[tps_title]4. Jurassic Park Jeep Ride[/tps_title]
When you think of Jurassic Park and theme park attractions, in my mind anyway, the Jeep sequence from the original film is the first thing to pop into my mind. Naturally, there was always speculation that Universal would make the Jeep attraction a reality.
Originally slated for the area behind Thunder Falls (which of course is now being worked on now for future attraction development), the ride would have taken guests on a “Safari” through “Jurassic Park”.
As awesome as it would have been to see it come to fruition, it would have been too similar to the River Adventure ride. Innocent tour, friendly dinosaurs, things go array and you’re under attack by dinosaurs. It was really close to happening though. So close, there is concept art out there on the Google if you look hard enough.
The ride was designed by Scott Scherman, a former WDI imagineer who worked on two of Tokyo DisneySea’s feature attractions Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The ride was slated to feature a turntable effect, where a T-Rex “steps” on your vehicle and spins it. Reminds me a lot of the original Jaws ride that not many got to see. I don’t think we’ll ever see a Jeep Ride based on the current space constraints Jurassic Park faces being neighbored by Hogwarts and now another new attraction, but it’s fun to think about nonetheless.
