurting water out of its nose before. Is that new?

As I mentioned before, an altered version of the new finale is really the only thing I'd want making it into our JPRA. It's a nice plussing of what was there before with multiple AAs, and maybe if they replaced our finale, they could finally add the overhead dinosaur head we've always been missing for no apparent reason. Just leave everything else alone, beyond sprucing it up and upgrading the AAs.

I don't know what their plans are, with regards to potentially retheming IOA's JP to JW, but I think it would be a pretty big mistake in the long term. Considering we have an entire land that would require retheming, and not just a ride, the longevity of the property is a much bigger concern, as they'd be replacing the classic JP theme with its relatively flash-in-the-pan successor. What are they going to do when people still remember JP but not JW? I think there's potential for our ride to benefit from some of these changes to Hollywood's, and maybe the new restaurant as well, but they should be kept distinct.
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Does the Florida version have as long indoor section ? My memory is of going up the lift hill and almost immediately down again.

I agree that the tension starts too early, alarms while slowly plodding up a lift hill feels a bit off.
 

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