Jaws at Universal Studios: A History of Thrills, Technical Challenges, and Transformation
The Jaws attraction at Universal Studios, inspired by the iconic film series, has been a popular, albeit turbulent, part of the theme park experience for decades. From its initial opening in Universal Studios Florida to its enduring presence in Universal Studios Japan, the Jaws ride has taken guests on a thrilling tour of Amity Island, complete with close encounters with the infamous great white shark. This article delves into the history and development of the Jaws attraction, examining its inspirations, technical difficulties, redesigns, and eventual closure in some locations, as well as its lasting legacy.
From Hollywood to Florida: The Genesis of a Thrill Ride
The concept for the Jaws ride originated from a smaller attraction on the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood in California. In this early version, which opened in 1976 and remains in operation, the Studio Tour tram passed through sets inspired by the 1975 film Jaws. For the Universal Studios Florida park project, Universal borrowed components of the Hollywood tram experience when designing the ride in Orlando. This expansion of the Jaws concept aimed to fully immerse guests in the world of Amity Island. The stated mission of Universal in Hollywood was to “Ride The Movies” - putting guests inside their favorite scenes.
Opening Day Troubles and Technical Nightmares
The Jaws ride officially opened at Universal Studios Florida on June 7, 1990. However, like other opening-day rides such as Kongfrontation and Earthquake: The Big One, it was plagued with frequent breakdowns due to the complexity of its special effects. While Universal eventually resolved many of the technical issues with Kongfrontation and Earthquake, the Jaws ride continued to experience problems and was often evacuated daily. The $30 million (about $72 million in today’s money) they had spent on Jaws was looking like a poor investment. The ride simply could not be fixed.
One major issue was the amount of drag caused by the actions of the sharks. They were forced to go from a dead stop to a lunging speed for the ride scenes. In July 1990 a guest named Anthony Salamone fell out of the boat and into the lagoon when a guardrail on a boat broke. He came dangerously close to one of the powerful, lunging sharks. The press was having a field day.
A Complete Overhaul: Redesigning the Jaws Experience
Faced with persistent technical issues, Universal collaborated with Totally Fun Company, ITEC Entertainment, Intamin, and Oceaneering International to install an entirely new ride system with modified special effects. The plan was to more or less automate the boats and strengthen the mechanical structures. A major finding was that the attraction developed weld cracks at the base of key framework structures for the ride and its effects. This made the attraction prone to failure-such as potentially causing a catastrophic accident. Universal scrapped the former JAWS ride system and effects, except the basic lagoon structure and themed sets.
Read also: The Ride That Was Jaws
Several changes were implemented in the redesign. The first scene, where Jaws bit onto the tour boat and turned it 180 degrees, was replaced with a gas dock explosion scene. Another change involved the finale, which was originally based on the ending of the first film. On the creative side, Universal worked on a more engaging script for the skippers. The spiel for the original JAWS ride was somewhat reactionary with rudimentary lines. Peter Alexander tweaked the story to be more captivating, also incorporating new scenes to replace the old defective effects. Adam Bezark took over during development to oversee production. Universal partnered with several contractors on the redesign of JAWS. The company specialized in deep sea robotic submarines, so the new animatronics could handle being underwater. The company crafted seven fiberglass, latex skin, and steel sharks, which were as powerful as the liftoff of a Boeing 737 airliner. After completely overhauling the ride, the combined cost of the two versions of JAWS jumped up to an estimated $70 million. The ride’s creators cycled the ride day and night to fine-tune every detail. Even if they were making minor tweaks to a single scene, they had to complete the entire layout since the ride vehicles couldn’t move in reverse.
The Re-Engineered Jaws: A Familiar but Improved Experience
JAWS resurfaced at Universal Studios Florida on Oct. The experience started off the same way as before: Guests passed through the Amity Island area, celebrating the Fourth of July. In the queue, a 50-minute video played local programming called Hey There Amity!. The channel played ads for Amity’s local business plus Ocean Spray, an early sponsor of the ride. The video also had some talk show segments with the “real life” counterparts of the Jaws characters. At the dock, guests boarded tour boats with tiered rows, seating up to 48 passengers. The new diesel-powered boats appeared sturdier than the original pontoon boats, now with automated movements.
