Predator Cove
First off; kudos to Universal for taking Guest feedback to heart and doing something with this area. For the most part, I think this area is working well enough now to help set the scene for future events. The Gyrosphere gag is fun but I think if you think too hard about the scene, some questions come up. We pass a sign that says "Gyrosphere Raptor Lookout Point" meaning the small plot of land to our left is immediately accessible from the Gyrophere attraction (likely via the large doors just behind it). That said and that being the case, they need to add some railing between the "lookout" and the boat flume. Because given the nature of how Gyrospheres are user-controlled, there is absolutely nothing stopping the driver from rolling right into the water after coming through the door. Seems like a safety nightmare waiting to happen if the park were functioning fully. I could complain about how there isn't much "Raptor activity" to be on the lookout for (Gyrosphere or boat-wise) because the 1993 Raptor enclosure doesn't allow for distant viewing, but we are in a park that literally does something similar with the Studio Tour and it's "behind the scenes" sets. I imagine this boat ride and Gyrosphere to be experiencing something similar.
The LED screens were hit or miss during our day. They were a little hard to read in the sunlight. Perhaps some awnings placed just above them would better help them read in the California sun. I don't think it would break theme. These screens are supposed to be playing facts for us on a normal boat ride through here so it would make sense that Jurassic World would want them as visible as possible to riders.
Let's talk Indominus. In the film, the Indominus is sort of "everywhere and nowhere" at the same time. I've read some complaints from other sites that the carnage, destruction and movement of the animal through this area doesn't quite make sense. I disagree and think it works well enough because that's kind of what she's always done in the film and shows. I think it's important to remember that these creatures are breaking out before we enter the Predator Cove area. Which means there's time for the Indominus to break out, devour the poor Gyrosphere riders, screw up Predator Cove/the entrance to T-Rex Kingdom and find itself watching us as we're pulled into the finale. I've also heard some folks say that the Indominus' placement just to our left before the lift doesn't make sense. I argue it only doesn't if you're applying your "real world" theme park knowledge to the scene. Of course we as frequent theme park goers know what that space looks like behind the scenes. But for story purposes, we actually don't know how the rest of the Indominus enclosure connects to, or otherwise interacts with the rest of the T-Rex Kingdom show building. We see the trees moving inside the Indominus enclosure as we pass by it's doors, meaning the creature is likely heading "''round back" to cause some damage. She's simply made her way to a backstage area she's not supposed to be in by the time we're entering T-Rex Kingdom and can't quite get to us, yet.
T-Rex Kingdom
So, I think this scene is great, overall. The damage to the monitors and entrance tunnel communicate to us that something has definitely gone wrong in here and I actually really like the music this scene uses throughout. There is a lot of tension built here. The word I would use for the music is "powerful". This brings me back to that original sense of "powerless-ness" I think is established in the Aquarium scene. We're just sort of being dragged along, feeling small, knowing we're entering the proverbial lion's den with nothing we can do but cross our fingers and pray for a way out.
Again, I want to address some other complaints I've heard about this scene. Some folks seem to think that the Rex has free roam of this area and that she would just be eating up Guests even if the containment hadn't failed simply because they don't "see" anything to stop her from doing so. I want to point out that we don't actually know what kind of security measures Jurassic World has in place to keep the Rex away from the boats. Lots of Zoos do their best to try and hide units that deter animals from entering a certain area or keep them contained. Because T-Rex Kingdom is our intended destination from the start, we simply have to assume as riders that this area was safe enough for us to view the Rex from a far before all the security failings. I am fine with that and I buy into it. All these animals running amuck in this scene aren't doing so because they've always been able to. It's chaos at this point and these animals wouldn't normally be doing this.
Anyways, I really like the music and the way the lighting clicks on to reveal the drop into the jungle. The Dilophosaurus' are fun and feel at home here causing chaos. The Blue animatronic is nice. On a side note, I wonder if Owen Grady's line where he says "If you can hear me, I've sent help. Keep an eye out for Blue." is meant to be interpreted as "human help is on the way, watch out for my raptor" or if Blue is quite literally, the help that Owen sends? Blue does confront the Indominus in the film and she does sort of call at her on the ride in a distracting sort of manner. I guess this moment is up to the Guest's interpretation.
Coming to the Indominus herself in all her glory is a real treat and brought the little kid in me right back out. I've been waiting to see this thing in action for a long time and it doesn't disappoint. All other Guests in our boats had similar reactions. She just, commands attention. -and I think that bit is important for the final bit to discuss: the T-Rex herself.
I've never been a fan of the "flying T-Rex". I had always wished they'd do more to better hide her legs or outright remove them entirely because I really don't like her flying towards you like Superman. I just don't buy it and I just don't like it. Even in the dark, I can still see it, especially when the Rex was our finale focal point. All eyes are straight ahead, on Rexy, for the big drop. But with the new Indominus, our attention shifts to her. She gets real close and compels you to watch her until the Rex comes out last second. During this time, I found my eyes drawn upwards, watching these two titans get very close and yes, even buy into the illusion they were about to throw down. But just as they're about to, we fall. Rexy's flying leg problem is still there but it's much less of a noticeable issue given the way the scene is constructed, now. The new finale sort of reminded me of the scene in Godzilla (2014) when the bunker doors were shutting just as Godzilla and the MUTO were about to come to blows. We cut away before we see any of the action, but it still feels like it went down. It works for this ride and I love it.
Final Thoughts
The original Jurassic Park attraction was one of my favorites. There are lots of things and ideas that one had that I felt it did better than Jurassic World. But as the years went by, it feel into dis-repair at no fault of it's own. I'm inclined to say that, if Jurassic Park were functioning at 100% on opening day, I'd give the edge to Park. But that's not the reality we live in. So I have no choice but to compare Jurassic World as it stands now to Jurassic Park when it closed. In that comparison, Jurassic World wins because at this moment, everything is more or less functioning as intended. Will that last? I don't know. Universal's track record doesn't fill me with hope. But still hope, I shall. Hope they continue to plus and maintain this attraction as much as possible so it never falls into the state of disrepair that Jurassic Park had to endure. I am fine with them making what changes they need to in order to bring about that reality (like removing the waterfall from the T-Rex Kingdom).