Unfortunately for all the kids who grew up hoping, there is currently no way to see living dinosaurs in real life. So in lieu of that, the Jurassic Park movies and the rides based on them provide pretty good alternatives (although natural history museums are good too). The best Jurassic Park rides to this point have been the ones at Universal Studios' theme parks. Now, Universal Studios Hollywood is getting a brand new Dino attraction as Jurassic Park-The Ride evolves into an all-new Jurassic World ride, coming in 2019.
As the film franchise evolves with the Jurassic World series, so too must the rides in order to stay fresh and relevant. When the new Jurassic World Ride opens sometime next year, it will pay homage to Jurassic Park while reimagining the film franchise for guests, using newer, advanced technology for a more immersive experience as you encounter brand new dinosaurs. But this new ride coming means the old one going, so like the dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom facing an erupting volcano, extinction is nigh for Jurassic Park-The Ride. The attraction will be closing on September 3, 2018 to allow for construction to begin on the new ride. Other than its aim to be a new state of the art ride like its predecessor was when it debuted, there aren't too many details yet as to what we can expect from this new ride.
Universal Studios Hollywood's Jurassic Park - The Ride has been immersing guests in the film since 1996. This ride is very similar to its counterpart Jurassic Park River Adventure in Universal Studios Orlando's Islands of Adventure, which has not been scheduled for this evolution, although I imagine it isn't too far off. Both of these are log flume type rides, taking you through the gates of the park on a riverboat to face a place where man is not at the top of the food chain. The ride takes you through scenes reminiscent of the iconic 1993 film, spraying you with water before soaking you completely with an 84-foot drop.
It is unclear at this time whether or not the new Jurassic World Ride will also be a water ride with different scenes and dinosaurs from the newer films, or how different it will be from its predecessor. Jurassic World provided some fun and interesting set pieces that perhaps the new ride can take inspiration from and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom looks like it will also have great ride inspiration potential. And while Jurassic Park-The Ride is surely a blast, a 20-year-old ride could certainly benefit from advances in modern technology. Dinosaurs and the rides based on them should never become stale and this evolution will ensure that doesn't happen.
This is just the latest in Universal's upgrades to its theme parks. Both the Hollywood and Orlando parks just added a ride based on one of Universal's other huge franchises with the Fast & Furious: Supercharged ride and there are rumors that a Nintendo theme park could be on its way. You'll have to wait until 2019 to experience the new Jurassic World Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood, but that doesn't mean you have to be dinosaur free until then. The next chapter in the franchise, the scary and fun-looking Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hits theaters on June 22nd.
