Jurassic World VelociCoaster Construction Thread (Opening June 10)

[Scott W.]

Yea, put me in the camp that says there's no way this shouldn't open in 2020.

Yup, with construction under way, 2021 puts it a longer build time than Hagrid which I just can’t see. I can see the track being finished before September. Unlike Bourne which is behind a closed door, this is going to be highly visible and an operations delay makes little sense.

If the Raptor Encounter is being moved to the coaster location, doesn’t this kind of point even more towards the coaster having a raptor theme?

If they want to open the coaster alongside a redo of JPRA, JPRA will need to closer just after the summer period to have it opened again for next summer. It’s too big of a people eater not to.

 

[fryoj]

Yup, with construction under way, 2021 puts it a longer build time than Hagrid which I just can’t see. I can see the track being finished before September. Unlike Bourne which is behind a closed door, this is going to be highly visible and an operations delay makes little sense.

Ehh, September isn't really realistic for having track completed since we've barely seen any footer work. That's assuming what the are doing is even footers for the coaster and not other infrastructure. Even still, footers have to have time to cure. I think traditional concrete footers need 90-ish days to cure before they start putting stress on them. I don't know a lot about the grout system they are using, but I can't imagine that it would be much less than that with all the water in the soil. That puts it almost August before footers poured right now are able to be used. And they aren't even close to being within a month of being done with footers. They are still tearing down existing buildings and trees. Honestly, I don't think they'll be done with track before the end of the year.

 

[Alicia]

Yup, with construction under way, 2021 puts it a longer build time than Hagrid which I just can’t see. I can see the track being finished before September. Unlike Bourne which is behind a closed door, this is going to be highly visible and an operations delay makes little sense.

If the Raptor Encounter is being moved to the coaster location, doesn’t this kind of point even more towards the coaster having a raptor theme?

If they want to open the coaster alongside a redo of JPRA, JPRA will need to closer just after the summer period to have it opened again for next summer. It’s too big of a people eater not to.

Raptor Encounter’s permanent location will be between River Adventure and Pizza Predattoria. Entrance around where the games were.

 

[gabe3235]

Ehh, September isn't really realistic for having track completed since we've barely seen any footer work.

Hagrid started foundations early January, went vertical late March, track installed in late May, and the coasters was completed in early July. Of course these are two different projects with many different factors, but assuming a similar progression here, September is a realistic guess.

 

[RFRees]

They're going to need to drag their feet to open in 2021 instead of 2020. If the entire point was to save money /due to budget cuts (by not needing to open another attraction in that year), I feel like this would be a terrible way of doing that... Sitting on the project partially finished with the contracts artificially extended will raise project cost.

 

[Mad Dog]

Perhaps this very flat first quarter theme park revenue report, combined with two, of the four, flat quarterly reports last year, has something to do with projects being dragged out.

 

[lowbudget]

Just for clarity sake, everyone keeps calling these "footers" these are deep foundations, specifically auger cast piles. There are likely hundreds to go in, and then the pile cap that the actual structural steel members will bolt to have to be formed and poured on top of this. You are likely looking at several months before you can even begin to set steel. And based on the medium diameter steel casing in some of bio's earlier photos I suspect some of these will be over/in water which will take even longer to construct than the ones on the dry side of the site. Late 2020 to early 2021 seems reasonable to me if you anticipate the ride building to have any complexity to it at all.

 

[Teebin]

Just for clarity sake, everyone keeps calling these "footers" these are deep foundations, specifically auger cast piles.

Thanks! I knew what they were doing but I never knew it had a name or what the process was called.

 

[anihilnation]

Yea, put me in the camp that says there's no way this shouldn't open in 2020.

I think coaster for 2020, then close down River Adventure for a long overhaul, to reopen in 2021.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

They are taking so long because they are trying to figure out how to add screenz to the ride. Build a show building or invent new screen technology that looks good in daylight.

 

[Alicia]

Triceratops fossil rock is gone.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Triceratops fossil rock is gone.

Press F for respects.

