USA TODAY International Edition
VelociCoaster’s new ‘ World’
Universal Orlando braces for the new ‘ Jurassic’ thrill ride
Universal Orlando Resort announced Tuesday that it plans to open Jurassic World VelociCoaster, one of the most highly anticipated roller coasters to debut this year, at its Islands of Adventure theme park June 10.
Known for attractions that combine sophisticated effects with edgy, highoctane thrills, Universal’s new dinosaur- themed ride may be its most scream- tastic yet. Among its moststriking features, VelociCoaster will attempt to outgun ravenous, lithe velociraptors with a magnetic launch that will hit 70 mph in 2.4 seconds and send passengers soaring up and over a 155- foot top hat tower.
“This will be one of the most thrilling coasters in the world,” predicts Greg Hall, Universal Creative art director and one of the attraction’s principal designers.
After passengers teeter over the apex of the top- hat tower, they’ll plummet at an 80- degree angle down the other side. They also will be tossed upside down four times, including a 100- foot- long, “zero- gravity stall” that will last mere seconds but probably feel like an eternity since riders will be inverted and dangling with nothing more than a lap bar holding them down. ( The ride vehicles will not use over- the- shoulder restraints.) Hall says that most passengers’ feet will not touch the floor of the deep vehicles, which will add to their sense of vulnerability as they endure the coaster’s twists, flips and turns.
“It’s back- to- back- to- back thrills ... a self- aware, meta- coaster.” Shelby Honea Show producer at Universal Creative and one of the attraction’s chief architects
For its finale, VelociCoaster will perform a 360- degree barrel- roll inversion a few feet above the lagoon at Islands of Adventure. Riders will experience a weightless sensation, almost as if they are floating along the water. Universal has dubbed the maneuver a “mosasaurus roll,” in honor of the memorable dinosaur feeding show scene from the first “Jurassic World” movie. In all, the ride will deliver 12 seconds of airtime, the distinctive coaster sensation that passengers experience as they levitate out of their seats.
Biting roller coaster thrills with a gripping story
“It’s back- to- back- to- back thrills,” says Shelby Honea, show producer at Universal Creative and another one of the attraction’s chief architects. “The pacing is incredible.”
But VelociCoaster is more than a succession of killer elements. “We’ve blended the unique maneuvers with world- class theming to create something new,” Hall says. “It’s a balance of form and function.”
That something new is a cohesive story in which guests are transported to Jurassic World theme park and get to ogle fearsome dinosaurs. The ride and its thrills are intricately woven into the story line. Acknowledging the notion of a fictional theme park within an actual one, Honea says the attraction is a “selfaware, meta- coaster.”
The conceit, guests learn, is that the coaster is the latest innovation from the film franchise’s Claire Dearing ( Bryce Dallas Howard) to drum up business at the dinosaur park. It will allow visitors to observe raptors from a unique perspective and get up- close, but “safe” encounters with the beasts. Owen Grady ( Chris Pratt), however, issues his characteristic warnings about the potentially combustible mixture of dinosaurs and humans. Howard and Pratt reprise their “Jurassic World” roles in the attraction, along with BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu. The raptors, Charlie, Delta, Echo and Blue, also have starring roles.
Of course, in inevitable “Jurassic World” – and theme park attraction – fashion, things will go horribly wrong.
Spoiler alert! The raptors will escape from their paddock, and the chase will be on as they pursue the hapless humans aboard the coaster.
“You’re going to be the prey,” says Thierry Coup, senior VP and chief creative officer at Universal Creative. “What better premise for a themed coaster?”
On VelociCoaster, humans will be fleeing from the menacing, rampaging
dinosaurs. Honea promises there will be lots of up- close- and- personal encounters with the beasts, as well as near misses with the rockwork and other elements throughout the course.
VelociCoaster has ‘ another level of thrill’
With its prominent location overlooking the lagoon, the coaster brings a lot of kinetic energy to the park. “It’s spectacular to look at,” says Coup. “It telegraphs thrills just by looking at it. We wanted to take this to another level of thrill and really push the envelope.”
Indeed, the 70 mph VelociCoaster will be the fastest coaster at Universal Orlando and among the fastest in Florida. ( At 4,700 feet, it also will be one of the state’s longest.) And its freaky inversions, nearly vertical top hat and other features will not be for the faint of heart. But Universal insists it is not targeting a small subsection of adrenaline junkies with its new attraction. Instead, the company believes it will appeal to a wide swath of its audience. Notably, the height requirement will be 51 inches ( 41⁄
4 feet), which children typically reach when they are about 8 years old. That’s lower than many other high- impact coasters.
“It’s a delicate balance,” Honea says, referring to the challenge of designing VelociCoaster. “We wanted to make sure it’s thrilling and aspirational but also honors the diversity of the fan base.”
But how does the Jurassic World roller coaster stack up?
Universal has been balancing the level of thrills on its coasters as well as tempering the thrills with engaging stories for years. For example, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, which made its debut in 1999 with the opening of Islands of Adventure, starts with a blast of “gamma radiation” followed by a wild uphill launch and a zero- gravity roll some 110 feet in the air. In 2004, Universal Studios Florida unwrapped Revenge of the Mummy, which is as much an effectsladen ride as a white- knuckle coaster.
And in 2019, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Islands of Adventure melded Harry Potter- inspired scenes and characters with a coaster that includes seven pulsequickening launches.
Hall says the new Jurassic World attraction has a dual personality. The first half focuses on the raptor paddock and stays mostly close to the ground. About halfway through, when a traditional coaster would be starting to peter out, VelociCoaster kicks in with its 70 mph launch and ascension of the top hat tower. “The momentum restarts and, out of nowhere, you’re in a new experience,” he notes. It is, Hall asserts, the “ultimate thrill coaster.”