Refurbishment work is moving along at a steady pace on the Jurassic Park-themed water ride at Universal Studios Florida.
Refurbishment Underway on Jurassic Park River Adventure
In January this year, Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal Studios Florida closed for a nearly year-long refurbishment period.
The nature of the work on the ride, including any potential changes, is not officially known, but given the duration of the closure, some speculate that a total ride overhaul may be on the table, one specifically mirroring the Jurassic World update to the same ride in Universal Studios Hollywood.
In any event, we have our first real glimpse at some of the work currently underway on the ride, thanks to X user and aerial photographer @bioreconstruct.
Much of the work is completely obscured from park guests thanks to temporary construction walls around the ride’s queue. Fortunately, these aerial images give us a much fuller picture behind the walls at the drained water ride and the work throughout the experience.
Of note, it appears that the ride tracks are in the process of being completely replaced. The images above and below show workers with a variety of metal elements working along the track around the bottom of the ride’s primary descent. The new track is a vibrant green, undamaged from decades of being submerged in water.
Track replacements mark an inherently major change for any ride, though it’s not uncommon to see for coasters and other tracked attractions as they age and undergo intensive maintenance.
Elsewhere along the ride, we can see some other missing elements from these aerial angles. From this perspective, it appears a few dinosaur animatronics are missing from the early exterior section of the river, including the large stegosaurus.
Cones and temporary construction fixtures can be spotted throughout the attraction, suggesting that — regardless of any changes to the overall ride theme — changes are coming for the majority of ride elements along the river journey.
Behind the scenes in the primary showbuilding, we can see an aerial work platform ascending to a gap on the right side of the structure. This may be the entry point for workers making their way through the zenith of the ride experience, the interior portion just before the climactic drop.
Work is presumably underway on the queue portion, as we can see a mess of construction elements and minor demolition beneath the queue’s entry canopy.
Are you hoping for a Jurassic World update to Jurassic Park River Adventure, or do you prefer the styling of the ride to the original film? Share your thoughts with us on social media.
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