Future of Jurassic Park River Adventure

[Jwhee]

The thing is still stationary for the first part of the scene… No way the ride originally opened like that?
The Ultrasaur

 

[belloq87]

No way the ride originally opened like that?

It did not.

I'm not a ride engineer or programmer, but it seems as though the figure's cycle has either slowly slipped out of sync from what it's supposed to be, or it was altered for some reason.

 

[GA-MBIT]

Well, I went looking for some older footage of the Ultrasaur and found some from the early 2000s.







Frankly, it looks the exact same to me. I went a few days ago and the ride is in fine shape, the Hadrosaur is missing but the ride is still fun nonetheless. The animatronics are old. I would love to see what Universal could pull off with a modern budget and tech when it comes to the dinos, but that isn't and never was on the table here.

These are, and always have been, early USF animatronics. Cat in the Hat, ET, Mummy, and Dudley all suffer the same fate. MiB is the one one that I really think has held up over the decades with it's animatronics, and that's even considering that the Bug Fakeout bit is never working.

 

[HandsomePete]

I'm not a ride engineer or programmer, but it seems as though the figure's cycle has either slowly slipped out of sync from what it's supposed to be, or it was altered for some reason.

It’s hard to tell for certain without being on the boat either now or back when the older videos were filmed, but after watching a few more recent ones it appears it has been programmed to avoid going over the ride vehicle path. The neck kink never really straightens out like it used to.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

It’s hard to tell for certain without being on the boat either now or back when the older videos were filmed, but after watching a few more recent ones it appears it has been programmed to avoid going over the ride vehicle path. The neck kink never really straightens out like it used to.

"This head is gonna snap off one of these days, we can't have this falling onto a guest boat"

 

[yankeetrex]

Well, I went looking for some older footage of the Ultrasaur and found some from the early 2000s.







Frankly, it looks the exact same to me. I went a few days ago and the ride is in fine shape, the Hadrosaur is missing but the ride is still fun nonetheless. The animatronics are old. I would love to see what Universal could pull off with a modern budget and tech when it comes to the dinos, but that isn't and never was on the table here.

These are, and always have been, early USF animatronics. Cat in the Hat, ET, Mummy, and Dudley all suffer the same fate. MiB is the one one that I really think has held up over the decades with it's animatronics, and that's even considering that the Bug Fakeout bit is never working.

Look at the last video you posted it shows the head hiding behind the rock, so you almost don't see it as you enter the gate until the neck raises. that's the intended effect. Overall its much more smooth as well.

 

[v0latilebear]

Look at the last video you posted it shows the head hiding behind the rock, so you almost don't see it as you enter the gate until the neck raises. that's the intended effect. Overall its much more smooth as well.

Wasn't there a reason a lot of over guest heads affects were modified? Wasn't it an issue with one of the thunder mountains at Disney?

 

[Jake S]

Wasn't there a reason a lot of over guest heads affects were modified? Wasn't it an issue with one of the thunder mountains at Disney?

This is (I think) the incident you're referring to. I have no idea if that impacted similar effects, though.

 

[yankeetrex]

Wasn't there a reason a lot of over guest heads affects were modified? Wasn't it an issue with one of the thunder mountains at Disney?

I dont think that the Ultrasaur was ever overhead, close but not overhead.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Well we're getting a brand new AAA Jurassic Park game .. so there is still clearly interest in the classic IP.

They really need to overhaul this ride lol

 

[ibanezjp]

I rode this week and can confirm the ultrasaur is back and moving quite well!! As we always say with this ride it’s like fix one thing, another thing goes down. Both Parasaurs missing. Fighting compys we’re fighting over nothing because the shirt fell off on of them. The 1st raptor still chargers but his head stuck up to the left now. 2nd raptor looked the same and terrible as he’s looked last couple years. Dropping Box worked, Dilo’s looked good, and Rexy fantastic as always.

Well, I went looking for some older footage of the Ultrasaur and found some from the early 2000s.







Frankly, it looks the exact same to me. I went a few days ago and the ride is in fine shape, the Hadrosaur is missing but the ride is still fun nonetheless. The animatronics are old. I would love to see what Universal could pull off with a modern budget and tech when it comes to the dinos, but that isn't and never was on the table here.

