- "Time, the ever-flowing river. Come with us now to a time before man when the river flowed through a new-born world and giants walked the earth. Welcome to Jurassic Park."
- —The welcoming narration([[|src]])
Jurassic Park: The Ride, was a Jurassic Park water ride at Universal Studios Hollywood (Not to be confused with the one in Orlando). It was known for the almost 26 meter (85 feet) plunge near the end of the ride.
A water ride with the same name is present at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan. Universal Studios Singapore has a similar ride called Jurassic Park: Rapids Adventure which opened in 2010. There is also another one called Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal's Islands of Adventure located in Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. The ride is now Jurassic World the ride.
Ride Through
The concept was that Jurassic Park opened as planned; the river adventure was an actual attraction in the park itself. It began as the boat rose against an elevation, followed by a small plunge. Then the boat went through the Jurassic Park Gate.
Ultrasaur Lagoon
In the Ultrasaur Lagoon, the visitors encountered a large adult Ultrasaurus and its young. Two Psittacosaurus could be seen in the Lagoon.
Stegosaur Springs
The boat went through a cave. The next area was Stegosaur Spring, this part of the park was volcanic (like Stegosaur South in the novel). On both sides of the river stood a Stegosaurus: one of them a baby and the other its mother.
Hadrosaur Cove
The raft begins heading toward a part of the park known as Hadrosaur Cove. A duck-billed Parasaurolophus, serving as the ride's overarching antagonist, bumps the raft, causing it to begin drifting into the Raptor Containment Area.
Raptor Containment Area
The Raptor Containment Area, a section of the adventure that (according to voiceovers on the ride) had never successfully been integrated into the rest of the park. "Unauthorized Entry," said a female voice over the intercom. The raft passed by a replica of the Raptor Pen from the film, and riders heard snarling Velociraptor in the dense foliage while branches moved to simulate the creatures attempting to escape from their confines. A small hole was torn in the fence. Turning a corner, riders saw a boat that appeared to be in a state of disrepair with a Dilophosaurus chewing on the remains of the passengers. The boat headed toward the pump station where riders see a Velociraptor run into a dark corner. On a wall next to the riders a Jurassic Park car nearly fell on the guests, implying that a Tyrannosaurus is stalking them.
Water Treatment Facility
As the raft moved towards the Water Treatment Plant, two Dilophosaurus jumped up on both sides of the boat, spitting their poisonous venom (actually water) at the passengers. The riders began to slowly head up a hill into the large building in silence. The riders entered a dark tunnel with several mock red lights on the ceiling. Several Velociraptors jumped out of tangles of piping at the guests. A raptor was seen tearing up a control panel. As the raft follows an 180 degree turn, the snout of a T.rex broke through the roof, spilling water on the boat. "Attention, this is an emergency. Toxic gases are present in this area. Life support is imminent...Life support systems will terminate in 15 seconds...10, 9, 8, 7, 6," says a female voice over the intercom. The Tyrannosaurus's full body appeared in front of the riders, roaring and growling very loudly, to distract them from the 85 ft plunge below. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1," and as the T. rex bends its head down to roar and attempt to eat the riders, the raft plunged down almost 26 meters (85 feet) at a 54 degree angle. The fate of the rex was unknown, although it possiby could have died along with the other carnivores due to the toxic gases suffocating them.
Videos
Gallery
Construction and opening
See more: Jurassic Park: The Ride (Hollywood)/Construction
Steven Spielberg told CNN: "I had the idea to do a ride even before we shot the movie," producer Spielberg explained. "Universal trusted us and they said OK. And 18 months before the film was in release, the ride was already on the drawing board".
Those drawing boards were used as props in scenes in the movie. In the Lunch Scene in the film (near the beginning), there is concept art of the ride.
As Phil Hettema of Universal Studios Hollywood's attraction development department said, "Deciding to do 'Jurassic Park: the Ride' was, as they say, a no-brainer. We knew everybody would want to see this come to life. But, making it come to life really was the challenge. When Steven Spielberg made the movie, he kind of raised the bar on what people expect".
The production costs of this ride were ~$110 million Dollars; which is almost twice as expensive as the movie ($63 million).
The reproductions of creatures seen in the movie were only one of the hurdles to creating a theme park that meets Universal criteria. "You have to understand that these are full-size animals," Spielberg said of the park's creatures. The movie was able to cheat a little by using computer-generated images, which gave the animals a fuller range of motion than life-size models. But, Spielberg said, "These I think -- in my opinion -- are the most realistic animatronic actors I have ever seen perform in any of the theme parks of the world".[1]
Leviathans of another type were also employed on the corner of the Universal Studios Hollywood site, where miles of computer cable, vast water pumping and filtration systems, hydraulic controllers for the dinosaurs, and lots of old-fashioned hard work went into making the ride a reality.
On June 21, 1996 (3 years after the movie's release) the Ride was opened. Steven Spielberg and Jeff Goldblum lid the fires of the Jurassic Park Gate in front of the attraction.
Steven Spielberg signed his name in cement to commemorate the occasion (see below).
The first group of people who rode the river adventure were cast members (Jeff Goldblum, Ariana Richards, and Joseph Mazzello) from the movie series it was based on. Steven Spielberg also attended, but asked to be taken off before the 80 foot drop due to acrophobia.
Steven Spielberg said about The Ride: "You want to take your 3-year-old on the first 30 percent of it, then you want to leave your 15-year-old at home for the rest."
Dinosaurs encountered
- Ultrasaurus
- Psittacosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Compsognathus
- Velociraptor
- Dilophosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus rex
Merchandise
For a complete list, see Jurassic Park: The Ride merchandise.
Trivia
- In the lunch scene in the first Jurassic Park near the beginning, there is concept art of the ride.
- Before the 85 feet plunge, the female in the intercom said the life support systems would terminate in 15 seconds. Although, she counted back from 10 with not even a second. However, this could be easily explained by the fact that she already took up several seconds warning the passengers of the termination.
- At the end of the ride on the left side where the Dilophosaurus appeared spitting water (which was supposed to be the venom) you could see the barbossal can full of the 15 embryos.
- This was the first ride based on both the film and novel Jurassic Park.
Differences to Florida Universal's Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Both Universal's Islands Of Adventure and Universal Studios Hollywood have two raptors, but appear in two different ways. The ones at Hollywood appeared from the wiring and ceiling while in Orlando one appears from a cage to the left and another appears from a security chamber.
- In Orlando, the second raptor is followed by three giant claw marks that appear on the right hand wall.
- In the Hollywood version two Dilophosaurus appeared at the right and left hand sides of the riders before they entered the pump station. While in the Universal's Islands of Adventure version there are three which pop up before the T. rex appears in front of the riders.
- The Hollywood version featured two Ultrasaurs when guests entered the gates.
- This version featured the large Tyrannosaurus head before the guest reaches the end, which roared and shook above the riders.
- Two Compsognathus showed up before the Raptor Containment Area showed up, they were seen fighting over a popcorn bucket, while the ones in Orlando fight over a warden's shirt on CP-25 inside of the Containment Area.
- In Orlando, there are only two Psittacosauruses instead of three.
- General dinosaur color scheme and aesthetic differences.
See also
External links
- Official Site (Singapore)
- Official Site (Orlando)
- Official Site (Hollywood)
- JP Legacy Jeep Safari Concepts
- Halloween Horror Nights Vault
- opening