This article is your complete guide to everything Jurassic Park at Universal Orlando! There is a whole Jurassic Park land in Universal Islands of Adventure with three innovative rides like the VelociCoaster, restaurants and even meet and greets with raptors! If you want to learn about Jurassic Park at Universal Orlando Resort, keep reading!
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The Jurassic Park land at Universal Orlando is located at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park and is full of prehistoric details for fans to love. This land opened with the park in 1999 and most recently opened an intense roller coaster – Jurassic World VelociCoaster. This is one of the most popular rides in all of Universal Orlando! This ride is also included with early park admission when Universal has Islands of Adventure open which makes it another reason why many families will want to be as familiar with it as possible. On top of that, it’s also home to two other rides in the Jurassic Park River Adventure and Pteranodon Flyers. The kids play area, Camp Jurassic is home to some of the best theming across the parks. Plus, you can even meet Blue at the Raptor Encounter. Jurassic Park is one of the most fun-filled lands at Universal Orlando Resort.
The main Jurassic World theme park land we are talking about is located within Universal Orlando Resort, at the Islands of Adventure park. It is filled with immersive experiences, blood-pumping attractions, dining options and so much more!
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The VelociCoaster is Universal Orlando’s newest addition and is one of the most thrilling rides in all of Orlando. The VelociCoaster is inspired by the Jurassic World films, with Owen Grady and Claire Dearing as your guides through your tour into the velociraptor enclosure. This Jurassic Park ride at Islands of Adventure is all an adrenaline lover needs with two high speed launches, barrel rolls, 155 feet top hat drop and Velociraptors looking to make you their lunch. This new Jurassic Park ride is offered during Early Park Admission too, which is great seeing as that it is one of the most popular rides in all of Universal Orlando Resort.
The Jurassic Park River Adventure gives us all the nostalgic feels, as you board a bright yellow river raft to give you a tour of the dinosaurs up close. This is going to be the ride John Hammond would have created for the park, with plenty of dinos and nostalgia for lovers of the film. Of course, you can expect a Jurassic Park boat ride to have some dangerous mishaps along the way when you’re within an arm’s distance of prehistoric creatures. It’s important to note that this is also considered to be one of the Universal Orlando water rides located in the main two theme parks.
This Universal Studios Jurassic Park ride is more for the kiddos, so if you’re traveling with little ones, make sure to check it out. Pteranodon Flyers is a slow and gentle swing ride suspended in the air while flying beneath the 10 foot wings of a Pteranodon. Just note that this attraction is only for kids, and adults can only ride if they have riders with them between 36 and 56 inches. You can get amazing view of the Islands of Adventure lagoon while aboard your dino. so if you can, we definitely recommend giving it a shot.
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While Camp Jurassic isn’t technically a Universal Jurassic Park Ride, it is still an attraction that we highly recommend. If you’re looking to cool down or let the kids run off some energy, Camp Jurassic is a giant playground with all the bells and whistles you could ask for. Camp Jurassic has rope bridges, hidden pathways, lost caves, water cannons and more! Just know the area is BIG, so keep an eye on little ones!
The Raptor Encounter is one of the most immersive experiences guests can get when visiting the Jurassic World Universal Orlando section of the park. Those wanting to can meet Blue the Velociraptor, in a very life-like interaction at this character meet and greet.
As the true centerpiece of everything in the Universal Studios Jurassic Park area, The Discovery Center is a must-do attraction. This is the exact replica from the iconic Jurassic Park film filled with dinosaur skeletons, models, and even hatching raptor eggs. We enjoy visiting because it has some great interactive activities for the little ones, shopping and is home to Burger Digs.
Outside of Burger Digs, you can find carnival-style games. These games are an additional charge and you can win some really cool Jurassic Park-themed prizes.
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Jurassic Park in Universal Islands of Adventure is home to three quick service locations, a bar, and multiple snack stands. It is actually home to our ultimate favorite quick-service spot in Universal Orlando Resort and that is Thunder Falls Terrace. Across the three quick service locations, there is something for everyone to enjoy!
