Universal's Jurassic Park Problem

foreign this summer Universal has been promoting the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park which includes re-releasing the film in theaters and debuting a series of product lines that celebrate the milestone naturally Universal brought this promotion to their Parks as well and in Universal Studios Florida this Summer's tribute store is a course focused on the anniversary of the film the first room of the story is dedicated to the pre-production phase including a number of elements such as conceptual sketches and models of what would later become animatronics and puppets for the film one corner of the room is dedicated to the CGI team and the other is for the sculpture Department including an Easter egg that references the original clay animatic when the film was originally intended to use top motion for the dinosaurs moving to the next room which is themed as a studio set you'll find a few props from the film and display cases a bit forward you'll spot a recreation of the kitchen scene from the film if you've been in the Jurassic World Tribute store from 2021 it does appear that this is one of the Velociraptors that appeared there but has just been repainted turning to your right you'll spot the dock sign in a Dilophosaurus and adjacent to this a T-Rex in the collapsed bathroom scene using a cool rain projection to help set the atmosphere moving into the Next Room you'll spot a velociraptor emerging out from power cables and the adjacent hallway features a mini version of the Jurassic Park Gateway finally in the last room and checkout area you'll be able to see retro merchandise toys and other memorabilia related to the film and various display cases as well as a setup with an old playset featuring a T-Rex just outside of the store is a sick Triceratops a prop gifted to Give Kids the World by Universal but now refurbished and brought back temporarily to the park for the sake of the store the store itself is also very well themed atmospheric and interesting to walk through as most tribute stores are but it really got me thinking about the state of Jurassic Park in Florida the land itself in Islands of Adventure is one of the worst to maintained areas of the park and it's once signature attraction the Jurassic Park River Adventure seems to literally be falling apart with many of its major effects no longer working it's in a shockingly bad State and so today I want to dive into Universal's most problematic land highlighting its many issues discussing what could be done to completely restore it into something much more exciting and interesting [Music] [Music] as a quick favor before we begin if you haven't done so already you can help this video reach a wider audience by just simply hitting the like button [Music] let me first start with a question if you're visiting Islands of Adventure today do you think of Jurassic Park as a major reason to visit other than the velocity coaster probably not but when the Park first opened the River Adventure was definitely the signature attraction that also dominated the marketing I think this makes sense as the film permeated the cultural Zeitgeist of the 90s pretty heavily and Jurassic parked the ride which opened at Universal Hollywood in 1996 was obviously a Smash Hit the ride was originally intended to be placed in Universal Studios Florida where Men In Black sits today but needing a massive attraction and land to Anchor their new park it was decided that it made more sense for islands and it even had a pot of land set aside for future expansion which is unfortunately where reign of Kong sits today still the land itself contains a number of interesting attractions so let's go through what it has to offer and highlight its problems on approaching from the north side of the park visitors will first walk through the iconic Jurassic Park Arch which did actually have a counterpart on the other side until Kong was built just past this is the first themed location the watering hole which serves soft drinks beer and Cocktails the path then splits either allowing you to travel further in or directing you to the veloci coaster if you take the path down to the Lagoon into the Vasa coaster you'll find yourself in a courtyard flying to buy both the coaster and the Discovery Center while the velocity coaster is technically part of the land of Jurassic Park despite its Jurassic world theming I do very much think of it as its own isolated experience that being said we'll come back to this attraction later back to the splitting pathway moving further into the land will lead to a photo op with a Jurassic Park Jeep and the spinosaurus which I'm glad has still managed to stick around because I do enjoy Jurassic Park 3 ironically just ahead will be another entrance to the Discovery Center which leads to its upstairs portion containing a restaurant called Burger digs and a shop titled Dino store the store itself is obviously full of Jurassic Park merchandise and has a few fun thematic elements located in it as well the rest of this four is dedicated to seating for the restaurant and includes large prints of prehistoric life which is a thematic detail but I think that a lot of part goers Miss there are also doors that lead to seating on an outside balcony allowing great views of the Lagoon and the veloci coaster if you head back inside into the Rotunda you'll be able to look down on skeletons that decorate the space and a Stairway will lead to the first floor here you'll find additional shopping which was added with the opening of the veloci coaster but otherwise this area is a series of Jurassic Park themed interactive exhibits with a somewhat educational aspect to them this includes trivia the DNA sequencers which teaches about genetic manipulation and a fossil wall that allows guests to use an interactive panel to scan different skeletons and provides facts about their respective species on the opposite side of the building are Recreations of a few different prehistoric species including a Stegosaurus a brachiosaurus and a base