E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Courtesy Universal Studios Florida
Jaws, the ride at Universal Studios Florida inspired by the 1975 hit move with the same name, is closing on Jan. 2 after more than 21 years at the theme park.
They’re going to need a different ride.
Universal Studios Florida announced Friday it would close its Jaws ride on January 2.
Live Poll
Are you sad to see Jaws go?
Jaws has been in operation since 1990, and was one of the first attractions unveiled when Universal Studios opened its doors. The ride is based on the 1975, Steven Spielberg-directed hit movie with the same name.
“Jaws has been an amazing attraction and an important part of our history,” Universal spokesperson Tom Schroder told msnbc.com. “Jaws holds a special place in the hearts of our guests, but we always have to look to the future and dedicate ourselves to providing new, innovative entertainment experiences for our guests.
"A lot of thought and care went into this decision," he said.
Schroder didn’t offer details about what will replace the ride, saying park goers will have to stay tuned.
Universal Orlando has seen a significant increase in visitors following the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in June of 2010, according to the Associated Press. Attendance at the park has jumped by 40 to 50 percent since last June, said Comcast executive vice president Steve Burke said in September.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
More stories you might like:
- Harry Potter attraction may be coming to Calif. theme park
- Go behind the scenes with 'Harry Potter'
- Slideshow: Inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Joe Myxter has been running msnbc.com's Travel section since 2006. Follow him on Twitter.
Leave a Comment:
Bye-bye, Bruce....(sniffle!)
This ride sucked anyway...went to Universal last Spring, my kids and myself all thought it was the goofiest, most fake thing we saw at the whole park. Not exactly like bidding good bye to "It's a Small World", this was just lame...
LOL if you thought Jaws was cheesy, you should go through the "Poseidon's Fury" show. I would've gladly waited through the line to see Jaws any day over the waste of time that joke of a show was.
Well you went last spring, I went in 1991 and loved the ride and went again around 2004 and still appreciated it for being an older ride.
It is definitely a dated ride, but I have great memories of screaming my head off (and laughing, all at the same time) on that ride as a child.
I remember screaming my head off as Jaws came right for me when I rode it at Universal in LA in 1986. I will never forget it.
1990? It opened before that cause I rode it in 1987
Wrong, you must be thinking of Universal in Hollywood, California:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Studios_Florida
Aw, too bad, I went a few years ago and although it wasn't scary, parts of it were unexpected and caught me off-guard, so I laughed. My dad was too scared to go in the early 90s so I did not go on that ride until recently when I went with a friend. I just enjoyed riding through the water, it was kind of peaceful, and I can see it being scary for kids so I wonder why they decided to do that.
I am not a rollercoaster fan and it seems like almost every ride at Universal is turning out to be a rollercoaster. Last time I went, there were only a handful of rides for people like me. It wouldn't surprise me if this ends up becoming another rollercoaster.
I know the feeling of the rollercoaster thing! My Favorite ride... The old Log Ride at Santa Clara's, California, Marriotts Great America, of Course the Log Ride at universal Studios, (Jarasik Park) was great too! and so sad the Log Ride that used to be at DisneyLAND... NOT World! was retired at the same time that the SKY-Line and Old Submarine Ride were.. Ah the memories and now it will only cost you a$100 Bill PER PERSON to get in... Where did Disney go wrong?
I am also a person who despises and cannot physically stand rollercoasters (have gotten sick each time I've attempted and almost blacked out once) and I feel that even Disney is going for more rollercoaster-esque rides over anything else. I want a decent thrill or water ride and a few relaxing/slow ones. What's wrong in letting all types of rides be in a park to have something for everyone?
Ahh the end of an Era. Probably replace it with a Sherlock Holmes ride, the one with Downey, you know the one that completely TRASHES the true stories of Sir Aurther Conan Doyle. Sigh.
Actually the movie sticks pretty close to how Doyle wrote Sherlock (as a deeply flawed and anti-social person). Why do you think the stories were written from the POV of Watson?
in Orlando, Sonny... not LA
That ride sucked anyway.
What a shame, now little kids won’t get the same thrill of being screwed up for life like my kids did. It seems like only yesterday when I took my five year old on that ride and the shark came out of the water and he wet himself crying hysterically, not being able to sleep for the next 4 years. In fact every time he jumped in our pool at home he would look first to make sure Jaws would not get him. The fact that when we returned from Universal he slept in our bed for the next 2 years and every time he saw my aunt Tessie he would cry (she had a large mouth) is comforting to know that 21 years later Universal is taking that wonderful attraction out of their park. What will the next generation have to mess them up for life? Maybe a dinosaur exhibit where a Tyrannosaurus Rex eats a whole family?