This is our favorite place to eat at Universal. It overlooks Jurassic Park River Adventure and has some great food options. We really enjoy it because it is not your typical theme park food. It has rotisserie chicken, salads, ribs, nachos, and more. Our favorite is the Rotisserie Chicken Platter and Rice Bowl with Pernil.
The most popular quick service in Islands of Adventure is Burger Digs. It always has a long line…for good reason! The burgers here are delicious. PRO TIP – mobile order through the Universal Orlando Resort app so you don’t have to wait in line!
Craving some pizza? Stop by Pizza Predattoria! Enjoy fresh-baked pizzas, delicious meatball subs, and chicken Caesar salad. As New Yorkers, we can say that this pizza was good! It’s important to note that the only tables here are outside so if it’s one of those hot Florida days, you may want to eat somewhere indoors.
If you want to grab a drink before facing your fears on the VelociCoaster, this is the place to do it! The Watering Hole has beer, wine, and frozen cocktails to fountain sodas and lemonade
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Okay, so now that you know which rides are waiting for you at Islands of Adventure let’s break down some of our favorite Universal Orlando tips and tricks to get the most out of your time in this area of the park.
This is probably our most important tip for visiting the Jurassic Park land in Universal Orlando is to use Early Park Admission, which is included with all Park Prodigy multi-day Universal Orlando tickets or vacation packages. One of the main reasons why this tip is so important is the Jurassic World VelociCoaster is so popular that guests can wait upwards of 60 minutes to take a ride. There are only a few attractions offered during this time, and Jurassic World VelociCoaster is one of them!
If you don’t like getting up in the morning or can’t get Early Park Admission, your second way to cut down the wait time is to do Single Rider for VelociCoaster. This could potentially get you on the Jurassic World attraction much faster than regular stand-by. Just note, Single Rider does not guarantee a shorter wait and you could potentially be waiting longer than stand-by if it isn’t too busy.
You can get pretty wet when riding on the Jurassic Park River Adventure attraction, and we know it can be a miserable day if you’re stuck in wet clothes all day. Around Jurassic Outfitters, you will find drying stations where you can purchase a session to stand in one of the giant dryers and air yourself out.
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A: So, while the character meet and greet with Blue the Velociraptor is VERY life like, and even pretty scary for little ones … she is not real. We truly wish there was a way that we could meet a real-life dinosaur while inside of Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, we will have to settle with the dinos inside of the attractions and the very immersive meet and greets Universal comes up with.
A: Jurassic World and Jurassic Park are part of the same movie series but feature different theme parks in their stories. Fans can enjoy the excitement of these movies at Universal Studios with thrilling rides. Universal Studios Hollywood has Jurassic World – The Ride, where you get to experience the world filled with dinosaurs. Over at Universal Orlando Resort, the VelociCoaster brings you a heart-stopping ride inspired by the newer Jurassic World movies. Even though there isn’t a full Jurassic World section in the parks, these rides give fans a taste of the action and adventure from the films, making them a must-see for anyone who loves the series
A: It’s so popular one of the most common questions that we receive is, is Jurassic park Disney or Universal? And guests will be happy to know that the rights to the franchise characters and the Jurassic Park rides are located in Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. In fact the Jurassic park rides at Universal tend to be some of the most popular, including the newest attraction the Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure.
A: Unfortunately, there is not a stand alone Jurassic World theme park. There are Jurassic World attractions within Universal Orlando and Universal Hollywood, but there isn’t a designated Jurassic World land yet!
A: The Jurassic World VelociCoaster is located within Universal Orland Resort at the Islands of Adventure park in Orlando. That is the only Jurassic World attraction within Orlando.
A: Universal Orlando Resort is the theme park within the United States that has a Jurassic Park land. Universal Studios Hollywood does have the Jurassic World ride in it, which is relatively new.
A: The park in Universal Orlando Resort theme park that has Jurassic Park is Islands of Adventure park.
A: Universal owns the rights to Jurassic Park, so you will not see any Jurassic Park Disney merchandise, rides or theming within the parks or stores.
A: Yes, Jurassic Park River Adventure is still at Universal Orlando in Islands of Adventure park. From time to time, the ride does close due to refurbishments, but it is still an active attraction at Universal Studios Jurassic Park!
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