Why You Need to Experience Jurassic Park: The Ride Before it’s Extinct

If you’ve ever been to Universal Studios Hollywood, you’ve probably already enjoyed sinking your teeth into the nail-biting log flume experience Jurassic Park: The Ride  that celebrates the original Jurassic Park, which director Steven Spielberg himself couldn’t even finish at the opening in 1996 (although there was no “running and screaming” reported).

However, after 22 years, the ride will finally be closing down on September 3 this year, and an official “Countdown to Extinction” has begun. But don’t worry, as it’s not actually going extinct. After all, with new sequels now tearing up the box office every few years, it wouldn’t make much sense. The ride will instead undergo a “reboot” based on the 2015 mega-hit Jurassic World.

Naturally, though, there are many fans and park-goers who aren’t happy about this change, but everything must evolve sooner or later. Not only that, but the filmmakers have done an incredible job of rebranding the franchise with Jurassic World, even if it can be argued that they’ve basically slapped it back on the same plastic lunchbox and re-sold it.

So what is it about this ride that people have come to love so much? And are there any obvious signs of fossilisation that justify the makeover? To those unfamiliar, the ride sees you board a riverboat (on a fixed track) which takes you on a whistle-stop tour of Jurassic Park. First, you pass through those iconic gates and into a lush watery environment teeming with stegosaurs, hadrosaurs and sauropods.

However, things soon take a terrifying turn when your boat ascends into a dark and chaotic facility where dinosaurs have escaped. Inside, brace yourself as a screeching raptor appears overhead, as well as a startlingly-realistic T-Rex that belts out an almighty roar, before you make an 84-foot plunge back into the river below.

One of the most impressive things about this ride are the audio-animatronics. That said, while the herbivores are both graceful and awe-inspiring, it would be a lie to say they look as good as the predators. They’re certainly impressive, though, but it’s the velociraptor and the T-Rex that are almost as convincing as they are in the 1993 classic.

Then there’s the sheer attention to detail. Just before your riverboat docks, keep your eyes open as you can see the ill-fated Dennis Nedry’s iconic Barbasol Shaving Cream canister on the riverside near a pair of hungry dilophosaurs (don’t worry – much like the ones you see before you enter the facility, these ones spit only water and not blinding venom).

The same can be said about the surrounding area. The fine prehistoric artwork on the wall in the Jurassic Café is reminiscent of the restaurant scene in the original movie, and the life-sized spinosaur near the ride’s drop and the velociraptor outside Jurassic Park-themed store Jurassic Outfitters are no less convincing than the ride’s predators (except they don’t move - so there's no need for you to do the same).

Jurassic Park: The Ride is a nostalgic river journey that ingeniously mirrors the 1993 movie not just aesthetically, but tonally, as it’s one of both wonder and horror. In short, it’s quite literally a trip down memory lane. That said, there's no denying that it needs a big lick of paint and a face lift, and the herbivores some major modifications. Sadly, they're a little too robotic, so here's to hoping that they'll get an upgrade, too.

Fans and park-goers alike needn’t worry about the new “Jurassic World Ride”, because if the movie is anything to go by, it’s likely to be as good, if not more fast-paced and thrilling. Meanwhile, make sure you experience Jurassic Park: The Ride one last time. And remember - evolution is always a better option than extinction!