Hey James-2149298: Want a little cheese with that whine? If your kid was so messed up for so many years, why didn't you get him some professional help? You must be joking with this comment?
James,
If you had any remote idea that this would affect your child like it did, you should not have let him go on the ride. This was not the fault of the park but yours for allowing a small child to ride when they are to young to know it is not real.
Oh for Heaven's sake...he's being sarcastic!
UNBELIEVABLE! A silly amusement park ride is closing and people can STILL find reasons to bi*ch and moan to each other!
Jaws was great in it's day, but with all that's come out since the 70's, the concept is a little antiquated. Agree with the park's decision; time to move on...
This sucks! I was in love with that shark as a kid! I'll miss you Brucey.
ride was getting old , time for something new
ride was old, so are we... when we took my daughter to see it she was shocked into holding on to her grandfather, and we took some great pictures of them both...
I have some really good memories of a very lengthy & elaborate tour of Universal Studios in Hollywood...back in 1969. I was around 14. The tram took us everywhere.....and there were stops along the way....for walking thru sets & dressing rooms. I still remember Marcus Welby's house ( which USED to be home to the Cleavers....) was a door or two down from the Munster's place. In fact I got to meet Al ( Grandpa Munster ) Lewis that day....who was strolling about the lot & greeting tourists....looking all dapper in his fedora & cape and sporting a fine cane. In the late 1990s.......I returned for a 2nd time.....certainly NOT expecting such a grand experience, but I was highly disappointed that the tram tour only lasted ....seemed like 45 minutes...if that. No stops or walkthrus......Just a lot of amusement park rides based on 80s/90s blockbusters. The "magic" was gone.
At first read I thought they were talking about Universal in California. I know that's been there longer than 25 years. But, still, anybody who says it was or is lame doesn't appreciate the days of special effects before cgi became mainstream. The point of taking the ride through Universal's back lot is to just enjoy the variety of sets and how they're incorporated into making the movies that we've come to enjoy. Can't argue with the term "movie magic".
i find it funny that someone who said this ride was "lame" talked up "It's a Small World." Pot meet kettle.
I am so bumbed. We went on a family vacation to Universal Studios Orlando when I was in 5th grade, 1995, and I looked so forward to that ride. I LOVE the movie. After months of anticipation we get there and the ride was closed for maintenance both days we were there... Such a let down. Haven't made it back since, I have heard it is cheesy when you're older, but I still wanted to ride it! Looks like I won't get the chance now!
Rode this with my 5 year old brother on the early 90's - we still laugh at his high pitched scream. Took my kids on it 4 years ago, and my daughter had the same scream. We rode it this summer, because of the fun memories we had from before. While it wasn't scary this time because we knew what was coming, we still had a blast and laughed our rears off. I will miss it.
This is appalling. I am an annual passholder of Universal Orlando and have been for almost 20 years. I grew up in FL and loved going to Universal as a kid and still go occasionally now I'm in my 20s. I guess I'm old enough to remember that Jaws is a classic, groundbreaking movie that was the world's first blockbuster and saved Universal? What an act of disrespect toward one of Universal's greatest and most important films. Is the ride a little cheesy? Sure, but what isn't at a theme park? First they take out Ghostbusters, then King Kong, then the Hanna-Barbera ride, Hitchcock area, and Back to the Future, and now this. Universal is trying to compete with Disney World despite having much less space and less money, but even if they quickly design good replacements, how can they compete when they refuse to feature the best classic films in Universal's library in your rides and shows?
As an annual passholder, my opinion was never asked. And the line for Jaws is always long. Meanwhile, they keep dreck like Twister (not a ride; not a real show; not a movie people remember fondly), the Terminator show (great but just a show), and Disaster (a replacement for the Earthquake ride, which itself was more dated than the Jaws ride or movies will ever be, and based on a movie that was not the enduring classic Jaws is). Jaws is a movie that future generations will continue to see. Technological updates or not, dated or not, the ride should have the same chance.
Good perspective, you're right about not being enough room to grow. I worked on International Drive when it was being built and went a few times when I lived in Orlando. They should keep iconic rides around and just modernize them with better effects as technology moves forward.
And to all those who say, "time for something new," what do you have in mind, exactly? A Battleship ride? A Jason Bourne attraction as if even that movie series is more popular than Jaws? MacGruber? Universal doesn't exactly make a lot of great movies anymore - what studio does? - so let's not ignore the classics that built this studio that EVERYONE remembers and loves!