The reimagined JAWS ride, though heavily re-engineered, had a very similar format to the original. It was still in a massive 7-acre lagoon, holding 5 million gallons of water. A voice over the radio from Amity Base, voiced by the ride’s show director, gave the boat the all-clear. “Uh, this is Base. In the new version of the ride, the skipper introduced the tour and pointed out Chief Brody’s home across the lagoon. A distress call from another tour boat played over the radio, and the tour continued around the lighthouse only to discover a sinking boat. The skittish skipper swiveled the boat’s light around at each bump and bang heard in the claustrophobic boathouse. This scene had improved effects with boats and cargo knocking around as the shark was trying to barge its way inside. Jaws crashed in and charged at the boat-probably the most tense moment of the ride. Back on the open water, the shark was nowhere to be found. Chief Brody called in saying he’d be there in 10 minutes; the skipper reacted with one of the most iconic lines from the ride: “Ten minutes? The shark charged at the boat. The skipper tried shooting it but missed, causing the gas dock on the shore to explore. Large equipment fell over, a barrel rocketed into the sky, and the lagoon went up in flames. This scene was hot. Some guests complained this scene burned their skin, but it could’ve just been discomfort from sunburns combined with the heat. This was the home stretch. The skipper headed toward a dock where everyone could evacuate. However, Jaws was still on the hunt. Its fin surfaced and rushed toward the boat, disappearing into the wake. Just as the boat stopped near a high-voltage barge, the shark attacked once more, accidentally swimming into an electrical cable with its mouth. Sparks and steam shot up, and the shark went under.
The return of JAWS was well-received by guests. Simply put, the new and improved JAWS was exciting. The boat’s motion base was intense, and the ride didn’t hold back on giant animatronic sharks. The unpredictability of being outdoors on the water gave it an expansive, real feeling with the uneasiness of not knowing what was under the surface. On a ride like Kongfrontation, King Kong was out in the open, seen from far away-but Jaws could pop out from anywhere in the lagoon. No other ride could replicate the uncontrollable, secluded tension JAWS had. The improved JAWS ride did exactly what Universal wanted it to do: It was reliable, unlike the original version. Having JAWS back at Universal Studios felt right.
Jaws in Japan: A Transpacific Success
On March 31, 2001, Jaws officially opened at Universal Studios Japan, bringing the Amity Island experience to a new audience. Unlike its counterpart in Florida, the Jaws attraction in Japan has enjoyed a more stable run, continuing to thrill guests with its immersive storytelling and impressive special effects.
Read also: Universal Studios Hollywood Jaws Ride
Challenges and Closures: The End of an Era in Orlando
Despite its improved reliability, the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Florida faced its own set of challenges in the years that followed. In 2004, several hurricanes struck Central Florida, leading to a surge in petroleum prices. As the Jaws ride relied heavily on petroleum to fuel its pyrotechnical effects and tour boats, Universal was forced to temporarily close the attraction in January 2005.
The ride finally reopened in December 2005 but was listed as "seasonal" and only open on busier days. This lasted until February 2007, when the ride was finally opened full-time again after numerous guest complaints.
However, the high operating costs and the desire to make way for new attractions ultimately led to the ride's permanent closure. On December 2, 2011, Universal Orlando Resort announced that the Jaws attraction, along with the entire Amity area of Universal Studios Florida, would close permanently on January 2, 2012, to "make room for an exciting, NEW, experience" - the second phase of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The attraction officially closed on January 2, 2012, at 9:00 pm, with Michael "Skip" Skipper giving the final voyage to the last 48 guests. By the next morning, the entire Amity area was walled off and completely demolished in the following months.
