Universal plans to make way for Jurassic update

Jurassic Park, one of the earliest thrill rides at Universal Studios Hollywood, is scheduled to close this fall to make way for a scarier, updated dinosaur attraction.

The 22-year-old ride that sends guests on a floating vehicle through a world where dinosaurs have run amok is set to close Sept. 3, marking the end of the busy summer tourism season.

In its place, Universal Studios Hollywood plans to open an attraction dubbed the Jurassic World Ride that the park has described as having “never-before-seen dinosaurs, enhanced storytelling, lush scenic design, an entirely new color scheme and uncompromised state-of the art technology.” It is set to open next year.

Theme park officials won’t comment on the technology that will be featured in the new attraction or what type of vehicles guests will ride.

When the Jurassic Park ride opened in 1996, the park’s attractions already included its first “dark ride” — an indoor attraction based on the 1982 “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” movie — and a simulator ride based on the 1985 movie “Back to the Future.” Among the other attractions was a stunt show and the park’s famous studio tour.

The Jurassic Park ride opened three years after the Steven Spielberg-directed movie became a box-office hit that generated about $1 billion in gross revenue worldwide.

The original movie about an island where dinosaurs were brought back to life with disastrous consequences spawned four sequels.

A fifth dinosaur movie, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is scheduled for release in June. A sixth movie is tentatively scheduled to open in 2021.