While a lot of big theme park development has been delayed, canceled, or scaled back due to the pandemic, Universal Orlando has been pushing forward with its latest coaster that has been visible to park guests in Islands of Adventure for over a year.
The Jurassic World themed VelociCoaster is currently scheduled to open sometime in 2021. It was originally listed as summer 2021 but given the current state of the world, even that vague bit of specificity was pulled back.
The concept art shows a highly themed yet intense coaster that will send riders on a mad dash through the raptor paddock. Check out this list of highlighted maneuvers the Universal press release shared:
- Accelerate through two pulse-pounding launches, the fastest reaching 70 mph in 2.4 seconds
- Encounter a one-of-a-kind, 360-degree barrel roll right above the Islands of Adventure lagoon
- Experience a zero-gravity inverted stall that will send riders upside down across 100 feet of track in a jaw-dropping maneuver that is the first of its kind
- Go airborne during the towering “Top Hat,” which propels riders 155 feet in the air and then immediately into an 80 degree drop – Universal’s steepest drop yet
- Brace for a total of 12 heart-pounding seconds of airtime – the thrilling sensation of weightlessness riders feel when they’re lifted from their seats – throughout the entire adventure
Now, with all of those moves, the ride vehicles will only have lap restraints, not over the shoulder ones like Hulk or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. That. Sounds. Intense. Watch the teaser video to get a taster of what it’ll be like.
Photos shared by the prolific theme park photographer bioreconstruct have shown raptors installed along the track as well as test ride vehicles cleverly wrapped in white plastic sporting the inGen logo. InGen is the fictional bioengineering company from the films responsible for the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World.
With the rock work going in, the theming, and the story, which will include Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and BD Wong from the films, this should feature a level of detail on par with Universal’s other recent attractions. Hopefully this coaster won’t have the operational issues that Hagrid’s Motorbike had when it originally opened.
With all that said, is anybody else curious to see something other than a coaster or screen ride from Universal? With Epic Universe on hold indefinitely we might have to wait a while to find out if Universal has any new tricks up their sleeves.
