Universal Orlando Resort's newest attraction, the highly anticipated Jurassic World Velocicoaster doesn't officially open until June. However, the attraction is now in the middle of "technical rehearsal" which means that, while the theme park resort doesn't promise all guests will be able to ride it, the coaster is basically open for business. And that means a lot of people have been able to experience what is apparently a quite impressive thrill ride, and its equally impressive queue, which includes a velociraptor paddock that looks incredible.
Universal Orlando dropped a brief video on Instagram which shows one of creatures that you'll walk past while waiting in line to ride the Jurassic World Velocicoaster. As seen in Jurassic World, it's a velociraptor that is being held in place and muzzled, but the animated character looks incredibly lifelike. Much like the dinosaurs in the movie, one get the impression that this thing really doesn't want to be locked up, and if you get to close it might take your hand off. Playing it safe and not petting the dinosaur is probably the right call.
It's a simple animated effect but the dinosaurs look amazing and it's the sort of thing that helps build the theme of the entire attraction. The space where we all get in lines in order to get on the ride are overlooked by most guests, simply a means to an end, but for something like a roller coaster, where actual storytelling on the ride can be difficult because everything moves so fast and is over so quickly, the queue room is vital to the complete experience.
Universal Orlando Resort has been hyping up all aspects of the Velocicoaster and based on the early reaction to the attraction, the hype has been entirely justified. I have yet to see a single negative response to the Velocicoaster among those who have actually ridden it, and the majority are calling it one of the best roller coasters they've ever ridden. Not bad for a ride that the theme park spent months pretending didn't exist.
The strong buzz coming from Velocicoaster is especially impressive considering that Universal Orlando Resort's last big addition, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, was also a roller coaster, and while the attraction had a rough launch, it's now also seen as an incredibly impressive roller coaster. I think it's one of the best in the area. Universal Orlando isn't exactly a "roller coaster park" in the way that many amusement parks try to be, but it's clearly making up for the quantity with quality.
And while the Velocicoaster has been running in only a soft opening sort of way, it seems to be running pretty smoothly. It doesn't appear this coaster is going to have the launch issues that Hagrid's did. Velocicoaster officially opens at Islands of Adventure on June 10.
