Last September, Jurassic Park: The Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood closed for good after 22 years in service to make way for Jurassic World: The Ride. As the name indicates, this ambitious new attraction draws inspiration from Universal’s modern incarnation of the franchise, particularly 2015’s Jurassic World. Some familiar faces were even involved in the creation of the ride. Watch how Steven Spielberg, Chris Pratt and more brought Jurassic World: The Ride to life in the video below.
The first thing that stands out here is how Steven Spielberg views the existence of Jurassic Park: The Ride and now Jurassic World: The Ride. The way he sees it, the ride give this franchise a permanent place in the real world, a tangibility beyond DVDs and merchandise. So when Jurassic World came out in 2015 and was a smash hit, thus revitalizing the franchise, it made sense to update and expand on that.
Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World featured the realization of John Hammond’s dream in Jurassic Park: a fully operational and (temporarily) safe dinosaur theme park. It’s an astounding, magical place, and that naturally led to the thought that some of those ideas and that experience could be replicated in the new attraction at Universal Studios.
In order to do that and to bring the park we saw in Jurassic World to life, the team turned to some of the stars of the film, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and BD Wong. Guests visiting Jurassic World: The Ride will get to see the characters of Owen Grady, Claire Dearing and Dr. Wu as part of a television program on the ride. It sounds akin to how Drs. Grant, Sattler and Malcolm watched the dino DNA video in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
Bringing in the original cast from the film is the kind of thing that adds some authenticity to the ride and gives you greater immersion into the experience having watched the films, allowing you to imagine that you are really at the park. In addition to his appearance as Star-Lord on Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! ride at Disney’s California Adventure and presumably the upcoming Guardians coaster at EPCOT, Chris Pratt is aiming for blockbuster and theme park ubiquity.
While the original cast lends some authenticity and helps put you back into the world of the film, you’re really there to experience what it would be like at a dinosaur theme park, and Jurassic World: The Ride aims to deliver on that front. One of the coolest attractions in the world of the film was the Mosasaurus feeding, and that aquatic dinosaur is part of the ride in what is made to look like a massive aquarium.
And of course because Dr. Wu never bothered to ask whether he should, Jurassic World’s central dinosaur, the hybrid Indominus Rex is also on hand to terrify guests and is brought to life with a highly detailed animatronic.
It looks like the team brought all manner of ingenuity to bear to create this ride, implementing multiple technologies, replicating some of the film’s coolest dinosaurs and bringing back the cast to make for a truly immersive experience. It’s perhaps the closest thing we’ll get to a true dinosaur theme park for the time being, barring a massive scientific breakthrough and gross negligence.
You can find out more information about Jurassic World: The Ride and all of the attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood at UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.
If you’re eager to revisit the dinosaurs on the big screen, Colin Trevorrow returns to direct Jurassic World 3, which is set to hit theaters on June 11, 2021. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see movies arriving a bit sooner.