Just for clarity sake, everyone keeps calling these "footers" these are deep foundations, specifically auger cast piles. There are likely hundreds to go in, and then the pile cap that the actual structural steel members will bolt to have to be formed and poured on top of this. You are likely looking at several months before you can even begin to set steel. And based on the medium diameter steel casing in some of bio's earlier photos I suspect some of these will be over/in water which will take even longer to construct than the ones on the dry side of the site. Late 2020 to early 2021 seems reasonable to me if you anticipate the ride building to have any complexity to it at all.

Thanks for construction info. Sometimes engineering is just long and complex.

 

[Tyc00n96]

Triceratops fossil rock is gone.

Somone has to get a pic of this

 

[Captain Tragedy]

Press F for respects.

F. Pour one out for a real one.

 

[demoncarnotaur]

Triceratops fossil rock is gone.

Hoping they work that back into the park somehow once the makeover is complete.

 

[Andysol]

I find it hard to believe that this is a 2021 addition. It's barely May of 2019, and they're already pouring footers. Most coasters are only a 7-9 month build once the footers start going in - so unless this thing is going to have some crazy theming/show scenes on par with Hagrid I don't see how it's going to take another 24 months to complete. If it does, it'll be a longer build than Hagrid, and they had to demolish two whole roller coasters before they started building that.

Right i just dont understand why this coaster with "light theming" will take this long??O: unless its just a difficult area to build in or something idk.

How in the world could this attraction possibly take another 2 full years? And more importantly, why would Universal want an ugly construction site at the center of their park for that long?

Makes absolutely no sense to me. Sounds like something Disney would pull, rather than the company that got Transformers open in 12 months.

Yea, put me in the camp that says there's no way this shouldn't open in 2020.

They're going to need to drag their feet to open in 2021 instead of 2020. If the entire point was to save money /due to budget cuts (by not needing to open another attraction in that year), I feel like this would be a terrible way of doing that... Sitting on the project partially finished with the contracts artificially extended will raise project cost.

If it goes to 2021, it's for one reason and one reason only. Universal has absolutely nothing else in the pipeline.

Their plan (Which, IMO is a terrible one) is starting to look like:
- Bourne for 2020
- JP for 2021
- Absolutely nothing of substance for 2022
- Fantastic Worlds for 2023 (We hope, it could easily be 2024)

Quite the contrast from 18 months ago when we were real high on what was rumored to be in the pipe. The collapse of the KidZone Redo and SLoP in Shrek's plot really torpedoed our expectations.

Enjoy Hagrid's, as it's going to be amazing and truly special. But after that? I would recommend everyone lower their expectations dramatically and prepare for WDW with everything in their Pipeline + 50th to smack UOR into obscurity until Fantastic Worlds opens.

And because of that, I'd expect management changes in the next 2-3 years; if not sooner.

 

[Magic-Man]

If it goes to 2021, it's for one reason and one reason only. Universal has absolutely nothing else in the pipeline.

Their plan (Which, IMO is a terrible one) is starting to look like:
- Bourne for 2020
- JP for 2021
- Absolutely nothing of substance for 2022
- Fantastic Worlds for 2023 (We hope, it could easily be 2024)

Quite the contrast from 18 months ago when we were real high on what was rumored to be in the pipe. The collapse of the KidZone Redo and SLoP in Shrek's plot really torpedoed our expectations.

Enjoy Hagrid's, as it's going to be amazing and truly special. But after that? I would recommend everyone lower their expectations dramatically and prepare for WDW with everything in their Pipeline + 50th to smack UOR into obscurity until Fantastic Worlds opens.

And because of that, I'd expect management changes in the next 2-3 years; if not sooner.

Oh great, the sky is falling. Talk about an overreaction.

 

[Andysol]

Oh great, the sky is falling. Talk about an overreaction.

They're already starting to delegate things away from Florida where it doesn't have the influence it once did.

If heads roll, I'll be right. Time will tell.

 

[Magic-Man]

They're already starting to delegate things away from Florida where it doesn't have the influence it once did.

If heads roll, I'll be right. Time will tell.

Dude, we're literally getting a two new theme parks from Universal in the next five years and three major expansions in the other parks. Chill. No one is getting fired.

 

[JungleSkip]

"Obscurity"? Come on now.

I'd welcome a change in UOR management as much as anyone, but the idea that Universal is going to revert to pre-Potter status is ludicrous.