These are, and always have been, early USF animatronics. Cat in the Hat, ET, Mummy, and Dudley all suffer the same fate. MiB is the one one that I really think has held up over the decades with it's animatronics, and that's even considering that the Bug Fakeout bit is never working.

Things that stand out the most.
Yes, the Ultrasaur mostly looks the same.
However, baby stego moves so much faster and fluid, compys look more real and don’t have those rubbery bouncing tails they have now, and both the raptors look glorious to their current state with moving Arms and Heads. Not sure why they took away the strobe light on the 2nd one, it would definitely help now.

 

[belloq87]

This is not 100% relevant to the River Adventure, but I didn't readily find a general JP thread, so it's going here:

Jurassic Park Baby Triceratops Encounter Goes Extinct at Universal Islands of Adventure - WDW News Today

The baby triceratops encounter in Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure has permanently closed.

universalparksnewstoday.com

Not a fan of these kinds of experiences going away. As I've always maintained, the land needs more dinosaurs (of any kind: statue, puppet, animatronic), not fewer.

 

[Jake S]

Not a fan of these kinds of experiences going away. As I've always maintained, the land needs more dinosaurs (of any kind: statue, puppet, animatronic), not fewer.

And these are executed to absolute perfection in Japan. Would love to see more of the "walking" dinosaurs they have in Osaka show up in Orlando.

 

[Brian G.]

As I've always maintained, the land needs more dinosaurs (of any kind: statue, puppet, animatronic), not fewer.

100% agree here. It needs to feel alive and lived in.

 

[Stonecoldfreak1]

This is not 100% relevant to the River Adventure, but I didn't readily find a general JP thread, so it's going here:

Jurassic Park Baby Triceratops Encounter Goes Extinct at Universal Islands of Adventure - WDW News Today

The baby triceratops encounter in Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure has permanently closed.

universalparksnewstoday.com

Not a fan of these kinds of experiences going away. As I've always maintained, the land needs more dinosaurs (of any kind: statue, puppet, animatronic), not fewer.

This Orlando park really hates triceratops, huh?

 

[Rhian]

Of all the things that doesn't sit well as a response from Universal (from the article linked)...

No official reason was given for the triceratops meet and greet ending, but rumors suggest it could be to cut costs on staffing and maintaining the puppet.

At the very least isn't that exactly the kind of thing most guests expect the entry fee to cover?

On one of my more recent visits I had completely forgotten this was a thing until I passed it. It was cool to see and I was happy Universal still had it going. It's one of those "Disney Moments" done in Universal fashion that cements memories.

Welp. :/

 

[Brian G.]

Of all the things that doesn't sit well as a response from Universal (from the article linked)...



At the very least isn't that exactly the kind of thing most guests expect the entry fee to cover?

On one of my more recent visits I had completely forgotten this was a thing until I passed it. It was cool to see and I was happy Universal still had it going. It's one of those "Disney Moments" done in Universal fashion that cements memories.

Welp. :/

To clarify… the article isn’t saying that there was an actual “official” response - just that nothing has been stated by any official source.

 

[DodgsonHere]

To clarify… the article isn’t saying that there was an actual “official” response - just that nothing has been stated by any official source.

If there’s no official response, how do we know for sure it’s officially discontinued?

 

[Brian G.]

If there’s no official response, how do we know for sure it’s officially discontinued?

Correct.

That said, it’s probably true; but as of now - they are the only site reporting.

 

[Rhian]

To clarify… the article isn’t saying that there was an actual “official” response - just that nothing has been stated by any official source.

You're right, though like @DodgsonHere mentioned the article did imply finality, so maybe that's why it also sounded official.

I hope it's not a case where they're working on fixing some parts of the park like this ride while trimming off other experiences. It reminds me of the few years leading into Potter's first opening except here we're before EU opens (I want to note only the similarity a bit and the parks are much better condition now still to be clear).

I hope it's not like they think the raptor encounter is enough, or maybe it's just a temporary holiday pause. Maybe getting River Adventure fixed is a monkey's paw kind of thing lol