sore I think it's also worth mentioning that this is usually a quieter darker area of the park and is a nice atmospheric place to spend some time to get out of the sun even if you don't interact with any of the exhibits the final offering in the Discovery Center is another interactive exhibit that allows you to check on Nursery eggs behind this you can see a lab where Discovery Center scientists will come out every 20 minutes or so which exists as a standing show of sorts there they will Hachi Raptor from an egg and visitors would be able to name an adopt one getting a certificate of adoption in the process moving out of the Discovery Center and back to the pathway visitors will pass by a series of dinosaur themes Midway games as well as pizza predatoria with an amusing sign showing two copies fighting over a slice next the velocir coaster Paddock will be located on the left and on the right the Jurassic world themed Raptor encounter will take up its own thematic slice of the land as well allowing visitors to meet a velociraptor and a pretty unique encounter just ahead will be the entrance to the Jurassic Park River Adventure which I'll discuss the issues with later but continuing ahead you'll also see his exit shop Jurassic Outfitters which is worth walking into because it has some decent theming as well across from the shop will be Camp Jurassic which I think may be one of the most underrated attractions across Universal Parks it's a massive area meant for exploring themed to Amber mines full of winding Caverns themed buildings and a maze of rope Bridges slides climbing challenges and water elements that are great for anyone who wants to run around even if it is aimed towards children while it's difficult to experience because there's a height limit and can only ride it if you have a small child with you Cam Jurassic does contain Pteranodon Flyers which is a small coaster that circles the space again this is a highly underrated area of the park and is easily one the most elaborate explorable playgrounds I've ever seen exiting Camp Jurassic and finding yourself at the edge of Jurassic Park you can look to your right and see one last dining location Thunder Falls Terrace which I've heard has good barbecue but isn't a place I've tried myself at the very least I do like the theming inside if you move just off the path or behind Thunder Falls you'll also be able to see the massive River Adventure Show building as well as Riders plunging down the drop which is an interesting kinetic element that builds anticipation for the ride otherwise though Jurassic Park ends abruptly with one last photo op of a T-Rex in a different Jurassic Park Jeep transitioning poorly to reign of Kong which again takes up what was previously expansion space for the land while I wouldn't consider Jurassic Park poorly themed I will say that's probably the least visually interesting area of the park the Landscaping is really well done and allowing you to feel immersed in a jungle in certain thematic elements in the Discovery Center in Camp Jurassic are interesting but this land otherwise feels quite disjointed now with the velocity coaster Paddock and Raptor encounter existing right in the middle [Music] foreign so thematically Jurassic Park could do with a little more consistency but to get to that I think I first need to highlight the massive issues with the River Adventure the queue itself is rather unremarkable so I don't feel the need to discuss it but on first entering the vehicle Riders will travel up a small lift and drop into a Bend there the beginning of the Jurassic Park theme will play and a narrator will invite Riders back to the prehistoric world and two Jurassic Park the gates will open to the iconic Melody revealing the impressively large ultrasaur Lagoon and a lone Ultra sore itself lifting its neck up from the water and towering over the boat continuing slowly forward Riders can look to the left and see two satakosaurs grazing on the grass and drinking from the Lagoon as the boat passes them it moves through a rock structure with waterfalls on the side transitioning to stegosaur Springs up ahead a juvenile stegosaurus is standing on a rock shelf and Riders will be surprised as a geyser erupts on the left misting the boat as it falls on the right a mother stegosaurus is purposefully placed in the foliage in such a way as two surprise Riders it will Splash or spiked's tail in the water as Riders pass by traveling a bit further a parasaurolophus emerges from the water and sprays a mist from its nostrils and on the right a water effect splashes the boat and causes it to tremble as another Parasaurolophus jumps up and Roars in protest as if caught under the vehicle knocking it off course to the left the narrator begins to introduce Riders to hydrosaur Cove but the boat drifts into the Raptor containment area which was never successfully incorporated into the tour pushes to the right shift as if Velociraptors are moving through them and alarms are heard blaring as it becomes apparent that the Raptors manage to escape their enclosure to the left you can see a crashed rescue boat and two copies fighting over a Jurassic Park staff shirt as Riders round the bend a velociraptor transfer cage shakes above as its inhabitant can be heard protesting and once the boat approaches the cage perilously Falls stopping right before impact entering the water treatment plant Riders will begin moving up a lift Hill as more warnings play out over TV screens and speakers near the top writers will see their first Velociraptor as it runs towards the track but gets caught in the May Gold electric fence cresting the hill another Raptor can be seen on the left having broken into weight control booth and the boat falls down a short drop on the right a scratching sound is heard as the JP logo is slashed by a large claw and a Dilophosaurus appears as a desert chattering suddenly two more ambushed the boat and spit acid at Riders achieved through a water effect just ahead much of the water treatment plant is destroyed and Loud footsteps can be