Tag Archives: Jurassic Park

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P1030821As I've been reporting since it was just a small hole in the ground, a Velociraptor Meet & Greet is coming soon to the Jurassic Park area in Islands of Adventure, and it has been officially confirmed by Universal! Well, sort of. In the Annual Passholder newsletter there's a short paragraph about the Jurassic World movie opening next month and to look for photo opportunities with a raptor in IOA. So, we should expect the area to open within the next few weeks, just in time for the film's release! The previously filed permits did show that they had until the end of June to finish their work, but it sounds like they'll be ready before that. Rumors have it opening as soon as Memorial Day later this month!

Short blurb in the Annual Passholder newsletter
Short blurb in the Annual Passholder newsletter

While visiting the parks today I noticed the DinoStore gift shop in the Discovery Center has gotten lots of Jurassic World toys. You can also find some select Jurassic World candies in various gift shops throughout both parks. Check out the images below to see how construction is going and check out the merchandise pics as well! ...continue reading →

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P1030731I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm 99% sure they're building a Raptor Show/Meet and Greet near the entrance to the old Triceratops Encounter at Islands of Adventure. Construction is picking up pace, and with only 41 days until Jurassic World opens in theaters, they better hurry up to be ready. During my last visit I was able to grab some snapshots of what looks like a semi-circle of supports, done in a Jurassic Park style. They could be marking off what will become a stage-like viewing area, or maybe even a small set of bleachers for guests to view the animals. Either way, it's looking much more like a permanent viewing area (with scheduled appearances throughout the day perhaps) rather than just a staging area for street events. Check out the images of construction below as well as some more information and rumors! ...continue reading →

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P1030768Kongstruction is looking amazing today in Islands of Adventure! The creepy faces are coming along nicely, the brick color is looking beautiful, and the temple facade is growing across the right side of the structure. The construction walls have begun encroaching on the pathway, having moved out about to 10 to 20 feet in some places. The food stand is gone now, considering there isn't enough room to accommodate it on the path anymore. The walls have probably been moved out to make way for construction of the outdoor scene that will take place in front of the structure. Supposedly the ride vehicle will exit the structure after load and venture into an outdoor scene before re-entering the building through the enormous temple gate. See all the pictures from today below!

Ancient temple gate looming over the construction walls
Ancient temple gate looming over the construction walls
The construction walls have been moved in and the food stand is gone
The construction walls have been moved in and the food stand is gone

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00005.MTS.Still002The hole in the ground behind the entrance to the old Triceratops Encounter at Islands of Adventure has gotten a lot bigger since my last update. And they've put up some bigger barricades to block it from guests. I'm still not entirely sure what could be going on here but rumors around the web are still pointing at some type of Raptor Meet & Greet, which could be very awesome indeed. Check out the video, plus snapshots of the area and further speculation below!


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JPrefurbIf you've seen my previous photo updates and video then you know that the Jurassic Park River Adventure has undergone a renovation last month. It's open now and looking just as beautiful as it ever has. This week in UONews (Universal Orlando® Resort’s Team Member Newsletter) they reported on the refurb along with some details. As I expected the refurb focused on key visual elements including new skins for the dinos and a complete revamp of the finale's waterfall rockwork. Read the full excerpt from the publication below or check out the PDF here. Also, be sure to check out my previous posts with photos and video!

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P1030128Workers are making quick work of the rockwork at the new King Kong attraction and Skull Island area at Islands of Adventure. A few faces have started to take shape around the entrance to the temple ruins. The paint-work is looking very complete on the left-side of the building. Most of the exterior walls are complete throughout much of the structure and from what I can see the interior work is coming along nicely as well. Check out all of the pictures below.

There have been rumors flying around the web now that the Australian company Creature Technology will have some hand in the animatronics for the ride. They were responsible for the incredibly impressive King Kong puppet from the Kong musical. Watch this video for a sample of the giant Kong puppert-work. They were also the studio behind the beautiful Walking with Dinosaurs puppets and animatronics from its arena show, which I can tell you from seeing it in person, is just amazing. See a sample of that work here. If they apply their skill to create expressive puppets and impressive skins to the figures in the Kong ride I will be very pleased.

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photo(53)When I was at Islands of Adventure a couple of days ago I noticed a big hole in the queue near the entrance of the now defunct Triceratops Encounter at Jurassic Park. The hole was surrounded by caution tape. I managed to snap a couple quick pictures as I passed by (see below). Now rumors are flying around the Twittersphere about the possibility of a new attraction coming to the area, specifically one featuring Velociraptors! More info and pictures below.

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P1020680The walkway out in front of project 340, (AKA the new King Kong attraction at Islands of Adventure), has received some shiny new skull-themed construction walls. They jut out pretty far, but the area does look a little cleaner with them. It seems clear now with these skull themed walls what attraction they are in fact building back there, in case there were still any doubts. As far as construction progress goes, it looks like they're putting a primer and/or sealant over the rockwork before painting, the top of the rockwork is looking more and more like the Skull Island temple, and the right side of the structure is finally getting all walled up. Check out the pictures below to see the construction progress as well as the new themed construction walls. And check out the previous update for some video!

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P1020525The mysterious green walls are down revealing a slightly widened pathway in front of the construction site at Project 340 in Islands of Adventure. I'm guessing spring break might have something to do with the large crowds in the park, and everyone is turning their heads to see the new imposing structure towering above. I decided to do something a little different this time and in addition to the photo update I took some video as well. It can help illustrate just how massive this building really is! Check out the images below as well.


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P1020510The Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal's Islands of Adventure is back open after being down for seasonal maintenance from February 17th to March 12th! The waterfalls and rockwork are looking gorgeous and the dinosaurs skins have never looked better, with no holes or unsightly patchwork visible. And it's just great to have all those construction walls finally down around the area. I took some pictures as well as some on-ride video to show off the cleaned up attraction.

While everything looked great, I did notice a lot of the dinosaurs eyes were closed during the ride, and the gate doors did not open as the boat passed through them in the beginning. Other than those small items though, everything else was in perfect working order. Watch the video to see for yourself and check out the images below as well.


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