Universal's Jurassic Park Problem

A few corrections: MarcM143 pointed out that I called the Jurassic Park Ford Explorer a Jeep. A few other people have corrected me on the Beasaur as well. It's not a real dinosaur but is instead meant to be a play on words, as in "Be-a-Saur". The exhibit used to be interactive and allow you to control the creature to a limited extent.

I grew up going to universal Hollywood and I still think the car falling off the roof scene is one of the most mind blowing effects ever in a ride. I’m so glad I got to experience it before it was decommissioned.

If Universal Studios Japan can do a major restoration project of their Jurassic Park River Adventure, hopefully so can Islands of Adventure’s version.

Fun fact: I actually used to work at this ride. It's so sad to see it in the state it is now, but admittedly, it wasn't that much better off when I was working there. I spent almost two years at this ride, and it still blows my mind just how much Universal doesn't take care of some of its attractions. The "pig raptor" as I called her (the electrified raptor) has never worked as long as I have seen her. The falling raptor cage only works sometimes. The taco's faces look like they're falling off.. and that pretty first lady you see? I still remember when he new was literally ripped open. I also worked there when (not this year, but a few years ago), the splash-down river filled was filled with mud for days, and for some reason they were still letting us load guests onto the ride. They insisted that the water "wasn't dirty and just needed to be cycled through with the boats." It was BROWN. Even with the addition of Velocicoaster, this area has been falling apart for so long now. I even remember moving to Florida and going on this ride for the very first time in 2013 (how time flies) and being disappointed that it wasn't as good as California's River Adventure. And that was BEFORE California updated.

I actually prefer for IoA to keep the River Adventure as being Jurassic Park themed. That way there's a reason to visit both versions, much like how the two Mummy rides are different. Also, I don't really think the Hollywood version is an upgrade. Unless you consider more screens and a floating Indominus Rex an upgrade.

This reminds me of the last time i rode Islands of Adventure’s version of the ride, about a year ago. Right before we got to the final drop, we stopped in place at the giant T-Rex animatronic. This lasted until the Dino stopped in its place and seemingly shut itself off, like it suddenly lost its will to live. Everybody started cheering saying “we killed the dinosaurs!” and the ride didn’t get back working for a good two minutes.

I liked the original Hollywood version of "Jurassic Park" The ending was suspenseful with the computer voice lady counting down the seconds before life support systems will fail and the big Trex hidden by a 40 foot waterfall. New riders didn't know the Rex behind it would surprise them.

Glad I was born in 1990, I've been able to enjoy all of our amusement parks when they were in their prime. No full parks at Disney or ridiculous ticket prices, everything worked at Universal, and the King Kong and Jaws rides were still there

I really loved that in the first Jurassic World movie there was this abandoned site of the old park where it was almost completely shattered by dinosaurs and time, maybe they can rebrand this whole attraction (or even the park) as a retro abandoned Jurassic Park where you are free to explore the river but naive at the presence of dinosaurs. Idk, for me it would be really cool to explore that abandoned park that the movie briefly showed

Camp Jurassic is one of the coolest features in any theme park ever. Finding the underground caverns and hidden features as a kid was so fun and it really deserves more recognition

Personally, I would want it to stay Jurassic Park and just get a referb and maybe some new additions. Not only do I like Jurassic Park more than World, but I also like the idea that the Orlando park and the California park have different things to see.

Sad to see the degradation through the years. I'll always remember going on this ride with my Dad and little brother in 2004, my Dad saying there was "no big falls" to get me to go on it. That final fall scared the hell out of me as a kid, but I'll always remember it ending in me with a huge smile laughing at how fun it was with my Dad, as my little brother cried hysterically lol.

I visited Universal Studios Japan just a few weeks ago, and 2 things stood out to me that I hadn’t experienced at any other Universal park. One, the attention to detail of the Jurassic Park land and upkeep of the attractions was second to none, and two, I found it absolutely hilarious that the ride safely video that plays in the queue and loading area of River Adventure was the EXACT same version from when it opened - that of a white guy in full Jurassic Park ranger uniform giving the entire speech in Japanese and recorded on a camera from 2001. It’s so hilariously retro that it has a special of adorable charm about it which I couldn’t help but giggle at every time it played😁

It’s so heartbreaking. I love this ride and Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies. The rest of the land is amazing and I’d rather not see it fully converted to Jurassic World.

Being an LA native that went to USH a lot over the last 20 years, it's clear to me why the Mosasaurus screens replaced the Ultrasaurus animatronics. The Ultras looked great when I first saw them back in 2002, but by the time Universal was getting ready for the Jurassic World retheme, the Ultras necks moved incredibly slow and they were showing their age from years of being in the water and getting rained on. I heard from a friend who worked at USH that the Ultras break down a lot faster than the other dino animatronics because of the machinery to make their necks move, and that was part of the reason (along with the Mosa being one of the big moments of JW the movie) why they were removed entirely. Had they kept the Ultras, they would have looked just as creaky and broken down ten years from now as they did in 2018. It's funny because I hate the Jurassic World movies, but the ride is fantastic. They even added a B-mode to the Indominus Rex animatronic if the boat has to stop before the big drop. If the boat stops, the I-Rex stops roaring and starts sniffing around for the boat, because in the movie it only detects prey when it is moving. That's some smart ride design.

You’d swear with how poorly the animatronics operate nowadays that they haven’t seen maintenance since the ride first opened. Definitely a shame since this ride IMO is a staple of the park and always something I look forward to going on. Hopefully they give it some TLC in the near future.

It’s such a pity that it hasn’t been refurbished. I rode it with my family last December (no wait time at all mind you, nobody else was riding it!) and even with the issues it was STILL one of the coolest ride experiences there is. It deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as Pirates of the Caribbean and The Forbidden Journey, at least in my opinion.

the first scene has been like that for months! the ultrasarus hasn't been in there in a while

Dude, the Jurassic park section is literally my favourite place in the parks. more people need to give it more love

Some cool things about this land I didn't hear mentioned. When you are walking around the land you will hear dinosaurs moving around as well. I have hear large dinosaurs thuding around and around the camp jurassic area you can hear raptors running, hissing, can sometimes calling to each other. It actually scared my niece when we're were in the back of the play area alone so I turned it into a game of "running away from the raptors" which she ended up loving and talked about all week Also with the raptor hatching/adoption thing if you bring back your adoption certificate they will give you an update on how your raptor is doing. We don't live in Florida so we only got an update after a week, but I wonder how long they have updates for