heard of the darkness going up a slight incline a massive T-Rex suddenly appears and Roars ferociously ready to attack the boat as it leans down Rogers suddenly plummet done an 85-foot drop and splashed down into the water below before then rounding a bend and returning to the station the River Adventure is certainly an incredible ride and it's easy to see how it was the signature attraction of the park when it opened in 1999. however it's not easy taking care of such large figures and placing them outside is a maintenance nightmare exposing them to the harsh Florida elements obviously a lot of time and money is needed to maintain them but it seems that with each annual refurbishment the ride somehow continues to get worse with this year somehow resulting in its most egregious state yet while this has been a recurring issue for probably a decade at this point I must point out that the doors at the start are often stuck open ruining the impact of reviewing the ultrasaur Lagoon it does seem to work every other time I ride it though so at the very least it seems like Universal is making an effort however at the time of making this video the ultrasaur Lagoon is well missing its Ultra sore literally replaced with a box covered in Jungle netting while I'm assuming that Universal is likely working on a fix for it the box has been here for months and the figure has been in rough shape for years anyways often just barely managing to move continuing on only one of the cicada sores appears to move which isn't a huge deal by itself but does only add to my negative impression about the state of the ride oddly enough the stegosaurus scene always seems to work consistently well but the first Parasaurolophus is currently absent and the second is stuck above the water sitting there until the boat gets close enough and the effects triggers continuing into the Raptor Paddock the copies while currently moving are unfortunately static half the time and on moving up the lift Hill the Raptor at the electric fence is stuck in place no longer running up to the fence finally the dilophosaurus often work fine but are showing their age with their Frills often not raising and the T-Rex continues to look worse and worse often having stiff movements or occasionally even just sitting there and not moving on the drop the point of highlighting all of this is that this is one of Universal's best attractions and is literally falling apart and is in desperate need of a massive refurbishment that fixes its issues long term but Universal won't do it because it's just simply not the draw that it once was outshined by The Wizarding World and the velocir coaster making any significant investment a waste of resources still there's an outstanding ride underneath all the failing effects and I think this solution to fixing this is pretty obvious I wouldn't consider myself a fan of the Jurassic world franchise and I vastly prefer the first two Jurassic Park films still I cannot deny that Universal has created some incredible Jurassic world themed attractions over the past few years I don't need to tell you that the velocir coaster is one of the best coasters in Florida and that the Jurassic World adventure in Beijing is one of the most ambitious dark rides I've ever seen well not perfect the re-theming of Jurassic Park the ride into Jurassic World the ride in Universal Hollywood has been quite successful as well and that is obviously the solution to Bringing New Life To The River Adventure I know that a lot of people don't like this idea because well it's Jurassic world but as someone who cares for the attraction quality over attraction IEP I can tell you that I vastly prefer this version of the attraction because it adds more than it took away and keeps the spirit of the original intact that being said there has been Fair criticism directed towards it and so I think it's worth going through discussing what elements were replaced and how well they would work in a re-theme of the River Adventure it starts as you expect moving up a small lift Hill and dropping into a Bend this particular fossil wall has a mosasaurus skeleton and the narration invites you inside its enclosure previously this Bend was just green metal walls with Planters and an overhead trellis so I would say that this is an improvement as before the gates would open and reveal a scene this time to the Jurassic World theme and the boat travels through the mosasaurus enclosure which is obviously achieved through screens as the prehistoric creature moves around it will cause water to Splash out and onto the boat and towards the end it will crack the glass leading to an interesting effect where water appears to be leaking from the screen in the previous version the reveal was also the ultrasaur Lagoon and in my opinion was a more impressive scene than the River Adventure since it contained two well I don't think that the mosasaurus scene is bad by any means especially since the water sprays help sell the immersion I do understand why it feels like the attraction lost something because screens will never replace real sets it also detracts from the pacing of the ride because it greatly shortens the herbivore sections which feel inconsequential now moving past this the ride continues as normal through a rock feature and into stegosaur Springs which appears largely unchanged in this scene you also encounter a parasaurolophus which was still present in the previous version as well however the context has now changed while the copies fighting over a popcorn box and a crashed boat leading to hydrosaur Cove having been removed the new version of the scene intentionally leads you to the Predator enclosures one implies that this is a safe and normal part of the tour still the mosasaurus really throws off the pacing because you only see three herbivores the entire ride and it would have greatly benefited from either keeping the ultra sores or at least adding a few more creatures to stegosaur Springs moving into the Predator exhibits there's a moving brush effect to the Raptor Paddock and on the