By Charly SHELTON

Jurassic Park – The Ride opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in the summer of 1996, after the massive success of the film three years prior. The water ride was a technological marvel at the time, with life-sized audio animatronics of stegosaurus, parasaurolophus and even Tyrannosaurus rex. Then, 22 years later after the success of the film franchise reboot, the ride was rebooted, too. With updated effects, refreshed animatronics and all-new scenes, this ride does what the successful films do as well – add to the story with new, better effects that couldn’t be done in the ’90s, but still stay very reverent to the original.

Jurassic World – The Ride officially reopened this week with a grand opening celebration held at Universal Studios. Film director Colin Trevorrow and cast members of the film and ride Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt were in attendance for the celebration. Blue the velociraptor was on-site, joined by her new walk-around character dinosaur friends Juliette the triceratops and a baby velociraptor with her handler. After a display of fireworks to officially open the experience, guests were invited to board the ride.

The boats were filled and ponchos donned to float gently down the river adventure through Jurassic World. The boats wound their way through the enclosures to see Mosasaurus in her tank, a gigantic glass wall separating riders from the marine reptile. The boats then ventured through Stegosaurus Springs, Hadrosaur Lagoon and into Predator Cove, home to the biggest, toothiest carnivores like T. rex, velociraptors and the genetic experiment hybrid, the Indominus rex. As the boats entered the cove, containment failed and it is clear that the Indominus has escaped. But the only way out is through, so the boats head into the T. Rex Kingdom to try and escape. Suffice it to say, there are more dinosaur confrontations and the narrow escape is only achieved by tumbling over a waterfall and splashing into the pool below, which ends the ride.

What I really like about the new ride is the immersion. With a blend of real sets, audio animatronics and the occasional projected screen, the lines between reality and effects become blurred. When the mosasaur buzzes the glass, the guests feel the report. When the T. rex leans in at the boat, it is a perfectly timed near-miss. And being a water ride, participants will definitely get wet. It is a perfect ride for the hot summer days we are in the midst of. With a rich history to draw from, including the original ride and films, the Jurassic World franchise knows its fan base and knows where to push boundaries and when to leave aspects of the original … and that’s something I deeply respect. So many rides and film reboots have either completely separated themselves from the original source material or just tried to move forward into new territory and lost sight of what made the franchise great in the first place.

Jurassic World is not among these. The ride, like the films, retains fan favorites so it still feels like the same ride, the same universe, but almost like a new generation has taken over the original theme park in Costa Rica and made timely updates. The original lives within this new iteration.

Of all the new openings at theme parks this summer, I’d say this one warrants a visit more than anywhere else. Its respectful handling of the past while embracing the future is exactly what is needed this summer, and it’s an amazingly fun ride to boot. Buy the candid photo of your first on-ride and tell me your face doesn’t show that exact sentiment.

Jurassic World – The Ride is open now at Universal Studios Hollywood.

  Charly Shelton