For those of you who were lucky enough to visit Universal Studios Orlando between 1993 and 2012, you'll know how truly fantastic the Jaws ride was. It lived up to Universal's marketing ploy of "Ride the Movies!" and put you face to face with one of horrors most iconic monsters as he stalked the waters surrounding Amity Island.
But much like the film, the ride ran in to an endless list of problems and technical issues. These particular problems became so much of an issue that Universal went to court with those responsible for building it. The ride was demolished, redesigned and rebuilt within 2 years of its grand opening. Kind of ironic when you think about how many problems Spielberg and the crew ran into making the film. Anyway, put your feet up and read on as we look back on one of Universal's most iconic rides.
"Amity Six to Base." The Story of Jaws the Ride.
When the park, and ride, had its grand opening in June 27th 1990 Universal ran into a mess of operating issues with all of its major attractions (Jaws, Kongfrontation & Earthquake: The Big One). Unbelievably their opening was so bad they actually introduced a voucher system for guests to re-visit the park when the attractions were running as they should be. Whilst Universal managed to find ways to fix the issues with its other main attractions, Jaws persisted and rarely performed without any issues. Universal then took the decision to close the ride indefinitely September 1990 for a major change to the entire ride.
The Original Ride
The ride's original concept came to be due to the popularity of the Jaws section of the Backlot Tour in Universal Studios Hollywood. The ride took guests through several different sets on a tram before making its way along the Amity shoreline where the guests would come face to face with the monstrous great white shark. The Studio Tour opened in 1976 and Bruce is still attacking guests there to this day.
Universal Studios Florida looked to take concepts from the Studio Tour in Hollywood and turn them into their own rides on a much larger scale. The original ride was designed by MCA/Universal Planning and Development and Ride & Show Engineering Inc. (who were responsible for the Amity segment in Universal Hollywood's Studio Tour). The film's original director Steven Spielberg also worked in conjunction with them as creative consultant.
The original ride was drastically different to the one that most of you will remember. The main differences being appearances and interactions with the shark, the names and types of the boats, the story and the rides big finale. You can check out the video below to see the original ride in all its glory.
Following its opening, the ride experienced extensive and incredibly persistent bugs and technical issues. Most of which were to do with the rides sharks and the special effects used throughout. Effects mis-timing, miscuing or not working at all usually resulted in the experience being more comedic than originally intended.
For example, one encounter with the shark featured him dragging the pontoon boat full of guests across the water. The pontoon boat was used as Universal could simulate to some degree that the boat was sinking, whilst that worked it was the shark that was the major problem here. Sometimes the shark wouldn't work at all or lunge at the boat too late. The misfires also caused poor Bruce to lose some of his teeth in the process. As I said previously this resulted in it being comedic than terrifying, I can't imagine a toothless shark being all that scary.
Anyway, the ride was then closed temporarily in August 1990 to give Universal the chance to properly fix the bugs. During this time they also filed a lawsuit against the rides original design team Ride & Show Engineering Inc. for failing to properly design the ride. Ride & Show Engineering Inc. hit back stating they were rushed and given impossible-to-meet deadlines whilst designing and constructing the ride. The lawsuit was settled with an agreement between both parties and Universal made multiple attempts throughout 1991 and 1992 to refurbish and re-open it. These attempts proved futile and Universal realised there was no saving the ride. They then took the decision to close the ride indefinitely to redesign and rebuild the majority of the ride.
The New Jaws Ride
Universal teamed up with Totally Fun Company, ITEC Entertainment, Intamin and Oceaneering International for the new ride. The idea was each company would be responsible for only certain aspects of the ride as opposed to the ride as a whole. The redesign was essentially an entirely new version of the ride.
The new ride featured the story of Jaws as an actual, real-life event that happened in Amity and following it's popularity after Spielberg's 1975 classic, Captain Jake introduced a boat tour that would allow guests to see some of the real-life spots where back in 1975 "that bad old shark Jaws devoured those poor and innocent islanders!"
Guests would board Amity Six for Captain Jake's Amity Boat Tours of Amity Island, complete with their very own skipper. The tour is then suddenly interrupted by a 25 foot monster Great White Shark that is intent on attacking the boat and devouring all those on board. The ride also introduced a number of changes, including
New boats that wouldn't sink (except Amity Three of course)
Another appearance from the shark
The gas dock explosion replaced the boat drag sequence
The finale of the ride was changed to favour the ending of Jaws 2 (biting down on an electrical cable) as opposed to being blown up by the skipper (similar to the ending of Jaws)
This is the version of the ride that most people will know, love and remember. Following the successful re-design and re-build of the ride Universal announced its big return and re-opening to the public. The ride was then officially re-opened by Lorraine Gary, Roy Scheider and Steven Spielberg in Spring 1993.
You can see the full video of the fully re-designed and re-opened ride working as intended below.
After the Refurbishment
The ride went on to thrill and scare thousands of guests since its grand re-opening in 1993 and went on to become somewhat of a fan favourite. However, it still ran into various issues over the years.
Following the horrendous hurricanes that hit Central Florida in 2004, Universal was forced to close the ride January 2005 amid rising petrol prices. Of course the ride used a considerable amount due to the various pyrotechnical effects used throughout the ride (particularly during the gas dock sequence of the ride that boasted a wall of fire across the water), as well as the tour boats.
The ride re-opened December 2005 but was listed as seasonal meaning it was only open on the parks busier periods. Several new refurbishments were made throughout the closure and the ride was then refurbished annually from 2008-2011. Luckily the seasonal operations of the ride only lasted until February 2007, it was fully re-opened for year round operations after Universal received numerous complaints from guests.
The Ride's Closure
Fast forward to 2nd December 2011 and much to fans dismay, Universal Orlando made the shock announcement that the ride would be closing forever.
Universal Orlando Resort announced the ride would be closing permanently January 2nd 2012 along with the entire Amity Island themed area of Universal Studios Florida. It was to be closed and demolished to make way for the new and exciting second phase of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The announcement was met with severe backlash from fans worldwide who were disgruntled at the fact they were given one month to try to return and re-visit the beloved attraction before closing it permanently. Low blow by Universal to be fair.
The only BIG remnants left from Amity are the hanging shark photo op and the Amity Island Lobster Co. building. There are various Jaws Easter Eggs hidden throughout the Harry Potter section of the park that replaced Amity though.
Amity Six took its final voyage at Universal Studios Florida January 2nd 2012 with skipper Michael. By the next morning, Amity Island was walled off and demolition had begun. You can see the final voyage video below.
New Life
For those of you who would still love to experience this incredible ride, it now resides at Universal Studios Japan. The ride is said to be pretty much the same as its Orlando counterpart. It opened March 31st 2001 and is still remains one of their most popular rides.
There were rumours circulating online (before the announcements), that Bruce may be finding a new home in Epic Universe much like Kong did in Islands of Adventure. We know now of course these were false and Universal has no plans to include Jaws in their new upcoming park. The Universal Horror Make-Up Show and E.T. Adventure are the only remaining original attractions from the parks opening day since Jaws' departure. Part of me always hopes they'll remain but I felt the same about Jaws, I guess only time will tell.
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