Legacy and Remnants: Remembering Amity Island
Although the Jaws ride is no longer present at Universal Studios Florida, its legacy lives on through various tributes and remnants within the park. The hanging shark statue from the town square remains as a tribute to the ride and can be found in the Fisherman's Wharf area of the San Francisco section of the park. Other remnants of the former Amity area include a building with the text Amity Island Lobster Co. on it, a restroom building, and its accompanying sign.
Read also: Reliving the terror of Jaws in Hollywood
Back in Florida, JAWS left behind a storied reputation. It was one of the most celebrated attractions not just in Universal’s history, but in all of theme park history. A lot of that success can be credited to the ride’s design; sharks are always scary, and nothing beats the up-close-and-personal feeling of seeing a giant animatronic shark trying to attack you. But the real reason this ride stayed so relevant for so long were the skippers. They put their heart in soul into every single show to make sure everyone had a great time. They cared about the attraction, its story, and its significance. Without the personal touch of skippers, JAWS would’ve just been a lap around the lagoon with some animatronics. Their timing and effort made the ride feel believable, and they made a connection with guests in just five short minutes. Nothing is quite as special as JAWS was.
Ride Experience
As guests enter Captain Jake's Amity Boat Tours, they walk through a series of boathouses located near Amity Harbor, which hold various fishing supplies, nautical artifacts and feature numerous overhead television monitors that are tuned to Amity's local TV station, WJWS13: The Station That BITES (which also has the tagline "The station that plays the hits"). The station features a low-budget local talk show entitled "Hey There, Amity!", children's and news programming, ads for local businesses, and promos for classic movies and television shows, many of them from the Universal library.
After boarding the tour boat, guests learn that they are taking a guided scenic cruise to visit the actual locations of the shark attacks that occurred during the summer of 1974, which were made famous in the popular Hollywood movie that was released not long afterward. The tour boat is piloted by one of Captain Jake's skippers and is protected by an army surplus 40mm grenade launcher.
The tour begins in Amity Harbor as the boat passes the home of Chief Brody, and various harbor side businesses. As the tour boat approaches a lighthouse situated on top of a rocky jetty, the tour is suddenly interrupted by a radio distress call from a fellow tour boat skipper named Gordon; his call for help turns into screams of terror, followed by eerie silence. Suddenly, a dorsal fin appears out of the water next to the wreckage. The fin submerges and swims under the tour boat, rocking it back and forth. The home base tells the skipper to use the grenade launcher as the dorsal fin rises out of the water on the starboard. The skipper comes up with the idea to try to hide the tour boat in a nearby boathouse and wait.
As the skipper brings the tour boat to a stop inside and looks for somewhere to tie it up, a loud crashing noise breaks the silence as the walls of the boathouse begin to shake. The skipper realizes that the shark is banging itself against the outside of the boathouse trying to break in. The skipper starts to drive off but is unable to get the tour boat to drop into gear. As the tour boat leaves the boathouse, the skipper is informed by Chief Brody over the radio that he'll be there in ten minutes. The skipper replies with the now famous line "ten minutes? we'll be shark bait in ten minutes" and picks up the grenade launcher again, just as the shark head leaps at the other side of the tour boat near Bridewell's Gas Dock.
Unfortunately, the next grenade that the skipper fires strikes the nearby gas dock, which erupts into flames, threatening to engulf the tour boat and its passengers. As a last resort, the skipper decides to unload everyone at an old fishing pier that happens to be located near a high voltage barge. Just as they reach the pier, the fin reappears heading straight for the tour boat. Suddenly, the shark emerges right next to the tour boat and accidentally bites down onto a submerged power cable from the barge and electrocutes itself. The smell of roasted shark fills the air as the shark head disappears into a cloud of steam that engulfs the tour boat. As the steam cloud clears, the burnt shark resurfaces and makes one final lunge at the tour boat; the skipper immediately takes one last shot at it with the grenade launcher and finally hits it, killing the shark. As the skipper informs home base and Brody that everyone is alive, they are praised for bringing peace once again to Amity Island with cheers from the guests; the skipper wants to keep it a secret between them and the guests agree.
tags: #Jaws #Universal #Studios #history #and #development