left a damaged gyrosphere is setting next to two copies fighting over a hat this new scene also shows Riders the damaged doors of the indominus Rex enclosure which also has a moving brush effect to indicate that it's moving while camouflaged when this was Jurassic Park there was an effect for the falling Jeep but it never seemed to work continuing on into the Tyrannosaurus Kingdom you'll pass through a tunnel with educational banners but on your left a massive animatronic of the indominus's head is stalking the boat through the bushes previously this scene was equipment in an ambush from dilophosaurs but I still consider the indominus and Improvement heading up the lift Hill little has changed other than videos of Owen Grady up above and the collapsing ceiling with the Velociraptor is still present crossing the hill I think that the reveal of the Tyrannosaurus kingdom is much more impressive and the dilophosaurus does make its return the scene where the T-Rex previously launched at the boat from above is now the indominus and past this another spitting Dilophosaurus is present blue then runs up from the dark and calls to the indominus trying to lure it out into the open as the boat continues the indominus then emerges getting ready to attack Riders as they slowly approach as the boat passes underneath the T-Rex emerges from the dark and the indominus turns to fight it and the boat then plunges down the trough overall I would say that this is a huge improvement from what was there previously adding an interesting and Atmospheric set in quite a few additional animatronics keeping the T-Rex mostly the same and re-contextualizing the scene to have it fight the indominus is a fun change as well so could the River Adventure successfully take on this rethane I would say that's an easy yes but I would definitely change the mosasaurus scene I would either shorten it by half and use the rest of the ultra soil Lagoon to introduce more herbivores and improve the pacing or I would remove the screens completely adding in a physical mosasaurus animatronic behind a water retaining wall that emerges in a way similar to the Jaws figure otherwise I think that with the larger layout of the River Adventure all of the Jurassic world effects would fit just fine and a few additional animatronics or effects could be added as well I'm unsure of how true this is but I've heard that in addition to the new figures many of the old animatronics were completely rebuilt and that does certainly seem plausible to restore the river adventure's popularity and give its animatronics the rebuilds that they need I think that a Jurassic world retheme is exactly the way to go especially because I do think it's actually an improvement on the original version of the ride and would be in Florida as well thank you [Music] so why hasn't the River Adventure been re-themed to Jurassic World that's difficult to say but I've seen a few different rumors floating around online ranging from the idea that it was in the plans but the park opted for the velocity coaster instead to some sort of contract with Steven Spielberg requiring Jurassic Park to exist as the largest land and Islands therefore rendering any rethium impossible I mean who really knows what the situation actually is but still I wish that the park would commit to completely re-theming the land to Jurassic World as someone who is interested in cohesive theming the current state of Jurassic Park with the veloci coaster and the Raptor encounter existing through the middle of it doesn't actually bother me as Islands of Adventure is very much intended to be a kitchen sink Park when you approach the Lagoon from just about anywhere the lands are purposefully designed to contrast with one another and invite you in which is why I don't think that the velocity coaster sitting adjacent to Jurassic Park is a thematic issue still I do think they're completely re-theming the land to Jurassic world in conjunction with overhauling the River Adventure would make for a new and exciting refresh of an aging portion of the park I don't even think that it would be particularly difficult as the majority of work would just require putting in new concrete Pathways and adding new props throughout the land the biggest issues with re-theming would be with Camp Jurassic and the Discovery Center but since this version of Jurassic Park is different from the one in the movie why not create an alternative Jurassic world as well I don't think that retheming the Discovery Center would require tearing the building down and erecting a Jurassic world equivalent instead just opting for an interior refurb and a few sign changes likewise various other buildings would mostly just be repainted in fact this seems like something that could easily be done in phases as the River Adventure goes down for a length Theory theme which would tie everything together into a completely refreshed experience but still allow people to pass through the land on their way through the park it's disappointing to me that Poseidon's Fury closed so recently leaving the Lost consonant to exist as an empty shell but given the choice between the two I think that the Park's priority should be a complete re-them of Jurassic Park and the River Adventure the River Adventure itself is on the verge of falling apart and so I think that this is a much more important project with better returns for the park over a land that was mostly something that people just simply pass through anyways so if you've stuck with me until the end I would be interested to know what you think about a complete re-themed to Jurassic world and if you haven't done so already you can go ahead and hit the like button as always if you like videos like these but have not yet hit the Subscribe button with bell notification you can do so to be alerted to new videos as they release [Music]

Channel: Poseidon Entertainment

Views: 582,901

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Id: l1BfeBa4XS8

Length: 25min 52sec (1552 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 17 2023